Just in time to miss out.

Typical isn't it?
After pulling my hair out for almost four days trying to remodel the blog layout, I finally understand the meaning behind the hot buzzword that has been making the rounds within the Wellington online community over the last few weeks.
Webstock.
It's a four-day gathering jam packed full of intensive workshops, conferences and web celebrities, with the aim being to improve how websites are built through inspiration, education, insightful analysis and practical application. Amongst the impressive list of speakers attending (of whom I've actually never heard of) are two big Blognoscenti names I would love to hear speak.
Kathy Sierra, the force behind 'Creating Passionate Users' and Douglas Bowman the designer responsible for the countless classic blog templates including the 'Minima' series
(the template this blog is based on).

So naturally I'm chuffed to hear this huge event is all taking place in my hometown and I currently have nothing but free time on my hands to burn. I'm not so chuffed however to hear I've missed the entire event and it finished today.
Gutted. :-(

[Technorati]Webstock,Kathy Sierra,Douglas Bowman

By Erueti Brown with 2 comments

Blogebrity at last!

I''ve finally attained some blogebrity and been found to be hip enough to make it into the official Blogbrity List.
Sure I'm no A-lister yet, but hopefully with a little luck and my new 'in-crowd' status the value of my stock in 'Eru's LifeCache' might start on an upward trend.
(currently it's trading @ a pathetic $.14 a share)

[Technorati]BlogShares,blogebrity

By Erueti Brown with No comments

Graphs, Flickr, Widgets, Hobo's & Hanso.

I've been a busy chappy lately and the poor blogs been suffering for some attention something lousy. So sit back a bit, it's a lengthy rant.

The image I've used here is the result of a cool little applet that gathers the html in a given website and plots that data in a colour coded mind map like form. What you're actually looking at is a visual representation of the html hierarchy from 'Eru's LifeCache '. It's probably just me, but watching the graph unfold before my eyes as the applet works through the code is aesthetically very appealing.
Here's how it works:

• blue: for links (the A tag)
• red: for tables (TABLE, TR and TD tags)
• green: for the DIV tag
• violet: for images (the IMG tag)
• yellow: for forms (FORM, INPUT, TEXTAREA, SELECT and OPTION tags)
• orange: for linebreaks and blockquotes (BR, P, and BLOCKQUOTE tags)
• black: the HTML tag, the root node
• gray: all other tags

Link
Moving right along.

I've fallen in love with flickr again, especially now that's it's gone gamma (chuckles).
I've joined a couple of NZ welly communities and they are as you'd expect from welly, almost 'too friendly' and 'welcoming'
(no offence peeps, I've noticed you reading).
The flickr toys are fun for awhile and definitely worth the dabble, but my recommendation this week is to signup for a yahoo account if you haven't already and download the
Yahoo Widget Engine.
* (11mb) (Used to be referred to as 'Konfabulator')

11mb? F--k that sh-t! I know, but some of the widgets are genius.
I've got desktop traffic/beach cams with loads of live feeds directly from the city and beaches around the country and the world. So combined with weather widgets, I finally know for instance whether I really need to take that extra kit with me into town. I've got a NASA widget streaming near live images of the sun straight to my desktop and the 'Who wants to be a millionaire' quiz show widget is awesome, as is the Reggae Radio station. Here's a screen shot.

Its fun, a lot of it pointless, but really, what's an 11mb entry fee compared to the gigs and gig's of porn you've no doubt purged right after having beaten your dick like it owed you money or something?

Exactly. :-)

I've been getting into my maps. Pretty much everyone's Geocaching these days and more recently a flickr member (Taniwha), turned me onto ZoomIn: NZ Street Maps. A lot like what yahoo and google maps would be like if either were any use to the average kiwi. You can add tags to specific locales with a blurb and hang a pic off it.
I've got some ideas I'm working on for that one so I'll keep you posted.

I was walking down Lambton Quay the other day and saw this symbol ")(" with "ssid bandwidth" encircled on the ground in blue chalk. When I got home I looked it up and to my surprise I had stumbled over 'WarChalking' which of course draws it's inspiration from 'Hobo symbols'.
Very cool stuff indeed (I just need a blackberry now) and with the recent unbundling of the NZ local loop, I expect to see more WiFi things like this.

