However it isn’t just the in game literature; the setting itself is a vast series of lands, covering thousands of square kilometres between the games, and within this are desolate settlements, bustling cities, ash volcanoes, forrested valleys, murky swamps, and snowing alps. Every location has a beautiful and gradual transition, every rock is appropriately weathered, every plant thoughtfully hand placed. The world feels alive, and that is probably one of the reasons I spent so much time escaping there, at a time when the real world just didn’t seem to offer me anything worthwhile. Fortunately for me and those I care about (and who care about me), those dark times are in my past now, but sometimes I wonder whether or not I would be here, and who I am today if it were not for Morrowind and that second life I led there.

This is why, several years ago, I decided to get a tattoo of the sigil of Alduin as depicted from Morrowind. Alduin is a prominent reference throughout The Elder Scrolls lore, known by a different name to each of the races of Tamriel, but sharing a common description; the Dragon-God of Time. So imagine my surprise and unbridled joy when it was announce that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim would feature none other than Alduin him/her/itself!

The tattoo itself has a story as well. It was done by the amazing Marc Pinto of Primitive Tattoos. Marc has done my other inking work, all of which is done in the traditional Japanese technique called Tebori. In contrast to “Western” tattoing, Tebori is done by hand, using a sharp implement to push the ink under the skin.

As no machines are involved the whole process is very quiet, so much that you can hear the sound of the implement piercing the skin; this is called Shakki, an onomatopoeic description of the noise it makes, and is deceptively relaxing.

Tebori is a time consuming technique, but the final results are most definitely worth it. I find that the ink stays darker for longer, the lines are more crisp and suffer edge-bleeding less, and the shading that is employed is far more uniform and smooth.

A good Horishi (trained artist) is hard to find, as the training alone takes years of dedication and commitment. An Uchideshi (apprentice) will work under a strict regimen, hand making the needles, the ink (Sumi), and keeping the studio clean and ready. At any one time, there are only a handful of artists trained in Tebori, and Marc Pinto is truly a phenomenal artist whom I have a great amount of respect and admiration for.

This particular piece took about 4 hours to complete, and the experience was amazing. The ultimate irony was that the chair had no head rest, and so my neck was sore and tired from holding it at an awkward angle. This complaint coming from the person who is having thousands upon thousands of needles puncturing his skin and depositing activated carbon underneath it.

The result was incredible and I was superbly happy with it then, as I am now. People often ask me what the tattoo is (as it is my only visible one when I am fully clothed), and often I tell them that it is either the Sigil of Alduin, the Dragon God, or the Akaviri Sigil from Morrowind (this is a long held debate among fans of the Elder Scrolls, but I won’t go into it here). When they ask why I would get a video game tattoo, often while smirking, I tell them that to me The Elder Scrolls are more than just a game. They are a symbol of creativity, dedication, and most of all they are a reminder that no matter how difficult things might have been, or how difficult they might be in the future, I was able to get through them.

So finally, I would like to say Thank You to Bethesda, and the team behind all of the Elder Scrolls games. You might not realise it, but you have indirectly helped to make me who I am today, and I cannot express enough how much that means to me.

-Tim

As it turns out, some of the tracks that I listen to the most often are in fact tribute songs to games; not cheesy parodies that reference someone playing the game, but real and genuine songs that reference the world that the game takes place in. I suppose it somewhat shocked me to realise just how much this happens. In fact The Witcher (in its secondary incarnation) comes with an entire album of such tribute songs written by bands who genuinely love the world described by the books and game. One of these bands is a very famous Polish metal group!

While heavy metal might not be your cup of tea, the album is laced with samples from every genre from Reggae to A Capella to Grunge Rock to Classical. The fact that so many artists were inspired enough to write music based upon the world of the Witcher was astounding, but it doesn’t stop there. The cross-pollination between gaming and music runs deeper than you might initially think, though the parallels have precedence, especially in the realm of movie-song tie-ins. Another favourite of mine is the closing credits track to Mass Effect, a song by post-punk group The Faunts called M4 (Part 2):

This piece does not just play over the credits, but the theme and mood of the song perfectly compliments the final moments of the game in such a way that rarely leaves me with a dry pair of eyes. In addition, if you listen carefully during the bridge/outro, the melody line is eerily reminiscent of the Mass Effect theme music itself! The two work together so well, using similar instrumentation and cadence that manages to extend your immersion well into the credit sequence as you reflect on what just happened in the games final moments. This is a perfect example of game development at its finest; dare I say a work of art.

