Archive for July, 2007

Exch ch ch changing

Published at July 31, 2007 in IT. 2 Comments

Phew!

After a long weekend of work, and dealing with a few glitches, I am finally on the home strait of a migration from Bynari Insight Server, with Outlook running IMAP on the client end, to Microsoft Exchange.

Now a lot of geeks out there tend to be anti-Microsoft for many reasons, some of them even valid. To a lot of my friends, moving from a Linux based mail server to a Microsoft product sounds like sheer insanity, but let me state that in this case, it is the right tool for the job.

Bynari was in my workplace before I got here, and it was terrible. It got the full outlook functionality going, at the expense of being able to send email quickly, it hid duplicate emails, and had all sorts of other bugs. After 6 months of dealing with their support people, and essentially being told it wouldnt be fixed till the next major release, if then, and being told to just keep creating new profiles for users, I gave up with it, switched off the client connector, kept the server using IMAP and fudged calendar sharing with the use of a 3rd party product called ShareO. ShareO does what it is supposed to, but in an IMAP environment, wasnt especially brilliant.

So finally, after looking at several options, all of which would either take our users away from the comfort of Microsoft Outlook, we decided to move ahead with installing Exchange 2003. With some 230 users, its not an especially cheap option, but for the benefits and reduced support requirements I am confident it will pay for itself.

Of course never having installed Exchange made for some fun in setting up, and still learning a few bits and pieces. Need to redo all Blackberry comms from scratch, need to setup new address books and a few group aliases. but already the users here are happy. No training needed, it just works, and it is much quicker than either working with IMAP or the old connector client was. Outlook web access is an absolute saviour for our area managers and people on the road. It all just comes together.

 Its not often you will hear me send praise Microsofts way, but in this instance, in my particular circumstance, it is the perfect tool. Yes, I could have achieved it all with open source, and gotten to the same point. But not as simply, not as quickly, and the end users would have to modify their behaviour, which they just plain do not want to do.

Back to Babylon 5

Published at July 29, 2007 in Television and movies. 0 Comments

I must start by stating that when it was on television, I was a massive fan of Babylon 5. The story arc in it was incredibly impressive, and I cannot think of many shows that had such a strong continuity line. J. Michael Straczynski is a true artist and the series was his most impressive canvas. So when I heard last year that he would be doing some straight to DVD releases from the Babylon 5 universe, I was quite looking forward to it.

The series, known as Babylon 5: The Lost Tales has been described by JMS as “”an anthology series, to all intents and purposes, using our characters almost like a repertory group.” Having seen the first in the series now, Voices in the Dark, I would suggest that it is more of an anthology of vignettes from characters in the original series.

The effects quality is, as to be expected, very good. The storyline is alright, though it seemed to me a tad strained. This could be due to the constraints of working with a minimal cast, possibly with concerns towards profitability given the straight to DVD release.

Voices in the dark is essentially two stories told in the same 72 hour period. The stories really do not intertwine and other than an oblique reference made by  Colonel Lochley to President Sheridan, there’d be no link at all to the stories. The first part has Colonel Lochley dealing with a supernatural type incident on Babylon 5, and though at points the acting seems a little strained, it is a interesting story and played for the most part quite well.

The second part follows President Sheridan  on his way from Minbar to Babylon 5, where he is going to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Interstellar Alliance. On his way there, he stops to pick up an ambassador from Centari and also receives a surprise visit from Galen, the technomage, who gives him some instructions that Sheridan does not want to hear.

If you are a fan of Babylon 5, you can almost be guaranteed to enjoy this. If not, it does just drop you right into the universe and expect you to have an idea of who is who, so I would suggest watching it with a friend who can inform you.  The filming is minimalist, with very few cast per an episode, but within those constraints, it is highly enjoyable.

Of developments and doors.

Published at July 28, 2007 in The House and State of the raph. 0 Comments

So, I am building a house. Well, when I say I am building a house, I mean that I am paying someone else to build a house for me. This is something I have been meaning to do for a long long time, but have always put off because I worry about the money side, and people have forever been telling me that the property market is going to collapse. They have been telling me this for over a decade when I was first thinking of buying or building. Had I done so then, the value of my investment would have gone up somewhere between 100 and 400 percent. So with that thought, I decided that the water is not going to get any better, so its time to dive in.

So after a lot of consideration, I chose a suburb (Cranbourne) and I also chose a builder (Metricon) and as such, I now am about to own a little bit of dirt, and soon after that, some bricks, mortar and stuff will be on top of that dirt. The house design, is one from the Metricon First range, a range that is designed to suit first home builders, called a Santorini, it is the 26 model not the 29 as I dont really think I need 4 bedrooms at this point. I have made a few small modifications to the general plan, and on the whole am looking forward to living in it as soon as possible.

