Inverted Reality

Silly Season

It's almost that time. Christmas and end of year. How did we get here so fast!?

Over the weekend, we set up the tree, the kids loved it, running around with elf and santa hats on, listening to festive music and decorating the tree. I took a load of photo's, as I do every year!

We also took the kids and in-laws in to town on the train to check out 'santaland' at myer, they seem to put on a pretty neat deal for the kids, we get some photos with santa, the kids play on the train and run around like... kids.

I still remember my first Christmas with Melissa and Sooty in our first house. Instead of kids it was the cat! Times change!

There's just so much happening right now. We are very close to handover of our new house which Dale Alcock are building for us: http://blogs.dalealcock.com.au/category/james-melissa-journey/ read all about it here. With this comes dealing with trades to get some finishing touches done, and of course, packing our rental up ready for the move!

I know 2012 is going to be an epic and busy year for us with sore backs and dirty hands no doubt.

My birthday tomorrow. Damn. 34 years old. It's hard to believe that exactly this time, half my life ago, I graduated from high school. I bet my computer teacher in school (who failed me a number of times for goofing around) would have never thought I'd now be managing a software team for a government department. HAH HAH HAH! Surprise Mr McCarthy!

I've really been loving my coffee lately (well, always), but more so lately, visiting the local roastery for some cupping sessions, talking with the guys there, learning more, roasting at home, enjoying coffee every day. Check out my coffee blog at http://thebeaningoflife.com/

Roll on December 2011!

motorbike

If you haven't figured it out. I'm slowly trying to restore my dads old 1974 Yamaha RD200 bike. It's a total mess.

http://rd200.com/

of course it has it's own site.

I've emailed some local bike dudes, and they think I'm mad, comparing the restoration to the restoration of a 1800's sunken ship. ffs.

To be honest, I'm sure I'll abort sometime soon. At this stage I'm just having fun pulling the thing apart! hahaha. Did I mention you just can't get parts for these things in Australia? rare.

RIP Steve Jobs

I don't know what to write, and don't feel like I have a lot to write, everyone has written so much already. I suppose all I can do is write about how I feel.

This morning I learned of Steve's passing. At first, as you do.. I thought it was a hoax. No. No hoax here. The likes of Leo Laporte and Chris Pirillo are already mid-live-stream talking about it. I was shocked.

How can I be shocked when we all knew Steve was sick? Maybe I thought he would pull through it all. Or is that the image he portrays? The guy that just pulls through. Is Steve too big for death?

My ride to work on the Vespa this morning was normal, I was smiling, thinking how awesome the day is, sunny, spring, nice.

When I learned of Steve's passing, I started to think about my life with Apple.

My first computer was an Apple IIc that mum brought home one day, I think 1986, I was about 9, in grade 4 of primary school, and was possibly the first kid in my primary school to hand in word-processed and printed (dot-matrix) home work! I thought it was the best thing ever, it took floppy disks, was quite integrated, just awesome. Eventually I got a joystick for it, and was playing games on it. Such fond memories of that machine. To think I sold it so I could buy an Amiga 500. *sigh*

Mum brought home a number of Apple machines, Mac plus, Mac SE, and others, until one day she came home with an IBM clone, what a banger. It was horrible. Things didn't change much, except we eventually had windows, it was a very long time until I returned to Apple. I'd have to say, when I started making enough money to buy my own.

Like many, I bought an iPod. Steve announced the iPod as an "ultra-portable" music player the size of a deck of playing cards. You can go anywhere with 1,000 songs in your pocket, and listen to those songs for 10hrs non-stop. Incredible right!? I must admit, I didn't jump on the bandwagon straight away, but it didn't take me long. I've had a number of iPods including mini's and nano's. I still have some of them, although now just use my iPhone 4 for music.

Steve's keynote announcing the iPod was interesting. The crowd at the event must have thought the guy was on crack talking about music. Apple was becoming a music company. What the?

Enough Apple history already…. I spent today moping around at work, watching Steve video's, watching twitter, reading web sites, posts, articles, watching live feeds, and so on. I will admit now, I didn't get much work done. I couldn't. It was an emotional day for me. Sure, I'd never met Steve, but I've been a big Apple fan for a long time, and just loved how the guy was so committed and such a visionary.

