mathieutozer.com

The downside is that I'm too sensitive to things now. I can't go to a restaurant
and order food because I keep looking at the fonts on the menu. Five minutes
later I realize that it's also talking about food. If I had never thought about
computer typesetting, I might have had a happier life in some ways.

There's an interesting issue, though. Could you
possibly have a patent on a positive integer? It is
not inconceivable that if we took a million of the
greatest supercomputers today and set them going,
they could compute a certain 300-digit constant
that would solve any NP-hard problem by taking
the GCD of this constant with an input number, or
by some other funny combination. This integer
would require massive amounts of computation
time to find, and if you knew that integer, then you
could do all kinds of useful things. Now, is that
integer really discovered by man? Or is it something
that is God given? When we start thinking of complexity
issues, we have to change our viewpoint as
to what is in nature and what is invented.

Algorithms are inherently mathematical
things that should be as unpatentable
as the value of pi.

All Questions Answered
Donald Knuth

I
HATE
DRIVING
CARS
TRAFFIC
HEAT
SWEAT
TRAINS
TRAMS
PEDESTRIANS
ROAD WORKS
BAD RADIO RECEPTION
BOGAN TRACY BARTRAM ADS

Now that that's out of the system

I'm going to keep cleaning my room. Because I may never leave it again.

Carlo and I set off on a long ride on the Yarra last Saturday and ended up again at the Kew Studly Park Boathouse! We pigged out on food (including tea and scones) and rode back the way we came. Click to see a big image. Thanks Google Earth.

Sunday, after whacking my head against a Formal Methods II assignment, Carlo and I participated as 'Core Performers' in 'Hedge-mony' at the Melbourne museum.

A Beautiful Weekend

もう！あのサンドイッチ屋さんのケチなおばあさんきらい。だってもう一人のおばさんが優しくて、チキンいっぱいくれるけど今日作ってもらったおばあさんはすごい少ない量だった。まあ美味しかったけど。
I hate that stingey granny at the Sandwich bar! The other lady is nice, and gives me lots of chicken but the granny that made it for me today gave me hardly any. It was yummy though.

In case you haven't been counting (I know you haven't) this web page is in 4th generation. It's evolved over the past year and a bit.

In the beginning


Generation 1.

I forged my own html with dreamweaver. I wielded my tools as a novice to tap out this basic text page, which was originally in black and white.

I had no real idea of what I was going to put on there, but photos seemed to be the most popular. Then came gymnastics videos and study related material, then personal projects.
But I found that as content grew, making each new page and formatting it was laborious. I knew there was something called CSS out there but...

Finishing a course in web design, I had a few more tools at my disposal. I worked over the mid semester break and forged new templates. I released Generation 2 of my site.


Generation 2.

I battled CSS and templates for the main page, and for my uni notes. I started looking at web sites and picking them apart to see what made them tick.

How did they make their pages so beautiful. I used to wonder.

Remember this photo page?


I got used to updating the index page of G2 with something that interested me. Like other people did on their 'web sites'.

I'd had a blogger account for a while, but it was not in use. I had an angelfire photoblog too (wha? I know only me I think) Then it hit me one day. Actually it didn't hit me - I'd just been supressing it for a while (It's a common programmer ailment that attachment to ones code causes them not to see the truth that it's crap) The blog thing was exactly what I was doing manually anyway, so I decided to jump the fence and factored all my hard work over to blogger. A flurry of posts and everything was neatly in blogger. Now all I had to do was choose a style I liked and write content for it.

A long time, the black on white page reigned. People said they liked it. But I felt a little ashamed because I didn't make it. This was Generation 3.


Generation 3.

I liked it for a long while too. I added and removed things from the right column. I started many other blogs, and put uni notes on them, and I made some private blogs too for other projects. I found that because I didn't need to worry about getting my frames to display properly, I could just think about what to write. So I wrote more often. And I photoshopped too. And it was liberating that it didn't matter where I was anymore. I became more comfortable with the 'pie in the sky' concept.

I pretty much got basic CSS at some point (the concept of it in the blog framework), and changed some fonts around. I've always admired Wordpres's default blog style 'Kubrik' So I googled and found a copy/paste template for the blogger platform which is this theme you see before you, a similar theme called K2. Clearly I'm comfortable with cheating now.


