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Sitting At Someone Elses Desk

Typing on an old keyboard of mine I donated to my cousin. Heh, feels a little stiffer than my current keyboard but it still feels familiar.

Just waiting for my cousin’s music collection to be transferred over to her spanking new PC (my previous computer). Heh, that’s the only way I can fund my new computer upgrades, by selling older stuff to people before the parts depreciate too much. Spent an hour trying to get Windows XP to talk to Windows 98 and it’s amazing how much Windows has improved over the last 8 years. Windows 98 has no native support for USB so using a thumb drive to copy files out was out of the question. This computer didn’t have a built in network card, so I tried to use Vyanne’s PCMCIA network card on my cousin’s old laptop. That failed miserably as plug and play still wasn’t up to scratch back in the Windows 98 days. The final solution was taking a floppy disk and creating a network setup disk (it’s quite stupid how Windows XP INSISTS you need a floppy disk to run on older machines, why? USB problems and that thumbdrives weren’t prevalent back then as problems that come to mind).

Recall how much I wrestled with computers back in the day when you could try all forms of configurations and it’s akin to just trying all the numbers of those numerical padlocks and hope something works. Have a little more brains now. Heh, at least I can sort of hear a click when I try a number now.

My most recent acquisition of knowledge in the computer realm would be wireless networks. The multiple hour sessions I spent trying to configure my cousin’s local wireless network gave me an insight into how these devices talk to each other. Basic networking knowledge helped but all the new security features in wireless left my dumbfounded. Well, at least until recently. It’s amazing how the mind can sit on something you’ve done previously and process it subconsciously so that when you approach the subject again with a fresh mind, things actually start to make sense.

Heh, just feeling a little smug now that everything is working and I’m just waiting for the files to slowly copy over.

* * *

Was looking at photos my cousin took with my older Coolpix 5400 (her camera met an untimely death after going for a swim in the lake). This little camera is actually quite good, with the ability to resolve sharp images under good lighting conditions. The colours are a little on the cold end due to a not so brilliant white balance (compared to a D70), but I’m pretty sure I can tweak that a little. Heh, I figure I’ve learnt quite a bit dabbling with my D70, especially recently as I now have a friend I can tag along and take pictures with (for at least a month or two more). I think I could eek out a little more performance from it now that I understand more about the technical issues in photography (this sentence has a deja vu feel to it, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before in a previous post). Heh, but as good as my Coolpix is, there’s still no substitution for SLR type performance, in terms of quality and handling.

* * *

Oh goodness, another 125 minutes to wait. Think I’ll go home. Heh.

Long Winded Post

Today is one of those rare nights where I’m up at 1am and still feeling quite awake.

The weeks go by real quickly but there doesn’t feel like there’s much achievement these days. At work I’m still getting the usual workload done, and trying to figure out Excel, VBA and all that programming stuff. Get a little lethargic by the time I reach home.

Just a little recap on what happened last week, woke up early on Thursday morning feeling excited. Had procured myself tickets to see the Socceroos (Australia’s soccer team) play against the Greek team (Euro 2004 champions, heh). This was my first live soccer match and I really wanted to feel the atmosphere of it all. Briefly describing it, the MCG (where it was held) was filled to the brim with a record 95,000 spectators. I think some of the seats had been allocated to fans for both teams as you had Greek and Australian fans behind each goal post to cheer on their teams. There were pre-game performances from a children’s choir and Anthony Callea (runner up to 2005′s Australian Idol). Heh, I could only get a slight glimpse of him from my 200mm lens.

It was a memorable night, even if the game wasn’t spectacular. Australia scored one fantastic goal and it was on the other end of the pitch. Heh, our seats were pretty close to the action, but rather one sided and you don’t see much until a team attacked whichever goal post we were sitting in front of. Even with the horde of people, the MCG was cold on a cloudless autumn night, due to the open stadium that it was. Heh, caught a glimpse of all the football stars, and they even imported Mike Riley (English Premiership referee) just for the match. One thing of note is that if you intend to concentrate solely on the game, you’d be better off watching at home (due to the reasons above like better view, better climate). The most important reason though is because you get distracted easily by whatever the spectators are doing. The Greek fans managed to procure flares into the stadium and one managed to get onto the pitch. Only when the police surrounded their little part of the stadium did they confine the flares to within their seats. Heh, even when there was a big sign saying there was a penalty for owning a flare, the flares just kept lighting up, with plumes of orange smoke ascending.

