Moved.

Sorry once again, but my blog has now moved to a more secure+permanent place.

www.invertmethod.com/speak

That 900 page bitch

Been occupied. With what? Just work, but not enough work I guess. By what I mean by not enough work, should be replaced with I-don’t-do-enough-work.

Anyway, I finally finished a book I bought 8 years ago. That’s right – 8 frigging years ago. The book? Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six. What’s it about? SWAT team stuff. Great stuff really. There’s something about the black ninja suits, guns, goggles, sniper rifles, flash bangs and techno-wiz that turns me on.

It's so fat that you can use it as a "paper weight"
(haw haw)

Now the question, why the heck did it take 8 years? Firstly it’s a 900 page book that I bought when I was in year 8, and I had never read anything near that length. The most I read around that age was The Hobbit, and that bitch was only about 300 pages. When I did eventually got around to reading it, it took me at least I think 4-5 years to reach 300 pages. I probably read a page a month. What were the significant things happening through those years? Hmm playing in the backyard, pokémon (fuck yeah), Nintendo 64 and the HSC.

The bomb dropped when I was moving house. My baby sister at the time, at age 4 probably, picked up the book and dropped the bookmark before I could do a dive and save it. And it wasn’t easy trying to pinpoint where I was up to because I had forgotten what I’ve already read.

So this year, I started again – from page 1. And I never looked back.

About six weeks later, here I am. It’s done. It feels like I’ve lifted a load of weight off my shoulders. It’s been a bitch, but a good one. If only it had more SWAT stuff in it.

And btw, hopefully by the next time I blog I’ll be using Wordpress. Doing my own thing in html is a waste of time, and using a service like blogger gives me the creeps.

Fluidx Design Reel

My design group just released our first design reel.


View Reel.

MSN Friends

Instant messaging programs are fantastic. I remember back in the day when ICQ was it. The whole she-bang and dazzle. Every body had it. It was the means of communicating to countless people with only being charged for one local call (the 25 cents fee it cost to connect to your ISP). Countless LOL's were exchanged, swear words were used freely and the most rediculous yet useful acronyms were thrown around (such greats were: brb = be right back, wtf = what the fuck, and omfg = oh my fucken/fucking god).

Ahh...

Then I remember back in 2003 when I first stepped outa high school and into the scary world known as Uni. OOoo. Obviously, we exchanged instant messaging details as soon as we made a friend in the intro classes, "Hi, you got ICQ?". It was also the place where I heard of the legendary "MSN" for the first time. MSN.

I didn't know wtf it was. MSN? What is this "MSN" you speak of. "Oh it's like ICQ but heaps better," I heard one say to which I would reply, "Hmm, I don't have it so..."
"Oh don't worry, because I got this neat program that can do MSN AND ICQ at the same time!" Whatever I thought, doosh bag. As if.

Well, he sure showed me.

Anyway the days went on and people were bagging me to move over to MSN. I hesitated because everybody out here in the west at the time were all ICQ. I didn't want to move some program that would ditch my bestest friends for some art students (*HUGZ*)

Eventually, I did move of course, and by golly was I impressed! It was the fastest instant messaging program ever. It fully tabuli shat on ICQ. Many times over and called it Sally. Overwhelmed with it's quick message exchange capabilities, I, along with a like, 2-3 friends out west, spread the word to my remaining high school bunch of friends (about 30 of us?).

Many didn't listen. Many laughed at my face. Many were too lazy.

But like sheep, they all soon followed and were marvelled by it's awesomeness as we all LOL'd through the night with MSN.

The point of my story? Do it before every one else before you become a sheep.

Baaaaaa!

Anyway, I've been thinking about how much time I waste on MSN. Hmm I think "spending" on MSN sounds much nicer. MSN is like a hang out spot for me (very sad/nerdy/geeky I know) mostly after work/uni and these are the people that I "hang" with most often. Thanks for making MSN the experience it is today my buddies!