Of course, another example that immediately jumps to mind is mildly camp rap that plays over the closing credits to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This one… I’m not so proud of, but a scientist knows he must not introduce a selection bias when presenting data.

There is, of course, one more venue that I have not yet discussed, and that is the fertile plains of homebrew musical recreations and craftings that grow at the holy mecca of OCReMix.org. I have not omitted it by accident, nor out of spite. I plan on talking about that very soon in Episode 3 of the Anchorage Podcast (coming soon!); three episodes down and two to go before I have my 5 episode buffer that I believe will allow me to continue posting them on a regular schedule.

Lastly but not leastly: Please take a brief moment out of your hectic life to vote for me here at the iiNet Top Geek competition! Shameless self promotion? Sure, but it is my party and I will cry if it so pleases me.

Do you have any favourite game soundtracks? Do you ever find yourself listening to a soundtrack outside the act of gaming?

Post below or to corsair@corsairsanchorage.com

First and foremost, I would like to thank those of you who are here because you watched Beauty and the Geek Australia and were kind enough to follow and support me and my fellow Geeks (and Beauties) through-out the season. It was an amazing time for all of us, and though I miss the show I am glad to be back in my life doing the research that I had left behind. Now that the show is over, I can revive this site and resume writing short bursts of creativity interspersed with long periods of procrastination!

A lot has happened since I was last able to post on this site, as I am sure you can appreciate. Not only has my physical appearance undergone a radical shift; so has the way I approach my life. I do get a lot of people approaching me on the streets or in the shopping centre, asking me questions and offering me compliments on the makeover. To all of you I offer my deepest gratitude, as it is heartwarming to know that people have watched the show and joined all of us on our respective journeys. To the most common questions that I am asked, here is a quick FAQ:

• Do you like your makeover?
  Yes, though I must admit it was two full weeks before I started to recognise myself in the mirror. The mansion has many reflective surfaces, and I was constantly spinning around, looking for the strange-looking person standing behind me, only to realise that it was me.

• Are you going to keep your hair short/your beard shaved?
  Yes, I believe (for the meantime at least) I will be keeping this look, or some minor variation there-of. The short hair is certainly easier to maintain (and I used far less shampoo), though I will have to factor regular haircuts back into my budget.

• Are you and Kara still friends?
  Absolutely! Kara is one of the most amazing people I have ever been fortunate enough to meet, and I am sure we will remain good friends for a long time. I cannot stress enough, just how happy I am that she picked me on that very first day. Nor can I articulate just how proud of her, and how much I appreciate everything that she has done for me both during the show and since. <3

• Was it fun filming the show?
  The whole experience was a blast, though there were ups and downs just like every part of your life. The crew were amazing and the Mansion was a lot of fun to live in. And yes, Bernard Curry is a fantastic and hilarious person to spend time with. (Also, yes, Bernard and I did spend some time talking about the LHC and quantum physics)

• What are you doing now that the show has finished?
  Back to my research! My real world job is both as a science communicator at Horizon – The Planetarium in Perth (come and see me for a show some time!), and as a researcher currently writing my Honours Thesis in Pulsar Astrophysics. Feel free to ask me about my research, but I warn you in advance: sometimes I can get a bit too excited and talk so much that your ears will bleed. I really do love my work! :D
  

So, what is next? Just as I have gone through a transformation over the course of the show, so too will Anchorage. There are some articles that will start appearing on the site over the coming weeks, but for those of you who would rather listen than read I have some exciting news. That’s right, I am boldy going where many, more-experienced people have gone before; I am starting a brand new podcast! Keep your eyes (and now your ears as well) peeled and join me on this new venture into the world of science, gaming, and rambling anecdotes. Thank you all once more for your support and for joining us on Beauty and the Geek Australia. Subscribe to the RSS feed (big blue button on the top right of the page) and I hope to hear from you all in the future.

Yours Truly

Tim Young

In the meantime, hit the big blue RSS button and subscribe to the feed, and I hope to have a post waiting in your favourite aggregator by October.

#UPDATE#

It is no secret, now that the show has begun to air, that I am in fact a contestant on this current season of Beauty and the Geek. I can not talk about the show just yet, nor can I update this site until I am out of my “online-presence lockdown” phase. In the mean time you can watch the show on Thursdays at 8:30 PM on Channel 7, or catch up with missed episodes and behind the scenes action at the Official Beauty and the Geek website.

