My take on the 'No Russian' scene of Modern Warfare 2

I’ve recently found some time (no scrap that) made some time to enjoy one of more controversial hobbies.

I began writing this post with the intention that anyone not as familiar with the video game industry could still understand my key points. As it is an opinion piece on the evolution of interactive media but I kept getting bogged down in the introduction so I’ve decided to go with a different tact.

About a fortnight ago, Infinity Ward (a software developer) released what was dubbed and pretty much attained the title of “biggest game release in history”. Famous for their ‘Call of Duty’ franchise this title was unique in two ways. If was the first time the company had created a sequel using the same story arc to an existing title and the first time they’d dropped the tag ‘Call of Duty’ from the game title.

‘Modern Warfare 2’ (MW2) is the sequel to the record breaking ‘Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare’ (CoD4) and although a 1st person shooter the original title was ground breaking in both its single player story telling technique as well as its addictive ultra competitive multiplayer modes. The original title is easily one of the most successful titles on this generations hardware and available on Xbox 360, PS3 and traditional PC.

I must admit I missed the ‘Call of Duty’ band wagon favouring more arcade style shooters such as Halo which places a one man army against an intergalactic threat. The ‘Call of Duty’ franchise is far more contemporary pitting two or more human forces against each other with near real world inspired weaponry. Originally set in World War 2 each ‘Call of Duty’ game traditionally provides a handful of playable characters typically from multiple factions of the same alliance through a fictitious but history inspired theatre of war.

Given my almost non-existent experience with the World War 2 titles it’s safe to assume that my comments are restricted to the Modern Warfare variants. Given its key to my observations is should also be noted that both CoD4 and MW2 both have a ‘Mature’ rating and earlier titles where rated a more relaxed ‘Teen’. Essentially the realism of the violence is more confronting with the advancements in technology between the latter titles and those released earlier in the decade.

As you might imagine the enemy of the Modern Warfare titles is terrorism, and a factitious Russian private military organisation are the wrong doers of the games universe. 24-48 hours before the sequel was released the world media went into melt down reporting on a mission in the game that placed the player as a Terrorist during a raid on innocent civilians throughout a busy Airport.

It single handily ruined one of the more confronting and admittedly controversial interactive entertainment experiences of the decade. Being an avid gamer I consumed the world media’s interest in my own hobby despite its obvious negative connotations and innocently spoilt my potential reaction to the scenario.

The game essentially pits you as an undercover operative trying to gain the trust of a terrorist cell as they terrorise an Airport with fully automatic weapons with catastrophic casualties. I found the experience to be particularly alarming due to the constant sound effects of screaming civilians more so that the visual cues. However I knew it was in the game and anticipated it occurring to the point where I had pre-meditated my reaction and refrained from killing any unarmed assailants but crossed a grey line when police forces arrived to retaliate our (the terrorists) actions.

In the end it was all for nothing as my actions where inconsequential and the story played out as the developers intended, and while much criticism for how the story was told has been printed I’m more annoyed that the surprise was ruined. Due to Infinity Wards innovation and the controversial nature of the subject matter the world media essentially to borrow a film’s paradigm blabbered “Dr. Malcolm Crowe is Dead” on the eve of the “Sixth Sense” Premier screening.

It is said that the average age of a gamer is around 30 years old, yet a video game aimed at adults exploring adult themes can be spoilt. Instead of reading the plot like in a book or watching the screenplay unfold similar to a movie because elements of interaction are necessary to progress the same linear story line it is considered untasteful, inconsiderate and unfit for society.

I guess it is the freshness and constant evolution of the media that increases its appeal to me but how narrow minded people such as Michael Atkinson can continue fighting against the legitimacy of adult only games still baffles me ...

ponder this 03

If you're up all night, is it still called breakfast in the morning?

Let's get physical

On paper I consider myself a pretty active person with interests in Tennis, Golf, Squash, Swimming, Hiking, Bike riding, and when the stars align I even try my hand (and feet) at Surfing. Unfortunately between these exciting outdoor activities I’m typically bound to a desk during work hours and enjoy couch based video games as well us far too much unnecessary food between meals.

Between actively exercising and following a more disciplined diet to neglecting physical activities and making very poor snaking choices, I estimate over the past five or more years I’ve let my weight yo-yo by as much as 25 kg and have never been able to reach my ideal weight. The good news is I’m back into a weight loss mindset; the bad news is my latest spree has put me in close to or possibly the worst shape of my life.

I do despise how cliché my change in mind set aligns with the rest of society. It’s a pretty common occurrence to let one self go a little in the winter months with less sunlight for motivation and more hearty meals as hurdles. Nevertheless with my now annual pier to pub swim less than three months away on top of my decision to compete in the next BRW Cooperate Triathlon in February 2010 there is no time like the present to get ‘back’ in shape.

So like any gadget obsessed self proclaimed nerd I completed my Nike plus set! The love child of Apple and Nike and outside of the obvious attempts to sell their own wares, Nike plus tries to provide you with a set of tools and utilities that encourage you to run, and run more often. Nike plus isn’t new by any stretch of the imagination and I estimate without doing too much research that it is at least three years old and could even be five.

