The move has happened

Hi all,

Last night I posted that there were changes coming and that I was going to be moving my blog to Wordpress.  Well that has now happened, I have moved Thoughts of a Random Nature to Wordpress and have renamed it to iRandom 2.0.  You can find me here: http://randomdaze.wordpress.com/

This will be my last post here, but please continue to follow me at iRandom 2.0.  Remember to update your bookmarks and/or RSS feed reader :-)

Thanks for reading.

Changes and a move are coming for TORN

I started this blog back in October 2008, not really knowing what I was doing, or what I was going to do with it.  Since then I have occasionally posted some random bits and pieces that I thought I would share with the world... or at least the 2 or 3 people who actually read this blog.

I started out here at Blogger just to see how it went.  Recently, I started another blog, Photo Taking Daze, over at Wordpress, to share my photos.  I signed up at Wordpress mainly to compare it to Blogger in terms of features and how easy it is to use.  I have since decided that I will start another blog at Wordpress and import all the post from here over there.  I like Wordpress more than Blogger as it is easier to use and more customisable.  I also like that Wordpress have stats on how many visitors have been to my blog and what sites they came from and then what links they clicked on my blog.

So, I'm working on setting up my new blog over at Wordpress and I will let you all know (all 3 of you, that is) where to find me sometime soon.

Cooling Goodness

Recently, I have been noticing that the CPU temperature on my PC has been getting higher and higher.  According to the hardware monitoring software that came with my motherboard, ASUS Probe, the CPU temperature has consistently been 60 degrees C and above.  The threshold setting in the software is 60 degrees, so it is always alarming.  It was reaching these temperatures without really doing anything, just sitting idle.  I decided it was time for a new CPU cooler to replace the standard Intel cooler that came with my Core 2 Duo E6400.  I ended up with a Scythe Kabuto from PC Case Gear (pictured below).

The first thing I noticed about the Kabuto was the size of it.  Compared to the Intel cooler, it was huge!  However, featuring huge fins and cooper heat pipes for heat dissipation and a 120mm fan, it does a great job at keeping my CPU cool.  Tonight as I have used the computer, it has been hovering around the 30 degree mark, which is a great improvement from before.  I don't think the stock cooler was all that bad, but I believe the thermal paste/grease that is applied between the top of the CPU and the bottom of the heatsink, had probably lost its effectiveness and was one of the causes of the overheating I was experiencing.

Here are some photos that show the difference in the size of the coolers and the space taken inside the case.

Side by side

Intel cooler installed

 Kybuto Installed

The Kabuto is secured to the motherboard using the same "Push Pin" system that is used for the Intel coolers.  There is a bracket that screws to the bottom of the cooler with the push pins attached.  I really don't like using this "Push Pin" system, because it sounds like the motherboard is about to crack when you put pressure on the pins to secure them.  Due to the size of the cooler, I had to remove the power supply from the case to allow room for my hand to reach in and push the pins into place to secure the cooler.  Once secured, I then looked at the gap between the top of the case and the cooler where the PSU had to fit to go back into the case.  There wasn't much room there!  It was a tight squeeze, but I just managed to get the PSU back into the case.

Once fired up, the fan on the cooler is quiet, probably more so than the stock Intel cooler.  It has been spinning at around 675 RPM for most of the time.

I'm impressed with the Scythe Kabuto CPU Cooler.  I don't overclock my PC, so I don't require huge cooling, but this is sure doing a great job so far.

Here is an artsy shot, just to show off the heat pipe design :-)

The Saga is Finally Over

Since I haven't been blogging for a while, I missed out on updating you on my V8 Race saga that you may recall from previous posts (here and here). Well, I finally went racing :-) and it was fantastic! I had a ball. I went on the morning of 30th September last year (2009 - yeah, I know it has been a while - over 3 months!) and this time it wasn't raining.

I arrived at Eastern Creek Raceway early on the Wednesday morning, signed in, went through the drivers briefing again, and then got suited up, including a helmet, ready to race.  You get the choice to drive either Ford or Holden.  Of course I drove the Ford :-)

When it is your turn to drive, they strap you into the race seat with a proper racing harness nice and tight.  The helmets have an intercom system that is connected in the car so you can talk to the driving instructor.  We had a bit of a chat, fired up the car, and once pit lane was clear, we were off.

