Some other random thoughts:
- Apparently by 2030, laptops will be hotter than the sun. Semi-seriously, I wonder when we will start to see warnings on the side of laptops like they do with coffee cups...
- I've been playing around with the Windows port of xbmc on my Vista Media Center lately. I've played with it before on my retired Xbox, but my interest has been piqued by all the forks we have seen emerge recently such as Boxee and Plex. It's fascinating that open source leads the way in this industry, given the commercial potential.
- It's a good time to be a Redskins fan. I can't remember the last time I was so inspired by the team and it's coaching. I mean really and truly inspired. I didn't think much could top last week's win over Dallas in Texas Stadium until I watched the Skins rally from being 14-0 down in the first quarter to dominate Philadelphia at the Link. Not just winning, but winning with style (such wonderfully aggressive play-calling by head coach Jim Zorn). I am so freaking proud of this team right now, and I've been on a natural high all day after watching the game...
- ...possibly akin to what Manly fans feel about their team walloping the Melbourne Storm in yesterday's league Grand Final 40-0.
- I'm quite looking forward to going to Hong Kong at the end of the month to witness Dingo put some hurt on the All Blacks. Lots of new talent on display, and with plenty of time (4 weeks) to get ready. The Wallabies have so much upside between now and the next World Cup. We are very lucky to have a philosophy like Robbie's to go with the talent, rather than conservative, stifling thinking ala Connolly.
- I'm also looking forward to the new Coen brothers film Burn After Reading. Their humour almost always strikes a chord with me.
- With Nick doing All Tomorrow's Parties at the Sydney Festival this year, I think this is gonna be the year where I get off my butt to try and get some tickets to Sydney Festival events in a timely manner (as opposed to my usual ad-hoc manner). I love this time of year in Sydney.
- I feel a project coming on...
Monday, 6 October 2008
Phones
A couple of random phone-related thoughts:
- There were two things that I have felt were show-stopping detractors with the iPhone which have nothing to do with it's design. The first is that iPhone sales have been tied to service provider contracts featuring very (to put it lightly) uncompetitive data rates, and the second is that they've had NDA's tied to the platform SDK, curbing efforts by communities to develop for the iPhone (including writing books). Thankfully, the latter has been fixed, and the former is rumoured to be addressed in the next few months.
- In the meantime, I have allowed my company to provide me a Blackberry Bold, simply because I am entitled to a new phone once every two years. The phone has a solid design, but I'm still trying to decide whether I like the idea of carrying around email in my pocket.
- My previous phone (the Treo 680) was without doubt the best I've ever owned, but unfortunately PalmOS is a dead platform. What a tragedy. An OS with a really great philosophy that I will miss. The phone now becomes a hand-me-down for V.
- There were two things that I have felt were show-stopping detractors with the iPhone which have nothing to do with it's design. The first is that iPhone sales have been tied to service provider contracts featuring very (to put it lightly) uncompetitive data rates, and the second is that they've had NDA's tied to the platform SDK, curbing efforts by communities to develop for the iPhone (including writing books). Thankfully, the latter has been fixed, and the former is rumoured to be addressed in the next few months.
- In the meantime, I have allowed my company to provide me a Blackberry Bold, simply because I am entitled to a new phone once every two years. The phone has a solid design, but I'm still trying to decide whether I like the idea of carrying around email in my pocket.
- My previous phone (the Treo 680) was without doubt the best I've ever owned, but unfortunately PalmOS is a dead platform. What a tragedy. An OS with a really great philosophy that I will miss. The phone now becomes a hand-me-down for V.
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Absurd Juxtaposition
If memory serves me correctly, in my first year at the University of Newcastle (1992) we had a 48 Kb connection to AARNET (i.e. the internet).
48 Kb. For the entire university.
I remember overhearing some students bickering about those pesky MUD'ers using up valuable bandwidth (probably around 2 Kb a player).
This week I spent a couple of hours watching a streaming NFL game (in HD no less) which required that I had at least a 750 Kb connection. Not a problem over 24 Mb ADSL2+.
My, how things change.
48 Kb. For the entire university.
I remember overhearing some students bickering about those pesky MUD'ers using up valuable bandwidth (probably around 2 Kb a player).
This week I spent a couple of hours watching a streaming NFL game (in HD no less) which required that I had at least a 750 Kb connection. Not a problem over 24 Mb ADSL2+.
My, how things change.
Monday, 15 September 2008
Tri-Nations
I was at a bucks party on Saturday night, which means I didn't watch the 3N decider until yesterday afternoon (carefully dodging any possible clues of the result for about 14 hours after the game).
