Vivski's Notes

Street performance is not work for the dole

2008-12-10T20:00:00.001+11:00

Discuss.

Encounters

2008-07-30T23:45:00.002+10:00

And no, I don't mean the kind with aliens or ghosts. I mean those moments you have which (for no apparent reason) stick in your memory for days. Particularly incidental conversations with randoms. For some reason these type of encounters are happening more and more for me recently.
I must need to get out more. Maybe I need to stop talking to randoms.

Cycling in Italy

2008-07-15T23:21:00.002+10:00

I highly recommend it.

So many stories, but strangely I don't feel like detailing them in great length online. Instead I want to go out and experience more of it. I'm tryiing to plan a trip to NZ do do a little skiing and catch Rally NZ. We'll see how that pans out.
Also on my list are a trip to Japan and a trip touring around the south island in NZ. Both are on hold until I find a traveling partner, as while I do enjoy doing things on my own, it doesn't count unless you share experiences with others.

Also, I'd love to go back to Europe next year to see a few more rally events and being immersed in that culture again. Particularly Sardinia was just so good. Still makes me smile.

And no Morgan, I don't need puppies. I don't need them on multiple levels. :p

Nulla da scrivere

2008-04-07T01:45:00.002+10:00

Is it that nothing's going on worth blogging about or that my brain hasn't been in the mood for the mental turmoil that usually provides entertaining reading? You know, if you type the word 'nothing' on its own, it looks weird. I'm convinced there's something missing, much like my life at the moment. I know things are going okay, but when I look at it, something doesn't seem right.

The Galindez Mystery

2008-01-06T23:40:00.000+11:00

Put simply, The Galindez Mystery is a movie about the disappearance of a Basque Nationalist and the subsequent cover-up by the CIA. When someone becomes interested in the truth of what happened to Galindez, she is also killed. It's about the snowballing situation of the killing of anyone who becomes interested in the story. The intimidation is meant to make anyone else - with knowledge of what happened - turn the other way, but it ends up just resulting in more killing.

It's a story that's fairly common and the moral is the same: we must not be one to turn the other way, that we should endeavor to pursue the truth in spite of the dangers. However, I just came away with two messages:

1. Once you get involved in covering something up, there is no way out. You see it through or you face the consequences. This is similar to telling a lie that you then have to back up with more lies and in the end you are faced with a situation where you are left in a maze of deception and dishonesty.
So #1 is to never get in a situation where you have to cover something up. And if you do make a mistake that has consequences, get out of the situation as early as possible so it doesn't snowball.

2. If you find out about something that might get you into deep shit, let it slide. The original victim in this story said that he regretted trying to bring about change because in the end it cost him his life and it wasn't worth it.
The lady investigating his death was just trying to find the truth about his murder... so her death was worth it even less. In the end, those dying had such little to do with the original incident that there was just no point.
It's like deciding whether to save someone from the surf when it means you will also almost certainly die. It's all well and good to be courageous, but you have to weigh up the cost... is it worth it? Should you just look the other way? Or should you take everyone out Rambo-style?

Great Movies

2007-12-06T00:28:00.000+11:00

Well, I've run out of ponderings, so I might fall back on the good old "my favourite movies" post. Here are the best that come to mind at the moment. I'll add more as I remember them.

The Matrix
Terminator 2
Life Is Beautiful
Schindler's List
Monsters Inc
After The Wedding
V For Vendetta
Toy Story 1 & 2
Bourne Ultimatum
Howl's Moving Castle
Spirited Away
Garden State
Shaun Of The Dead
Fight Club
Grindhouse
Con Air
The Usual Suspects
Tais Toi!
Science des rêves, La (The Science Of Sleep)
Donnie Darko
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Wallace & Gromit (The Wrong Trousers)
Lost In Translation
Amelie
Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels
Snatch
Into The Wild
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Princess Bride
Dodgeball
Nightmare Before Christmas
South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut
Team America: World Police
Sin City
Mission: Impossible
War Of The Worlds

Choice of time wasting activity

2007-09-10T23:53:00.000+10:00

Depending on your goals in life, you will obviously have a different stance on this, but sometimes it pays to sit back and think about these things.

First of all, what are your goals in life?
- to leave the planet in better shape than you found it?
- to have as many endorphins as possible released in your brain during your life?
- to have a positive impact on others?

If there are other broad goals you live for, I'd be interested to know.

So with that in mind... how do you spend your time? For the sake of this monologue, I'll assume you work. So you work for money, then there's time spent preparing for work, then time spent doing basic life stuff like eating/sleeping/washing/etc. So that leaves maybe a few hours each day plus a couple of days a week to do whatever it is you choose to do with no binding commitments other than those you impose on yourself either directly or indirectly.

Looking at it from both an economical perspective and a human perspective:
1. what do you do with the money you have left over after all your standard life commitments?
2. what do you do with the time you have left over?

Both questions can be answered co-dependently when looking at the activities.

Personally, I like to be fit and healthy. Therefore a weekly ride is usually factored in... it's healthy, keeps my sleep patterns vaguely reasonable, gets me out of the house, gives me a social outlet in a leisure context and it's free.
I also like to play cricket, which has many of the above benefits but costs me about 1hr's pay per week to play. More of a social aspect than the cycling.
To be more social again, I often have dinner/movie/etc with friends. That's probably twice a week and costs maybe half a day's pay per week.
Then the rest of my time is spent either watching TV (getting up to date on what's going on in the world politically/scientifically/sportingly/etc) or online (playing online games, chatting with international friends, documenting my thoughts on philosophical topics).

I think it's quite a good balance between a working (focussed), sporting (active), relaxing (relaxing) life. However, with working full time, being active and resting my body & brain; I don't get much of a chance to work towards or reflect upon my overall goals... and I don't mean buying a house, settling down with a wife & kids... I mean the reasons why I may want that lifestyle... what will it give me as a person and is that reason (overall goal) what I actually want to work towards? Would I prefer to spend my time traveling to foreign countries getting my adventure fix? Would I prefer to spend all my money on charity so I can enjoy the feeling of giving others happiness? Do I want to plant my seed and raise a couple of jaded kids who will get a disproportionate dose of my analytical view of the world?

