Shoulder Angel's Deadjournal

Because he was asking for it.

2009-11-12T09:39:52Z

Shoulder Angel says: I broke Excel today
Shoulder Angel says: That was fun
Shoulder Angel says: I broke it more impressively yesterday though
Wormbo87 says: so you are the Master and it is the Slave?
Wormbo87 says: you two have a safe word right, so your antics dont get out of hand.
Wormbo87 says: and Excel is consenting to this right?
Shoulder Angel says: You've been drinking, haven't you?
Wormbo87 says: hardly
Shoulder Angel says: Uhuh
Shoulder Angel says: So you're being seedy while sober. I'm not sure that's an improvement.
Wormbo87 says: I'm not the one playing BDSM with Microsoft products. You can't judge me

.......
-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-11-11T16:00:00

2009-11-11T05:01:27Z

I broke the progress bar!

Well, fancy that. Apparently Excel doesn't like it when you paste 400-odd cells, and then it has to recalculate the entire 30MB spreadsheet. Oops.

-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-11-09T10:46:00

2009-11-08T23:48:03Z

Holy hell.

I was flicking through a camera catalogue while I waited for a report to run, and came across this one.

Fourteen thousand dollars?!?!? Is it, like, gold plated? That was nearly half my salary last year!

*gapes*
-Mmaster

EDIT: Oh, and that almost certainly doesn't cover the lens(es), so you're probably up for another couple of grand for a lens that does the machine justice... *shakes head*

"I want a unicorn, okay? I used to want a pony, but I've matured."

2009-11-06T12:33:05Z

This week has sucked.

So, instead, I shall tell you about horses.

Apparently Google Reader has decided that I am fascinated by horses.

I have had to remove "Tacky tack", "Shame in the Horse Show Ring", "I Hate Your Horse", and about ten others from its list of recommendations.

I'm guessing "Being female" is sufficient reason to have obviously always wanted a pony.

In fact, Google Reader, at no point in my history do I ever recall being fascinated by horses. You can stop now. Really. I honestly won't hold it against you.

-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-11-06T09:26:00

2009-11-05T22:28:50Z

Just in case you were wondering?

Yesterday's date was the 16th of April, 2009.

"That's the strength of the UTS Union! They're so powerful, they can change time!" -Adam (a guy Thomas knows)

-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-11-04T20:23:00

2009-11-04T09:46:02Z

Ooh! Bonus to my "My enrolment is screwed" saga! ...Well, less of an issue than the ITPS one, but still amusing.

I'm still on the old version of the course. This is giving me fewer and fewer options as I go along. Whatever.

Guess what I have in the way of options to complete my submajor?

Well, hmm. *looks at MyStudentAdmin* There's... Data Mining Algorithms (Notice how they cleverly used the same subject number to bypass sanity checks!). Or there's... Data Mining Algorithms. (Unless I want to take a Project, anyway... Yeah, no.) I was tossing up whether I wanted to do that subject or not. I guess that makes the decision for me, whether I like it or not.

Additionally, I found where eRequests are supposed to be filed. ...Too bad that visiting the page gives me a "Service Unavailable" message. WTF is with these time-limited websites, anyway? I thought a core tenet of the web was "Do stuff any time you like, because nobody has to be physically watching the transaction".

*grumbles*
-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-11-04T12:12:00

2009-11-04T01:13:26Z

This week's fail just keeps getting better. That assignment that's due Friday that I'd completed to a 10% level, because I'd thought it was worth that? It's actually worth 35%.

I probably shouldn't have checked this just before bed, because I then didn't get to sleep til after 1am, and woke up at 6:30.

So I'm tired, I'm stressed, I have a stomach ache, and I have work to do. Meanwhile, my head keeps hurting from the lack of sleep. Taking off my glasses helps, but then I can't actually see anything I'm supposed to be working on...