What is Nike plus? Well I’m glad you asked! At a very basic level it is the pairing of your running shoes to a computer in order to record basic workout stats each time you go for a run. Uploading the workout data to the web then lets you monitor your workouts over time and in theory you will see your own improvement and can then even train for certain distances etc. Add a sprinkle of social networking to the mix and you can compare workouts with friends, place challenges to like minded runners and even track your overall distance ‘ran’.

The real genius behind the system is for a decade or more runner where already carrying the computer, listening to their favourite tunes while on a run in the form of an iPod. All Nike did was make a range of shoes that you could hide a tiny radio transmitter in and Apple added some software to the iPod to record the radio signal from the shoe. Then with the help of iTunes you could elect to upload your workouts to the Nike plus web application and presto you have an advanced running aid; available all over the world.

It has taken me over eighteen months to collect all the bits and pieced needed to utilise the system, but yesterday I got my first taste of the whole experience. A few too many beers the night before had me leaving my car at a good mate’s place for the night, and the next day it came time to collect it. After the customary hour of procrastinating – since I’d decided to run there – I was all set with iPhone, sensor and Nike+ shoes. 18 minutes and 39 seconds later I had navigated the 2.48 Km distance and cursed every single sausage roll and packet of chips consumed in the last 12 months.

The real magic occurred hours later, upon getting ready for bed that evening I decided to charge my iPhone by plugging it into the USB cable connected to my Computer. The customary iPhone synchronisation process was kicked off, but before long I was prompted on whether or not I wanted to upload my workouts to the web. Curiously I agreed and before long I was navigating the Nike plus web application and exploring what it had to offer. It took me a little while to work out which links where plain unadulterated ‘advertising’ and which links actually provided ways to analyse my run. At the end of my exploration I’d subscripted to a 12 week training routine to get me from “walk to run” and taken note that I’m scheduled for a 15 minute, 1Km walk tomorrow (well today).

I’m not so disillusioned to think that this one utility is the savour to all my physical conditioning problems. I understand that this tool is just as useful as a gym membership and just as pointless if unused. All the same I’m happy to try it out and with luck it will help me with my least favourite discipline (running) and hopefully force me in to some ongoing good habits ...

The problem with idolising Boys

This entry is more than a fortnight late and while I don’t apologise for the delay I do feel it loses a little bit of its bite. I hope to keep more up to date with my entries in the future. For the time being please humour me and cast your minds back not a week or even two, but around three to Grand Final and its lead up.

I was asked on the Saturday (Yes GF day – try and keep up) if I was disappointed ... with the Lloyd decision to retire. I grimaced and responded to be honest I’m more disappointed with the Hurley incident. It is ridiculous that I judge the single action of a nineteen year old boy during the post season the greater of two evil versus losing the clubs single greatest goal kicker – ever!

If you haven’t heard, Michael Hurley who’s teenage brilliance at both ends of the ground in the closing rounds of the 2009 season, was involved in an altercation that include the play book of don’ts. "Alcohol", "Police", "early hours of the morning" and "assault" where all words alleged in the articles and news clips reporting the incident. It was devastating to have one of the brighter shinning kids of the football club being consistently brought up in talkback radio and editorial’s in conjunction with Brendan Fevola‘s Brownlow night antics.

The only defence Essendon faithful have is that Hurley is a teenager and Fevola should know better. Despite the fact that Hurley is as young as they come it still doesn’t remove the fact that he has a strike against his name and depending on his actions for the next decade or more, it could haunt him forever.

I know I’m being a little melodramatic but a West Coast supporting friend of mine still grimaces when reading media stories about Ben Cousins and even Michael Gardiner. Instead of calling them Premiership player or All Australian respectively they are often tagged as ex-drug attic or disgraced ruckman, just for dramatic effect by editors trying to sell newspapers.

I will miss Lloyd and thank him as I did Lucas for over a decade of spectator-ing goodness, but just as the winds of change blow the shadow of a new era over Essendon FC. It will take the emerging brightness of kids like Hurley and Pears to eradicate that shadow and ensure the club’s star burns.

From all reports the incident was completely out of character and everyone, especially teenagers should be given the benefit of learning from their mistakes. I’ve already seen a glimpse of Hurley on the field and still - though a little nervously - look forward to his growth both on and off it in the red and the black for many years to come ...

2009 Grand Final Week Predictions

One hundred and eighty four games later and only two teams remain. Melbourne is a buzz with Grand Final week and talk back radio and news print is rifle with predictions of who will take out Season 2009’s grand prize.

I have to admit I'm a little surprised by the swing in favouritism for the flag from arguably the best team all year (St Kilda) to arguably the best team in the last three years (Geelong). In a final series that for the first time unfolded by the numbers, with each highest placed team defeating its opposition I’m not ready to rule out the Saints.

Statistically the Saints sport the best defence ever assembled in the history of the game only conceding a measly 1411 points during the season proper. That is a staggering 67 goals less than their grand final opposition. In addition no team has failed to win the premiership after winning the first 19 games of the season.