I think it's a great shame that people generally don't really enjoy their free time. Some don't know how to wind down, some feel guilty about not doing more with their spare time, some drink their spare time @ the pub. Similarly, some people are locked into thinking about money all the time instead of exploiting their good financial position to forget about money in their spare time and do whatever's going to make them happy.

It would seem what you do in your spare time defines who you are, as much as anything else in life does.

After all, the number of hours of free time in your life (particularly while you're healthy and able) are counting down every day. How do you choose to spend or "waste" them?

Crazy nutters

2007-08-12T03:46:00.000+10:00

Why? What's the point?

I'm not sure if being a young person wearing a suit has anything to do with the following events but it does have a strange effect on people.

I got on a crowded tram a couple of weeks ago and in the process of moving up the aisle to make room for more people, I may or may not have brushed past a (probably 50yo) guy with a walking stick built like a man who regularly visits the gym... the kind of build you don't get in any natural way through a sport or profession. He had a bad goatie and he was short... and he had a short man's personality.

I was wearing my headphones and didn't notice until two stops later that the guy appeared to be glaring at me and mouthing something. Others around him seemed to be a bit uncomfortable. I stayed on the tram 2 more stops and got off at the same stop as this other guy. To put it into context, I am an average height, skinny guy who doesn't pose a threat to anyone. It was Friday at the end of another long week at work and I was in a fairly apathetic mood.

So this guy followed me off the tram and about 20m later he poked me. To which I stopped, removed my headphones and gave him my attention.
"You fucken bump a man with a walking stick and ... [some generic threat]" to which I replied,
"Sorry mate, I didn't realise I bumped you".
"Fucken smart arse prick."
"Sorry mate", he keeps walking, I follow a few paces behind. The guy looks anxious and flustered, just been nudged slightly on a crowded tram and obviously looking for something to channel his anger into. The guy could probably break me with a couple of fingers, but my apathy and instinct to tempt fate sees me continue to walk beside and then overtake him.

We get to the next corner and he stops me again. The by-standers keep walking. He walks up to me and from an uncomfortably close distance starts one of the most bizarre bits of dialog I've been involved in.
"You don't know who I am, do you?"
"No, who are you?" I say back calmly and watching for any sudden movements.
"I'm the President of the Neo Nazi Society, that's who." A smell of bourbon wafts past my nose.
"Oh, well again, sorry for bumping you."
"Yeah that's right. If you fucken bump me on a tram again, I'll fucken pull a gun and shoot you!" he said, now walking away from me without breaking eye contact.
"You'll shoot me?" I could not believe the stupidity of the situation.
"Watch it buddy, I'd better not see you on a tram again." With that he walks off.

Part of me wants to throw caution to the wind and ask him why he's decided he'll shoot me just because I brushed past him on a crowded tram (I didn't even feel that I touched the guy at all). But the wiser move was to just let him make his point and continue on my merry way. Much like the attitude you take towards cops... let them say their thing despite the fact that you know they've misinterpreted the situation and then move on.

But what the fuck?
1. What the hell would a neo-nazi want me?
2. Shoot someone for nudging you?

This guy has run so far off the rails. I have no sympathy for someone like that. People like that are the reason I support capital punishment. I would have no problem with that man being removed from the gene-pool and society.

In future I'll probably just walk in the other direction.

Question...

2007-08-12T03:42:00.000+10:00

Is 1000ft a kilofoot?

Relationship Advice

2006-11-12T02:07:00.000+11:00

Two pieces of advice I heard - about relationships - resonated with me. I heard these two things from some wacky old lady on Jay Leno called 'The Cooking Lady' or something. Strange place to pick up advice, but she said two things in response to a question about relationships...

1. Don't argue the little things.

2. Never go to bed angry.

These pearls of wisdom were followed by some nonsensical monologue about getting sex from your partner by keeping your pussy-hair tidy. But that aside, the two points seem quite appropriate.

#1 refers to little things which in the course of an entire relationship pale into insignificance. However at the time they seem big and if you focus on them they can draw doubt into the foundations of the relationship. This is something probably everyone in a relationship has experienced.

#2 refers to tidying up your issues before bed instead of letting them linger. If there are problems and anger then deal with it then, don't take the anger to bed with you or it will play on your mind. This is also applicable for phone conversations... never hang up the phone in anger when a discussion is only half finished. Prematurely ending important conversations with "whatever" (or equivalent) will never have a positive outcome. When in relationship discussion mode, never leave it without a resolution.

Studio Gibli: Hayao Miyazak

2006-11-08T01:49:00.000+11:00

Hayao Miyazak has created two beautiful movies. "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle" are two of the best movies I've ever seen. They are so beautiful, stylise, captivating and moving.

Such fantastic movies but boy do they make me feel lonely.

Vivisms

2006-09-07T14:26:00.000+10:00

I've had a few interesting revelations lately.

Ellie: "You're hair's looking pretty short."
me: "Actually, this is about as long as it's been since it was last cut."

Geoff: "Hey, what's the temperature outside?"
me: "Ambient."

Parking Tickets

2006-08-31T22:57:00.000+10:00

Dont get me started on parking tickets, parking inspectors, parking management, parking meters, etc. Really a flawed system which breeds a really bad vibe, especially when it's brought about by deception and misleading conditions. I got caught out by a very misleading system tonight. The carpark said no fee between 6pm and 7am, however it didn't make it clear that it was still restricted to 3 hours and you had to get a ticket. But the tickets are issued with 1 hour of valid parking and after hours, apparently the next 2 hours is implied... my ticket was stated as valid 'til 6:12, the parking infringement notice said my ticket expired at 8:12... didn't say anything to indicate that on the ticket itself. Very misleading. It resulted in me having a significant grudge against the private operator of the car park and the urge to get back at them in my lifetime. One way or another, they will pay.

Parking restrictions in general just give me the shits. The excuse they use is that it's traffic management, to make sure residents have enough parks, etc. But it's not that at all. I could design a very efficient parking scheme for the area and it would deal with traffic to give good parking for everyone and still keep the residents happy AND make the roads safer for drivers and pedestrians with more appropriate markings and parking allocation. But that's not the aim of the traffic management... it's about revenue through parking fines. No-one wins, the average anger-level rises, people get more angry and selfish, society in general suffers.

