It's a New Year & My Saturn is Returning

Eyes clap shut thinking of the epic journey I am about to embark on; I am restless. I am starting to feel the daunt, the weight, the fear. Have I enough time to prepare? Enough time for the cloud to soften in my belly?
The new year has begun and I can feel the changes I have chosen laying thick, of emotions foreign like blankets pulled out for the new season of living. The feeling of change is of comfortable settlement being ripped apart by excitement and a lust for disorder. Career held, strange assumptions of character, worry, doubt and well-wishers fall at my feel for landing. But I am taking off... fuck yeah...

Shelves of Diversity

I just caught myself staring at my bookshelf and suddenly, a realization smothered me like spandex bed linen. My collection of books makes no sense at all; nonsense. I am aware that most 'book-lovers' will have an enormous collection of books from many different genres however, in my situation, the fact remains that I do not have a 'large' collection of books. In fact, my collection is rather modest for someone claiming to be a book-lover.
Some dear friends of mine are indeed, real book-lovers who are forever pressed deep into a book; up to their ears in pages and desperate for space to house more of their already exuberant congeries. They, as expected, have an incredible selection of books from varied topics and genres, but me however, looking at my excruciatingly modest sample, am very surprised to see such a variety collided so close on one shelf.
To help you understand what I am talking about, allow me to reference some titles resting adjacent to each other within sight of my office chair; Biography of K. Rudd, Autobiography of The Doors as written by Ray Manzarek, Roy, a book about Andrew Symonds, from Victoria Finlay comes a book about Colour, Chickenhawk by Robert Mason (Vietnam War) & Chelsea Horror Hotel by Dee Dee Ramone... Do I have an identity crisis? Or can I be labelled with diversification? A man of multifariousness?

Dropping it all

So I just made one of the most daring decisions of my life today. I decided to quit my very good job as a Sony Product Trainer so I can travel around the world. I have no set agenda, just an idea of the countries I want to visit. My unrelenting desire to walk the world without a care or solid direction has finally been bequeathed upon me. From where? I do not know, but I am certain that this has come from another part of me that is not so present, as it is a carry-on from lives lived prior.
It is hard to describe to those living outside of my head however, I cannot be bound to their thoughts, nor restricted by reason; I must simply act as a man with reasons only reasonable to his own. I am filled with fright, whilst overcome with joy. I am kneeling to the sky and throwing myself into the depths of freedom; I am now... a nomad.

Christmas Zombies Shoppers

Yay, it's Christmas time again and all the stores are filled with random zombie shoppers. In my line of work (paid, business type, real job stuff) I have to deal with retail staff on a daily basis. My job as a Sony Product Specialist/Trainer means I have to try and push the Sony propaganda down the throats of everyday, living, breathing, lamenting, struggling retailers.
Right now my job is so overwhelmingly difficult because they are having to deal with the sudden influx of mindless, red-eyed, drooling consumer zombies. All shuffling about with no identified agenda, scouring the shelves in search for gift ideas for which seem so distant. They leave with them a trail of inadequate thought, a stream of melancholic disappointment as they disappear into another row of fixtures... forever sighing.

The retail staff are just as zombie-like. Is it infectious? This habit? I see it happen right before my very eyes. They are coherent enough as we begin our discussions however, they break away to 'serve' one of these lifeless bodies, only to return with minds numbed, bags below the eyes swollen and speech turned slurred and inaccurate. But why am I immune to the seemingly toxic state that spreads through this field this season? Am I a superhero? A deity, perhaps?
As much as I would like to think so, I am afraid not. Maybe I have a hardened mind? I am incapable of hypnosis, I once came to realise. I went to an NLP seminar (convinced by my Drummer... mistake!) and watched on in awe as a room full of about 400 people all became hypnotized before my very eyes. My bass-player (convinced to come also) was staring up at the stage with glassy eyes, in a state I had never seen before. I was somewhat scared. Hey, maybe these shoppers are just hypnotized? But what would be the cause of such hypnosis?
Perhaps I will transform also, when it is my turn to shop? Maybe I will skip Christmas this year... I wonder if I could?

Too many questions!

