Why I have bought my Last Hyundai !

I have been a Hyundai owner for over 15 years, first buying a Santa Fe in 2001, and then an Elantra in 2003, In fact I just bought a new 2014 Elantra in early last year. For the most part I am very happy with my HYUNDAI Cars.

However my 2001 (GLS) Santa fe in 2013 needed a new right hand outer transfer case seal after leaking started to occur . I bought the part from Hyundai, and checked it was indeed the correct part , ordered against the vin number of the vehicle, (ordered by Hyundai) , but when it come to fit it, it didn't¹t . I ordered a second one from Hyundai , It was even ordered against the VIN NUMBER AGAIN it did not¹t fit again, after extensive calling and phone calls to their parts supplier  it was found that no one stocks the correct part. I even rang Hyundai customer service and spare parts in Sydney (head Office) , and they said that both the right hand drive and left hand drive appear to be the same size , which is incorrect, ( the right hand drive shaft seal is slightly larger than t he left hand one). This part has been used on Santa Fe¹s for over 7 years, well within the 10 year limit!

Unable to find a genuine part, I had no alternative but to fit a third party seal, this failed within 6 months, again I went through the arduous process of trying to get a real part from Hyundai, to no avail, thus I fitted a 3rd party part again, it too failed within 8 months, so again, THE FOURTH time, I got the so called correct part, it also doesn't fit, so I called customer care, and they basically said, the cars over 10 years old now, so we don't have to help you, you are on your own. 

With that response and so called "customer care" I will never be buying a Hyundai again.

While I understand they don't have support the car for parts after 10 years, there are cars 40 years old you can still get parts for, and people help you to find them, to be fobbed off and told "go away", unacceptable!! 

You have lost a customer forever Hyundai !!!

MY OPTUS FAIL

I, like many others,  pre ordered my iPhone 6 from optus within minutes of the online store opening, I ordered myself a 64GB space grey iPhone 6, the system said I would get it the following Friday, the day of release!! Yea I thought!  On the the Thursday before delivery,  Optus rang me and said there was a mix up in the order, and that a "16GB iPhone had been dispatched to me instead, so don't accept the order , we will send out the correct phone on Monday". Sigh, I thought, but no big deal, Friday come, the order was delivered and refused, then come Monday.   Monday I get my iPhone , its an iPhone 5S !!! I rang them (after spending hours on hold), and explained that they had sent the wrong phone again !!! THEY ASSURED me the correct one would be dispatched and that I would finally get the correct phone later in the week.

So Yesterday afternoon, I get a message,  I have a delivery waiting for me at the post office, so thinking its finally my new iPhone 6, I take off from work early, go to collect it, and find out, ITS THE WRONG PHONE AGAIN... another 16GB IPHONE 6!! After spending hours on hold again, trying to sort out oputs's mess, I cancel everything, I don't want them to try and deliver me any more phones, as clearly their logistics system is broken, and they are unable to deliver a correct device, further more I am going back on my old sim only plan, and sticking with my iPhone 5, Until I can  walk into a store and walk out with a new iPhone 6,  I am not interested.

I am waiting for optus to pick up the two incorrect iPhones I have.

The problem with this,  it shows that Optus, is completely incapable of handling the massive demand of the iPhone , from massive long on hold times on the phone, their social media staff no longer respond to problems on twitter, and the online chat people just get you to call a phone number and waste your time on hold to fix their mistakes. This leaves the customer with a very poor customer experience.  I have been a customer of Optus for over 15 years, and never had much of a problem, billing issues would be a problem now and again, but they were always quick to fix, but this is a whole new level of incompetence and mishandling of the situation.

As it is I will be looking at alternative sim only plans from other vendors to get a better value for money and a better customer experience.

If anyone from Optus would like to call me and actually explain why this experience went so bad, Id love to hear from you. 

an update at 1.30pm

OPTUS delivers a NEW Iphone 64GB 6 !! 

4th time lucky ? 

GET A SKIN CANCER CHECK !

