The Hopeless Ranter

Australian News

2006-07-18T21:48:00.000+08:00

The place you can find me during my free-time at work is where all the smokers and laundry cleaners will hang out. It's a nice place to hang out coz there are cozy couches. A drink bar. And a huge whoop-ass 42inch plasma LCD screen with cable TV. There are many TV + Internet lounges thoughout the staff complex for the 'special' staff to use. But this one hang-out spot is very secluded from the entire staff complex. Infact the only people who ever use it are those working in my restaraunt and the laundry cleaners. So its nice. coz there will always be ppl i see everyday at work chillin and having a banter.

was having my 30minute lunch break at work today. Didnt felt like eating. So headed to the usual hang out spot. There were only a few people around. They were all watching news on skynews (Australian news a'la CNN). The news was showing some live footage of an empty air base located somewhere in queensland. Below were the headings of the agenda. "Breaking NEws. An F-111 airplane making emergency landing. Damaged undercarriage". My split shot reaction was. what the hell? Some disaster is happening. People are going to die! camera zooms in to show the plane making a failed landing attempt. There were two presenters explaining what was going on.
Then it caught my mind. F stands for single pilot fighter jet. emergency landing at airbase. The crappy presenters trying very hard to add in a one or two punch line. Oh im in australia. The news here is all bullshit. "Headline"Footballer Ben Cousins out-runs police breathalizers (spelling). "Headline" How i lost 50kg's. in my sleep". Yeapz. Shit like that makes australian first page headlines.
Whereas in the middle east. War has begun. A tsunami hits Indonesia. again. We only have a fighter-pilot who stuffed up take-off and scratched his plane's belly to make breaking news. Here in big isolated Australia. We have nothing interesting to report on. :P. Flick the channel plz.

money makes me go stingy

2006-07-05T13:51:00.000+08:00

I've been working for 7 hours a day for 6 days a week since the holidays began a week and a half ago. I've gotta say, it's pretty good cash. If i stick to this job I could easily afford a very fast 20 grand car,my own self-financed fast speed 8mbps broadband internet, a 2-week trip within aussie next semester break and still have cash to spare on the occasional outings. However, im finding it hard to spend my money. It's like everytime i buy something I'd feel like something pinched me. really hard. The feeling is like someone stole your hard earned money!!
Last night after work, went for dinner/drink with a colleague. All i wanted to order was the cheapest drink the bar could offer ($2.00 canned red bull ) and no food. Talk about being cheapskate! I work soo hard and earn alot of money but even a light simple meal could keep me from spending that money. As you see, i usually eat free of charge at the staff cafeteria. And at my rented place, there is someone there to cook food for me as it is included in the rent. SO technically im not spending a single cent on my customary 5-day meal consisting of breakfast, lunch, high tea, dinner, and supper.
The colleague realised how cheapskate i was being and ordered me to buy a proper dinner meal. I ended up ordering a smirnoff ice vodka and fish & chips, the bill came to about $16aus *rip off*. The bar only allowed eftpos to be used for billings of more than $15. Realising i was eligible to pay using eftpos by one dollar, I paid using eftpos, electronic bill a'la credit card minus the surcharge of a credit card. I just couldnt bare seeing money from my wallet (had or rather still have $200 in the wallet) being spent 'unnecessarily'.
Goddamn! i think im having a phobia of spending money!

Test Drive

2006-06-23T12:22:00.000+08:00

Exams were tough. but Nonetheless over and done with! As promised earlier, i will be posting about cars im looking forward to test driving. well after 2 days of test driving ive got a good idea of what car im gonna be buying.

First and FOremost, Dealerships. sad to say, you;ve gotta be careful when dealing with them. Their always looking to pitch their sale. You've gotta be able to recognise the truth from the BULLSHIT. Never, and i mean NEVER be forced by them to sign the deal. WHat makes them think ill be signing a 5-year contractual loan worth $20aus grand with them the very minute after test driving their car? It baffles me. Good way to tell them is, "I'll think about it" or "Im still shopping around for a car" or "STFU u suck and that car was the worst shit ive ever test driven". Obviously the latter is reserved for PROTON! lmao. who's gonna buy a Gen-2 or Savvy for when at the same price u could buy a new 2006 civic sedan or a top of the line hyundai getz (same category cars)

I havent had the time to upload the few pics ive taken so if u want a good idea of how the car looks like, google search it. :/. I've ripped the pictures off carsales.au but it's the same model and same car that i tested.

