| Decorating by comittee |
[Dec. 7th, 2009|02:56 pm] |
Time to put up the obligatory Christmas decorations at work. Am I the only one who doesn't take this seriously? We're decorating a plastic tree with bits of plastic that were more than likely made in sweat shops: all to celebrate something I don't choose to celebrate anyway.
No Christmas lights this year, as everyone except me is worried that they might explode and set fire to the library. Posted via LiveJournal.app. |
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[Oct. 25th, 2009|02:10 pm] |
Took a couple of days off work to tack on to labour weekend. It's been nice having a bit of time to unwind and not have to do very much.
Yesterday TC and I went geocaching in Te Atatu, and later in Albany with AK and CC.
Found several 'Travel Bugs', one of which we kept, and will transfer to a new cache soon. |
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[Oct. 23rd, 2009|12:04 pm] |
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HELP!!! Who took our Internet?!! |
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[Jul. 28th, 2009|02:28 pm] |
So things have been insanely busy lately. For the last few weeks at work, I have been working on end of finacial year stuff which has kept me very busy. Now I'm working on the publicity for Library Week, which starts on the 10th of August. May not sound hugely exciting, but there is heaps to do, and it's all good for my portfolio. Posted via LiveJournal.app. |
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| Leave and stuff |
[Jun. 7th, 2009|11:15 pm] |
So ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) whitelock and I have booked a whole week off work this week :D
The end of June is the end of the financial year at work, which is pretty much the busiest period of the year.
I decided to take some time off to de-stress before things start to get really busy, and it happened to coincide with Whitelock needing to use up his leave as well.
Currently in Hamilton visiting Colin and Nipper. It's always a really nice change of scene getting out of Auckland for a bit, and this weekend's been really fun. Of course, it has been made even better knowing that we don't have to drive home in time to go to work tomorrow!
Yesterday we all went out to lunch at Scotts Epicurean cafe in central Hamilton, and I was very impressed by their food and coffee. I need to find more good cafes in Auckland now!
Also, last Monday I bought a shiny new Nikon D90 D-SLR camera. I opted to spend a bit more on a 18-200mm Nikor zoom lens, as opposed to the 18-105mm zoom that comes standard with the D-90 (as pictured above).
It has been exciting to get my hands on a decent camera again. The last time I did any serious still photography was back in highschool (on my old Pentax F-SLR), and it is nice to feel my creative juices flowing again.
I haven't had the chance to give it a good try-out yet, but I am looking forward to taking some photos later in the week. |
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[May. 1st, 2009|08:55 pm] |
Nothing much seems to be happening tonight.
This displeases me. |
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[Mar. 11th, 2009|08:03 pm] |
Went and saw Amanda "Fucking" Palmer live last night at the Studio on K' Road.
The performance was part of her tour for solo album "Who Killed Amanda Palmer". I don't tend to go to many live performances, but I really enjoyed myself, and was thoroughly impressed with what an engaging live performer she is. The gig also included a neat opening act from Auckland band Battle Circus, who have toured with AFP in Europe. |
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| Furcon and other things |
[Dec. 25th, 2008|01:09 am] |
So I guess I haven't posted in a while... again.
Probably, mainly because my job is better now, so I have hardly anything to whine about.
In fact, work is going pretty great. I have ended up taking on quite a few more tasks at work than are in my job description. However, for the moment at least, I am still coping relatively well with the workload, and it is all very good experience.
Outside of work, things have also been really good lately:
Earlier this month, a small contingent of us NZ furs went over to MiDFurX which was Australia's first large-scale furry convention.
Con-badge Commission by Zarathus
I have to say, I was very impressed, both with how many furs showed up, and by the level of organization which the MiDFur committee had laid on (major kudos to them!). Also impressive was how laid-back and well-behaved everyone was, considering the copious amounts of alcohol consumed.
It was great meeting lots of new people, although I didn't really get to talk much with most of them. It was also really cool exploring Melbourne for a bit (even if it was in the midst of torrential rain most of the time), since I had not in-fact visited Australia before.
wet view of Melbourne from the Eureka Skydeck
In addition to a rather wet visit to the Melbourne Zoo, and other organized con trips, Whitelock and I also got a chance to go and visit the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, a building with distinctive looking architecture in Central Melbourne.
Unfortunately, most of the exhibits there seemed to be under construction, but they did have a shop with a very good range of film-related books, and one quite interesting exhibition: Setting the Scene, which featured many original set design concept sketches, models and notes from films as diverse as The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920),
 
Metropolis (1927), The Shining (1980), Das Experiment (2001), and The Road (still in post production).
It's been a while since I did any film-industry related work, but it still gets me excited whenever I spend time around film-sets, or exploring the many facets of film-production.
