Blog

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

External HDD Encryption

Categories Geekery, Technology

EncryptionI've recently started work at a place in the city which now requires me to do the commute back and forth on public transport. Previously I've either worked from home or drove to work, so catching the train twice every working day is a little new to me.

The train being the den that it is, I have gotten a little paranoid about getting stuff stolen, and that has gotten me thinking about the external hard drive that I usually carry in my bag. The hard drive contains my frequent external backups that I do of all our important data, … Read more →

Bioshock Infinite: Wow

Categories Gaming

Bioshock: InfiniteThere are few single-player games that I can remember playing that right after finishing them I have gone: "holey moley, I have got to play through that again". Bioshock Infinite is one of those games.

If another game this year can beat Bioshock Infinite at any 'Game of the Year' awards, it has to be one phenomenal game, because at the moment I really can't see how anything is going to top it this year.

At first impression, it seems like Bioshock Infinite is just Bioshock but in a city in the clouds instead of a city underwater. Whilst that … Read more →

The End of Eras: LucasArts & MSN Messenger

Categories Gaming, Geekery, Internet

The announcements of the closure of two things, one a game development studio and the other an instant messaging application, have had me reminiscing on days gone by; namely, the mid-to-late 90s. Both closures are very understandable and not very surprising. It makes them a little easier to accept, but it's still hard not to feel a little sad.

LucasArts 1982-2013In my opinion, the bigger announcement of the two was that Disney, following their acquisition of all of Lucas-land, have decided to close down LucasArts as a game development studio. It's not unexpected, as the once mighty and innovative developer … Read more →

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Categories Gaming

StarCraft II: Heart of the SwarmIt's fair to say that I'm not much of a StarCraft fan. As I alluded to previously when Wings of Liberty was released, I'm much more into the story that the StarCraft series is telling rather than the actual games themselves. Wings of Liberty was a great continuation of that story, and I was really looking forward to the next chapter in the recently released Heart of the Swarm.

So I guess it is a tad ironic that after playing through Heart of the Swarm that I might have enjoyed the gameplay a little more than the story … Read more →

The End of My Affinity for Google: Reader to be Shut Down

Categories Internet, Rants, Technology

Google Reader Shut Down

Today it was announced that Google will be shutting down its online RSS-feed aggregator, Google Reader. Ironically, I first found out about the announcement through Google Reader as I am subscribed to the Official Google Blog through it.

To say that I am disappointed with this news is an understatement. Along with Gmail and Google Calendar, Google Reader is one of three Google products that I use all day, every day.

After trying to find a suitable RSS aggregator almost seven years ago, I eventually settled on Google Reader and have been using it every day I've been on … Read more →

Crysis 3 Thoughts

Categories Gaming

Crysis 3 screenshotI've just finished playing through the single player of Crysis 3 after receiving my free download key from AMD a few weeks ago.

I didn't think much of Crysis 2 two years ago, and despite my fears of more of the same of that, I was mostly pleasantly surprised.

Visually the game is absolutely amazing on PC; probably the most visually impressive game that I've ever played. The screenshot above is rendered in real-time, and in general, the game is a spectacular masterpiece to look at.

Gamplay-wise it was a bit of a mixed bag. It's a vast improvement … Read more →

Display and Graphics Updates

Categories Gaming, Technology

Sapphire HD7950 Vapor-XAt the end of last year I replaced our aging Viewsonic 20" 16:10 1680x1050 monitor with a brand-spanking-new Dell U2312HM LED-LCD 23" 16:9 1920x1080 display. Part of the reason why I persisted with the old monitor for so long is that I am pretty picky with my monitors. Other than swivelling and height-adjustability (musts for me), the main thing that I was spoilt by was the built-in speakers; it is so convenient not to have to worry about turning on speakers separately, or having another thing to have to plug-in to power.

I ended up getting the Dell because they … Read more →

Office 2013 & The Last Day of My 20s

Categories Life, Technology

As tomorrow is my 30th birthday, today marks the last day of me being in my 20s.

Honestly, it is a little depressing, but I am also thankful to have made it this far. Here's to a fantastic next decade!

Over the past few days I've been having a little bit of a play with the newly released Microsoft Office 2013. I had received a free upgrade after purchasing a license of the 2010 Home and Student Edition late last year to update Despina's laptop after receiving much consternation from her about still having to use Office 2003 (which I … Read more →

Expensive HDMI Cables are a Rort: Don’t Be a Sucker

Categories Rants, Technology

HDMI cableI've been wanting to write this for a while, and keep on forgetting.

Yesterday my parents got a WDTV, and as a result, needed a new HDMI cable to connect it to their TV. Being  around the Carindale Westfield, we decided to try and get the HDMI cable from there, so we went to a couple of the electronics retailers to try to buy a reasonably priced 1+ metre HDMI cable.

JB-HiFi had a generic brand 1.2m for $30, Dick Smith's had their own DSE generic brand 1.5m for $40, Harvey Norman had Philips 1.5m for $50 and a Monster … Read more →

Why Football Will Never (properly) Take Off in Australia

Categories Football, Rants

Football On TVTime for my first rant of the year!

Football has come a long way in Australia. Not just Australia, but in other western countries where the game has not been traditionally popular (think USA, Canada, New Zealand, etc.), its popularity both in participation and attendance has largely been on the increase in the past couple of decades.

However, as much as it pains me to say it, football will never properly take off in Australia, or really in any westernised country where it isn't already entrenched. In my opinion there's one very simple and very significant reason why it won't: … Read more →