2005 Honda Jazz Vti-s
black, 5dr hatchback Manual 4cyl 1.5L $20,500 (drive-away)

Honda's are well known for their sporty cars and the Jazz is no exception. Econimical, and with honda's VTEC closing one valve when at low revs even more fuel econimical. The gear changing was very very easy and i felt straight at home the minute i floored the accelerator pedal. The VTEC kicks in at about 3500 revs - 5000revs, abit too low for my liking and quite strange for well known high revving VTEC engine. with the VTEC coming in so soon, it didnt take too long before i was hitting the speed limits, even then, it would be asking for more. Sadly i didnt had the chance to take it up to speeds im more familiar with. The brakes were wonderful just as much as the car was asking me to push it, the brakes were asking me to step lightly and let it slow down without any fuss. One thing i did notice was that the car felt like it was gonna over tilt to its side every time i took a turning, could be because of a soft suspension. Interior wise, very well thought of. The back could fit 4 adults no problem. The thing that impressed me the most was that the backseats collapsed to a straight flat, as flat as a matress. Not that im gonna be doing heavy duty loading though. Being Vti-S, S for sporty with alloy wheels, nice body kit. etc etc. Somehow i've been given the impression that any car with a mirror on the drivers sunvisor is a girly car. The Jazz is one of them.

1999 Toyota Celica ZR
White, 2dr coupe Manual 6sp 1.8L vvtl-i $19,000 (Drive-away)

A car that I've always regarded as being sporty with not much power to play with. How wrong was I. The very very high revvy vvtl-i engine never failed to keep me 'Woohoo-ing' all the way back to the dealership. The semi-bucket seats and leather finishing momo steering wheel really gav the impression that your in a lovely car. One of my favourite drives by a mile. It had the mirror on drivers sunvisor theory though. Sadly, the car wasnt well kept after alot of minor repairs would have to be carried out if i were to buy this car. Hence negotiating with the dealer to drop the price to a more reasonable $17,000. Till then, im not gonna bother.

2003 Toyota Corolla Sportivo
Black, 5dr Hatchback Manual 6sp 1.8l vvtl-i $24,000 (Drive-away)

This car was the black horse. I never thought id be looking at getting a Corolla till i saw this one. boy oh boy was this car something refreshing. Well its the exact same very vey high revvy (11000rpm redline) vvtl-i engine 141kw of raw grunt that never failed to keep me 'Woohoo-ing' all the way back to the dealership. Plus! it had a full leather interior! talk about posh! this car would give the new BMW or Merc a run for their money on who had the best interior. This car was about all class and all power! A manly car indeed.

1998 Subaru N MY98 WRX
Red, 4dr Sedan Manual 5sp 2.0L Turbo $19,990 (excluding rego + warranty)

I never had the chance to test drive this car. Was sold too quickly. Subaru's are very fun to drive but dont think i'll be getting one. It's just too pricey for a car that old.

1999 Honda Prelude Vti-R
Silver, 2dr Coupe, Semi-Automatic 2.2L $19,990 (excluding rego + warranty)

Well the Prelude is another great car produce by the king of sport cars, Honda. Sadly though i would have preferred this car Manual drive so i can keep that ever so good VTEC engine at peak revs.

1992 Toyota MR2 SW20
Black, 2dr Targa Top Manual 5sp 2.0L $13,000 (Drive-away)

The Toyota MR2 was my first choice car before the test driving session. Even after the test drives, It still remains my number one favourite. The problem with this car is that it's so hard to find one for sale. Probably 1 good one in every 3 months. So i was lucky to find a black mr2 with its namesake as a custom number plate. It's been well maintain and loved by its previous owner. There wasnt a single fault i could find in this car. Im sure if i buy it, Ill love it to bits. Now comes my dilemma, the financing for this car has to be from the bank, unlike other dealers who provide their own financing for the cars their selling, the mr2 comes from a semi-private sale. The only way i can get the bank to finance me is: Ive been working for three months (havent started work yet) OR get the parents to become guarantors (gonna be pretty hard to try explaining to your parents your gonna buy a sports car). That being said this car could be lost by the time i find financing.