A few weeks ago, I went for to the doctor just for a checkup on a cold virus I was having, as the doctor performed his examination of my back and chest, to check on my lungs etc, he noticed a few moles that looked a bit strange (lucky for me my MD is a skin cancer specialist). He asked me to come back when I was well for a full body check. A week later I come back for a full check, during that examination he said he didn't like the look of 3 of them, and a special tool he was using determined that 3 moles needed to come out and be checked with pathology. I said "when do you want to do the surgery?," he said "right now!".  So I got the moles removed and the surgery was done. 2 days I went back to the doctor as the surrounding areas where getting very sore, it seemed I got an allergic reaction to the adhesive tape and skin was being chemically burned, so the nurse changed the pads to something with a more natural adhesive. While she was changing my pads over, he come into the nurses office and said I just got your results in, we need to talk now. So I went into his office and he pointed out pathology had found 2 of the moles were bad and one very bad, so much so it would kill me if I leave it, as it was starting to matatsizse, so I asked when could he do surgery , he said in 30 mins, we need this out now. So right then I prepared for surgery and had 3 areas removed on my back with many stitches.  He seems confident that all of it has now been taken, but I am waiting on my latest pathology results. After a very sore and exhausting week, I am now on the mend, but as he  put it on me, if I had done nothing then by July next year, I wouldn't be having anymore conversations. It was a total fluke I went to the doctor and he picked up this issue. 

All I can say, if you have never had your skin checked , go do it.  I am always very careful in the sun, and always wear hats and sunscreen and always have shirt on. But as he said this damage was done before you were 10, so nothing you have done in the last 30 years IS the issue here. 

Glad to still be here, is all I can say. 

http://www.cancer.org.au/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/facts-and-figures.html

Update  I just got my pathology results , I am all clear ! 

The future of the content producer.. updated...

The advancements of technology available to the content producer of the future could be as influential as the internet has been in the past decade to bring democracy and a voice of the people in those disadvantaged countries in the past 10. It could be the biggest advancement of our species has seen since the industrial or computer revolutions of the past. There is one key element to this advancement, the 3D printer:  I will explain..

The 3D printer will be the biggest revolution to our planet since the printing press, yes,  more influential than the computer, the transistor or the internet.  3D printers will change the way every part of our lives are affected, from food crops, to transport to computers to filmmaking. Why do I think this?  Eventually,  I see 3d printers making everything from our food to our cars to devices we shoot or capture video or communicate with, even recording our feelings or dreams. They will simply be able to draw from all the elements in the periodic table and you will pay to download what ever it is you desire, from the chemical composition of existing items you will simple download the pattern for the latest food item, or computer or indeed a communications/video device, (think the star trek replicator). Initially it will start out in major factories, changing the way every device and item we know being made, and eventually make it in to the home, we can already get a basic device to print 3d stuff in our homes that are mostly made of plastics! Carry this forward a few decades and we will be able to print anything that has been invented.  This will eventually lead to bio engineering , when we simply ingest or inject a nano bot/s that will perform functions like fixing medical issues, or upgrading the existing nano tech in our bodies that will allow us to communicate and share our life experiences with whom we wish, or make experiences, and fabricate them into entertainment or training. I will explain this later on. 

The commutations revolution will continue at a rapid pace over the next 20 to 30 years, many governments and societies, business etc  will see the need for optical rollouts of a broadband infrastructure, to ensure 1TB to 1 petabye per second communications and beyond, as optical has no theoretical data limits beyond the speed of light!  Already in Australia  the current government has seen the need for all citizens to have optical connections to every single house hold.  Even though the vast majority of people will be communicating wirelessly the backbones of many houses and business will be optical. Wireless merely being the last leg of the communication infrastructure.  The invention last year of the photonics router will ensure speeds into the petabye range or even zetabyte. These speeds will allow instant capture and storage of video/audio information, most of our "local" storage will disappear, instead being favour of "cloud based" storage solutions which will allow which ever tech we have either embedded into our bodies at a atomic level (increased storage capacity of our brains to retain information and access for example). Indeed most dedicated capture devices will move beyond the current google glass idea, to embedded bio engineering, initially it will be contact lens type devices that will present our world in a augmented reality style presentation, to capturing that information. Indeed the way to capture some ones memories and replay them to other hosts (see old 1980s film called Brainstorm), this wont just included all the sights and sound of the person who originally captured it, but also the feelings, skin responses, emotions of that captured, it will make 3D look like B & W film.  Editing this "memory" type movie will indeed be a challenge of content producer, but it won't be just a way of delivering entertainment, but will be the next revolution of how we train people, educate or even manipulate.  

The video game industry constantly out performs the traditional based media, games that often have 100 million in development costs return 5 times that amount in profits, more money per year is spent in the video games industry than is spent in the traditional based media the movie industry!! Many A grade films barley make a return on investment, thus more money will be thrown into games development. The very sophisticated games of today that allow for interactive entertainment (like Mass Effect Trilogy of games by Bioware) which essentially allow you to write you own story as you go, and make decisions that will effect other elements of the game will continue, the consumption of linear or passive based entertainment will still be present, but not be the mainstream, people will want to have more and more control of the stories they participate in, rather than be a passive observer. The call for very talented script writers and directors who are no longer writing one story but several depending on the players decisions, conversations and actions will be paramount. Even today the story writers for these games involves an incredible amount of effort, and development even more so with thousands of extra lines of dialogue being recorded and scenes being directed that may never be seen by the player. 