The cars are amazing.  They sound loud and fantastic, like a V8 should. They handle very well for a big, heavy car (slick tyres and suspension mods help with that) and the braking capabilities are phenomenal.  The front brakes have huge rotors and dual calipers.

I found it hard at first to really push hard, but once I got a couple of laps under my belt, it was getting easier to go fast.  It is difficult to get out of the mindset of driving on the road, where I leave plenty of braking distance so I'm not braking ultra hard to pull up in time for the stopped traffic/corner/roundabout/pedestrian crossing/whatever.  Braking hard, and trying to co-ordinate down shifts with a gearbox that I wasn't used to made it even harder.

The experience had given me a new sense of respect for the V8 Supercar drivers (and drivers in other categories too).  It was hard and hot work steering one of those cars around 5 or 6 laps of Eastern Creek, and it required a huge amount of concentration.  I can only imagine how intense it would be to do that for hours while battling for track position with 30 odd other cars.... then think about doing around Mt Panorama for a full day!!

I had a great day, and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in having a go at motor sport.  I also purchased a DVD of in car footage of my drive, which is good to look back at and relive the experience.

After my drive, I managed to snap a quick pick of the car I drive with my iPhone.  Here is is:

My New Photo Blog

I've decided to start a new blog to share some of my photos, both old and new.  Don't worry, this blog will still operate (hopefully I'll post more than what I have in the past few months).  You'll find it at: http://ecstaticfanatic.wordpress.com/

Blast from the past

I saw this video on a blog that I read today.  It bought back some memories of the early 90's.



And for all those youngsters that may be reading.... that is Miley Cyrus' dad.

Normal programming will resume shortly

It has been a while since my last post, but I have a few things to write about, so I'm going to try and post more often now.

Tech Support

This is so very true


Thanks to XKCD
http://xkcd.com/627/

False Start 2 - The Saga Continues

You might remember my post about a rain interrupted V8 Race Experience back in May. Those readers with an eagle eye and excellent memory would have realised that I had rebooked for the 8th July (yesterday). Last week when I looked at the forecast, it was fine for the whole of this week. Great! Until yesterday... Rain... Again! It had been raining on and off throughout the morning. I called weather hotline in the afternoon before I left, they said that although there had been rain, it had stopped, the track had dried and they were running the cars. Sweet!

So I took off to Eastern Creek, but the weather didn't look promising. It was dark and cold. As I got closer to the track, the sky got darker, and the rain started to fall. I got to the track and went into the V8 Race reception area, and they had stopped the cars and were waiting for the rain to cease.

I waited for a little while, but eventually, one of the guys that runs the V8 Race told all those who were waiting that there was little point in waiting around longer, because even though it wasn't raining at that stage, the track was taking a while to dry out, and there was still a bunch of people who were waiting for a drive and there wouldn't be enough time to get us into a car before the daylight runs out. So I now need to rebook again. The next lot of dates at Eastern Creek is the last week in September. I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: Rebooked again for Wednesday 30th September... keep that in mind all you eagle eyes readers who are playing along at home...

The first weekend in July 09

Over the weekend I got a couple of opportunities to use my new camera. Thankfully the weather was fine and sunny for both days. On Saturday I went to Cumberland State Forest and has a wander through one of the walks and the nursery that is in the forest. In the nursery there were a few black boy trees that had just been watered. It was late in the afternoon and there was little light. Here is one the the photos:


Then on Sunday, I went to the lake in Norwest Business Park. It is a nice place there, and with the sun out, it made for a lovely afternoon. There was a guy who builds remote control power boats and he was running them around on the lake. They were rather noisy, but they were very fast and handled like they were on rails, turning sharply. I had a chat to the guy after he has crashed one of the boats into the wall on the edge of the lake (fortunately no major damage was done), and he was saying that the plain white boat was capable of speeds upto 80km/h. Here are a couple of photos I took:



Click here for a photo album from the weekend.

The Eagle has landed

My new toy has come in, and I now have it in my hot little hands, after waiting a bit over 2 weeks.




What is in the bag?




Yep, that's right, a Canon 500D Premium kit, with the 18-200mm lens.





