Note: not actually dead. Just very infrequently online, as work is super-busy and home internet is still "in progress" according to Netspace. I'm also getting ready for the CRC conference next week.

I bought a Livescribe pen after eyeing them off since February. What made me decide to buy one now? Mac OSX support, the ability to export audio in AAC format, and my 2009 research support funding not rolling over from year to year... I'll be using this to record many interviews and conference sessions over the next couple of years, so I will hopefully be using my support funding to pay for it.

For the uninitiated: it's a pen, with a built-in microphone and a small camera that helps it work out where it's writing on a page. You can record digital versions of all your notes, with audio linked to them. When you want to listen to the playback, just tap the written notes and listen from that point.

It can also do stereo recording with a microphone headset. While the files are obviously going to be larger, it's a nifty trick for filtering out background noise in busy recording environments: your brain is used to focusing on the sounds that are balanced between left and right (they come from the thing you're looking at), so it should help when several people are talking.

I have downloaded the Livescribe Desktop software, and will have a play with it tonight. If it all works as planned, I'll record seminars at the Social Media 2009 conference tomorrow. I should be able to put these online ("pencasting" :D ) so the world can see my messy handwriting, and listen to some interesting seminars.

I've just been asked to take part in a discussion panel at the CRC conference. Most of the people present will be industry, university and government partners (it's after most of the students have been sent home), and the panel will mainly be composed of industry people from places like Telstra Business. I'm the token student on the panel...

The panel is called 'Fibre to the Home' and is about the National Broadband Network. It's all about personal perspectives on the NBN, so my background is as a small business owner and a consumer.

I'd like to pick your brains, though - if anyone would like to put their futurist thinking cap on...

- What would you want to do with dramatically faster broadband?

- What do you think would change, from the things you currently do?

- What currently unavailable things would you like to do?

It's a brainstorming session. We know that work is underway to provide much better internet access in Australia. We know that government and big business are excited about it. We don't really know what consumers and small businesses would do with it.

I'm confident that people (particularly games developers) will find a way to use any available technology. I'd really like to speculate on what some of those new uses might be.

Three P's that are consuming most waking moments at the moment. And in the heat, I'm spending most of my moments awake.

We now have a working phone line in the new house, which I assume Netspace is responsible for - it's now been a week since I called about setting up a new connection. Unfortunately, the phone connection doesn't actually appear in our Netspace control panel, and so isn't available for me to relocate our broadband connection to...

Publishing:

I have corrections and updates for one and a half study guides (National Politics Units 3 & 4, and International Politics Unit 1). In the next few weeks, the remaining chapters for IntPol Unit 2 will arrive, and then there's an Economics guide due in December. Due to major changes to the course, the Economics book is being completely re-written for 2010. Judging by the number of tables and graphs in the current book, layout for the new version could take quite a bit of work.

I'm going home at lunchtime today to work on the Politics books. I could work from the air-conditioned comfort of my windowless box at RMIT as I'll be using my laptop. Unfortunately I need a proper mouse for InDesign, and mine has just run out of batteries... and I'm loathe to buy more rechargeable ones when there's a box of them at home.

Painting:

Three Ulthwé walkers, currently almost finished. I've been asked to add rare-earth magnets to all the possible weapons, so I still have a handful of weapons to finish painting today. I hope the house isn't too hot to paint in.

Four Imperial Guard tanks, assembled and ready for magnets in all the optional bits. I'd like to buy an airbrush to paint these with, as there are many more of them on the horizon. Unfortunately a decent double-action airbrush and compressor (reserve tank, pressure regulator, inline moisture trap) are likely to cost around $500, so I might have to paint them by hand.

PhD:

Literature review chapter has fallen by the wayside. I've gathered a bunch of articles to read through, but as it's not directly needed for any other tasks it's been put on hold at the moment. I still feel like there are dozens of articles that I need to track down, though I'm not sure if that feeling ever goes away.

There's a student conference for the CRC in December, up in Sydney. I'll be flying up early on the Tuesday morning, going to training workshops during the day, and presenting a poster the following day - and then flying home on the Wednesday evening.