Grarggrgh.
-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-11-03T23:00:00

2009-11-03T12:03:04Z

Evidence of the total disconnect between the arts faculty and the rest of the universe.

Mm: I got told that my photos for assignment 4 were "Not Safe For Work".
Photography teacher: What's that mean?
Mm: .....

-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-11-02T21:01:00

2009-11-02T10:17:07Z

Hooray hooray.

My enrolment for next year is currently screwed. A while back, they dropped one of the core subjects of my course, replacing it with a free elective.

Unfortunately, they've changed the administration system. The new system doesn't seem to know of the change. It's going "Oh. You need ITPS. I can't give you ITPS. Oh well!". I guess I'll have to go fight with uni bureaucracy again, I suppose, when I have time. ...Alternatively, I'll need to figure out where they've hidden the e-Request system in the new website. Of course, submitting an eRequest tends to require you know what you want to do, and I really don't.

In other topics of fail, Connor's got issues. Like, really bad issues. I turned on his screen this evening to be greeted by a parade of "This program has had an error and must be shut down." messages. I rebooted, he got to the desktop, and then crashed. Not just a blue screen of death, oh no. A corrupted blue screen of death. The text was all overlaying itself at random lines. He is now going through a boot-crash cycle every few minutes while I download a Live CD to try and save my data.

...My father claims it's a conspiracy. "Windows 7 came out last week, so this is Microsoft trying to convince you to upgrade." ...Hmm.

I was intending on spending this evening doing my data mining assignment, but I got a little distracted. Oops. I'll probably do a bit before I go to bed. I really can't do much more for Connor at the moment than make sure that there's a backup of everything. I have too many other worries on my plate right now.

The question also becomes refresh or replace. Connor's pretty decrepit, but I don't really use him that much any more. Chris thinks I should just stick with Mike, who also barely gets used, but Mike can't make use of a lot of Connor's hardware, like the surround speakers and the tape deck, and Mike has very few USB ports, to boot (even compared to Connor).

Why me?
-Mmaster

EDIT: To add to the list of complaints, trying to type on Bianca has been doing strange things to my wrists. It got to the point where I had to strap both wrists this afternoon. The fact that I only have one actual wrist brace meant the other was tied with a double-wrapped handkerchief. I went a bit overboard on the one with the actual brace, though - when I realised that my hand was turning blue, I decided it was probably time to loosen it a little. In some ways, the handkerchief's probably better, because it's hard to make it into a tourniquet one handed.

In possibly more promising news, I think it's just a software problem with Connor - he stayed up for a couple of hours running off the Puppy Linux live CD I made while I copied the essential data from the C:/ drive onto my secondary drive. (People talk about Ubuntu live CDs, but unless things have changed, they're terribly slow to boot compared to Puppy. Ubuntu probably makes a better permanent operating system (more packages, for starters), but Puppy is nice if you just want a quick alternative for whatever reason - if nothing else, the installer's a quarter of the size for a full GUI interface.) There were a few strange occurrences, - windows disappeared into the aether, and at one point the screen turned entirely black except for the semi-unresponsive taskbar - but I have a feeling those were more from Linux being glitchy than the hardware failing in some fundamental fashion.
The "Possibly more promising" stems from the fact that the prospect of re-constructing Connor fills me with little-to-no enthusiasm. I've uninstalled the apps that I could stand to lose and he's still unstable, which means it's a program I actually want. A fresh install of Windows takes me days. (Though hopefully it would be less so, this time, because the media files can stay on their current drive.)

Why, yes. I do have an assignment to be writing. Whatever gave it away?

2009-10-31T06:05:31Z

Things I find too cute for words:

PIG! - http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2009/09/great-outdoors-contest-photography

When Chris saw this picture, he asked me if it was a pig. Largely, I think, because of the previous photo.
http://i.imgur.com/puu2Z.jpg
(Caption/credit: http://twitter.com/Salome/status/5046044732)
Response: http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/816901.html?thread=47964933

*squeals unashamedly*
-Mmaster

(PS: And to pre-empt you... http://xkcd.com/231/)

(PPS: More "WTF" than "squeal", but... http://filkertom.livejournal.com/1080410.html)

mmaster @ 2009-10-28T17:30:00

2009-10-28T06:36:22Z

...WTF.