The longer term future based upon the current scientific endeavours to map brain functions will allow us to create simulations and stories that we can plug directly into the brain, that will allow us to participate  or observe what to us will be indistinguishable from real life (like the Matrix). The possibilities to entertain, educate in this medium will be light years ahead of any concepts we can imagine today. But of course none of this is going to happen autonomously, (well not until we have real Artificial Intelligence), we will still need people whom can create content, be imaginative, have an ability to tell a engaging story, or convey an idea, or create art, or music, people will still be producing content, just with a different set of "paintbrushes". 

No technology is evil or good, it will be just like the tech of today, can be used for any purpose, it just depends on the person who created it , what their intent is.  

How this is all implemented will be like technology is now, depending on governments and countries willingness to share this tech with other not so advanced or low socio economic countries.

We can do this!!

For example: We already make enough food to feed to world, its just its badly distributed, 20 % of the food in the western world is thrown out or wasted.  The same with the advanced tech in the next 100 years, its up to us in the "privileged " parts of the world to try and ensure that all humans on this planet can have a equal quality of life.

We wont be able to just feed the world, but we will be able to bring quality of life to everyone. Its all up to us and our children of how to improve this, and the content producer of the future may indeed have one of the most important roles to play in the improvement of our species. 

ANOTHER TELSTRA FAIL - A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

I have an iPad, like many a person these days, and as I have wi fi in most places I use that. I don't need a plan for data or anything like that, but on the odd occasion , business travel etc I need to use 3G data on a pre paid Telstra sim. On a recent work trip I tried to recharge my 3 year old sim, which I top up every 4-5 months..... but it wouldn't work... so I rang Telstra, its expired they say.. you haven't used it in 6 months so we have cancelled it,  of course Telstra never told me it was going to expire. They told me go buy a new one, or better yet get one on a discount at a supermarket. So while a bit disappointed , I did exactly that. I got a pre paid sim for half price , great deal I thought, then I tried to activate it, that went ok, despite the instructions in the booklet I got from Telstra pointing me to the wrong web address.

Ok all going good, or so I thought, I find out the iPad keeps saying sim faulty, invalid etc... so spend 30 mins on tech support trying to figure it all out. I told them 3 times I bought this from a supermarket, they kept telling me take it back there, so I did, the supermarket refused , they said I have to take it back to Telstra shop.  I rang the support people, and they said same thing, take it Telstra shop and they will just swap it. Mind you I live 45kms from the nearest Telstra shop.... anyways take it back.. they just say, "NOPE,  YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT BACK to Woolies"....  so now here I am again about to waste more time and more efforts and more petrol to get a simple sim card from Telstra to work!!

No wonder I have not been with Telstra for years, their customer service is terrible, one part of the company says one thing, the shops say another, I only use Telstra for the odd times my Optus service is no good. I wont be going back with Telstra once I finally get this sorted out.

UPDATE: AUGUST 15TH

After 30 mins on the phone again with TELSTRA support, I managed to convince them to send me another SIM card in the mail, after my very poor experience with the TELSTRA store, so now I await the new sim, lets see if this works!


UPDATE: August 16th.

New sim arrived, and active, wow only 4 days to solve this.. but at least its solved.

Astronaut Tips: How to Wash Your Hair in Space | Video

The arcades of USA!

I recently went to the USA.

here are some pics of retro arcades and some modern ones !

NBN Changes my home life!

I am one of the lucky people to be in an area that the NBN has just rolled out to (Bacchus Marsh). Just after one week I can tell you its changed my home life (and my work).

I am a video producer by trade, thus having access to high speed internet is very important to upload video clips to clients. This was never possible on my old ADSL 1,  384kb connection, as it used to drop out and take hours to try and upload such 4 + GB files.   In addition I have two sons at home, avid online gamers, and video on demand watchers, and so too is my wife. Add all this up on ADSL = FAIL!

Now with the NBN (the 100MB down 40 MB up service, via Internode)  I can be uploading files to clients, watching a VOD service , and so too can the xbox which allows VOD service, all the while, the guys can be uploading their favourite clips to you tube, while playing an online game, while using the new voip PHONE without the internet so much as giving a hiccup.   My time to upload to clients is now measure in minutes, not hours, or days or having to sending hard drives in the mail. My Skype calls are in perfect clarity and HD video to the other side of the globe. Buffering of downloading you tube videos or getting a streaming video happening on iview or other VOD service is a thing of the past. Sending large attachments in emails happen in seconds not 30 to 40 minutes later. And this all happens at 20 dollars a month cheaper than I was paying for Telstra's terrible congested ADSL 1 service !