Twitter Vs Facebook

First of all, I will make one thing clear... I am a Twitter man over a Facebook man. The number one reason; Twitter seams like more of a stream of personality whilst Facebook weighs heavily thick of society's imposed shield of web identity. It is overly gross with pseudonym's and I fear , has the potential to contribute to the confronting decline in person to person social activity.
But whatever... I'm a Twitter Man.
http://twitter.com/Jimothyk

Morty's Nomadic Blog

I have a mate who has given up the rat-race to dive into the wilderness that is the world. He gave up his day job and to the envy of all his friends, packed his bags and pissed off into the world. This is an idealistic approach to living and perhaps not to every one's taste, however, I for one, am very jealous indeed.

His blog is definitely worth checking out:
http://mortymoose.blogspot.com

Ronald Jenkees

So I've been enjoying this guy's (Ronald Jenkees) music on YouTube for some time and I think he really needs to be congratulated on his determination and effort. Through unlikely odds, he has been inspiring people all over the world to be happy doing what they do and to be humbled in doing so. His constant reminders of what makes us happy and how we should be, make him so lovable. His music is freakin awesome (to say the least) and he is a totally cool guy... and random.
Some people have said he is a fake, but even if this were so (I disagree) he still sends an honest messege and has never defered from that; this makes him valid and justified.

Parrot's AR.Drone W/ iPhone App

This device looks so awesome, I am actually glad that it isn't quite available, otherwise I would have ordered one in a moment of weak compulsion.
The AR.Drone from Parrot is a four blade helicopter (aka; Quadricopter) that is controlled via your iPhone using their iPhone app.

The device has two cameras mounted facing forward and down and the user can switch between the two at will, by the touch of a button within the software, which is over layed on the image via direct feed to the iPhone. It connects to the iPhone by an adhoc link using the iPhone's WiFi capabilities.

Watch the video for more:


For more info:
http://ardrone.parrot.com/parrot-ar-drone/en

ROA Creates A Giant Lanticular in London

Found thanks to Creaturism:
http://creaturism.blogspot.com

So these dudes created this graffiti progect that I thought was amazing.

I was curious because my buddie Luke pointed out (indirectly) that yes, it was just a bunny... however, you must look again.

That's when I went "oh right".
Kinda reminds me of Banksy work. Who in my opinion is the best street artist around.

Libra Invisible Ad: Best Ad Ever

This is the new TVC from Libra Invisible Pads. Well done Libra for finally making a women's health product commercial that is so funny. I noticed that a lot of women and men comment on how good the ad is in some of the YouTube postings. So obviously the TVC is a hit. I love it!

Eats banana* Ching!
Flies up from behind the couch: PingPingPingPingPing!



Classic

3D Scanner

This is a cool way to get 3D scanned images!
Pretty cool.



Check out more from Gigafide Tinkernut:
http://www.youtube.com/user/gigafide

Podcast Uploaded

Well, as promised our new podcast has been uploaded and is ready for your listening pleasure.
Please feel free to leave comments and feedback regarding the new format and enjoy.

Can be found at:
http://formula1informer.mypodcast.com/

New Blog & Podcast

I am now contributing to a blog dedicated to F1 and I am also creating a podcast dedicated to the same subject. My bro Paulk and I have decided that enough is enough, we can no longer keep supporting F1 as obsessed as we do without contributing in some form or another. So, be sure to look out for it if you're into that sort of thing. I will let you all know what the links are as soon as the site goes live.



Edit* Link for Formula 1 Informer Blog;
http://formula1informer.blogspot.com

Formula 1: PreSeason Analysis

After reading my earlier posts on the preseason testing, I noticed that I have been missing out a couple of factors I think are going to make a big difference this coming season, as far as how I think the drivers and teams will perform. Most notably is the new rule forbidding refueling during the race. This is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, it means that the only real advantage teams can gain from two stop or three stop strategies, is faster paces from fresh tyres and better race traction from adjustments in the front wing. In my opinion I can not see the value in these strategies and I think we will only see more stops due to repair or weather appropriate tyre changes.

The fact that drivers lose so much time during a stop, albeit less time without refueling, means that there is nothing to gain from a tyre change or wing adjustment, when weighed against that of a pit stop. So, what does this mean? Well it means that drivers are going to have to take much better care of their tyres to ensure they can make it over the longer hauls and it also means that teams with better fuel efficiency, will have the advantage over cars that need to carry more fuel for the same amount of laps. This is a compounding problem because of course, the more fuel a car needs to carry, the more weight is in the car, which means it needs more fuel to carry the weight and the slower it is out on the track.

