tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56092082024-03-14T08:46:54.267+09:00man in japanI (used to) live in Japan. It's really Japanese. I'm not very Japanese at all really. Actually, completely not Japanese, not even slightly. It (was) great living (t)here though.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-81988324302437994762013-03-23T13:49:00.001+09:002013-03-23T13:49:14.404+09:00Norco Threshold A3After working from home for about 5 years, I changed lobs last year to a company that has an office where you go to do work in the same place everyday. I took my standing desk in with me, and I've also been cycling pretty much everyday, which I am absolutely loving! It's only a 10Km round trip, but it's great to have a reason to get out of the house and start the day with some really Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-66370829040368143812012-06-05T09:27:00.000+09:002012-06-05T09:32:35.159+09:00External display not working, "detect displays" does nothingThis is a tale of apparent hardware problems which revealed themselves to actually be the result of the most common cause of issues when working with computer software, that which is located somewhere between the screen and the keyboard. i.e. user error
The problem
I have a Macbook Pro connected to a Cinema Display external monitor via a thunderbolt to DVI adaptor. I had unplugged the laptop Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-45248049080844655082012-03-28T13:18:00.000+09:002012-03-28T13:18:18.524+09:00DIY standing desk with 19" equipment rackStanding desks are gaining in popularity, with more and more people spending large amounts of their day in front of computers, and noticing the negative effects being sedentary for too long. I thought I’d give it a try, but didn’t want to spend large amounts of money of fancy, motorised, height-adjustable desks, so I scouted around my office for things to use to hobble one together.
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-11633504089276200982012-03-21T09:54:00.001+09:002012-03-21T09:54:30.812+09:00Backup strategyTime for a geek post! It’s been a while.
So, recently I’ve kinda been forced to implement a better backup strategy, not because I lost data, but because some things happened that made me worry about what would happen if it did.
This scary dialogue box appeared on a machine that until that moment had no backups whatsoever!!!
My current setup
I have two Macbook Pros, a 2006 modelMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-44257495529262516212012-03-16T10:21:00.000+09:002012-03-16T10:21:10.990+09:00Abandoning beans for PaleoSometime towards the end of January 2012, I ran out of beans. That’s not a metaphor, I quite literally depleted my supply of beans. My system was to buy packets of dried beans, soak them over night, and boil them up the next morning, then leave them to cool during the day and bag them up and freeze them in the evening. Then I’d just take out a bag as needed until they ran out, and Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-83190774367281409112012-01-10T10:47:00.000+09:002012-01-16T15:14:46.194+09:00100 Russian kettle bell swings!Firstly, happy 2012! Seems it’s been some time since I’ve posted anything here, but looking back it’s as though this has turned into a diet/exercise blog… Guess it just reflects whatever I’m into at the time, and right now I’m keen on getting healthy; I’m getting closer to 40 years old, and have realised that each day is probably the healthiest I’llMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-34922460373028518292011-08-29T16:18:00.004+09:002011-08-29T16:44:20.555+09:00Kettle bells & beans
Should someone ask what I use to stay healthy, that would be my answer - kettle bells & beans.
I've been doing the "slow carb" thing for over 6 months now, and it's going really well. Cut processed carbohydrates, sugars, and oils out of my diet, and I'm feeling great. I don't do a full-on "cheat day" as such, but rather I just relax my standards a bit on weekends. For example, I might eat "Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-60374977183820266972011-06-02T09:42:00.002+09:002011-06-02T10:01:07.671+09:00How I use Trunk NotesKeeping my digital life organized with a wiki works so much better for me than hierarchical storage systems, rigid todo lists, or flat plain-text buckets. My search for the ultimate digital lifestyle tool has taken me through so many different apps and systems, but with Trunk Notes I finally feel like I’ve almost achieved digital nirvana.A long journeyI guess it all started when I read Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-7308366560092436702011-05-05T10:51:00.009+09:002011-05-05T11:21:16.541+09:00Slow carb diet - 100 days - before & afterToday marks the 100th day since I abandoned processed carbohydrates & sugars and replaced them with whole foods like beans, legumes, meat, and vegetables. I lost 5Kg, gained a significant amount of muscle, and have never felt better.These may not be the most pleasant pictures to look at, but I'm posting them here more for my benefit really, just for posterity:BeforeFirst, the before photos:This Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-70213604970796236532011-05-03T13:00:00.002+09:002011-05-03T14:52:39.405+09:00Shark Tank - observations for start-upsRecently, I read an interview between Tim Ferriss and Daymond John about how he built up his multi-million dollar business, and from there I found myself watching and keenly studying the TV series Shark Tank. In Shark Tank, successful business people, including Daymond John, form a panel of investors. People come on the show to pitch to the sharks in the hope that they'll invest in their Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-419805528210948762011-04-11T12:49:00.002+09:002011-04-11T13:44:50.847+09:00Success with the 4HB slow carb dietLast xmas we spent a month overseas mostly holidaying and over indulging in delicious food and copious amounts of alcohol. When we returned in January, I had put on 5Kg, and so decided to get a copy Tim Ferris' latest book, The 4-Hour Body and give it a try.Before doing anything else, watch the brilliant video trailer!My goal was to replace the 5Kg of excess flab with muscle, a body "Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-40260252807262723252011-02-28T10:06:00.004+09:002011-02-28T10:30:49.191+09:00Oscilloscopes & software developmentOne of my first jobs was as an electronics technician where I would build, and test, professional audio visual equipment. My work bench was covered with an impressive array of tools and gadgetry, one of the most impressive being the trusty oscilloscope. To the uninitiated, it appears to be a complicated display with a vast array of control dials and buttons, and it's