Sim & Bek's Place

Goodbye Tank.

2008-11-08T22:06:00.002+11:00

We sold Tank today. It was a little sad to see him go, tucked away in his basket with someone else, but we are happy with the new buyers.

A friend of a work colleague was after a black or grey dwarf lop and so we happily obliged, rather than require a bunny sitter for 3 months and potentially receive a changed rabbit once we returned home, we decided to sell him now.

So they came today and picked him up along with his belongings and hutch. Apparently they have had rabbits for a long time and he'll have a small enclosed backyard to play in and live his days away. Sounds about right for him really!

But it does put another cross on the list that shows we are going really soon! 8 days now, next Sunday afternoon...its seems crazy that it has come along so quickly.
Both Bek and I have now finished work and while I will be completing uni work right up until presentations on Friday, Bek will be taking the opportunity to make last minute arrangements and packing...

It is very exciting though. We can't wait to have an adventure for the 3 months, with me fresh out of uni and ready to start life without late night homework, I might actually get to see Bek again in the evenings!

Kitchen Project 2

2008-11-01T11:41:00.004+11:00

Latest kitchen renderings for a uni project -

I like this one.

Our Travel Blog

2008-10-30T22:03:00.005+11:00

We've made a new blog for when we are away - check what we are up to at:

http://simandbek.wordpress.com

Once we are over there, we'll stop using this sims-place blog.

the countdown...

2008-10-27T21:52:00.001+11:00

20 SLEEPS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR NEW JERSEY!!

Which means only 18 until my final uni presentation is due!?

Visa's are GO!

2008-10-24T15:23:00.002+11:00

This whole Visa process is very stressful and complicated. Originally we didn't think we'd need to get a Visa as we were going for less than 3-months and not participating in paid work, which would allow us to use the Visa Waiver Program; however we decided to double-check and the US Consulate General recommended we apply for the B1/B2 Business and Tourism Visa as I am still doing unpaid work.

So then comes the stress of forms and interviews and applications, all only 4 weeks out from when we are booked to leave! Compounded by the fact that they don't recommend purchasing tickets until the Visa has been granted - bit late for that!!

We had our appointment today and it was very nerve-racking! Everything seemed to be traveling along nicely as we moved through the two security screening areas and received our ticket-number to wait in line. Upon approaching the Visa-man and providing our forms and letter of offer from Liquid he casually asked, "do you have the tax-exemption form from Liquid?"
"Uh.....what tax-exemption form is that?" we asked confused.
"You will need a tax-exemption form from Liquid to prove they are a not-for-profit entity and can offer the volunteer work."

Ouch.

We stood there shaking in our boots wondering if we were about to be sent away to get the form and come back another day - a day which we knew we didn't have!

He took the rest of our paperwork and asked us to sit back down and wait for another cashier who would approve/disapprove the Visa. So we sat down and waited for almost an hour, not knowing what would happen!

Finally our number was called and after a few simple questions about our intentions and our connection to Liquid they approved our Visa! Talk about a sigh of relief!! We couldn't stop smiling as we left the building as it now means that we are all confirmed and ready to go in only 3 weeks time!!!!

Very exciting!!

A date with the Vietnamese.

2008-10-16T23:27:00.003+11:00

Bek and I went out on a dinner-date tonight to the nearby Vietnamese restaurant.

Sooo much food! We were full after the entree - usual story.
But it was good fun...

Bek's favourite: rice paper rolls!!

Kitchen Project.

2008-10-11T11:50:00.002+11:00

One of uni projects this semester is to design a kitchen.
I've found that it is very hard to design a kitchen without the surrounding rooms so I've gone a little further.

My latest renders are below - this is not the final product yet, there will be several changes and additional details. These are Solar Study's; working out how the sun affects the room at different times of day.

8:00am

1:00pm

8:00pm with some internal lights on.

11:00pm with all internal lights on.

Our life in pictures...

2008-10-06T09:19:00.002+11:00

Yesterday Bek and I bought new digital cameras!!

We had discussed buying a new one for a while as our current camera is several years old and its speed and picture quality have reduced significantly. Add on the fact that we are traveling to the USA for 3 months and I'll use it for work while there - it became worthwhile.

It is now an early Christmas present from Us, plus both Mum's and Dad's (and anyone else who wants to pitch in for it as my present since we'll be away) to Us. :-)

I had done my research as best I could and I knew what I was after so we headed off to get it. I must say we did score a bargain and I recommend shopping at The Good Guys any day!
Bek and I eventually walked out with:

- An Olympus E-520 with Twin-Lens kit
- 5yr warranty
- 2gb Compact Flash card
- AND a new Olympus FE-20 'point-and-shoot'

all for just under the full price of the E-520 on its own!!!!!

Very happy with that, so now I just have to concentrate on my Uni work and not get distracted by the new toys!

A White Christmas...

2008-09-30T11:34:00.003+10:00

For those not in the 'know' Bek and I are headed for a white Christmas this year!

We had been planning to travel over to New Jersey, USA later this year during Bek's school holidays (mid-December to late January). Aiming to first visit England so that we could catch up with Bek's sister Claire over Christmas and then head on to New Jersey/New York for the official start of 2009!
However the price of tickets had caught us slightly off guard. Flights to EITHER New Jersey or England were okay, but the cost of getting to both was steep and so we had avoided buying the tickets until we were 100% sure that we a) could really afford them, and b) actually wanted to go that badly!!

In steps Liquid Church - New Jersey.

Three weeks ago we found out that Liquid was offering me a 3month internship in New Jersey!! They are planning significant expansion next year as they are going to start new campuses around the world via an internet campus system. Liquid was impressed with my previous design work, and so they have offered me the chance to go over to New Jersey and help them out!
Quite amazing and very exciting!

Originally, we were to get there and start as soon as possible - but due to my uni commitments the trip has had to be delayed. There was no way of me putting my uni course on hold when I only had 9 weeks left...ever!

So delay it would be - and 48hrs after I finish uni forever, we will both be on the plane to America!!! I will have my final university presentation on Friday 14th November, and we will be flying out on Sunday 16th November.

It will be a cold, cold holiday but a white Christmas will be very exciting! Especially one where New York is a 25min train ride away. And we are also planning on getting Claire over to us for Christmas as it is much cheaper to fly one person that two! So double the excitement there!

We can't wait...

Woking Shopping Mall

2008-09-19T14:25:00.001+10:00

Woking Shopping Mall, originally uploaded by youngdesign.

testing Flickr

Don't visit San Fransico right now...

2008-08-28T20:50:00.003+10:00

genius.

a closer look.

2008-08-20T22:38:00.003+10:00

For those oldies with the apparent aging eyes, there are two more pics below:
the first is a slightly closer shot, the second is just the original .jpeg image.

The message this week: The Police - Every Breath You Take.

A Billboard 18,000 miles away...

2008-08-19T11:27:00.003+10:00

As some of you may know, Bek and I are part of Liquid Church Melbourne, which is in turn part of Liquid Church New Jersey, USA.

I've been doing some design work for the New Jersey crew, artwork for any upcoming series' etc. One of which was Rock God: I love the 80's which we are currently in now.

I was asked to do the artwork for the Billboard they have in the centre of New Jersey: and here it is below!! It went up the other day. Very cool, and kinda strange that I'll never see this billboard in person as it is on the other side of the world!

Random Album Art

2008-07-10T23:04:00.004+10:00

I thought it was about our turn to attempt this random artwork deal... I could do it all day! Kinda fun to see how it all fits together.

Here's Beks.

And here's mine.

Meet Tank.

2008-06-30T22:00:00.005+10:00

Please welcome our newest family member: Tank.

He is only 6 weeks old (Gibbs was 14 weeks when we got him) and is a Dwarf Lop-cross-Mini Lop.
He seems to have one ear stuck in the air all the time - but that is just cute.

Sean (Bek's cousin who has come back out to Australia) bought us a delayed wedding present - Tank's new hutch! Thanks Sean.

Giant Lego Boulder...

2008-05-30T15:47:00.002+10:00

Check out this video inspired by Indiana Jones. I doubt the latest movie as it was posted 2 years ago...either way.

Seems some people have way to much time on their hands...

...that being said - I'd love to have done this. :)

Human's are funny Beings...

2008-05-25T16:07:00.002+10:00

Bek and I were in the Plaza today at Big W (buying some new sheets for those playing at home...) and were people watching while we waited in line:

Our check-out woman was serving a customer who had a large plastic container FULL of white folder binders, around 8-9 in there and 4 packs of paper for them.
She proceeded to pull out every white folder and scan them individually! This might not seem terrible, but while we waited in a line both knowing that they have a "quantity" feature where they can key in the number of items and scan the barcode ONCE to save time, it just didn't make sense.

THEN

She proceeded to grab the 4 packets of paper, key 4 into the register and swipe one!?!?!?

We both just laughed...people do funny things sometimes.

I'm considering starting a blog just full of strange and bizarre things humans do - yay/nay?
It'd end up like a seinfeld series I reckon - full of bizarre characters.

mm. That's all.

Guitar Hero: World Tour

2008-05-22T11:38:00.001+10:00

HA!

I want.

And we reckon Melbourne's roads can be confusing...

2008-05-21T22:48:00.002+10:00

I was having some fun on Google Earth tonight (it is quite amazing!), finding the house of our friends that just moved over to the States - New Jersey, and stumbled upon Newark International Airport.

Two things stood out to me:
1) I was surprised the airport wasn't all blacked out and hidden from prying eyes, and
2) Check out the road system around it!?!?!??!?! It's ridiculous...!!

Good luck Dave and Meg...

I got this posted to me today...

2008-05-15T07:47:00.001+10:00

...via Facebook.

Have a look, it gave me a laugh.
I especially like the Pearl Jam clip...

letterbox photo - our submission

2008-04-22T21:37:00.003+10:00

so...

Nice photos Karen and Kate...!

We've hit a slight snag with ours. We took our photos the other day, however I received Mum and Dad's entry in my email today (as their net/blog something is down) and we discovered it is the SAME letterbox!!!
Now there are two ways we could take this occurrence:
1) we retake photos and extend the deadline slightly
2) state the fact that if TWO groups have used the same box, it must be REALLY BAD!!!!