Now I'm on record in saying that I think the top four contenders for the championship this year is Webber, Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton. So lets take a little look at these four, to determine who is going to be the most advantageous, leading into this season. Webber and Vettel both have an advantage in that, their Red Bull RB6 has proven to be one of the most fuel efficient cars on the track. My concern for Vettel here is that conserving fuel is something that the more experienced drivers typically do better, it's a natural learning that comes in time. So of course my pick of the two team mates is Webber however, the young German has proven to be a quick learner and is shaping up to be one of the best drivers we will watch over then next decade or so. Hamilton too, has shown us that he is not one who constantly practices conservative driving styles.

I'm not advocating a lack of taking chances during overtaking maneuvers or giving up positions on the track here, I'm simply pointing out that he, like Vettel have shown us a desire to fight on and put in blistering times lap after lap after they have been instructed to conserve fuel in the past. Which leads me to believe that the two might find it hard to find the constraint required to make it on track, for as many laps as the engineers and strategists would like. Of course, this will probably only be a short lived issue, as I'm sure they will learn quickly after a few races but could cost them valuable points early in the season. Alonso shouldn't really have an issue with this. One of his most valuable assets is his racing intelligence.

Now of course the second issue of long hauls on the track and compounded by the brazen balls out driving by the youngsters lap in lap out, is the issue of premature tyre wear. Hamilton for one, has consistently pushed his tyres to breaking point, race in race out. Most notably, his DNF in his rookie year in 2007 at the Shanghai International Circuit in China. Sure we could blame the strategists or analysts for not pulling him in a lap earlier but coupling that with his racing style, meant that his tyres wore down to the canvas and prevented his completion of the race and quite possibly cost him the championship. Webber and Alonso shouldn't have any issues with tyre wear but I think it's a little too early to speculate on Vettel's ability, as we probably haven't seen enough one stop strategies from him so far.

As far as car readiness is concerned, one would have to assume that the Red Bull RB6 looks good but the Ferrari is looking even better. The guys over there have been working on this new car since June of last year and is pretty much ready for the new season. This confidence is highlighted in the fact that the Alonso didn't run the track on the final day of testing, only Massa who probably needs all the practice he can get after his brain damage from last year. My prediction is that he will always toy with the front this year but only because the car is so good. I don't rate him as a driver and I think that anyone in as good a car as the Ferrari this year and of course their incredible cars from 2007 and 2008, would have just as many podiums under their belt (harsh, I know).

One point I'd like to make is in the ingenuity shown by Red Bull's chief technical officer, Adrian Newey. By this, I am talking about his development regarding the car's exit points of the exhaust pipes. He has moved the exhaust vents to the outer side of the gearbox and directed them to fire below the bottom suspension wishbone. This channels all the hot air around the rear suspension, allowing it to flow out and over the top side of the floor. They (humorously) tried to cover up this sneaky little trick by placing a sticker that looks identical to that of the old exhaust system, above the new exhaust where it would normally escape from, in an attempt to fool onlookers and the press into assuming they hadn't changed the design at all. The only downside is that there is a possibility that the heat from the exhaust may do some damage to the suspension, so the team has fitted the wishbone and floor with little blue temp sensors to see if the heat will cause any issues during the race.

In conclusion, I believe that of my top four picks for this season, it will be a stronger battle between Webber and Alonso, closely fought behind by Hamilton and Vettel, with all taking race victories throughout the season.

Some notable points go to the under-dogs in the pack, especially Force India. Watch out for some great races from Sutil who's been showing some great pace during the preseason, as long as he doesn't crash and take out half of the Field. Also, I believe we may even see some hot races from the recently struggling Williams team, as Barrichello will be hot to prove his carry on after being dropped from Brawn GP, even after a very successful season last year. However, I also predict that his rookie team mate Hulkenberg will surely give him a run for his money (and the rest of the field for that matter) as he's been surprising many with his good form this preseason.

Finally, to take a look at the new kids on the block (by that I mean Lotus and Virgin... where the fuck are the rest of them? Scratching their asses (fuck you Mr. Windsor)).
So far we've seen the Lotus showing more reliability that the Virgin and has also announced that they will be fitting a new aero package in May, which should give them substantially quicker times. The Virgin team on the other hand, have shown much better individual lap times than Lotus but have been struggling with their hydraulic systems. An issue that Red Bull knows far too well from seasons past.

The major issue here is that just about everything on a F1 car is hydraulically operated... uh, the throttle, the gear box, the brakes! Shit, that's not looking good for them. They say they are working on a fix for the issue but may not be ready for some, four races to come. On the plus side for them, they have indicated that they will be arriving with a new aero package for the season's opener at Bahrain. So we'll just have to wait and see.