The NBN shows just a glimpse of what is possible with real speeds , and the ability to work , communicate at the speed of light will have quantifiable payoffs in productivity and reduction in wasted time and which will pay off in cost savings and also more time spend with family and friends , be that in the real world or virtual one.  The technologies and services that can now be developed with these speeds available to every home in Australia can now be a reality , not a dream.

Don't let any Government in Australia tear down this great service , this infrastructure project is as,  if not more important than a national highway system, or snowy river scheme!!  The cost and efficiencies such a scheme will bring have not even begun to be measured. Let the NBN be allowed to be continued to all Australians, and let us be an example to the world of what can be achieved if we have progressive long term plans that help every Australian individual, and business be competitive on a world stage.

Many countries look at our system with envy, and my recent trip to USA proved that USA internet is flaky, costly and poor. As they are dictated by commercial forces. I have many an international associate tell me they wish their government had the same vision as the current Australian one,  to deploy such a scheme to truly help all the citizens.

Let us finish what has begun!

Whats wrong with Australian TV..

http://www.digitalproductionbuzz.com/interview/grant-burton-problems-australian-broadcast-television/#.ULKPTKVzLe4


 part 2


http://www.digitalproductionbuzz.com/interview/philip-hodgetts-view-future-television/#.ULKPmKVzLe4

Microsoft Surface no iPad killer!

The real issue is the media, every few months we have "new iPad killer" or "new iPhone killer", being announced by the tech Media. Lets have a look at the track record of the media in this regard: The Kin was meant to be the next iPhone killer, and after 7 billion dollars (yes thats a real figure) of Microsoft R & D and marketing, the "iPhone killer" was withdrawn from sales after 90 days, they couldn't even give them away to Microsoft employees. The playbook was meant to be the next iPad killer, its dead and millions of dollars lost, the HP web os was also meant to do the same, didn't even last a month. The zune was meant to be an iPod killer... its dead, and millions in losses again despite Microsoft pushing it for years and years with no real sales that even made a dint in real market share. 


I get sick of hearing the next apple killer product is here, and yet when one does some little analysis on the product it self , in this case the surface, its hap hazard design, its confusing two model , not compatible with each other hardware and software, and Microsoft's insistence on only selling in online for the world, and in Microsoft only stores in the USA (just like the zune, strategy, cause that sales strategy worked so well for it last time), one can clearly see that this product is not destined to sell any real numbers, and is more of a prototype or a idea for other OEMS to follow perhaps... but iPad killer... no way in a frozen snow flake in hell is it that. 


I am all for competition, for if you don't have it in the IT industry you get things like Windows and all the very boring and non inspiring plastic cheap rubbish laptops and desktop PC's that all the Microsoft OEM's make. There are many things in the current iOS that have been borrowed from Android that help us Apple users have a better experience (though I would argue they borrowed more than their fair share from iOS). The next Windows 8 phones do look good and its OS is a bright light in the "copy cat" smart phone operating systems of late, however that brand new Windows 7 phone you bought on the weekend, hope you like its operating system for the next two years of your contract, as it WILL NOT run Windows 8 phone software, AS NO phone currently released will run windows 8 OS phones, (way to shaft your user base). 

Thus all I am saying put things into perspective, take a look at the history and track record of the media and Microsoft in particular, once you do that, it makes it hard to believe that Microsoft has released anything of real note or impact, once again.

iPads in Education

I found this today, it was in a presentation I attended on the Gold Coast , about people saying iPads are a waste of time in the classroom, promoted this bit of research....

From a book by Dr. David Thornburg called, “Edutrends 2010: Restructuring, Technology, and the Future of Education.” Starsong Publications, 1992.(Yes, 1992 is right!)  The statements are about the reluctance to accept new technology in education.  Here are a couple
examples:

*               “Students today can’t prepare bark to calculate their problems.  They depend on their slates which are more expensive.  What will they do when the slate is dropped and it breaks?  They will be unable to write!”  -  Teacher’s Conference in 1703


*               “Students today depend upon paper too much. They don’t know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?” Principals Association, 1815


*               “Students today depend too much upon ink.  They don’t
know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil.  Pen and ink will
never replace the pencil.”  - National Association of Teachers in 1907


