Coding, bro · 2009-04-16 17:02
I'm having fun at work for the first time in ages. Today I got to use stream iterators!. God I love C++. When one can see what one's written and it looks beautiful and elegant, when it just flows without trying - that's big time job satisfaction!
There are always concessions to be made, however. Especially when working in a team.
Example: yesterday a guy at work replaced a do..while loop I had written with an infinite for loop and a break.
do {
statements;
} while (condition);
for (;;) {
statements;
if (!condition)
break;
}
Oh all right then, I'm also a proponent of single point of return
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Back to work · 2009-03-31 11:10
I didn't mention this before, because I was paranoid about who was reading my blog from work (because it's not really that much of a mystery, is it? A quick google is all it takes to find this), and I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag.
But I got a new job! one step closer to working for the mafia: Tabcorp!
I didn't really consider changing jobs, but I was head hunted twice for the same position; they found me on linkedin because I have QT listed as a skill in my keywords section. I guess that there are not too many people out there can "do" open source. Anyway, the first mob balked at the fact that I didn't have commercial experience with QT. I told him if he wants to be so anal about commercialism he can just forget about it then. Whoops, possible career limiting move. I really need to watch my mouth. I actually do have a bit of experience using QT, but done for love, not money.
The second mob called me the next day, and were excited! I was a bit half hearted about sending my resume but they talked me up — made me realise I was actually a bit bored in my current role. And let's face it — government is not the most challenging of environments. Actually, the biggest challenge and frustration of working for government is the amount of sheer inertia one needs to overcome in order to get anything done. But that's another rant.
You know when you just know? I knew I was going to get this job. I walked away from the interview like, fuck yeah. It's on!
So it's an kind of an embedded project, C++ (Oh your god I've been dying to do some serious C++!) on Linux. The box lets the punter play various (gambling) games such as Keno, horse and dog racing etc. It accepts cash and gives receipts for winnings which can be claimed at the bar. It's going to be installed in pubs across the land... probably the most highly visible project I've ever worked on in that it will actually be in a public bar rather than needing to go onto the internet to show someone something I've done.
So here I am anyway, second week. Working with a small (4 people) team of switched on individuals. Big change from the 3 year "holiday" in state government! I'm loving it.
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More stuff · 2009-03-05 13:21
The lovely Michelle is back from her holiday, so I'm back with a girlfriend again. She's even living with me which is something I've not had in a while. It's pretty cool though. She's an awesome chick, and as much a friend as a lover.
I bought a car! An old '96 model SAAB 900. It's a bit of a tank, but it feels solid, not like your standard Japanese bubble car. Electric windows and heated seats. Oh yeah, luxury! I just had a new stereo installed yesterday so we can listen to the iPod while driving.
Thinking if I ought to get mag wheels? Is anybody ever too old for mags? What about lowering the suspension? :-)
Meantime, my bike is feeling very neglected. A few weeks ago the back brake decided to stick on resulting in a red-hot disc and smoking pads. I managed to pry the calipers apart and got it home... but I was so pissed off that I had to take the train! Will have to fix myself, how can I get it to the shop?
Under the pump at work, just wanted do do a little update to relieve the stress. More updates as we hear more. Peace out yawl.
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A more healthy 2009? · 2009-02-27 17:06
I've decided on a health goal for 2009.
Originally I thought to gain another 10 kilos, but I don't wanna look like a 'roid freak. It could happen. Well, maybe not so much. Anyway, I'll keep my current weight of 80 kilos.
I've decided to go for strength rather than aesthetics. It's still gonna look good, right? Like a rugby player. Just training without all of the stigma of narcissism! The way to do that is to train like a power lifter. Basically it's just 3 exercises: squat, bench and deadlift - all compound exercises, that between them work the whole body.
So the goal is to be able to:
- Bench press 1.5 times my bodyweight (120kg)
- Squat 2 times my bodyweight (160kg)
- Deadlift 2.5 times my bodyweight (200kg)
Right now I can bench 70kg but have trouble lifting off at the bottom. This means my shoulders aren't strong enough so I have to work on them to be able to move on from that 70kg plateau.
Today I did 5x5 (5 sets of 5 reps) squats at 110kg. Last week was 90, week before that 80. So that's on target. I'll be able to pick up a body and run them out of a collapsing building or something! Sweet.
Last deadlift day I did my 5x5 at 100kg, but just started doing it so not sure about effects...
So that's it! As far as other goals go I don't know.
Think it's maybe time to change jobs. I've been on frikkin PHP for far too long. Wanna do some C++! But that's another post...
Fire season · 2009-02-09 15:42
Damn bushfires are out of control again. Over 100 killed so far. Last weekend the temperature reached 47°C - apparently just the heat produced by these fires is enough to kill let alone actually being touched by the flames. Poor bastards.
Luckily for me personally, most of the fires have been down south in Victoria. I'm going to move back into the city pretty soon, I've had enough of the commute - it's finally tipped the scale (the other side being the whole country thing - fresh air, relaxed atmosphere etc).