Oh well, it's good incentive to get on the bike more. I've started riding to uni now, so that will save me some money in petrol, car upkeep and parking fines. Hopefully enough to save up to fund my rally aspirations.

The Weekend Cinema Experience

2006-07-02T04:09:00.000+10:00

Kids at cinemas... dont get me started! I'll just say one thing... if you EVER take a kid to a movie and let them ruin the experience for everyone else, or answer a phone call, or talk, or make continuous loud crunching noises with your popcorn or chips packet... you can NEVER EVER !EVER! complain about anyone else distracting you in a movie. It is such an annoying thing. Why parents cannot just ... I'm going to stop it there so as to prevent a rant about parenting. I might save that rant for another day.

When entering a movie, remember to do the following:
- keep your shoes on,
- turn off your mobile,
- open your confectionary packet(s),
- open your drink bottles for the first time,
- tell your kids not to talk in the movie because it will spoil it for everyone else.

It is okay for parents to teach their kids manners.

Family

2006-06-20T02:23:00.000+10:00

roots
the funny limbs that grow underground
that keep you from falling down
don't you think that you'll need 'em now

Ben Folds - Your Redneck Past

Tis very true! Roots are generally what keep you standing upright and for people who have them, they're a priceless source of happiness. I can't really word it properly, but I think you will know what I'm on about. Sometimes you dont appreciate it or value it as you should.

Because my parents have a dozen siblings, I now have a dozen aunties/uncles and a billion cousins. Because most of my aunties and uncles live interstate or overseas, it's easy to forget about them But they never forget about me. They're always asking about me and interested in how I'm going. It's something I haven't really understood, but now that I'm 23 and having young cousins growing up around the place I can understand it more. Through having so many cousins, I can see a huge difference in each of their personalities and how it links back to my extended family structure. I dont think it's a huge coincidence that all the closest cousins blood-wise (as opposed to half-cousins) share many of the traits that I do. Unsurprisingly they're a lot of the traits I like.

It's really interesting to see just how similar I am to some of my cousins. I have two cousins who have lived overseas or interstate all their lives and I only get to see them every now and again. Despite that, they're still really similar to me. It begs the question how much of it is down to genes and how much to parenting (since both my parents and their parents are similar). There is plenty of evidence of both things having an impact.

But back to the topic of family being friends you can't get rid of. Looking around at people who have and dont have supportive families, there's definitely a huge connection between having a good family and general wellbeing.

Unfortunately I'm too tired at the moment to put the words together properly to express what I'm actually thinking, but you get the idea. This is about when I start realising family rocks and maybe I do want kids after all.

Interpretation

2006-06-12T05:15:00.000+10:00

You know what pisses me off? People interpreting your actions completely the wrong way.

I'm a quiet person for one reason or another. Why is being quiet associated with arrogance? People are so willing to take the worst possible interpretation of what you do. It's how online chat so often falls in a rhything heap of confusion and misinterpretation. When I dont say anything or struggle with words, it's not because I'm trying to craft my words so as to sensitively convey my negative thoughts in a more tactful way... it's because my brain and mouth are crap and struggle to say what I mean. And sometimes I say nothing because I'm thinking nothing.

I probably speak fewer words than the vast majority of people anywhere. On one hand I dont like it because I'm quiet, easy to ignore, easy to forget, it's assumed that I'm being arrogant and it's hard to let people know how you're feeling to remove their doubt... and on the other hand I like not having to put my 2c in all the time.

One thing I lament is having poor absorbtion skills. I suck at taking in information and listening. As a result, I always forget basic things about friends which I should know. What their birthday is, what course they're doing, where they're working, etc... important information goes through my brain like sugar through a sieve. I dont know why it happens but it certainly contributes to my communication woes. I won't be surprised if it hampers me for the rest of my life.

Bah

2006-06-12T04:48:00.000+10:00

Why can't I just go rallying? Maybe I need to play more RBR. I played it for the first time in ages yesterday and it was a lot of fun. Great way to take the mind off things.

Almost went to a rave tonight. Weord to say the least. Didn't end up going for a variety of reasons I'm not completely sure about even now. But in the end, it didn't feel comfortable as a #2 tag-along and in any case there will be more opportunities.
Glad to've saved some money which might buy a tank of petrol for a nice drive/picnic later this month.

While the Weltmeisterschaft (World Cup) keeps my hours nocturnal, work and exam preparation (procrastination) keep my brain in a weird mild depression. Probably as depressed as I get as I'm not one for proper depression. If I get too down I generally draw way back and look at the big picture to find that it's not so bad. That in turn gives me a fairly laid back attitude to life which doesn't help with my procrastination and the subsequent mild depression. See any pattern forming here? Infinite loop.

What keeps me from cycling continuously through the pattern is external distractions. Girls, sport and driving are all good for that. Although thinking about girls makes me miss having a good relationship, it's a distraction from the norm... or is it just additional complication?

Speaking of girls... man, there are so many girls out there who I could not bear to live with. Really weird. You'd think people would be more compatable. Pity the few girls with personalities I'm attracted to aren't attracted to me and my personality.

TODO

2006-05-10T15:44:00.000+10:00

Time for a list:
- Fallshaw work
- Novell
- LSSD question
- Lab3
- Resume
- Lab page
- hosting site
- SuSe10
- fix explorer.exe prob
- tyres on bike
- organise room

Relationships

2006-03-28T01:01:00.000+11:00

Why do we want them? Is attraction physical or psychological? What are the influences on us wanting relationships? Life, reproduction, culture, continuation of the blood-line, companionship, (in)security, loneliness, sexual impulse. What's it all about and why do some factors matter to some more than others? Is the whole thing overrated?

These are things I've been considering recently and I'd like to discuss them on the blog sometime soon.