Generation 4.

The ball had started. A flickr pro account set it off when I realised I didn't need to even chug up my server account with photos, I could have them offsite, forever, and just link them in.

I got addicted to RSS feeds on NetNewsWire and the amount I read really jumped.

Now I've discovered a real use for del.icio.us - as a link manager, it allows me to keep my links on the right of my site updated automatically.



All this (cringe) Web 2.0 stuff - mashing things together to make what you want. It's beautiful. And it's everywhere there's a networked computer. I'm utilising various large scale, powerful technologies and weaving them together into this site.

Part of me feels like a wuss for copping out of getting my hands dirty with the nitty gritty, but really, the end result is a lot more better than I could have done single handed, and besides it lets me get my hands dirty elsewhere.

Update I found an even older relic still online last updated June 22 04.

I've kind of given up on getting a network here. So I'm going to rely on the Newton.

I'm beat.
Last night was fun. After dinner I got ready and walked down to Darling Harbour, chatted to Carlo on the phone for about 40 minutes while he drove home. Dion invited me to hang out at Cargo Bar with him and his friends. Turned out to be quite 'model's inc'. We had a great time dancing and talking though. Felt pretty special when I went to line up and I was immediately handed a VIP entry card to get in through the exit.

The crowd was young, and again heaps of guys wearing shirts! (A Sydney thing).

Walked home and got to bed by about 2.

Another hot night. I haven't been sleeping under any sheets at all since getting to Sydney. I think it just this apartment. Comfortable though.

Got up and readied for the day's work. Arrived and greeted everyone, and pretty much bang we had our hair and make up on. Boys don't take very long so we were all done and had a lot of hanging about to do.

I thought we were starting at 2 but while I was waiting in line to get some food I get a call from Dion asking where am I because we're starting! So I race back and quickly change, since then I've been known as 'the lost boy'!

I was paranoid about being late again all day since that, so I hung pretty close and triple checked call times.

The walking is pretty easy, we're not doing any tricky stuff, and after the 2nd show which had the most changes I was complimented that I looked great out there, very professional looking, and that I was doing a good job. I needed the confidence boost! Because really you don't know whether what you're doing is ok or not. Especially when you're walking out there by yourself in nothing but a pair of briefs!

But there is a lot of time when there is nothing to do. Everyone is pretty genuinely lovely!

Came home and snoozed for a bit, and kind of at a loss about what to do. I think I'll go over to K-Mart to buy a book or something.

--

In the airport lounge after a snooze, waiting for a coffee and lamington.

I'm exhausted! Alcohol is EVIL! I think I'm going to have to learn to not drink at all or in moderation!

This is a damn pie kiosk so bear with me!

I'm in the emerald city (Sydney) for "Fashion Exposed" this week. Arrived
early on Thursday and spent the day at the Exhibition centre helping out.
Felt like a labourer in my worker vest!

Oporto Bondi burger, and then taxi home. Was very tired so flaked out with
a bit of TV and a cup of tea before passing out in bed.

Awoke yesterday early and got the runners on. I had to follow other
joggers to find places to run,  I hope I didn't scare anyone too much!

Went in for my fitting, but I had fitted pretty much everything already so
I headed into the city in search for somewhere to do some homework. Had a
salmon  wrap (uncommon in Melbourne?) and found a nice corner slightly
corporate cafe at the base of a tower. I know I was across from a
backpackers, but really how this:

Waiter: So where are you from?
Mathieu: Melbourne.
Waiter: Oh! I thought you were going to say something like Germany or
something! (Walks away)

I must have looked exotic with my eMate open writing all over the screen
looking busy and checking my notes on my nano. Most people have never seen
a Newton eMate before (another customer said as he walked off "They're
just getting crazier and crazier aren't they! Even though the line was
discontinued back in '98!)

Found a real internet cafe and did some more reading on "The Tale of
Genji" for my JPS subject.

Walked walked walked walked walked all over town. Kinokunia for a while
and a bit of air-con (its humid) and a 'tonkotsu ramen' from the Japanese
noodle shop. Yummy (with lots of collagen!).

