Kilo to Giga

There was a time not so long ago when I was introduced to anime and I was very quickly addicted to it. 

I would wake up super early to catch Pokemon and Dragonball Z on Cheeze TV.  I had to get my anime fix or else I went mental!

Love makes you mental.  My first anime crush, Shampoo from Ranma.

I went and saw every anime at our local video store (all four of them).  After I finished that I drove to a video store 15kms away.  After I finished that I drove to ANOTHER video store 30kms away.

I was hooked (I wonder why...) and I knew I had some sort of problem.

I tried to help myself by meeting with some like-minded folks.  I went to UWA on Fridays and Curtin on Saturdays to satiate my cravings for anime.  

But I think that just made it worse.

Thankfully, through them,  I did learn about the Internet and how it can endlessly supply me with all the Japanese animation I'd  ever need.

My dad wasn't so impressed.

Imagine downloading seven 120M episodes simultaneuosly....   

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on a 56.6k modem.

Yes that's right.  

I took over the phone line for days and weeks and was racking up huge phone bills because I had the modem on auto-reconnect when it timed out.  

Every time it re-connects it clicks 25 cents. On average it will time out about 15 times at night.  Multiply that my how many days in phone bill cycle.  

Hmm... now that I think about it, maybe I did go a bit too far.

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Download quota. 

That's a word that haunts me frequently.  

Last Sunday, I left the computer on for three hours and I downloaded the remaining 4Gigs of my May quota.  

So not good.  

And being shaped back to modem speeds is humbling reminder of what life back in the dial-up modem days.

So like any spoiled 28yo-teenager, I applied for additional quota today  :P

They processed it so fast, I got a confirmation approval this afternoon - happy days!

When I was completing the forms, I did reflect on a few things.  

Two years ago 12Gb was WAAAY more than enough, 

Eight months ago 25Gb was more than enough.  

But who knows? Maybe I'll eat my words when I apply for a 200Gb account next year  (No thanks to YouTube and Steam).

YouTube is a constant source of politically incorrect entertainment

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I'm reading about the new broadband plan the government is undertaking. 

Construction starts around September this year and will initially support speeds of 100Mbytes/s.

Its really exciting stuff because theoretically, the national broadband scheme can go faster than 1Gb/s!!  And that's a direct fibre optic connection to your house which means Internet speeds will not be affected by your distance to the exchange. 

Awesome to the max!!  K-Rudd gets extra brownie points for this.

(Not that kind of brownie!) 

How fast is 1Gb/s?  That's twice the speed of a USB(2.0) file transfer!

Or imagine downloading a Blue-ray movie or PlayStation3 game in under seven minutes?  

How about a DVD movie in less than 40 seconds?

Crazy insane!!!!  

With that kind of crazy transfer rates would you bother going to the video store and worry about  dirty or scratched DVDs (some people are just ferral!!) or returning the movie or getting mauled by the ugly black dog that's always tied next to entrance? 

Just download the movie already! (Legally of course!)

And with that kind of speed, I'd run out of my 200Gb quota in less than half an hour...

...which, I guess, is not so awesome.

Drawn

Doodles

What is it about us and doodling stuff?

 

I sat through a grueling three hour meeting today. 

During the meeting, I got a glimpse of what the guy next to me was doing.  

He was doodling!  He first drew a square.... which turned to 3D box... which then became the part of a sphere.  It all became very complex in the end.  Almost an optical illusion!

I turned to the other guy next to me and he was also doodling!   I think he was filling the holes in the letters P's, D's and O's of the meeting agenda.

 

And it wasn't just the listeners drawing stuff.  The meeting chairperson was scribbling his pen over and over arrows and ticks he's drawn on the minutes (which makes it look like he's writing notes fbut in fact he's just doodling some more!)

 

By the end of the meeting, everyone got little pictures tattooed all over their notes.

