What I need to do...

A quick list of things I need to do, and would be commenting on in this blog from now on until I finish them:

• Revisit code for segmentation, varified that it's correct


• Start reading on feature extraction


• Engagement party guest list


• Engagement party Invites


• Wine and Cheese for the party


• RELAX. (Don't knwo HOW I'm supposed to do that)


• Eventually: write a paper on segementation

Today's special is Revisiting code for segmentation. It's served will a lot of green tea, and a side of the stepping machine when I can be bothered with it.

So far, I havne't done jack. Again. *sigh*

The Year of the Dog

Yesterday was Chinese New Year. I ate A LOT. :P So that's a step back from my weight loss plan... *sigh*

Anyway, year of the Dog... now I'm no astrologist, so I'll just guess what it'd like.

Dogs like meat, so I assume year of the dog would be one with lots of meat. I assume that also means the vegetarian fad will be phase out too. Atkins will be back in.

They like digging bones as well, so I suppose that means that we might make a break through in archeology and... err... whatever that big word is that means people who study fossils. :P

In terms of finance: you'll be wise to save up. Dogs always do. They dig a hole and hide their precious... stuff. So subtitute "a hole" with "bank" and "precious stuff" with "money" and it's not hard to see that you'll be wise to start saving.

In terms of romance: start sniffing butts.

Okay... I guess I should keep my day job as an engineer. Astrology wasn't really for me.

A "non-working" day

Spent this morning lookign at translation of the game Cageling. It's a Japanese flash game that really reminded me of Myst. It's a bloody good game, go play with it if you have time. (Pete lost my saved game)

After this I should be looking at how to extract features from those nasty distribution I was working on. I might even update my other blog. :P

Hopefully I won't be feeling as "stuck" as I was... Hopefully.

Two things to say...

My brain refuse to think today

So far I've stared at a few papers and none of the words are making sense. If it does make sense, I can't see how it's relevant to my project.

Then again, if it's relevant to my project, it's already been done. I can, of course, try to replicate that and try to get something out of it. But it's so different from my idea that it's almost pointless to do it.

Just don't tell my supervisor I said that. If he heard I call something pointless he might give me a lecture on how everything can help. *sigh*

Stupid brain strike.

I'm too nice

It's true. I'm trying to give others excuses to be nasty. Yesterday I caught myself justifying why some bus drivers are bastards! Honestly! I always know I can get over-epathetic sometimes, but I think I should be able to be mad at someone or something once in a while. Instead I just feel bad beause I'm mad at others, and trying to justify it.

Yes it seems like a very good idea, btu it does tends to make me feel kinda depressed. :(

*sigh*

VERY slow moving day

Okie, look, I've just realised I don't fit into a dress I wore 2 years ago, and it's raining outside, AND I'm listening to jazz... you can't possibly expect me to work!

I'ms till having problem trying to wake up my brain and work. Having a VERY slightly headache, but if it get worse I can always take a panadol I guess.

*yawn*... I hate rainy days... just makes me sooooooooooooooo sleepy...

Yeah I might write more when I wake up a bit...

Reality TV

Dr Phil isn't on, and I thought I need to watch SOMETHING when I wait for my noodles to cook, and I ended up watching the Bachelor.

ARGH!!! How could that thing be showing when they cancelled Firefly!!!! *outraged*

If they want to see the worst of human nature, just look around. WHY make it into a TV series and deprive me of good series like Firefly?

The world's goign insane. That much I know...

Sad day. :(

Those who travels from my side of town (Pakuranga/Howick, even) to town would no doubt be familiar with the rooster on the on-ramp. It's almost like a mascot for the Pakuranga on ramp. Every morning, when you're stuck on the on ramp trying to get onto the motorway, the rooster would be on the bit of grass between the on ramp and the motorway, sometime it'll seem that it's trying to get food.

This morning, to our horror, instead of our lovable rooster, we found a bloody mess that could have been the rooster.

Very VERY sad.

My brother has vowed to revenge for the rooster. I'm still hoping that it's some other biggish bird. It's weird. We seem to be growing attached to the rooster. It's one of those little things that make traffic jam. And what has that bought him? *sigh*

Very sad indeed.

Whoever's done it better hide from my brother. He's not at all happy. Then again, I'm sure we weren't the only one who are saddened by the loss.

RIP, the Pakuranga on-ramp rooster.

Big Day Out 2006!!

Yay Big Day Out is tomorrow!! Yay yay yay yay yay!! :D

So far looking at the list of acts, here's what I'd most likely be seeing:

11:30 - 12:15 - Steriogram ('Coz I like them)
1:00 - 1:50 - Pluto (YAY!!!)
3:30 - 4:20 - Blindspott (Maybe)
4:20 - 5:15 - Elemeno P (Pete likes them...)
5:15 - 6:15 - Kings of Leon (They rock!!)
6:15 - 7:15 - Shihad (Need I say more? :D)
7:15 - 8:15 - Franz Ferdinand (and the day ends here if I can follow them home. :P j/k)
8:15 - 9:15 - Iggy & The Stooges (well, I have to don't I? :P)
9:15 - 10:30 - The White Stripes (HOPEFULLY with some older stuff)

Acts I'd most likely have to miss:
Concrod Dawn: Clashes with White Stripes... plus it's in the boiler room.. :(
Autozam: clashes with Blindspott. I might take them instead of Blindspott though. Depends on my mood. :P
The Brunettes: Clashes with Kings of Leon. I'm sorry but this is Kings of Leon!

So now I just have to pack my bag (VERY small bag) for the day and I'm sorted. I'm SO excited!! :D

Everywhere you go, always take the music with you

I like my new toy!! :D I can listen to music anywhere! :D The only problem is I still haven't got a protector there to stop the screen being scratched. But other than that (which is the only reason why right now i have that ugly stik-on thing there) it's all good. :D

Productivity has reach a record low. *sigh* But I'll try to force myself to work this afternoon. I hope.