*              “Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our
country.  Students use these devices and then throw them away.  The
American values of thrift and frugality are being discarded.  Business
and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries.”  - Federal
Teachers in 1950

*              You can’t use those calculators on the test.  If I let you do that, you wouldn’t ever learn how to use the tables in the back of the book and use interpolation to figure out your trig ratios.”  - High School Math Teacher in 1980

*             “Why would you ever want the Internet for student use? It’s just the latest fad – have them use the library.”  - District Employee in 1995

*             “Teachers will never use email.”  - Teacher on a
District Committee in 1996

*             “Why are we talking about students having laptops in high school?  I don’t think most parents will even give their kids their old computer, much less buy them a new one.”  Member of Laptop Committee in 2000

*             “Turn off and put away all Cell Phones, iPods, and Electronic Devices during class!”  - Signs around AHS in Fall 2006


*             "Students who are continually allowed to do word processing on a computer are not given enough handwriting practice.  Without practice using pencils and pens, students’ handwriting will become illegible.  Handwritten work should continue to be an essential part of a student’s education.  What happens when there is no computer available?"  , a quote at a Educational Conference in Australia 2009

RETRO ARCADE GAMING 80'S style

I have recently acquired a brand new 80's Cocktail arcade Cabinet (pictures below) that plays many of my favourite games from the 80's. Besides the unit being very nostalgic , and presents the games in the same way as they were, there have been a few things that occurred to me on why these old units are so much fun to play. 

 I hear you say, "but I can play all these games on my xbox or MAME on my computer".  While this much is true there a few things that can NOT replicate the real arcade experience..... let me explain :

The controls are important!

First an most importantly these games were designed to be played with the real controls of the day, not control pads of the xbox, not touch interfaces , real control sticks that were digital, and real buttons you can mash. This can not be easily replicated with modern day controls. Also these games were designed with very low resolution CRT monitors, not HIGH RES monitors or LCD displays that just make the old graphics look wrong, too sharp and blocky. So if you are going to get one, make sure its a real ARCADE CRT and nothing else.



                                                            The social aspect is missing

I play online games all the time on my xbox, I have enjoyed many many 100's of hours playing various halo games online, but not too many people chat to each other, or if they do, the swear and carry on in a rude childish manner. If you did this in person in the arcade years ago, you would have been punched out! No one behaved in this manner, people played for total fun, and while you might have teased each other a bit , it all was all fun, and not taken seriously !  Nothing beats the aspect of playing games with the other person sitting right next to you, this is not easily replicated with your computer.


                                                        Plain simple fun !

Self explanatory really, but the old 80's games are simple (by todays standards), but are fun, simple and quick enjoyment. They have very little learning curve, but take practice to master, and are unforgiving, which makes it all the more fun. People who did not grow up in the 80's do not know the whole social aspect and the discovery of going to the arcades, socialising with real people in the real world have missed a golden era!  Every time you went to the arcades, you would see something different, see some new game technology or aspect you have never seen before, it would lead to conversations before and aftwards of games, or things that happened in the arcade.. it was a total real life experience, this is not replicated in any way.  So if you are like me, and grew up in the late 70's and 80's with going to arcades as your social aspect, relive some of the fun you had with your kids, friends etc, and get yourself an arcade table, you won't regret it!

I liked the aspect of a cocktail cabinet, which were very popular in Australia, and were found in many fish and chip or pizza shops of the day. I intend to get a stand up unit later this year (like the one pictured above) to replicate al those horizontal games I liked, and to play some head to head games that come out in the later 80's. Finally I hope to complete my collection of 80s nostalgia and fun with a pinball machine, as I haven't seen any thing that comes close to replicating the real feel of a pinball machines, its so real and tactile its not an experience that can be reproduced by any other means...

Alas the expense and the maintenance of such a machine is a little daunting to me, so it will be a few years I think till I can muster enough funds to acquire such a machine.

ANYWAYS GO AND AQUIRE YOUR FAVOURITE 80'S ARCADE TABLE AND GO HAVE SOME REAL FUN :)

Friendships and Human Relations

Todays post (updated for 2013) is not about anything technical related, its about friendships and humans relationships, something that can be one of the most important, joyful or frustrating things of our human existence. 


Some people give little thought to our human interactions with others, others can find it defines who we are as a person,  it all relates to a conversation I had with my son a little while back. 


As I am now in the "seasoned" part of my life , my son (whom is his early 20's), asked me this question the other day, he said "Dad, how come some friends of mine, never return phone calls, e-mails or SMS's , and I have to chase them up all the time? what's the story?"