The very real possibility of my life being taken by a bushfire is just an extra point. Plus it's cooler towards the coast.
Thailand · 2009-02-06 12:12
It's about time for a real update, but like meeting up with an old acquaintance, sometimes it can be a bit awkward until you get going. Where to start? Quite a bit has happened in the last 4 months, not all of it really worthy of a separate entry in the old blog. I went on 2 holidays, my knee has finally healed over except for the occasional painful bump, things happen at work, friends do stuff, and all the other stuff that happens in a life...
Just after my last proper entry I went on a trip to Thailand with my mate Tim The Destroyer and his ex girlfriend. Emirates air had a special on - $700 return to Bangkok (or as we affectionately nicknamed it: "the kok"). Too good to pass up, so before I knew it I was coming out of the airport in Thailand, which actually was like walking into the fur of a wet dog; hot and humid and smelly.
Ko Samui wasn't that interesting, we only stayed there one night, but it was enough time for Tim to get his passport stolen after being out on the piss. What a pain in the arse.
There were also heaps of trannies in Ko Samui for some reason. It was weird, they were all dressed up like it was mardi gras or something.. not sure what they were doing. Others were not quite as dressed up: we were walking back down to the hotel and a deep voice attached to a miniskirt tried to call us over "for a talk"... uhh.. no. Also one came up to me as I was going to an internet cafe, did the whole shoulders back tits out thing and asked me if I wanted a "special" massage (in a scary deep voice).
Ko Samui airport did have the best mens toilet I've ever been to though, which is at least one saving grace. All the walls were one big fishtank.
I should say something about the massage in Thailand at this point. If you see a shop advertising massage place there's nothing dodgy about it, unlike Vietnam, where massage is basically a thinly veiled front for prostitution. For roughly AU$10, you can get a full body, hour long massage. It's addictive, it leaves you feeling a little light headed with a spring in your step, kinda like being a bit tipsy. The best ones have posters of yoga positions on the walls, wash your feet, and then stretch the hell out of muscles you didn't even know existed. I was getting massage every second day I was there. Back home this sort of thing costs about $100, so I'd never actually tried it. I think I can appreciate why one would pay that $100 now, though I won't.
I've got a few stories about this but I think I'll save them for another time.
All the photos from my trip to Thailand can be found here
xmas pressie · 2008-12-10 14:59
If any of my family are reading this, tell whoever got my kris kringle that you know what to get me!
Failing that, how about some motivation to update my blog with higher frequency?
No?
Update · 2008-11-04 16:23
Been working rather hard, and haven't had much inclination to update this thing. I'm going on a much needed holiday soon (to Thailand!), so I might be more inclined to write something non-banal here when I get back.
We can hope.
Goals are to be reached, wounds are to heal · 2008-09-17 12:58
It's been a while since my last update. To be honest I haven't really felt like it, even though I've had bloggable material. The constant background pain of my knee has slowly resided. Now it's little more than an occasional annoyance, usually triggered by overly-tight dressing. One thing I didn't know about the human body is that we need skin to form a scab over a wound - when we lose skin, scabs don't appear.
For the last three weeks, and to right now, I have an area of raw flesh visible over my knee. Needless to say, this needs constant attention to prevent infection and is the bane of my life. The damn thing smells like a vagrant because I haven't been able to get the dressings wet, therefore no washing of that area.
I think I've learned my lesson already - I just want the damn thing to heal. The nurse who does my dressing every day reckons another week. I hope to christ she's right.
I will always wear all of my gear, every time, even for short trips, from now on.
The Hoon reckons I got off light - now I know what it's like to be in a motorcycle accident. I'd have to agree. I had always wondered what it was like, now I know and it didn't cost me any digits, toes, limbs or broken bones.
In unrelated news, I've finally managed to weigh in at a hefty 80kg. This has been a goal of mine since about this time last year, when I started working out in earnest. "To be a bit of a bruiser" was the aim, I seem to remember. Finally, after eating everything in sight for months, and going to the gym 2-3 times a week, I've done it. Feels great, looks much better than skinny nerd too :-)
Nanny state strikes again · 2008-08-27 16:11
Apparently, it is illegal for a pharmacy to sell me the same high-strength painkillers 2 days in a row. Something about the amount of codeine.
I had to limp a few more blocks to the next pharmacy where I purchased the equivalent of 3 packets of the high strength painkillers (the high strength ones contain 15mg codeine phosphate and comes in a pack of 9. I bought a 48 pack that contains 10mg codeine phosphate.
Ridiculous. People are going to get high on fucking banana peels or whatever, whether or not you make it legal. For the rest of us it's just an annoying pain in the arse (or in my case, knee).
Like last year, I heard they are going to make crack pipes illegal. It's a bit stupid, I thought. Why not just make crack illegal? Oh.. right. THEY ALREADY DID.
The government is supposedly "family values", by this current logic, sex before marriage should be illegal. They don't do it (apparently), so it ought to be illegal for anyone else. Right?
Don't climb out of your playpen or I'll leash you!
Fucking arseholes deciding what's good for me and what's not!