Flaked out in the DJ food court for a good 45 min resting, then walked
over to the aquarium where I was meeting up with old friends from APU.
Vanessa, her BF Oli, Brett, Linda, Eric, Alan and later Nathan (was that
everyone?) went for a beer, moved onto another place for more drinks. I
got a bit excited and signed Vanessa and I up for a foosball tournament
that we never ended up doing. Headed across town to this Jazz bar which was
largely deserted and had a heavy cover charge, and I had a curry lamb
pie. We organised to go out at the 'cross' and apologetically left with
the bar woman pleading with me to make us stay! "But look at the
audience!" (Pointing at the tables of empty seats).

Anyway taxi took us across town, and I had an epiphany of a Sydney moment
looking from the back seat out the windscreen through ok-I-think-I-really-have been-drinking eyes at the 'Coca-cola sign' with the long stream of
traffic heading down the hill and then back up again. A common sight for
Sydney siders but all new to me.

We went to a bar / club and a rock band was playing. We all hung in the
shadows waiting for the DJ to start, and found a librarian looking one
playing some pretty fun tunes out the back. We were sweating a bit and by
the time the main DJ was getting ready to start my knees were buckling.

Said farewell and walked out and down to Wooloomooloo for a Cafe de Wheels
pie (I urinated somewhere inappropriate on my way) and then cabbed it
home with a very opinionated cabby who was the longest serving Paraplegic
(I'm pretty sure he said quad though) tai driver in the nation! I told him
what I was studying and I think he wanted then to tell me I knew nothing.
I still helped him with the back seat-belt when I was dropped off, I guess
he meant no harm. I said I was here in Sydney to model, and then he asked
if I was with Chadwicks, "Mr. Chadwick I've had here in the cab you know!"
And then (the strangest yet) he pulled out a picture of himself from 1984,
before he was 'maimed' when he was playing some part over in Gallipoli,
standing before the bonnet of a swank red car, in nothing but a pair of
red shorts made of parachute material. What do you say?

I think I made some gesture (nodded). And he smiled proudly, bitterly,
who knows and slipped it back above the passenger side sunshade.

And that was yesterday

--

I went for another run this morning. My legs were tired but I pushed
myself,following the signs to Newton. Ran past Sydney University and up
past all the shops along that strip. Stopped in 'UniSyd' park and worked
my tris with dips on a park bench, did 3 sets of push ups superset with 3
sets of ab exercises (leg raises) then did 3 sets of braces superset with
3 sets   of slow controlled pushups. I was by then singlet-less and
dripping! Feeling invigorated I jogged back to the apartment and showered.

Today's call time is at 4, Sunday's is at 12, and Monday's is at 8 am.

Oh Andy I've mistakenly taken your toothbrush 0_o sorry!

I'll try to update again soon.

Sydney Trains are so strange! All the white Taxi's, and these weird double decker things that are new but old and kind of frightening!

And 12 bucks for a trip into the city is a bit steep.

It's that feeling of there's this whole swarming city of people, enough faces to fill long double decker trains, that I have nothing to do with. But then the whole train seems kind of empty. Everyone seems to have this exhausted slant to their posture which is erring me out a bit. I'm probably just adding to the quiet strangeness...

People honk a lot ion this city when driving
Sydney has this smell in places that reminds me of Tokyo.
There are a lot more tour busses, and tourists in this city.

Todo:
Find Chadwicks
Listen to some lectures online.
Do some of the homework on the next actions lists.

Why are web site owners littering their sites with ugly badges like these?

On otherwise well designed sites these lists are growing. I don't like this trend. Could we please just stick to plain text? Thanks.

I must be positively glowing this morning!

After gym, I biked to Chaddies to drop of those shots, then biked straight to the printers to get some more printed. They're for my card and book which has arrived.

Train to Huntingdale, then biked all the way down the highway to Uni. I pretty much beat the bus I would have caught too. And it's only 10.30! So I have a bit of time before class to do a bit of blogging.

The early starts are making me feel confident and lively.

And I'll take this moment to note how hideous text looks on Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer.

You always know when a pop up or "Your computer has been infected with a virus! Click here!" ad is fake because the text in the image is that sharp, ugly, un-antialiased text of the windows world, something the Mac and Linux worlds have left behind.

Standby for comparison images