While statistics are interesting for analysis after the fact they give us little insight into what will actually happen. The real reason I favour the Saints is a combination of the amount of pressure they place on opposition teams collectively in partnership with their twin towers forward line.

Nick Revolt has had a sensational year and more importantly for any remaining naysayers a magical finals series. I still recall back in the early naughts when St Kilda was still rebuilding, a young blonde headed kid popping up to slot seven goal s over a then far superior Essendon outfit. In that particular match it was to no avail as the Dons easily accounted for the Saints but the warning signs that this kid could play where clear.

Premiers: The Saints by 12 points in an epic contest, the Cats to suffer from inaccuracy once again.

Norm Smith: Nick Revolt for a bag of three plus goals and an incredible last half work rate.

Brownlow Medallist: Leigh Montanga for a breakout season.

Brownlow Medallist Smoky: Mitch Clarke for an outstanding season as Brisbane #1 ruck ...

Coffee musings by the number

An acute reader would recall that I recently delved into the world of coffee having avoided it for most of my life. An innocently observed tweet of this brave new world and a friend called me up on my musing and - reading between the lines - threw down the electronic gauntlet.

So without further ado, here are my first official coffee musings:

#101: If it's gone cold but only a mouthful remains, don't do it, it's not worth it, throw it out!

#102: I'm quickly learning that the last cold mouthful of coffee in the morning is a necessary evil.

#103: There is coffee, and there is 'good' coffee

#104: A good Barista and good Coffee makes a nice Cuppa, can't have one without the other.

and as an added bonus ...

#105: Always treat the coffee cup lid with respect, a catastrophic failure is only ever an absent minded sip away.

To the argumentative among us I'm sure you're thinking that #101 and #102 are in direct contradiction. Whilst I concede this point I can only record my journey and I'm confident having shared the culture for as little as a handful of weeks you have to agree. That first cold mouthful seems like the worst decision ever yet come the next time when that last mouthful remains you take the same regrettable mistake ...

fun-ote 03

Marriage means commitment ... but then again so does insanity.

I got this from the an Australian forum, it was the post signature of The_Hawk and made me laugh

The Mac Way

There has been some media buzz in the Operating System space recently with consistent opinions and experiences of Windows 7 and the seventh release of Mac OS X making headlines. Version 10.6 or more commonly Snow Leopard has been seen by many as a service pack to the previous version and Apple have unofficially conceded this with a more than generous $AU39.00 price tag.

I personally got on board the Mac bandwagon in mid to late 2007 and while I technically received a copy of 10.4 (Tiger) with my iMac I took advantage of an upgrade offer on 10.5 (Leopard) and don't consider myself to have ever really used OS X 10.4 (Tiger). Almost two years on I'm very happy with the Mac OS X and recently performed my first clean system update. As a hands on technical type I followed the advice of fellow Apple geeks and instead of performing a simple wizard style clicking exercise I orchestrated a fresh Operating System install.

In a Windows based world the idea of installing the newer version over the older version is almost non existent so the typical upgrade path is to always perform a fresh copy. You typically copy all the files you think you'll need on to a spare HDD or neighbouring networked computer. You then proceed to format the drive and install the new OS. You then hunt down all the drivers you need for your hardware to work with the new OS along with regular software packages and finally copy back all the files from the spare HDD or locally networked computer. It's a long boring process and you are typically still changing default system setting to your own preferences weeks after the upgrade.

The Mac way takes the Windows way places a large piece of "get the hell out of here" down its throat and mercifully detonates it. While the full blown nerd way still comprises of formatting the drive and installing a fresh version of the new Operating System its the availability and simplicity of both third party and integrated tools that make the data migration process faultless. I'll concede that the process I followed was time consuming and tedious but I credit this to a fear of the unknown than to a problem with the process.

Outside of making a Time Machine backup (Apples own data recovery utility) I also made a separate bit for bit copy of my Mac's HDD on a bootable external HDD. Once complete I tested it by independently booting my system from this drive, seeing the exact files, application and preferences in action. Just for fun I even loaded it from my wife's Macbook Pro and it didn't even display a shadow of a complaint despite the underlying hardware and monitor resolution changing. I imagine Windows would have had a brain explosion at that point.

Once I had a working backup of my Mac; along with a secondary backup via Time Machine, I carried out the usual step of formatting and Installing the new OS. Now for the real magic once my install had completed I then used Mac's own Data Migration tool to start copying all the user settings and user data from my backup. In the end my old wall paper and all my system preferences where just as I'd left them. I was given the option to copy over applications but opted out of this preferring to install them fresh.

Brillant …

The Soloist

On my recent trip to Adelaide I was left with the better part of a full day to entertain myself, with limited resources I decided that a trip to the cinema was as good a solution to kill a couple of hours as any.