You can also show your support by joining this Facebook page!
(Caveat: I am in no way involved with this fan-page! Information posted on it should be treated as speculation as common sense dictates.)

Yours sincerely
- The Corsair

“Why do you always play as a girl?”

To save face here I am going to first of all admit that, while I do have a tendancy to create female characters, I am fully capable of playing my own gender in RPGs and in fact do so on a more than regular basis. I cannot deny that female characters make up a large fraction of my gaming avatars; some recent example come to mind*:

From the depths of Ferelden: Vaera of the Dalish
	From the mines beneath Torchlight: Vela the Vanquisher
Leading the armies of Chaos: Vaera, Disciple of Khaine

Why then did I chose a female Shepard in a game that is so deeply engrossing and personal? When faced with this question in the past, people often fall back on the argument of:

“Oh, I just wanted to see the Shepard-Liara romance scene in all its intended glory“

This might be all well and true for some people but I have to admit that I do enjoy playing a game with a strong female protagonist. Unfortunately, games designed with a strong female protagonist in mind often fall short of the experience that I was seeking in the first place, purely for the fact that the gender of the protagonist plays some vital and attention-worthy role in the story. In my mind a strong character should be able to stand up on its own as either gender and still evoke the same emotions and responses from the audience/player. This is one of the many things that Bioware games do often and to great effect; one of the reasons that I continue to seek out their games like rare and precious gemstones in oceans of useless soil and dirt.

This does not answer the initial question posed; what is the attraction in playing a character of the opposite gender? I honestly do not believe I can give a satisfactory answer here. Why do we enjoy movies where the lead role is a gender other than our own? I dare say the vulgar repetition of bland male action heroes would eventually render audiences immune to the stories being told, in the same way that a man (or woman) forced to eat a prime rib-eye steak for every meal of his (or her) life would soon crave a breast of chicken like a newborn child craves oxygen.

Yet movies are passive and the adventures that the characters eke out are vicarious at best; gaming brings you one step closer in a way that helps you better bond with the protagonist in question. Furthering my own dilemma as presented here, many of my female characters reside in the highly social realms of Massively Multilpayer Online games. So why then would you chose to indulge in a cross-gendered avatar, especially when social interactions play an important role in the game.

Personally the answer is simple: I enjoy it and I find the change both refreshing and comfortable. I know that some people I play with will flat out refuse to play a female character for the exact opposite of these reasons; ultimately it comes down to personal taste. I would love to hear from any of you in your opinions on playing characters of another gender, both good and bad, and to those of you who emailed me in response to my last post: Thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy my ramblings.

Which brings me to ask you, kind readers:

How many of you play characters of an opposite gender? If you do, what are your reasons, and if not then why?

Comment below or email me at corsair@corsairsanchorage.com

*These are the three games that I could find screenshots for. I feel sorely remiss that I cannot find an image of my Age of Conan character, Ynnifer. That red haired scoundrel :P

When I woke up Wednesday morning the day was looking up; it was my first day off in quite some time and I rejoiced at the thought of being able to sleep in, have a nice lunch for a change, and maybe even spend a couple of hours up-side-down on a couch reading a book (my preferred reading position). In the space of six hours I received two phone calls that would change everything: someone had broken street-date on Mass Effect 2, allowing me to convince the girl behind the counter at EB to hand my copy over “nice and slow-like”; and the framers had worked their magic on my lithograph over two weeks ahead of the expected schedule. One 15 minute journey later and my addiction had reached a beautiful critical mass.

In the months since December of last year I have immersed myself so deeply within the world of Mass Effect, in preparation for the prodigal sequel, that it has started to affect me on a fundamental level. Just the other day I legitimately pondered the required energy to significantly remove the gravitational influence of a pulsar, and began a rough calculation until reality came creeping back into the foreground of my thoughts. I dare say it will not be long before I start demonstrating the positions of known Mass Relays at the Planetarium and am subsequently fired for the preaching of gross falsehoods. I listen to the soundtrack to the first game whilst reading the novelised prequels, and when I shut my eyes I sometimes inadvertently visualise the spinning Mass Relay loading screen.

The degree to which this game has entrenched itself into my cortical lobes gives us the context we need to continue. You see, every time I search for Mass Effect on the Internet, read about it in a press release or through one of my many aggregated RSS feeds, or even talk about it with other sapient beings, something strange happens. I get confused and disoriented! All of a sudden, the world has turned topsey-turvey and I grasp blindly as my brain tries to piece my shattered world back together.