FYI the background...
I've had several crushes in life to females close and not so close to me, only one long-term relationship ended a year ago, no overnight-short-medium term relationships, I'm content with life in and out of relationships but wonder why I keep getting the urge to have another relationship. It logically doesn't make sense, 'cos although I love sex and women, I really like independance and having all my time to do my activities. I'm not interested in quick relationships, I'd prefer to find someone special and have a long intimate relationship. Logically, I'd prefer to stay out of relationships for now, but I still get the physical yearning and I dont know why. I'd like to explore it to see where it comes from.

Time Travel theory

2006-03-15T16:07:00.000+11:00

A frequent topic of conversation is time travel. The subject interests me so I might discuss some of my theories with you.

Firstly, time is a direct contradiction of any theory about creationism or any ongoing Godly influence. If you accept the existance of time being a continuous stream of snapshots of what can be best described as 'everything physical' then you accept the idea of causality. The idea of time and causality is the basis for prediction of anything from weather to illness, death and just about every principle ever conceived. They are all based on the repeatable actions resulting in the same outcome. For instance, if I put a slice of bread in the toaster, when the bread pops up it will be toast... not a rabbit.

So now that we've acknowledged the existance of time, 'the past' and the ability to predict, we can consider some interesting aspects to time travel. By the same principles, we can assume that the future is already decided, it just hasn't played itself out yet. That theory can only exist if time is linear. The concept of time slowing down, speeding up or going backwards is whacked and undermines the idea of time in the first place. Some people lend themselves to the idea that time is not linear, but that's not my opinion. So accepting age, time, the past, the ability to predict and the idea of causality in general, we can come to the idea of time travel.

Infact, the idea of time travel is stupid. It can't happen. It would abliterate all concepts of life, the universe and everything. The closest we'll come to time travel is when we refine prediction to such a degree that we can not just accurately predict the weather, but life itself... a simulation of the past and the future. Getting into The Matrix territory here, but The Matrix covered a lot more aspects and not exactly this one. The type of simulation in The Matrix is a personal experience of the world from the individual's perspective... but the main engine includes the (incomplete) formulas for life, the universe and everything... if an action happens, a calculated result will occur. The Matrix is not complete, it uses approximations to fill the gaps, but most importantly it uses the real-time input of humans to create the future so there is interaction between all the users and The Matrix world.

Taking The Matrix engine out of the context of the movie... so unplugging the humans and ignoring the idea that the robots were feeding off the energy the humans generated. Just taking the engine now... the simulation... fixing all the problems, putting exact formulae in to calculate/predict the exact outcome of any action. You would then have a perfect simulation of life and everything to do with it. Then all you would need to do is put a snapshot of existing life into the simulator... a snapshot in time that is. Freeze time, take the instantaneous state of everything in the universe... if you like, mass and energy. Required measurements would be things like 3-dimensional co-ordinate of the physical position of the object with respect to a given reference point and all information about the state of that object. Then the simulator could calculate the next instant of time, then the next instant, then the next instant, etc. It would also be able to reverse that and predict backwards. There's a lot we dont know about the past!

If you were able to use the simulator from an equivalent perspective to that of The Architect in The Matrix, then you'd be able to track things forwards and backwards in time. Look at the things on your table. I have a lot of different things but I'll take one as an example... the plastic power button on my LCD monitor. Where will that be in 50 years? Where will it be in 500000 years? Where was is 10 years ago? Where was it 1000000 years ago? Bits of it would be all over the place. With the simulator, you could trace forwards or bakwards the life of anything! Anything at all. Another use would be the 'what-if' machine as seen in Futurama... which would be a possible application of the simulator if you could wind it back in time and then slightly change the starting state of the simulation then run it forward in real-time.

Where am I going with this? If you think anything like I do, you'll know where I'm going. One argument against the concept of time being linear is that it's a 1-dimensional thing. 1D and 2D can never exist in real life as everything has a width, height and depth (3D) even if one or two of them is very small, all three are always there for everything physical. The concept of time is not 3D, it's 1D. 1D is like the X-axis on a graph... in this case it is the time-axis. The thing about an axis is that it does not join 2 points, it has infinite length (much like this train of thought).

If you can simulate forward and backwards in time with 100.0000...-percent accuracy then you can simulate along the entire breadth of time. The idea of time is that it has no start and no end. But that's not possible. Everything starts somewhere, it can't just go on forever. But using the theory that you can't make nothing out of something or something out of nothing, it cannot possibly start with nothing and then suddenly exist! So does that undermine the idea of causality in the first place? Was everything actually created by God? But then God is some form of life and what happened before there was God? Was God created by an older God? Does time exist only in our memories which were actually implanted exactly 30 seconds ago by the giant tuna (an alternate theory of creation by Jarrod Gibbs)? But that can't be true because each instant of time is infantesimally small, making it impossible to have memories created... just the same as it's theoretically impossibly to create my life simulator because you can only approximate time, never calcluate every instant.

So this theory of infinity. Infinitely big, infinitely long, infinitely small. Can infinity exist? How can it not exist? You can't have discreet values of time, surely... it goes against the basic concept of "continuous".

The moral of this discussion is that time travel is small time... the concepts of life, the universe and everything (especially time itself) are far more of a brain fuck. In the end, what does it matter? Live your life and enjoy what comes your way. Opportunities missed were out of your control anyway, 'cos the outcome came about through an infinite number of factors decided a long long long long time ago... in 'the beginning' (whenever or whatever that was). Live to enjoy and so that others can enjoy.

Aspirations

2006-03-06T18:20:00.000+11:00

I'm the kinda person who likes lists and planning ahead. Even if I dont know exactly what I want to do, planning it gives me a better idea of what I actually want and how it might unfold. So here's what I'd like from life... followed by a rant about rallying:

- a healthy, well paid job in Software Engineering,
- a nice little house with 1 house-mate and a big garage,
- a nice girlfriend with similar values who keeps me active,
- a comfortable road car (Golf GTi maybe),
- a good rally car (maybe a quick little FWD hatch),

For a few years now I've wanted to be a rally driver. I love exploring, driving, precision, concentration and measured bravery so it fits. I'd like to be good at it, but I wont be devastated if I'm not. I do have a good knowledge of driving to match my passion and skills. The ability to read the road and know what the car's doing at all times are important skills which I have. My reflexes are not brilliant so I doubt I'll be the best rally driver. It doesn't really matter because it's more about having fun and exploring while testing your ability to drive near the limit of the car/road and your skills.