Besides bumping into Cale Hooker, Tayte Pears and Tom Bellchambers in the Cinema Foyer and yelling out encouragement for the then pending Footy final. I found myself in the next most interesting scheduled session. With little to pick from and having already seen District 9 and expecting to see some of the other candidates with my wife I settled on 'The Soloist'

The irony isn't lost on me that I found myself watching the Soloist alone. For the most part I've no issues with checking out a movie, event or even an interstate football final solo. There is a remarkable amount of freedom when you only has to consider their own whims and fancies and not require a general consensus before deciding on a course of action. Interestingly the movie did touch on some of these emotions which induced a little self reflection

Nevertheless I digress. The Soloist isn't my usual cinematic genre but given my selection criteria my expectations where non existent. Brilliant performances by Iron Man err … Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx made this a very compelling Drama that did captivate me at times. The dramatic undertones and serious characters did feel like attempts at getting nominated for the upcoming cinematic award season. As professional actors its in their best interest to get critical acclaim so it's hard to really fault Downey Jr or Foxx for this.

While I did enjoy the movie you would typically need to be in the mood for the themes this picture exposes the viewer too. Personally I'm probably only open to this heavy a movie half the time unless they can disguise the intellectual context behind thrilling or action packed sequences.

The other true marvel of this film is how Downey Jr can look so good all the time even in a random arrangement of hats ...

District 9

I'm horribly late with my thoughts on District 9 but given I sight a decent smattering of films at the cinema I wanted to pen my thoughts on any flicks I deemed worthwhile.

I should begin with the customary read at your own peril as while I'll make efforts not to provide any spoilers these thoughts are best read once you've seen and formed your own opinions.

It is a rare film these days that manages to not only introduce new IP but also stays under the buzz radar yet seem genuinely well financed. District 9 seems to have all the production values, special effects and attention to detail you would expect in an over hyped summer blockbuster. Yet only receive a week or two of promotion in comparison to what seems like months of over-marketing the large films bombard us with.

I'd actually already made my mind up to see District 9 prior to seeing any direct promotion of the film. I'd heard about it due to its link with Peter Jackson and the now debunked Halo Movie. The story goes that Microsoft had began early production on the Halo movie and while Peter Jackson was producing, Neill Blomkamp was to direct. Due to lack of financing the Halo movie project was canned and Jackson and Blomkamp decided to pursue alternative projects and settled on producing and directing District 9. Interestingly enough Blomkamp had never made a full feature fill but District 9 was both based of his short film 'Alive in Joburg' and some of the assets and early work they'd both started on the Halo movie. So naturally given my enthusiasm for the Halo universe even this loose coupling had be interested.

I found it a marvellous immersive world that mirrored and maybe even openly exaggerated some real world multi cultural challenges. It takes the audience on a pendular journey of prejudice. However I think it would equally entertain a team of football players as it would a room of scholars. It is brilliantly paced and wonderfully acted and a must see for any science fiction action fan.

If you don't mind a little senseless violence it is an excellent thinking mans social commentary and while I won't rate it as this isn't a review I do highly recommend it …

Wolves Premiers 2009

This years AFL advertising campaign was brilliant, dubbed "In a league of its own" and featuring the best players throughout the league running, crashing and bashing their way through a handful of sporting backdrops. It was backed up come finals time with the revised slogan "The hardest, fastest, fiercest finals series ever"

One thing is for sure, the Wolves of 2009 where in a league of their own! A keen observer might have browsed my post in early August about the pending finals series for my beloved fantasy football competitions.

In a marvellous feat or fantasy player management and brilliant tactical mastery I managed to walk away with both Dream team and FootyHero silverware. As a keen spectator of the game and a long term advocate of footy fantasy it was great to take out the top honours against some like minded enthusiasts.

The real challenge now is defending my premierships better than Hawthorns 2008 campaign ...

Virtual Steve goes Live!

Howdy and welcome to the official launch of Virtual Steve. What's so official about it you ask? Well today I actually told friends and family about the blog I've been running for the last six or so weeks.

Put up your feet, let the dog get comfortable at your feet and have a look over my past musing, rants and observations. As my profile states I'm not exactly sure of what I hope to gain from this blog if nothing else it will serve as my own electronic diary. I initially hoped to post to it daily but soon opted for quality over quantity as entries can be quite time consuming to articulate.

I've also integrated a Twitter feed and have been enjoying my foray in to these new communication media. Feel free to leave a comment if anything I say struck a nerve or tickles a fancy and pop by from time to time for my latest grumbles.

May your browser refresh and your mouse point true ...

A short high-pitched sound or whistle

Prior to 2006 the word ‘tweet’ had a very distinct and universal meaning and was about as topical as ‘Yawn’. In a few years what was once used to teach young children animal sounds has exploded into a social networking and micro-blogging service sensation.

If you’ve never turned on a computer before let me explain. Twitter is a web application that attempts to answer the question. “What are you doing?” Basically, it’s the away message feature of Instant message clients all by itself. Each entry has become known by the websphere as a 'tweet'

Twitter is synonymous with Facebook, MySpace and YouTube to name a few. Together they are single handedly (the irony of that expression isn’t lost on me) reengineering the way we communicate with each other, particularly the younger generation.

It is this reason I suspect in the aging geek equivalent of a mid live crisis I’ve joint the party and signed up on twitter. I have a handful of friends already on the service and the twitter site itself is quite polished, extracting possible twitter candidates to follow from my Google email account seamlessly.