To the rest of the world, Shepard looks like this
	Which is confusing because for me, Shepard looks like this

The blatant identity crisis would be understandably crippling for Shepard herself (himself?), yet somehow I find myself thinking for her whenever confronted with this discontinuity. Seeing a male Shepard is like looking into a mirror and seeing someone else’s face staring back, even though the face is an avatar for an imaginary character. There is no logical reason why it should unnerve me so much, and yet I find it physically distressing to see “John” Shepard conversing with the Normandy’s crew instead of “Jane”.

While I applaud BioWare for their efforts in creating a game that is (largely) gender-independent in terms of character interaction and development, I find it incredibly interesting to note how severe my reactions are to resulting conflicts created in both the game’s advertising and general public discourse. The role of gender in a games avatar is a topic for another day, but for now I would love to know:

Do you ever find yourself identifying with a specific portrayal of a character in games, books, film, etc.?

Have you ever encountered this alienation when encountering a non-idealised version of these characters?

I would love to hear your comments below!

photo credit: Alice Bartlett

As a child I was often promised, among other things, a future who’s hallmarks were flying cars and holograms. Growing up I was regaled with tales of robots, instant meals, and all manner of things wonderful and fantastic. Furthermore these stories were always suppended with comments in the vein of “…and that is where you will get to make your mark, my boy!”. In those golden days of my youth, no-one expected humanity to try so hard to shoot themselves in the foot.

Moore’s Law stated initially that the number of transistors on a silicon chip would double over a period of two years. Moore himself placed limits on this theory, though the trend outlasted his wildest expectations; the result was a relationship that constantly underwent redefinition as the notion of “technology” evolved. Society had been skeptical in the past, steadfast in their belief’s that this kind of progress was pure fantasy, yet time and time again they were forced to sit slack-jawed in wonder at the latest in computing technology. The wiki article has a great history of the “Law”, and coincidentally one of my favourite blogs has just posted a fantastic article on how things could have turned out differently. What truly baffles the mind, what denies all plausible sensabilities, is how people seem to resent and resist this progress. Right here in Australia, planning is under way for a National Broadband Network that would potentially bring our fine nation into this nascent age of high definition internet access, connecting the entire country to the rest of the world in ways never before thought possible. For those of us isolated on the West Coast, the prospect of such a connection was akin to platform nine-and-three-quarters; a secret realm hidden between fantasy and ecstasy. On the cusp of such a monumental step forward, how does the populace respond?

They complain! They actually make statements like “The internet is fast enough[sic]“.

The argument that faster connections will only lead to greater instances of piracy are so unintelligent that I actually find them offensive. It is reductio ad nauseum to make the connection between faster downloads and the absence of any legitimate use of this extra bandwidth, and I don’t doubt for a second that Godwin is next to take the stage in this inane debate. Making things worse still, the population at large simply has too few sources of reliable and unbiased information from which to make an intellectual opinion. The media feeds this burning ignorance by stoking the flames of fear and mania, publishing and presenting stories designed only to create hyperbole and spread misinformation. It is the unfortunate state of our media monster, that if a news story is outrageous enough, other news sources will report on the first news story, thus creating a vicious cycle of publicity that all too soon spews out falsehoods masquerading as gospel.

I ask you now to imaging this, a near future where the right choices were made. The laying of fibre-optic cabling across the nation allows bandwidths capable of hundreds of Gigabytes per second (Gbps), with a fibre-to-the-home connection allowing a full 1 Gbps connection for each connected device. Using this connection, Television stations are capable of delivering HD Programming in addition to the high speed Internet afforded by the ISP. The cable-based TV station suffer less signal degradation than conventional antenna based transmission, resulting in a more reliable signal uninterrupted by local electromagnetic interferences such as washing machines or microwaves. With the TV stations no longer utilising the radio-wave transmission, this new “Empty Space” in the spectrum can be filled in by conventional wireless transmission currently being restricted to the frequency ranges around 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz. This greater freedom allows better signal penetration and less interference; it is now possible to have a single wireless router that will happily fill your house with no dead spots, and more than likely into your neighbours house as well. These freed-up frequencies also allow telecommunications companies greater opportunities in providing wireless broadband services to mobile phones and laptops on the move. The fibre-optic network also gives ISPs the chance to realistically offer competition to the current Telecommunications Conglomerates, driving down service charges and making communication easier and more affordable. The concept of being constantly connected to your family in England, or your children in the United States, is no longer some fantastical dream from a fantasy realm. Information becomes something people are entitled to, and able to access with ease and freedom.