Finally in closing. WTF is the 'Hanso Foundation'? Last night while I was watching the tube, their strange little 'scientology esque' advert came on, which prompted me to sit up and take notice. (after all I know when I'm being marketed too). The Advert ends, leaving me filled with renewed hopes fora brighter tomorrow and the promise of more information at "www.thehansofoundation.org".
So yes I admit, I am hooked.
I plodded off to the site and while I wait I drop some gleaning tabs into the ??? and ???. Words like The DHARMA Initiative, Life extension, Juxtapositional eugenics/genomic advancement and some shady figure called Alvar Hanso start popping out from the TagCloud in close proximity to the words *update: The Hanso Foundation site is finally up and running again, and it's beautiful. I don't want to spoil it.
"those who know don't say while those who say don't know".
- Ancient Zen Saying.

[Technorati]Flickr,YahooWidgets,Zoomin,WarChalking,Hanso

By Erueti Brown with No comments

3hree More Bad Ideas.

1. This will get progressively worse so nows your chance to back out if you don't want to know what the drug hetracil is all about.
2. Female masks. The thing is I've seen some stuff and then some in my time, but something about this fetish scares the shit out of me *NSFW and neither is this Yahoo profile
   (don't ask how I found this one)
3. I've also been thumbing through Mr. Bill Burroughs book 'Junkie' and Lewis MacAdams 'Birth of The Cool: Beat, Bebop, and the American Avant-Garde', and while the former at least attempts to depict heroin as cool but ultimately destructive, neither of the two have affected my attitude more than these disturbing stark *NSFW intravenous drug abuse images from Eastern Europe. (Be warned these images are not f--king around, they are graphic and a little piece of you will die inside).

All that grizlyness aside, it's funny how the google ad's running across the top of the page are affected by word content. I can't wait to see what ad's this post will produce.

[Technorati]Hetracil,Female Masking,Drug Abuse

By Erueti Brown with 1 comment

* (NSFW) Very Wrong Gif.

With oil prices per barrel setting new high scores almost everyday, it's no wonder a lot of us feel like the MultiNationals are playing DonkeyKong with us. I feel this little gif sums up the scenario beautifully.













Sorry guys, I'll be back with some more tasteful content soon ;-P

[Technorati]Oil,Very Wrong,DonkeyKong

By Erueti Brown with No comments

Flaming Haemorrhoids Batman!

Yes, you read that right. An unfortunate man from Invercargill New Zealand, had a horrible shock during an operation to cut out some very sore protruding haemorrhoids with an electrical "diathermy" machine. A wee bit of methane escaped from his bummy bumbum and apon contact with the electrical sparks from the diathermy machine resulted in the violent but brief appearance of the extremely rare 'electrical anus flash fire', or what doctors used to term on account of their rarity - 'The Great Mythical Electro RectoPyrorhoids'

Luckily, it wasn't a complete cockup. The man was treated for minor burns to his haemorrhoids or 'minorrhoids' and an independent investigative forensic scientist (from the title, he sounds anal)
has been commissioned to get to climb onboard get his hands dirty and finally get to the bottom of the matter.
Link.

[Technorati]Flaming,Haemorrhoids

By Erueti Brown with No comments

Surprise Bio-ooze Attack!

I know it's old, but I've finally gotten round to viewing the 'Oozinator BlasterSuper Soaker Oozinator' material for myself and had to archive it. Unfortunately the customer comments got deleted from Amazons site, but thankfully, wads and wads of information will continue being flung about on the web.

[Technorati]Oozinator,meme

By Erueti Brown with No comments

Snakes on a Brain.

I'm not a huge fan, but I kinda do like snakes. I'm waiting like millions of other 'meme watchers' for this years expected release of
'Snakes on a Plane'.
Snakes are sexy sure. They're ancient, stealthy, highly evolved and yet the idea of, 'there's a snake, kill that mother f@#ker!' seems like a very primal but natural response to most snakey situations.
(Unless you're a Conservationist)

So let me tell you a story.

I was once friends with the son of a 'so-called' powerful and therefore feared Arabian seer.
My friend told me one day a Babylonian folklore tail his father had told him, that snakes were magical creatures, but also cursed for the role their ancestor played in the garden of Eden.
For their punishment, all snakes henceforth would be subjected to 'go upon their bellies and eat dust for all the days of their lives'. He said that it was also for this reason snakes shed their skin, and that left to it's own devices a snake could live forever.
Therefore snakes are condemned to forever slither about on their bellies eating dust until the inevitable happens, because snakes never die.

They are always killed.

[Technorati] Snakes on a Plane,Folklore

By Erueti Brown with No comments

Sickipedia.