Last month when Steve stepped down as CEO and Tim Cook took over, I was worried. I was waiting to see what would happen with the company. Not much really. Nice. I'd wondered for years what would happen if Steve stepped down. The internet was full of "oh no, this is the end of Apple". Hardly. People said "it's cool, he's still there, he's on the board, all good" right? Sure, why not, I can dig that.

But now what? I have no doubt the legacy will carry on. Apple is a well-oiled machine with some of the finest, most talented humans on earth behind the beast that is. But you do have to wonder about the next technological break through's and industry headliners. Where once, the team could work closely with Steve, now they cannot. Even with Steve on leave, I'm sure they could have phoned him for advice, but no more.

I'm quite sad that Steve has passed, but at the same time, happy that he can now rest in peace. I know what it is like to lose someone to a terrible disease. Rest in peace Steve.

iPhone 4S

Loads of people having a sulk about no iPhone 5 today. Get over it.

The iPhone 4 is one of the best designed phones, ever. Ever held one in your hand? Seen the display?

Rock in the faster processor, bombed-out camera and some more software trickery, you've got a powerhouse for all your fave iOS apps.

I for one am pleased, my accessories will still fit the new iPhone 4S (Glif stand, olloclip 3-in-one lens, etc)

Will I upgrade to 4S? Maybe, maybe not, I usually skip the 2nd gen models (I'm a first gen kinda guy).

a day without coffee

What would I do without my daily coffee fix? This happened to me recently and let me tell you, it was almost like the world was coming to an end. It was a regular morning, I'd got up, flicked on the machine and went about getting the kids fed and ready for day-care while it warmed up. Made breakfast, packed the bags and the car. I usually brew just before walking out the door so I can have a fresh cup in the car on the way to my "daily grind" har har.

I approached the coffee machine only to find, uh oh, no beans left. WHAT!? how could I not have beans? Checked the pantry, none. argh. So in the car and down the freeway we went. Wife talking something something in one ear, kids singing, screaming and chanting in the other, meanwhile, I'm just thinking about how I'm going to get my coffee fix today. options options. I got to work, AAAH, phew, I have a coffee machine at work, no problem. Or so I thought.

I proceed to brew at work, but wait, there's no beans. I'm sure there was before the weekend!? Someone's maybe decided to take them for themself. *grumble* Before I know it, work tasks have taken over my mind, or at least, for a moment. Come 10am, something just isn't right, something smells. It's freshly brewed coffee. A bunch of smiley office folk are walking around the floor with piping hot, steamy, aromatic, freshly-brewed coffee. It's one of those smells you can relate to mums home cooking, a farm-house, the fruit and veg markets, or a lolly shop. Lets just say, it's unique, and I gotta have it. I stop for a moment and realise that I'm really not getting much work done, I've got to have a cup!

There's a number of roastery's around work, so I throw the jacket on and head for the lifts. The lift arrives "ding", aah, the sound of coffee. Or is it a lift? who cares. The doors open and my manager walks out "oh hi, I was just coming to see you, got five minutes?". Ummm "yeah sure", I say. Five minutes turns in to two hours. Dreams of morning coffee are over.

I escape the clutches of the boss and head back to my desk. I'm starving. Scoff lunch! Look at the clock 12:55pm. "bing" a calendar reminder pops up on my phone, meeting in five minutes in ground floor. NO! I jump in the lift, more smiley people with hot coffee. I wade through the staff on the ground floor (some also drinking coffee), I get to my meeting, half the people are drinking take-away coffee! I sigh, loudly. can this day get any worse? Headache starting.

Meetings are over, it's 3pm, I head upstairs, a co-worker asks if I'd like a coffee, he'd nipped out and bought a fresh bag of beans from the local shop. YES!! Off to the kitchen to brew! I was smiling ear to ear, and just desperate for a brew.

*enter the kitchen*, big sign above auto-espresso machine "out of order". WHY ME?

update shmuckdate

How crazy are things right now? building a house, work, kids, whoa.

I think I might consolidate some blogs / pages I write on, it's getting too hard.

