all things me

Hello, my name is Angus. I’m an Aspire-ing entertainment centre. I enjoy FPSs, surfing, and occasionally wearing a skirt. I have a handsome brushed steel exterior and my innermost core is Phenomenal, if I may say so myself. I’m a bit of a softie (Win7 variety) but you better be on good terms with me since I never forget anything — everything’s stored in my gigantic memory and hard disk. (Technically, “giga” is too small a word to describe the disk, but I don’t want to brag.)

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The first start-up was interesting — in addition to having a mild heart attack when the screen (my old one) wouldn’t work. I plugged out all extra peripherals, plugged in the mouse and the keyboard that came with the computer, and restarted a 2nd time. Thankfully, this time it worked!

I decided to go with Finnish Windows although I’m very comfortable with English. I may regret this later since it’s, of course, easier to look for info and help online when you know the English application names, menu options etc. During the first steps, one of the buttons was incorrectly labeled in French (Suivant, I suppose that’s “Next”). Tsk tsk. Who’s in charge of the localisations? It may’ve been Acer’s dialogue, actually, and not Windows. Having briefly visited Acer’s Finnish website, I think that’s exactly the case. The translation there is horrific.

There is a mysterious hidden compartment on top of the computer. It’s slightly bigger than a CD. I don’t know for what I’m supposed to use it but since I’m currently making a recovery DVD (requires 3), I may stash those in there. Luckily 3 DVDs were included in the package. (Sure, I have stacks of DVDs but it’s nice that they were considerate.)

Even the texts in this recovery disk program sound strange: “Tarkastamassa taustakuvaa”. Checking background image? Why would it do that? Maybe it’s supposed to mean “background checking image” (disk image). I have no idea.

This is a nicely silent computer. My previous ones (both Fujitsu Siemens) have been quite noisy. Possibly due to collected dust, and maybe even the power supply is to blame (Dad mentioned that my older computer (Simon) got better when they swapped the power supply. Good thing, too, that this is silent since I’m planning on keeping it on the desk instead of under.

(OK, I’m already regretting my language choice. Still, I’m convinced all the bad language is thanks to Acer, not Microsoft.)

Can’t decide whether I should start thinking about the migration right away or install Tomb Raider Underworld…

All work and no play makes Minna a dull girl…? I think I better check that TR:U installs properly since that’s the reason I got this machine. (Well, not exactly but it certainly accelerated the decision.)

Can’t believe it’s yet another new year. I’ve been very lazy in blogging lately but, frankly, there hasn’t been much to blog about. The autumn has gone by so fast.

I got Tomb Raider: Underworld for Christmas but my current computer has difficulty running it (I bet it’s the graphics card which is too old). My birthday is conveniently coming up so I thought I’d pamper myself to a new computer with Windows 7. (I just checked my blog; my current computer, Sullivan, is 4.5 years old!) I actually have quite a few games in store that I haven’t been able to play yet, e.g. Jericho and the newest Prince of Persia (haven’t tried it at all, but the minimum supported graphics card is newer than my current one).

Originally I was planning on getting a new computer once I knew the requirements for Alan Wake. Now that they’re not promising a PC version anymore, I can’t wait with the upgrade. If they end up making the game too demanding for my new PC, I’ll just have to get an Xbox 360 (which is the main platform for the game)

Maybe with the help of a new computer I can wait with my phone purchase a little longer, at least until they announce this year’s new models. I haven’t been able to decide between N900 and N97 so I’m hoping there’ll be a new phone about which I can make up my mind.

I baked a yummy big crumb coffee cake for Christmas. I made a filling from rhubarb and strawberries (drool) and as “dark brown sugar” I used muscovado which I happened to have in my cupboard. The cake seemed like a lot of work but I think most of that was because the muscovado was clumped up. I spent a long time trying to get the base of the crumb mixture (butter+sugar) smooth and ended up having it maybe too fluffy (sugar and butter will turn foamy after a while). It was very good after it had had time to set (i.e. the next day and after that). First I didn’t think so, but now I feel I could try it again some time (I just have to remember to de-clump the sugar) — after the last 8 pieces have gone from my freezer I had to freeze it, it would’ve been dangerous to keep it in the fridge…

I have a huuuge dilemma: I’m trying to decide which Nokia device to get next and I just can’t make up my mind this time!

