Time of the Season

The Zombies did produce one of my favourite tracks of all time introduced to me via "Tour of Duty" soundtrack. The verse I do enjoy is from Time of the season is "It's the time of the season for loving".

It has only been a few months shy of 8 years, it was about time I did got hitched to the wonderful lady in my life, it was time for love to prosper. W Rose was proud that I had somewhat mellowed out from my darker past.

The ring was designed; the question was proposed, with an answer of a resounding yes. If I wasn't going to do it soon she would have taken actions into her own hands at any rate. Now the action is set for the day ahead, so that my kittehz will now longer be bastards as Lil Sis had politely pointed out :p .
The plans have been completed and ready to implement, yes we move fast the years of pent up question(s) of when just exploded in a frenzy of organization. I even purchased a new suit without hesitation.

To the heart of the post, how shall I recall the day with. Which time piece would be suitable for such an occasional. One that is fitting enough to replace the long lost 4th dimensional passing indicator that used to adorn my left wrist. To be totally blunt, help me to choose which watch, both have merits and cons to their construction and functionality.

As you may know, I do enjoy simplicity in things and most of all, that I invite quality into my life  as reflected by your good self :) .

Which creature of engineering shall mark the time of the season, the change of Som.

Watches in Question:

A	B

 

The C's of Friendship

The hallmark of a great diamond is classified by the characteristics of the 4 C's. Men and women throughout the ages of 'man' has valued this carbon substance for its beauty, its crystalline structure has funded wars and love. The way it reflect and refracts and exposes the nature of light. The diamonds ability and its resilience of its hardness, but yet just as fragile as a dandelion upon the wind. Diamonds natural beauty is formed from time, pressure and the correct circumstances.

For myself, one of the most precious natural gifts that I can receive from anyone, can also be classified by C's and it too is like a diamond, that being genuine friendship.

I have always valued friendship highly and have always gone out of my way for them when ever I can. There have been times that I have not provided the friendship that they may have required of me, and for that I do apologize for, but know that you are always with me. It was interesting that previously a few days prior a few people were mere strangers; through our conversations and stories, I can to understand what a friend was mostly about. Being Som, I just had to quanitfy and qualify it somehow.

The major thing that hit me was "Character', as a  friend we should appreciate their character, this is their essence and thus makes them interesting. Their character is composed of great things that we value, but also contains flaws that we may despise. Each one of us possess flaws and we shall and should never try to correct our friends' of theirs. We should provide advice and guidance if required but in the end of the day, it is their choice to do whatever so in their lives.

A great friend should have Courage to stand up and speak up when we are foolish, but be brave enough to stand by a friends decision. The mark of a great friend is their ability to be critical of us and also be willing to be criticized in return. Without blunt analysis, we can not grow. A friend should reflect and refract yourself, so you can view ones true self.

Comfort and Care is what a friend shall provide, the shelter of hope and sometimes bull dust that can wash away the tide of physical and emotional pains that the world that we perceive is dishing out to us. A friend shall only need to say a single word or phrase to make us break into hysterical laughter. A friend is my TARDIS, that can transcend time and space, allowing me to relive time lost.

The nurturing and growth of friendship can be hard at times. True friends will always stand by you during the hardest of time(s), but can easily be broken by a single word or action, liken to when a diamond is cleaved incorrectly.

There exist more numerous ways a friend can be described, for me you are a diamond. You are rare; and are all unique. You have characteristics and abilities that I admire; through yourselves, my life has been enriched. Like diamonds, the various friendships have generated wars and love, you reflect who I am. Without these I would have been a shell of a being. I thank you all for allowing me to share part of your lives.

Just like chocolate

Reaching into the assorted delight that we have come the love, the GAMSAT (UK) . I as usual picked up the not so popular centers.Contented with what I deserved, but still surprised that I couldn't at least get a nice tasty caramel, namely S3. Coming from a science based discipline, I was positively elevated by the prospects of high 70's to low 80's for that section, but alas not.I thought, in my humblest opinion that I had two cracker of an essays each, but I can only deduced that my handwriting was its downfall.Section 1 was easy to chew on, for I perceived that it was my weakest link, but came to be the best performance. For no preparations I still had a score that was valid to a minute degree of acceptance, but not the most competitive as I would like, so another tilt is in order.

S1: 57
S2: 54
S3: 52

Overall : 54

I will still maintain that the exam is not that difficult, compared to DSP and ADSP this is a walk in the park. Now that I know, I have the capacity to learn the Levin-Durbin algorithm derivation I can potentially do much better with some work towards preparation. I know that I answered correctly, just not the more correct answer. getting to know some of the material shall eliminate some of these uncertainties why an answer would be deemed more 'correct'.

The March 2011, will be my 2nd and last attempt, so I best make the most of it :). So a monkey like me can go and educate guess and still have a decent score, that is not so bad. In reference to my previous post, I have been entered into the 'Ignorant Fool' column.

