Blog

The thoughts, opinions, happenings, and just plain ramblings of a seemingly boring person.

2015: Year in Review

Categories Life

It's been a big, life-changing year. I have been blessed in so many ways this year, there is a lot to be thankful for amid the moments of loss.

Even more so than last year, blog writing was sparse this year. Here are the highlights of this year's posts that I did write:

February

April

May

… Read more →

Tweets for 2015

Categories Geekery, Internet, Life

twitter-year-2015

These are my tweets for 2015 (minus replies and retweets). All the URLs are still Twitter's 't.co' ones, as the Twitter API doesn't spit out the original URL text.

  • Watched the recent Hobbit movie today, and I think the moment I stopped taking it seriously was when the drop bear happened. Jan 02, 2015
  • First sighting in Brisbane! Still waiting for a test drive 🙁 @TeslaMotors http://t.co/UwwlxsbYZP Jan 03, 2015
  • Me fail English? That's unpossible! https://t.co/axARHljtWz Jan 05, 2015
  • Awww, the first launch I was watching live in a while, just got scrubbed 🙁 http://t.co/0zEiwaTzgB... http://t.co/1eFDmjOrds Jan 06, 2015
… Read more →

The Best and Worst of 2015

Categories Gaming, Movies, Rants

That time of year again! My personal review of 2015's media that I was exposed to, and the ones that I liked the most, and the ones that I liked the least. (Note that other than Star Wars, I haven't seen many of the other December movies).

Movies

The Force Awakens

Best Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Easy choice. After so much hype and expectation, this movie was under a lot of pressure to deliver, and I thought they did a remarkably stellar job. Not perfect, but I really couldn't have asked for much more from this new era of … Read more →

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (spoilers!)

Categories Geekery, Movies, Rants

Star Wars: The Force AwakensOk, to get the warnings out of the way, I considered writing this post as a spoiler-free one, but with the amount of crucial plot points that I want to write about, I don't think that is possible.

So, do yourself a favour, and see this movie as soon as you can, because if you are at all connected to the internet, there is not much chance that you will be able to go very long before you are spoiled for at least one major plot point in The Force Awakens. That said, you have been warned: SPOILERS AHEAD!… Read more →

Keyboard Hit and Misses: Read My Tale of Woe

Categories Rants, Technology

Corsair Strafe RGBMy trusty almost-7-year-old keyboard, the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard, unfortunately has started to go on its way out over the past 6 months or so. I have really loved this keyboard, it's easily the best keyboard I have ever used. But, a few sticking and failing keys meant that I  begrudgingly started to look for a replacement.

Long post ahead! The TL;DR version is that I got a new keyboard, the Corsair Strafe RGB with Cherry MX Silent key switches.

Now onto the tale:

I started looking at mechanical keyboards, as they seem to be all the rage at the … Read more →

It’s a Great Time to be a Star Wars Fan

Categories Geekery

Disney-Star-Wars-LogoIt's a great time to be a Star Wars fan.

Although The Force Awakens is still 3 months away, Disney is gearing up the Star Wars franchise for continued expansion (and of course, continued money-making).

One thing that I have applauded in the post-Disney takeover is the commitment to a consistent Star Wars canon, no matter the medium. I remember reading a lot of the official 90s Star Wars books and comics (and also games), and being disappointed that a lot of what was pushed out was seemingly less or more canon than other things. It left me perceiving … Read more →

Steam Home Streaming with Ori

Categories Gaming, Geekery, Technology

Steam Home StreamingAfter recently getting an Intel NUC primarily for use as a Plex Home Theater (PHT) client, I was forced to install Windows to use PHT because of the general buginess of the OpenELEC-PHT Linux distro.

Turns out that was a blessing in disguise, because having a full Windows computer attached to the TV has made the device so much more handy and flexible for other uses that I never originally intended for it.

Other than being able to easily watch anything you can on a computer on the TV (for example, being really useful for sports streaming), the use that … Read more →

Living with Liver Disease: My Continuing Journey With PSC & Anxiety

Categories Life, Rants

I've previously debated within myself whether I should write this entry over the past few years, as I've recently hesitated at exposing these deeply personal issues to the wider world. But after delivering a presentation at work on Friday for DonateLife Week 2015, I've taken great comfort in sharing my health journey with other people.

Since my diagnosis in 2010 (most recent blog post on that initial period here), I started to shy away from posting about my personal life, and especially my health.

It's now been just over five years since I was diagnosed with primary … Read more →

The Horrific Reality Behind Yoshi’s Woolly World

Categories Gaming, Rants

Yoshi carnageIt's no secret that I am a fan of Yoshi, but it is only recently that I truly considered how absolutely horrifying the concept of the Yoshi games are.

Yoshi enters a world with the main aim of getting to the end. Along the way he encounters primarily 'Shy Guys', who as their name implies, often aren't even doing anything other than walking around minding their own business, and sometimes even just sitting down doing nothing.

Angry YoshiDespite these innocuous creatures posing an almost completely negligible threat to the dinosaur/dragon that is Yoshi, he proceeds to tear through the … Read more →

Pebble: *Time* for a Sequel

Categories Geekery, Technology

Pebble Time

I got the original Pebble smartwatch in November last year, and since then it has become an invaluable tool in my day-to-day tech world.

When Pebble announced the colour e-paper Pebble Time via a Kickstarter campaign, I backed it immediately. I was totally sold on the colour e-paper screen, but also the built-in microphone for dictating text replies to messages.

I received my Kickstarter Edition black Pebble Time a few weeks ago, and overall it has been a stellar experience.

Pebble have been fast in rolling out updates to the watch, too; in a recent update they've already responded … Read more →