I'm just going to enjoy the steak and cheese pie, and my lemon and lime bitters, and THEN I might eventually get back to work :P

EXTRA: Photos from the PS2 Modding!

I've finally got the PS2 modding photos from Geoff. :)

Debugging the PS2: Wanna see the inside of a PS2?
Here, we've pulled the PS2 apart, and connected the thing without the case, so we can check the voltage on the chip. As you can see here, we actually need to wire the power supply to the motherboard, because where the power supply is normally plugged into the board is directly on top of the chip.

It's amazing what you can do with a bit of wires and some insulations tapes. :P

Let the hunting begin!
Behold! Me debugging the hardware board, trying to see why it wasn't working the first time. At the end I've found two pins shorted together, and a loose wire.

Bonus point to anyone how can point out 5 safety hazards in this photo. :)

I'm still not too sure whether I'll do it again. *sigh*. If I do, I'm hoping it's not going to be as tedious as this time. :P

2 years...

Yesterday marked the 2 year anniversary of me and Pete. :)

I always ask the quesiton "I wonder if I'm just imagining all this being perfect". And it's hard to find an answer to it, seeing that Love is, indeed, blind. And I've seen quite a number of case where people really can't see the problems in a relationship when they're in it.

Heck, I was in a few relationships like that myself.

Then I just realise how different it is to be with Pete. It was so natural, and I am completely at ease when I'm with him. Sure at the very beginning I still try to dress my very best when I see him (and who doesn't?). But even then, I didn't feel like I have to watch what I say so I don't sound stupid, or watch my every move so I don't look stupid. Right now, he's my best friend. I can share everything with him, and I don't feel the need to pretend to be someone else to keep him, or myself, happy.

I think that must be the point I was missing before: that I need to be myself to be happy. And when I finally found someone whom I can be entirely comfortable with, I guess what's what make me know that this isn't just some illusion.

Here's to many more anniversaries to come. :) Y <-- cocktail glass. :P

Quarter Century Rambling

As of yesterday (technically it's today at around 5am) I've been on this plane of existence for a quarter of the century.

Scary thought.

Although I have a VERY good birthday though. :)

Birthday Activities
We packed a picnic and headed to One Tree Hill. Really good weather for it, and I'm lucky Pete's not back at work yet, so I can take the day off quite easily. :P Lovely weather for a picnic, and we bought too much food, as usual. :P

Did a wee bit of shopping, I bought some crafty things (I've been interested in starting various crafty projects :P), it's all good. :P Pete bought the Evil Dead game. It's not my type of games but hey.

Dinner with the family was unusually good. Dad actually liked some of hte food there! That's unheard of!

Pressies!
Pete got my Big Day Out tickets!! I'm going to Big Day Out!! He was gonna get me tickets for the Franz Ferdinand gig, but that's sold out... Then again, Now i get to see Franz Ferdinand, Pluto, White Stripes, and Iggy Pop! I'm happy. :P

And I'm getting a Creative Neeon! That's from my family, and it's going to arrive either tomorrow or Saturday I think. It's in pretty red... I'm happy. :D

Non Birthday Related Stuff
I've proved my theory that "happy people are selfish people". I seem to be pissing off a lot of people lately, without trying to do so.. :< I'm been trying very hard to keep everyone happy, but it's kinda hard. Although my mate wrote an emailand said he's actually okay with things and no hard feelings, I can't help but to feel a bit bad you know.

Besides generally pissing people off, I'm also trying very hard to solve this little problem I've been looking at for my research lately. Looks like I pretty much have to go and put the signal under 4 different filters and pray that it's going to work... ARGH!

Ah well. I have my jelly beans with me. I shall be fine. :P

In other news...

I just ralise I've scratched the inside of my engagement ring... bad.

How the hell did I manage to scratch a titanium ring?

I can't possibly have scratched it while I'm modding the PS2. :( I've very annoyed now.

*sob* I want my shiny ring back! :(

What I've learnt from Modding a PS2...

Dekita!! We finally finish modding that thing and tested on it. It's ALIVE!!

Anyway, Grant (the coolest lab technician in the world) asked what I've learnt from this (meaning now I'm more like a real engineer, rather than a sig pro one :P) and I just said I "Never buying my brother Christmas presents again, and brothers are overrated". But then, I think this call for a reflection.

• Production boards are made to be a royal pain in the ass if you want to mod it.


• Never trust the "no reset needed" line in the mod chip description


• I still remember enough of my hardware stuff to debug a mod chip isntallation.


• $65 isn't a lot for mod chip installation fees


• ... although, given you can careful enough with the process, it's not THAT easy to screw things up.


• I owe the robotic guys big.

Well, at least it's working so far. Time to order in my Katamari Damashi!!

/naaaaaaaaaaaaa na na na na na na, na na na na na na

Modding PS2 is REALLY not much fun :P

I've solder every wires in, and behold: it's booting up, but not reading the disc from a different zone. *sob*

More hareware debugging is needed, and I do hope it's nothing too major.. hopefully it's just a connection or two, or wires not stripped properly.

And I still can't quite believe I'm turning 25 in a few days...

Eek.

Modding PS2 is NOT fun.

Grrr..

I swear I was going mad by the 5th or 6th wire! Those things are EVIL!

Anyway, other than that, 2006 has been to a good start. :) I'm hoping that I can get a break to actually work on my research soon though. I've been so busy with things it's not funny.

Well update more when I have more time to write. :P Meanwhile, I'm just still extremely happy, and I'll float back to earth sometimes :P (liek when I'm soldering that damned mod chip onto the PS2. Grrrrrr)