Badger Badger Badger

Badger Badger Badger

my kitchen.............

1st Lieutenant

Cop it - next nudge up to 1st lieutenant

Second shot is of the Combat Action Medal - 25,000 kills; fittingly earned in my highest scoring round as commander of 207. Sadly, the 207 still wasn't enough for the gold.

Well time for more BF2 screenshots!

Firstly, I am now 2nd lieutenant Fickstic.












Here is me copping arty












Here is my best round as insurgents. Note the
ratio of teamwork points to combat points













And here is me pwning everyone else

Ski Missions 2006

Has been a couple of weeks now, but photos going up of the Perisher trip.

After the Sunday morning drive down - checking in at the closest damn spot to the ski fields themselves. This is the Eiger Chalet - normally you can ski from door to the first of the lifts; the grass is coming through due to it being a particularly dodgy few weeks for snow.

Looking up from The Eiger - front valley of Perisher. The timber bridge is just at the bottom right of the pic.

Being a particularly dodgy skier, I spent a good chunk of day 1&2 on the front end of the mountain trying not to get blown over by a light breeze. Lessons were a beaut way to get some skillz up and finally get over onto the (marginally) more difficult stuff. Mid week the snow finally pounded down - visibility dropping to a few metres. Still rugged up - Monica waving just after the snowfall.

Getting up towards top of the mountain. Awesome views - this is just before pushing off into the powder and sinking about 2 foot down. Last night - the abs brilliant food at the White Spider restaurant, topped off with a few drinks and sticky date pudding.

t-shirts are boring...

Check out my Threadless Submission: Robots love you too



Hey!



Vote for my shirt!!



but dont be a tool like ekfud, give me a high score...



URL: http://www.threadless.com/submission/87114/Robots_love_you_too



Thanks!



P.S. I'm sure Threadless would be happy if you bought a tee too! ;)

More BF2 screenshots

First up, I got promoted to Sergant Major. And here's proof.













Here's me getting launched by arty. Fuck I hate arty...

























And here is me getting burnt by the end of round.

its so true...

Well I guess it's about time I post something, and what better than the contents of my BF2

screenshots directory.

First up, I have a few pics showing how frustrating the end of round can be.



















Enough to drive you insane I say! Now next up we have me copping my first 100+ round as MEC.


I can feel that Golden Scimitar coming my way.

Bloody Claymore Fest

Kran, explosives badge simply up as a taunt. Note the 2 tickets left. Caddies, for ref - this is one of the night time missions, with one of the clan dudes in a forklift.

I'm goin down to South BelAir...

Ok - cop it. Very vaguely rendered pics. Damn amusing character generator for South Park figures. Kran - apologies for the drunken view, but if I could add a donut to the pic instead, that would have been there. http://www.sp-studio.de/

BANNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

in a shock decision, i have been banned from gmail.

Just because Guns'n'Roses are shite is no reason to ban me for stating the obvious......

i think i will go home...


bastards.....

Thanks for the Memories

Quick memory lane tour of Saddam Hussein:

http://www.bushflash.com/thanks.html

Hitman:Blood Money

One of my favourite game series has been the Hitman franchise, since the sleeper classic of 2000 came out while at Uni. Following Hitman: Contracts (which, despite average reviews I actually liked), the new Hitman (Blood Money) was released for AU last Thurs. While not really a full review, here are a heap of general thoughts on the game having now played through on normal difficulty.

Compared to earlier installments, you have way more close combat options like pushing people over, headbutts, punching, human shield as well as throwing things like kitchen knifes or coins for distraction. The big thing here is in making the assassinations look like accidents (as with Contracts I suppose), but taken to a much higher level. Since discovery of an obviously killed person before you leave drops your rank down from silent assassin, as well as adding to the notoriety system and making you more likely to get recognised if you go for open slaughter. Use of chandeliers, rigged bbqs/stoves, or just pushing someone over a railing are far more valuable tools. In fact, to do the missions properly you may as well leave all of your guns at home and just take fibre wire and syringes.

