Friday, March 18, 2011

The Green Gamer

Hello viewers,

I like renewable power sources, I also like casual video gaming. As some followers will be aware I am currently in the process of paying off a home loan, after I am unburdened from the pressures of this (and pay the last repayment with a few pillow cases full of loose change :P) I intend of installing a solar array on my home so I can cut loose from the grid, no longer paying for electricity is the goal and being one step closer to total self reliance/independence.

The plan is to get some in as soon as possible, then increase the number of panels over time. To motivate me and to remind me of the light at the end of the tunnel...I use a small solar battery recharger to provide my devices that use batteries (i.e. XBOX 360 wireless controller) with free power, from the sun.

It is really rewarding I must say, and interesting to gain some "hands on" experience with the technology. It's also nice to know that I no longer have to shop for batteries and discard them as waste as soon as they are used up. When I was 8 years old I remember using up 4 AA batteries in one day of continual Gameboy use, even back then I thought what a waste it was, and eventually got a AC power adapter/power pack (essentially an enclosure of 4 rechargeable AA cells as far as I'm concerned)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Milk Comparison from May 2008

Well I thought this would be fitting to share now that there are "milk wars" here in Australia as large supermarkets are selling house brands of milk for $1 per Liter (for quantities of 2 or 3L I might add)

I originally posted this on MySpace (lulwut?)


UHT Milk versus ‘Fresh’ Milk - Experiment-o by yours truly
Current mood:  annoyed 
Category: Food and Restaurants
Date: 7/5/2008

 List of References:

Best before Date: The term 'best before' is used to indicate the date by which the item will have outlived its shelf life, and is intended to ensure that customers will not unwittingly purchase or eat stale food.

Gram (g) and milligram: One (1) gram = 0.0353 ounce, one (1) milligram = 0.001grams

Kilojoules (kj): 1000 Joules (J). 4.184 J = 1 thermochemical calorie

Litre (L): Equal to 1000millilitres (ml) - 1 ml = 0.0338140227 US fluid ounces

(RDI) Reference Daily Intake the daily dietary intake level of a nutrient which was considered (at the time they were defined) to be sufficient to meet the requirements of nearly all (97–98%) healthy individuals in each life-stage and sex group.

(UHT) Ultra-high temperature processing or (less often) ultra-heat treatment: The partial sterilization of food by heating it for a short time, around 1-2 seconds, at a temperature exceeding 135°C (275°F), which is the temperature required to kill spores in milk

Use by Date: Generally, foods that have a 'use by' date written on the packaging must not be eaten after it has expired. This is because such foods usually go bad quickly and may be injurious to health if spoiled. It is also important to follow storage instructions carefully for these foods (for example, product must be refrigerated).

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Hypothesis:      Certain people prefer buying 'fresh' milk from supermarkets over UHT milk pertaining to assumptions about various parameters of each which has them favoring 'fresh'. 

Aim:                To determine the key differences between UHT milk and ordinary milk on supermarket shelves

Method:           Purchase both varieties of milk for the same manufacturer, compare and contrast the docket data and nutrition panel data to one another.

Results:             "Homebrand Milk was purchased for this experiment, 2 Litre whole milk (fresh) and 1 Litre Full Cream Long Life Milk (UHT). Each serve is equal to 250ml. The fresh milk cost $2.19 for 2L and the 1L of UHT cost $1.09, resulting in the UHT being cheaper by 0.5 of a cent per Litre. No General Sales Tax (GST) information was given therefore it is assumed neither product was subject to GST.
               
The 'use by' date of the fresh milk was set as 14/5/2008 (7 days after purchase) and the UHT had a 'best before' date set at 24/12/2008 (231 days after purchase).