I love driving and I love driving near the limit so instead of going out and having fun on public roads I've decided to wait until I can do it safely in rallies. That's the purpose of a rally. They close the roads, have safety vehicles and procedures in place to deal with accidents. You always know there will be someone on the scene in 2-5mins if something happens which is better than being out in the forest on your own driving around at night. The idea is to put measures in place so drivers can enjoy their passion in a safer environment with a bit of competition mixed in.

Rallying is a dangerous sport and accidents happen. It's to be respected, but it's also to be enjoyed. It's possible to minimise the risk in the way you drive and prepare the car for an event. The risk is always there, but so is the huge enjoyment factor. I feel at home in a car, especially on gravel. Everything comes to life and it's so satisfying.

I'm trying to find a way into it because I dont personally know anyone in the rally scene. I'm working on it and I'd like to start co-driving next year. I wont be a good co-driver, but you have to start somewhere and co-driving is a bloody good way to do it. I've been spectator marshall, road closure, time control official so I'm getting closer. With some money and motivation, I hope my dream can become a reality.

So that's where I'd like to go.

Back to Uni

2006-02-27T00:54:00.000+11:00

Well it was fun while it lasted. My 2 months off went slowly and pleasurably. During that time I played a lot of Richard Burns Rally and started participating more in the Friendly-Online-Gamers team. I'm now Game Leader for Richard Burns Rally and Battlefield 2. While I hope to still have the time for a round of BF2 here and there, I dont think it will be possible to keep my speed in RBR. Once the cricket season ends in a month or so I might have some more time to practice on weekends. Also during my "holidays" I started working with a mate from cricket on some of his software. That will hopefully continue throughout the year to bring in some $$ for me.

The year ahead is going to be full on. Final year project will be intense and the peripheral subjects will also take a lot of work. It might actually mean doing more than showing up to lectures and absorbing what's said for regurgitation in tests and exams. I'd say I'll need to pay more attention and start to walk and talk like a software engineer. Maybe not walk like... and come to think of it, not talk like either... but will have to know my shit as after this year there's no more Uni.

This year will put the acid test on how well my year of IBL (work experience) last year prepared me for more full on software engineering applications. To be honest I think DSTO can only prepare you for DSTO. But if I do go back, I'll be pretty well prepared.

I'm looking forward to the year. Also looking forward to resuming the relationship with Uni mates. Should be a fun year and with any luck an educational one.

The Best You've Ever Felt

2006-02-09T00:51:00.000+11:00

I was thinking the other night, "I wonder which moment in my life so far provided me with the best feeling". I suppose it would be different for every person as they put emphasis on different aspects of life. I'm a bit of a believer in measuring your life in terms of how much happiness you've had. Here's a list of times when I felt the best I've ever felt...

- hitting the winning runs for my cricket team:
I was batting down the order and came in when we needed a lot of runs off not many balls. I nudged the ball around and my batting partner fluked a 6 over gully. Third ball of the last over I was on strike and we needed one run. I hit it to mid-on and took off, I slid through the crease on my knees pumping my fist. I'd scored the winning runs with 3 balls to spare.

- watching Michael Bevan hit a 4 off the last ball to beat the Windies:
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was staying up late at my grandparents' place. It was 7/80 when the others went to bed but I stayed up. I watched as Bevo constructed his innings. I never believed we could win until the last over. Bevo was brilliant and it came to needing 4 runs off 1 ball. The off-spinner bowled, Bevo opened up and smashed it straight. I knew straight away that he'd done it! I couldn't get to sleep for hours.

- seeing Simon Evans in the flesh driving in Rally of Melbourne 2003:
We got up early, drove out to the rally and set up in our road closure position. We waited for 2 hours and finally it was time for the cars to start arriving. We sat in the quiet waiting, waiting, then we heard the distant buzz of a car. It got closer and closer. It sounded like it was just around the corner but it took over 30 seconds to get to us. Closer and closer, louder and louder. Then the sound got really clear and I knew he was here. Popping and banging as he lifted slightly and left-foot braked for the corner and then into full view came a silver 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX STi completely sideways with headlights blazing. He drove it through the left hander coming towards us, then flicked it right, then more popping and banging as he braked and dropped a gear for the next corner, he hooked it into the left hander and went out of view. We were left with the incredible sound of a Group N4 Subaru and a prominent scent that only rally cars can make. The 4 hours of preparations and waiting were instantly worth it. My girlfriend who had been complaining all morning about the freezing cold ran up to me yelling "that was awesome! I'm definitely coming again tomorrow!" Simon Evans remains my favourite Australian driver.

- looking out over the Himalayas from a plane on the way home from Europe:
I'd just spend a great 3 weeks with dad travelling around Europe. We were now on a plane heading back from Germany to Singapore on the way home. The shutters on the windows of the 747 jumbo were closed and everyone was asleep (or trying to). I got restless and went to the back of the plane to the toilet. Before heading back to my seat I thought I'd have a look out a window back there to see if I could see some stars or something. I slid the shutter open about halfway and the whole cabin of the plane lit up! I quickly shut it and opened it about a centimetre. It was enough still to illuminate the whole cabin, but I had to have a look out. To my surprise I was struck by the best view I've ever seen to this day. A beautiful perfect sunny day lighting up a HUGE expanse of snowy mountains. Mountains all the way to the horizon. My heart stopped beating as I was completely awe-struck. I went back to my seat with the image burnt into my memory forever and a feeling of complete content. For that moment I was 100% happy.

- driving flat out in my little Civic on gravel one night near Healesville:
I love driving on loose surfaces (aka gravel). It makes me feel incredible. One night out in the forest on one of our typical adventures everything clicked. I felt fantastic and I was driving well. On three of my favourite roads I drove fast (but safely). I was so focussed and so in touch with the car that I was in control 100% of the time while still driving fast. That was one of the best nights of my life. That's why I aspire to be a rally driver. It gives me such deep inner pleasure that I must do it.