Without getting deep on analysis, the Wallabies basically lost a close one which they very easily could have won. The clear difference between these two teams at a technical level was at the breakdown. The AB's were better by a nose at this area in the first half, but they dominated in the second half.
Much like defense, I think this comes down to attitude while still maintaining discipline to play within the scheme.
Some things that Robbie must contemplate before the International Test season begins in a couple of months:
1. Who's up for it, and who ain't? I wonder whether Palu would have been dropped if there had been a regular #8 training with the squad up until recently. He's a terrific player for the Tahs (and even in past Tests), but on current form I can't think of a single Test this year that he's done more good than bad. OTOH, Richard Brown looked pretty good in his debut. Do we need another flyhalf/12 in the squad of 30? (yes -- Quade Cooper?) Should Robbie start developing David Pocock at the expense of Phil Waugh? Do we need to tweak our outside backs? Basically: who's made progress since the domestic season began, and who is still "promising potential"?
2. Leadership. I hate to do this, but you also have to question Mortlock's captaincy. In the last two losses that we've had, it's ultimately come down to the team losing it's composure; in the case of this game, we just didn't have the mental fortitude to maintain the pressure we had built in the first 50 or 60 minutes, and that's when the AB's started to dictate the game. That really reflects on team leadership and ultimately captaincy. Robbie needs to work out whether tweaking makes the difference between the results now and instead the team delivering what the promise over the whole 80 mins.
3. Addressing the Flaws. The critics like to take shots at our kicking game which is absolutely fair. It's a no brainer, and if we can find a way to fix it then we should. This comes down to talent rather than to scheming and/or game planning. But on the game planning aspects, two areas where we are getting beat badly: a) Defensive overlaps and b) at the breakdown... We need to make the necessary adjustments over the next few months to stop our opponents exploiting us here. I have a sneaking suspicion there's already some ideas in place but being poorly executed on.
As crushing as that loss is, I think Robbie has made fantastic progress with this team. In fact, I'm really surprised he's got so much done so quickly.
But the reality of difficult decisions to be made to get to the top of the mountain can be a sobering thought!
Without getting deep on analysis, the Wallabies basically lost a close one which they very easily could have won. The clear difference between these two teams at a technical level was at the breakdown. The AB's were better by a nose at this area in the first half, but they dominated in the second half.
Much like defense, I think this comes down to attitude while still maintaining discipline to play within the scheme.
Some things that Robbie must contemplate before the International Test season begins in a couple of months:
1. Who's up for it, and who ain't? I wonder whether Palu would have been dropped if there had been a regular #8 training with the squad up until recently. He's a terrific player for the Tahs (and even in past Tests), but on current form I can't think of a single Test this year that he's done more good than bad. OTOH, Richard Brown looked pretty good in his debut. Do we need another flyhalf/12 in the squad of 30? (yes -- Quade Cooper?) Should Robbie start developing David Pocock at the expense of Phil Waugh? Do we need to tweak our outside backs? Basically: who's made progress since the domestic season began, and who is still "promising potential"?
2. Leadership. I hate to do this, but you also have to question Mortlock's captaincy. In the last two losses that we've had, it's ultimately come down to the team losing it's composure; in the case of this game, we just didn't have the mental fortitude to maintain the pressure we had built in the first 50 or 60 minutes, and that's when the AB's started to dictate the game. That really reflects on team leadership and ultimately captaincy. Robbie needs to work out whether tweaking makes the difference between the results now and instead the team delivering what the promise over the whole 80 mins.
3. Addressing the Flaws. The critics like to take shots at our kicking game which is absolutely fair. It's a no brainer, and if we can find a way to fix it then we should. This comes down to talent rather than to scheming and/or game planning. But on the game planning aspects, two areas where we are getting beat badly: a) Defensive overlaps and b) at the breakdown... We need to make the necessary adjustments over the next few months to stop our opponents exploiting us here. I have a sneaking suspicion there's already some ideas in place but being poorly executed on.
As crushing as that loss is, I think Robbie has made fantastic progress with this team. In fact, I'm really surprised he's got so much done so quickly.
But the reality of difficult decisions to be made to get to the top of the mountain can be a sobering thought!
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
SHO RYU KEN!
Street Fighter IV is looking very good. Very, very good.
It looks like incremental improvement from a gameplay perspective, but you never know until the play test. And I love modern take on the graphics, opting to make it as anime-like as possible.
Capcom also seem pretty open about the platform as well, even opening the possibility of doing a Wii version or an iPhone (?!?) version.