I'm starting to wade through the paperwork for my Ethics Application, as I need approval before going any further with the research part of my project. Most of it should be pretty straightforward (while I'm dealing with people, I'm not trying to exploit them for anything) but there are many, many pages of forms to fill out. Most of it will feed into my Methods and Methodology chapter though, so it's still a useful exercise to do.


In non-work news, Sunday was our first wedding anniversary :) aeliel and I spent most of the day lounging around the house, and cooking or eating lots of good food. We've also started unpacking wedding presents that have been in storage for the last year, so it's like receiving them all over again, and actually getting to enjoy the gifts properly this time.

Some time soon we'll have a housewarming (once we have furniture for people to sit on, and fewer boxes full of stuff). Ye been warned!

Still packing.

I think we own too many clothes.

Considering becoming a nudist.

Painting weekend contained much painting (of houses, this time!). And pain, though I think that's necessary when spelling it out. I have several newly discovered muscles, all of which can clearly say "Ow!" when requested to move.

aeliel and I stayed at the lovely umbra_mentis's house on Friday and Saturday nights - replacing long drives back to Somerville with good company and good food. We had some help from Em (Saturday & Sunday morning), Wally (Saturday and half of Sunday) and Robyn (Saturday), and got a fair bit of work done.

Yesterday was a long, long day. aeliel and I got home after midnight, after painting for a little over thirteen hours. We still haven't finished everything, so I guess we'll move the furniture into the middle of each room... there are two wallpaper borders to go up, and a few rough patches to fix. Still, pretty good for two days of work. Borders will probably need to wait until we have extra hands to help - even if we hadn't been exhausted and needing to go home, I don't think the two of us could have put them up last night.

I still like painting, despite it eating my weekend. I think the rest of the house will gradually get some more colour over the years - like a big cherry blossom mural on the bedroom walls, 'cos we can :)

Thursday 22nd: Finish commission painting (Ulthwe Eldar), pack painting gear.

Friday 23rd: Start work on 2010 Study Guide layout. Stay in the city overnight.

Saturday 24th: Painting (Kensington). Stay in the city overnight.

Sunday 25th: Painting and wallpaper (Kensington). Head home to pack.

Monday 26th: Work on AMF paper.

Tuesday 27th: Disassemble desks and shelves. Pack clothes.

Wednesday 28th: Moving truck arrives in Somerville at 8am. Should be in Kensington around 11am. Unload, and reassemble furniture. Unpack things.

Thursday 29th: Unpack office stuff. Work on CRC conference abstract.

Friday 30th: Continue working on Study Guide layout.

So much to do, so little time to do it in.

Things I like:

Business Plan competition. Good fun, great experience - spontaneously forming a team of strangers, collaborating on the plan via wiki, and reaching the finals. We won a $1,000 encouragement award and Jason now has a proper business plan for TeachMeAnywhere, plus access to some legal support from one of the competition sponsors.

Painting (part the first). We played with sample pots of paint on Sunday, and have decided to only paint a few rooms before moving in - after cleaning the walls, the rest are fine. I like painting, despite the many, many jokes I've heard about painting things in 1:1 scale.

Spring. It's warm enough to wander around in a T-shirt, but not too hot to get any work done during the day. Plus, everything is nice and green in Somerville at the moment.

Things I'm not so keen on:

Connecting utilities and comparing plans. I've hopefully finished organising for electricity and gas in the new place. Phone and internet are a job for next week.

Phoning people (part of the point above). I spend my workdays (at home or RMIT) silently working at a computer or painting desk. I'd much rather fire off a quick email when I'm between other jobs, instead of trying my luck with call centres and automated menus.

Companies with useless websites. If your site amounts to "call this number for details" you just lost my business...

Today marks one year since Dad passed away.

Looking back, a great deal seems to have changed. I'm glad that each change has happened, but a little sad when I think of how much he's missed seeing. Maybe he's still keeping an eye on us, but we've missed sharing things with him.

My sister caught a train out to Somerville last night, and we had the whole family at home today - Mum, Bethany, Louise and I. It's been a quiet day, with lots of food involved: home-made yum cha for breakfast; pork and chicken for dinner. A day for remembering those who we have lost, and the heritage that we still carry.

