TWT: Fluids
Yummmmy PVC flavouring!
I've decided to take on a number of Two Week Tests (TWT.. it's so close to being twit!) for some odd reason. Not really sure what brought this on but here I am with my crazy notions. I suppose I want to test myself to see if I have will power but more so to see if there are any notable physical, mental and emotional changes in myself.
To start off with I thought I'd do a nice simple one and restrict my fluid intake to water only.. none of this Berocca flavouring or Nutrient water or other non sense - good old fashion water!
I am nearing the end of my first week in uni and not working full time... god am I bored. Not sure how much programming and reading is really required, I may be forced to get a job instead of perform stupid tests such as this.
Fact: Water covers 71% of the earth's surface.
Etiquette
Julia Roberts had it easy!
While I do think etiquette is an important aspect of society that helps distinguish our barbaric ancestors and animals.. it may have gone too far.
Born and raised in England I was, often being attributed with terms such as snobby and arrogant; I believe a fine balance between etiquette and ones comfort zone is sufficient. Often I find myself saying please and thank you at inappropriate times, cursed and branded by my parents. On the other side of the fence I often appalled at the attitude and selfishness of the masses, is it so hard to smile at the waiter or thank them for clearing the plates?
I digress, many social traits upset me these days. A while ago I was reading and came across an interesting article talking about gaming etiquette, after jumping from link to link (how easy is it to waste time online, I once spent 3 hours on HowStuffWorks) and found this gem about Team Fortress 2.
Does anyone else find this hot?
There is an amusing article on Wikipedia about etiquette in Australia. A few points to take note of:
> Greeting of anyone
> Keeping left in busy areas
> The driving 'wave'
If you get a chance Google netiquette, has useful appliactions for Usenet, E-mail and Forums.
Fact: Etymology for etiquette dates back to the Old French word estiquet.
No Matter Who You Are…
Much better than this ^^^
The world is a vast place, current estimates put the population around the 6.8 billion people. To put it in perspective Australia has a population of just over 21 million (interesting to note it's the worlds largest island but smallest continent).
What I'm trying to say is these numbers are so astronomical sometimes its easy to miss beauty that can be found in the most unlikely of places. The following is a superb rendition of Stand By Me (my personal favourite still goes to Mr Lennon) by some unlikely sorts. Check it out fools!
http://gizmodo.com/5231112/best-video-ive-seen-today-will-make-you-smile
Fact: There are over 20 billion indexed web pages.
Fallout: New Vegas
My panties are moist already
The title should be sufficient for the masses to indicate where the latest incarnation of Obsidian's (published by Betheseda) god like work is set. First announced in April 2009 no real information has been released except for a short teaser and the odd image.
The story goes that New Vegas managed to avoid most of the destruction (how convenient), the Hoover Dam supplies electricity and water to those who survived. You play as a courier who beat the odds and was rescued by a robot, vengeance is what drives you; when you find out the bastards you left you to die in the pitch there will be hell to pay!
A number of features will return from Fallout 3 (using the same engine):
- VATS
- SPECIAL
- Karama, beefed up with a reputation system.
Check out the what you can now from the ever faithful uToob.
Fact: Throughout the series characters have been voiced by giants such as: Richard Dean Anderson, Brad Garret, Malcolm McDonald, Liam Neeson and more.
Debt
I want to throw the following numbers out there.
- Haiti's debt: $800 million (recently dropped from 2 billion).
- Avatar has grossed: $1.8 billion.
- Difference: $1 billion.
I always said if I ever came across an abundance of money, through lottery, inheritance or some other mystics that I would donate half to charity - typically in the past I've suggested AID's research. I don't claim to know much about Haiti, being owned by the ridiculous French going back to the 18th and 19th century only fuels my ignorance... however if your pockets were lined thick would you not help out?
My modest $50 donation was the least that I could do; I'm by no means a humanitarian. Australia's population is around 21 million, if everyone donated $10 that'd put a serious dent the aforementioned debt. $10, that's less than 3 cents a day.. how poor are you really?
Dig deep my friends, I implore you to donate now.
Fact: Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.
Foxit Reader
So you are asking why use an alternative to Adobe? Here's a quick check list of things you are doing wrong:
- You've never used an OS that wasn't made by Microsoft.
- You defend Intel without having tried AMD.
- You never question what is in front of you.
Break the chain of madness man.. break it! Foxit Reader is a light weight free PDF reader with many benefits:
- Weighing in at under 5 MB compared to Acrobat Adobe's monstrosity 35 MB.
- Quicker on older machines, and very comparable on spec'd PC's.
- Adobe is a 3.6 billion dollar giant, support the little guy.
Visit the Foxit Reader web page here and give it a whirl.
Fact: Adobe is a natural building material.
Steam Freebies
Found this thread on the Steam forums the other day, who doesn't like freebies? Jist of it is:
- America's Army 3
- BattleForge
- Between
- Codename Gordon
- COIL
- Mightier
- Peggle Extreme
- Sam & Max: Episode 4
- TrackMania Nations Forever
Complete details can be found here.
I hope you are all aware ATI Radeon graphics card owners are eligible for a free copy of the following games:
- Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
- Half-Life 2: Deatchmatch
Details can be found here.
There are always awesome discounts going on Steam, just the other day I picked up a copy of 3D Ultra Minigolf Adevntures for 10 cents.. yes 10 cents! Ok this was a human error which was subsquently corrected to $10.00, but still :)
I strongly suggest keeping an eye out for the Specials tab each week (typically updated on Friday). The Steam store can be accessed via the Steam client or web page.
Fact: Steam has over 20 million user accounts.