Can you imagine this wonderful future?

Good. Now weep for it.

photo credit: the|G|™

In this most recent binge of bettering myself I have been mustering up the motivation to do some of the things I wish I did more often. This can be shown in the fact that I have now run Jacob’s Ladder twice this week and fully plan on a third assailing of that mocking dastard this Friday. While this has temporarily halted my attempts at starting Tai Chi for purely physical limitations (namely my complete inability to hold a low horse stance without my calves deciding that this is a monumentally stupid idea and leaving), I truly believe that they both work towards a common goal.

This, however, has nothing to do with what I wish to talk about today.

I read, on average, 5 – 6 small essays every day from the various vestiges of the Internet. Some are aggregated courtesy of my compulsion to add every RSS feed ever into my google reader account. Some are linked to me in posts made by those same subscriptions. Some fall out of Wiki-loops and some even appear as a legitimate part of my studies. I often save these articles, or leave the tab open in my browser of choice until it reaches a sort of critical mass and they all collapse to form… well… a memory error. I do this because  I often want to link them here and comment about them, but this is always a cop-out on what I really want to do; I want to write the articles. So, I am going to make a concerted effort over the next couple of months to knock out a decent quality mini-essay per week. The first is definitely going to be about Communication, hence the post title. Peel an eye for that one.

In the meantime, fantastic things I have found on the internet that will allow me to close some tabs!

All credit goes to Phill for finding this one, but he didn’t post about it so I will. This is one of the most emotional and amazing videos I have ever seen. I just wish I could save it somehow.

Keeping it real with my boys in the Astro community, I should point out that this was actually discovered by an amatuer Aussie astronomy outside of Canberra. He forwarded it onto NASA who were very glad that he did so, as you can read.

Else, in the land of Astro, the Lunar Recconeissance Orbiter has spotted some pretty lucky shots on it’s way to… well… do what it did before it got there!

Any audiophile worth his salt would jump at the chance to have been this lucky. A tour of the Dolby labs is my idea of the best first date ever! In all seriousness, however, if you ever wondered what makes one sound better than another, have a quick read of this article. Sound is very much like wine…

Finally, a sneak peek into my first mini-essay, this one in particular inspired me more than most I read on a daily basis. Not long now before Internet kills the Video Star.

photo credit: duncan

After yet another successful annual trip to Prevelly, I have found myself in a pre-metamorphic state. The trip itself consisted what anyone would expect from a bunch of university students desperately clinging onto the last shreds of their sanity post-exams. Discussions of philosophy, the preparation of gourmet delicacies, and meditations of self worth. Also, drinking.

In all seriousness, I have decided I require more discipline in my life. I have decided that Tai Chi will do as a viable substitute. I will attempt to update on how this is going, however one thing I would like to investigate is the possibility of blending some of the movements of Tai Chi into Fencing, possibly improving balance and reaction times. Food for thought, that is for sure. On the topic of food, I have no doubt that a post will be up very soon at my second favourite food blog, detailing the scrumptious exploits of one of the best amateur chefs I know. Let this man anywhere near fresh marron and I assure you that what follows will leave you a husk of a man who’s digestive tracts have transcended to a higher plane. Yes, it is that good.

My own escapades in that realm were met with kind words of their own, a heart 1.6kg slab of quivering meat marinated in one of my own concoctions and slow roasted over 4 hours to something that closely resembles perfection. While I feel it could have been rarer for my tastes, with the quality of the kitchens in these small cedar cabins I believe the results exceeded expectations. The marinade, however, was my real victory here. The base constituents of this culinary alchemy were maple syrup, vinegar, Cajun peppers and lime zest. Not what anyone would call traditional, in fact some have expressed their abhorrence at this aberration, yet the combination has merit beyond comprehension. I can only ask you save your vitriol until after you have let me cook it for you.

Segue: Speaking of food and discipline, I have noticed recently that while I have a fantastic espresso machine that I use every day (hourly is probably a better term) I have not yet once used the milk steamer attachment. This is primarily because I am a lazy person, and I like to be able to consume the caffeine part of the coffee as quickly as possible, such that I can get back to my addiction of the moment. Today I broke that particular trend and I must say that it is something I should do more often. For little extra effort my caffeinated beverages could be much nicer; I am simply just too lazy. All this, however, shall change very soon.