- skiing at Mt Buller on a perfect sunny day with no-one else on the mountain:
This was another incredible experience. Me and dad went up to Mt Buller for a couple of days. Sunday/Monday was all we could manage. The weather was okay on the Sunday but in the afternoon the wind was blowing, there were long queues for the chair-lifts and it was generally unpleasent. Then Monday came along. Monday was perfectly sunny and the wind was dead still. Because it was a weekday, literally everyone had left. Dad and I were the only ones on the whole chair-lift at one point. But the part where I almost died on my skis was when skiing to the Little Buller run. We were skiing along and just listening to the snow crackling under my skis. It was perfectly quiet appart from the snow beneath my skis and when I looked out to my left I almost fell over. There on my left was the second best view of my life... snow-capped mountains with rocks breaking through the snow making for a breath-taking view. That set the scene for the rest of the day and that remains the best day I've ever had at the snow.

So there are a few of the things that have made me happy to the core. It's interesting which experiences give you a utter satisfaction. Sex doesn't even come close in my top list.

Another point about religion

2006-02-06T02:23:00.000+11:00

The concept of heaven seriously disturbs me. The idea that people who have done horrible, shocking things in their life have a place in heaven leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The thought that these people who are racist, sexist, cheats, insensitive, devoid of compassion, selfish, etc. all have a place in heaven because they:
A) believe in it, and
B) confess their sins.

I live my life with the intention of being respectful, considerate and fair. I try to do the right thing by everyone. I'd hope that regardless of whether I believe in it or not there'd be a place for me in heaven. There's a place for a rapist who confesses his sins, but not for me. These kinds of things put me off religion.

As a note, I have had the most exposure to Christianity so when I say "religion" it is mainly referring to that. But I think the points raised ring true across many religions. It may not be true for some religions, but if you have anything to say regarding what I've said, please send me a comment.

Religion Depresses Me

2006-02-02T05:02:00.000+11:00

I wish I could put my feelings about religion into words. I can't at the moment but I'm working on it. I guess I can't believe it's lasted so long. Shouldn't the fact that religion has changed so much in the last 200 years be some sort of indication? Religion is evolving, but that is a mind-blowing concept.

I'll keep working on finding a way to accurately put my views into a readable piece of writing. In the meantime I'll give a few aspects. Religion gets me down, 'cos it's so divisive. So many wars have been fought on religious grounds and in my mind this is unneccesary bloodshed and hatred.

I don't like the way religion is used as a tool to pedal a person's agenda. George W Bush for instance. He uses God as a matter of course... "God bless America", "God is on our side", etc. Surely he can't believe God is on his side.

Most of religion is hopelessly out of date. So much so that everyone now picks and chooses which parts of their religion they want to follow/believe. Everyone has their own interpretation. While I like the idea of people forming their values themselves, I dont know why they still need religion. One main idea behind religion is that you follow its values and it gives everyone a good, moral set of values. I'd prefer people to make up their own mind. Dont cross the road when the green light comes on! Cross the road when you've made your judgement that it's safe to cross the road based on your knowledge and awareness.

What gets me stuck is how much influence God has in general everyday things. God supposedly has a plan. But I dont see at what point God sticks His hand in and changes things to execute the plan. When someone loses their house in a bushfire the claims if was God's doing... all part of His plan. I assume God doesn't influence phyical effects like gravity, evaporation, momentum, dimensions of objects, chemical structure of materials, etc. If He did then no calculations would be predictable. We wouldn't be able to calculate how fast our cars are going. So His influence must be on another level. I assume He doesn't control our brains. Our thought patterns are influenced by previous events just like physical effects are. So if God can't actively control the person's thoughts when they decided to light a fire in the woods, if He can't control the wind or the burning properties of wood, then how was this person's house burning down some part of God's plan? The only way I can see God having an influence on the way things pan out is if He calculated everything up before creating it all in the beginning and it is gradually happening over time.

Adam and Eve. That's a big sticking point for me as well. If you dont believe in evolution, wake up and smell the coffee. Evolution is everywhere on display for everyone to see. Evolution of species of animals happens over a fairly large time scale. For an easier example, look at TVs, look at cars. We didn't suddenly have the car. We engineered and refined it over many years to get it to the point it is now. It will continue to evolve as we put more ideas into it. You can track the evolution of the car back through the years and using a different technique, you can track back the evolution of humans. I'd like to explore that idea not deny it, track it back to see how far back we can go.

Most religion now accepts that we know the moon revolves around Earth, the Earth is a spheroid, rain is a condensation of previously evaporated water. How has religion survived all this knowledge we've gained? How does "fear of God" still exist? People are still able to use it to get people to do what they want them to do (and not to do). I dont get it. There are things we still dont know, but I'd like us to pursue the endeavour to work it out rather than simplifying it to being the work of God.

So they are some insights into my feelings on religion in general. I dont have a problem with people who are religious. People should be allowed to believe what they want to believe. If it makes them happy then it's a good thing as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. I have my own religion in a way. It's based on respect for yourself and others, respect for your surroundings. In my religion there is no afterlife. When you die, your brain stops working and you cease to think. As such everything for you stops and you effectively cease to exist. But of course parts of you live on in the personality of others (after all your personality is an amalgamation of other people's personalities). What my religion doesn't have is a theory of how it all began. The closest my religion has come is that it never began.

I will try to get a better description of my feelings towards religion but it's really, really hard. There are so many aspects to religion. Oh well, I hope this post made you think and formulate your own views on the subject.

Airborne cats anyone?

2006-01-30T23:48:00.000+11:00

http://flickr.com/photos/junku/50805352/in/set-303691/
http://flickr.com/photos/junku/37606178/in/set-303691/
http://flickr.com/photos/junku/32599394/in/set-303691/
http://flickr.com/photos/junku/19085585/in/set-303691/
http://flickr.com/photos/junku/19085014/in/set-303691/
http://flickr.com/photos/junku/21269940/in/set-303691/
http://flickr.com/photos/junku/21270169/in/set-303691/
http://flickr.com/photos/junku/21269884/in/set-303691/
http://flickr.com/photos/junku/21270054/in/set-303691/
http://flickr.com/photos/junku/21269823/in/set-303691/
http://flickr.com/photos/junku/26292821/in/set-303691/

Ricky Gervais podcast

2006-01-29T21:43:00.000+11:00

This is very funny. If you like The Office, you'll appreciate this...
guardian.co.uk/podcasts/rickygervais/mp3.xml

Open up iTunes, Advanced -> Subscribe to Podcast... (paste the URL above).