And here it is, unboxed :-)





As I go taking photos, I will post some of the good ones up here.

Waiting for my new toy

I ordered a new toy, not last weekend but the weekend before, and I'm still waiting for it to arrive. More details when it finally gets here.

*C'mon, hurry up!!*

It's not soccer mate.... it's Football

Last night (Wednesday), I went to the Football (or soccer) at ANZ Stadium, Homebush, to see the Socceroo's play Bahrain in a World Cup qualifier match. The Aussie's had already qualified, but it was still great to go and see them play. I don't really follow the soccer... oops, Football, but I have enjoyed going to see the Socceroo's play a couple of times. I went with my girlfriend and some of her friends from work. We had good seats, in row 13, so fairly close to the action, and down beside the goal. Fortunately, the end of the field we were sitting at, was the end that the Aussie's were attacking in the 2nd half, which is also when they scored both their goals.

The first half was ended scoreless. The Socceroo's had more possession and a number of shots at goal, but hadn't been able to score. In the second half, they seemed to play a lot better and scored 2 unanswered goals to bring the final score in at 2-0. It was great to witness the win and it was a good game, but it was a damn cold night! It was freezing there.

Below is a picture that I took during the game. It is not very good quality, it was taken on my Nokia 6300.

Great Success

I went to a mates place last night to watch the State of Origin. Each year when I go there, I barrack for the team that I have picked in our work Footy Tipping competition, and follow the score closely (because we also pick the margin). Anyway, I picked QLD to win by 12 points (or so I thought), so I was disappointed when they won by only 10. When I got to work this morning though, I checked the results of the tipping, and I had actually picked QLD to win by ten! YAY!. Final score was 28-18.

New T-shirt

I found the following t-shirt on a website called Final Gear. They are my source of news for all things Top Gear and Fifth Gear. Recently they ran a competition to design a t-shirt, and below is one of the designs that was successful. I decided to get this t-shirt to go with my I AM THE STIG t-shirt. Can anyone translate the Morse code? -Don't worry, I already know what it says ;-)

Victory Boy

In a previous post, I mentioned that I had been in Katoomba at KYCK. This years theme was Victory Now, Victory Later, so they they brought in Victory Boy. This is his intro video. Very cool!

New

I walked into Woolies today and found these Orange flavoured M&M's in the chocolate aisle. So I bought a packet. Never seen them before, so it will be interesting to see what they taste like



EDIT: Sorry about the crap quality photo... it is from my Nokia 6300.

UPDATE: They taste like orange... A bit like Jaffa's actually.

False Start

For Christmas last year, my wonderful girlfriend gave me a V8 Race Experience. This is conducted on the short track at Eastern Creek Raceway (for Sydney-siders, and at various other tracks around the country). The short track at Eastern Creek is basically the "Flip Flop" which joins Turn 4 to Turn 9 and cuts out the section of track that runs around "Corporate Hill". They give you the option of driving a Ford or a Holden. The cars start as standard Falcons and Commodores, but they get a roll cage, racing seats and harnesses, modified exhaust (and don't they sound awesome!!), slick tyres, a locked diff (I think) and a body kit that makes them look like a V8 Supercar.

This morning I wake up and it is raining. That's not a good start, because they don't run the drive days in wet conditions. The cars run on slick tyres, ie. no groves to disperse water on the track, hence the not running in the rain rule (click here to see what can happen in the wet on slicks). There is a number to call that gives a recorded message with info about the weather and track conditions. During the day the weather cleared up and the sun was shining. A couple of calls to the weather hotline and the it appears that the weather is clear and the track is dry and the cars are running, albeit they are somewhat delayed due to the morning rain. That's OK, I was booked in at 3pm, she'll be right.

So, I head out to the track. You have to be there 15mins early to register and sign on etc. At this point you can also take the option of purchasing a DVD of footage from your drive for $49. I take this option. They give you a blank DVD in a case that you give to your driving instructor and he pops it into a DVD recorder in the car and you get a recording from a couple of cameras in the car that point at your face while driving and out the front of the car at the track.

