Jun 4, 2009

Things my girlfriend and I have argued about

Margret’s four-hundred-and-fifty-second most annoying habit is to stealthily turn off the central heating (then light the gas fire in the room she’s in, natch). I’ll suddenly notice that, sitting typing at the keyboard, I can see my own breath while from the bedroom one of the kids will call out, ‘Papa, I can’t feel my legs…’ And I’ll shiver down the stairs to find the central heating set to ‘Summer/Hypothermia/Cryogenic Suspension,’ and Margret in the living room watching the TV in a door frame warping furnace.

via Things my girlfriend and I have argued about.

It’s not talking about me (somewhat obviously), but it’s still one of the most hilarious things on the interwebs at this point in time.

It is a little long – reading the whole thing in one go isn’t recommended. Unless you’re studying for exams. And procrastinating. :p

Jun 4, 2009

I won the FlashMint.com premium WordPress theme giveaway!

The final date has passed and the following people have won a FlashMint WordPress Template: Benny Ling, Simon | Teenius and Amanda. Congratulations to the winners!

via Giveaway contest – FlashMint.com Premium WordPress Themes.

So it turns out that I’ve won a free premium WordPress theme. Cool, yeah?

What isn’t so cool is that most of the designs suck. It’s not the designs themselves, it’s just that the design’s aren’t me. For a personal blog, that’s important.

What to do? If I do choose a theme and it’s not customisable to my own requirements, then I probably won’t use it. If I choose a theme and don’t decide to use it, well, there’s not a whole heap I can do about that either.

I’ll probably choose a theme just for the hell of it – and use it on another site I’m developing at the moment. Radi8′ers, this one’s for you. ;)

Jun 3, 2009

A Week Without Apple – Day Two, A Lesson in Understanding

Now there are many things Mac OS X does better than Windows 7 and vice-versa. I’m not taking advantage of either OS and it’s features. I’m sure Windows 7 has lots more up it’s sleeve than I know about. Ditto Mac OS X – I know I don’t use all the things in Mac OS X like I should because I’m too lazy to seek it out. The aim of this experiment isn’t to choose a winner, or declare Mac OS X THE BEST OS EVAR SCREW YOU MICRO$OFT! It’s to see what Windows is, how it works, what it does and what it does differently. Everyone’s computer use is different, so you need to make up your own mind as to whether Windows 7 or Mac OS X is for you. It’s great to have competition and choice. Windows 7 is way better than I expected and very competent.

[...]

So while the HP is much cheaper, has better specs, a built in card reader, HDMI and digital TV, loads more ports and a snazzy webcam, it has some real livability faults. The LCD is rubbish and even a layman can tell it looks awful, it’s that poor. The trackpad is virtually useless with it’s total lack of glide. If the screen was slightly higher quality and the trackpad not so crappy, it would be a vastly better experience. I’m actually confused as to why HP sent me this laptop to replace the MBP. The MBP retails for $3,199 – you’d think they’d send something a bit more upmarket.

via A Week Without Apple – Day Two, A Lesson in Understanding | MacTalk Australia.

I concur wholeheartedly.

This is why I use a Mac – even though I’m more than proficient at using both either/all OSs well.

Jun 3, 2009

Left 4 Dead 2 hands-on 4 you

Significant improvements have been made to level design, utilizing the expertise of Portal designer Kim Swift. Some levels will have sections that have changing layouts. Faliszek mentioned a graveyard that would be different for every playthrough, for example. The AI Director can make the path through the graveyard longer or shorter depending on how well the Survivors are doing. Another level begins in total daylight, but darkens as a storm rolls in. The storm reduces visibility to nearly nothing, making it hard to spot zombies and, worse, teammates (their outlines won’t appear in the fog). Faliszek compared it to the cornfield in L4D’s “Blood Harvest.”

via Left 4 Dead 2 hands-on 4 you.

WANT. NOW.

November can’t come fast enough – that being said, I wanted iPhone OS 3.0 back whenever it was announced, and that’s almost here… :)

Jun 3, 2009

Going phishing? No thanks.

PHISHING. It’s something that, invariably, will happen to all of us.

