Author: Nathan Campbell
Just shoot me
This is a cool camera that takes the notion of a photoshoot pretty literally.
YouTube Tuesday: Steve Jobs should cut the adjectives
Why don’t we all pretend, for a moment, that it’s Tuesday – and not Thursday. Because you are a gracious readership.
Steve Jobs’ product launch speeches are truly superlative… or full of superlatives.
You’ve seen almost the same video before (here somewhere). Here’s the launch of the iPad. Reduced to adjectives.
How to promote yourself like Leonardo Da Vinci
I don’t think there’s a figure in history with talents as diverse as Leonardo Da Vinci’s. He was cool. A true renaissance man. If you require proof of this coolness – you need look no further than the fact that he has been featured in popular cultural texts as diverse as Ever After (the Cindarella Story) and Assassins Creed 2. Because his coolness is transcendent.
He was, it appears, an incredible self promoter. Here is a letter he sent to the Duke of Milan when he was thirty years old.
There are eleven points. You can read them all here. But my favourites are:
Where the operation of bombardment might fail, I would contrive catapults, mangonels, trabocchi, and other machines of marvellous efficacy and not in common use. And in short, according to the variety of cases, I can contrive various and endless means of offense and defense.
He was, it seems, a ninja.
I have means by secret and tortuous mines and ways, made without noise, to reach a designated spot, even if it were needed to pass under a trench or a river.
A ninja who made tanks.
I will make covered chariots, safe and unattackable, which, entering among the enemy with their artillery, there is no body of men so great but they would break them. And behind these, infantry could follow quite unhurt and without any hindrance.
It’s funny that Einstein is remembered for his contribution to weaponry though he set out to be a scientist – and Leonardo is remembered for his contribution to art though he set out to be a weapons developer.
Item number 11 on the list says:
I can carry out sculpture in marble, bronze, or clay, and also I can do in painting whatever may be done, as well as any other, be he who he may.
The promises even come with a satisfaction guarantee and demonstration…
“And if any of the above-named things seem to anyone to be impossible or not feasible, I am most ready to make the experiment in your park, or in whatever place may please your Excellency – to whom I comment myself with the utmost humility, etc.”
Clearly, in hindsight, he was both competent and capable. Which is probably the key to being successful. If you’re justone of these things without the other you’re doomed for failure.
Advanced guide to Espresso Production
Intelligentsia Coffee in the US is probably the world’s leading producer of quality coffee. It’s a big call. But their staff win all sorts of barista competitions.
Here’s a video that goes through all the basics of coffee production.
Espresso, Intelligentsia from Department of the 4th Dimension on Vimeo.
Via Davidould.net and CafeDave.
A new category is born
I suspect I’ll blog a fair bit about college this year. Given that it’s what I’ll predominantly be thinking about. So it seems fitting to have a College category.
For the record – I’m enrolled in a Masters of Divinity at the Queensland Theological College. Which is based at Emmanuel College at the University of Queensland.
I’m a Presbyterian Candidate which means I also have to study a bunch of subjects like church polity and the Westminster Confession.
Fun times.
Watch your Biblical language
Today’s mission is to learn the (biblical) Hebrew Alphabet. It looks a little something like this (from right to left as is its wont):
I’m told this website is pretty helpful.
I have already learned the (biblical) Greek Alphabet. Which looks a little something like this.
I have a feeling that my learning style is blogging.
3,000
About five posts ago I hit the 3,000 mark. This is my 3,005th post. I have 6,009 comments. That’s a pretty consistent two comment per post ratio. Thanks for taking part commenters. Lurkers – you get nothing.
Secret network costs book publishers billions
There’s a big furore going on over the cost of eBooks now that Apple has entered the marketplace. Amazon is fighting a big publisher, Apple is wanting to charge $15 a book. It’s the neverending story.
Ebooks present all sorts of opportunities for pirates – and new law suit opportunities for publishers and distributors.
But there’s a more serious game afoot that is costing publishers billions in lost book sale revenues every year.
Apparently there are these buildings operating in most cities where you can just borrow these books for free.
These so called “libraries” are running right under our noses – often under the auspices of governments. What’s with that. This blogger has a calculation of the loss publishers face (in the US alone) if these organisations are able to continue unchecked.
Go To Hellman has computed that publishers could be losing sales opportunities totaling over $100 Billion per year, losses which extend back to at least the year 2000. These lost sales dwarf the online piracy reported yesterday, and indeed, even the global book publishing business itself.
iPhone Tethering
Is a wonderful thing that thanks to 3’s paucity of regional coverage I have not been able to enjoy. Until now.
Hottest 100 things to do in Townsville
Here’s the list. As promised. There are a lot of food related items. Apart from item number one they are not yet in order of quality. I will be putting these together as posts with pictures and stuff – probably on a separate blog.
My definition of Townsville is the same as Tourism Queensland’s – it includes everything north to Mission Beach, west to Charters Towers and south to the Burdekin.
So, Townsvillians – do you have anything to add or subtract?
I guess that I should state, for the record, that I enjoyed many of these experiences either free of charge or at a significant discount. That did not guarantee them a place on the list – I left a few things off.
