Thoughts of a Psych/Code Monkey/Guitarist

It's official! - results of the TCCC design contest are out - I ended up with 40/40 pts, in the top 8, so get to go to San Diego California!!! Means I'll be away 14th->20th November - I miss the 2nd week of exams, so have to reschedule sitting 3 of them...it *also* means that I'll be flying over the Atlantic on the 19th, and it'll last only a few hours before I cross the dateline. Last year I was in ACT for my birthday, this year it won't even happen! ....does that mean I stay 19?? Speaking of travelling, my parents leave for their 6-week european holiday after mum's retirement - Sis & I get to fend for ourselves at home, should be interesting... In other news, the ACM final location has been announced, so it looks like my team & I will be in Tokyo in mid March '07. Our ACM prizes have also come in - not only is the iPod shuffle 1Gb, but it also has 'Google' written on the side =) Seriously, how much do you think it'd cost to have you...

Yep, Holidays have started! "Wait!"...I hear you say..."Didn't they start saturday" - yeah, I guess, though now week 5 of the TopCoder Collegiate Challenge (TCCC) design contest has just ended, which means I get a break after working for almost 6 weeks straight :S - this week was particularly hectic though, due to ACM, Google Code Jam and TCCC algorithm *also* being on at the same time. The result? Prizes won this week: 1 TCCC t-shirt for passing review in design 1 TCCC t-shirt for participating in round 1 (yes, it's the same shirt) 1 TCCC student rep. shirt for convincing someone to compete. 1 GCJ shirt for coming in the top 250 in round 2. 1 Google shirt for winning the ACM regional 1 ACM shirt for attending the ACM regional 1 iPod shuffle (apparently...still waiting) for winning ACM 1 trip to Tokyo (probably) for winning ACM 1 trip to San Diego, CA, for placing top 8 in TCCC Design (still pending) Seriously though, what are you supposed to do with six pro...

Something I came up with while procrastinating - another one of these games, tis quite simple. Most browsers cache the addresses you visit often, so press 'a' and copy down what your browser suggests. Then 'b', then 'c' etc... to find which sites you frequent. This is me through my browser: a: www.australiancentral.com.au b: blowingupspace.blogspot.com c: www.cs.adelaide.edu.au d: dictionary.reference.com e: en.wikipedia.org f: forums.topcoder.com g: www.gyronet.org (not google!) h: www.hotmail.com i: www.imdb.com j: java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/api/index.html l: www.logicgamesonline.com m: modnar.poolboys.org n: ninemsn.com.au o: orac.amt.edu.au/formums p: padster.gyronet.org/blogwatch/checker.php r: www.research.ibm.com/ponder/ s: software.topcoder.com/review t: www.topcoder.com/tc u: www.ultimate-guitar.com/ v: video.google.com w: webmail.adelaide.edu.au/horde/imp/ x: www.xmpp.org y: www.yourtv.com.au/guide/index.cfm K, Q and Z had no matches. One and a bit w...

For all those not interested in tech stuff, tune out now! For once, I'll do a codemonkey-esque update. No, it's not about how MySpace is one of the ugliest looking sites yet gets 7000 new australian members to day, 60% of whom will never return. Though that in itself puzzles me. No, instead, it's about Apple's iSTUFF idea, what will / should happen, and why. Firstly, many have tried to topple the mighty iPod - Sony have the walkman, Creative the Zen, Microsoft are soon to the Zune, in an attempt to make an iPod killer. But no, these are doomed to fail. Why? A few things, most are driven by ease of use. You see, people don't like to do too much stuff when it comes to computers. Apple managed to capitalize on this by making a system which: Uses one program (iTunes) to do virually everything. Gives you access to the iTunes (Apple) music store from within the program Uses non-standard file format AAC for iTunes downloads, rather than mp3 Handles 'podcasting' whi...