It's an odd hyperlink sure, especially because I initially wanted to talk about the 'ultra hip' joys of bubbletea. I'm loving taro flavour. Still, 'the Sickipedia' is a terrific resource if your mind is already that way inclined and I've decided to save you if it isn't by not including an example of how sick the jokes really are.

[Technorati] Sickipedia,bubbletea

By Erueti Brown with No comments

Claymation Platypus.

'Platypus', is my newest rave and on account of it being so crappy outdoors, I've wasted a lot of time on this adorable little spaceship shooter. It's sidescrolling gameplay which, while very smooth, is not unlike the millions of others in its genre. However, what instantly sets this game apart is it's beautiful claymation graphics (reminiscent of 'The NeverHood'). Even though you might get bored of it pretty quickly, its something new, something free and worth the small wait while it downloads to your desktop.

[Technorati] Platypus,freeware

By Erueti Brown with No comments

3hree bad ideas.

Hmm? Yes I get bored easy. Luckily there's alway's something new to do over at The Generator Blog. 'The Comic Generator'
(pictured above) is a lot of fun.

[Technorati] Comic Generator,Generator Blog

By Erueti Brown with 1 comment

Candied EyeTools.

I heard somewhere once that if you designed something that even a simpleton could use, then only a simpleton would want to use it. Having said that, I'm delighted someone has put together the necessary code and made available a program that is astounding for it's usability and quality of product.

Without trying to sound like an infomercial, I've found the amazing thing about 'Mosaic Creator' is it's variety of output options. I'm yet to find a program that not only over delivers with quality photomosaics (if that's not already enough for you) but also from within the same program you can build fully customised ASCII art (grayscale,B/W,colour, whatever) and even thumbnail mosaic webpages with embedded html phew!
As geeky as that all sounds, that's just covering the basics (and unless you aren't an evil bugger like me at day 4) I recommend making the absolute most from the free 30 day demo trial.

Here's one great way. Once you've got your images down, another sweet little image app and a perfect accompaniment to this program is the 'Rasterbator' over at 'The Sect of Homokaasu' (WARNING will probably empty your ink cartridges overnight) If you've ever wanted to know how to blowup and print a wall size image, here's the answer! You can upload your images to the site but I'd recommend downloading the standalone version.

Mosaic Creator and Rasterbator roll nothing short of 20 deep and I'm totally tweaked.

*Also just as a foot note. I'm happy to hear the two Tasmanian miners trapped for 14 days one kilometre underground, in a 1.5*1.5 meter cage and in 30+ degree heat came out in tiptop shape. The thing is, as Sue pointed out.
Where did they go to the toilet all that time?

[Technorati] mosaic creator rasterbator

By Erueti Brown with No comments

M-CITY.

I've been a big fan of m-city for a while now. It's an application for constructing urban themed environments made entirely from stencils. It's proved to be a very cool tool indeed for serious graffiti artists worldwide and I've found it a valid way to explore and express my own responses to urbanisation.
While you can't save the image you've made, you can do a screenshot and paste it into a graphics program like Photoshop or MS paint. Then it's just a matter of cropping and saving the image. With a little time, you can buildup some pretty cool stuff and have them on proud display in the monthly gallery. Pictured above are some of my own examples I have posted to the gallery.

Two more things before I jet.

1. Yes! After several attempts. Somehow I've finally managed to streamline FireFox and IE browser views, so now they should look pretty similar and more importantly, equally as crap as each other.
2. Being in NZ, I'm probably the last to the dinner table on this one but 'MirrorMask' was finally released here and was totally
   ( at least for me, as Sue didn't really like it) worth the wait.

[Technorati] m-city

By Erueti Brown with No comments

LinkCache dumping grounds.

Right no messing about, let's get straight into it.

• The subservient Virtual Girlfriend is for you Glenn.
  Treat her good. + I got a good response when I asked her to suck ....
  
• The Largest Online Stadium. Because not every fan receives a ticket for the big sport event in Germany this year. Sue and I are in block I tribune 10, but with 36147 other fans at the time of posting you better get in anywhere you can and quick!
  (web site)

• Ezprezzo.com's 'pipe dream' is a suprisingly cool little piece of animation. (Google Video).
• The Transformers: Evolution series kicks off in June! Ever wondered what form your favorite Transformers would take if they existed in different eras? (web page)
  
• Try to remember, Levers wouldn't be as much fun to play without those f#@ken birds! (flash game)
  
• Two options for your soul incase you were ever curious: The people over at We Want Your Soul seem like nice folks and eHOW is giving clear instructions about How To Sell Your Soul To The Devil. (web site)
  