There is the N97, the N900 (not available just yet), XpressMusic 5800 (getting kinda old ), and the upcoming X6 (no idea when it’s coming out), that have all caught my interest. And who knows about what’s coming out soon!

I would choose the N900 in a heartbeat because I’m very curious about Maemo, if only it had a radio and a multimedia message feature. (I don’t use either of them very much but they’d be useful to have.) The 5800 is the first touch screen device, released quite a while ago, so I figure the newer ones should have improved technology — and it has only a 3.2 megapixel camera which is what I have now in my 3-year-old phone (!). I think N97 would be my number one choice right now, but N900 is too close a second.

I must make up my mind though, since all these devices are around 600 euros each… (If I was rich I’d get the N900 and wait around for a bit to see if something amazing comes along and if not, get the N97.)

I think it’s the Australian radio channel Nova 96.9 that boasts with the slogan “never more than two ads in a row.” That’s great for a radio station.

I don’t really care for the two identical piles of advertisements I get in through my letterbox every so often. Either the paperboy has no clear strategy on how to deliver the mail in the building, or he’s left with one extra bunch because I live next to someone who has a “no ads, please” sticker on their door.

If only they delivered some great discount coupons but we don’t really get any of those. I may need to attach a sticker of my own: “No double ads, please”?

So often in life I feel like a stand-up comedian — for v-e-r-y s-l-o-w people. Hindsight is 20-20 and more often than not I think of a witty response when it’s too late.

Just today I was walking home from the grocery store, carrying a very heavy grocery back, feeling like my arm would fall of if I’m not quick enough. I walked by a stand offering Omega3 pills and there was a very persistent guy trying to get people to stop. He tried to get me to stop and said “please, stop for a while.” I kept walking and he kept trying. Lastly he said “there’s some omega3 for you. It’s healthy!” I walked on by.

Just an instant later I thought of what I should’ve said in response: “So is brisk walking!”

Sigh.

In addition to the “boring ol'” fish’n chips at a marina and a tuna wrap at Subway I tried something new again!

• When we were visiting my friend’s friend we had some fruit scones — they were so good! I have to look for a nice recipe.
• When we were shopping at Macarthur Square in Cambelltown we had lunch at the food court and had Turkish chicken pide at a kebab place. Soooo good even though it had mushrooms in it (and whatever else, I didn’t want to know after I saw a mushroom). I may try to make a variation of it if I can find a promising-looking recipe. Without the mushrooms.
• When we were visiting the Australian Museum and shopping in the city on a Sunday (an unusual experience for a Finn, our cities seem quite dead on Sundays because pretty much nothing’s open) I had some sushi! I wouldn’t eat any of the raw stuff, so I had a cooked tuna & cucumber roll (I only had one because we had eaten a lot of noodles for the main lunch). It tasted nice and I would try some again.
• The same Sunday we had Chinese for dinner and I had honey king prawns (now that I read my old posts I realise I had a prawn at the Japanese restaurant last time) and squid. They were alright; I wouldn’t eat prawns or squid regularly cause I’m fussy about texture and they were just, ewww. *shivers*

I also had some lamb — still far from my favourite meat, it’s the texture issue — which I rarely/never do, and some pork on the air plane because the chicken dish would’ve had mushroom sauce (it spreads all over the food). At least I got to eat some rice from the pork dish.

I left with a suitcase of 14 kilos (~31 lb) and came back with a suitcase of 17 kilos (~37.5 lb). 3 kilos of souvenirs then? Wrong. I carried most of them in my backpack on-board because I was worried my suitcase would be over the 20kg limit.

I bought a lot of books and Tim Tams (those are mostly for work). I was planning on a big “post-Australia survival kit” but ended up getting only a big bottle of Ocean Spray’s Ruby Red Grapefruit which I raved about for a long time (and sometimes still do) after my previous visit. We only get the cranberry juices in Finland (as far as I’ve been able to find) which is unfair. (We also only get the subs in Subway so I’d like to see them bringing the wraps into their selection.) I was planning on getting some yummy raisin toast but it’s expiration date was soon (in fact, yesterday) and they gotta have something similar in Finland, right? They have to. My friends had very kindly bought me a package of Tim Tams so I didn’t have to buy them for the kit.