                        -Nutritional Panel-

                        UHT /250ml

                        Energy = 658kj

                        Fat (Total) = 8.3g

                        Carbohydrates (sugars) = 12.8g

                        Sodium = 100mg

                        Calcium = 300mg (38% RDI)

 
                        Fresh /250ml

                        Energy = 662kj

                        Fat (Total) = 8.5g

                        Carbohydrates (Sugars) = 12.2g

                        Sodium = 110mg

                        Calcium = 285mg (35% RDI)

Conclusion:       In this instance fresh Milk is more expensive than UHT milk. 'Fresh' milk contains higher levels of commonly undesirable parameters such as Kilojoules (calories), Fats, and sodium. UHT has higher levels of Calcium and Carbohydrates. UHT lasts longer, is shelf stable and is not confined to 'use by' dates.

 **Personal stance = Screw overproduction of perishable items like milk, it keeps farmers in jobs that don't need to exist, it has more trucks on the roads and energy requirements up. The wastage puts our grocery bills up.

Comment me, you know this is brilliant.

© 2008

/ENDS

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

"South Australia Wants To Make Degrading Pics On The Internet Illegal"

"South Australia Wants To Make Degrading Pics On The Internet Illegal"

How do you like this Southerners? 
Note: Old politician in SA enacts the Video Game Classification nonsense.

Ponting herps a derp, again...

U MAD Ricky Ponting?


 Gets angry, then scores 7 runs...

According to the Herald Sun: 

"The Australian skipper was left furious after clearly calling for a catch when Canada tailender Harvir Baidwan skied a delivery from Jason Krejza to Ponting at mid-off in the 42nd over.

Rookie allrounder Smith continued his pursuit and crashed into Ponting as he completed the catch - prompting the captain to throw the ball into the ground in disgust."

My loan plan


I currently have a home loan that I am chipping away at a steady rate. Since early 2006 I have been keeping every 5c (Australia) piece that I am given/find. Above is a photo I took in 2007 of all the 5c pieces I had.

My plan is to pay the last payment in full in 5c pieces alone. I have over $200 worth (4000), can you imagine the look on the bank tenders face when this happens?

I can't wait, unburdened and lulz

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

No Substitute for Quality?


These images are of 3 different varieties of the same biscuit...although brands would despute that they are the same thing. What do you think?


Home Brand "Triple Choc"
Dick Smith's "Temtin'" (Pulled off the shelf - Subjected to lawsuit by Arnotts?
Arnott's "Tim Tam"


The three 'different' biscuits shown after a bite was take from each...can you tell which is which?

Say no to being over positive!


Hello, let's get straight into it.

Life is not all singing, all dancing, rainbow smiles, fairyfloss hugs and candycane kissies!

People are self-centered and do things to satisfy their own selfish genes.

Why all the bitterness? Well today I was subjected to a training session...oh gawwwwd how I hate the damned things. Some over-paid type talking their verbal diarrhoea to a bunch of people that (should) have more important things to do with their time. They smile too much and give too much praise to the simpleton willing to play along with the mind numbing exercise rather then placing all focus on not falling asleep. Today the speaker replied to everyone's comments, suggestions and questions with "excellent", "that's great", "I love it", "that sounds terrific", etc, etc. How about some constructive criticism? I mean some were good but not all of them surely and aren't you supposed to be helping us and not having session members gloat and kissing their backside?

Being over positive is a clog to the gears of identifying and improving upon your own flaws, fooling yourself and others in being positive blindfolds you in seeing fault and halts the process of bettering system processes.

Another thing that I didn't care for is being treated like a large rodent all day...the rat! It felt like they were giving pointers on how to win a rat race and everyone else in the room were other rats in the maze I have to beat :(

I mean what pawns we are! The speaker said that the 'average' Australian is subjected to about 2,000 advertisements each and everyday via the tv, the radio, internet, magazines, newspapers, billboards, and everywhere else you can imagine. And you know what else? Recognized holidays are now just a tool for advertisers and other money grabbers to try to manipulate you in handing over your cash. Think about it...what holiday in February would make you bury your hand in your hip pocket for your wallet? Right! Valentines Day. When do toy catalogues begin to litter your mailbox? Around school holidays sound right? Of course. These parasites work off key dates to get you to go exactly where they want you just like? ...Rats in a maze.