While it is no secret to those of whom I see on a regular basis, I may as well come clean with the rest of you. I have started collecting Pokémon cards. I say started in the most poetic sense possible, as of the 600+ card collection was purchased during the early months of 1999 when it was first released in Australia. The more correct term would probably be ‘resume’ or even ‘continue’; sometimes I like to pretend I have dignity. When a friend oh-so fortuitously came across a set of the cards I was immediately reminded of the healthy stack of cards sitting in a shoebox in my wardrobe. Urged by carnal powers stronger than any man has ever faced, the cards were sought, dusted off, and brought to bear the harsh light of day once more. It was immediately apparent that the dusty old ripcurl packaging was no throne for my Pokémon and thus began the quest for a more fitting container. With Pokéballs in short supply (I blame the recession), small plastic forcefields would have to suffice.

With my accomplice trainer (whos identity has been expurgated* at his request) at my side, each Pokémon was lovingly acknowleged and cared for, catalogued and stored away. It is our common goal to one day catch them all.

[segue] Speaking of catching them all [/segue]; wanting to keep updated on some of my favourite webcomics, I have found myself checking my Twitter account more often. I created my account sometime during the Triassic period, only ever having made a single “Tweet”. The original account was made for an experiment I once ran in the name of science; an attempt to use a series of Twitter accounts for in-character banter between Dungeons and Dragons sessions, allowing my players to enjoy an expirience above and beyond normal character interaction. Interestingly enough, the user name I managed to acquire tends to attract the attention of those who believe they are getting something else entirely. My ‘followers’ are an interesting bunch, that is for sure.

With the account in my possession, and keypresses of F5 occuring at an alarming rate, it was an obvious (to some) descision to start making posts of my own. Ergo, if you are a purveyor of ‘Tweets’ like some I know, hit me up  on the site and see if anything I say is worthy of reading.

https://twitter.com/#!/DungeonMaster

*Word of the Day: I refuse all and any who judge me for its usage!

I am pleased to announce that I have been selected as the newest addition to the team at Perth’s Horizon Planetarium as a Planetarium Presenter. While the selection process is not as gruelling as some other professions, I like to think that my unique set of skills and experiences will make a fantastic contribution to the Horizon team.

Thus we come to the final section of today’s post, where I like to make some unfounded claims, pre-broken promises, and generally set myself up to disappoint others. Now that my schedule is lighter, and I have figured out some sort of plan for the immediate future to save myself from drowning in commitments like I usually do, I plan on three posts a week for the next month. Small (relatively) easy goals are the way forward to a more productive me, I think. Let us see how things go, hey?

Today’s links of pure awesomeness:

• Like zombies? This is a really interesting look at the way augmented reality might be used in the near future. Personally, I am foaming at the mouth with excitement for what this could do to a DnD campaign. Are you listening Wizards?!?
• It turns out that Call of Duty 4 is actually making me a better driver. This kind of study usually makes me really sceptical, however I must say that the ABC science team have actually written something that does not sound too skewed and biased for a change, and that makes me very happy. Small victories are better than flat-out defeats, I guess.
• I am a regular reader of Dan’s Data and rarely find myself glossing over what he writes. This obviously means that I find what he writes to be interesting; this article is no exception. I agree with almost everything he says here, and I think people should look at the way they use computers with this article in mind. Also, I think people should cut their whinging and whining, and simply make the effort to learn how to use these contraptions. I never tire of listening to people tell me that computers “should just work”, thus absolving the user of any and all blame. This is doubly true for people who complain about bad coding, but this is a rant for another day.
• Speaking of computers – This is possibly the most amazing case-mod I have ever seen. Actually, I do not think it can be called a case mod; there were no real modifications, so much as being built out of raw awesomium and refined into awesomite. Called Edelweiss, it truly is a thing of beauty. Something I would be proud to have sitting on my desk, seriously, this thing would be in photos inside my wallet!
• This just makes me angry, especially when I am looking at starting up a small business myself in the next 6-8 months. To slam small businesses with fees like this is outrageous to the point of being purely malicious. Seriously, how can the be surprised when we torrent all out music and television episodes? The answer to Piracy is not to increase tariffs and taxes, that is how you ENCOURAGE it!
• Finally, I do not think I have ever seen someone make a heartbeat sound so epic!