Either way, here are the two photos.

Comment Security

2008-04-19T10:48:00.001+10:00

You'll now have to key in those little word test things before you can comment...

it seems the spambots have discovered my blog and are leaving occasional dodgy comments.
that's all.

ta

LETTERBOX CHALLENGE

2008-04-14T20:36:00.007+10:00

Here is a challenge... Competition if you will...

Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to find the WORST EVER (as in ugly) domestic letter box and post a picture of it on your blog...

RULES
You must take the photo yourself and have a family member present in the shot
No googling the letter boxes and no editing the photos
You may submit as many photos as you like but there will only be one winner!
Competition closes... 23rd of April 2008...
Adjudication of photos is yet to be decided... (Any Ideas??)

If you're in and willing to search COMMENT here so we are all checking the right blogs!!!!

Get Snapping... Good Luck

lights, camera, action!

2008-04-11T16:09:00.016+10:00

Wow – time flies!

I guess this will be another long post then…
What has happened since the 19^th March 2008?

HA!

What hasn’t happened since 19^th March 2008 is the sensible question. It’s crazy now that I think back over the last 3 weeks. So I’ll try and start at the beginning and plod through until I reach the end or forget things, or both.
__________________________________________
First up on the ranks:
RezFest 2008 March 23-34^th

RezFest is a gospel music festival that was put on in Point Cook by the local council and the local churches network. Music acts like Newsboys, Jars of Clay, Planetshakers and a bunch of others came along for the ride and it was awesome…
Why so important enough to put on here?
Bek’s mum Karen helped organize the whole thing, Bek was a key volunteer leader and I was ~~roped in~~ volunteered to be the official Photographer of the event!
So I pinched Karen’s nice Olympus E500 SLR for a week and researched how to actually take concert photos! I found plenty of articles on techniques, and then set about learning the ins and outs of the camera so I could actually use the techniques properly.
Then came the event over the Sunday and Monday. In total, I’d say I took photos for maybe 10 hours over the two days – I ended up with 1400 photos! That ends up being about…(just working it out)...2.4 photos a minute! Wow – that’s crazy actually!

700 photos a day – I then had to sift through these 700 photos to work out which were the really good ones to get to the organizers and publicists:
- 1000 concert photos
- 250 not blurry ones
- 100 real good ones
- 1:10 ratio, that isn’t too bad I reckon.

Some of my favourites are below:

__________________________________________
Next up:
Guitar Hero March 1^st

My wireless guitar arrived from the USA!!! Obviously this led to a day of constant Guitar Hero and some heavy 80’s rockin’!!!!

PHOTO

__________________________________________
Next:
My birthday(s) April 3-6th

So last Thursday saw my 22^nd birthday come and go.
Bek and I were rudely but amusingly awakened on my birthday at 8am when some friends of ours turned up on our doorstep, banging and ringing the doorbell, with breakfast! Talk about being woken with a start!
That kicked off the day in a good fun way, and it continued on as Bek and I both had the day off!
We headed off to the city to make a special purchase (more about that later) and once parked, wandered up the street and filled 5-6 expired parking meters with some extra time which was kinda fun! Hopefully we helped a few people avoid fines…
After the city we headed home and I played some rockin’ guitar hero again.

On the Friday night we had a big family dinner, Chinese style, and I got my pressie’s so thank you all!
Sunday night then brought the big ‘friends-over’ b’day dinner which consisted of some serious foozball action plus some guitar hero thrown into the mix for good measure. And of course there was amazing food prepared and eaten by many!

__________________________________________
Next:
Liquid Melbourne April 6^th 2008

Well, for those not in the know Bek and I left our previous church in January and headed off on a new adventure. There is a church in the USA (New Jersey) called Liquid Church, some friends of ours are going over there in a month or so to work there for the church, helping to establish an ‘internet campus’. So others around the world can watch the whole service live over the net, kinda cool!
This partnership has led to all sorts of events and as of last Sunday, Liquid Church Melbourne started up in our lounge room!
We are just a ‘small group’ of the church that is based out here in Melbourne, but we are supported and resourced by the main campus in New Jersey.
To help out with this, they bought our group a 160gb Apple TV, which is what Bek and I bought on my birthday in the city. The Apple TV allows us to download their HD video recording of their sermon and watch it here!!
Very cool and exciting stuff!

www.liquidchurch.com for any more info, all welcome!

__________________________________________
And then:
Gibbs April 8^th 2008

And then, after all that, the bad news kicks in.
Last Tuesday morning while I slept, Bek headed out to her car, on her way to school, when she noticed that there had been some chaos in the backyard. Well, I mentioned earlier that being woken on my birthday was pretty crazy; Tuesday morning trumped that well and truly.
Bek came running into the house and all she yelled was, “Simon! It’s Gibbs…” I don’t think I’ve jumped out of bed that quickly in my life.
We headed out to find the worst…his cage on its side and in two pieces, and our little bunny lying about 2 feet away. He had been killed. We aren’t sure how, or why he was still in one piece (thankfully!), but something had clearly attacked him and the cage during the night. We believe it may have been a fox as they’ve been seen around the area…
After a LOT of tears and shock, Bek managed to head off to work to be distracted while I sorted out Gibbs and the backyard. Probably one of the more unpleasant things I’ve had to do recently and a fair amount of sniffles and tears were used up.

It’s still kinda weird; we did our food shop last night and had to scale down our veggie purchases etc. Those kinds of things are still catching us out a bit, but overall we are doing ok. We aren’t planning on getting another one at the moment.

This is the last decent photo we have of him – on his ‘birthday’ 17^th March.

RIP Gibbs....

So that's what has happened! STACKS!

Google Zurich

2008-03-19T20:32:00.004+11:00

I don't yet know if I enjoyed looking through these photos or resented them...some seem to have found the place to work hey? I guess you can do that when you are a multi-billion-billion dollar company!

It shows that it pays to make your workplace enjoyable for your employees! Taking it at face value, if I had a job there, I wouldn't be leaving any time soon...and I don't have a job there, but want one!

Zurich Offices

awareness test

2008-03-18T11:07:00.002+11:00

This is quite cool. Some of you may have seen it, but if not, check it out...

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

Snakebots

2008-03-12T21:48:00.001+11:00

not for those who find snakes to creepy! But still, brave it and watch! Think of all the weird and wonderful uses?

I haven't yet...besides the FBI and bomb squads...

nifty...

2008-02-26T11:31:00.001+11:00

While there are plenty of reasons that I wouldn't buy this -

there are plenty of reasons to be impressed!

I found this through a link in Core77.com - cool site

uni's back

2008-02-23T10:40:00.002+11:00

So i start back at uni monday night for the beginning of my last year!

Kinda exciting!

From what I understand, this semester we have 4 subjects that all interconnect to help produce one project. So it'll be a pretty big project I imagine! I believe its all up to us too - what the product is, our goals and timelines, criteria etc. so it should be challenging.

The only bad bit is my timetable:

Monday night 6-9pm

Tuesday night 6-9pm

Wednesday night 6-9pm

Friday morning 9-12pm

Not fun. There has been lots of complaining from us Industrial Design students, as we got stuck with all the late classes. They offered us a range of times, then changed it all around and allocated Comm. Design to one class, Interior to another and ID to another. It's to keep us all together which makes sense to me - the issue is that ID got ALL the late classes!

anyway, I'm coming to terms with it quicker than Bek is. It will be a challenge as I'll leave for uni probably before Bek is home from work - so I'll see her around 10:00pm 3 nights a week.

mmm.....not happy Jan.

that time again

2008-02-02T21:31:00.000+11:00

It seems to be another month since I posted our last blog...I'm getting so bad at this.

anyway, there is normally to much to cover, and so much of it gets put up or known about on Facebook now! Wow, I know - Facebook...not everyone's cup of tea, but we enjoy it and use it for good and not evil. :)

anyway - quick update of the last month? Then I might try and post some photos onto Picasa and stick them on here.

- Back from Apollo Bay

- Bek's Mexican Birthday

- Bek starts teaching for REAL!

- Simon has increased his job role's

- Simon is negotiating a new job contract on Monday hopefully

- Revamped the backyard garden area

- Built a dining table

- Bek's sister Claire left for the UK again

- Gibbs has gotten bigger

I can't think of anything else!

I'll investigate this photo thing...

Hope all are well!

Apollo Bay

2008-01-07T10:01:00.000+11:00

Here is a slideshow of some of our Apollo Bay photos....

A week jam packed full of good times and relaxing days...at the beach everyday, ice cream everyday, we had a peak of 26 people staying at the house on new years eve! Sleeping in cars, and on patios, and up in the hills, and in beds of course.

And now I get to start another year of work and uni...

good news on the University front - they have changed our timetable from 4 nights a week after we all complained! Hooray!
The early stages show that I have one morning class, 2 afternoon classes and a night class, so not a bad result at all...

Life after carols...

2007-12-22T13:36:00.000+11:00

Just thought i'd post a few photos of the Carols for all to see! Even if I am 3 weeks late...that seems to be the way of this blog.

The carols went really, really well. We were all really happy, the production went off without a hitch, and we had around 7000+ people attend! A new record!! The only problems we had with the event were capacity problems - ie: stalls and things set up at the back of the grounds (where the crowd stopped last year) had to move further back etc. Good problems to have really! Some photos are below...

some of the 7000

the amazing backdrop that is the Werribee Mansion

Bek has now had all her inductions etc for her new job next year. She will be taking a 5/6 class at the new Derrimut Heath campus - which is now known as Baden Powell College Tarneit - just what she wanted after taking a 3/4 class over the last few weeks.

I was only going to be working at Expohire through till Uni starts next year as i'd only be able to offer a day or so a week, which i didn't think was viable, except I had the director of the company approach me on Wednesday and asked if there was any chance of me working at all next year, even 1 day or a few half days!!! Just what we need to help get us through the last uni year! We have installed and customized all new software and myself and one other designer know the most about it - except that we were both going to be gone by February! So the company is in action mode...