One of the things about deciding to build a house is that you need to decide on what colours you are going to use, what you want the roof to look like, the interiors, the electricals, and thousands of other things. When I first started to think about building, I wrote a comprehensive list of everything I could think of that wouldnt be included in the standard house design, and extras I might consider. Well my eyes were opened a fair bit. I cant comment about how other places do it, but for Metricon, you go to a big selections place known as Studio 501. In there, you are confronted with a myriad of choices of colour, type, look, appliances and god knows what else. You can also choose curtains, electricals, carpets etc etc. Now it turns out that I had done more homework than most, so I was well prepared for most of the decisions, I knew what I wanted for flooring, had already decided on deadlocks (most people dont realise that when building a house, locks are not standard, neither are flyscreens). Also had decided on some of the electrical stuff. Still, it was four hours that while fun at first, was rather draining and a bit of a strain by the end. Hell, I even had to chose whether i wanted rolled or raked mortar in my bricks. I had never ever been faced with such a decision, hell, I had never even considered that there were different ways of doing such things.

Anyway, all choices made, all things set into contract, all finance documents lodged and everything has been moving ahead quite nicely. Assuming no unforeseen disaster in the next few weeks, all will be well and building will commence. Which is quite exciting and I am sure that there will be more popping up in here about the whole process as time goes on. If anyone out there is interested in knowing more, let me know and I will get back to you.

So today, I went out to the site, as I do sometimes just to see the houses around it go up and to measure the time that it takes (there are several other Metricon homes being built there) from start to fiish. I noticed today though that the house being built next door to mine has a door on its side wall that will open up literally 30 to 50 centimeters from where the fenceline (there is no fence yet) to my property is. I am not sure I like this. Unless they are planning to edge the fence a little bit over the line to my land, I can see no practical purpose for having a door so close to the edge. I know the council has approved the design and placement, else they couldnt have gotten the building permit, but its placed in a totally impractical location. I have not decided if I am going to pursue this heavily or not, but it does bug me. I am not even sure what my options are or even if I should be bugged. Maybe a family of twigs are building there and 40cm is adequate walking space, but I am sure its a laundry door, and there will certainly be no room to hang clothes up out there.

I could be making a mountain out of a molehill, but hey, I like mountains, the air is so clear on top.

The fact of the fat.

Published at July 26, 2007 in Weight, Television, food, State of the raph and Life. 0 Comments

I just watched a documentary that bought me to the verge of tears. It wasnt an overly sad documentary, but it did really hit home with me. The documentary was called FAT: What No One is Telling You. For those of you out there who havent met me, I am what is described as morbidly obese. I do not make excuses for this, the person responsible for my weight is me. It is my problem, but it is a real and serious problem. It could be easy to look at me and say that I have no discipline, that I just let myself go, and that all I need to do is watch what I eat. How I wish that it was true. My being overweight first started when I hit puberty. Before that, I was as skinny as a stick, but then slowly, a few extra kilos came on. At the age of 16, I went on my first diet. I had already reached my full height of 5 foot 8 inches, and weighed approximately 80 kilo. I lost 6 kilograms over 5 months. 12 months after that, I had put it back on, plus another seven kilo. This was the first bounce back of many that I have had over the years. Everytime I lose the weight, it comes back, and on top of that I gain another 10% or so. Part of me wonders, if I had never dieted, would I now still be 80 kilo, and just a little tubby but happy? Instead, I weigh somewhere around the 150 kilogram mark. I dont know exactly how much I weigh, as standard scales wont give me a reading.

My problem as such is that I have an eating disorder. My one real vice in life is food. If I get stressed, have a bout of depression (yes I have tried antidepressants, they just make me moody, and also make me put on more weight, which in turn makes me even more depressed) I turn to food. I am a tee totaller, I dont smoke, I do not do drugs. In my younger years, I did all of those to excess, yet have given up every single one of them. So I know that I do not lack willpower. Of course, it is easy to stop buying cigarettes, stop buying alcohol, and to stop buying any illicit chemicals, unfortunately cant stop buying food.

Every time I have sought medical help for my weight, I have been called a liar by the doctor. As the first thing they have always told me is that I must give up the alcohol. After I finally convince them that I do not drink alcohol AT ALL, EVER, they then tell me I must stop eating fast food. When I explain that I do not really eat fast food either and that at one stage it had been over two years since I had last eaten at a MacDonalds, they get really annoyed at me and tell me I must be lying to myself. I then explain that my issue isnt so much junk food, but too much normal food. I can, in a single sitting if stressed or depressed, eat more than a regular family of four would. I am not proud of this, in fact just thinking about it makes me incredibly sad. Which in turn, makes me crave food.