- Orpheus Island
- Kopi Luwak at the Heritage Tea Rooms
- Barefoot Art Food Wine, Magnetic Island
- Steaks at the Watermark
- Yiros at WhiteBlue
- Yiros from the Souvlaki Bar on Gregory Street
- The view from Castle Hill
- The Strand
- Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island
- Breakfast with the Koalas, Bungalow Bay, Magnetic Island
- Cinnamon Donuts white fudge sauce and Turkish Delight at Betty Blue
- Breakfast at the C Bar on the Strand
- Flying in the Tiger Moth with Fly Scenic
- Reef HQ Aquarium – the search for Minty
- Beer at the Brewery
- Sport on the Strand
- Indoor Soccer at Willows ISA
- Wallaman Falls
- Duck at A Touch of Salt
- Build Your Own Burger at Cactus Jacks
- The Hill at a Cowboys Game
- Watching Robbie Fowler at a Fury Game
- The Australian Festival of Chamber Music
- Crumbed Steak at Molly Malones
- Hidden Valley Cabins
- Eggs Benedict with Doorstop Toast at Betty Blue’s
- Sunset beers at the C-Bar
- Swimming at Riverway
- Barbeque breakfast on The Strand
- Coffee from Coffee Dominion
- Coffee school at Coffee Dominion
- Steak at the Brewery
- Greek Fest
- Swim at Crystal Creek
- Alligator Creek
- The view from Mount Stuart
- Steak at Southbank Grill
- Stretch Jeep tour of Magnetic Island
- Gelati from Juliettes
- Mango Icecream from Frosty Mango
- Platypus Tour at Hidden Valley Cabins
- Hiring a moke on Magnetic Island
- Butter Chicken from Masala Indian
- Walk up Castle Hill
- Radical Bay Magnetic Island
- The science room in the Museum of Tropical Queensland
- Billabong Sanctuary
- Stay in a waterfront apartment at One Bright Point – Magnetic Island
- Bushwalk on Hinchinbrook – the pansy version
- Fishing at Hinchinbrook Island
- Waterfall tour – Jourama, Wallaman, Mungalli, etc
- Hang out by the horizon pool at Elandra, Mission Beach
- Meat Pies from Pukka Pies
- V8s in July
- Paronella Park tour
- Watching airforce practice
- Ghosts of Gold Tour – Charters Towers
- Indoor Paintball
- Banana Thickshake at BP Cluden
- Twisty Greek donut things at the Greek Festival
- Dinner at Peppers Bue on Blue, Magnetic Island
- Biking around the Ross River
- Biking around Anderson Park
- The maze and herb garden at the Queens Gardens
- Jetski tours of Dunk Island
- Boat around Magnetic Island
- Sailing on a tall ship around Magnetic Island
- Fishing at the reef
- Venus Gold Battery at Charters Towers
- Sunrise on the beach at Lucinda
- Birdwatching at Tyto Wetlands with John Young
- Snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef
- Forts Walk Magnetic Island
- Sunset at West Point, Magnetic Island
- Barramundi Farm
- North Queensland Tourism Awards
- Sleepover at ReefHq
- Water park on the Strand
- Mudbrick Manor Cardwell
- Camping at Bluewater
- Camping at Broadwater National Park
- Rockslide at Crystal Creek
- Swimming at the Secret Spot – Paluma
- Lunch by the Marina in Anzac Park
- Mariams Thai
- Fish and Chips at the Strand
- Michels on Palmer Street
- Feeding the birds at Bungalow Bay
- Groovin the Moo
- Catch a DanceNorth production
- Poffertjes at Lukabean
- Go to the theatre with Tropic Sun
- Get some culture at the Civic Theatre
- See a show at Riverway
- Stay in a treehouse room at Hinchinbrook Island
- Cooking school at De Studi
- Visit an art exhibition at Pinnacles at Riverway or the Perc Tucker Gallery on Flinders Street
- The Great Tropical Drive
- Cocktails at Cactus Jacks Skybar
- Sang Choy Bow at Benny’s Hot Wok
All quiet
Thanks to some helpful friends we’re almost settled in to our new place.
Today was full of paperwork. Centrelink is painful. We spent 3 hours in the line and the waiting area.
We checked out the college, I watched a recording of Manchester United beating Arsenal, we bought some pot plants and had dinner with my folks… and we are internetless at home currently. So you’ll have to excuse the slow posting over the next few days.
Why you shouldn’t drink bottled water afterall
Bottled water is for dummies. Anybody who has held a bottle of Evian up to a mirror knows that. It’s a joke perpetrated and perpetuated on us by the major softdrink labels – for whom it represents a license to print money.
If you buy bottled water (and I do) for any reason other than the fact that it’s a hot day, the water is cold, and softdrink is sugary and bad for your teeth, then you should check out this infographic.
If you live in that Australian town that banned bottled water (or Magnetic Island) then you should read this graph so that you have great statistics to use in your next argument.
Presented by Online Education
Best. Infographic. Ever.
The heading is only true if you’re a teenage boy and obsessed with passing gas and want to know more about your flatulence. I learned new things.
Source: Online Education
How to not be very good at Facebook
A comprehensive guide to how to be bad at Facebook. If you’re one of these people you may have lots of Facebook friends but the number who think of you as a real life friend is probably decreasing. From the Oatmeal (where else?) (thanks Ali).
This person will probably also correct you on your grammar.
This is me. But mostly about this blog.