It’s amazing how much of a PR tool it has become with companies and celebrities hoping on board to flog their wares under the guises of doing everyone a favor. The scary thing is this fresh medium works as we haven’t been over exposed to its loop holes. Not ever 48 hours old on twitter and I’ve already subscribed to Samsung, Xbox and Essendon FC marketing is some form or another.

Despite all this I’m going to stick with it for the time being, having run this blog for over six weeks now. The time necessary to output a 140 odd character message versus crafting a four to five paragraph blog entry is considerably appealing. I think the two services complement each other and with a little nerd gadgetry I hope to integrate one with the other ...

Franklin, an old fashion hip and shoulder and the armchair bandwagon

In some ways I’m a little dirty on myself for not blogging this entry before the events of the weekend and in some ways I’m glad I can incorporate them into my musings. I decided on this topic after reading a very good article in the Age.

A lot of balding middle age men in prominent media positions are claiming the suspension of Lance Franklin after making high contact against Ben Cousins as the penultimate sign that the bump is dead. They continue to then argue that all the hardness and bravado is being slowing strained from our great game. One club president even had the tenacity to suggest all contact would be removed and the sport would be akin to Basketball.

While I understand some of the comments are made tongue in cheek I don't subscribe to the theory at all. Merely observing the physique of an elite footballer suggests they live, breath and train for one purpose. To run all day and crash into one anther time and time again. The game is hard and 44 spent bodies ache and beg forgiveness after every match.

The fair as day old fashion hip and shoulder will always be part of the big bustling forwards arsenal. It isn't even restricted to forwards with plenty of great key position backman happy to throw around their weight in a contest to allow a quicker player to rebound with the footy safely.

As with any evolution of our game the media and talk back radio with whip the armchair bandwagon into a frenzy. Foaming at the bit for the good old days in order to draw an extra listener or sell another paper. At the end of the day the general public accept the rule and move on as little can be done once the governing body make a decision.

The deliberately rushed behind rule and last years hands in the back where as heatedly debated but haven't destroyed the fabric of the game at all. While the written rushed behind rule is mostly gibberish, the net result on the game has been marvellous. A packed stadium cheering an under siege backline for successfully clearing a hotly contested ball just as loudly as when the star forward slots a long bomb from 50m.

The head has been clearly signalled as sacred and only a fool could argue against that stance. It is still more than legal to land a bump on an opposition player but whilst you can intend to crunch them temporarily you can't knock the sense out of them.

Prior to the Lloyd incident on the weekend I felt that Buddy shouldn't have been suspended and that the rule is too firmly worded. I've since come around to the AFL's thinking that any serious impact to the head when the players soul intention is to crash into an opponent should have some consequence and a weeks suspension seemed fair so had they not fought the charge in my mind justice would have been served. I guess since I felt it was a one week offence that should have been the penalty and a good behaviour early plea would have had him on the paddock on the weekend.

Lloyd also seemed to get slapped with a heavy ruling as re-analysis of the video tends to suggest it wasn't all that premeditated an act and while a penalty for hitting the sacred head is understood a third of the regular season as a penalty is far to zealous.

It will go down in history as one of the more fiery games in the modern area and as a final in all but name I'll never forget the day a new star was born. Welcome Michael Hurley to the Essendon FC

I'm sure he will lay plenty of bumps in his promising career ...

Liskula to the left, Rosemary to the right, Google stuck in the middle of you

I'm really quite ashamed to make a post about the 'skank' blogger incident but at the heart of the issue is a confounding prospect. In the name of completeness I guess I better paraphrase the back story in order to kindle any debate.

Put simply it is a little name calling between a pair of young ladies that don't particularly like one another, however the precedents set are far more noteworthy. A professional writer summaries everything here, here and here - but read on for my amateur hour version of events.

Way back in January Liskula sued Google under the guise of alleging defamatory comments after somehow coming across a blog that was bad mouthing her on the popular Blogger service hosted by Google.

Liskula then recently won the right by court order to discover the identity of the anonymous blogger who had allegedly posted derogative remarks on the Google hosted blog titled "Shanks in NYC".

Upon discovering that the blogger was an irrelevant person in her life and not a friend or family member Liskula after a little song and dance with the media, dropped her defamation charges.

Now Rosemary, yeah you guessed it the not so anonymous blogger plans to sue Google for $US15 million for breaching her privacy.

First of all I feel a little sad for anyone who suspected family or friends be behind the negative comments but the real issue is around whether or not we should be allowed to remain anonymous. Personally I think the entire anonymity of the web is its current shortfall.

I've been and are a member of a number of online communities in varying capacities and typically the more you know about the participants the more civil people behave. Xbox Live is a perfect example of an excellent service that suffers a snide underside due to the foolishness of a small percentage protected by an epic blanket of anonymity.

Rosemary had an interesting argument though it does dull her original actions in the first place. She claims that before Liskula took the issue to the courts the number of visitors to the allegedly offending blog was likely to be two people - herself and Liskula. Obviously with world media taking an interest in the case the words 'skank' and 'Liskula' are common matches now.

I'd argue that if you are placing it in the public domain that everyone has access to then you should assume that everyone has viewed it. I guess my bugbear is that while the tiff is essentially between Liskula and Rosemary Google have somehow been blamed for the entire fiasco.