Firstly, I'm not blogging gym/fitness stuff any more, it's too hard to keep up with. I'm still working out 3+ times a week. I stopped swimming and started lifting weights, but just last week renewed my swimming pass so I can start that again, even if it's once a week. I enjoy it.

I'm now a member of the "Health and Wellness Centre Committee" at work. This means I sit on a committee of people who run the gym in East Perth for the Department of Health and Department of Child Protection. There is three or four members from each dept. We maintain the gym, including the budget (equipment tracking, replacement, maintenance, etc), take feedback, promote health and fitness, etc. Will see how it goes! It's great to be involved with things, providing I have time!

I'm also a member of the Policy Reference Group at work, representing the Applications Directorate. Like I'm not busy enough! It's nice to be a part of this group which develops and forms policies for our org.

My motorcycle project is stalled http://rd200.com/ until I can unstick the engine which is really stuck. *sigh*

The Vespa is still ripping it up, despite a small accident on the fwy a few months ago with a 4WD which almost knocked me off. It's going well with the stainless pipe on it. sounds good, goes better. I really should get a new helmet though.

Our house build is going well! http://blogs.dalealcock.com.au/category/james-melissa-journey/ hopefully we will be in before Christmas!

The kids are growing so fast. Melissa graduated from uni and is now studying her Masters. We got a Thermomix (and it's awesome). I miss having broadband internet at home. We are eating Healthy (like Paleo). We finally bought a new DSLR camera.

I'm thinking about merging posts on some of my other sites in to this site and then closing those sites down, too much work to keep them all. Some haven't been updated in a year or more. http://kitchenmac.com/ http://cinemamac.com/ http://perthscooter.com/ http://leopardtricks.com/ http://fireflyhelicopter.com/ http://buyeyefi.com/ http://thebeaningoflife.com/ .. more?

Speaking of cleaning up, I should really trawl through my entire online presence and clean things up... urgh.

App Review - Thermomix HD for iOS

Vorwerk recently released their Thermomix iOS apps (iPhone and iPad) for recipes, shopping lists and instructional videos.

The app is based on the "My Way of Cooking" cookbook, which I own, and enjoy.

Because of this, I wasn't willing to pay for the full version of this application, and instead only downloaded the free "lite" version to try out.

Firstly, I manage a team of software developers for a government organisation and know a thing or two about apps. User Interface (UI), User Experience, Functionality, etc.

After installing the Thermomix app, I was impressed with the neat way of scrolling through the index of recipes, broken down by meal type. (sides, mains, deserts, etc). It is indeed pleasant to look at.

Then I opened a recipe, greeted by a lovely photo. The photography really is great. With the photo is an overview of the time to make the meal, portion size and a few other things. It took me a while to realize that I had to click the "show" button in the top right of the screen to actually get the directions and ingredients. OK, that's fine.

Then I hit "show".... And my hopes and dreams came crumbling down.

Let me explain..... I use my iPad a LOT in the kitchen. You stand it up like a recipe book and it's just brilliant. Most of the time I use Evernote which stores some of my recipe web clippings, or an actual recipe web page. Maybe even an email. It's so convenient!

What's wrong with the Thermomix app? One simple thing. You need to interact with the iPad to go to the next step in the prep of the meal. This is a big mistake in my book. I want everything in one screen. The ingredients AND the directions, all in plain sight, one screen. If I have food stuffs all over my hands, I would prefer to not have to touch my tablet. The iPad cleans very easily if you do have to touch it with messy hands, but imagine if I didn't have to at all?

The Thermomix app displays a massive picture of the meal, on every page that has a step. Cut that out, ditch it, it's not needed. Just show me a massive display of instructions. Or at least add a nice big view in to the interface. Call it "Chef View". You press a button and get massive font, everything in one place, nice.

I had this same feature on my Kitchen Mac http://www.kitchenmac.com/ and it was just brilliant. I could have my iPad or Mac on the island bench, be cooking on the other side of the kitchen and very easily just turn my head and see the next step from a distance. Amazing.

Therefore, I believe this new Thermomix app, at this stage, is nothing more than an application to 'browse' recipes. It really isn't much good for actually following a recipe as you cook in the kitchen.

I have no doubt that by either changing the UI for better views, or adding in a "chef view" button to give me an "overall look" at a recipe, this application will be one step closer to "killer".