EGG has forum medals, which are basically pieces of avatar flair identifying things you've done for the club. I have a bunch of them for being in the club's World Community Grid team, along with a couple of others.

This morning I was assigned a new one. "President Madagascar Bodyguard".

...I have no idea what this means. The description simply reads: "[CLASSIFIED], +30 points." The text as it was assigned to me is "Fulfilled requirements for this medal." No-one else has the badge.

I have a feeling that Phil assigned it to me by mistake. Otherwise, I'm taking part in a meme without knowing it? ...I is confused.

-Mmaster

grumbles

2009-10-27T12:35:31Z

Mum: Ah, the joys of share housing. Good practice for marriage!
Chris: I like that. I'll have to use it someday.
Mm: On who, exactly? It'd better not be me.
Chris: I'm sure I'll find someone.

-Mmaster

This is why our document QA process is working at an incredibly glacial pace.

2009-10-26T09:35:00Z

Patto: Mmm, sausages.
Brett: What?
Patto: I just got told that sausages are ready.
Semps: My sausage is always ready for you, Patto.
Patto: ...Thanks, Semps...

...This is typical of most SITP meetings...
-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-10-26T20:24:00

2009-10-26T09:25:24Z

I have obtained A Surprise For Anna.

...Don't ask me how much it cost me, I'm embarrassed to tell you.

-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-10-25T09:58:00

2009-10-24T23:02:37Z

Chat with Jeremy Allen (yirimyah)

Mm: I got terribly trashy CDs today :D
Mm: The best of Wham!, and the best of George Michael
Jeremy: oh awesome
Jeremy: wham must be fun
Mm: It is - it's what's playing at the moment, actually
Jeremy: can't say the same, i'm actually listening to gangster rap
Mm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7Y4F-UPGHw
Jeremy: i really like 1989-1998 in rap
Jeremy: ?what's the yt?
Mm: The Wham rap :p
Mm: I wish I was kidding
Jeremy: oh god
Jeremy: what is this
Mm: One of the tracks on the CD :P
Mm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wham_Rap!_(Enjoy_What_You_Do)
Jeremy: i think today's xkcd (http://xkcd.com/653/) is relevant
Mm: :D
Mm: I have a feeling my "So bad it's good" meter is a little skewiff from most of the populace
Mm: I dragged Stevie to see Twilight :D I gave him a pink fluffy tiara to wear
Jeremy: you're a bad person
Mm: It's hilarious
Mm: He came out of it saying, "If that's what girls want these days, no wonder I can't get a date!"
Jeremy: LOL
Jeremy: i think that would be funny even if i wasn't drinking vodka

-Mmaster

I got nothin'.

2009-10-22T03:21:59Z

SMS's from Chris teach me things.

For example, I never knew that "desauve" was an alternate spelling for "déjà vu".

...WTF?
-Mmaster

RAGE. RAAAAAAGE.

2009-10-21T12:00:14Z

Whoever invented data mining should be shot.

...Whoever invented buggy Java-based data mining software that just hangs instead of telling you what the Hell's gone wrong, and then never tells you how to fix it?

Yeah, you can be eaten slowly by lepers using only forks. They'll start with your eyeballs.

Goodnight.
-Mmaster

On why I no longer regularly purchase books.

2009-10-20T13:34:14Z

This morning I wandered into Basement Books. I noticed that they happened to have I Am Not Esther on sale for $2.
(Aside: My choice of purchase there may need a bit of explanation; one of the key books from my childhood was a short (probably 15 sentence) picture book by the same author. If anyone ever sees a copy of A Surprise For Anna by Fleur Beale available anywhere, buy it for me and I'll pay you back. Probably pay you more than you paid, even.)