We bought an amusing little harness for Gibbs the other day - Bek is hoping we can peg the harness down into the grass whenever we are outside and he can roam around freely mowing our lawn. We've taken him into the backyard twice and he appears to love it! It is amusing watching him bound through the grass. Although he spends more time exploring than eating...I'll try and get some video up onto YouTube soon.

We went looking for another rabbit a week or so ago too, thinking Gibbs could have a friend, although unfortunately it isn't possible as:

Girl rabbit + Girl rabbit = good friends

Girl rabbit + Boy rabbit = lots of rabbits

Boy rabbit + Boy rabbit = 1 rabbit eventually! :( and Gibbs would win, being the older and bigger.

We are off to Apollo Bay on the 27th for a big holiday with a group of friends, about 15 of us are heading to a friends holiday home in the hills at the entrance to the town. Should be a really great time with very little to do except hang out and relax! The thought of having no commitments for a week is something i'm looking forward to greatly!

Judging from past experience I doubt i'll get onto here before we get back!

So a Merry and Safe Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!

CAROLS CAROLS...

2007-11-26T21:09:00.000+11:00

Our neighbours must think we are nuts - there have been carols playing in our house for about 2 months, and practices for the last 3 weeks...there is one going on right now which is why i'm hiding away in the study.

Anyway, those in Werribee will hopefully start seeing some of the below posters around town! We reckon we'll have the top spots covered during the week!

But i'm covering the internet by posting this one...make sure you come along! It'll be really good, a little more contemporary this year.

Twas good fun making these up - there are about 8 different layers of design elements in it. Some which you probably won't see until the final prints or program covers...all done in Illustrator)

christmas is rolling along!

2007-11-24T22:32:00.001+11:00

Well we had the opportunity today to put up our Christmas Tree. We were going to wait for December to roll around, but with:

3 carols meetings next week,

followed by a wedding next saturday, followed by a busy sunday

followed by 3 carols meetings the week after,

followed by the carols!

we thought we had better take the chance now!

We went out and bought heaps of red and gold baubles for the tree and a simple set of lights to get us going. We are really happy with how it looks!

All we need now is a camera that isn't useless at taking low light photos!

dot points.....again.....

2007-11-19T20:49:00.000+11:00

I'm going to stop apologising for being so lazy, otherwise every post will start with that, and that is no fun, so yeah - but I'm still sorry for this post. :)

So let the dot points begin! (unfortunately not in chronological order as I can't remember...)

- Bek is starting a teaching job at Werribee Primary, years 3/4.....TOMORROW!

The principal called her mobile at 6:30pm Friday evening!! Yes, kind of last minute. It is only for the last 5 weeks of this year, but talk about getting some prime experience before next year!!

- I have finished uni for another year!

Three down, one to go. Don't know how I went on this one, I'm assuming I've passed. I'm just glad it is over and I can relax a little more, not feeling any guilt when not doing uni work!

- Printed stacks of posters and made some promo movies for the Carols, had the first main practice on Thursday, numerous other meetings...dyed 21 bags of tube pasta - 33 to go! If anyone has some spare time or some pasta, let us know...please...for the kids area at Carols.

- Church found a venue - at Iramoo Community Centre.

It's going really well and everyone seems to have settled in rather nicely. Starting to do a bunch of community action stuff in the coming months too.

- Youth had a massive night club night.

And it went off! A few of us started setting up early Saturday morning with all the church sound equipment and by mid-afternoon had some ridiculously loud bass pumping music going - with the help of 4 26' subs, and plenty of other speakers hooked up to the sound desk - not happy with just that, we headed down to a friends lighting equipment shop and hired: blacklights, spotlights, and lots of other lights - blacked out the whole venue and it was very, very cool...

So that is what has been, now what is to come:

- Carols by Candlelight is fast approaching!

And the tense emotions are building...some nights we just think it won't go ahead, others we are pumped and can't wait. But I guess we will just have to wait. Get ready to start seeing carols posters/banners/flyers around the place! (If anyone feels like a short letterbox drop in their near-by streets, handing them out at work, yelling at the top of your lungs, let us know, we'll get you the flyers and info! :) )

- Bek's dad heads off to the Solomon Islands in a few weeks!

Helping out over there with the people we are renting off. They are off to help show some communities how to build houses etc I think! From what I know, Nick and the others will build a few while training, and then leave them to build the rest. More than 20 overall - kind of basic kit-houses.

- Christmas!

Well, we'll start thinking about Christmas around the 14th December I reckon - after the carols and everything else!

That'll do for now!

It's over red-rover

2007-10-27T14:39:00.000+10:00

Bek finished University FOREVER on Wednesday!

And finished it off with a bang!

98/100 for her final Folio - the project that sums up her four years at Uni!

Holidays all round...
________________________________________-

latest render...today

2007-10-20T23:42:00.000+10:00

this site really doesn't do them justice! But we are now getting somewhere...!

Check out the glass texture...I'm happy with that turnout.

latest renders

2007-10-18T17:23:00.000+10:00

Here are the new render's I spoke about in the post below...they use a special lighting arrangement to get it looking like this. But it slows the computer down - 7mins to render each of the below pictures with the computer at 100% usage, nothing else will work as 3dsMax absorbs everything it can from the computer to get the job done - clever really!?

although the form has changed slightly since these and they are a little 'sepia' on here, not supposed to be. But anyway, you'll get the gist...

the latest goss....

2007-10-18T17:20:00.001+10:00

well, nearly a month without a post! That's a bit slack...sorry about that.

However, as usual - we're run off our feet!

Carols by Candlelight:

Some of you may not be aware that Bek and I are on the Production Team for the Wyndham Carols by Candlelight this year! There are 5 people that make up the team - and a few more in the Logistics side of things working under/with Karen (bek's mum) who heads up the whole lot!

Not that i'm biased or anything Â :) Â but this year should be really, really good! Lots of things set up to specifically give families/kids a great afternoon and evening!

So: When, what, where, how?

The carols start on December 7th at 8pm with the gates opening up far earlier than that at 5:30pm to allow for family picnic dinners etc.

It is held at the Werribee Mansion and we are expecting over 5000 people!

Its $5 entry which includes the program, and kids 15yrs and under are free!

_____________________________________

Expohire:

Technically, this week was to be my final week with Expohire! 40 weeks have gone by quickly haven't they?! HOWEVER, they have offered me the chance to keep working there all the way through to uni next year - which is March! I've taken them up on that without flinching, partly cos i'm enjoying it there, and partly cos we'll need the money!

So good news there...

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Uni:

I've been rather unmotivated at uni this year - perhaps because I am working and feel that I don't need to do uni at the moment, or perhaps its because I think the two subjects I've had this year were crap. :)

Either way, the current subject (my lego thing) is starting to get good - with 3d modelling and renders all happening. Which I love - I have learnt heaps about 3dsMax this year, thanks to Expohire, and continue to learn every time I have to do a render - by looking up tutorials on materials and lighting, I'm happy with how they are turning out!

I'll post an image of my latest render in a tick.

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Bek:

Bek just finished her 6weeks of teaching rounds and has started back at the child care centre 4 days a week which is a welcome boost to our income! I think she may only have 1 more uni class! FOREVER! She has been working really hard on her final folio - which is to sum up everything you've learnt and done over 4 years! But thankfully, the stress of finding a job no longer exists due to the Point Cook school offering her a position!!!!

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Church:

Our church is about to move venue's in 2 weeks time! Kinda scary, cos we don't have another venue lined up yet!

Thomas Chirnside (where we currently have church) are about to start major renovations and construction so we had to get out of their school gym. However, we only had 4 weeks notice - so the leadership team have been busy searching for venues.

We did have Volt Niteclub lined up, which would have been awesome, being right there at the plaza, in the middle of the community, but unfortunately, due to them renting off the Plaza, they cannot sub-rent to us...

anyway, this is huge now - but as you can see, lots happening! Plus, i've fallen crook with a stomach bug today, which is why i'm at home, but hopefully that'll be gone soon!

back to the land of lego...

2007-09-22T17:43:00.000+10:00

I had to make a mock-up for my University project this weekend for Tuesday...

I was a little worried about this as - unlike most of my classmates - I am working during the day and unable to use the Uni workshop to get the modelling foam and things needed.

So i resorted to LEGO.

Yes, I used the abundant supply that was stored up in the roof of mum and dad's house - developed over 30+ years - it came in handy! It was also lucky that I was a nerd several years ago and sorted most of it into vague types (ie: technic, basic and space!)

So i created the model below. I'm rather happy with it - it has its limitations being lego, but it allows me to check out movement and form to a point.

oh - the idea of the uni project (sorta secret so i'll give you the gist):

A creature that can get from one wall to another - cleaning.

Right way up - and the underside of it showing the "cleaning tools"

Using its hinged legs to get over objects - and the lego supply!

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fish can't burp

2007-09-18T17:42:00.000+10:00

well, we learnt an interesting fact today -

fish can't burp

we learnt this fact because poor Moose passed away Sunday night...ooh...
This caused us to head down to the local pet shop today to get two new fish, and to first find out why Emo and Moose died.
We explained that just before hand their balance was out of whack - floating tail up etc - he immediately said,
"you use flake food yeah?"
"yes," we replied
"that is your problem - when they eat at the surface, they swallow to much air and can't release it! Causing trouble in their system."
"ahhh...."

So we now know to get some sinking fish food - which is just like mini pellets. So due to all that - we now have two new fish. Yet to be named 100% but one has a mean black streak running along his head and back, and the other is super streamlined and fast...
we are thinking: blade and thorpedo. attempts at photos are below.

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In other news while trying to catch up with the stuff in the post below: We moved the lounge around last week. Its a little cosy'er for us and we aren't so far away from the tv now. Its working well so far, and we had a big group of mates (bout 20) round after church for dinner and idol on sunday and it all worked well. We've kept the wall free for projector use still too! See photos below:

how it is now - how it was as we moved in

Also, remember how I mentioned that we bought GIbbs a new basket a few weeks ago?
Well there isn't much left of it now. :)
It is fine that he eats it - its good for his teeth, we are just amused that he's half eaten the basket in about 3 weeks.

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news by dot point...

2007-09-09T22:24:00.000+10:00

Latest events - in chronological order:

- Lost the key to the shed...

- Bought Gibbs a new basket bed (as he ate his old one :) ) and he is half way through the new one!

