S T E P H E N H U C K E R . C O M » Uncategorized

Kim Chi Virgin

stephen — Sat, 05 May 2012 14:50:18 +0000

Like porn, it is goo-ee, smelly and a little bit disgusting, I am off course talking about Kim Chi. The ubiqutious Korean side dish consisting of spicy fermented Chinese cabbage.

Well after much procrastination I have finally cooked my first batch of Kim Chi.

The Avengers 3D

stephen — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 01:28:13 +0000

Been looking forward to this movie since I heard it was in production. I was hoping it would have the humour of the Ironman films and I was not disappointed.
The script was witty, no major cringe moments and a good deal of personal development for the major characters.

In addition there was a sh##t load of CGI action, all in all a great movie.
I have only seen two movies in 3D and the 3D didn’t seem to get in the way of the story, so I was happy with it.

ebooks

stephen — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:39:45 +0000

Just finished reading George R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords on my Kindle. I actually own the books, but I find the Kindle is better for reading with the exception of:

- Pictures, in this case maps
- Quickly moving from one section of the book to the other, like you would with a reference book. The Kindle sucks at this unlike the iPad. But the Kindles e-ink is so easy on the eye, very different to using an iPad.

Memory Lane

stephen — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:36:13 +0000

PC Mag has an article 10 Classic Computer RPGs

It included one game based on D&D which I spent hundreds of lunchtimes at high school playing with four other guys – Wizardy

I still remember killing an Orc with 7 hp with a tiltowait spell causing 85hp damage

Tiltowait is “somewhat like the detonation of a small tactical nuclear weapon. The party is protected from its effects. Unfortunately for the monsters, they are not. The spell causes 10-100 hit points of damage to all monsters. ”

Games you played when you were a child are like old Doctor Who episodes, best left to your memories because when you rematch/replay them you regret it. It destroys your memories and and makes you think what bad taste you had, case in point the TV show Knight Rider

New Camera – Canon S100

stephen — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:57:39 +0000

I recently purchased a new camera. I wanted some relatively cheap, but flexible and small.

Small is important because no matter how good the camera is, if it is too big to carry around then it is useless. The S100 fits in a shirt pocket.
It also has RAW capability as well as full manual control so when my skills grow, the camera will grow with me.

At $469 (with a 8GB SD card) it is not exactly cheap, but it is good quality. The lens goes down to f/2