Next is the drivers briefing. The guy runs through some racing techniques and safety type stuff. This lasts about 30mins. After this they send you to the pits to get into a race suit and helmut. At this point during our day, some guy in a car on the track has run off the circuit and hit the wall. The cars that are currently on the circuit are stopped and the onsite paramedics are dispatched. All is fine there are no serious injuries to either the driver or the instructor, however the session has been delayed to make sure that everything is OK. Safety is paramount for these guys.

So here we all are. About 25 guys (and 1 girl) were all suited up waiting in line to drive either a Ford or a Holden (I was in the Ford queue, because Fords are better). Just as we are thinking that we are about to get a drive, the black clouds roll in and the rain tumbles down. Oh, this isn't good. It's 4pm. The cars have to be finished on the track by 5pm. The track has to be dry before the cars to go out. And it is raining. That is not a good equation. When it was still raining at 4:30 there was no chance we would be going out on the track. I now need to re-book for another time. The next block of dates are in July, so I'll call them in the morning and re-book.

John Bowe was there too, today. V8 Race offer a John Bowe Experience where you get some flying laps with John.

I was really looking forward to getting out and driving a V8 Race car. Oh well. I hope it isn't raining next time.

UPDATE: Re-booked for Wednesday 8th July. :-)

Sunshine Coast

Last week I was on holidays :-) I spend the week from the 9th May - 16th May on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. It was a very enjoyable and relaxing time, and was good to be away from work for a while.

I was staying at The Point, Coolum Beach. Coolum Beach is a fairly small suburb on the Sunshine Coast about 25km south of Noosa. Here is the view from the balcony of the villa I was staying in:


This was stitched together from a number of photos taken from the balcony.... it hasn't been edited or even cropped (lazy me!) and was stitched using AutoStitch.

While there, I did some of the touristy things. I had a car, so I could take myself to wherever I wanted. Some of the highlights were going to Tin Can Bay one morning to see and feed the dolphins, and taking a drive through the Sunshine Coast hinterland to Mapleton, Montville and Maleny areas.

Tin Can Bay is further north than the Sunshine Coast. It is about 1.5 hours drive. There is a pod of dolphins that come into the bay and you can feed them fish. There are a group of volunteers that oversee the Dolphin Centre and the feedings but they come in at about 8am each morning to feed. Unfortunately I arrived a little late, about 8:30 and they had already been fed. However, that morning a couple of dolphins came back to the feeding place, so I was able to see some wild dolphins up close and get some photos. I have some photos below. You may be able to see the scratch marks all over the dolphin in the photos. According to the lady at the dolphin centre this is normal for wild dolphins. We are used to seeing dolphins up close in captivity (like at Sea World) that are clean. However, dolphins in the wild have to make out their teritory, and quite often get into fights with other dolphins and fish, so end up rather battle scarred. Note the chunks out of the dolphins fin too.




The Sunshine Coast hinterland is a very beautiful place. There is a mountain range, The Blackall Range, that has a few small country towns along the top. These are places like Mapleton, Montville and Maleny. Montville is a nice little town that is famous for it's shops. Now, I'm not overly keen on shopping, but I did enjoy Monville. There is a lolly shop and plenty of other small shops some of which were worth a look.

Here is the view from a lookout near Mapleton. Again it has been stitched with AutoStitch.


The drive out to the Blackall Range area is quite nice too. Starting from Nambour, you make your way up the mountain to Mapleton, and then follow the road along the top of the ridge, making for some great views out both sides of the road. Through Flaxton and Montville and then Maleny is at the other end of the road. Then you make your way back down the mountain into Landsborough.

I also visited the Eumundi Markets at Eumundi. Eumundi is a small town, and on non market days, there probably isn't much happening. However, when the markets are on, hundreds and probably thousands of people flock to the place and it is packed with people. The markets are on Wednesdays and Saturdays. As I said about Montville, I'm not overly keen on shopping, but there were a number of places there that I found to keep my interest for a while.

I had a great time on the Sunshine Coast. The only problem with holidays is coming back to work and wading though the billions of emails that come in while your gone.

Gospel Graffiti

I have been spending weekends in Katoomba for a while now, the last 3 being the KYCK convention run by Katoomba Christian Convention (KCC). This is a Christian youth convention where youth groups from all over the place come for a weekend of Bible teaching and much fun. This video was played on Saturday night. I think it is a great video.