My response, was, well son, sit down and let me tell you a story about friendships...
Having been around a while, I have asked this question of myself (many times), and so has my wife of 26 years, we have both found over the years that many people treat friendships as one way streets. They never drop in to see you. You have to go and see them, they do not call you, you have to call them, they never return phone calls you have to keep leaving messages. Does all of this sound familiar? I find after a few years I no longer see these people. I have had many "friends" whom I have had over for dinner parties, but you never get invited back, but then even go so far as to ask you, when are you doing another party? I have even said out loud, to one so called friend, "when are you going to do one at your place?" then you get looks of offence, like how rude of rude to impose yourself at our place.


On the odd occasion you might see these "friends", (which are not friends, I call them an acquaintance now), and they state "Oh I haven't heard from you in ages, how have you been? " etc etc... and they are all friendly, but wonder why YOU haven't been in contact with them. One person in whom this type of conversation was going on for years, I eventually confronted them , and said, " has your phone been out of order? " with puzzlement they looked at me, and didn't understand my question, "what do you mean?" , they asked? I said" you haven't phoned me, or seen me, so I presumed your phones been out, and your mobiles been stolen, and your internet has been out and your legs broke".... "Oh, ha ha , funny, I was waiting to hear from you!" , they stated. This is when I sigh, and just walk away... many people don't see it, they don't see when they are being all one way with their "friendship" (if you can call it that). They expect you to do all the running around after them, do everything their way. They cant take the time out of their day to see you, or put themselves out. I myself have always made time for, and done things for true friends, to which over the many years have found very few. 

Many acquaintances I have had, but VERY few true friends, and by true friends, I mean the ones they will put them selfs out for you, invite you back for dinner parties, make time for you, and return your phone calls, even if they are busy they will let you know they cant talk right now, but want to as soon as possible, when they have a free moment. 


I get that some friendships are just passing ones, ones that you need you have to get a job done, or ones they you only have coffee with once in a blue moon, not all friendships have to be the close, emotional types, I get that. The people that pretend they are the close ones, but are not, is what gets me, and yes I also understand that this type of manipulation has been going on since the dawn of time. Its understanding that that helps. The term,  fair-weather comes to mind. 

The true Friend is what many people seek, but can not find! These are the people that want to know you the person, not you the person that may know people that can help them leverage things or be able to do things for free or cheap for them. Those people are very rare indeed, and if you find a friend like that, hang on to them, as they are as rare as diamonds. I married my best friend, and thats the best friend I have ever had, hopefully you might find a friend like that too... but don't worry son, real friends do come along, but you will find most people you meet are not friends in the true sense of the word but really are acquaintances. Thats just life.

I have only a very few people in the category of true friends, one which lives out of state, but when we do catch up, its like nothing has changed. Maybe its the distance that keeps this type of friendship fresh alive, fresh and meaningful, or maybe its that they are true friends, and distance doesn't mean anything, and both parties accept that you will be out of contact for months. Although you still may exchange e-mails, phone conversations etc... its still not the same as being in physical presence with some one. A person that you can read all their body language, facial expressions etc.  

(A side note, a famous linguist once said 70% of communication of the human language is done via body language, facial expressions, with tone and inflection of voice. The actual words themselves make up 30%. Maybe why e-mails and forum threads get so out of hand so quickly, as they are misinterpreted, as much of the meaning of the words are lost, as they are stripped of their "voice" and "body".) 

Alas I digress, friendships (the real ones) do come in many different forms, its just recognising the real ones to the fake ones that one gets better with wisdom. 

One person whom I thought was a friend for many years,  was mealy a chameleon, trying to mimic what they knew I would like in a true friend, but too often I found them out for their true self, (secrets, hiding the truth, and using people as mere objects, as a way to try and get ahead) and they are were mealy after me, to manipulate me into helping them all the time. But when I had had a medical crises , they were no where to be found, had every excuse under the sun not being able to help. I found many of their core values , were twisted, selfish, and had such a sense of entitlement  Which just goes back to the old thing, I cant trust anyone expect for the family under my own roof. How jaded of me I know, but some people are every clever at hiding their true motives!


Do I think I am perfect? far from it? I don't expect others to be either , but if we can all show the values above, and learn from our past mistakes , and acknowledge them, then we might have a closer connected world, rather than the current one which seems to be more disconnected than ever. The values of family are more important to me now then ever.  Sure I have disagreements with those I really love, but we have always come around to forgive each other, and respect each other for who we are, and what we stand for. That is after all what true emotional connections are about. 