Episode 8 is my favourite. Karl's travel diary!

Interesting day

2006-01-29T01:21:00.000+11:00

The weather was bizarre today. Started out raining, but it was still over 30 degrees... then it was really humid around lunchtime... it absolutely bucketted down at about 1:30pm and rained for about an hour... then it cleared up and stayed hot and muggy... it's now 1:30am and I'm sitting here with the fan pointed at me.

It's strange when you have a full-day commitment and then for one reason or another the commitment is taken away. I often have an idea of what I'm going to do each day a couple of days in advance. Today I was all set for a day of cricket but we got washed out, so suddenly I had a full day on my hands with no plans. Had about 8 things I could've done with the time... did none of them of course.

Watched 'Green Mile' tonight on TV. I liked it... good movie. It almost made me cry which is a pretty good effort. I like a test of the old emotions every now and again. It proves I'm alive.

My Settings

2006-01-19T22:43:00.000+11:00

Firefox Bookmarks: bookmarks-bu050119.zip

TopRally.net

2006-01-12T22:21:00.000+11:00

Are you into Fantasy Manager games? I've found a great one for rally fans. You start with a driver and co-driver, then buy a car and enter some rallies. You get monetary prizes for doing well in rallies and sponsors give you money each week depending on how much exposure you've given them. Drivers and co-drivers all have characteristics and different level skills, there are several classes of cars you can buy and trade. Then you go about building a big team of many drivers and better cars, all the while racing your cars against other managers from around the world. If you do well in your league you move up to the next level, but also you can be relegated to a lower level!

Have a look, it's fun if you're into that stuff.
http://www.toprally.net/

I am Vivski, team name "Team Moose Power".

Joke of the week

2006-01-12T04:50:00.000+11:00

A teacher gave her class of 11 year olds an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.

Karl said, "My father's a farmer and we have a lot of egg laying chooks. One time we were taking our eggs to market in a basket on the front seat of the car when we hit a big bump in the road and all the eggs went flying and broke and made a mess." "What's the moral of the story?" asked the teacher. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket!" "Very good," said the teacher.

Next little Emilie raised her hand and said, "Our family are Farmers too. But we raise chooks for the meat market. One day we had a Dozen eggs, but when they hatched we only got ten live chicks, and the moral to this story is: 'Don't count your chickens before they're hatched'." "That was a fine story Emilie. Mick, do you have a story to share?"

"Yes. My dad told me this story about my Aunty Sharon. Aunty Sharon was a flight engineer on a plane in the Gulf War and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory and all she had was 3 bottles of rum, a machine gun and a machete. She drank all the rum on the way down so it wouldn't break and then she landed right in the middle of 100 enemy troops. She killed seventy of them with the machine gun until she ran out of bullets. Then she killed twenty more with the machete until the blade broke. And then she killed the last ten with her bare hands."

"Good heavens," said the horrified teacher, "what kind of moral
did your father tell you from that horrible story?" "Stay away from
Aunty Sharon when she's been on the piss."

Respect for driving

2006-01-11T00:12:00.000+11:00

Sometimes I wonder how much respect people pay to the dangers of driving. Quite often I see people doing stupid things on the road, potentially dangerous things and wonder if they've really considered the consequences. It's such a basic thing to understand. When you drive a vehicle, you're taking your life into your own hands. The outcome rests prodominantly on the decisions you make while behind the wheel.

Cars nowdays have 50 airbags, crumple zones, strengthened pillars, non-shatter glass, etc. While these minimise the probability of sustaining serious injury in an accident, there are always weaknesses in car safety. Even in racing cars where huge amounts of money is spent on driver safety there are still fatal accidents at relatively low speed. The human body really isn't designed to withstand impacts from over ~20km/h. Whiplash is a perfect example. The neck is a fairly vital and vulnerable part of the human body. Even in a low speed accident the neck will sustain injury. After being hit from behind at a STOP sign my neck was sore for days, and that was probably under 10km/h. The best impact for the body is a collision from the rear. The seat offers good support. The worst impacts are either side-on or on landing on the roof. There is little protection for a heavy and focussed side-on impact, nor for a car landing on its roof.

There are objects by the side of the road which will gladly lend a hand in deforming a car. Trees and poles make for great focussed side-on impacts. Gutters, embankments, other cars, etceteras can all be great aids in flipping a car. Gravity will gladly use the mass of the car to crush the roof down a few feet. All the elements are there to turn a bad decision and bad luck into a serious crash. So where's the respect for driving?

Drink driving, driving fatigued, using a phone while driving, being impatient, excessive speeding, driving an old car, driving on bald tyres, badly worn brakes, stereo pumping, not really paying attention. They are all potentially contributing factors in causing an accident and they're all controlled by the driver. The driver might recognise that the tyres are not at their best and change their driving accordingly. That's a resolution brought about by recognising and respecting the danger.

It's important to consider and respect the dangers of driving. Not just to the driver, but their passengers and road users around them. The human body isn't built to withstand heavy impacts at low speed let alone high speed, so a bit of respect is warranted when driving.

Please, someone tell me...

2006-01-09T13:26:00.000+11:00

Why is it that when I put my hand next to the volume knob on my amp the right speaker kicks in, and when I take it away the speaker cuts out again?
Why is it that when I hold my radio it gets perfect reception and when I take my hand away the reception deteriorates?
Why is it that when I walk under the street light outside my house it turns on, then flickers and turns off when I walk away?

What is the relationship between human presence and the function of electronics?

Speed <> Death

2005-12-31T17:26:00.000+11:00

Speed does not equal death. Speed is an important part of safe driving but not in the way most will have you believe. There are different aspects to speed and road safety, but the underlying fact is that there's a "safe" speed range for every situation*.

So what is the safest speed at which to drive?

If you said 0km/h you are wrong and have a dangerous position on road safety. You are probably a mother of 4 who enforces a no alcohol, no swearing, no boyfriends and no going out after 8pm policy. 0km/h is possibly the most dangerous speed to be traveling unless you are in a designated parking spot.