In the meantime, look at some of these fantastic things I have found while desperately trying to procrastinate!

• The only magazine I would consider buying has done another fantastic article on the Terminator. The movie tie ins are obvious, but the content is interesting independently (see previous post).
• I always feel compelled to let everyone know when important astrophysics comes out of Australia. Just click this link to find out why.
• Keeping the astronomy theme going, these are the only pictures ever of a shuttle in solar transit. Read up for how he did it, which is the truly amazing part!
• This is just freaking cool! From the same guy who brought us that fantastic Steampunk IBM keyboard and the amazing Steapunk Laptop, don’t be too shy to delve deeper into his site and look at all the other fantastic creations within. May hat is eternally tipped in respect.

Alrighty now, back to it. This project does not write itself… little bastard that it is.

While I am not a big fan of changing the spelling of a word just for the hell of it, I will lay down some extra tolerance for the short term and go with the proverbial flow. I have apparently been tagged as la Kreativ Blogger extraordinaire by my brother-in-arms, the Apocathary. Whether a true source of creativity, or just a number to fill the spots, I have been tasked with sharing seven things that I love. If one were to plot number of updates on this site versus time, they would be excused for thinking that number one on the list was Procrastination. Some days I would not disagree.

1. Space: This should seem pretty self explanatory, given my attempts to wedge myself into the world of astronomy and astrophysics. However, it ultimately comes down to the fact that I simply love space and its exploration! I could go on about this forever, and I worry that if I start I might never stop, so lets move on to number 2…
2. The sound of rain: I would go so far as to say that I love everything about rain, but the sound of it is usually enough to satiate my lust for winter. Sometimes, when I am stressed, I will listen to rain on my DAP. Now, I should make it abundantly loud and clear; I am not talking about you lah-dee-dah, rainbow vomiting, pitter-patter, raindrops keep falling on my head, rain. When I hear rain, I want those motherfuckers to be mistaken for Armageddon. The soundtrack to my tranquillity is something between a category 5 cyclone and a waterfall. There is nothing that gets my goosebump on like lying down with closed eyes and listen to the sound of Mother Nature bringing her wrath to bear.
3. Artificial Intelligence: This actually came up today as a matter of conversation, but I love stories with AIs as characters. Cortana, GLaDOS, HAL, Daedalus, Skynet and Holly; there is something really exciting about the idea of machine intelligence and being able to interact with it in games will often be enough to put it in my favourites column. Transhumanism and the idea of an AI approaching something that cannot be differentiated from a human intelligence (HI) is truly fascinating. I remember my first contact with Daedalus in Deus Ex when it freed me from my prison cell; later finding out it was an AI made me completely revisit our earlier interactions in my mind. The subtext that plays out between Master Chief and Cortana is also a personal favourite of mine. The concept of a genetically engineered “post-human” and an AI having a subtle love story woven into a game is something that I do not think most people really appreciate. Then there is Mass Effect. I have always wanted an AI companion of my own, ever since I was very little. As a massive Transformers fan, I always looked forward to having a car that could talk to me, just for the companionship. Then, as I grew older, that desire turned into the love of AI in all it’s forms. After reading Neuromancer and then Asimov’s work, the need to be able to interact with computers on such a primal level grew. This probably explains how I feel about computers today, and why I am so willing to spend such ridiculous amounts of money on them. Eventually, it became a dream of mine to have a suit or watch/belt with an Artificial Intelligence in it that would always be with me. Probably says a lot about my subconscious mind. Seriously, I could talk about this forever…
4. Roleplay: No, you dirty bastards. I am talking in the greater sense here, things like Dungeons and Dragons, White Wolf’s World of Darkness, MMORPG games etc. I think that the obnoxiously close-minded view that roleplay is for children, or for adults who have not grown up is the most juvenile and retarded thing I have ever heard. I love being able to enter the mindset of a completely different person and become them for a period of time. Being able to play outside of your usual personality and bring a completely new face to bear is a fantastic thing that I think everyone should be able to experience. If there is one thing I wish University did not impinge upon, it is the fact that I cannot play as much DnD as I would like with my friends. What I would like to do is take it to the next level, however, and DM a game of people I do not know. I think that experience will be something I would really appreciate, and will help me become a better DM and a better player.
5. Fonts and Etymology: I love words and their roots. I love languages and typesetting and the shapes words make on a page. I love the symmetry, the assonance, the dissonance, rhyme, rhythm, timbre and time. Words in themselves are wonderfully pure. Sometimes it pays to look at a page of writing and look at it not for what it says, but for where it came from. When you see the similarities between languages, and where they differ, you start to see a little piece of history and I really feel I can appreciate that. The English language as it stands today is a marvellous patchwork of roots that all trace back in different directions, and yet they all (mostly) come from a single source. I think everyone should make the effort to learn a little bit more about their own language, not just how to speak another country’s native tongue. However, if you do want to learn another language, I recommend Lojban.
6. Tallships: This should come as no big surprise to anyone who even remotely knows me. I have been a Watch Officer on the STS Leeuwin II, a position I held with pride for two years before University dug it’s claws into my skull. I have also held a crew position on the Duyfken when she sailed our shores, not to mention a handful of recreational classes out of the South Perth Yacht Club. I have never been so at peace with everything than when I am sailing at night, or in a storm (see number 2). I love sound of the ocean, the feel of the swell beneath your feet, the salty air on your face, and the utter lack of humanity. Somewhat obvious that a misanthrope would dig the sheer remoteness that only the open ocean provides. At night, with an overcast sky and a new moon, there is no way to tell where the horizon is. The result is something truly otherworldly; a place where you are alone on a deck, floating through a vast empty space with nothing above nor below. I miss my Lioness.
7. Information: I do not know if I love this, or whether I just have an addiction problem. I need information, and I love having it. I have RSS feeds intravenously fed into me at all times, and I freak the fuck out when I miss out on something. I do not know why I react to information this way, but when I read an article talking about something obscure, and I already know it, I get a rush similar to the kind one would normally find in an illicit consumable. My Internet browsers (usually Chrome but sometimes Firefox) have more open tabs than they were ever designed to handle, and culling them is a painful experience that I do not relish when the time comes (usually around about the same time that my RAM starts crying). Information is not limited to just news and science, either. I hate low bit-rate music because I cannot bear the thought of not hearing all the subtleties that were in the original track, as a result my 32GB DAP holds fewer songs than one would expect. I hate JPEGs for their lossy encoding and the way it collects artifacts like the way Yahtzee’s proverbial Scarlet Harlot collects venereal diseases. While RAW is phenomenal when employed in photography, Internet browsers do not natively support the file, not to mention it’s size is prohibitively huge. I use PNG as a happy alternative with an acceptable trade-off as a result.