The people I waste my MSN time with the most
1. Adam - Can't remember what we talk about. But it has alot to do with life and work.
2. Fiona - Pretty much equals in amount of time spent exchanging text like Adam. Mostly about anything really. Apparently she's in China atm, so there hasn't been much instant messaging. Apparently.
3. Susan (superbestfriend) - Mostly about "What'd you do today", "What you doing" and lots of "HAhaheheheheh". Fun times. *HUGZ*
4. Lynda - I hate it how she's always right. Cow.
5. Tri - mostly about work, if not all. Hahah.
6. Helen - says "what you doing" alot. Lots of adventure stories
7. Toan - mostly about how much we hate eye-candy driven design (something that we're still trying to shake off)
8. Jason - .... where do I start? It's mostly about the most random shit ever. I actually spit on my screen from laughing at the stuff we come up with
9. Stef - used to talk heaps but yeah
10. Tim - mostly about something

Btw, HAPPY 21st TO MY NINJA-MAN PRODUCER AND GOOD BUDDY ADAM SEARLE! YAY! *HUGZ*

Visual blog thing up again

My visual blog thing, aka Phomography is back up again.

http://jei.influidx.net
(which should be the address linked from your sites, instead of this blogger spotter thing one).

Why the two blogs? Well I need one to throw stuff at, and this one to exit thoughts, ideas and blather-ness.

Sure, I could mash them together but no.

This written blog is also linked from the visual one for your lazy arse pleasure.

The Breakthrough

I don't get that many breakthroughs these days, so today's one was extra special.

Anyway, I hate working at home it's too distracting. I've tried many things to make work at home more productive but have failed. I've tried eating breakfast early but that just makes me hungrier by the time it's noon - weird really. I've tried waking up earlier but that just makes me more tired. Showering as if I'm "going" to work doesn't seem to work either.

But today, ladies and gentlemen I made a break through. I've found the way to make it seem like you're entering a different space - a work space. The answer?

A tie.

That's right. You heard me - a tie. A tie that you pop under your collar.

Sure you may laugh. But it actually works. I actually felt like I was at a work place (when it reality it was a room down the hallway from my bedroom...).

So, for all you folk that are having trouble working from home, because it's too home-ish. Pop on a tie. Sure, your sister or mother might give you the odd look, but who cares? As long as your making money. ;)

Come to think of it working at home does have its benefits along with its crap as well:

Why working at home is crap
*The boundaries between doing stuff at home and work really get blurred. It all seems like one huge computer session. Every single day.
*There's no social aspect to it. (MSN doesn't count)
*Mum is always around telling me to take out the garbage or make my bed
*There's no pubs
*No beer-o-clock at random times
*No chances to see the ladies on morning train rides
*Walking to work is thinking time
*No office parties (ie. no oppurtunity to crack onto that cute secretary)
*No sessions at the office water cooler
*MSN

Why working at home is good
*There's food (and it's free!)
*There's a TV right outside
*Avoid distractions, such as talking to family members about what I do (it's pretty hard to describe it in Vietnamese)
*On Fridays you don't have to go back home to shower, then go back to the city to party (because you're already home dumbass. saves a trip)
*Save a shitload on studio overheads, transport money, bills etc
*You can access stuff 24/7, instead of trekking it to the office late at night for something
*No wardrobe problems - you basically sleep, work and eat in your boxer shorts
*NO PEAK HOUR!
*MSN

Earlier when I told Adam my discovery, he made a very good point that I probably wouln't even wear a tie if I was actually at a work place. Interesting.

The Loch Ness Monster

Yes.

The Loch Ness Monster. I saw it. Well not really. But it might as well be. It's not really Nessie at all. But it might as well be. Heck, it's even got arms.

I saw a monster/weird-animal thing in Vietnam. This is what I saw.

Ps. And for the sake of it, I'm gonna call it Loch Pho Dac Biet va Soda Hoc Ga.