I guess its classic tall poppy syndrome and if you are trying to take over the world one web click ad at a time, you're going to get lots of odd ball challenges ...

Farewell Scotty

I've followed the Essendon FC all my life and really love my footy, however I've only been seriously breathing the red and the black for around a decade now. I guess writing it down it seems like a long time but as a percentage its only a third of my life.

While I know of Essendon greats like Tim Watson, Mark 'Bomber' Thompson, and Gary O'Donnell and even recall some of their playing days, I don't have a long standing supporter/player relationship with them.

Scott Lucas on the other hand has always felt like a pillar that helps support the Essendon FC Club as much as a player that makes up the 22. While I'm not arguing that it isn't time for Scotty to hang up the boots it does feel like a changing of the guard. As a supporter who recently experienced* his first ever change in coach at the ripe old age of 29 its hard not to look back fondly on such a great career.

Maybe its because Scott and I are practically the same age, maybe its because Scott was always such an easy target for opposition supporter to get stuck in to. Whatever the reason I've always had a soft spot for the big left footed number 25. While his greatest strength was also his most notable weakness. It never got old watching him wheel around on to his left side by any means possible, and hoisting a long long goal through the big sticks.

His last quarter in 2007 against a finals bound West Coast Eagles in the Hird/Sheedy farewell match was maybe the most dominate quarter of football from a forward I've ever witnessed. Whilst I believe it took Lucas 10 years of consistently improving football to produce his best, it was simply spectacular. Not many players in our great game can claim a club best and fairest from both Centre Half Back and Centre Half Forward in varying years.

If I had one criticism to aim at the man, it would be simply why does he only have three daughters? You'll have plenty of time on your hands Scotty its time to produce a heir ...

fun-ote 02

"With women, I've learned it's better to beg for forgiveness rather than to ask permission" - Anthony Lapaglia"

This got a snort out of me in a very truthful article by Hollywood success Anthony Lapaglia

fun-ote 01

"Spanning Sync requires Mac OS X. For our Windows friends, we recommend you get a Mac! - http://spanningsync.com"

I came across this gem when searching for a way to synchronise my iCal and Google calendars. It made me laugh

A new idea and an old one amended

It is blatantly obvious that I’m new to blogging and I’d be foolish to think that everything I write is interesting to everyone. I do hope on the odd occasion something I write is appealing to someone.

Earlier in the piece I announced a regular feature that I titled ‘ponder this’ and committed to weekly contributions that for a fortnight I upheld. Sadly I’ve been short on ponderings lately but rather than scrap the feature I’m going to back down from the weekly commitment opting to instead post them if and when they spring to mind.

In addition to the ‘ponder this’ feature I’ve also decided on another regular segment. It is funny that I refer to it like a column piece or regular portion of a live television show but the term seems fitting so I’m going to continue the analogy.

With the rise in digital communities face to face communication is often emulated among participants with a range of pseudo standard textual abbreviations or expressions. While the most common might be the humble another dominate abbreviation is lol. Expressed in increasingly more forms my latest regular feature wants to play homage to the idea of laughing out loud.

Fun-otes will be random pieces of text I’ve read somewhere during the week that pry an audibly affectionate sound from my stone interior. Obviously the love child of Funny Quotes I hope they spread a little mirth to any who stumble across them ...

Two coffee's in one day

As a Thirties something that has been working as a software developer and IT Consultant for nearly a decade I'm somewhat a freak of nature. I can't put my finger on why and in the end I even took it as a badge of difference, but I never acquired the taste for coffee or tea. Whilst unheard of in my industry it is even more astonishing given the Melbourne Cafe scene.

After a number of situations over the past month or so I've decided that while its a quirky conversation point for 15 seconds it might actually be a professional deficiency. A hot drink with a new acquaintance is the de facto professional ice breaker. A meeting over a coffee allows people to relax and get to the point of the matter rather than skirt around the issue with awkward formalities.

A project I've recently joint also has it as a staple morning tradition. In an organisation where your overall worth is in direct proportion to the strength of your personal network of colleagues its career suicide to neglect attending these informal peer bonding sessions.

It is with this in mind that at the ripe old age of 30 I'm bucking the tread of my brethren and instead of cutting back on my coffee intake I'm planning to ramp it up. I've taken the girls blouse approach with a mocha in the morning, however at a recent company social dinner I even manager a weak caffe latte at the end of the three course meal with my dessert notching my first ever dual cuppa day!

Combining my current aspirations to improve my golf game - a work in progress a blog post or two on there own - with my will to socially and professionally drink coffee, all I need to master now is public speaking and delegation and I've got management written all over my forehead ;-)

A final word or warning to the newer coffee drinkers among us, "If it's gone cold but only a mouthful remains, don't do it, it's not worth it, throw it out!"

All I need to do know is master the lingo a world in itself ...

AFL Ladder OpenSocial Gadget

It has been a week since I finished developing the first version of my AFL Ladder Gadget. A full round of games have been won, lost and drawn and like clock work the ladder is still up to date. I know it may not look like much but its doing a fair bit or work behind the scenes. Parsing an xml document of the ladder and then rearranging the data into the html table you see on the side pane.