So there u have it. My pick of the great below $25,000aus budget cars to buy. Unfortunately for me, i think ill save my money and drive my bro's second car, a 1990 Toyota Camry. Ill just have to wait till a good offer comes along.

Fooled myself

2006-06-15T14:46:00.000+08:00

I seriously thought i had my physics paper today. Was standing infront of the lecture hall thinking *how come i dont recognise anyone here. where is everyone?*. Least to say, i was confused. Turned out the paper is scheduled for tomorrow. -.-.... I was soo prep-ped up for it!.. Ah wells atleast i prepared a day before hand. hence abit of free time for me. Dont get much of these nowadays.

i love football, unfortunately for me, i can only watch one game a nite till the exams are over. last nites match, SPAIN completely outclassed Ukraine! The footie they produced was sublime. pin-point passing, good off-ball movement, nice one-two play, great ball-control. For once, it wasnt the case of the losing team not performing well but the winning team just too good to beat. Spain fielded a couple of their reserve players ie. luis garcia, marcos senna but they certainly have depth in their squad. I just hope they dont stutter when the quater-finals push becomes shove. CMon Spain!. England on the other hand, OVERRATED. I like Robbie Fowler's post match summary of England's match against Paraguay *Till they get Gerrard into the Attacking Midfield where he will take the game by the scruff of the neck, ENgland are Fucked*. I think England was screwd when the decision to bring Theo Wallchart to germany. The boy hasnt even played a single top flight football game. Sven;s comment on him was the best of all. *I've never seen Theo play before, Only watched him on the videos* says so much about his Selection tactics. If england were to win the world-cup, it would be because of the players not Sven.

The Entertainer

2006-06-08T11:19:00.000+08:00

Robbie Williams is coming to perth in december. Tickets for the concert went on sale early yesterday morning. Thought i might go buy some tickets to go see the man perform live with friends. Wanted to be an 'early bird' so went to Subiaco Stadium today. GOt there and saw the 'ALL TICKETS SOLD OUT' sign...And i thought i'd be early..

A concert half a year from now had sold out in 30 minutes of the first day of tickets sales?? 20 000 tickets sold in the first day??? A quick check on ebay showed one user selling 143 tickets to the concert. Double the price. Wondered how that person bought so many? *Uh, its for my grandmother's sister's son and daughter plus their extended family*
I mean, the man can perform. but to sell out in 30 minutes? thats one heck of a marketing campaign. So looks like i wont be going to his concert. NOt that i care anyway. 20 000 girls screaming their heads off. 20 000 girls to rub shoulders with. 20 000 girls to look at. nah i dont care.
We need more concerts in Perth. hehe.

My Life

2006-05-12T16:56:00.000+08:00

fine, i will try postinfg more about myself,. amusing? lol.
idiots, im on the verge of HAVING a life! thats why i dont have a life rite now! and thats why i dont blog about my life. coz tht's it.
cant stand motherfuckers who go on and on about what they've done today when really they've done nothing at all. they think blogging is like its some fucking diary.. ok then, just dont hassle me to read ur fucking pointless blog. but then im forced to anyway, things ill do for friendship..
they should make it look like some bloddy time table. so i dont have to read all that shit. and just read the time i like reading shit the most. huh??

8:30am- woke up, brush fucking teath till white like my ass. had breakfast. cereal with milk and orange juice.
9:20am - walked to uni. 10 mins to walk to the lecture hall. (2 mins to walk to uni from house, 8 mins walk to hall from uni. wtf!)
11:40am - class ends early. lecture got too boring. so got cut short prematurely :P.
12:00pm - had lunch with mates. talked bout how fucking dumb some people are. not gonna explain.
1:30pm - tutorial session.
3:30pm - tutorial session ended early. tutor got too boring. so got cut short prematurely :P
3:50pm - went to the field to play soccer with some mates. fuck the grass is so nice here.
5:00pm - in Uni library doing 1500word essay.
5:15pm - blogging
5:16pm - still blogging
5:17pm - blogging the still blogging.