In other news, it looks like I will be moving in with Whitelock, as well as TC, and Kalte very shortly. Yay! This is full of excitingness.
Oh... And happy Christmas everyone I guess, if thats your thing! |
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[May. 19th, 2008|10:06 pm] |
I figure it's time I put in an appearance, since quite a lot has happened since I last bothered blogging.
It is probably easiest if I break this down chronologically into a list (I considered a spreadsheet but decided against it)
1.) My computer breaks down. Completely. Right in the middle of Half Life 2. Fortunately, it is just inside warranty. it goes back to Renaissance for repairs.
2.) I get a new job! Goodbye library, hello... um... other library. I'm now doing quite a different line of library administration work though, which is much more challenging, interesting, and best of all, it's Monday to Friday, so I get to spend real weekends with Bunny.
3.) I do not hear back from Renaissance regarding my computer for over a month. I have grown used to being able to play windows games on my iMac. My G3 still runs fine, but has no games.
4.) My new job gets me feeling motivated, and I resolve to finally get my full driver's license. After days of intensive practice, I book my test. There is a three week waiting list.
5.) Meanwhile, Bunny has bought a Wii to go with his projector. It is full of win. I am still waiting to hear back about my iMac
6.) Apple have finally agreed to replace my iMac. The good news is, they are replacing it with one of the brand new generation, released just the other week. I am paying extra to have goodies added. Custom things take time, so it might be a little while till I get my paws on it.
8.) Gas hits an all time high again with rumors in the news media that even the Prime Minister has taken on a second job as a petrol station attendant in order to earn enough to keep her car full. It was in the midst of such sensational reports that I finally got my full drivers license! |
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| work stuff |
[Mar. 6th, 2008|10:10 pm] |
So I've been doing more design stuff for work lately, which has mostly been a good experience. The downside is, that I've been finding the regular work I have to do increasingly more boring. I often worry that my life has gone off track so far as my career/artistic ambitions are concerned, but then making money is quite addictive too.
There are definitely upsides and downsides to working for local government. On the one hand, the pay isn't bad for most of what I actually do, and there is decent job security (you have do do something really bad before they'll fire you) but on the other hand, everything moves at such a slow pace, sometimes it feels like im trying to run through water, just trying to get simple changes made to the way things are done.
Also, the customer service aspect of my work is slowly wearing me down. Most people are fine, but it's amazing how much a few bad customers can effect your views on humanity.
Anyway, work is definitely a mixed bag at the moment, but I'm always looking forward to weekends :)
I'm realizing more and more that I'm a completely different person when I'm at work, than I am when I'm spending time with everyone else, and it's making me wish I had a job where I could be more myself I guess. |
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[Feb. 13th, 2008|12:24 am] |
Got a (long overdue?) haircut today. Hair is still long, but is now worth more money.
I also finally ended up buying a small Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet.
I don't know if it will make my workflow any easier, or just provide new incentive for me to use Photoshop, but it seems really good so far. Wacom's new range look far nicer than their old ones, and it sure works better than the crappy Dick Smiths brand tablet that I bought before (claimed to work with macs, but had very buggy drivers).
Anyhow, I've been doodling with it all day, and managed to surprise myself with the drawing below. It's not very good, but it's better than what I am usually capable of with pen and paper or a mouse.
Just wish I could afford a Cintiq.
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[Jan. 16th, 2008|04:14 am] |
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And by tomorrow, of course, I mean later this morning :P |
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[Jan. 16th, 2008|03:54 am] |
I just saw this photo on Macrumors.com
If it's genuine, then it would appear to give credence to my original prediction that Apple would soon be re-branding/extending their .mac service to provide extra content for their web-capable iPod Touch/iPhone line-up.
Lots of people have been hoping that Apple will release an update for the iPod touch, that will include the iPhone's mail client (currently not included with non-hacked iPods). With the software development kit being released for the iPhone next month, that may well happen eventually, either as a paid download, free as part of a firmware update, or from a third party developer. However, it also seems plausible to me that Apple may try to push iPod touch users towards a paid subscription service to their web-based .mac email client. If the photo is anything to go by, it looks like Apple may be renovating part of their .mac service to allow web based file access and retrieval via the iPod Touch and iPhone. I'm not sure yet if this would be enough to make me consider the subscription fee to .mac but I guess we'll see what direction Apple is planning on taking the service in, tomorrow. |
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| 'Twas the eve before Keynote... |
[Jan. 16th, 2008|03:23 am] |
So tonight is kind-of like Christmas eve for Mac-Geeks. Last year's Macworld Keynote introduced the iPhone, and their patented multi-touch technology. This year Apple is hitting expectant fans with the teaser phrase "There's something in the air".