The safest speed is a calculation of what is around you and calculating that speed is probably the most important part of driving. It takes experience, anticipation, good eyes, alert brain and a familiarity with your car and the road rules.

On a road with heavy traffic, the most appropriate speed is often the same speed as the other cars. In this case it is not so much the speed at which you travel but the distance from other cars. In heavy traffic the most likely accident is a collision with another car. To minimise the probability of that happening you should reduce your speed relative to the cars around you (ie. travel at the same speed as the traffic). This will keep a constant gap between you and the cars in front, behind and in other lanes. If you are traveling faster than the car in front you run the risk of hitting them at speed if they stop unexpectedly. If you are traveling slower then the car in front, cars behind will want to overtake you, a large gap will form ahead of you encouraging cars in other lanes to move in front of you and the cars will always be coming from behind (making you more reliant on your mirrors and situational awareness), giving you less time watching the car(s) in front and watching for possible hazards on the road ahead.

On a road with light traffic, the most appropriate speed is one where you are capable of analysing the road ahead for plausible hazards and avoiding such hazards with a significant margin for error. These hazards could be a child chasing a ball onto the road, cars running red lights, pedestrians stepping out from behind parked cars, a car entering from a blind driveway, gravel on the road, cyclists swerving to avoid rough road, etc. Finding the right speed in this environment is about risk analysis. Finding the plausible risks and safeguarding against them.

On the open road, an appropriate speed is one which suits the character of the road. This is simpler because the main risks are leaving the road, hitting wildlife and hitting oncoming traffic.

- Hitting wildlife is sometimes unavoidable. The chances can be reduced by being alert, recognising places from where wildlife may run onto the road and choosing a good speed for blind corners. Often your speed is irrelevant to whether or not you hit the animal but it (along with your reactions, braking and steering technique) will decide how much damage is done.

- Hitting oncoming traffic is again sometimes unavoidable. You reduce the risk of it happening by being alert, recognising where a head on collision may occur and having a plan to avoid it. Again the speed will be a minor factor in whether you hit or not... but it (along with your reactions, whether you panic, braking and steering techniques) will decide the damage done.

- Leaving the road can be caused by a multitude of things. The most common are a lapse in concentration, avoiding wildlife, misjudging a corner and unexpected change in road condition.

Lapse in concentration: is by far the most probable and often drugs (including alcohol) and fatigue are major (if not sole) factors.
Avoiding wildlife: No-one should ever leave the road and crash when avoiding wildlife! If the driver is properly alert and prepared mentally (and has a good familiarity with the handling characteristics of the car) they should be able to make a sound decision on what action to take when confronted by wildlife on the road... either to wear the damage and hit the animal or find a safe path around it either on the other side of the road or off the road. An accident should never start with an animal on the road and end with a car in a tree.
Finding an appropriate speed for a corner requires knowledge of the car, your skills and an analysis of the character of the corner...
+ can you see around it?
   + does it have leaves, water, gravel or anything slippery on it?
     + are there driveways or side-roads near it?
     + does it open or tighten?
   + is it narrow?
+ are there escape routes if you encounter something unexpected?

These are all things to think about when deducing an appropriate speed. Take note of road-signs but dont trust them. They were put there months if not years ago and they dont change with the current condition of the road. And remember to always leave a significant margin for error... assume that you've over-estimated the perfect speed and drop 10km/h to give more room to move. If you enter a corner too fast it does not mean instant death, but it severely reduces your options, stopping capability, choice of line (positioning on the road) around the corner and time to react.

Finding a safe speed is not about slowing to walking pace. It's about analysing the situation*, conducting the risk analysis on-the-fly and adjusting your speed accordingly. So the next time someone says speed = death, take their car keys and flush them down the toilet. Same applies for people who disregard their surroundings (and the risks associated with driving) and fly down the road. These people are a danger to everyone on the road, themselves most of all!
I wish more people would consider their driving more.

* A situation is an all-encompassing combination of the condition of the road, your car, the cars around you, the attitude of other road users, the speed of other vehicles, the proximity of roadside objects (including parked cars), the proximity of side-roads or driveways, etc.

Innovative road design - "less is more"

2005-12-26T01:12:00.000+11:00

This is very interesting. Makes a lot of sense, but the idea would definitely have to be tweaked to suit particular roads.
A rethink of road design

A bit about me...

2005-12-26T00:14:00.002+11:00

I'm a bit of a rallying nut. I am passionate about driving and love the challenge of driving in all conditions. A dream of mine is to become a rally driver. My rallying heroes are Simon Evans, Chris Atkinson, Colin McRae and the late Possum Bourne.

I study Software Engineering at a university in Melbourne, Australia. 2006 will be the final year of my course, after which I'll have to find a fulfilling job for 2007 and beyond.

I play cricket competetively and enjoy basically all sport (horse racing is not a sport). I've played a bit of tennis, netball, volleyball, table tennis and golf among other sports. In my spare time I generally enjoy playing computer games and discussing computers & rallying on the web.

Single at the moment, kinda enjoying the freedom of being single after a fairly long relationship ended a year ago. There are downsides to being single, but you take the good with the bad.

Right now I have the security of university for another year. Because most of my friends did 3-4 year courses, they're now out of uni so the safety net's gone. I envy them, but at the same time I like the uni life, spending time with my mates.

2005-12-25T19:31:00.000+11:00

This is a placeholder for when I actually have some use for a Blog.
Here are some links in the meantime...

Music & Movies
IMDB - movie database
Pandora - streaming radio tailored to your taste in music
Gracenote - music database
MusicPlasma

Rallying
http://rallye-info.com
http://rallystuff.net
http://juwra.com - WRC stats

Richard Burns Rally
Team FOG forums - I am RBR Game Leader
Wally's plugin - play RBR online
RBR Ranking site
BlankHole Motorsports - mods, patches, news & forum
RBRChamp 2006

Battlefield 2
BF2S.com Leaderboard
Game-Monitor.com - find players & servers
Tweak Guides - excellent tweak guide for BF2
Total BF2
BF2 Wiki