- Bek has a teaching job lined up for next year at a new school in Point Cook!

- Washed/Detailed Beks car for fathers day (first wash in over 9 months...)

- Dad's fathers day working bee

- Found a key to the shed...

- I had an Industry Placement exhibition at my uni with all fellow IP students

- FINALLY mowed and weeded the lawn on Saturday: 2.5hrs and 3 garbage bags later...

- Only 2 weeks of Bek's 6 week teaching round block left

- Boys night out watching Bourne Ultimatum and World Cup Rugby on Saturday night

- We rearranged the lounge room and other areas today, looks cosy and nice

- About to start a busy week at work where myself and one other designer have around 80hrs of rendering to do for a tender!

I think that's about it! It's all been happening though, and will continue to keep happening. But we are still here, still going strong...I'll slowly catch up with the above events with photos etc when i can.

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Singstar entry...

2007-08-27T07:06:00.001+10:00

here i am - in all my Punk Rock glory...

Score 9070 - Singstar

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creative cooking 101

2007-08-20T20:18:00.000+10:00

It was Karen's (bek's mum) birthday on Friday and before the family dinner on the saturday evening, Bek and I were asked to provide the cake! No pressure...

Now Bek has become rather pro at Chocolate Ripple cakes recently, and instead of conforming to the regular straight log variety, she decided to push her luck with a round one!

So to the shops we went on Saturday morning and, once home, set too.

I'll let the image speak for themselves but you can see that we got very creative and struggled not to eat it on the spot. It is a very deluxe choc-ripple cake!

Plus the bonus: it even tasted good when it came time to eat it!

Added point: This was Karen's main B'Day pressie from Bek and I (and Karen... :) ) to go with her new iPod nano.

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New Kitchen Equipment...

2007-08-19T11:45:00.000+10:00

We had to make some new purchases for our Kitchen yesterday...

A long time ago, Bek had bought a box set of appliances for when we had a house, it included a toaster, ba-mixer and a toastie maker...

since then:

- We dropped the toastie maker a few months ago

- The toaster sparks and spits our toast out and onto the floor

- The ba-mix smells like a slot car track when being used (ie: burning electrics)

so we used a voucher at myers for some new stuff.

It all looks very nice and shiney and works well so we are happy - we already had a different toastie maker so didn't need another one of those.

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My new 'Puter

2007-08-04T12:14:00.000+10:00

I can finally post about my new computer! It has been a long waiting game...

I got it home Tuesday afternoon (just gone) and took into the study, then had to wait until YESTERDAY before I could get XP onto it and start setting it up! That's like getting a new car in the driveway and not using it for 4 days!

Anyway, I got it up and running yesterday and i'm very happy...It is really, very quiet, and my initial plays are showing it to be quite quick. At least compared to my laptop...

For one thing - i just imported all of my 4500 songs into iTunes in under 2 minutes...I remember it taking around an hour on my laptop the last time i did that - maybe a year ago?

From selecting Photoshop and it being open and ready to use:

laptop - 38.8sec

desktop - 11.5sec

this I am happy about!! I'll be able to work much faster between all the big programs.

the specs (for those interested):

processor: Intel E6420 Core 2 Duo 2.13ghz/4MB Cache

graphics card: Sapphire X1650Pro/PCI-E 512MB DDR3/Dual screen

RAM: Corsair Twin 2GB

Hard drive: 320GB

Sound card: 5.1channel

Dual layer DVD burner and other things too.

anyway...i'm pleased.

the above powerboards are two of the four currently powering our study at the moment...yeah, we're doing our bit for all those black balloons! :)

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in other news:

We had a gathering at our house again last night for our Young Adults group - called Primal. (www.myspace.com/goprimal for those playing at home) and had an interesting evening.

It included -

- eating dinner without cutlery :)

- watching the movie Troy

- playing 'bigger-or-better' which is much like the red-paperclip saga found here where we started off with a small chocolate, and had to come back 1hr later with something bigger and better. We weren't allowed to go to family and were only allowed to go to one house from church. It was highly energising and believe it or not, my team came back with a working washing machine! :) :) :)

the trades for my team:

- chocolate for a can of V at a service station (stranger)

- V can for two VB cans (stranger)

- VB cans for a snoring Ernie doll (friend)

- Ernie doll for a good kite and a pair of boxer shorts?! (friend) we reckon we went backwards here but anyway...

- boxer shorts for the washing machine (they did want to get rid of it anyway) (church person)

- and the kite for a kids bike (stranger)

the trades for Bek's team:

- chocolate for a block of chocolate (Stranger)

- block of chocolate for a box of chocolate (Stranger)

- box of chocolate for bottle of wine (Stranger)

- bottle of wine for a maxwell and williams cork extractor & Popcorn Maker (Church)

- Popcorn maker for a bread oven and pie maker (Friend)

- Bread oven for a full size trampoline (They were unable to transport it therefore it didn't count)

good times...

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Christmas in July

2007-07-29T09:52:00.000+10:00

We got into the Christmas spirit last night with Bek organising an ENORMOUS Christmas dinner with a bunch of our friends. She had it all organised, invitations went out with what you had to bring to contribute (in terms of food) and it was all dropped off in the days before.
Bek's nan came round yesterday afternoon to help get the cooking going, as Bek had never cooked a roast (and chose to start in a big way...). Everyone arrived with their little kris-kringle present and it was on!

There were 26 people in our house, and as you can imagine - 26 peoples' worth of food!
But the awesome thing was - with 26 different people bringing their contribution, we had the perfect amount of food and dessert for everyone in the end.

It was a great night - with some Christmas spirit - but plenty of friends and good spirit.
Even Gibbs got in on the act by the end.

Check out the pics below...

bek and her nan... - bek's creative 'lolly-wreath'

me carving it up... - the spread of food

the amazing desserts...

some of our guests... - the room in preparation
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man down...

2007-07-28T16:58:00.000+10:00

We experienced our first casualty on Thursday night...

Emo.

He had been sick for several days, with a seemingly upset 'ballast tank' stopping him from floating normally and all that, and we woke on Thursday morning to see that he had gone to fish heaven.
Thankfully Bek has made a great memorial stone for him which is now located in the tank.

Rest In Peace.

Gibbs is still going and growing strong! His colouring has started to change slightly now he's getting older...he is about 4.5 months old now. Check out the colour change from the first day until now!

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update time...

2007-07-21T16:38:00.000+10:00

It's been a while, and a lot has happened...so:

Bek's parents purchased a new car a few weeks ago, and since they received a very low trade in price, we jumped at the chance and now have Bek's mum's old car! This is now my car and I will take it to work each day. Yes i know...what about the Kingswood?! Well I don't know yet, its still up the driveway with 9 months road-worthy left, but we decided the new car is a whole lot safer/reliable to be travelling to the city in. Especially as I'm travelling there 4 days a week atm.

So i will probably drive the new one to work and around most of the time, and use the Kingswood occasionally.

I've come to realise it will be a very long time before I have the money and time to spend on re-creating it, so I imagine we will sell it on eventually, rather than cart it from house to house. I'll probably sell the plates separate though, as they are more valuable than the car! So that is that...

the 'hand-over'

We have shuffled things around in our house recently, Bek has been offered the chance to run some singing lessons and so we've converted the spare room into a new 'mini-lounge/music room' where these can happen. We bought a small TV cabinet and moved the TV from the front lounge into there, and then took Mum and Dad's old TV to replace it. This moved the table-soccer into the garage. The garage now has some carpet from Bek's old house, and a sofa-bed from Rob and Nic at the moment. We have a couch at a friends place in storage, and will probably get that back over the next week or so and sort out the seating in the new lounge a bit better. I hope that all made sense!? There are some photos to explain...

the bits and pieces - the finished product

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3ds Max...

2007-07-13T10:57:00.000+10:00

I've recently taken more fancy to the potential of 3D Studio Max, or just 3D software in general, and really want to learn a lot more about it...
I've been reading up and trying out tutorials with materials etc. Its been good fun, with some cool stuff made, including an Ice Cube.
I did this one this morning, learning about Chrome, its quite cool, very effective, and I decided to try and see how much 3D max would reflect, by placing the two chrome balls next to each other...as you can see, it reflects forever. :) nifty...

anyway, in other news I had my 6 month review at work today, all good news. They feel I have grasped everything really well and have even brought knowledge to the business. Since I knew the basics of rendering, we can now do many more presentation renderings more often as there is the extra person to do it. Also, they mentioned that I had "the potential to be one of the star designers " there!! So I was very happy with the results of the previous 6 months. They also asked whether I was able to stay on after my 40 weeks, not quite offering it to me yet, but it was good to hear...

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Married 6 Months!

2007-07-08T14:23:00.001+10:00

We have been Married for 6 Months!!

Wow time has flown and we have loved every minute together! We had a nice day Friday.. Bek worked a split shift at the child care center which meant she had a break from 11am till 2pm and we could go out for lunch! On Friday night we went to see Pirates 3 which we have been hanging out to see for a little while! This weekend has been nice and laid back at home just hanging out... (Other than the trip to the VET - Previous Post!) Bek cooked up a storm last night and we enjoyed a Mexican low table banquet, spicy but Yum, while watching the footy! Have I not scored the best wife in the world?!

Gibbs Goes To The Vet...

2007-07-08T13:45:00.000+10:00

Yesterday our little Gibbs had his first visit to the vet (Just as scary for us as it was for him i think).
We went to Hoppers Crossing Vet Clinic and Hospital on Barber Drive which is where Bek has always taken her dogs.
We saw Dr Joe who was very nice and very good with Gibbs!
He said all is well with the little fella...

* Clean Ears and Eyes
* Good Heart Rate
* Lungs sound good
* Good Coat
* Good Diet
* 10/10

He also had a vaccine to protect him against the many nasty things that mozzies and other things carry. We weren't sure how much it would all cost but we were pleasantly surprised. He will now only need to go back once a year for a booster and a check up.

Big wave time...

2007-07-06T16:53:00.000+10:00

I'm sure some may have seen this, but if you haven't...you need to.

Check it out and sit there stunned like i did the first time i watched it, and the second and third.