So, there it is. I have no doubt that if I actually spent some time thinking about it my answers would probably be slightly different (or just longer). I am meant to tag seven people here, but to be quite honest I do not know seven people that have not already been tagged, so I will just nod to those who have already done it and that I respect enough to read (that is, they are in my IV RSS machine).

This chap has turned old cassette tapes into something truly amazing. My personal fav is definitely Mr Smith of Cure fame; the surly look is perfectly rendered in magnetic tape splendour!

Using X-Rays to see inside of things is something we take for granted, but someone has decided to use them to artistically show the innards of our favourite objects. The nostalgia aspect of seeing inside a SNES holds particlar sway over my heart.

What possessed this man to actually do this, I do not know, but the result is truly breathtaking. Is there a little artist inside every Roomba, trying to break out? Part of me kind of hopes so.

Of course, what better way to finish the day than with a perspex blue glowing COIL GUN!

photo credit: pvera

Quitting ones job right at the beginning of a global recession may seem an unwise decision. Some have led me to believe that the act showed a lack of foresight or planning; or common sense. I like to think that walking out on my job just started a global trend. While the lack of income has stopped me from doing some of the things I really enjoy (eating, bathing, etc), I have been resourceful in funding the bare necessities (internet, electricity, etc). Getting a teaching position at my University was a fantastic move, though a stopgap measure in the long run. What I truly have found myself poor of is time. Between my classes, my Astrophysics Project, and instructing the public in key survival techniques; there is little interesting to talk about, and less time to say it in.

Of course, talking about space just makes me want to start paying Mass Effect again; something that is beyond my power until my computer is restored to a respectable standard. One thing that I have been doing to help me forget the woeful state my computer is in, however, is playing a lot of Xbox 360. Namely: GTA IV. I full well understand how far behind I am in the grand timeline, I just never expected myself to buy a 360 to be perfectly honest. The act of purchase itself was one of my last while working at that godforsaken place, somewhat akin to a last ditch attempt at trying to validate all those hours toiled away in futility. I do not regret it.

Next: A Segue!