I remember unwrapping plates of crackling pork and soy chicken in the Springvale Necropolis, helping Dad to lay out a meal at the graveside. We would pour glasses of tea and wine, and light incense at the grave. I would take a bundle of incense sticks around to each of the neighbouring graves - huge marble monuments, home to Chinese and Italian catholic families.

I used to leave incense in the flower-holder on each of the neighbouring graves. It seemed like the right thing to do, though many of them hadn't been tended in years. By the time I finished my walk, Dad would be starting to pack away the meal. Fruit and vegetables were left behind in the glass cabinet; tea and wine were poured into the ground. The meat would be wrapped up again and taken home, for the family to eat that night.

We didn't visit Springvale today, though I'd like to go back there soon. Mum has started a new shrine in the garden here - in the place where Dad used to burn offerings for his family. His ashes are here, and it seems better to remember him in the place he lived, rather than in a place that holds only sad memories. Today was a quiet day, but a good day for remembering.

War stories from GenCon are coming soon... the short version is that I had a fantastic time, and that despite all the pre-con problems things ran smoothly at the event. It was also busier than last year - I'm guessing there were about 12k people over the weekend.

I flew back to Melbourne early on Monday morning, and ran around organising things for the BPC presentation. This included picking up a suit, which I was measured up for last Saturday. The other team members found it amusing (and a little horrifying) when I explained that it was probably the third time I'd ever donned such a costume. Still, I think I did a decent job of impersonating a respectable member of the business world.

Plus, you know, I was the marketing guy on the team. So I think the judges were prepared to cut me a bit of slack on that front :)

We finished our powerpoint slides minutes before heading over to do the presentation, and arrived at Ernst & Young in enough time to put down our bags and launch directly into the pitch. A bit more prep time would have been nice, but everyone knew their material.

Our business plan was called TeachMeAnywhere.com - it's an online tutoring business for Mathematics and Science, using digital pens and online whiteboard software. The pens allow students and tutors to communicate diagrams and formulae, which you can't easily draw with a mouse. We're customising our own software (to create a multi-page workbook instead of a single-page whiteboard), and the business instigator has plenty of experience in the tutoring market through his current business.

Most of the pitch went well, but we had a technical disaster when trying to demonstrate the technology - when connecting to our missing team member (who was in Boston, staying up very late...) the pen didn't work at all. There was a backup plan available, but it highlighted an important point: that the technology is still in development. I hope that won't be the only impression that we left the judging panel with.

The judges had an impressive list of qualifications: senior partners at Ernst & Young; the Director of RMIT Vietnam; technology investors; strategic planning consultants. We didn't receive any questions about our market research or marketing plan, which were my main contributions. Hopefully that means I explained things clearly enough in the presentation. Instead, there were a few questions about business structure and legal issues (which will have valuable input into shaping the business), and a question on the technology itself.

Then I met up with Louise, and we headed home to recover from a hectic weekend. Neither of us have had more than three hours' sleep a night, over the last week. Sleep deprivation took its toll, Tuesday passed in a haze, and suddenly it's Wednesday night.

It has been a hell of a year. For good or bad, it has been a year of defining events and decisions, that will shape the years to come. One thing is certain: I'm definitely feeling older than I did this time last year...

Dad passed away last September, not quite two weeks after my birthday. Louise and I decided to move down to Somerville in the new year, as Mum was now on her own in a large, mostly empty house.

In November, Louise and I got married in Blackwood. I think that the reception was probably the last time we've been able to spend time with you lot in any significant numbers, as we've been pretty quiet since then. Thinking back on the day still makes me smile, so I think we did okay.

In January we moved out of North Melbourne after five years, and headed down to Somerville. Weeks later I started my PhD, and began commuting back into the city each week... So far it's been keeping me busy. It's also been fascinating to work in a research role, instead of orbiting around other people's projects.

Some time between June and August, aeliel and I bought an apartment in Kensington. It's not quite real yet, as we've only set foot inside it twice. However, next month the tenants will be moving out, and we'll finally be able to move in. I'm looking forward to living in the city again.

I don't know what the next year will hold. I'd like to think that it might involve things like spending more time with friends, getting back into training again, and rediscovering the secret to sleeping before 3am. If the past years are anything to go by, though, the only guarantee is that it will be a year marked by an ever-accelerating rate of change.