It is hard to comprehend the size of this wave!

make sure you have speakers on - there is no music, but you can hear the wind - nuts...

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Essentials...

2007-07-04T19:35:00.000+10:00

Bek and I attended Capstone (Bek's previous church) a few weeks ago and heard a story from one of the speakers about how his house had nearly burnt down a few days prior due to a kitchen fire. They possibly saved the house by using a fire blanket and extinguisher.
Upon hearing this we realised we had neither at our house...and decided it was probably worth the investment - thinking about it now, its not even easy to run and grab the hose anymore, as our hose hasn't been connected to anything for months and months as there is no need!

So on the way home from work I popped into Bunnings and grabbed a small extinguisher and fire blanket. For the small price of $45 all up, i thought that was quite reasonable when it has the potential to save lives/houses...

I was surprised at the cost, thinking it would be more...i reckon for that price there should be some in every home?!

Now we just have to hope that it is a $45 investment that is never, EVER used!!

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Inspiring me to travel...

2007-06-29T21:25:00.000+10:00

This video is a very inspiring movie to watch.

It makes me want to travel, and to get to all these places one day.

Plus its a very heart-warming/coldplay kinda song, gets you thinking and wanting...

check it out...

Its called - 'where the hell is Matt Harding'

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The River in Florence...

2007-06-23T12:40:00.000+10:00

I was sorting through some of our photos this morning and stumbled across the photos we took in Florence, Italy. I'm not sure who may have already seen this, but i thought i'd post the amazing photos of the main river during the floods at the time, and hopefully some video too...

This is how it should look apparently...

These are when we were there...pretty nuts eh!?

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The rabbit hutch of the future...

2007-06-13T13:00:00.000+10:00

Here is a concept that i'd love to build for him one day...when we have more money and more time! I reckon its quite neat! I knocked it up on my lunch break at work...plus a bit more. ;)
Obviously there are some design tweaks required.
Let me know if you spot the main design issue that currently exists!!

...Sleek, modern design and materials...

...Spacious interior...

...easy access...

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Gibbs' house complete.

2007-06-11T18:24:00.000+10:00

After much nailing and cutting we were able to complete Gibbs' new home. All that's left is to attach a hinge to his front door and to fill it with comfy bedding. It smells quite strongly of varnish and stain at the moment, so to keep him from getting to high and happy, he will have one more night indoors in his box. Thanks again Dad for all your help and equipment...

Below are some photos of Gibbs living it up, and his new house -

...sunbaking in the lounge...

...helping Bek with her homework...

...cleaning up Bek's rubbish...

...trying out the new house...

...living it up...

He has already proven how smart he is - we can clearly see that he knows his name. He doesn't always do what you ask, but he acknowledges that you're talking to him. He's found his favourite spot on the doormat, and he's already understanding the toilet training more...
Good Gibbs.
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Gibbs' new house.

2007-06-10T22:16:00.000+10:00

Well we have decided to call it Gibbs. Bek has been trying it out today and we think it suits him, its a rabbit kinda name, short and sweet. Yes, it was inspired by NCIS...
We've been reading up more on rabbits and training. Apparently 'hard' names are better than 'soft' names, ie: Jack vs John. So Gibbs works on that front, compared with Gary i guess...

Anyway, I started construction on his house today. Dad and i made a successful trip down to Bunnings armed with a basic plan and some required materials.
I should be able to finish it off tomorrow, with the help of Dad and his wonderful, tool filled garage.
The only bit left to build is his little under-cover shelter which will stick on the end when needed, and the lid for the top.

Should be all good, then he can have a proper home, rather than the big cardboard box that he finally learnt to jump out of this afternoon. :)

(this is a phone photo too...not bad!?)
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Our latest addition...!!

2007-06-09T18:58:00.000+10:00

Meet our new baby!!
We don't have a name for him yet. We are thinking hard and trying different ones out.
We got him this afternoon, down in Corio...we rang 16 pet shops and this was the first and nearest that had one! He is a dwarf lop rabbit, we aren't a 100% sure on age, around 12-14 weeks we think.
Bek and I have wanted one for a few weeks now and decided to get one. A hutch will be built up over the next few days for outside. But he is very cute, quite frantic at the moment, as they are not used to being picked up - or even much noise as the pet-shop casings are soundproof.

They can be toilet trained - which we are working on! and will quickly get used to people picking them up. At the moment he loves cuddling, but doesn't like the process of being caught...
He should be a great companion and he is very, very soft and loves being loved.

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Good Food and Wine Show...

2007-06-02T18:50:00.000+10:00

Some pics of the Riedel Theatre which I designed...
It was my responsibility to draw up the entire floorplan of the show so that it could be built.
I was happy with the results, its a cool feeling walking around seeing it all come together.

(also, what do you think of the new blog design?)
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amusing Windows

2007-06-02T12:15:00.000+10:00

I was trying to eliminate some of the rubbish stuff that starts up every time I logon to Windows this morning. I found the check-boxes and switched off the useless programs that were causing the trouble and "ok'd".

I rebooted to see if the logon process had improved.
It had to a point, but windows also popped this message up.

It doesn't make much sense to me.
Lets startup a new program to help stop programs starting up?!

Bek and I, along with Mum and Dad are off to the Good Food and Wine show today, mainly for me to show off the features i designed or drew-up, but also to have a wander. I was in and out during the week to see how the build was going - everytime you get hunted down by the builders with questions and queries, not always fun...but it was fun to see the show getting built, knowing that it was up to me to make it work. A lot of pressure, but it was going up, and it looks good now.

I shall have to post some pictures tomorrow as we have both a 21st and a farewell tonight...
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an issue with our camera

2007-05-27T12:21:00.000+10:00

Also, we have noticed that our camera seems to be suffering under low-light conditions...we don't know what it is, whether its just a dirty lense or something more...but you'll see by the pictures below it is not ideal for taking photos...
any ideas?

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Dear Diary - Saturday 26th May 2007

2007-05-27T12:04:00.000+10:00

I whole heap happened yesterday! Bek and I both felt highly productive, which is always a nice feeling.
For starters, we woke up at 10:30am! :) we obviously needed the sleep, and then created an enormous breakfast for 11am, including: Bacon, eggs, baked beans, hashbrowns, toast and BBQ sauce! a top breakfast to start the day.
Not long after, beks tupperware delivery arrived from her party a few weeks ago!! boxes galore for everyone that attended. (they will be dropped off as we next drive past your house!) This spurred bek into reorganising the pantry and making everything wonderful and neat, it also raised the need for a label-maker apparently, so after a few household chores and headed over to mum and dads to borrow their one.

Then it came to 1pm and we headed off to the Mackinnon household (our pastors' house).
They are on holiday at the moment and it was arranged that a bunch of us would secretly renovate their lack of a front garden!
A crew of about 20 turned up when they could throughout the day from around 8am. We turned up at 1:30 and worked hard right through till it was finished at about 6:30pm. A whole front garden in one saturday, and it looks awesome. I will post a picture soon...unfortunatly we only have an after shot tho, but just pretend there was nothing but dead grass before. So we are looking forward to when they get home next wednesday.

Once that was completed we returned home for dinner, tv and homework. Bek and I set to on our homework, coming up to end of semester next week. I managed to knock off a whole assignment last night, i'd started to stress slightly as i hadn't started a journal that was supposed to cover my Industry Placement so far, all 5 months of it! It turns out it was more report than journal, so i was just explaining what i did and how the business worked etc. Quite easy, and i pumped out a 4500 word report in just under 5hrs. Not bad when i was thinking what to write while writing it!

So a productive day!
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i feel like meatloaf tonight...

2007-05-23T19:22:00.000+10:00

This morning before UNI i (BEK) was very organised and got out some rissoles to defrost for dinner. But... When it came time to cook dinner i didn't want rissoles! So we had meatloaf... Which i have NEVER cooked before. But i made it up and sure gave it a burl...

4 x Rissoles
1 Egg
1 Carrot grated
1 Onion Diced
1/2 Zucchini grated
Peas and Carrots
Cheese ?!?
BBQ Sauce

Mush it all together and cook in the oven for 1 hour!

YAY! SO YUMMY

JAMIE OLIVER WATCH OUT

Tokyo Plastic...

2007-05-20T21:51:00.000+10:00

I have a special site to show you. Its is not secret, but is probably not well known amongst most. And it is most appreciable to those who love Flash animations and understand the animation and all the rest, however, it is a great site to look at just for fun when you've some spare time!
I would encourage the spare time bit...
This is not a site that i would wish to explore on dial-up i'm afraid. But if not, definately EXPLORE, it encourages you to...things will happen on screen and then stop, waiting for you to initiate the next bit and you have to think and guess to find it.
It probably won't make much sense, but it doesn't really need to as far as i'm concerned.
anyway, enough talking...

http://www.tokyoplastic.com

check it out, post your thoughts, i'm interested to know what you think.
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NCIS

2007-05-15T22:13:00.000+10:00

Some of you may be aware that Bek and I are big fans of NCIS.
We started liking it last year as it was the only show we could both watch in the evenings, since it was on Wednesdays and that was the only night we had free together...busy people eh?!
Now we just love it, the more you watch it, the more the writers reward you with little bits of knowledge about the characters that only avid watchers would know, and the stories are getting better each week as the characters are developing. They have a habit of running around 3 stories at a time - 1 new one each week, and others continuing through for weeks on end.
So we found two of our favourite clips on YouTube, so i've posted them below.
perhaps they are funnier to those who know the characters and the backgrounds, but we find them highly amusing....

mum...

2007-05-14T13:20:00.000+10:00

Happy birthday mum for saturday!
and
Happy mothers' day mum for sunday!

you are lucky, pressies for two days in a row!

we all hope you had a great weekend!
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Reach Out Performance...

2007-05-10T06:55:00.000+10:00

The performance I was in Sunday night at church...highly nerve-racking backstage, but so much fun while performing!!!!
It goes:
myself, daniel, shane and john.
Kate, you'd remember John Boothby pretty well i think, Rob might too...
anyway, enjoy! :)

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bills bills bills

2007-05-07T20:46:00.000+10:00

I thought i might quickly share some of the wonderful bills Bek and I recieved in the mail during April and the first week of May...