It's widely expected that at tomorrow's keynote, among other things Apple will be announcing some form of ultra-portable device with a larger than iPod sized screen, and possibly multi-touch capabilities. No one seems to have any clear ideas on what it will look like, or do exactly though. Apple seems to have done pretty well keeping a lid on the rumor mill this time (OK, not a good metaphor). Of course they usually take their product secrecy very seriously. So much so, that they have been threatening Mac rumor sites with legal cease and desist notices, and have recently bought out the Mac-rumor site thinksecret.com in an effort to keep the lid down even tighter. By the time anyone reads this, no doubt the keynote will have come and gone, and we will already know about the latest additions to Apple's product line. Either way, with new gizmo's just around the corner, it's time to start saving. |
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[Dec. 26th, 2007|11:47 am] |
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YOU CAN HELP RE-FOCUS CHRISTMAS TO IT'S TRUE
MEANING, TRANSFORM YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD & SHARE
YOUR FAITH - ALL WITH 1 SIMPLE NEW SYMBOL!
"Why a Cross glistening with Christmas lights?"
"...In the midst of the stress, excess commercialism and political correctness that too often mark the holiday season - the Christmas Cross can serve as a daily reminder and help re-focus our thoughts to Christmas' true meaning"
"Everyone loves Santa Claus, Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman - but they really don't capture the true meaning of 'Christmas'. This year, decorate with meaning - with the Original Christmas Cross!"
...
Found this stuff on http://www.thechristcross.com/movement.php while doing a google image search for xmas related images to use. Does anyone else think the "Cross glistening with christmas lights" looks a bit closet ku klux clan-ish?
EDIT: Sadly the website that was hosting these delightful Christmas images has been shut down temporarily, possibly by the FBI. I will leave the dead links for now, in case they get it up and running again sometime soon.
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| Xmas Stuff |
[Dec. 26th, 2007|11:05 am] |
So I've just done the whole xmas with family thing today. It went Ok, but I had a much better time this previous weekend with Bunny. We exchanged our presents early, and we ended up giving each other exactly the same things; it was great! I got him a Bunny calender and the Orange Box, and he got me the Orange Box and a wolf calender :P
I also had nice time last night. My flatmates had a couple of friends over, and we played a poetry board game that Micky had made up. She made Pizzas and I made some garlic prawns (the supermarket was selling trays really really cheap since they had to get rid of them before the stat holiday), and we all had plenty to drink.
I still have tomorrow off work, but then I'm back until New Year. Unfortunately all the stat days this xmas/new-year happen to be on my days off anyway, so I'm not being paid for them, or getting any extra days off. Nevertheless, it still feels holidayish tonight, and I'm going to go and play Portal until the wee hours. |
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[Dec. 26th, 2007|10:40 am] |
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I MEANT TO POST THIS THE OTHER WEEK, BUT THEN I FELL ASLEEP BEFORE POSTING IT AND IN THE MORNING I RESTARTED MY COMPUTER WITHOUT THINKING, SO I THOUGHT I HAD LOST IT... HOWEVER, APPARENTLY LJ HAS SAVED A DRAFT FOR ME, SO HERE GOES MY LAST POST >>>
So I haven't posted anything since well before the con. I don't really have much to add to anything that has already been said better by everyone else, but I had a lot of fun, and it was great meeting all the NZ furs I hadn't already met. I ended up having nearly a week off work, what with that weekend and my regular days off which immediately followed the con. I have to say it's taken a bit of adjusting coming back to work. Mind you, work is going to be a bit strange for the next few weeks anyhow. The Christmas period is when everyone seems to return all their books, so we get a lot of shelving, but not very many people actually using the library apart from that.
Bunny and I went and saw the Darwin exhibit at the Auckland Museum today. It was mostly pretty good, and the trip also let me observe how other people are doing professional signs / displays for exhibitions these days (part-of what I've been doing for work recently). However, my suspicions were somewhat aroused by one rather startling information poster near the end of the exhibition which asked the question "WAS DARWIN MAORI?"
If you read the small print, it turned out that the question they were really answering was "Did the Maori people have any independent concept of the process of Evolution". The answer apparently was that Maori mythology/religion could be seen as slightly more evolutionary than other creationist religions.
Really though, it just seemed cheap and silly compared to the pretty decent calibre of the rest of the exhibition (most of which was originally curated by the American museum of natural history).
On a side note, right by the exit door, there was an interactive touch screen computer, asking you to comment on the exhibition, and make suggestions for improvement. However, by the time we worked our way around the whole exhibition, we had to hurry back to my car before the parking ran out, and it got ticketed.
If I had had more parking time I might have stopped to comment on the fact that the parking time in the museum car-park was only two hours, except of course I wouldn't have to.
I found this quite amusing, which may be an early indicator that I am loosing my sense of humor completely
In general though, I should add that I had a really nice day, apart from the weather. |
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