My last attempt at weight loss, I lost over 45 kilograms with the help of a strict diet and a personal trainer. I dropped down to just under 100 kilo. It all came back. Part of the problem is that any diet or weight loss regime feels like a punishment. Sure when I am thinner I do feel better, but it still feels like I am in jail or worse. The constant feeling is one of looking for a release. That the punishment will soon be over and then I will be able to reward myself with food.

I dont know what the solution is, but I do know I must do something. Whatever I do, it cannot be a “diet” per se, i will not bounce back again. I have informed all those around me that if I ever get so big as to not be able to leave the house, I do not want anyone bringing me food under any circumstances.

Right now, I am investigating the options of getting a lap band or bioenteric intragastic balloon in order to help me, but a great part of me, like Rocky in that documentary, feels like this could be a cop-out. Maybe it is, I dont know, but then again, it worked for Rocky. I have tried counseling, I have tried self regulation, I have tried medication. I will keep trying, I will not be complacent. I owe that much to myself, my friends and my family. Hopefully with some more research and some effort I will be able to solve my problem.

Heres hoping, and wish me luck.

Even more TV!

Published at July 24, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

This is just a quick one, managed to get to see  2 pre-air pilots,  both of which are pretty good. I am fairly sure that both have been picked up but wouldn’t be able to tell you when they are going to air.

First one is called Reaper. Reaper is about a guy who, though pretty much a loser, has always had his parents let him get away with anything. He finds out why on his 21st birthday. Basically his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was born. The devil in turn wants Sam, our hero, to work for him as a bounty hunter,  collecting souls that have escaped hell.  The pilot is directed by Kevin Smith, and as you would expect from anything by Smith, the dialog is very witty and fast paced. I laughed out loud at much of the show, and I must also add that Ray Wise (who happens to be born on the same date as me!) plays the devil incredibly well. I am not sure if this show will hold me, it is definitely funny and if Smith remains the director, I am sure that I will be tuning in regularly.

Second pre-air is David Duchovny’s new show called Californication. Basic plot summary goes something like this. A writer (Duchovny) is in stuck in a weird place in his life. His incredibly popular book has been made into a movie that he hates. He can’t seem to write, he keeps sleeping with random women even though he desperately wants to get back together with his ex with whom he has had a daughter. His daughter is only twelve years old and just starting to get into the things that all parents are scared their daughters are going to get into.

On paper, this show does not look like it is the sort of show that would pique my interest, and to be honest, I only watched it on the promise of seeing Madeline Zima, who played little Grace Sheffield in The Nanny naked. However, I was quite surprised. As well as having much more nudity and swearing than nearly any show I have ever seen come out of the US, this show really holds its own.

I also give it quote of the year so far for when Duchovny tells someone “Now, you’re giving me that look, right now, the look like i finger-banged your cat.”  

My Miami Vices.

Published at July 24, 2007 in Television. 0 Comments

I don’t often spruik the entertainment value of television shows. When I do, it tends to be shows that have really caught me. In the past, such shows have included Firefly, Babylon 5, Heroes and the like. But for a change, I now find myself pointing people in the direction of two new shows that dont have a geek edge to them, well, one of them has Bruce Campbell in it so maybe a little geeky. What they do have in common is that they are both based in Miami, Florida. They also both feature an internal monologue of the lead protagonist. This is something that can often be a major failure but in these instances, it is done very very well.

The first show, now about to start its second season is called Dexter. Dexter is a forensics expert specialising in blood spatter. He works for the Miami police, his sister is also an up and coming police officer. Oh and did I mention, he also happens to be a serial killer?

Dexters internal monologues show us how he has learned to follow a code set by his foster father in his killings. He only kills those that he believes deserve it. Series one follows the first in a series of books by Jeff Lindsay called ‘Darkly Dreamin Dexter’ which sees Dexter matching wits with another serial killer who knows how to get inside Dexter’s head. I wont spoil the plotline any further, but it is well worth a watch. The way this series portrays  how a serial killer with no real sense of being human, has learned to interact with the world, is done very well.

I have just managed to catch a pre-air release of the first two episodes of season two. Though these go off-book, which was a worry to many fans, the series writers have managed to keep the same feel as the first season, yet also expand it in ways that are very entertaining. I look forward to seeing the rest of the season when it airs in later in the year.