- My car insurance
- Bek's car insurance
- My car registration
- Bek's car registration
- Telstra phone bill
- My mobile
- Bek's mobile
- Internet
- Water
- Electricity
- Gas
- Rent - first fortnight
- Rent - second fortnight

i think thats all...
/note to self: beware of April 2008
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...what a night!

2007-05-05T11:58:00.000+10:00

Well,
we had an experience last night that we don't want to relive ever again...sounds dramatic!? it was...

Bek's computer died.

Yes, I had arrived home with a new, working, case for my external hard-drive and had finished backing up most of my files from my laptop. We then had dinner and i mentioned to Bek that I would borrow her laptop that evening to back up her files and defrag it as it had been running slower than usual and playing up a bit.
Not long after I was heading to the study and Bek called out that she urgently needed my assistance at her laptop in the dining room, I jogged over and saw one of the most fatal Windows messages i'd ever seen...
"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \windows\system32\config\system. <-- pretty much THE windows file.
You can attempt to repair this file by starting up using the original Setup CD-ROM."

"What does that mean?" Bek asked...
I thought carefully about my answer before speaking...
"ok," i said, "first of all, you still have all your files...other than that, you killed the computer."

A quick phone call to the amazing time-dontator of Rob and i was on my way round. :)
Thinking that we just had to retrieve her files and do a rebuild, i wasn't planning on being there long, until 2 versions of Linux couldn't find any of her files...

oh no.

I haven't felt my heart sink that low in a long time...I called Bek and she was in tears thinking that she'd just lost 4years of Uni work, as we couldn't recall the last time we'd backed stuff up.
Eventually we found a OS called Knoppix (based on Linux) that could see the files on her hard-drive! To say that i was relieved was an understatement.
It was then a very slow and sensitive process of using my 1gb memory stick to get small bits of info off it and onto Rob's. Eventually we got the priority stuff off and we were in a suitable place for me to head home and get the rest in the morning.

An enormous thanks to Rob and Nic for letting me invade their house for nearly 4hrs last night, and a big thanks to all computer and Linux geeks for being smarter than windows when it comes to file retrieval!!

I've now spent the whole morning on my computer, with all manner of things plugged into it to copy info, retrieve info, put it onto other things, then re-copy etc...check out the pic below to see the various things plugged in...most of the alphabet is there!

Mac vs PC

2007-05-01T19:38:00.000+10:00

With all the hype Mac is making with their new Mac vs PC adds, i found this on YouTube...
Quite amusing...perfect music too.

V8 Supercars.

2007-04-24T21:26:00.000+10:00

Incidentally, i put some rally experience into practice last night. :) but not out on the streets...

Bek and I bought her dad the V8 supercars 2 playstation game for his birthday yesterday. We popped round to say hello and happy birthday, and switched it on to have a go...

One thing the rally guys tought me was to never brake or accelerate while going round the apex of a corner (the middle point of the corner). So you are going hard into a corner, you brake heavily (without locking them) then turn hard into the corner (either getting sideways or huggin the racing line) and you accelerate hard out of the corner once you're in the right spot! I found this very useful during the drive and it allowed me to push harder.

I also found it useful in the playstation game as it followed the same principles very well, since its got a great physics engine built into the game...so thats just a handy tip for all those racers out there!

My Rally Drive...

2007-04-23T19:47:00.000+10:00

Well,
...what a weekend! it'll be a long post...

Lets start from the beginning:
Saturday -
up nice and early to keep organising the house in preparation for my 21st that evening. Then, at around 10:45 we headed out to the rally drive place.
I suited up and headed into the briefing/video room just as Rob and the others arrived.
After watching a very cool rally video for 20mins or so we were advised on the best techniques to try and put into practise while driving.
Then, of course, it rained. :)

Finally my turn came around for the drive. Very excited and yet not quite sure what to do with myself, i jumped into the drivers seat. They buckled me in nice and tight, gave me a pat on the leg and i was introduced to my co-driver Gavin. He said a quick hello and off we went!
The first lap was to get my bearings, around the track, learning the corners etc.
Then, the moment we rounded the last corner... go go go!!! he immediately started the pressure for me to flog it! I loved it, going round a corner at what i thought was my limit, i was rewarded with nothing but: "c'mon, harder! Accelerate earlier and harder!" This continued, i got several; "good"s out of him etc. and my confidence grew until i was having a ball and was going round corners harder and faster.
Clearly my favourite part was losing it big time and fishying after the first corner.
It was also satisfying to catch up to the other driver that was on the track...clearly they were not having the tremendous time that I was. Or else they were to scared to drive the car hard...i looked at it from the angle that it wasn't my car, it was a rally car, built to be positively flogged!
So i tried. :)

The 10 laps finished all to quickly, but then i was rewarded with 4 hot laps with Gavin. By this time the track was rather slippery and boggy. We found this out as he took a corner on the first lap quite nicely, and by the 3rd we drifted a looong way off course, due to mud in the tyre tread apparently! But the drift was awesome and he was having as much fun as i was...good job i reckon!

So yeah, thanks to all for the gift, it was well recieved and well used!

Saturday night -
After that bek and i headed home to relax for a short time before people arrived. To cut it short, plenty turned up for an awesome and extravagantly provided dinner, we had a great time playing table soccer and singstar into the evening/morning (around 1am). I had setup some canvas' to be painted on, to and they are hanging up in the spare room, they've come up really nice!

Sunday -
a slight sleep in before getting up to finish tidying the house back to normal, mum and dad popped over with a decent vacuum cleaner and before long it was spic-and-span.
Then it was time for Bek and I to head to the airport to farewell Bek's sister Claire on her way to England!
It will be an epic trip; Claire and Jacqui are off to England for several months to work, and are then travelling Europe, some of America and popping into Canada! All up they should be gone for around 7months, but we'll wait and see if its longer... :)
You can follow their travles at: http://www.claireandjacqui.com

mm...quite a weekend!
I have got some photos so i shall put them up in a tick!

Album Preview

2007-04-14T12:01:00.000+10:00

Hey All,
this is a preview of our album, as it gets uploaded to the net for us to check before being sent to print.

Our latest travels and wonders...

2007-04-13T20:02:00.000+10:00

I apologise to all for it being such a long time between posts, however i recieved more comments when i wasn't doing anything compared to regular updates... :)

Thank you to all who left very nice Happy Birthday messages on their respective blogs or comments, it is always nice to see and i loved reading them. It was a great 21st birthday, even if i did have to work during the day.
But i was fortunate enough to recieve pancakes for breakfast, as well as a smooth run into work! Once at work its reasonably quiet in the birthday department as not many people know a great deal about me, such as birthdays etc. However the tradition is to bring a cake of some sort, so i ducked out at lunch time and found a nice treat for everyone. Once people realise they are very excited and congratulatory. Then it was topped off by a great family dinner with my lot and Bek's lot around at our house.
I received my high-class presents: a brand new watch and a rally car experience in a few weeks, as the key "all-pitched-in" pressies.
Thank you to all!

Work is flat-chat at the moment as the Australian Fitness and Natural Healthcare Expo is starting next week, which is a large show and I play a rather key part in that.
Bek has changed temping agencies and now works more directly for the ABC childcare centres which we feel is a good move as she has already picked up 2weeks full-time work next fortnight.

I watched the new movie: 300 the other evening on a boys night out at Crown, what an amazing and intense movie! There was more testosterone in the cinema than a footy changing room i reckon - 300 hard-core tough men fighting against several 100,000 over a weekish period. Sounds ludicrous, seemed crazy, but was portrayed as feasible. :)

Bek and I have finished our wedding album too! It will be ordered in the next few days and should be delivered a week or so after that. We are really happy with it as we know it is what we want - since we created it! it will come out like a coffee-table book style so we aren't afraid to look at it or leave it around...

So everything is well. I'm sure there is more as i haven't posted for a while, but if i remember anything i'll get it up here...
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World Championships and FISH

2007-03-24T11:13:00.000+11:00

I was given tickets by my boss on tuesday to go to the Diving on Wednesday night...a nice perk i guess! So Bek and I arranged to meet up at the pool and enjoy the diving. It started at 5:30 so I arrived at around 6pm after work, but that session finished at 6:30...the half an hour i saw was entertaining, but unfortunately it didn't go longer.
Bek enjoyed the whole time though and got some good photos. The place looks very refreshing!

I realised some of you may not have met our fish yet!? Bek was given them on her 21st with a tank and all. They are called:
Hoover 2 (orange and white), Zorro (black one), Emo (black tips), Jaffa (bronze colour) and Moose (fat one). They are growing quite well and we are hoping to get a fun little bubble thing for their tank soon.

My birthday is coming up! Sorry i am so useless for present ideas...i'm thinking. But the ideas are all too expensive. :)
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Bikes and Cars and Money

2007-03-16T15:39:00.000+11:00

Bek and I dug the bikes out of mum and dad's shed the other day (well actually dad did but you know...). The bikes were squeaking wonderfully whenever we attempted to brake which was inconvenient so into our shed they went... :S
They sat there until the weekend when i headed out to sand down some breakpads and give them a general clean. Now they are at least functional and not embarrassing. :)
All we have to do now is ride them!

My 13 week review at Expohire was brought forward 3 weeks! I had a meeting with my Account Coordinator, Design Team Leader and Services Manager; who all said i was doing very well and they wanted to acknowledge that by bringing my review forward, which also brings with it a small payrise of $1 an hour. Not alot, but it adds up, and besides the payrise, its nice to know that they are seeing the work i'm doing. Its also a pat on the back for myself knowing that i'm heading in the right direction with this company...

Bek is currently working at the Gran Prix in a souvlaki stand, yes, she is the one selling you $9 souvlaki's! but they taste really, really good! If you are heading there, check out the stands and you may spot her!?

SIM
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the internet....

2007-03-02T20:42:00.000+11:00

Oh my gosh, like, we so totally have the internet!