Well then, what else? I bought an anniversary edition of Lord of the Rings. I haven’t read it (I have it in Finnish) so maybe now I will. The book contains nice appendices and footnotes and things. I also bought a couple of cookbooks: Women’s Weekly “Just Four Ingredients” booklet (recipes containing max 4 ingredients. Excellent.) and “The Essential Soup Cookbook”. Also a 500 Casseroles recipe book. In addition to those, I got Bill Bryson’s Neither Here nor There (about his travels in Europe) — I’m starting to have a bit of a collection of these. Oh, and I got Dan Brown’s newest, The Lost Symbol, from Frankfurt airport. Then, music: Prodigy’s “Invaders Must Die” and Fall Out Boy’s “From Under the Cork Tree”. And games: Lego Indiana Jones and the newest Prince of Persia. I found Tomb Raider Underworld, too, which was on my list but it was still quite expensive.

Then, to the proper souvenirs: from Taronga Zoo I got a commuter coffee mug (I would’ve gotten a regular mug (although it may not have survived the trip so this was probably better) but I didn’t like the designs or colours), a kangaroo necklace, and a kangaroo clutch pin (I sort of collect pins) and from Featherdale I bought a cute kangaroo bookmark. I could’ve bought soooo much more from those places but decided to hold on to my wallet.

That’s pretty much it. Darn, I had room for 3 kilos more…

(You may want to read about Taronga Zoo first, but only because of a comment I make there about kangaroos. No biggie.)

On September 10th we visited Featherdale Wildlife Park in Doonside. In addition to typical enclosures, they have animals strolling around there, among the visitors. Even an emu! I don’t know how that’s not dangerous unless they’ve bred a non-kicking one…

I petted this wallaby who greeted us:

And boy were there wallabies.

We spotted a lot of baby wallabies.

And boy were there koalas, too.

I managed to snap a picture of some of the lively ones. This koala climbed down a tree and walked to the next one:

What really surprised me was that they had wombats. Outside. In the sun. I thought they were nocturnal animals!

Here’s an echidna:

And guess what? They had kangaroos! (Some of them may’ve been wallabies, I don’t know the difference.)

Lots…

and lots…

of kangaroos!

They had albinos too!

Of course, they had many many more animals (dingoes, bats, Tasmanian devils (couldn’t get a proper picture), reptiles, and lots of birds).

It was the Fathers’ Day in Australia when we took off to Taronga Zoo, bright and early. We drove to the city and took a ferry from Circular Quay.

Of course, there were koalas:

Pffft. Old news. They seem to like staying in that curled position. Saw countless of koalas like that (koalas here, koalas there, sleeping koalas everywhere).

There were some lovely giraffes:

They had had to grow some pretty long necks to get a better view behind those trees there.

There was a baby chimp

and a baby elephant (Luk Chai)

who is a bit of a celebrity.

We were there right on time to catch both the seal and the bird show. It’s amazing how the animals can be trained — especially the seal show was very funny!

OK then, the animal I came all this way (15,000 km/9,400 mi) for: the kangaroo. Did I get to see them this time? Yes. Well, sorta.

It must’ve been a bit too hot for them to be jumping around. On the way out of the zoo we went by the enclosure one more time:

Is that kangaroo trying to tell me something…?

Then it was time to head back. This time we took the Sky Safari cable cars down to the wharf.

I was invited to come along to a meeting of an old cars club when they went to a restaurant in Wollongong. On the way we stopped at the Sublime Lookout Point, just off Princes Highway in Bulli.

From there you could see to Stanwell Park which I visited last time.

Then we drove to Wollongong and to a beach/dock there. It was swarming with wedding parties so I had to dodge (with my viewfinder) the wedding couples.

Here’s one party I didn’t manage to dodge:

Then we drove to the restaurant whose name I don’t remember where I had a massive beef hamburger (finished maybe half or three quarters of it) — people said jokingly that I must be really hungry. I didn’t know it would be so huge! I passed dessert grudgingly but I was given a bite of chocolate mousse.