E Oh Ess

It is peculiar that I can have any sense of well being and achievement in that of yet another end of semester (EOS)  has arrived.It is after all just like any other day, but due to some emotional release because of not having any more lectures for the rest of the calendar year is gratifying. These false euphoria of thinking that just beacuse the subject material is over with, I still am perplexed by the shear volume of information and the firehose that academia try to drown me under in called knowledge that my mind and to some extent the fibres within me are yet to digest, comprehend and understand.

So SWOTVAC my friend will you be so kind to provide me the time to ingest those material that were eloquently presented to me, or will you be the demon that will kick and prod me in the head and be sleep deprived. There is some self pressure to obtain 80% for and two of the toughest subjects within the program (DCS & ADSP) which will play a role in determining which honours class I could graduate with.

Speaking of graduating, the annual Griffith School of Engineering Graduands' dinner was absolutely AWESOME. I will say that I felt some pride in the 2010 cohort and very proud of the ECE guys and Tanya for running the dreaded ECE gauntlet. I only knew a dozen of the Civil 2010 cohort, so next year I will endeavour to befriend and expand the 30 or so I know of the 2011 cohort. A big pat on the back to the Kalman Filter signal guy, well deserved and your one up from the click per day MT extraordinaire for ECE Lecturer of the year 2010.Congrats to Dr Orla for receiving ECE Graduand of the year, because your an awesome friend and importantly you make me proud to tread your path.

The lectures are finished, no more, done and dusted. Now I must open the weir of information from the flood plains of material. Hopefully the El Nino of the semester has not dried and baked my mind into a state that will not let revision soak into my Sulci and allow that knowledge to penetrate into my memory and process their meanings; in lieu of what means this? Rote learning was never my forte for me, it is up to me to apply what have been laid bare before me, the jungle path cleared for me to explore. I just need to "Fizzle" up or otherwise it will be a case of "I don't live in Brisbane!".

At the moment the only real words to express the knowledge and information at times I considered toxic for this semester of the five subjects can be summed aptly by Poison.

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

We both lie silently still
in the dead of the night
Although we both lie close together
We feel miles apart inside

Was it something I said or something I did
Did my words not come out right
Though I tried not to hurt you
Though I tried
But I guess that's why they say

Burleigh Village People

The day started off like another day, waking up feeling unrefreshed, grumpy and frumpy. A passing glance in the mirror didn’t heighten the expectation of the day. I had developed a clear case of muffinotitis and on my way to auditioning as the next Michelin man. I don't really have any excuse not to exercise and look after myself, I have access to a great gym not including the treadmill and elliptical cross trainer at home.

For some reason whilst chatting about the Currumbin Eco village, we got sided tracked into a conversation regarding Kezzas, Gran doing Zumba classes. Now if an elderly lady can manage to go do some latin aerobics, be it to perve on the instructor surely I can muster up some motivation to renew and invigorate my aging body.

Usually at this stage I will try and come up with difficult ways to solve a problem, but remembering last nights episode of The Gruen Transfer (ABC) regarding their segment on direct marketing (infomercials), it got me thinking; what would a lazy person do. So what about Zumba I thought, or Windsor Pilates (no longer available in Australia) or the myriad of getting yourself into shape, abs like a Mars rover and only 3 payments of $19.90.

Not having that amount of cash to splash am a student after all, what else could I do, what do these things have in common. I figured it must be the people moving expertly and making you feel totally inadequate as you watch them on the idiot box. So what is so substantially different with these products and methods to prancing about on the telly compared to good old Aerobics Oz style. As far as I can tell the health kickee is mimicking a set of routines from a charismatic personality. The difference is the way it is presented to the public.

This difference of being hip and happening, presenting REAL stories and experiences by people just like me apparently, I never knew I was that much overweight or such a loser is the mainstay of these products. O.k am kinda sold on the idea, now which package should I warrant to invest my pool money with. Still taking the lazy easy path, Zumba is potentially a great way to dance my student induced lifestyle weight gain off. I can even do it the lab and if I'm lucky other people might join me instead of shunning and thinking am a nutter. So whats with all this dancing, its combining two things I have grown to distance myself from; dancing and exercise. Are there other dance your butt of programs I pondered. Thanks to the skills acquired from my laboratory sessions, I hit Google, a whole population  of dancing fitness videos are offered such as Hip Hop Abs, Belly dancing, even the 'So you think you can dance' franchise has gotten in on the act, there must be some dosh to be made.

If I am going to prance around my living room like a ding bat while watching the LCD TV listening to some douche telling me how good I am, I may as well watch a video clip. The Mount Isan new exercise phenomenon is born. Am going to dance my way to a Ghey-er body, with no down payment plan within ear shot.

How am I going to achieve this in the world of 8 min abs, by going back to the 80's. Back to the world of disco, bad taste, bad music, more cheesier jokes that I will ever come up with. My body will be transformed and transcend this pathetic shell by none other than the Village People. To be precise their music videos will. They have all of the formant of an infomercial fitness video package, music and bad dance routines projected proudly into my being.

The day began with one type of village people and concluded with another.