It's uses the OpenSocial Gadget API and is hosted on my MobileMe site. Gadgets are written in a module language using XML that wraps HTML and JavaScript. Sites such as iGoogle, orkut and you guessed it blogger are all containers that support OpenSocial gadgets.

I'm yet to decide if I will submit my gadget to Google and need to make a few tweaks here and there before I do regardless.

For anyone who is interested in using it on their own site please get in contact with me and I can provide the existing url or the code base if you'd like to host it yourself.

Go Dons ...

A change in mentality

I’ve had a blogging revelation over the last few days on the back of needing to research and learn a new technology. Traditionally with this blog along with emails that I scribe I try for interesting titles or subject lines. I’ll often take an extra minute to link the subject with the body sometimes utilising a subtle undertone - for example last week I used the Swedish translation of a Willie Nelson song title -though in fairness this is as extreme as I’d go. Another perfect example of this is my review on two of the DigiDNA products in July. I titled my post “Thank-you DigiDNA” where “FileAid \ DiskAid Review” would be more appropriate.

The revelation is around relevance and keyword searches, it is about how we filter the inter web for useful information. If I’m looking to buy a new gizmo or trying to configure a specific product to collaborate with another product my search engine keywords will be very specific to that task. A Google search for “Thank-you DigiDNA” had by blog third in the results list yet on a subsequent search for “FileAid Review” I didn’t even make the first five pages. If I ever want to help a fellow web surfer with any of my brilliant life observations then I need to maximise the likeliness of my blog being offered to them as a relevant search result.

So with a little remorse though strengthened with the knowledge that it is for the greater good. I’ll be reverting to the more common practice of clear distinct post names, under the illusion that at some point in the future I’ll write something that is useful to a complete stranger ...

That last day in August

It might be a full month before the regular football fans gets to enjoy finals fever but for footy tragics like myself tonight is the eve the real finals series.

Thats right folks thousand of fantasy football leagues all over the country are gearing up for there first week of finals. Masses of coaches brooding over team selections and tormenting themselves over those last few vital trades.

This year I managed a 66% success rate entering three different types of Fantasy Footy competitions and managing finals in two out of three, even picking up a minor premiership in my Dreamteam league much to my cousins dismay.

Decimated by injuries in both leagues I've patched up the holes as much as I can and need a win in Dreamteam to earn the week off and a win in FootyHero to aviod elimination.

Go those mighty Wolves ...

Today I lost my Vista-inity

As a software developer and gadget lover I typically try and keep myself electronically up to date. It is second nature to periodically check for software upgrades and driver enhancements, and with one exception I feel I do a pretty good job of being across the relevant latest and greatest.

My one exception is no more, as today I lost my Vista-inity!

I’m not sure if it was all the bad press during release, the decision to migrate to Mac OS X at home, or maybe the absence of a compelling reason to switch to Microsoft’s Vista operating system but until today I’d only really observed it from afar.

As I’ve noted before I’m new to my company and have been hired as a Software Consultant. I’m currently working on an internal engagement helping one of the larger project administration teams with some in-house systems. As the role is really only a couple of days I’ve been floating between workstations and today just happen to land on a box with Vista Professional.

I can honestly say after 8 hours experience I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Granted I didn’t have to install the software. Sure a companywide user policy might have set some of the more annoying defaults to manageable settings but all in all my productivity wasn’t affected at all.

I quite liked the Vista Score section under the equivalent to the ‘My Computer’ properties and must confess that the machine I was using wasn’t exactly a slouch scoring pretty reasonably in most categories. I did turn Windows Aero off as I didn’t see a need for the desktop to be that graphically enhanced.

Ironically after I’d finished all my customisations it looked almost like Windows XP ...

Aussie Rules

Just a small post today but one to lay the foundations for many more to come. I'm an Australian and more importantly a Victorian and this implies an inherit language when I talk sport. I won't mention it again but it needed to be said once.

Footy is and always will refer to the great game that is Australian Rules Football. On the odd occasion that I need to talk about other codes I'll call them Rugby, Soccer or Gridiron ...

Adventure to Lake Mountain well everywhere but

I learnt two invaluable lessons yesterday. The first one is that you need snow to ski. The second is you make your own fun.

A group of eight of us decided midweek that a trip to Lake Mountain was worthwhile. Lake Mountain is a popular cross country skiing resort around 90km from Melbourne. For the knowledge curious there is no lake at Lake Mountain, but rather the area was named after ‘George Lake’

It seems yesterday a lake wasn’t the only thing missing as the last solid snow coverage landed a week ago. Conditions had deteriorated to poor tobogganing and snow play and reduced visibility which negated sightseeing. I’d like to thank the honesty of the ski hire attendant at Marysville who winced as he explained to eight potential customers than it wasn’t worth our while.

Disappointed, but not discouraged, we hopped in our rides and headed to a neighbouring town also devastated by the Black Saturday bushfires. The other reason for heading to Lake Mountain was to support the rebuilding communities affected by the fires. Having had breakfast in Marysville, heading to Kinglake was the obvious choice.