 

And when I got back to my desk, I noticed the scrap pad next to my phone.  I've drawn stars and circles and blobs and such whilst talking on the phone!

I don't know why we do this. I thought we grow out of doodling from the files and textbook scribbles in high school!  

I guess not.

 

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Graphic novels turned movie

Saw Watchmen the other day. 

 

I wasn't impressed.  

It was a meh movie.  Hardly worth the Greater Union ticket vouchers we used up.   Should have saved it for the Wolverine movie.

 

Dr Manhattan has many talents

I heard you really have to be clued-in on the graphic novel to appreciate the movie.

 

I dunno. I just couldn't get excited watching it (well... except may in one scene).

 

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Manga

Im currently very very very very very hooked watching Skip Beat.

 

I think its kinda geared toward girly teens - BUT I DON'T CARE!! I've done enough girly stuff recently so this doesn't' matter!

 

I can't wait to see how Kyoko performs in her next acting gig.  

And the over the top comedy is very funny.  

I haven't been hooked like this since the Sakura and Sasori battle in Naruto Shippuden or the races in Initial D.

Actually, I got impatient waiting for each episode to come out and be translated from Japan that I've started reading the manga.  

But yes, the anime is still heaps better.

I hope this series never ends!

Boxed

Probably the heaviest barbecue chicken in the world.

Its like made of lead or something.

It was super heavy.

And I'm already using two hands and I can feel my muscles straining and aching.

Geeeze!! I felt I was gonna get hemorrhoids just by carrying it!
And this was just at the warm food section at Woolies!!

Phew!!

Relief after I got the chicken into the trolley.

*sigh*

This was gonna be a very long shopping experience.

***** Three hours earlier *****

"RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!!!
KEEEP THOSE WEIGHTS CHEST HIGH!!
MOVE IT! MOVE IT MOVEEEEE IT!!!!" screamed the overly muscled Michelin-man of a gym instructor.

"YOU DIDN'T COME HERE TO WALK SO MOOOOOOVE YYOOOUR LAZY ASSES!!!
YOU CALL THAT A PUNCH??!!!
YOU CALL THAT A PUNCH?!!
SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!
MOOOOVE IT!!!"

I swear he could get a stroke screaming like that.

But it didn't matter how much he screamed.

I couldn't do anything anymore. My arms were dead.
The 3kg dumbbells have sapped strength out of my arms and no amount of motivational screaming could change that.
(maybe if he shaved his chest and didn't wear the gold chain, I could also take him a bit more seriously)

"How much more of this do I have to do?" I asked AJ.
"Well.. we've just started.. maybe 45 more minutes..."
"Ohh... great..."

The next hour consisted of more sprinting, jogging, frog-jumps, jabbing, uppercuts, hooks. Then when Michelin man decided to 'wind it down' we did 100 push ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 crunches.

Evil bastard.

Maybe the roids got to his brain or something.

***** Two days earlier *****

"Man, I'm sooooo sore. I've been doing this boxing class in Stirling. Its soooo hard!!" complained AJ.

"AJ?! Come on man!! Those exercise classes are easy!!
I think my girlfriend did a few of them last week!!"

And if my girlfriend who could barely do four push-ups can do it, I'm pretty sure everyone can do it.

So I took AJ's offer to join his boxing exercise class.

I mean, how hard could it be?

Plus I've been doing some exercise.... a few months ago I think... maybe...

But I also have a secret weapon!

I've seen the whole series of Hajime No Ippo!

Hajime is a japanese anime series about boxing. In the show you learn about hooks and jabs and shadow punches and dempsey rolls and training and all things boxing. (Btw, this series is the best anime series out there... if you don't believe me - look up the reviews on it).


And from the show, I've learnt that as long as you have 'the Will' and determination, anything is possible.

***** Recent phone conversation with girlfriend*****

"Hey, didn't you do a boxing class a week ago?" I asked.
"No. I did an aerobics and pump class....... "
"ohh.."