I love this quote from the game designer:
BTW, can you believe that Street Fighter II came out 17 years ago?
It looks like incremental improvement from a gameplay perspective, but you never know until the play test. And I love modern take on the graphics, opting to make it as anime-like as possible.
Capcom also seem pretty open about the platform as well, even opening the possibility of doing a Wii version or an iPhone (?!?) version.
I love this quote from the game designer:
1UP: Well, that's cool. But what about the controller? Are you worried about people playing the game for the first time using the Xbox 360 controller? Personally, I'm not a fan of it for fighting games -- would you agree?
YO: Ha, well, you're not going to get me to say that in front of Microsoft, but let's just say that I use a joystick when playing Soul Calibur 4 on the 360.
BTW, can you believe that Street Fighter II came out 17 years ago?
Monday, 1 September 2008
The Prodigal Son Returns
While we are on John Woo...
Just over a decade ago, John Woo departed to Hollywood. With all due respect to one of my favourite directors, he has made crap ever since.
The good news: Woo has just released his first Hong Kong film in Asia since leaving, which turns out to be the most expensive Asian blockbuster in history (so far) with a budget of US$80mil.
It is an action movie based on The Battle of Red Cliffs (Three Kingdoms period of ancient China -- fast becoming one of my favourite historical backdrops in movies).
It was meant to star Chow Yun Fat, but the crazy fool decided to do a contract holdout the day principal photography was due to start, and Woo quickly replaced him with Tony Leung Chiu Wai (the guy who played the undercover cop opposite Chow Yun Fat in Hard Boiled). Chow Yun Fat tried to get back in, but Woo stuck with Tony Leung.
So far, it has been received very well in Asia, now billed as the most successful movie ever in China (US$43 mil in the first month).
In Asia it's a two parter (each over 2 hours), with the second part due for release in Jan 09. However, for the Western release it will apparently be a single two and half hour epic.
Of course, there's no way I'm settling for the abbreviated version :)
Just over a decade ago, John Woo departed to Hollywood. With all due respect to one of my favourite directors, he has made crap ever since.
The good news: Woo has just released his first Hong Kong film in Asia since leaving, which turns out to be the most expensive Asian blockbuster in history (so far) with a budget of US$80mil.
It is an action movie based on The Battle of Red Cliffs (Three Kingdoms period of ancient China -- fast becoming one of my favourite historical backdrops in movies).
It was meant to star Chow Yun Fat, but the crazy fool decided to do a contract holdout the day principal photography was due to start, and Woo quickly replaced him with Tony Leung Chiu Wai (the guy who played the undercover cop opposite Chow Yun Fat in Hard Boiled). Chow Yun Fat tried to get back in, but Woo stuck with Tony Leung.
So far, it has been received very well in Asia, now billed as the most successful movie ever in China (US$43 mil in the first month).
In Asia it's a two parter (each over 2 hours), with the second part due for release in Jan 09. However, for the Western release it will apparently be a single two and half hour epic.
Of course, there's no way I'm settling for the abbreviated version :)
Hard Boiled, Part 2?
One of my favourite Hong Kong action films of all time (Hard Boiled) appears to have a sequel: Stranglehold.
John Woo directs and Chow Yun Fat stars...
The twist? It's a video game for the Xbox 360.
I just can't imagine a video game scene having the same impact as the teahouse shoot out from the beginning of Hard Boiled, but nevertheless my curiosity has been aroused.
John Woo directs and Chow Yun Fat stars...
The twist? It's a video game for the Xbox 360.
I just can't imagine a video game scene having the same impact as the teahouse shoot out from the beginning of Hard Boiled, but nevertheless my curiosity has been aroused.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Kasey
Kasey Chambers has always enjoyed having a bit of a wail in her songs.
Generally I didn't mind -- up until the point a few years back where she lost a karaoke competition singing Cindi Lauper's True Colors.
Kasey's rendition is just one long wail. (So is Cindi's for that matter, but it's her song). And Kasey's hurt pride for losing a karaoke comp to an amateur made her decide she would sing it as often as possible. Over. and Over. Again. (There's a reason why you lost that karaoke comp Kasey!) Ever since, when Kasey's playin' I ain't stayin'.
However, I have to say I really enjoyed Kasey and her husband Shane Nicholson on the first episode of the new series of Rockwiz last night (the show's first Wife/Husband act), and I even liked their cover of Kylie's "Can't get you out of my head".
All is forgiven.
Generally I didn't mind -- up until the point a few years back where she lost a karaoke competition singing Cindi Lauper's True Colors.