certainly one of the more Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-87520040484223051242010-10-25T21:01:00.002+09:002010-10-25T21:38:48.186+09:00Finding a muse - CPC doesn't work for everything...or maybe I'm just doing it wrong.Recently read The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, and loved it. I just wish I'd read it years ago when I had the opportunity to put it into practice before things got out of hand with the busyness and the tiredness and the being grumpy and depressed and not knowing why. I learnt a new word: "procrasterbating". Living in your email and reading industry articles Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-45401573069206353782010-06-21T12:02:00.003+09:002010-06-21T12:17:34.299+09:00Different types of peopleThere are some who look at the world and see amazing beauty in nature, and to them it's something they want to preserve and cherish, something precious they want future generations to be able to enjoy.Then there are some who may actually share a similar appreciation of the world around them, but dissimilarly feel compelled by it to stake out their claim to part of it, whatever the cost.The prior Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-77719569809063647762010-03-18T09:08:00.003+09:002010-03-18T09:21:43.638+09:00Water & air Air menitik - Water Drop by emrankImagine we are drifting through space in a massive ark. It has a limited, finite water & air supply, and organic systems that recycle and cleanse the water & air as it's used. It can support life, but not indefinitely of course.Our attitude towards how we use water & air would be completely different. We wouldn't pollute the air with carbon dioxide, or dump Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-20748321155571269642009-09-15T09:10:00.004+09:002009-09-15T09:19:43.776+09:00To whom it may concern...Wassup blog!So I'm walking home the other day on beautiful sunny afternoon, when I spot an abandoned computer monitor on the side of the road. It's becoming an increasingly common sight these days, especially the old eye-destroying CRT monitors, but especially so in this particular street. Seems someone is always dumping stuff there.I had almost walked past when I noticed a message pinned to the Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-15912348190120963402009-08-14T08:51:00.004+09:002009-08-14T09:02:45.349+09:00RIP SharkbaitWe had a tragedy in the family yesterday - Tyler's pet goldfish died. It was his first pet, given to him for his 7th birthday not even a year ago. He was heartbroken, really upset about it, just cried & cried for hours the poor guy. It was really painful for us to see him so upset too.So in memory of Sharkbait, Tyler drew this picture:I asked him what the "POP" with a person in the "O" is. He Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-18181676150069904522009-07-24T09:10:00.002+09:002009-07-24T09:17:31.535+09:00Cactus face Cactus close-up, by r-z "Hey Dad, what's that green plant with the spikes?""A Venus fly trap?""No, the other one""... you mean a cactus?""Yeah, your face is like a cactus!"Apparently I have prickly whiskers, just like a cactus ☺Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-44824279692164204702009-07-20T12:27:00.003+09:002009-07-20T12:49:55.741+09:0023" Cinema Display power adaptor failureThank you so much to the gentlemen working at the Maccentric service center in Chatswood!This morning started out as though it was going to be "one of those" Mondays. A blackout over the weekend had taken out my beautiful 23" Cinema Display after having just received a notice from the power company that the rates were going up by more than 10%! Talk about adding insult to injury, but fortunately Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-67430292725247648422009-07-06T09:36:00.002+09:002009-07-06T09:50:47.416+09:00Clouds and planetsHello blog, it's been a while! How's things? I've been busy over on Twitter: http://twitter.com/beet Austin Mini Planet by Hi I'm Santi Just wanted to quickly recall a conversation I had with my son the other day:We were walking home from school on a grey, rainy day when he asked me where planets come from. Whenever he asks anything which is even vaguely philosophical I always avoid Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-48358778190952179922009-04-22T12:17:00.003+09:002009-04-22T12:39:16.722+09:00Green binsAn update to the ongoing saga with the gardens in our rented town house:I've previously mentioned our real estate agent sending us a confrontational email about being in "breach of contract" because the gardens were not up to spec. Well recently we received a much more civil email asking us to attend to some creeper vines taking over the front garden. We've just renewed our lease for another 12 Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-69268597107886100362009-04-08T08:11:00.003+09:002009-04-08T08:24:08.459+09:00Conroy wants $43 BILLION dollars to build his own damn broadband network then...In his relentless pursuit of Australian internet censorship, Senator Stephen Conroy has proposed that the federal government let him build his own fourty three billion dollar broadband network, undoubtably with filtering built in. Our 3 main ISPs, Telstra, Optus, and IInet have refused to participate, so he thinks he'll just roll out his own... the man is clearly insane.Listen Conroy: we don't Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-65833215570309732192009-03-25T18:55:00.003+09:002009-03-25T19:03:55.552+09:00Steven Conroy fielding questions about The Great Firewall Of Australia (internet filter) on ABC1 Thur 26 9:30pm AEDTGetUp! are taking questions to be posted to Steven Conroy when he appears on ABC1 for a Q&A session about his proposed Australian internet filter at http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet&id=580.The form only appears to allow you submit one question though, so here's a few more that I'd like to hear his answers for:"Please explain how the internet filter is more effective at addressing Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-29146261749850421652009-03-10T08:44:00.004+09:002009-03-10T08:59:55.095+09:00Cultured Code support broken?Please, Cultured Code, maybe it's just me but I'm having major issues with Things Mac/Touch:Syncing between Mac/iPhone is sloooow.... Once it's finished sending data, Things Mac saturates the CPU for at least a minute while "Processing"...Moving items is also slow. Just dragging a single item out of the inbox into an area invokes the spinning beach ball of death for several seconds.Seems to Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-66406124116511622052009-03-02T20:53:00.000+09:002009-03-02T20:54:21.620+09:00Only humans dream?Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0