What an epic it has been to finally get online, we are thinking about turning it into a movie, and rob will be a main character...There would be so much emotion/time/effort and determination, it would surely win an oscar!
Either way, its not really worth explaining besides the fact that we had Rob stumped, the ADSL man 99% stumped and finally it kicked into gear and we are away...
so,
about those photos... :)
for so long we have promised them, its pretty crazy! But we will work on them now. Especially for the wonderful people up in NSW that haven't been able to see them in the flesh, we shall post the good ones up on the site Rob set up...(they take up too much space on here) and we'll put some good honeymoon ones on there too!

Besides all that:
things are going really well for Bek and I. We have both been knee deep in our new jobs with Bek getting plenty of temping work each week and I've been fast-tracked through my training at ExpoHire!
I now have my own shows that i'm the chief designer for (including the Good Food and Wine Show in case anyone is interested) - working alongside an Account Manager and Account Co-ordinator i'm able to design all the feature stands for the shows. There are about 7 or so other shows in my portfolio but only 2 or 3 are big...big meaning anything in the Exhibition Centre or more.

Plus we both started Uni again this week! Bek is in full time (or 2 days plus 1 teaching round day) and i'm there on Fridays with ExpoHire Mon-Thurs. Its looking like being a busy but productive year for us both! We've settled into the house now and all is good...
so yeah...those photos....

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photos!

2007-02-03T20:18:00.000+11:00

We got our photos back from the photographer...!
We'll post them between here and the wedding photo website.
We love them all and are very impressed and recommend him if you need them...
so look around, we'll post what we can!

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update...

2007-01-26T16:02:00.000+11:00

Wow,
Its been a long time since i've posted...
But there is a good reason for that!
We don't have the internet at our house yet! A bit of a bummer really, but its not the most important thing in the world.

The house is really great, we feel very comfy, very relaxed and very, very thankful that we have it! We are looking forward to Bek's 21st/Open house party tomorrow and being able to share it with our family and friends.

The job is going well, it was really busy the first week and i was learning on the run - real jobs and tasks, but having to learn how to do them in the process. They are a friendly bunch of people and are being very patient with me. I've done a few renderings among other floorplans and they seem to be happy with my progress and my speed so that is good.
There will be times when i get to visit shows too, generaly during setup but either way - i think we will be visiting the Motor Show while they are building as we are organising that at the moment...

Beks new job has just started, she is doing relief work and temping in child-care centres around town, it is good money and she should get work most days that she wants.

So yeah, all is good at the moment, we hope everything is well with everyone else!

catchya next time we are at a parents house with the internet! :) :)

S&B
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hot hot hot!!!

2007-01-11T12:47:00.000+11:00

Just a quick update...

its bloody hot here!! We've now banned ourselves from going outside between 1ish and 3ish as its to hot and dangerous for our english skin! Bek has sun-creamed every hour and has still managed to burn...

our 4WD trip has postponed as he blew up his motor apparently...but that should be fixed today or tomorrow...we are looking forward to our plane trip tomorrow and the wildlife cruise...

we'd love to post some photos but we are in a humble internet kiosk with no chance of uploading any, so we'll have to book in a few slideshow evenings once we are back. However, the photos we've got are stunning, its hard not to take a good photo here...

thats all for now!

Sim & Bek
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the honeymoon...

2007-01-09T16:14:00.000+11:00

Day 1
we were up early on the sunday in order to catch our 8:00am flight to Perth...
Then it was on to Monkey Mia we went! With an amusing shed for an airport, we arrived in high 30C heat and were bussed to the resort by around 5pm. We had a quick swim in the ocean before cooking up a small BBQ dinner for ourselves...

Day 2
Up at 8am to watch the feeding of the dolphins. It is a 50m walk from our front porch, and we loved watching the new born baby dolphins swimming around. After that we hired a glass bottom boat for an hour and floated around doing nothing - and loving it.
By around 2pm the heat was getting ridiculous so we retreated to our room and watched Ocean's 11. The temp was around 32 but here the sun seems to be so much hotter, it feels more like a 40C day. After some more relaxing and a later swim we had dinner at the nearby cafe and then wandered down the beach into the sunset. On our way back we bumped into our friendly neighbours and had a wine/tea with them.

Day 3
No matter how much sunscreen we seem to put on, we are still coming in ever-so-slightly pink, so on with the moisturiser and retreat to the shade. We missed the dolphins this morning as our alarm clock did not go off for some reason. But we set out at 10 on a kayak and aimed for the 'red cliffs'. We were back after 2 hours and found out it is a 5km round trip...We were quite proud, although rather sore...And that brings us to the present...

The surroundings are amazing, breathtaking - as the beach is a metre from our front porch. We have never seen so many stars as we did last night and the quietness all around is so relaxing...
We are looking forward to the next few days which include:
2 sailing trips
1 4WD adventure
1 Scenic plane flight
1 early morning camel ride
and whatever else we decide.

thanks everyone! And we had such an amazing day on Saturday, we are so thankful...
catchya

Sim & Bek Young
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Bek is now in the world of Blogging...

2007-01-01T20:46:00.000+11:00

Hey Hey
I'm here too now YAY Simon and I are now Bloggin together.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well now that Christmas and New Years is over it's wedding wedding wedding! 5 Sleeps to go! OMG!

We moved all our boxes and stuff into the house we will be renting today... All into one spare room. Thanks for all the help from Russ and his Van! You're a champ!

Can't wait to move in now. I'm sure on the day i will be excited about the dress and the hair etc but i am so over planning a wedding and i just wanna move in and start life. We are in for hard year i reckon but hey 'she'll be right!"

Anyway that's it for my first ever blog! YAY

nearly Christmas...!!

2006-12-22T14:55:00.000+11:00

Wow.
I can't believe its only a few days until Christmas!?
There has been so much happening, Christmas is just sort of next in the queue at the moment! Bek and I have our eyes locked onto the wedding and thats about it at the moment, its hard to be thinking of much else. We are both very excited and we hope everyone else is too. :)
Its all nearly-last-minute jobs now. We are finishing the order of services, name tags, bomboneries etc tonight hopefully...then its mostly logistical stuff that needs to be worked out.
not long, not long...

However, we are still excited about Christmas day with the families, it should be awesome. Plus its worked out that we can each spend some time on Christmas day with both families which is going to be special as it will be our last at home.
We are looking forward to heading down to Marty and Jaynes on Christmas day. Its hard to imagine but Bek hasn't even seen their new house i don't think! Everytime we've had an opportunity it just hasn't worked out with M&J and vice versa with us, so that should be good.
Perhaps Christmas will be at Bek and my house next year? We'll see...a lot can happen in a year.

I got my Uni grades for the last Semester the other week. I forgot to tell mum and dad until yesterday, its sorta got lost in the crazyness. :)
I got one High Distinction and two Distinctions, so i am quite happy with that!
That takes this years totals to 3 HD's and 3 D's which is a good result...
I ended up with 75% or something for my chair subject, I'd hoped for better but was let down with the issue with the magnets so i didn't expect the 80's really.

Unfortunately i can't think of anything you guys don't know about me (re: kates previous comment) but you wouldn't have known my results so that will do. :D :D

chat soon!
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Placement and Carols

2006-12-11T15:20:00.000+11:00

I GOT A PLACEMENT!!
Yes, I have been asked to go to Expohire next year, which was the one i prefered out of the two interviews...! So that is just awesome. I'll be working there 4 days a week doing design work of various kinds. They are an exhibition design company from what i know, i'm not sure what i will be designing, but i don't imagine they will either, its probably just - do it as it comes kinda work.
Either way, it means Bek and I have an income next year to start with, and that i'll gain tremedous experience in industry, which is what its all about.
I'll be starting there the week Bek and I return from the honeymoon.
So yeah, good news, good news...

I've also had the opportunity to work on the Carols by Candlelight this year (9th December). Bek had a major part in it as she was on the production team that ran the whole thing, along with her mum and a few other friends of ours...I did the design work for it, ie: program and posters etc. and then filmed/volunteered on the night itself. And for me it was a long few days leading up to it, but i got off lightly, Bek etc were running round for weeks before hand, so a big - UP to them for their energy.
It was a fantastic night that went off without a hitch. We estimate over 6000 people attended this year which is awesome, along with over 100 volunteers and it all went so smoothly...!
I attempted a mini timelapse of the event, however i didn't have a specific timelapse camera so i was just running back to the same spot taking a photo all the time. but it went ok, i had to stop once it got dark though as I was too busy with other things...

Carols TimeLapse

So yeah, again, its all been happening! Now we are back to wedding planning as there are only around 26 days to go i think!!! And once you throw the Christmas rush in there the days are even less!
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Coming up to breathe...

2006-11-29T14:01:00.000+11:00

Hello all!
Sorry for not posting in a while. Quite a while actually, but rather a lot has been happening as of late. So perhaps i could put some of that into here for you all to read!

Under 40days until the wedding!!!!! Oh my goodness, not long now...things are coming along nicely, Bek and I are starting the confirmation calls and organising how it will run etc. We feel we are doing well with it all. At the moment we are happy as it could go ahead tomorrow if needed, all the main stuff is organised, all we are waiting on now is Beks dress. But besides that we are organising little things like deco, final menu and all that stuff.
We have also started packing things into boxes ready for the move! That is a bit scary, it means that soon I will be moving out! Not just staying somewhere for a few days anymore, but actually living somewhere with all my stuff there, all the time. But that is also very exciting as we can start to make ourselves a home. So thanks to Rob and Mum for finding plenty of boxes and shredded paper for us to use. The front bedroom is slowly filling up...We were also given a TV a few weeks ago which is awesome. I'm not sure how big it is, but about average i spose :o) I'm not looking forward to moving the Table Soccer downstairs though...it weighs over 60kg at the moment and probably not much less once the legs are off...but we'll work that out when we get there.

Bek and I recently had a nice weekend away at a couples course up in Marysville called ElKanah. It was absolutely beautiful up there in the hills, and we had amazing weather all weekend. They took us through many of the key areas of marriage such as finances, communication and conflict and all those kinds of things. It was very beneficial and helped us to either confirm things we had already decided, or brought up areas that needed a little more discussion. Plus there was very nice food, lots of the time, and the other couples that we met were very friendly and many were in a similar situation to us, which is encouraging when having a talk with them.