Phishing is the act of basically taking your details through social engineering – complete a survey to get cash, update your details, log in “for security purposes”, view “important bank messages”, etc. For the people doing the phishing, it’s all about getting your personal details in order to steal your money.

Traditionally, phishing attacks are more “click on a link, complete survey/update details”, but lately they’ve been getting more sophisticated, telling potential targets to “call a number and confirm their details.

From The Age (hat tip to @ashermoses):

But in a new variation on the traditional “phishing” attack, which usually asks victims to click on a malicious link, one Commonwealth Bank scam email asks customers to call a Queensland phone number in order to redeem a $500 “cashback bonus”.

[...]

“It’s an automated system with an American accent that welcomes you to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and then requests an account number or says something’s expired and asks for your credit card number,” he said.

The voice recording then requested Howard’s expiry date and pin number, but he just entered in random digits.

“It actually told me the information was incorrect, which suggests that it’s hooked up to a payment gateway and it’s actually trying to do an authorisation on the credit card right then and there,” he said.

I’ve been hit three times now – the first time was easy to spot, the second easy as well, and the third time wasn’t so easy (but still contained enough tell-tale signs).

Read More

Jun 2, 2009

This JET CYCLE uses CRUISE MISSILE ENGINES.

Not much else is known about this alleged world record-breaking stunt, except that the cycle’s powered by J402-CA-702 Model 373 turbine engines, originally developed for the U.S. military’s cruise missiles, with each engine developing 1,000 pounds of thrust.

via 200mph jet cycle could be world’s fastest | DVICE.

Jun 2, 2009

Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO Trailer

Bioware released the first cinematic trailer for their Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, and it’s so awesome you might just forget that Jar-Jar Binks ever existed. Bounty hunters, Jedis, lightsabers, blasters, dramatic orchestral soundtracks, and gravelly Sith voices making threatening statements — if it’s from a long time ago and a galaxy far away (and incredibly awesome), you’ll find it in this trailer.

via This is the Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer you’re looking for.

I’m not into MMOs as a general rule, but gee – this looks mighty tempting.

Be patient while the video loads – it’s so worth it. :)

Jun 2, 2009

First look at Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2

The Parish

The game, due to launch on Xbox 360 and PC on November 17th, will also include new boss zombies, new survivors (seen above), and “more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, and maps for Survival mode available at launch.”

via E309: First look at Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2 – Offworld.

Jun 2, 2009

Left 4 Dead 2? There goes productivity.

THIS. IS. AWESOME.

This same gore is achievable with all the weapons, with new ragdoll deaths for the throngs, to make their entrail-spilling, armpit-dribbling, face-exploding ways all the more entertaining. There were many gasps and cries of “OH GOOD GRIEF!” as we played, the strings of guts slopping wildly into the air, or as mentioned above, the faceless leaking mess suddenly bursting like a blood-filled balloon as the Infected fell to the floor. It’s awesome.

[...]

Another very smart change is to prevent sneaky players from trying to sit out the triggered events. In those moments in L4D where you had to press a button that began a frantic attack until an elevator arrived, or a door opened, it seems too many were crouching in a corner together and waiting for it to all die down. L4D2 has plans to prevent such treachery. Now some of the events you start can only be stopped by reaching a further target. In an extremely tense sequence, we had to make our way through a labyrinth of alarmed cars to reach a distant point that would finally see the attack fade. Trying desperately to avoid hitting any of the cars, and thus making the situation far worse, while having to make constant forward progress, amped things up significantly.

via Left 4 Dead 2 – Exclusive RPS Preview | Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

Incendiary ammo, chainsaws, frying pans, new Infected, campaigns that happen in BROAD DAYLIGHT, fire-proof Infected in Hazmat suits, Wandering Witches, OH MY!

JIZZ IN MY PANTS.

Dammit, now I’ll REALLY have to buy a new computer. Or at least, and upgrade. =/

I can’t wait. For more info in the coming days, hit up the L4D blog.

Jun 1, 2009

Unofficial Map of Australia

Unofficial Map of Australia

via Aussie jokes, Australian humour, funny videos, funny photos, political view points, www.aussiecynic.com.

Heh – someone should totally update this, just to slap a huge red “SWINE FLUUUU” banner over Victoria. XD

Heh.

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