Specifications of the Canon Power Shot S 100 Digital Camera

Sensor / Image Processor
Effective Number of Pixels / Size	Approx. 12.1 MP High Sensitivity CMOS
Size / Filter Array	1/1.7 inch / Primary colour filter / 4:3
Processor	DiG!C 5
Lens
Focal Length (optical)	5.2 (W) – 26.0 (T) mm
35mm film equivalent	24 (W) – 120 (T) mm
f/number	f/2.0 – 8.0 (W), f/5.9 – 8.0 (T)
Shutter Speed	15 – 1/2000 sec.
Zoom / Image Stabiliser	Optical approx 5x; Digital approx 4x / Optical (Lens Shift Type) approx 4 steps
Shooting Functions
AF System	Autofocus (Single, Continuous), Manual
Focusing Frame	Face Detect with movie support (1, 2) Center (*3) Tracking AF, FlexiZone
Face Detection	Auto Focus, Auto Exposure, White Balance, Flash Exposure, Auto Red-Eye correction, Auto Focus Point Zoom, Face Self Timer (*4)
Other Shooting Functions	Servo AF, Auto Focus Assist Beam, Auto Focus Lock
Focus Range	Normal: 5cm – infinity (W), 30cm – infinity (T) Macro: 3cm – 50cm (W), 30cm – 50cm (T)
Continuous Shooting (Large/Fine)	Approx 2.3 shots/sec; High-speed Bust HQ Approx 9.6 shots/sec; AF Approx 0.8 shots/sec; LV Approx 0.8 shots/sec
Self-timer	Approx. 10 sec or 2 sec delay, custom, Face Self-Timer (*4)
Control/Balance
Light Metering Method	Evaluative, Centre-weighted average, Spot
Exposure Control Method	Program AE, AE Lock available, Manual, iContrast, Program Shift, Safety Shift
Exposure Compensation	± 3 stops in 1/3-stop increments
Sensitivity (Equivalent Film Speed)	Auto (*7) ISO 80/100//125/160/200/250/320/400/500/640/800/1000/1250/1600/2000/2500/3200/4000/5000/6400
White Balance Modes	Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Underwater, Custom
LCD Screen
LCD Screen	3.0 type (3.0- inch) colour LCD monitor with wide viewing angle (approx 461,000 dots), Aspect ratio 4:3
Flash
Flash Modes / Flash Range	Auto, on, off, Slow Synchro / 50cm -7.0 m (W), 50cm – 2.3m (T)
Flash Exposure Compensation	±2 stops in 1/3-stop increments
Selectable Shooting Modes
Shooting Modes	Intelligent Auto (with Scene Detection), P (Program), Tv (Shutter Priority), Av (Aperture Priority), M (Manual), C (Custom), Special Scene (Movie Digest, Portrait, Landscape, Kids & Pets, Smart Shutter, High-speed burst HQ, Handheld Night Scene, Beach, Underwater, Foliage, Snow, Firework, Stitch Assist), Creative Filters (High Dynamic Range, Nostalgic, Fisheye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Monochrome, Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Colour Accent, Colour Swap), Movie, iFrame Movie, Super Slow Motion Movie
My Colours	Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Colour
Image Recording Format
Still image / Colour Space and Compression	JPEG Compression (EXIF 2.3 Compliant), RAW (CR2 (Canon Original)) / sRGB; Fine, Normal
Movies	MOV (Image Data: H.264; Audio Data: Linear PCM stereo)
GPS Log file	NIMEA 0183 message format compliant
Recording Pixels and recording capacity on a 4GB card
Still Images and Capacity (at Fine Image Setting)	[16:9] Large: 4000×2248(1630), Medium 1: 2816×1584 (3094), Medium 2: 1920 x 1080 (6034), Small: 640 x 360 (24139); [3:2] Large: 4000×2664 (1386), Medium 1: 2816×1880 (2623), Medium 2: 1600×1064 (7099), Small: 640×424 (20116); [4:3] Large: 4000×3000 (1231), Medium 1: 2816×2112 (2320), Medium 2: 16000×1200 (6352), Small: 640×480 (20116), RAW: 4000×3000 (224); [1:1] Large: 2992×2992 (1652), Medium 1: 2112×2112 (3094), Medium 2: 1200×1200 (8046), Small: 480×480 (24139); [4:5] Large: 2400×3000 (2045), Medium 1: 1696×2112 (3771), Medium 2: 960×1200 (10057), Small: 384×480 (30174)
Multiple Aspect Ratios	16:9, 3:2, 4:3, 1:1, 4:5
Movie Frame Rate	Full HD: 1920×1080 24fps (14min 34sec), HD: 1280 x 720 30fps (20min 43sec), 640 x 480 30fps (43min 43sec), iFrame HD 1280×720 30fps (13min 35sec), Super Slow Motion Movie: 640×480 120fps (12min 58sec), Miniature effect: 640×480 6fps (3hr 43min 30sec)
Other Operations
Playback Operations	Blink Detection, Red-eye Correction, Slideshow, My Category, Favourites, Index, Resize, Magnified, Advancing and Reversing through magnified images, Jump, Auto Rotate, Rotate, Histogram, Overexposure Warning, Smart Shuffle, iContrast, Focus check
File Operations	DPOF – Print Order/Image transfer; Movie – unnecessary scenes can be erased; Recording Length per Clip – until file size reaches 4GB9
Video / Audio Output	Yes (*10)
Interface
Supported Operating Systems	PC: Windows 7 (including SP1), Windows Vista SP2, Windows XP SP3; Mac: OS X v10.5 – v10.6
Computer I/F	USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (mini-B compatible), HDMI mini connector
Video / Audio Output	PAL or NTSC selectable / Stereo
Memory Storage	SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card
General Features
Battery	NB-5L
Dimensions (W x D x H)	98.9 x 59.8 x 26.7 mm (ex. protruding parts)
Weight	Approx. 173g (Camera body only)