Custom weapons are also cool - you have one of each class as your favourite (pistol, SMG, assault rifle, sniper, shotty). I took the silverballers and added extended clips, massive silencers, low velocity ammo, laser pointers, mounting rail and a scope. They look insanely riced up and cost about $1,000,000 fully assembled. The M4 was just crazy - basically adding similar (rails, silencer, forward pistol grip, laser, scope, barrel magazine, AP ammo). It looks like you are holding something the size of a car engine. Custom gear has some nice features too - like a foil lined case for smuggling the sniper rifle through x-ray machines.

Notoriety increases when you get noticed for messy/civilian kills. I got my notoriety up a bit high - you are more likely to get recognised by guards, but also civilians. There are even ingame cues like your face on newspapers. I am on the last major level and some tourist spots a paper, looks at me, points at me, says something like 'holy shit' and runs screaming from the building. I thought that was a nice touch. Unfortunately, the system is a little flawed - bribery/identity changes can be purchased post mission. While this setup is kind of cool, the amounts to be paid are always modest compared to your earnings so you are never really FORCED to live with high notoriety.

The combat AI against you is still pretty shit - they will still crowd bottlenecks and you can hose them with machine gun fire. The toughest combat I had in the entire game was when I had my cover blown at a Southern US redneck wedding - EVERY fucker on the level has a revolver or a shotty. Despite lots of drunken random potshots at alligators going on outside, a single pistol round indoors seemed to bring everyone on the level to my side.

Real kudos to some of the programmers - there was some fucking gold level design in there. Beaut casino level, some awesome clifftop mansion in full snow - has a glass floored spa which you can snipe the bottom out of. The heaven & hell nightclub, with toight angel & devil clothing. The mardi gras level they added in an extra game engine piece for - the streets generate a random crowd, so that there are 2000+ characters moving at the same time (according to the designer interview). Looks awesome when you are in amongst it.

I should also mention - this is probably not a game to burn a copy of; there are online profiles for uploading your times/scores when you complete maps. I am currently ranked 43rd globally for the aggregate score of cash earned/Silent Assassin/fastest time on the 4th mission. I don't rank very highly on the others... particularly the steam boat, which was getting awful frustrating to get rid of the entire gang without saving. So I brought my custom full-auto, belt fed, silenced, laser sight, scoped assault rifle and just killed all 200 people on the boat.

End sequence was actually a little surprising – not quite the finish I was expecting, but then the last mission is one that if you were given it first in the game without the lead up (and progressively more impossible missions) would have gone ‘fuck off – he can’t do that’. On the off chance you get the game – I found the ending satisfying because it was different to what was expected, and is worth playing through without knowing what is coming.

Definite thumbs up from me - but then as a fan of the series am probably a little biased.

Hitman: Blood Money Pics

Will be adding my own screenshots when possible - game looks pretty karse though.

RETRO WARNING

It has been brought to my attention that a certain startup company may be using 70s style branding. While no direct relationship exists between these businesses, the similarities are lurking...

I am (sort of) Famous!!

it appears that several tech/design blogs have posted pics of some work i did at Bluskycreative .
Its nice and all...but they fail to mention that i wasnt the only designer involved...and i dont own the design...meh.......as long as it generates hits for Autumnproducts.com.au i'm happy :)

http://fr.gizmodo.com/2006/05/26/un_portefeuille_design.html

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/stylish-injection-moulded-wallet

http://www.yankodesign.com/product_info.php?products_id=1138

Quote of the Day

17/5/2006: Why is Haji holding a garage door opener? He doesn't even have a garage...

3/3/2006: I bought an Ant Farm once. They didn't grow shit. I said "How about some celery! You fuckers don't farm, and if I pulled off your legs, you would look like snowmen."

1/3/2006: Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

6/2/2006: Whoever said anything is possible, never tried slamming a revolving door.

1/12/2005: "At my lemonade stand I used to give the first glass away free and charge five dollars for the second glass. The refill contained the antidote."