The next show I am going to talk about is called Burn Notice. Michael Westen, the main protagonist in Burn Notice, is to my thinking the new MacGyver. Burn Notice is the tale of a top level spy, who while on a mission gets a ‘burn notice’ meaning he is burned as far as being a spy, no agency will help him, nor can he get any new work. On top of all that, he is now stuck in Florida with the FBI watching him. The only people he can get to help him are his ex-girlfriend, who also happens to be an IRA agent and a retired buddy (BRUCE CAMPBELL!!!) who in order to save his pension is feeding the FBI information. Oh, Miami also happens to be where Michaels mother lives, so she is always going to be giving him hell.

This show really works well. It strikes the right balance between action, drama and humour to really entertain. Only four episodes in, and I know that I am going to keep wanting more.

How to lose trust and irritate people.

Published at July 22, 2007 in politics. 0 Comments

So in Queensland, rotting in a jail cell, even though bail has been granted, we have one Mohamed Haneef. Now let me be candid, I generally dont have much sympathy for anyone named Mohamed, I am a firm believer that people should on reasonable suspicion be allowed to be detained, and I am certainly a proponent of better immigration control. This is not to say I think we should let less people in, nor do I think that we should judge who can come in based on race or even religion. I’m more for picking and choosing based on someones ability to abide, integrate and contribute to our already rich and diverse culture, rather than trying to remain conspicuously only within their own. For example, I dont care if where you come from, women are considered to be little more than property, if you come to Australia, you cannot continue to beat your wife. Also, if you think our women dress too provocatively, learn to deal with it. You came here, we did not bring this to you.

But I digress, I was talking about Dr. Haneef. Yes, he is a real doctor (unlike Dr Tran)  He is, in fact, the very type of immigrant we need to encourage in this country, especially given our shortage of medical professionals. I do acknowledge that maybe he helped out suspected terrorists in London, and perhaps he is part of a radical terrorist group, except for one thing. We have no evidence of this.

See apparently, an old mobile phone sim card of his, was used to  detonate a failed car bomb over in good old England. This was the cornerstone of the case produced by the Australian Federal Police force (AFP) in order to keep him locked up. Despite the fact that he had been in Australia for over a year, despite the fact that all he had done was lend his cousin a phone sim, as  he would no longer be able to use it himself. The very best charge that the AFP could come up with, after detaining Mohamed for twelve days, yes twelve days to go through his home, his computer and liaise with UK police, was ‘reckless support of a terrorist organisation’. The AFP was essentially alleging that Mohamed had ‘recklessly’ given his cousin a SIM card, which was then used in the perpetration of a terrorist attack. To me, recklessly giving someone a SIM, would perhaps mean handing it over while skydiving, or perhaps during a car chase.

But it gets better, after the charges were laid, bail was granted. Meaning that in theory Mohamed should be able to go back to his QLD home, perhaps continue working, or at least be free to contact his wife and newly born daughter. But no, after meeting with the AFP, the immigration minister, Kevin Andrews,  canceled Mohamed’s visa, meaning that should Mohamed leave the prison on bail, he would have to be moved to a immigration detention center, located in a different state. This would disadvantage him even further as it would mean his lawyers would have to catch a plane just to see him. Wisely they didnt post bail.

It is my opinion that the immigration minister overstepped his bounds here. An ongoing case, with nothing proved, and he cancels a visa purely in order to keep a prisoner in custody? They claim it is merely a coincidence and the minister is merely doing his job, but very few people seem to believe it.  The minister claims that the cancellation  of the visa is due to failure of a character test for immigrants  Justice Spender of the Federal Court of Australia has described the government’s argument that mere association with a suspected criminal means a non-citizen fails the character test for the purposes of his visa as “absolutely astounding”

This is further compounded with fresh evidence that  the AFP purposefully misrepresented the evidence regarding the SIM, in that it was not used as a detonating device, and was actually found with Mohamed cousin several days after the attempted bombing.

Please note, I am not saying that Mohamed Haneef is innocent. I do not know the man, nor do I have any desire to know him. What I am saying, is that if we want to attract high caliber immigrants, who have much needed skills, into this country, we need to ensure that we treat them with respect accorded. If they put their faith in our system and our laws, we need to ensure that anything we do to them using those laws is done with good faith, and transparently. Hell, if we need to keep them locked up, just because of a remote possibility they are a terrorist, then do so transparently. Do not fudge the evidence, do not create a case where it is not, call a spade a spade. At least then it does not seem like you are treating people like idiots. The public is informed and watching. We expect the ideal of innocent until proven guilty to be upheld. We want to know why you are doing what you are doing, and we dont like feeling as if we are being lied to.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - a review with no spoilers.