The last bit of entertainment was someone running onto the pitch. Heh, he got his 15 seconds of fame and a few policemen just chased after him. They finally managed to sit on him and the poor lad was handcuffed and brought off the field.

The game ended around 9pm and us spectators slowly shuffled out. The only other highlight for me was seeing the professional photographers with their gear. Most likely Canon DSLRS, the lenses were HUGE, and placed firmly on top of a monopod. Heh. I envy these people.

* * *

Heh, and you wonder where are all the pictures of people kicking a ball. Have all those, but a little too lazy to post them up. Still haven’t found a way to improve this workflow for sharing images. On a side note, finally plonked down cash for a new tripod, today. Prior to this, I had always wondered what’s so fantastic about a piece of metal with 3 legs. Well, the one I got with my original Coolpix is rather short and flimsy. It’s light and easy to carry, but I don’t trust it to stay standing on a windy balcony (Vyanne’s one in particular) with my D70 on it. The tripod I got is a Manfrotto 190D with a RC141 head. Heh, not like those names mean much. It reaches up to about my chest, is less than 2.5kgs and is really sturdy. The additional plus is that you get precision positioning and a release plate that connects to the camera so you can quickly mount/dismount the camera on the tripod.

Went out with a friend to test out some shots. Left just before sunset and before long, the tripod was necessary for taking any shots at all. Was never very much into night photography before, only because I wasn’t a fan of carrying tripods around, and also because the one I had was quite flimsy. Took a few shots I quite liked, and long exposures make a totally black scene come out quite different to what your eyes can see. Heh, a learning experience definitely.

* * *

Would yak about the new Apple Macbooks (the name is gay and doesn’t sound as charming as the iBook) which I have become enamoured with. They are really funky machines, and I can imagine myself at a cafe with one drinking coffees and doing web design/programming. Heh, wish I had extra cash to burn.

Relearning

Woke up this morning and like my friend says, “Snug as a bug in a rug”. Popped my head out from under my quilt like a turtle and you could feel the full extent of the coldness on your skin. It was freezing. Winter is sort of looming now, with the rain falling almost everyday and for longer periods.

* * *

I felt broken. Burnt out. Heh, its not like I’ve been working/playing too hard. Emotionally, felt a little empty. It was like I lost the plot over the last few months. I didn’t feel like me and there was some chasm between what I thought and what I felt. Life had been sidestepping problems and avoiding them to promote harmony, but sometimes, you have to face the problems to actually overcome them. I remember a time when I was reliable and would go all out to do something for people I cared about. These days I feel a little petty, even if on the surface I was okay with most things. It’s superficial and I hadn’t noticed it. I had always reached out and tried to anticipate the needs of others. These days it felt like I was just reacting to needs, as I was too selfishly enveloped in my own needs.

I’ve been dreaming of family. I miss my music, something I have always liked but never really embraced. Walked into Allan’s (music store) and tinkered a little at the keyboards. I miss the times when I would sit in front of the piano at home (when it was still around) and just invented little tunes. Heh, always complained I had no rhythm and I think I still don’t. Somehow, that doesn’t seem very important anymore as I feel that if you want to achieve anything, you just set yourself to it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. Most importantly, don’t let yourself get away with telling yourself that you’re not good enough. Most of us aren’t prodigies, but I have noticed that with everything, an amateur can learn things and slowly, things will progress and one day you find you’ve made it so far.

* * *

It has been a little confusing and directionless. Me wanting to do too much with too little time and not being able to focus on anything at all. That wanting, has led me to ignore the here and now, with my head always thinking of what would be. Learning to let go a little bit. Relearning to be genuinely kinder.