* Specifications subject to change by the manufacturer without notice

Disclaimers

1. AF frame can be moved and fixed to specified face
2. If no face is detected, AiAF (9 point) is used
3. AF frame size is selectable – depends on shooting mode
4. When number of detected faces increases, the shutter is released at 2 sec delay. However if no face is detected for 30 seconds or more, the shooting operation will start automatically.
5. Control to incorporate facial brightness in Face Detect AF
6. Fixed to center / Linked to AF frame
7. Camera automatically sets the optimal speed according to shooting mode and subject brightness
8. Camera automatically sets the optimal speed according to shooting mode, subject brightness and subject movement and camera shake. The ISO speed is relatively higher than Auto.
9. Even if the file size has not reached 4GB, the recording stops when the recording time reaches 1 hour. For lesser capacity memory cards, the recording stops when the card becomes full or reaches 1 hour.
10. Compatible printer required for direct printing

My first game of Baduk (Go)

stephen — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:28:30 +0000

Played my first game of Baduk (Korean word for the game of Go) today

Playing white, my position at the end game was … I suck!
ZERO score, computer was 90.5 … still learning the strategy.
I keep getting confused with the rules for Chess and Gomoku.

At least it is better then losing chess in four moves … that feat is embarrassing.

Being a Mac user I played the game using an excellent free Go program called Goban.

I also purchased an expensive, but hopefully good program for the iPad called SmartGo Kifu

Battlefield 3 Pre Release Download

stephen — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:34:37 +0000

Not long now until Battlefield 3 will be out. In fact I have already downloaded it

If you purchase Battlefield 3 through Origin, EA will let you download it from the 21st of October. Unfortunately you can’t play it, not even the single player version.

Its just sitting there tempting me … B.A.S.T.A.R.D.S !!!!

You click and all you get is

So I have to wait until 10 am Thursday, 27th of October Australian time to play.

To add insult to injury I had to pay AUD $79 which is much more then the cost of the American version and the American dollar is worth less then our dollar.

Off course I am not complaining about having to wait, nor am I complaining about the higher price here. Australians are used to being ripped off which is why I buy my books and Blu Rays from overseas.

Steve Jobs

stephen — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:50:21 +0000

A slightly more famous Steve then I passed away today. Its hard to believe that someone who helped invent the personal computer is gone, and at only 56 way too young.

I can’t even begin to think how much money on I have spent on Apple products, starting with the Apple IIe way back in 1984.

I think it has been

- Apple IIe
- Macintosh Clasic II?
- G4 Laptop
- Intel Core Duo laptop
- Mac Mini (Intel)
- Mac Mini (2011)
- the last Macbook Pro 15″ before the Unibodies came in (early 2008)
- MacBook Air 13″ 2011

The IIe cost somewhere between $3,000 and $4,000 dollars AUD in 84! I could buy a really nice motorbike with that sort of money now.

Tax Time

stephen — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:49:07 +0000

I always use e-tax to do my Australian tax return.

For the last three years I have the same process:

1. Enter all the data that is relevant, then get an answer that says I owe the tax office money
2. Procrastinate for two or three months until finally I figure out what I have done wrong.
3. It seems I don’t fill in the medicare levy surcharge question which means by default I get charged it! DOH DOH
4. When I repeat this process next year I will see this note and get my refund in July, not October!

In summary, if you are using E-Tax don’t jump around and fill in the questions you know are relevant. Start at Q1 and finnish at the end.

hmm, its now 4:48 am DST (daylights savings starts today) .. time to hit the sack.

Learning to Dive

stephen — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:43:00 +0000

Last weekend (Friday, July 22nd) I started a Scuba course at Dive Plus.

Friday, 6pm: Introduction, basic theory and practice in Dive Plus swimming pool.

Saturday, July 23:
Sunday, July 24: Dives at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron Pier.

Saturday, July 30: One Dive at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron Pier and written test at Rye Pub.

Our group would have finished yesterday, but unfortunately the instructor had done too many ascents and descents to be able to continue with a second dive.

I have been extremely impressed with the level of training offered and would recommend Dive Plus to anyone wanting to learn scuba diving.

The final dive was fantastic because the temperature had risen to the high teens instead of the 10 or 11 with rain it was before.
In short if you don’t like cold water or cold weather do your training in summer