Published at July 22, 2007 in Literature. 0 Comments

Well, like everyone else on the planet, i was waiting with baited breath for the release of the latest, and final installment (apparently) of the Harry Potter series of books. So yesterday was the big day, thousands of people lined up to buy the book and by late morning I was racing with my beautiful girlfriend to be the first to finish this blockbuster novel. Having completed it, here is my review, with no spoilers. If you want to know who dies, lives, or who turns into a turnip (hey it could happen) then you should read the book yourself.

Right from the very start, the book launches into a frenzied scene, trying I imagine to get the reader on the edge of their seat. The scene setup in my opinion seems to be more written as a guideline for a movie script. I suspect that J.K Rowling is really over the whole Harry Potter legend. The characters dont feel as well rounded as they have in previous books, and in a lot of instances the dialog seems stilted and contrived. The heroic boy wizard and his friends come across as whingey and whiney.

Maybe its just me, but given the hype and buildup the book has received, and the major warning by J.K Rowling about character deaths, I was expecting more. In fact, after finishing it, I even feel a little cheated. I am sure the major fans will want to shoot down my opinion and tell me that it is a great work, and is written as it is to complete the heptology, but I’m not buying it.  With the money she has made on this series of books, I think us readers have every right to expect more.  Especially given her leaking of the idea that there will be deaths of some characters, after which some places even went to the lengths of hiring counselors to deal with the grief this might cause. Though I guess to be honest, I had a feeling it would be like this. I wasn’t overly enamoured with previous release, and really was just getting into this on the principle of finishing it. Ideally before everyone at work starts gushing or bitching about it on Monday morning.

So a quick summary:

High Points:

A little bit of history on the HP world, including much detail on Dumbledore and Potter

Some technical details on Magic that will have the fanbois drooling

Some excellently put together humour.

Lowpoints:

Too much action that gives it a feel like its written to be a big budget CGI film.

Dialog tends to feel contrived and stilted.

Considering the buildup on certain aspects, it fails to live up to the hype.

Is Facebook the new black?

Published at July 18, 2007 in The Internet.. 1 Comment

Well, I have gone and done it, I have created an account on Facebook.  Having previously held accounts on other social networking sites such as Orkut and also having shunned MySpace for being too noisy and blingy for my tastes (well lets face it, if youre over 30, you are probably too old for MySpace), I was certainly a little dubious. Lets face it, unless you are from Brazil, Orkut is just plain annoying. Its not that I have anything against Brazillians, in fact, I love it when my girlfriend has one. Its just that I dont actually know anyone from Brazil, and getting 10 friend requests a day from unknown people from there is a little tedious. Especially with the craptastic interface orkut has.

Facebook has a much much better UI than Orkut, its a lot less visually and thankfully aurally noisy than MySpace. As a friend of mine so succinctly put it -

“Its like MySpace, only for grownups.”

I must say that so far, I have rediscovered a few old friends, with whom I have had no communication with for years, I have had no friend requests from people I do not know, and the little add-ons for it (which are numerous) are both easy to install and just as easy to remove if you do not like them.

In general, it seems a great way to keep up with what friends and acquaintances are doing, and to let them know what you are doing. The UI is quick and friendly, allowing easy updates. They seem to have achieved a pretty good balance of getting a lot of info from and too you, without quite seeming over cluttered.

As a social networking site, that seems to be truly driven by real contacts as opposed to being a competetive “look how many friends I have!!!!!” deal, Facebook seems to be doing a lot of things right.

Heres hoping it continues to do so, and hopefully I will see those of you I know, on there sometime.

Awesome Indian

Published at July 17, 2007 in food. 1 Comment

Tonight the beautiful Rachel and myself went out for dinner at what I consider to be one of the best Indian restaurants in Melbourne. My friends Bed & K introduced me to it a while ago, and I must agree with them, the food at Bombay By Night is absolutely outstanding. We started out sharing 2 entrees, the onion bhajia and  the batatawada. Even Rachel who does not much like onio, really loved the bhajia. Then for mains, I had the lamb roghanjosh, Rachel had the chicken masala and we both had a garlic roti and basmati rice.

It is a sign of an excellent restaurant that even on a Tuesday night, they are quite full, and we were quite lucky it seems to have gotten a table without a booking as it was completely full up. As people were leaving, more people were crowding in.

The pricing there is reasonable, the service is impeccable, the atmosphere is great and the food is delicious. I heartily recommend it for excellent Indian fare.