Anyway, so I had this book. I read a few pages as I walked to the office, a few more during my lunch break, and a few more after work. ...I finished the entire novel before 7pm, on a day when I had a Hell of a lot of other stuff on.

Admittedly, it's only 150 pages of not terribly taxing content (it's a young adult novel, for starters), but still. If I'd paid full price for the book? I would not have been rapt.
(As another aside, this is why I picked up fantasy in primary school. Even I am unable to get through a 600 page tome in a single day. ...Unless I really work at it.)

-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-10-18T21:07:00

2009-10-18T11:37:35Z

Things I have ordered and am now waiting on:
* Khet: Tower Of Kadesh expansion; ordered from the UK a little over a month ago via surface mail. I expect to receive it in a month or so. ...Why are ships so slow?
* A Looney Labs order - Martian Fluxx, Chrononauts: The Gore Years, and a few other odds and ends; Ordered from the States: since it has a couple of pre-order items in there, the package will be shipped when they're released on the 23rd.
* Kill The Hippies for Thomas; I got sick of waiting for Games Paradise to be made of less fail and ordered it from Milsims in Melbourne. Will heard me say so, and said "You'll be waiting a while, they backorder everything." ...Sigh...

See, it's a good arrangement. None of them are likely to arrive while semester's still on, so when they do finally show up, they don't act as a distraction! ...No, it wasn't planning ahead.

Speaking of which, Chris has promised to buy me a copy of Scribblenauts when semester finishes. Again, with the "Lack of distraction" thing. ...Butbutbut Scribblenauts! D:

Bed time, I suppose.
-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-10-17T23:59:00

2009-10-17T13:34:26Z

Tonight was the EGG AGM.

They occasionally do events for Child's Play. They jumped at my suggestion that they have an event inspired by UWA's Charity Vigils. "We normally stay up anyway! Get people to pay us?!? Awesome!"

There you are, UCC. Your ideas are good. :p.
-Mmaster

P.S. Speaking of UCC, is it just me, or have you guys been having a bunch of connectivity issues? I read the Planet, and the flow of posts just... stops... on a fairly frequent basis, followed by a flood of posts when the system is reset (I assume).

mmaster @ 2009-10-17T10:44:00

2009-10-16T23:51:32Z

Am I the only one who confused Jordin Sparks' Battlefield with Pat Benatar's Love is a Battlefield?

...This is quite aside from the fact that if your relationship is a war, you're doing it wrong.

-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-10-16T09:23:00

2009-10-15T22:27:23Z

Mm: Thomas, what's your address, again?
Thomas: You went to my house the other day.
Mm: ...Yeah, but I didn't write it down...
Thomas: What kind of a stalker are you?
Mm: One that doesn't use Facebook?
Thomas: Your boyfriend uses Facebook. You don't know his password? What kind of stalker are you?
Mm: ...

-Mmaster

Yes, yes, I know. He's in design not IT. Still...

2009-10-12T00:29:39Z

Mm: The website you post our marks on isn't compatible with Linux.
Photography teacher: Oh. ...What's Linux?

...The other thing that keeps screwing me over is when they say "VisCom" (Visual Communications) I keep thinking they're saying "BisComp" (Business Computing). ...I am so very much not an arts student.

Now to go home and collapse, and hopefully come up with the answers my SITP group wants by 7pm.
-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-10-10T20:26:00

2009-10-10T09:28:17Z

Aww. In Hotmail, you're not allowed to mark emails coming direct from Microsoft as spam.

*pouts*
-Mmaster

mmaster @ 2009-10-08T23:30:00

2009-10-08T21:00:55Z

Thomas: I should get a washing machine... And as she goes to the bathroom, quietly slip a chain around her ankle so she can't escape.
Mm: ...I really should have seen that punchline coming well before I did.

-Mmaster