I have a pretty good idea of what tomorrow will be like, and a vague idea of where I'll be in a month. Beyond that, I'll just trust that all the change that's happened so far will help prepare me for whatever comes next.

While looking for an online version of an old White Dwarf magazine article, I found this: http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=67682

Someone posted links to my photo gallery, took credit for my work, and went fishing for compliments. When another person pointed out that he was plagiarising my painting, he claimed that his name was actually Ben Leong, and edited his posts to make it look like he signed off as "Ben."

How frikkin weird is that? It looks like he was later banned from the site for posting too much politics and anime-related spam.

I've never run into this sort of thing before...

On Saturday September 12th, I'm getting older. Significantly more than just one day older - it will be the start of a new decade, as I'm turning 30. To help me celebrate making it this far, I would love some company for lunch - after all, good food and good company are what the world is all about, right?

aeliel and I will be in the Flagstaff Gardens from 1pm onwards. Bring yourself, some food or drink to share, and a picnic blanket if you have one. The Queen Vic Markets are just across the road, and it's close to trains and trams. It's also a pretty kid-friendly area - something that's become necessary when planning these things over the last year or so :)

There's a PDF map of the gardens here (how old fashioned!), or via Google Maps here. We're planning to be in the Northwest corner, though we may send a couple of people over to the BBQ area if anyone wants to cook something for lunch.

Please let me know if you can make it - either by leaving a comment here, or via email. (Edit: or Facebook...)

(Rainy day plans may involve a lot of swearing; some form of sacrifice to the rain gods, and a dash for shelter wherever we can find it...)

Kinda busy this week - there will undoubtedly be a bit of lag on replying to emails, checking messages, etc.

Settlement for our house is happening today, and I spent yesterday chasing up last-minute problems with paperwork and finance. The vendor is charging penalty interest for the delay, so we'll try to get some money out of St George as the mistake was theirs. Right now, my bank account is empty.

The Business Plan entry is being assembled today, and is due by 9am tomorrow. We've spent the last three days on it, and have overhauled a lot of content. I have one more bit of industry research to write up, and then I'll spend the rest of the day working in InDesign.

Marketing brief and press release are also due tomorrow.

~320 pages of interview transcripts need to be read before the Small Business project meeting on Thursday. I'm putting my long train trips to use, looking for themes and quotes from the data.

Project summary for Small Business project also due on Thursday, for our progress report.

Briefing day for the Business Plan presentations is held at Ernst & Young on Monday 7th. I'm becoming the official "team leader" as I'm a full-time student. That also makes me the lead presenter, so I'll be fielding the majority of our questions.

30th Birthday is on Saturday 12th! Never have I felt older than in the past two months. Haven't organised anything yet - will try to wrangle something next week.

Business Plan presentation materials due by Friday 18th. These will need to be in earlier than that, as I won't be in town then...

In Brisbane for GenCon from Thursday 17th - Monday 21st. I'm running Warmachine demonstration games on Friday and Sunday, and playing in a timed tournament format on Saturday. Louise is running a freeform on Saturday afternoon. I forsee much Arkham Horror, cocktails and good beer during the evenings.

Business Plan presentation is from 3:15pm - 3:45pm, Monday 21st, followed by a media interview. We present to a panel of eight judges, all of whom are professional investors. Apparently I'm supposed to wear "corporate attire," though I don't actually own any such clothing.

I also need to re-book my flight back from Brisbane, as I'm currently due back in Melbourne after our presentation starts...

Bad: The bank (St George) claim to have never received the original copies of our FHOG application form. They also didn't mention this until yesterday; too late to get a replacement to them in time for settlement. This means they didn't approve the loan in time, and we will not be making settlement on the house today.

Good: Our conveyancer has rescheduled settlement for next Tuesday, and the mortgage broker has express-posted a new copy to the bank.

Bad: Currently waiting to hear back from the vendor about whether they'll charge penalty interest for the overdue payment. Two days doesn't sound like much, but interest charged on the cost of a house is painful - especially when we've tapped out our finances getting this far.