FUCK dont you get it? have i made my point clear enough? jesus christ!

yea, u heard it here first.
Ive got a casual job for the semester break (starts next month) working at a hotel casino.
dont ask what type of job., all u need to know is that it pays $30aus/hour. i get a free meal(HOTEL FOOD BTFuckingW) depending on what shift i work i.e morning/afternoon/night. plus additional perks such as 25% off all merchandise and rooms in the hotel, free all-day parking (i'll talk more about my soon to buy car another day), and i get a uniform that i dont have to wash!
oh did i mention that its a hotel casino? yea u bet where ill get the money to buy my car! hehe!

5:20pm - blogging still the still blogging.

John D'OrazioHAHAHA

2006-05-11T10:45:00.000+08:00

talk about shooting yourself in the foot!
John D'Orazio WA's police minister (yes head of police) resigned from cabinet on monday.
He was caught speeding and driving without a drivers licence. omfg! he doesnt even have a drivers licence! how stupid could he be!
Imagine the look of the police officer giving out the ticket.
*Erm, police minister, according to the law, which YOU set, i have no choice but to give you a ticket for speeding.* *Have a nice day, please dont fire me* rofl.

Ever wonder why politics is so interesting?
because they have clowns and standup comedians running the show!
you'll never know when they do something really really funny.

6 degrees of separation

2006-05-08T11:32:00.000+08:00

there is a saying that we are all separated from one another by no more than six degrees of friends.
i thought id draw a chain line to see how many superstars im related to. hehe.

My uncle in the U.S. ---> His ex-uni mate whos working in the U.N. in the ambassador office ---> Angelina Jolie!!! damn i wish i could meet her!

My form 3 science tuition teacher uncle to ---> Jacquline Victor!! (I've seen her in flesh before she even began singing)

My brother ---> His school mate ---> school mate's dad ---> Siti Nurhaliza! ( school mates dad happens to be her Manager)

You know what that makes you guys reading my blog?
yea! through me, you're link to these people as well. lol.
I reckon if i do a little bit more research, i'll be able to link up to Anyone i can possibly think of.

Don't you think that this *6 degrees of separation* is a great one-liner?
*Walks up to a chun chick* Hey there, you are related to me by no more than 6 degrees. Would you like to explore our connection?
*Get's wierd look* *Get's Slapped*/*Get's Laughed at*

Good Friday

2006-05-05T20:16:00.000+08:00

yea mate! what a great day its been!

the weather was chillin, not freezin, just nice.

i scored a D in my physics exams! (D stands for Distinction -.-). all by myself, no copying/cheating like i always do =).
omfg this must be the first time ive ever gotten that good resuls for physics during a major exam.
omfg what a good day tis is.

was in such a jolly good mood. so i went to the arcade to 'break the longest standing, five year-old record' on battlegear 2! fuck man, i spent 3 months (no time) , a few dollars and a couple of hours (coz im too pro at racing games) trying to break this record. and now ive finally done it! beat it just by a tenths of a second. holy shit man, i swear seeing ur opponents car in the breathing down your neck on the last turn is some adreline rush!
fuck its like seeing the great Micheal Shumacher in your rear view mirror, and he's getting ready to overtake you!

was estatic, so i broke MY OWN new record! this time by 1 second! omfg.
For all those out there who dont know shit bout racing, going 200km/h (200*1000/3600) is equal to 55.556m/s. that would mean i was 55 meters infront of myself(broke my own record) when i crossed the line. pwnage!
For those who like the GT simulation driving series should try out Battlegear 3 (available on the ps2). i love it!

Indentity Fraud

2006-05-04T10:38:00.000+08:00

Im finding identity fraud a very flaming hot topic of discussion. Unknown to many, the methods identity thefts use to get your personal information is very disturbing.

coz im soo good, i will be blogging about a current affair issue every thursday.

Ever heard of Phishing?
well maybe, but do u really know about it?
Phishing is the term used for bogus emails that look like an OFFICIAL email from a popular company (Alastair, 2005, p.2). These emails are used to LURE you into giving your personal information.
take this ACTUAL phishing email for example.

looks reasonable doesnt it? You'd want to click and find out more dont you.