Throughly angry guys!


Thanks for reading


If you liked this tell your friends, if you didn't tell me and I'll try fixing it just for you!

Wii60 Option - 2007 musing


                                                            Take the "Wii60" option


Hello all, this is a video games natured post targeted at an Australian audience but most likely still relevant to the rest of the world.

With three new gaming machines on the market you might be tossed up between what to get...The Nintendo Wii? Microsofts XBOX360? or perhaps even Sony's PlayStation 3?

May I put something to you? Take the 'Wii60' option!

Here it is in monetary terms.

According to DSE dot com (Dick Smith Electronics website) the figures for each machine are as follows:

- Xbox 360 20GB HDD with Wireless Controller @ $599.00
- Nintendo Wii Console (With Wii sports game) @ $399.00
- PlayStation3 Console @ $999.00

If you were to purchase the Xbox 360 and the Wii you'd have two machines for a lower cost ($998.00) than that of the PlayStation 3 ($999.00) plus you'd have at least one game not to mention a gaming experience that could be described as "the best of both worlds"

You're decision. Make it an informed one.

/\ustin

If you like this blog tell your friends, if you don't tell me and I might improve it.
**I posted this first in July 2007, a true Golden Oldie! Great memories

I since bought a XBOX 360 and enjoy playing games on it and LOVE its controller - The Wii is fun and has classic Nintendo style games (Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart etc), whilst I believe the PS3 is more a media center with a games mode - Much like mobile phones, and we know what tacked on mobile games are like...

Telling facebook the colour of your bra

This is a new/older phenomena on Facebook and yet another mind boggling concept.

Choice quote from a honest voice of reason: "How can you help breast cancer charities by telling everyone the colour of your bra - daily? Unless you donate money when you do it.... I don't see the point?"

^^My thoughts entirely.

However on the topic I find the whole concept of donating to charities complicated. I mean I saw a lady on television talking about how a percentage of finances go towards simply ASKING people to donate...You can declare the donation on your tax - So you feel good about donating money to a charity even though you reclaim this money on the taxpayers account? And the advertising companies making money from making the ads and giving them a time slot? Hmm

The fact that large multinational companies do things like put pink lids on their bottled water and 'pledge' 10c from the sale to cancer research is, to me, a blatant and shameful marketing strategy and makes other brands appear as if they are not worth buying because they don't clearly state they donate to charity on their products...and in that way of thinking, OBVIOUSLY, don't care...

You can run software that does simulations trying to find causes of diseases including cancers on a home PC...but people obviously think "talk" does more seeing as not nearly as many people run the software as people that 'care' - 2145 simulations completed here from 2007 :)

I've always disliked these insincere (yes that's how I see them, make no excuse) messages. In fact one I often saw on Bebo (Be-what?) was...

-----♥♥♥-----
----♥♥-♥♥----Put This
---♥♥---♥♥---On Your
---♥♥---♥♥---Bebo If
---♥♥---♥♥---You Know
----♥♥-♥♥----Someone
-----♥♥♥-----Who Died
----♥♥-♥♥----or suffered
---♥♥--♥♥----from cancer

...which I hardly feel is a great way to remember or honor a cancer sufferer - Acknowledge, sure but wear it on your sleeve please, not on your social networking page, I mean who DOESN'T know someone afflicted by cancer? Does it mean they care less if they didn't bother reminding everyone on yet another platform?

Your thoughts?

Welcome to View*Know*Do

Hello and welcome to the blog. It's only early days for this blog however I have experience blogging and intend for this to be the most rewarding yet, for the sharing of my opinions, what makes me laugh, what makes me think and want makes you want to return :)

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See you around the traps,

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