Good: My team made it through to the finals of the RMIT Business Plan Competition. We now have four days to revise and update the document. The finalists then give presentations on September 21st, which are used to determine the winners.

Bad: I'm not due to arrive back from Brisbane until 15min after our presentation starts. I need to find out whether I can re-schedule my Virgin Blue flight, or if I have to buy a new ticket... unfortunately I bought the cheapest ticket option, so all options are going to be expensive.

Good? I'd like to do some kind of birthday-ish thing next month, as my 30th conveniently falls on a Saturday. Organising something amongst the raw elemental chaos of the next few weeks will be a bit tricky, but I'll figure something out.

I'm beginning to realise why I've had so much trouble sleeping over the last two months.

Here's hoping we win the Business Plan competition :) I think my share of the prizemoney will go on medical bills and a bottle of Bushmills. Some time in 2010 I'd like to schedule in a quiet moment to lie down for a bit.

aeliel is making a double batch of chocolate cookies. I'm a little scared - so far the dough has beaten a food processor, hand mixer, and almost broken a wooden spoon in half.

Only time (and tasting) will tell just how many people it takes to get through the final product...

I recently finished a figure for the sci-fi game Infinity, and entered it into the Little Wars painting contest where it made the finals, but didn't place.

The figure is about 50mm tall. Compared to the other Infinity models, it's quite a large mech - most of the human figures are sculpted in "true 25mm" scale. I originally painted it in very cold colours, and then decided to go back and use much warmer whites and browns to contrast with the turquoise. I think this works much better with the warm colours on the base: rusty metal and yellowing grass.

Some old Eldar transfers were used to add some more detail on the flat surfaces, and I used a torn piece of sponge to put rust and paint chips onto the figure. The real trick is making the details small enough, so that a relatively small figure ends up looking like it could be huge...

I also played around with ink and varnish on the ammunition feed (which was tricky to pin in place, as it's barely wider than my smallest drillbit). Some of them were a bit strange (yellow ink is very highly pigmented...) but it's fun trying out some new techniques :-)

After almost a month of waiting and 40+ pages of supporting documentation, our mortgage application has finally been approved!

This means several things:

1. Aaaaarrrrgghh!
2. House!
3. Aaaaaarrrrrgggghhh!
4. Phew!

Settlement is on August 21st, and we'll also need to give the tenants 90 days notice to move out. While we'd like to move in as soon as humanly possible, having someone else pay the mortgage for a few months will be nice... If they want to move out earlier, though, then we're happy to move in faster.

For the curious, there's an archived realestate.com.au page with some photos here.

It's been a long month. Now that house-related things are moving again, it's time to get onto all the things that have been put on hold recently...

It's been ages since I posted photos of models in here. I've started painting figures for Alkemy - a French skirmish game that uses ~5-10 figures per side. I like the system, and love the figures. An English rulebook should be released at GenCon Indianapolis next month.



Larger versions are ( behind the cut )

I seem to spend a lot of time rushing about, doing the little things while waiting on Bigger Things to eventuate. Lately, a whole lot of little things have needed doing: sorting out identity documents, bank paperwork, dozens of application forms, credit history checks, and signing contracts.

If all goes well, aeliel and I have hopefully bought a house :)

Actually, it's a ground-floor apartment and not a standalone house. It has lots of room to fill with books, and space for my painting and aeliel's sewing (three bedrooms and a study), and it's close enough to ride to work. It's on Gatehouse Drive in Kensington, right next to the racecourse. I want to move in yesterday.

Now we just need to get our loan approved, which is proving trickier than expected. My income is a government CRC scholarship, untaxed and guaranteed until 2012. Unfortunately, virtually no bank will recognise it as a valid income stream: it'd be easier if I were earning less money from a job with a three-month contract, as it would be listed as "regular income."

We've now been given preapproval, and have to wait an unspecified amount of time while the application is processed. Hopefully that will happen soon, so we can sign off on it and breathe a sigh of relief - it's been a hectic fortnight since the property inspection, and a hell of a thing to coordinate while travelling interstate.

After that, it will still be at least 90 days before we can move in as the place has tenants at the moment. Still, at least that means they can make the first mortgage payments for us...