• A few of you have wondered where the mighty N: The Way of the Ninja flash game dissapeared too? Well it's back.
  (flash game)
  
• Some of you know already that you're on my 'Day Ruers' list. And one day...!whamm I'm gonna f@#ken whack ya punk ass. (web site)
  
• Christopher Wilde founder of the Artichoke Yink Press does some pretty amazing mind blowing collages from world currency. (web site may take some time to load if your dialup)
  
• Wikipedia is a great source for inspiration. eg. Unusual Articles, Complete geography of the Land of OZ.(wiki)
• SOCA is a new FBI-style crime-fighting agency has been launched in the UK, but what the f#@k is their ThunderCat esque logo all about? Also while we're on the topic of ThunderCats I found this page with what seems like the ThunderCat voice actors in some hilarious out takes.
• "Combien pour la fillette" and other useful french phrases. (web site)

And lastly, I am delighted to announce that the Urban Dictionary has finally accepted two of my submissions. Add your own and gloat like me. That's all for now. I've done enough typing.



[Technorati] LinkCache Dumping Grounds

By Erueti Brown with No comments

1st Official Eru's LifeCache Tees.

That's right sucka!
Click drag click and just like that I've opened the shop doors for all you hearty true schoolers.

"If I build it, they will come."

> Doors to shop. <





[Tecnorati] CafePress Eru's LifeCache

By Erueti Brown with 1 comment

TSUNAMI WARNING by proxy.

3:26 am (NZT) today, an earthquake measuring 7.8 and centered 170km NE of Tonga rocked the Pacific.
3:42 am, a tsunami warning was issued for the entire Pacific region including New Zealand, with the first wave expected to hit Gisbourne and the East Coast at 6:21 am.

8:54 am, hundreds of people reported missing and presumed to have drowned, as the entire downtown Wellington CBD quarter is completely submerged after an unprepared Capital is engulfed by the harbor's sudden massive inundation ...

That would have been a kickass post and my cue to grab a snorkel and finally start looting, had the tsunami warning not been withdrawn, damn it.
But it was touch and go there for some time before all the details could be collated. The very scary reality about this non event was how lucky the Ministry of Civil Defence was by completely dropping the ball and being totally unaware of the tsunami threat.
What happened to the Plan Stan?

Good one though guys, next time huhh?
We can all rest easy, secure in the hopes that someone is on top of things in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

;-)

[Technorati] Tsunami Hoax

By Erueti Brown with No comments

That time again.

Joy and yay, it's May! That means that many otherwise typically shy and nocturnal Kiwi's (Urbanis apteryx australis) are slowly coming out from their safe, snug nests for two things which go quite well together.
Magic Mushrooms and New Zealand music month.

Okay, well I may be exaggerating about the mushrooms. But in any case, during the month of May they do share some similarities that would make them natural Allies .

• They are both for the most part free
  
• Both are available in abundance with the best spots to partake usually known by locals
  
• Both help in the facilitation of mind expansion via the growth of personal awareness, interaction and new experiences within the surrounding environment.

There's a lot to checkout in the 2K6 with an estimated 500+ gigs Nationwide. ( Truffleheads, Just think of all the farmland and lawn frontage in between) Everyone is, in their own way trying to promote Kiwi Music both here and abroad.

My NZ music month byte is aimed toward an often exploited and overlooked subculture with needs existing outside the normal hiphop/emo-indywave/electronica offerings.
A crew, I'm overjoyed to announce, my very good friend Trevor Hailwood has recently joined.

The Parent.

Surrounded by The Wiggles, High5 and with Postman Pat on constant repeat in the car or lounge, over and over again. There's not a lot of room left for a parent to at least 'random shuffle' the tracks in a futile attempt to stay sane and present. They say it's hard out there for a Pimp and that may well be true, but it's even harder out there for a parent to find music they can not only tolerate, but also enjoy along with their child. That's where the folks over at Smoke CD's can help with two very cool child/parent friendly albums. Both are great concepts which should proudly carry an 'NZ made' embossed stamp for their pioneering efforts.
Check them out and listen to some of the samples.

• BabyDub.
  
• BabyJazz.
  

I'll leave it in your hands to discover for yourself what's what.
Enjoy the month whatever you make of it, right now it's back to the underground dwelling for this Kiwi. Mushrooms and all.

Also, I'd love to extend a warm welcome to Y-nui's newest resident, Mckenzie.
I look forward to meeting you soon littleman!

[Technorati] NZMUSIC,BabyJazz

By Erueti Brown with 2 comments

Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

By Erueti Brown with No comments