UI aside, the videos are very professional and well presented, but have no subtitles or spoken dialog, expecting the viewer to just watch a meal be made. It's not too bad an idea, considering the language and localization that would be required if they were more complex. The video idea would be great if it had text / step instructions overlayed on the screen. eg "add 30g sugar" on the actual video for that step. This way, you can either watch the video to make the meal, OR follow the text directions.

Vorwerk could also really benefit from adding some more "social" integration. Allow the user to like or tweet what they are making from the app. It doesn't post the recipe to the social network, but it does let their friends and family know that they are cooking with the Thermomix right now. That has to be a win.

What about the ability to add photos of meals you have made? Or your own recipes?

This app could be so much more. It really is just a "magazine" at this time.

Great first effort, long way to go,

Cheers, James

Thermomix

Wow, talk about awesome, on the weekend, Graham and Barbara (Melissa's folks) gave us a brand spanking new Thermomix! (google it if you aren't sure).

Last night I cooked the first meal ever in it. Honey Soy Chicken, it turned out great! this morning, scrambled eggs.

Initial impressions. This thing is quality, easy, awesome. It's like having a chef do the work for me, it actually felt awkward initially, not being 'as involved' in the cooking process, it gave me time to do other things! This morning I put the eggs on, walked off, made espresso, set up my son with some cereal, cleaned the kitchen bench top, set the table, then served. Can't do that with a fry pan!

It's early days yet, so I wan't talk it up too much! heh, but I'm certainly excited.

I've put together some pickings from the 'everday' thermomix recipe book to try out this week. They include:

Butter Chicken, red thai chicken curry, snapper/trout di josie and beef strog

not to mention: coleslaw, pumpkin soup, vege stock concentrate, almond spread(butter) and mushroom sauce

I'll be posting my updates and pics, here, flickr, campl.us and twitter/FB.

gym Sat 27th Aug

On Saturday at Rucci's Gym I did:

Dead lift - 60x3, 90x3, 90x3
UDL - 65x10x2
Squat - 30x10, 35x10, 35x10, 35x10
Farmer Walk - 30kg 800m
Dumbell row - 27x10x3
Pushup - 10x2
Tricep Bench - 15x10x3

The Farmer walk down the street was absolutely killer. my neck and arms are buzzing today!

Fitness update

So yesterday at Rucci's Gym, I dead lift 100kg. It doesn't seem like much, and it's not, but my legs are really quite weak. The regular swimming has done very little for my main leg muscles, it's really been upper body (lats, etc). Sitting at a desk all day doesn't do much for legs either. Never the less, 100kg is three digits, and a milestone in my opinion. Especially considering two weeks ago I was starting with 40kgs. I also hit a PB of 50kg bench press. Again, doesn't seem like much, but on my way to benching by body weight.

Yesterday we primarily leg and core exercises. Squats and dead lifts. I've come to realise that I really need to focus on these two techniques in order to improve my core strength. As well as try to eat more, gain more weight, etc. I feel like I'm eating all day long. This paleo diet does very little for weight gain. I'm introducing dairy back in to my diet. It's not paleo, but it should help to gain weight. At this stage, only milk, and only in coffee's and protein shakes.

The Rucci's say that high-reps of squats is what I need, three sets of 10 or 12 reps. Hammer the CNS, release the testosterone and gain muscle where I need it most at this time.

What good are bicep curls and tricep dips if there's no core strength? What holds your body together? core.

I remember a few weeks ago, I did some basic bodyweight exercises which included 20 squats, 10 push ups, 20 walking lunges, 10 dumbbell rows, and a 30 sec plank. I could hardly move for a week afterwards. A week later, my first gym session with Dan and first experience with olympic weights (squats, deads, bench), again I couldn't move for a week. A couple of weeks later and I'm adapting to the pain and recovering faster.

This week I'll be focusing on squats, dead lifts and eating enough calories to put the weight training to good use. If I can gain 1kg a week body weight I'll be happy. If I get a spare tyre around my waist again I'll be mad.

This week I'm going to try to get Melissa (my wife) doing the bodyweight only exersises that crippled me for a week *grin*

Get Low.