This should be an awesome season for F1.

Oil Lamps by Adam Frank

I found these small lamps from a creative blog the other day and I thought they were pretty cool. The artist who designed them has an obsession with light, as found through a number of his works. His name is Adam Frank and works out of Brooklyn, NY.

The lamps are from his Lumen range and are made of fine brushed aluminium and run from a clean-burning, 17-hr liquid candle. When placed by a wall or near surface, they throw a soft luminous shadow against them. The effect is mesmerising and as the flame flickers, the body of the image moves organically across the surface.

There are a number of places you can purchase these lamps from, notably Adam Frank's own website:
http://www.adamfrank.com/



You can also buy the from:
http://www.elsewares.com

The original blog I found them from:
http://www.styleture.com/

Formula 1: Final Day Of Testing in Barcelona

Well, Hamilton seems to have returned to good form of late and is showing the field a new strength in his shiny MP4-25. Leading the pack on the final day of preseason testing showed us he's back.
However we must also pay close attention to our boy Webber! Coming in with the second fasted lap time with only 61 laps under his belt, the man is a force to be reckoned with. He has consistently been among the leaders during testing all throughout the preseason, followed closely (but not outdone) by his teammate Vettel.
With my F1 tips about to go live, I am confident that Webber will be in the top four contenders for this season. My gut tells me that it's going to be very close between Webber, Vettel, Hamilton and of course Alonso. Strangely enough we didn't see him (Alonso) on track for the final day however, I am still confident in his positioning.

Final Times:
1. L. Hamilton McLaren 1:20.472 134 laps
2. M. Webber Red Bull Racing 1:20.496 +0.024 61 laps
3. F. Massa Ferrari 1:20.539 +0.067 114 laps
4. A. Sutil Force India 1:20.611 +0.139 100 laps
5. S. Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:20.667 +0.195 76 laps
6. M. Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:20.745 +0.273 123 laps
7. R. Barrichello Williams 1:20.870 +0.398 84 laps
8. K. Kobayashi Sauber 1:20.911 +0.439 67 laps
9. S. Buemi Toro Rosso 1:22.135 +1.663 88 laps
10. R. Kubica Renault 1:23.175 +2.703 107 laps
11. H. Kovalainen Lotus 1:25.251 +4.779 65 laps
12. L. Di Grassi Virgin Racing 1:26.160 +5.688 49 laps

Was it Schumann?

At the call of dawn, I am sure I will only here one thing... the cries of Schumann. His forbidden love Clara spoke of their first kiss "all went dark and I could scarcely hold the lamp still to light my path".
A man who's birth rests a mere four days beyond my own but alas, a century before. I can only begin to wonder and ponder the commonalities among us.
I heard his musings, that of "Florestan" and "Eusebius" and I was immediately in trance. I was thrust into a world I could only imagine as my own.

Is this work my past? Am I Schumann?
With my abilities now coming so freely, so naturally at ease?

However unlike Robert, my right hand remains overwhelmingly dominant. Is this the result of overcompensation for my previous lack of judgment? Has fate twisted itself to accommodate for the belligerence of the past? Our busts are remarkably alike. Honor to that of the great romantic, the charismatic fool that was he.

Perhaps I am just the fool.

An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube

I found this video the other day from a guy by the name of Mike Wesch. He's the Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the Kansas State University in the USA.
I found the speech to be very informative and also very humorous. I highly recommend the watch. It does go for an hour but it will be a very worth while hour.

Info from the author:
Presented at the Library of Congress, June 23rd 2008. This was tons of fun to present. I decided to forgo the PowerPoint and instead worked with students to prepare over 40 minutes of video for the 55 minute presentation. This is the result.



More info:
http://mediatedcultures.net

CubeDesktop

From my obsession for modern applications and futuristic designs, I have found a cool little application that enhances the Windows desktop GUI into a 3D experience. Applications like this have been used in Apple Macs with Spaces and I believe there is also Linux based apps similar as well. However, this is the best and most user friendly system compatible with Windows I have found to date.

The software is called CubeDesktop and has been developed for a company called Think In Bytes. The software goes for around $30 or so but they do have a demo download you can try first. Of course this is a little gimmicky but I for one found it quite an experience to behold.