Kasey's rendition is just one long wail. (So is Cindi's for that matter, but it's her song). And Kasey's hurt pride for losing a karaoke comp to an amateur made her decide she would sing it as often as possible. Over. and Over. Again. (There's a reason why you lost that karaoke comp Kasey!) Ever since, when Kasey's playin' I ain't stayin'.
However, I have to say I really enjoyed Kasey and her husband Shane Nicholson on the first episode of the new series of Rockwiz last night (the show's first Wife/Husband act), and I even liked their cover of Kylie's "Can't get you out of my head".
All is forgiven.
Ellis Park
That Wallabies vs Springboks game was a painful lesson. The only consolation is that we are still alive to win the Tri-Nations, but this was an amateur performance in a professional game.
Our defense was disgusting; it hasn't been as convincing ever since we switched from Muggleton's solid scheme, but this is the first game where it has been sliced and diced. (The terrible thing about this: it's directly attributable to Robbie's coaching and the attitude of the players.)
For the 3N decider, for the starting XV I think I would pick:
Robinson Moore Baxter Horwill Mumm Elsom Smith Palu Cordingley Giteau Tuqiri Cross Mortlock Ashley Cooper Mitchell
The key selection for the front row is that Moore must be the hooker. Polota-Nau's throwing has been a major "feature" in our losses under Robbie thus far, and he needs to get it fixed as quickly as possible.
We really need Vickerman as one of our Locks, but while he is injured I think I'd take Horwill and Mumm. I think I like McMeniman as depth at blindside flanker rather than Lock. Sharpe looks like he's on the outer with Robbie, not even making the bench for the Ellis Park game!
At the back row, one thing I would take out of the last few games is that Waugh is no longer neck-and-neck with George Smith any more. Smith is clearly the man. I also worry that there is a lack of players challenging Palu for the 8 role; Richard Brown from the Force might be worth consideration.
I actually thought Cordingley provided quick service, so I'd leave him at halfback. We were very obviously exposed with Tahu at Inside Center a number of times (just not enough experience in Rugby let alone the defensive scheme), and if Barnes is out then we need Cross playing there.
In our back 3, Hynes has had very little impact (if not making very notable mistakes) since the first couple of tests, and I think it's time for him to ride the pine. I would move Ashley Cooper from FB to Hynes' wing, and I would start Mitchell at FB. But one thing's for sure: we are really struggling for talent at FB.
It's too bad Hewat didn't stick around for another year -- not only would he have possibly helped the Tahs win the S14, but it's very possible he would have finally got a Wallaby jersey by now.
Our defense was disgusting; it hasn't been as convincing ever since we switched from Muggleton's solid scheme, but this is the first game where it has been sliced and diced. (The terrible thing about this: it's directly attributable to Robbie's coaching and the attitude of the players.)
For the 3N decider, for the starting XV I think I would pick:
Robinson Moore Baxter Horwill Mumm Elsom Smith Palu Cordingley Giteau Tuqiri Cross Mortlock Ashley Cooper Mitchell
The key selection for the front row is that Moore must be the hooker. Polota-Nau's throwing has been a major "feature" in our losses under Robbie thus far, and he needs to get it fixed as quickly as possible.
We really need Vickerman as one of our Locks, but while he is injured I think I'd take Horwill and Mumm. I think I like McMeniman as depth at blindside flanker rather than Lock. Sharpe looks like he's on the outer with Robbie, not even making the bench for the Ellis Park game!
At the back row, one thing I would take out of the last few games is that Waugh is no longer neck-and-neck with George Smith any more. Smith is clearly the man. I also worry that there is a lack of players challenging Palu for the 8 role; Richard Brown from the Force might be worth consideration.
I actually thought Cordingley provided quick service, so I'd leave him at halfback. We were very obviously exposed with Tahu at Inside Center a number of times (just not enough experience in Rugby let alone the defensive scheme), and if Barnes is out then we need Cross playing there.
In our back 3, Hynes has had very little impact (if not making very notable mistakes) since the first couple of tests, and I think it's time for him to ride the pine. I would move Ashley Cooper from FB to Hynes' wing, and I would start Mitchell at FB. But one thing's for sure: we are really struggling for talent at FB.
It's too bad Hewat didn't stick around for another year -- not only would he have possibly helped the Tahs win the S14, but it's very possible he would have finally got a Wallaby jersey by now.
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Greek Cuisine
I am please to report I have survived eating one metric ton of Greek food on Saturday night. While the process was enjoyable, the recovery was painful.
If I had my time over, I'd do it again!
If I had my time over, I'd do it again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)