Wow, 2 weeks.

So my last day of leave was on friday.
The weekend doesn’t count as I have those off all the time.
It’s been a short 2 weeks and a long one.
I’ve had 2 dates, I’ve slept in 9 times. I’ve had KFC once.
I’ve walked about 18km, had 3 blisters, stubbed at least 3 toes and been to the movies once.
But all in all I am rested.

And it was ever so sorely needed. It’s such an incomprehensible feeling to unwind. It’s been so long since I’ve done it. Those who know me more at work, I do work, all the time.
I think about it when I come home.
I work on my own projects, I try to blog, to work on my novel, design for clients,write new articles.
Cg-ideas, e-timpa.com, Contagious, flickr it all adds up.
And it piles up, I have ideas all the time and they just come one after the other. So I’ve slowed down.
I’ve spent most of the last 2 weeks relaxing, getting a normal nights sleep, and I seem to be sleeping better. We’ll find out Monday morning whether or not Im now waking up on a normal schedule.

It’s been an unusual couple of weeks. I’ve spoken to some old friends, been facebook found by some people I used to work with (who never spoke to me when we worked together, but feel the urge now). I’ve also been found by an old friend of my sisters, who alleges to have looked at profiles and recognised my photo.
Sorry to say kids, but 15 yr old Timps and almost 30yr old Timps don’t look alike.
People I went to school with later on haven’t recognised me now. But it’s all sand in the wind as to how she found me to say Hi.

I miss Liv though. She wasn’t here this weekend, so I stayed in alone. I woke up early to come talk to her but then remembered she wasn’t here. She’s the main reason I’m going to get my license. It’s been a long time, and a lot of hurdles along the way. Dealing with car accidents from the past, vision etc.
Optometrist sees nothing amiss, and I’ve been paying attention when out driving with friends. I’ll get some lessons and be on my way shortly. Driving will cut an hour each way off my travel to work, an increase in expenses, but two extra hours.
Which means if I still get up at the same time, I’m home 2 hours earlier. Which is 4-4:30. Which is afternoons with Liv. It means we can go out and away on the weekends. Sometimes we stay in because she doesn’t want to walk or even sit on my shoulders. So it will all be solved.
And if it comes down to the wire, I can deliver pizzas weeknights and odd weekends.

Another space shuttle launch is tomorrow morning at 7am our time. I’ll be here and tuned into NASA Tv to watch it live. Im hoping one day to go see a live launch at Cape Canaveral, and take liv. Give it 6 or 7 years and she’ll be old enough to hop a flight to the states for a holiday with Dad and to see a Shuttle lift off on a Saturn Class rocket.

The date mentioned……….oh so long ago on the blog.
Went well. We had a really good time and ended up spending a few hours talking and walking around southbank. Stopped off at Cold Rock and I had peppermint choc chip ice cream with m-m’s and caramello Koala. Yumm!

We’ve since seen each other twice, once for dinner at home (Devilled Sausages and rice) and we went and saw Indiana Jones on Thursday lunchtime ( a week and a bit ago). The movie outing was really brief but we had a quick chat there and while waiting for it to start. It’s nice to have an involved conversation and no pressure.
Everything is being stepped into and through slowly, we’ve had discussions about complicated pasts and other things we need to consider. Slow and steady.
We’re not going away anytime soon, plenty of time to develop what we have and if there’s anything more between us it will show up when it does.

In the blogosphere, it seems drama has struck. 3 of the blogs I read regularly have had massive dramas posted in the last 3 days. I’m keeping an eye out for some kind of problem I need to cause or be on the end of to blog about.

Money. Ka ching.
I’ve got a consult one afternoon next week to redevelop someone’s web presence completely. It could involve formatting PDF’s for online training, a user management system, and a whole host of other goodies. It’s a big project and I’m quoting on the heavy side. The best part is, the build is for someone who works with and knows both of my last two web projects who have raved about me. This all bodes well, as recent surveys have shown clients are considered about price, only as equally as communication with the designer.

And nicely timed…..My return to work is exactly 2 weeks off of 5 years.
5 entire years with the company, 6 jobs, 28 plane trips, 11 managers, more desks than I can count and 1 free phone. 5 years with the company nets you a $500 voucher at a select range of stores. I’ll be taking the card as a Coles Myer gift card which works at K-Mart and Target.
It’s already been ’spent’ on a heater, bookshelves for liv’s room, ironing board, socks, boxer shorts, new pots, crockery and some storage containers.
I’m not sure how much that will come to, but I might splurge on something wild for me with the rest…….. Or I’ll use it to buy groceries and save money out of the next pay.
Common sense……..or a reward for 5 years of service. Tough call.