Now that I've been using it for a while, I get onto other computers that I haven't got the software installed on and of course on countless occasions, find myself trying to trigger the desktop hot-keys to activate the virtual arrangements, looking for another desktop to use. It's a very light program and has many features you can manipulate, including; setting alternate wallpapers for all six virtual desktops, changing activation hot-keys, Modifying performance options, selecting the style of the switching display and much much more. I recommend this software mostly to those who want a little more style in there lives, without sacrificing functionality.



Think In Bytes:
http://www.thinkinbytes.com/en/home/

CubeDesktop:
http://www.thinkinbytes.com/en/products/cubedesktop/

OmNomNomNom

I really, really feel like a beer!

Tinnanbar

There is a small town up north called Tinnanbar. Some very good friends of mine have a small getaway house up there that has become somewhat of a tradition to stay at during the Christmas/New Year holiday. The place is a magical little town, situated Right on the water, totally excluded from the rest of the world.

Tinnanbar has this amazing ability, relaxing any who choose to stay there. You can almost feel the pressures of everyday life slip away, just at the thought of being there. It used to be a more popular venue for holiday folk before the closure of the local caravan park, which closed down a number of years ago. Nevertheless, it is still a peaceful and ideal way to spend a much needed holiday.



I love it.

What? You Googled Yourself?

Yep, I did it, I googled myself (again) and this time I found some interesting things.
For one, I found something said about me as an artist (Musician).
It read:
Jimothyk has been around since the late nineties, playing everywhere and anywhere a guitar can be plugged into. His works air on Triple J, and his collaborations with Brisbane acts such as “Idle Cranes” continue to prove he is one of the best and longer lasting artists of the Brisbane Music scene.

Now I'm not sure this is a fair assessment of my history as a Brisbane musician, but the words are nice to hear anyway.
It's incredible to think how much of our personal life appears on the Internet and I suppose, it's mostly the fault of the individual. With the depth of social sites like Facebook, Myspace and even this one (Blogger), we are starting to become an online organism. I for one, do spend a lot of time contributing to the growth of my online personality but there is a fair amount that makes it's way onto the net without my knowing or consent. A little scary if you think about it but then again, you'd have to be a complete moron to allow yourself to be victim to any kind of identity theft (I presume).

Have you ever had your identity stolen?

Powers Beer: Do they even make that shit any more?

I was thirsty and found myself fishing around in my father's beer fridge the other day and pulled out a can of Powers Gold. Powers Gold? I didn't even know they still made that shit.
I popped it open and joyfully swizzled it down and wondered to myself, where did Powers come from? So I did a little research and found out some interesting facts.

It all started in 1981 when Allan Bond (or Bondie, as he was known to the common Aussie) acquired Swan Brewing for a cool A$164 million. It seemed that old Bondie acquired the taste for owning breweries, because two years after winning the America's Cup for Australia in his 12-Metre yacht, the majestic Australia II, Bondie's corporation bought QLD's giant Castlemaine Tooheys for a whopping A$1200million.
But then the dickhead made a number of asshole changes that pissed a lot of Aussies off, particularly the Queenslanders. First he removed the XXXX sign from the Milton brewery and replaced it with a BOND CORPORATION sign... uh, no way captain fuck wit! We don't like that one bit! Queenslanders everywhere made it quite clear that he was mad and sure enough, soon the XXXX sign was returned. But this was only one success, as the Bond Corporation did a number of other things that pissed everybody off. One notable factor was the cutting of the payment period for beer from 30 to 7 days. This totally annoyed the shit out of publicans everywhere and prompted one by the name of Bernie Power, to start his own brewery; Powers.
Remarkably, the brand grew very quickly, stealing up to 10% of the QLD market within just two years of production. This is Queensland we're talking about, that's a lot of beer.



So I drank that tin of beer with pride.

Bonnier R&D: Reading Magazines on Handheld Digital Devices

This is a video I found from Bonnier R&D showing one design concept for a handheld digital magazine, that could be made possible in the near future. The video explores all the characteristics of a magazine reading experience and translates those aspects into a format that works seamlessly on a touch pad style tablet.

Just watching the video makes me want to buy one. The design concept is impeccable and the intuitiveness from the GUI looks amazing. The device could store any number of magazine issues, from any number of different magazine titles. Of course this device would be very useful for any number of additional functions, similar to that of any netbook or tablet style PC. With wireless capabilities, high resolution touch screens, quad core processors and high storage SSD's all common technologies today, I think this concept will be available to us sooner than we think.

Bonnier R&D Concept Video:

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.