OMG!!....DC freakin rules!!

it seems that i have been caught in the clutches of the Dreamcast monster. I dug out my DC the other day...and it freakin rocks!........Chu Chu Rocket is sooooo addictive..and powerstone is a blast....just need to get my mits on Daytona and Shenmue and i'll be able to hold of on upgrading for at least 6months.....

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Rego

Ok - I fucked up. Having a vehicle rego that expired 2 weeks earlier, driving past RBTs on the Easter weekend was a mistake. The following fuck ups are based on the Tuesday after.

I bail from work and get a train to St Peters, which is where I was forced to leave my car after being booked on the weekend. Apart from random dodgy people asleep/drinking/spewing on the train that part wasn't actually that bad. I have yet to actually pay the $900 fine from the weekend though, but let's add that to the bill for the day as Part 1.

It is getting rather warm though when I walk over to the mechanic. Having identified my car from the lineup, he asks if it has been in an accident recently. I say wtf? and he lists about 5 things that won't actually stop the car moving, but really, really should be looked at. I pay the $29 and jump in the car to find something has in fact stopped it working. It seems they somehow managed to flatten a brand new battery while doing a rego check. I walk over to one of the mechanics and say my car won't start - he asks what it came in for. I say a rego check and he looks rather embarrassed. They jump it, but then I have to drive around for 20 min (still with no rego), until there is enough charge for me to park without needing to call for roadside assistance. This is the cheap part of the day with the pink slip for $29 (although they did flatten my battery and tell me that minor parts such as the engine may fall out).

I get only slightly lost dodging random utes on the way to Marrickville shopping centre. The RTA has about 40 people queued up in it. They refuse the application as they need a renewed green slip. Stinging, I hit the NRMA and run through the regulation questions - turbo? yes (add $)... Part 3 (Green Slip) $329. Getting rather depressed at this stage.

I go and requeue at the RTA. The woman in booth 5 eventually calls my number, but must have accidentally hit the button, as during my 5 metre walk she has gone to get a cup of tea. Meanwhile, people who have rocked up behind me are actually getting served. Getting rather irate at this point, I pay the $258 (part 4), and leave the shopping centre - I feel not safer, but slightly more comforted that amongst the dodgy traffic I am at least now legal and insured.

I finally navigate back to my place through peak hour traffic, drop the car and find mail to say my tax return is ready for signoff. They are only 2 blocks over, and I assume my battery is flat again so walk over. The little old lady asks me to sign here, here and....here; then flips to the $ page to show $158 (part 5). as a bill. I am thinking fair enough. I ask when the ATO is likely to send for it. She says no - that is is our bill. Then flips over to the actual return part - following non-PAYG work I now owe the ATO $1800. (Part 6).

Not including non-essentials for the day (like food); $900 + $29 + $329 + $258 + $158 + $1800 = $3474. I am pwnt.

Protesting is WEAK

After an almost 2 year gap - Double the Fist is being filmed for a second season in 2006.
The ABC produced dodgy-reality-Xtreme-satire has been described as a cross between The Goodies and Jackass, where each week Steve gives the team some kind of Xtreme task. Completion of said tasks earn the team members 'Fist' and the acclamation of the Xtreme community.

Recurring Segments
Letter of the Weak:
Steve reads out a letter he received during the week, and answers. All the letters in this segment are false. Steve is usually quite mean - most responses end with Steve yelling "You make me sick!" or "Don't ever watch this show again!"

What Was Weak?:
Reversed footage of Panda smashing something with a cricket bat. The viewer has five seconds to guess from the rubble what it was that Panda destroyed. Items include a garden gnome and an ostrich egg.

How Low Will You Go?:
Steve hits the streets of Australia to find how little money people need to be offered to do something disgusting. He will set out the challenge (such as drinking water drained from rubbish bins or eating five jars of mayonnaise in under an hour) and take bids. The person with the lowest bid can attempt the challenge, and if they succeed they get the money.

Watching the guy drink a jar of bin-juice is probably second in filth only to the pic that Caddies has posted.

Prepare to earn more Fist in 2006.