I know we have to try and get one with most people in order to have some order in our lives, but success, for me,  is not dictated by money, possessions or status of your career.  I know some people pretend to be your friend in order for them to achieve what they think society wants in success (materialism), but they are not people I can really relate with. Nor at the same time do I think we need to all be Buddhists on a hill, mediating all day. There is a happy medium, after all if you crave nothing but the material things in life (keeping up with the Jones syndrome some call it), you will continuously be unhappy, as you strive for the unachievable , there will always be some one with more money than you, a better job than you, etc. The trick is to understand what you have now, and cherish that, that might be something as simple as your values, integrity, what you have done for others (no better gift than the one of giving).  That doesn't necessarily mean you gave money, it may be as simple as you gave some one your time, or your compassion or care etc. 



I try and not let the people that have "used" me over the years,  get to me, and just chalk it up to another experience , it also makes me reflect on what I have, and how lucky I am to be blessed with what I have, for I feel as rich as a king to have in emotional bonds with my wife and family. 

(* Notice I said wisdom, not age, as they two are not always linked. Usually as a person matures, they do gain wisdom, but not always. I am sure we have all met the very wise young person or older person, at the same time, met the old unwise person or young idiot. 

the old saying, quality not quantity seems to apply for so many things in life... this seems to be one that fits that mould as well... many "friends" some people may have, but very few real friends are had. )

Over the years I have heard many people say that have 100's of friends... but really the reality is, they do not have that many true friends in the sense of the word. The rest is just an illusion. It also maybe us more emotional types are more privy to what people what people want from other people in a friendship, maybe its material, or maybe is emotional or maybe a mix of both or something else. This does make me more venerable than most, and people who can read that, can trick us more emotional types. 



Since this conversation, my son has had a different view and seems to be more content with his life. 

Others might think I am little jaded with too many bad experiences, or others might see that I am seeking too much from friendships. I just know that getting to know a person, the real person, whom is genuine down to earth person, whom relates very closely to the core values I hold dear is the most rewarding thing you can have on this planet, and brings some meaning to our existence as humans. For me, life isn't about the collection of material possessions, or the acquisitions of wealth or power as symbols of success, it is how we value ourselves and others, and how we can all try and help make this world a better place. Its is the values of respect, charity, honour, honesty, passion, compassion, integrity, and love that are the important possessions of life. 

What do others think? My life experience is obviously different to many others, but I am sure there are few people that can relate to this story... thoughts??, comments ??

TELSTRA FAIL AT HOME ADSL SERVICES

For almost a year now,  my new home has had the dreaded ADSL congestion issue. This means during most times when you are home the rest your suburb is trying to use the internet and it slows to a crawl,  to where its worse than old dail up speed. I often can get no more than 56kbs in speed or slower and pings are 1000ms or more making the internet useable for sending e-mails. No voice chat, no video chat, no downloading anything.,. even web surfing is a major chore with web pages taking minutes to display. Its like sharing your internet connection with 1000 other people in your house.

This is not helped by the fact that my 2 year old suburb was fitted with 10 year old infrastructure from Telstra. Telstra saw fit to install outdated ADSL 1 only multiplexers with no Backhaul to support them!  Thank you Telstra, good to see you have the nations future at heart!

I have complained on a weekly basis to them, to which I NEVER get a reply, I have been to the TIO, Local Member, council, you name it.. no one can do anything. The ISP who buys from Telstra whole sale has said there is a scheduled upgrade to the backhaul in October. No mention of upgrading the old ADSL 1 multiplexer to an ADSL 2 one. Even so , that will be a year of charging a premium amount for a rubbish service!

They charge me 100 bucks a month for a dial up speed service, and think that's ok. Its criminal that any business is allowed to conduct themselves this way. If I bought a plane ticket from Melbourne to Sydney, and instead a plane ticket I got a pair of running shoes, and told to RUN to Sydney, I would have a legal recourse. But Telstra are a law unto themselves, and no one has any say in how they conduct themselves. I do not see how this is acceptable nor legal in this country to act this way!

So Telstra stop FAILING at providing a service, if you cant provide a service then don’t offer it, or offer some compensation or alternatives. Stop ripping off the Australian people with substandard services!

The most AMAZING Southern Skies of Australia

Change your Signal

Time to change the Signal....

Control your information life…

This stems from the other article I wrote about don’t worry be happy, its time people took control of the way they receive their information, be it news, information, the state of the world .. whatever, and stop being just a passive individual willing to eat the feeds of the negative so called “news” coming from commercial TV networks, magazines , radio and newspapers. Lets face it, TV news is just a platform to feed lots of horror stories on the latest flu epidemic, latest terrorist bomb, or murders etc, nothing about scientific discovery, or things that really inertest you. Radio has become totally irrelevant, with FM shock jocks talking about where they found their dirty undies last night, or what come out of their kids nose this morning. Newspapers are nothing more than advertisements disguised as news or information, or paid political announcements. Magazines are an amalgam all the above. Time to take control.