The phish site does not use a tech trick to hide its address. Instead, the domain name is constructed decievingly.

the second page demands more personal information.

The next page is a 'logout' screen:

After a few seconds in the logout page, the browser is redirected to the legitimate eBay homepage.

It's not very hard to create a bogus webpage like this one here. infact According to the website, it took only 2 hours to create this example ive shown.
(more information about bogus emails from http://www.antiphishing.org/phishing_archive)

After getting these information from unsuspecting users, these phishers will then log into a chatroom specifically for hackers.

Here is where hackers trade information of other people. usually they trade information for money. BUT once the information is used (i.e. your credit card has been used to purchase a good) they will release, what the hackers call 'Burning it', the information for EVERYONE else on the chatroom to do whatever the fuck they want with it. This is done to minimise the risk of getting tracked (Australia, 2004).

Scared YET?

Why is your Personal Information important to you as an individual?
Surely you know what are the consequences of handing over your username and password to a stranger. THATS WHY WE DONT!

With your personal details such as full name,DOB,Address,PhoneNUm,CreditNUm,Social Sercurity NUm(US in particular), etc. Anyone with this information can:
1) Get a mortage in your name
2)Buy a really nice car (something i would do)
3)Establish a credit card line

the amounts of events you could do with someone elses information is paramount.

So You think u have full control of who does and doesnt have your information details?
NO! Believe it or not, you dont have any power whatsoever over your personal information and who is allowed to access it.

Dont Believe me?

Personal Information Databases in India (they do exists) used by banks world-wide are offerred for sale in the underground market (Grabosky, Peter N., 1998). Now how FUCKed UP is that?

How the Fuck would you know that your local bank is using cheap databases in a place where there is NO ROAD TRAFFIC RULES to store your personal information. (mind you, it is COMPULSARY to hand in your information details to banks IF you want to open a savings account.)

So no matter how many firewalls, antiviruses, data encryption, etc. etc. you pay for aint gonna protect your precious personal details from getting stolen. I personally think these are there to offer you a false sense of security. Also there to keep out the occasional spam/pop-ups/viruses at bay. =)

But seriously, Why would a hacker go through all that trouble to get your information when someone else is offering it for money? ironic isnt it? lol. imagine yourselve building up a brick fortress to protect your important documents when someone infront of ya is offering it for a price. rofl.

Conclusion? Well, Identity Fraud over the Internet is slowly beginning to pick up pace and the potential damage it could cost would be enormous . But it wouldnt affect me becoz im poor, have no problem whatsoever if someone decides to use my name to get a better life or worse depending on where you were to begin with. :P

Bibliolist:
Australia.Parliament.Joint Commitee on the Australian Crime Commision, Cybercrime,
Published [Canberra] : The Committee, 2004

MacGibbon, Alastair, Don't get caught by phising, Published by the Australian National
Government Awareness Campaign, 2005

Grabosky, Peter N. (Peter Nils), 1945-, Electronic vandalism and terrorism, Imprint
Transaction Publishers, 1998

George W.BushAHAHA

2006-05-03T11:53:00.000+08:00

gawd everyone knows W.bush is a wanker. just to prove it, here is a video clip from youtube.com showing the top ten George BUsh moments with David Letterman and his Late Show.

rofl. this fella has given us 6 years of comedy series. keep it up bushy. =)

One musnt forget to show the 'one finger victory salute' after sending thousands of US soldiers and countless iraqi people to their death.

lol, ones gotta respect this fucker for showing off the motherfucking finger. How many leaders in the world would do that? rofl. respecta.

so there u have it. George W.Bush, a prankster seating in the most powerful chair in the world.

A whole lotta crap

2006-05-02T15:20:00.000+08:00

ever wondered why are we living in a world full of fuck heads? i have.
the girl that uses guys for their money. the guy that fucks girls for pleasure.
the mother who sells her newborn baby to support her party life. the rich brat that moans about not getting the newly released xbox 360.
the president that spends national coffers on luxury, watching the nation go into turmoil. the ungrateful people rioting to oust the old but ever reliable prime minister.

if only all these fucking cunts were just another 'regular handjob over the toilet bowl or the monthly blood stain on the pad', the world would have been a better place to live in. cheers to that.