Happy Villaging

To Be

To Be

What ever you express in me is always dark.
I care not of your symbols or words.
Guide me to make your mark.
For your inner voice to be heard.
My resolve is precise and to the point.
Your meanings are dull through neglect.
Articulate me between your joints.
Erase me from your memory, trying to correct.
I linger on, I remain through the smear and the smudge.
Take me any position, tell me what you think
best for me to refrain, let you be the judge.
So whats your decision, me or the ink.

Plane, Train , Bus and GAMSAT

The heatwave(10 degrees Celsius) descended on to the city, its citizens scurry about like drunken nesting flying foxes. Their coats pulled tight against their bodies as the wind abrased the city streets. The echos of passing trams, couriers and the tides of taxis passed by me. Little regard is paid to the road regulations, red lights are invitations to sneak in through; the city's hook turns still baffles my mind. I gazed and wonder at the workings of the city, its buildings, the advertising that smack your senses as my vision darted from object to object. My destination loomed overhead, my attention locked on two small objects, hanging similar to a fire alarms as I cross the bitumen and the tram lines towards Southern Cross station.

Southern Cross station, the hub and junction of the city. Its tentacles of rail lines snake out into the outer suburbs; one of these, Caulfield - my destination. Laden like a packed mule and I probably looked like an ass, my purple environmental friendly bag in hand I traveled to Caulfield. Throngs of eager young and myself (not so young) gathered around at the base of the stairs, leading to the Rupert Clarke exam venue. The invigilator joked about how I was on top of the list, they were a nice lot; actually best I've ever had for any exam.

Running my eye over the Melbourne venue, I quick ascertain that 255 tables were setup.Lets see how much the exam might net, say $310 per candidate; holy smokes $79K not a bad effort. The population seemed to comprised of mainly Asian and sub-continental ethnic heritage. I set up my table with my usual paraphernalia and that last minute $10 watch from Big W (still have no idea where my Citizen is). Adjusted my position so that I was upright, did not want my parasympathetics to kick in during the exam.

Faces and expressions around the room ranged from excited to complete utter fear, I was in my usual meh mood. The usual spiel was given before S1 was about to commence. I placed my watch on the table, set at twelve o'clock, so that I can gauge where I should be in relation to the time elapsed. I took a breath and slowly turned the pages to check the exam paper and proceeded to read and understand the passage and its questions and their relevant answers before tackling the next set of questions. Knowing that S1 would be my Achilles heel, my strategy was to read for the understanding, what is the passage trying to convince me of, why are they using this tone etc, before moving onto the next passage while shuffling the previous out and repeating my analysis structure. I completed the section with 30 mins spare, spent another 10 checking questions I was iffy on. I relaxed and stretched for the extra 20 mins, I also knocked over a sharpener of the girl behind me as I carelessly stretched.

My writing has always been staggered, ideas are never fluid, most times my creative side is occluded. So lets bring on S2. The stimulus were on Competition and Political correctness, scribbled down a few main points and started off on "Competition of Humanity", this one took longer than I would have liked leaving 20mins for "Political Correctness in Society". By the end, I was pleased with my efforts, I just now need the assessors to understand my logic and flow.

During the lunch break I wolfed down the rest of my Tim Tams from the previous night. Other candidates were milling about, conversations started of on comparing answers to the previous 2 sections. Naturally the conversations gravitated towards the perverse section 3, the make or break for most Gamsateers and how it has always eluded them. I opened up my packet of MCAT flash cards, it was $5 how could I resist. I didn't learning anything knew from them, but I must say that I felt that they stimulated my sciences, it primed me for the material ahead.

Section 3, thundering across the room, its fine paper poised to cut me to shreds. I sat ready, I dove into my ordnance pack and found that my knowledge was bare, I will have to bring down this beast with my wits alone. In truth it was not that bad, the material that laid before me was presented in a logical manner. If one did not have a grounding in the area it was assessing, the theory and fundamentals were buried within the question and body of the text. I was surprised by the amount of definitions and simple formulae that was readily given. I used the question stem and additional information provided to work most of the questions to arrive at an approximate answer. Some of the material was heavy to plough through, it was worth it for me. A candidate that had a background in the biomedical sciences would have been sweet, as they would require less time to read the text passages. There were little tricks ACER did deliberately such as inverting the graph function, or having additional scales on the left hand side.

I will be honest and say that the UK GAMSAT was not as difficult from my own experiences, sure I should have studied but that was something that was never going to happen this semester. I did not find the day that draining, I am used to lengthy exams and all day lectures. I was satisfied that I completed very section where others said they had to do the bubble cha cha for 20 and 30 questions. The UK version may have different assessment criteria, I am only speculating. Where others whom have taken the March and previous Australian GAMSAT stated that the questions were the similar if not identical. I may have a false sense of achievement, I could be an ignorant idiot and a grand fool in the ways I answered the questions or I could just be lucky. Time will tell, in which side of the ledger I truly belong.

I took the Train, Bus and Plane home. I did wanted to elaborate more. I may edit this in the future, at this moment in time. MEH!




The Mount Isan.