How to take control.

Well stop watching TV news, and listening to Radio, and read what you want. Use google, use the net, and read really what’s interests you, and you will find that suddenly the world isn’t this big terrorist camp, war ridden, plague ridden world. Not to deny these things are going on, but these things have been going on for 1000’s of years, we just didn’t have some media moguls feeding us lots of negative crap about how many car smashes happened today, or how many people died in some natural disaster. Get into podcasting, listen to what you want, not what packer wants you to hear with the occasional cute puppy story thrown in to try and balance all the terror. Get into RSS feeds on particular scientific, medical, SCI FI stories or whatever things interest you.

INFORMATION, should be selective about your interests, what drives you and your passions. Maybe if more of us got our view on the world this way, everyone might stop thinking how bad everything is for a change, and lighten up, and stop being so mean and selfish to each other. The current media feeds on everything negative, people in turn become negative, because its so much easier to be negative about everything than positive. You can start being more positive by controlling what you see and hear by taking these steps:

• Get a PVR (personal Video recorder, a hard drive unit that records TV). We all complain that there is nothing on TV, then control it, select what you want to watch, there are so many DVD’s and Box sets of good TV shows, watch them instead. Get a PVR and programme it to only record the shows, and doco’s you want, so what if they are on 2am in the morning.. get your PVCR to do all the work.

• Get and Ipod , and control what you hear be it music, podcasts etc. Hear info and science shows, debates, sci fi discussions whatever, and stop listening to the 90% of dribble coming from your FM radio or the 90% advertisements.

• Use the Net to get the rest of your once printed material, besides saving trees, you will have full control of the topics that interest you, and you will avoid the negative linear feeds of news papers and magazines.

* Use twitter! Yes twitter is not just useless tool for saying the last time you fed your cat, follow organisations, news feeds, people that have interests you like, and would like to engage in. News does not have to be passive, but interactive. Information exchange should be social. Twitter can make this happen. And if you have an iphone or other type of smart phone, why do you not have twitter? Look at how valuable it has been in recent events in Australia for the distribution of information.

For a long time now I have done most of these things to keep myself update on things that interest me, and its amazing on what a brighter world it seems when you are not fed the totally negative self serving rubbish of 90% of media outlets, epically the nightly so called “news”. Try it for a month and see how well your outlook on life becomes. As Captain Mal would say “CHANGE THE SIGNAL.”

Catalyst: Faster Computing - ABC TV Science

Catalyst: Faster Computing - ABC TV Science

We are on the verge on the next computer revolution with 3D chip design.

Silicon wafers historically have been two dimensional. Intel on just changed all of that with 3-D transistors, dubbed Tri-Gate. The aim: Ensure that Moore’s Law, which dictates that transistor density doubles every two years, keeps chugging along.

These 3-D transistors are in-production technology and are expected to be used in handhelds as well as servers. The 3-D transistors will be the crux of a range of 22 nanometer processors—code named Ivy Bridge. Ivy Bridge will be ready for production at the end of the year.

These 3-D-based chips will first hit servers, desktops and laptops; Atom-based products will come later. Intel didn’t detail exact delivery targets, but later this year is likely. The company said it expects it will have a three-year lead on rivals.

Intel first detailed 3-D transistors in 2002, and now these chips will hit the market. The general idea is to pack more computing cycles with lower power. For Intel, which demonstrated a 22nm chip, 3-D chips will allow it to move into more markets such as cars, medical devices and other devices.

Intel likened the Tri-Gate transistors to skyscrapers, which allowed developers to optimize space by moving upward.

Among the key points:

• 3-D Tri-Gate transistors will operate at lower voltage with less leakage. The upshot is that performance will improve.
• Chip designers will be able to pick fins and choose transistors for low power or performance.
• 22nm Tri-Gate transistors will use less than half the power at the same performance as 2-D 32nm chips.
• These 3-D transistors have a 10x lower depletion rate.
• Applied to a CPU, you can have a lower clock rate with the same performance as higher speeds.

Thus in 5-10 short years we will see memory and speeds of computers be around a billion times more efficient, faster, and INCREASE in capacity than today. It is an amazing time to be a gadget person :)

Imagine your iPhone 7 having 1TB of flash memory storage with the power of a super computer of today in your pocket in 2016, with a battery that lasts for weeks, It looks like its going to happen.