I'm also in the middle of interviews for my Industry Placement next year, a bit stressful but also relieving to know that its happening. Apparently only 9 people got selected for IP this year so I feel i've done well. The first interview was on Tuesday this week at a business called: Greater Engineering which is based in Port Melbourne. It is a small business but there seemed to be a variety of jobs that i'd be working on which is good. The other interview is on Thursday (tomorrow) and is at Expohire, a company that covers exhibitions all over the place. They help layout the spaces and provided all the equipment required. They also do a lot of the signage design aswell, so plenty of variety there. Hopefully one of them likes me, if not both cos then i can choose!
So that will mean that I would have paid work for the company several days a week for next year! Something that will be very beneficial, both in experience and income.

So yeah, a lot has been happening, there is more on top of that but i've got more things to do so i best be off to do them...!
Hope you are all well and i hope to see some of you soon!
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Make Poverty History

2006-11-18T11:57:00.000+11:00

Bek and I were asked to volunteer at the Make Poverty History concert last night...
Unfortunately i couldn't make it but Bek went along and had a great time.
Plus while her and a few friends were hanging out backstage after their shift (it sounds very pro when said like that - but volunteers had "access all areas" passes), so while they were backstage they saw Bono leaving the concert!!
He walked up the ramp outside and saw them all and they called out to him and said thanks for coming and all that. So he ended up having photos with them!!!
Bek has a great photo of him, plus her shoulder, that she took herself from her phone, understandably, it is quite hard to aim when your arm is fully stretched out and you're surrounded by other people...
I'll post it on here when i get a copy.

So all-in-all a very exciting night for Bek last night!
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The Suits

2006-11-13T12:05:00.000+11:00

Yesterday i went and booked the suits for the wedding!
So we can tick that off the list of things to do. I went up with John and Jevon, the two groomsmen in Australia (the third is in England atm) and tried the suits on and got measured up etc. Hopefully all works out well when they are finally picked up!

Not long now!
Only 54 days i think...

Yesterday....

2006-11-08T11:38:00.000+11:00

Well,
Its been a while since i posted so sorry about that...

As of today both Bek and I have finished uni for the year! But no rest for the weary as we still have a wedding to finish planning. Only 59 days i think! Which is getting rather scary, but also rather exciting! There is still plenty to do, but it will get done. It always gets done doesn't it?

Bek and I spent the time with our good friends John and Leah yesterday, its been a while since we all had a day off and Melbourne Cup day is great for that. We cooked up a storm at my house for lunch, then after a bit of Playstation 'Buzz' competition we trekked off to Highpoint for bowling. Scoring the bargain deal of 4games for $10 we managed to get through 3 before our arms were sore and our stomachs craving. Luckily we knew about a great Parmagiana deal downstairs at Ruby's - 6:00pm $6, 7:00pm $7 and so forth, and we made it there by 6:30 so $6 parmagiana, chips and salad it was! Top all that off with the 8:30pm session of "BoyTown" (very funny movie) and it was an awesome day!
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the Other Chairs

2006-10-31T17:51:00.000+11:00

Here you go...

1) Craigs: Folds flat (he made one from some rainforest Ebony and knew about it when he started to drill holes... :) It took him hours to drill them, it was so dense.
2) Kelly's: Top comes off, legs slide flat around ring

3) Amanda's: Two chairs slot together. Can be seat/stool/table - the colours look phenomenal in real life
4) Aiden's: Lighter side pops up and rotates around to 'piggy-back' the other.

5) Kirks: Slots together to form one. Works upside down too!
6) Mine: Arranged so its stretched out. It was seating about 6 at one point...

I hope you like them all. There is an exhibition of them all (about 30+) at uni on Thursday from 4pm if anyone is interested or able to get there...ask me where if you want.
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2nd year of uni is finished!!

2006-10-30T14:47:00.000+11:00

Well today was my final presentation for my second year of uni!! Its kind of strange really, how 12 weeks of stress and hard work culminate in a 2min presentation!? Is it worth it? I think so, i've scored 4 awesome chairs out of it that can be used long into the future, and a great folio piece to help get a good job later...
Presentations are always really fun since everyone finally gets to see everyone else's finished models. Normally we only see things in pieces or some at uni, other bits left at home so the final product is always a surprise.
I took some photos on my phone of the chairs that my mates made in particular - it always amazes me how one design brief can create so many different and funky designs. There are only a couple of photos but there are around 35 people doing this subject all together.

Just a reminder: the brief was to design a chair for a cafe that was re-configurable ie: fold, stack or just reduce space once packed away etc. Other than that, there was a size limitation and that was it. So here are some of the others -

[ seems blogger is being funny - i'll post them later... ]

My Best RenderScape so far...

2006-10-19T17:12:00.000+10:00

Well, This is for yet another project where i am designing a sink for corporate or hotel public bathrooms. I went to town on this one, probably spending too much time on it, but i reckon its worthwhile! I love it, personally...3D studio max never ceases to amaze me.

So you know, i built Everything in here...taps and hand dryers etc.
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Some more 3D Renderings

2006-10-14T14:53:00.000+10:00

I've been doing a research assignment for uni based on environment and sustainability issues - nah, its not as fun as it sounds... :oP and my project is based around the wasted fresh-produce containers that are never properly recycled.
Its more detailed than that obviously - like where we have to do a "Life-Cycle-Assessment" or LCA which involves assessing EVERYTHING that is involved with the product. Leading from type of plastic, to the detergent used to wash the boxes!
For those playing at home: Life-Cycle-Analysis gets even more detailed - down to the precise impact of the exhausts from the machines that would originally make the plastic pellets to make the box, or the required resources to keep the staff of the companies funtioning during lunch etc.

Either way, we had to design and model-up our product. Now my project was slightly knocked about by the introduction of the new Coles system (which is really, really good) so it looks kinda similar, but you probably wouldn't have known that anyway. :o)

Here is the latest rendering, its not quite finished yet, some details still need fixing up inside it...but it was a challenge to do. The plastic finish has come up really nicely.
The "3D environment" i have this box in has 16 focused spotlights and you'll notice in the close up picture how 3D Max reflects every single one! Clever stuff.....

click on them to make them bigger, then they look better... :o)
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Our house is a very fine house

2006-10-11T14:41:00.000+10:00

Some of you may not know where Bek and I are going once we are married, so i thought i'd post a quick picture of the outside for you! It is very nice and quaint. It has a good garden now, with green grass growing - just gotta keep it green...
I hope you like, we do.

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My New Laptop Protector

2006-10-05T23:38:00.000+10:00

Can you work out who is shown in the following picture?

If you guessed: Spongebob Squarepants then you are correct!
Let me introduce you to my new laptop protector -

- he never sleeps, always protects
- he never frowns, just smiles
- he is bright and hard to lose
- he is made of a fun 'neoprene' kinda material
- he fits perfectly around my laptop!
- he is my spongebob and he rocks!

i like it anyway...
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Melbourne Show

2006-10-01T11:16:00.000+10:00

I went to the Melbourne Show yesterday with Bek.
What a glorious day it was! Especially since we got to spend the whole day together... :)
Its only the second ever time i've been to the Melbourne Show, the first time was also with Bek and her family, and that was the first time we really started taking notice of each other! That was 3 years ago! My how time flies...3 years, and in 3 months we'll be married!!
I didn't mind the show, especially as we were given tickets, it's pretty well setup as they are making all new changes to the site, Bek thinks there is less there now, but I wouldn't have noticed.
We started our day by taking out a loan so we could park, [$12.00] and then spent the day wandering through all the sites. We made the effort to score as many free give-a-ways as possible. It's quite easy to have your filling of lunch just by eating various samples! However we did succumb to a souvlaki. So we scored laminated posters and flyers and various other random things - we didn't bother with the rides.
I bought a showbag - i couldn't resist, and i am still munching my way through the various chocolates.
So all in all, a fantastic day at the Melbourne Show all for very minimal cost. Just goes to show you can have fun without spending a fortune...
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Update on my Chair

2006-09-27T10:51:00.000+10:00

I've been busy busy making chair prototypes the last few days.
I'm very fortunate to have good equipment in the garage, and not need to travel into the uni workshop all the time.
Here are the latest photos of my latest model.

It will only weigh around 4-5kg which is minimal.
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The Photos

2006-09-26T16:38:00.000+10:00

Here are the photos that morning... (there are others, but these are relevant)

There was the option of the street-sweeper, but after a phone call to the council and a visit by a defensive council man, we realised it couldn't have been (due to supporting evidence. :) )
Recent investigations have spotted burnout marks starting 2 houses up and seemingly getting very close to where my car would have been.

So for now we shall conclude:
- idiot hoons
- red/maroon car
and we shall keep an eye on all cars parking 2 houses up!
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So someone hit my car last night...

2006-09-25T23:13:00.000+10:00

...well scraped down the side of it anyway.

It was parked outside Bek's house, on Morris Rd.
Normally i ignore the council requirement of parking on the road and I leave it on their nature strip, but not last night.
So i go to leave the following morning as Bek heads off to work in her car and notice glass on the road next to my car. Wondering what it was from, i then notice the glass missing from my driver's Side Mirror. I immeadiately thought vandalism and checked the other windows, and also for my number plates.
I couldn't find any other real damage, but then spotted red scrapes down the rear panel: just under the black side strip, around the wheel arch, and on my rear bumper; there was also a black scrape higher up along the car.
The rear-most side strip was also damaged, so i pulled that off...

We did our own "scene assessment" and deemed the following:
- their wing mirror caused the black mark, and also knocked out my mirror
- they were travelling slowly - my mirror wouldn't handle a car doing 30kph let alone the 60kph limit
- therefore, they were either turning in just past Bek's, or pulling out just before
- they pulled aside to check their car (due to more shrapnel ahead)
But most importantly ----
- they lost an indicator (due to the orange pieces on the ground) and i didn't !!!!
- they lost lots of paint and i didn't !!!!
- i buffed/cut polished all their paint off my car this afternoon !!!!
- we assume they also lost/damaged their mirror

which means the Kingswood wins!!
but it could have been oh-so-much worse...only another few inches over and a much larger crunch would exist. lucky i wasn't getting out of the car or something at the time!

it would have been nice for them to leave a note...
i'll post some pictures tomorrow.
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