28 Days later: Seen it.
Fight Club Definitive Edition: Seen it.
2 weeks leave flying by: didnt see it coming.

Phoenix has landed

Another wild and exciting day (and I query those who aren’t excited).
Phoenix has landed on the Mars polar surface 4 hours ago.

We’ve just sent a little robot all the way to mars and it’s started reporting back images.
The first black and white picture supplied has now been rendered into false colour by me and is visible here.

That’s all for today. I salute the many brilliant people responsible for this and the other mars landers.
Who could imagine, a 5 and a half metre piece of our technology, waits on the surface of mars(Phoenix can’t drive like spirit and opportunity can). With luck he will survive the  onset of winter and we can see the cap form.

The polar cap of Mars from right up close.
Seen it.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Almost 20 years have passed since the last Indiana Jones movie. Things were obviously thought to have ended. The last Crusade was a pretty specific title.

I went into the cinema with high expectations, I’ve seen the original two many many times, and the last crusade a lot. And the movie met all of them.
From the first appearance of the hat, to an iconic shadow, Indy was reintroduced as Indy, before we got to see that he was older than last time. It perfectly blended then with now and the dry cutting humour dropped in immediately.

The storyline, actions and camera movements felt just like the originals.
The exotic locations starred as much as Harrison Ford ever did and they continue to impress.
A close tight shot of Indy’s face, pull back slightly to show the fist fight, and a final longer shot showing them hurtling through the jungle. You feel instantly a part of the action and at the same time a distant observer, with some godlike viewpoint from afar.

Costumes and scenery were brilliant and every scene felt like it was from the late 60’s, from the background music to the cars and every person visible in the scenes. In some of the larger crowds I looked around briefly but didn’t see anyone well out of place.

Definite nods were made to his father and Marcus, neither of which survived into this film. (Let’s keep in mind, that 20 years later for Indy does place the movie in the late 60’s, and not in modern times. Indiana would be over 80 in this day and age).
Indy is aged as stated above and it is thrown into the mix of the movie. There are no “I’m too old for this” ala Lethal Weapon, but age references are made and at one point he misses his target and says “Wow, I thought that was closer”.

The effects were mostly seamless with some very specific nods to the originals. Some lighting in a scene was done in the old fashioned 70’s style with off camera flashes, and looked very retro. And there are some encounters that last only minutes before Indy knocks someone out. Never to be seen again.

The snake makes an appearance as always, and there is a brilliant moment where two characters look at one another and deliver the same line. This coupled with “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” pushed the movie from brilliantly executed to 100% on target.

After a 20 year hiatus, it is incredible to see Harrison slip straight back into the role (revising the rumours the character was heavily modified to suit him) and that Spielberg delivers exactly as he did previously.

There would have been a lot of discussion and re-watching of the originals.

The plot, while regarded as some as very over the top fits right in with Indiana Jones mythology. Real world objects and artifacts brought to life as something incredible.
Those of you who have seen the movie and doubted the plot, please think back to “Raiders of the lost Ark” when God himself destroyed the Germans attempting to wield his power. The bar has been set pretty high.

Special effects wise is brilliantly done. There are obvious shots where enormous matte paintings have been used and it all looks to be a part of the action, cg and model blending with real world shots works like a charm and a scene with a computer generated train won’t be picked by millions of cinema-goers. There are backgrounds filled with people int he right outfits, classic cars, street signs, lamps and billboards all from the right era. The lions share of the effects work wont even be noticed.
The over the top and obvious effects such as gunpowder flying magnetically through the air are gorgeous and make you feel a part of the fantasy world.

Audio is a whole extra sensory experience many movies miss. The iconic theme music is used at several moments and helps pick up the action and get the blood pumping. Sound effects work well and there were no distractions or silent objects. Music is the main driver and it fits in with each scene, bringing tension higher and helping push the emotions to ground.

Relationships are perfectly balanced and executed, being just like a 70’s movie. One moment all is fine, the next spite and anger, another moment and all is well. Characters are rich and 3 dimensional, but their interactions flow simply.

If you love summer blockbusters, action adventure films, or were one of the tens of millions of people who have enjoyed Indiana Jones for the last 35 years, then go see it now.
The hat, bullwhip and Marion all return a little more worn but almost exactly where we left them.

I can’t recommend this enough, I’ll definitley be seeing it again.

Timps out.