2006 Lamb advertising campaign

My fellow Australians,
The incidents of unAustralian behaviour over the past year was enough to make me choke on my lamb chops. And it was all down to one thing, not enough lamb.

For example, Australian models holidaying in Asia would get in a less trouble if they carried a couple of lamb chops in their handbags.

Lamb could have prevented the boofheads perpetrating violence on our beaches. It’s bloody hard to bash someone with a cutlet.

And we might not have lost The Ashes if our cricketers picked up lamb chops instead of mobile phones. Why on Earth did they dispatch lurid text messages to English trollops when plenty of Aussie sheilas would gladly target their middle stump?

Yet as mishaps spread across the land like bird flu through a Chinese chicken coop, what were we doing about it? Bugger all. It's time to remind ourselves of what lies at the core of our national identity: a lamb chop on a barbie.

Being Australian doesn’t mean you have to call the opposition captain a wanker even if he is. Or smother everything in tomato sauce ‘till it resembles an outpatient in a casualty ward. Or pull on a pair of budgie smugglers. I’d prefer you didn’t. And you don’t have to spend every Friday night on the piss ‘till your best friend looks like Elle MacPherson, throw up in the cab, then trip over the garden gnome before passing out on your front lawn.

In fact, to be as Australian as I am, don your apron--mine says, "Chop Gun"--whack some nice juicy lamb chops on the barbie, invite everyone over--if you can’t pronounce their name, just call them “mate”--and celebrate living in the best bloody country on Earth. So don’t be unAustralian. Serve lamb on Australia Day.

You know it makes sense, I’m Sam Kekovich.

Fickstic Gets Up

Since he is too damn lazy to post his own pics, below is Kran's promotion shot to First Sergeant. After a brilliant run in the last 200 of 20,000 points, he managed to get not only the basic pistol & knife badges, but the veteran knife on 19,998 points. Cutting it damn close - a worthy rank up.

Congrats Kran.













Below is the closest game ever seen in BF2.

i want!!

With all the talk among the gmail tools about
24" and 30" monitors i figured i would blow them all away and get this 6x24" array.........take that!!

холодный

Dear God, that was cold. Launch of the Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance service last night at the Minus 5 Ice bar above Lenin Bar Circular Quay. Themed as 'The coolest thing in online advertising'. Normally you cop 20-30 minutes in the freezer - extra respect to Andrew Reid who rotated through 3 groups of people coming through; having spent well over an hour in there.

Bonus points to the News Interactive analyst Kostya Blutarski - 'It feels like home', and promptly taking off all the gloves and warm gear.

You can see the beaut bar - everything (from the bar itself to the glasses you drink out of) are made of ice.

The supposed story of the Minus 5 concept:-

A few years ago two adventurous kiwis, Barry and Lenin, found themselves driving across Russia to meet up with a friend.As the day drew cooler and night descended upon the icy plains the car coughed, splutted, lurched and, with a billow of steam from under the hood, came to a rather untimely halt fully three hours from the next town.

Closer inspection from the intrepid twosome revealed a very slight radiator problem. In fact that the only thing missing was water. Hardly a major problem considering they were stuck in the ice and surrounded by snow.“We’ll melt some ice and gather the snow,” cheered Barry.

Lenin, the practical one of the two, removed the car door window to act as a magnifying glass. The plan was hatched. “We’ll sit it out during the night and when the sun comes up in the morning, melt the ice, use the water to fill the radiator and we’ll be off . . . simple as mud” smirked Barry who really never seemed to mind anything much except for the fact that his side of the car now had no window and was getting rapidly colder.

Hours passed and temperature dropped as they sat out the freezing night comforted by bags of crisps, one sandwich, their beers and a lone bottle of vodka.

Sometime after four in the morning – but not quite five – Lenin gasped, “it’s got to be well below zero!” as he tried another beer only to find it frozen solid.“Below zero?” Barry laughed “It’s bloody Minus 5.

The beers all frozen, pass me the Vodka, Lenin.”“Of course. The vodka. You want to hear a crazy idea Barry?”

Hence the minus 5° chain was established.