It is the second time I’ve headed to the affected area and not having experienced the fires but remembering the weather conditions on the day it is almost impossible to imagine what it would have been like. Kilometres and kilometres of flora and Australian bush show signs of burning but now six months on a plethora of new life has also sprouted everywhere.

Arriving at Kinglake we completed the obligatory stroll down the main drag and settled ourselves in the local wood-fire heated pub. After a couple of quiet frothies, a few games of pool and a hearty lunch we decided it was time to hit up the wineries, so back in a convey formation we rolled out. One boutique and one commercial goliath of a winery with grand views and its own helicopter later we were back in the car heading to Warburton to - you guessed it - the pub for dinner.

So a day of cross country skiing and exercise turned into to a marathon of eating drinking and being merry. At the end of the day, the same amount of fun was had ...

ponder this 02

If your soap is dirty how to you clean it?

Your eBay item sold!

Well it might have taken me three years and four months but I've finally joint the millions of people worldwide to sell something via eBay.

The argument I had with myself when I decided on a whim to buy an iPhone 3G S at launch, was that I must immediately sell my original iPhone 3G to compensate the cost. It seems 'immediately' is a month long process but in fairness it took me two weeks to list and the default auction length is 7 days so it doesn't take long to add up. I'm pretty happy with the iPhone's ability to keep its value selling it twelve months later for around 60% of its original cost.

But enough about the iPhone, lets talk about the selling process. It really is a wonderful service but it doesn't come freely, I'm an advocate of you get what you pay for so while I'll highlight the cheeky charges I won't go so far as feeling hard done by.

I should point out that the eventual winner opted to pay via credit card with PayPay and from a seller point of view I think this incurs the most handling charges. To list an item with four images on the listing page and a duplicate image on the gallery page ended up costing me $4.84AUD. I was then charged an additional $15.43AUD from eBay once the item sold. If I add to this the $12.50AUD that PayPal charged me to accept the credit card payment I'm looking at a cost to sell of $32.77AUD

So for a national and even worldwide audience I sold my item at a cost of 6.5% commission to third parties and I don't think anyone can complain to much at those numbers.

A final word for those planning to sell something be very wary of the international buyer trying to purchase your item for a son in a different country. They are pretty much scammers and should be avoided at all costs ...

What is irony?

The universe can be a cruel task master sometimes and today I was given a sharp swift reminder.

The new job is city based so I decided to take advantage of the location today over lunch, and took in my Sony @200 Digital SLR to measure it up for a new camera case at Crumpler Designs . After a disastrous start where my assumably beloved iPhone sent me up the beaten track to the wrong address, it quickly redeemed itself with a 'Goggle' search to find the actual address and I begrudgingly re-navigated the three city blocks that I'd overshot my mark.

A longer than expected stop had me fitting my DSLR into the various offerings and I finally decided on the '4 Million Dollar Home' the only decision left was what colour. A drab black and a light blue/orange combination where my options and although I guess I'd already decided I sent an MMS to the wife to confirm. Fearing picking the wrong one and not hearing back from my wife I left the store empty handed with the intention of visiting the next day to pick up the new bag.

Heading back to the office but having already been an hour I grabbed a fast bite to eat. As I sat down I flung my backpack over my shoulder but lost track of it letting it free fall the last foot to the ground. The landing thud had me cursing profoundly in my internal monologue, as I released the beanie wrapped camera body and protection-less 75-300 ml lens where not snugly stuffed in a brand new camera bag, but rather the opposite in a bag no thicker than a T-shirt.

A nervous unpack of the bag and examination of the camera body and lens realised my fear. The lens hood was cracked. A little discouraged I took solace that I was smack bang in the middle of Camera Shop central so after work I began the quest or replacing the maligned part. Three shops, and three apologetic nods of the head later I was sent in the direction of the 'Sony Centre'.

Confident that the Sony shop would be obliged to stock it. I made my way there only to find out my pocket will be $50 lighter and according to their system the part wont be delivered until freaking October 7th! I've got a 'speedy spares' business card and will be calling them tomorrow.

The moral of the story is buy the protective camera case colour you like and be done with it ...

Zitching!

I’ve taken it upon myself to try and generate enthusiasm for this wonderful driving game. When driving the first person to yell ‘Zitch Dog’ upon seeing one of our canine friends is credited with a point. A tally is kept for the day or drive and bragging rights are immortalised in the memory of the gods.

I’m sure it has deeper origins but my wife and I came across the phenomena during the US sitcom ‘How I meet your Mother’. I’ll admit our version is pretty tame but with other variations allowing free slaps or even one sided boxing it has scope to rival extreme sports with the right community backing.

There are currently two know ways to earn a slap the first is false ‘Zitching’ a word I’m claiming as my own describing when a participant preaches ‘Zitch Dog’ only to fail to provide adequate proof of a canine in the immediate proximity. The other is when one player gets a 10-0 lead on a supposed competitor.

Given I play with my wife and society and law enforcement don’t really agree with physical violence against one’s spouse I’m sure we’ll keep playing the bragging rights version but all you gen-y folk get slapping ...