I’m cooking breakfast a lot more often now. Probably because I’m home more and we go to the Albany Farmers Market on Saturdays.

Heidi and I will most likely be there for a few days in May (on our way back from Thailand). Looking for nice but not too fancy (what’s that? 3-4 stars) in a good location (walking distance or good access to public transport).

In related news… any recommendations for Beijing? (I might be there in June)

Update: I’m all caught up on Singaporean history thanks to this:

To be honest, I’ve never really been very good at caricature. I find it difficult to capture all the subtle nuances of the subject without just adding a lot of detail. So my drawings end up looking alright… but nothing like the people I’m trying to capture.

Fortunately, my work next week mostly just requires stylised cartoon imagery. So it doesn’t really demand that the image is identifiable as a specific person. Also, it’s all going to be lightly stylised only (no heavy caricatures) meaning that it’s a little more like stuff I’m a bit better at.

Anyhow, here are some practise sketches that I did yesterday and today.

It’s me!… kinda:

I emphasised the wrong visual cues in this one: my face isn’t really super thin, and my hair is big in a different way. It’s also the wrong sort of smile (“huh?” rather than “hey”). Gah… moving on… here’s the work-in-progress if anyone is interested. I find it easiest to sketch different colours for different surfaces (eg. hair) and then break it out into layers later on:

After deciding that I’m probably too close to me to be objective in drawing myself, I went through some old photos looking for other interesting faces. I decided upon this photo of Tone doing the “Blue Steel” look (from Zoolander) at iParty 2.0. I tried for fewer, cleaner lines, and basic blocky shading:

Then I added in some colour:

Better I think… but I’m still not really feeling the emotion. I can probably add some spin lines or other iconographic elements in the background, but I want to get as much as I can from just the main figure…

I guess that I’ll just have to keep practising!

We went to a few classes together including KiMAX by RADICAL FITNESS. I hadn’t been to gym classes before, so it was pretty interesting. Check out this video to get an idea of what I’m talking about:

It’s garish in the same way that almost all sports equipment (especially running shoes and cycling wear) is garish, but it’s also functional. I was pretty tired at the end and a little sore the next day.

I finally had my fitness appraisal just yesterday (since moving to Albany, I seem to spend a lot of time back in Perth) and I’ll receive my personalised fitness regime next Monday.

I mentioned that I don’t want to bulk up, so Terri (fitness instructor) is putting together something with a lot of aerobic “body weight” training – which means that I won’t really be using much of the equipment – which makes me wonder why I’m going to a gym.

Anyhow, I noted rock climbing and parkour (or in my particular case, very amateur gymnastics) as things that I would like to get better at. I didn’t mention anything about weight loss since she was pretty proactive in saying that it’s not required (I’m on around 15% body fat apparently).

I also didn’t mention the term “totally ripped”… maybe I should have…

In other news, I bought Heavy Rain while in Perth (thanks Jason for the $74 tip). It’s an interesting take on interactive drama with clear heritage in adventure games. Unfortunately it’s incredibly buggy so far. Seriously, how did this thing make it past QA?!

It’s been great spending time down here with Heidi (and my sister who is visiting). I have a feeling that these six months will pass very quickly.

What the heck is that? A whale fetus?!:

And then she said “I’m not beached, I’m just sunbathing!” (har har):

Koala’s are really cute! Or it is a Tasmanian Devil?:

It may not look like it, but we’re pretty high up (something like 40m):

The tree-top walk is less “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” than I imagined:

My power-up rage obviously charred the inside of this tree:

Heidi managed to run through this tree, but it was a bit of a stretch (har har):

My sister tried diving through it, but she got stuck:

Note: I love cheesy photos. Look forward to more of them!

First this story breaks out on Kotaku and tsumea that you’re sending Mike Turner down to pick up assets from the Perth Studio so that you can contract someone else to finish the game (rather than pay existing staff what they are owed in unpaid wages, entitlements, and superannuation).

Now I’m hearing reports that Mike has turned up in the dead of the night to change the locks (which I assume was done illegally given that Mike just recently resigned as company director, and I can’t imagine that the building owner was informed) and take all the computers.

He was stopped by the police. The police!?! What are you doing Mike? Seriously, what the hell are you doing? Please come to your senses and stop playing any role in this insanity. Anyone asking you to perpetrate illegal or questionable actions probably hasn’t got your best interests in mind.

Update: Okay, I’ve calmed down now. I’m not making any claims regarding the authenticity of this information or the legality of any actions taken by any individuals. This just completely blew my mind. Read up on it elsewhere.

The hospital where Heidi works has arranged for a great little apartment for us. It’s fully furnished and equipped (so we were able to just drive down with clothes, computers, etc.) and we’re able to keep cats! It also has a good view of Albany (although the ocean view is blocked by a tree).

The view from our apartment:

Brucey Goosey looking rather vacant:

Princess Mao Mao:

Gosh, these images took a while to upload. The Internet connection is only 512kbps (around 3% of the speed we’re used to). Hopefully we can arrange for something faster.

Education Minister Julia Gillard says the “disadvantage” rating will not be used to stigmatise schools.

How could it not?

Most disturbing is that the number of indigenous students will affect the “disadvantage” rating. So on top of getting teased because their school is “bad” (implying that they are stupid), indigenous kids are also being told that it’s their fault.

Very poorly considered policy.

Here are the lyrics… which we couldn’t quite remember:

Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow.
But if we are wise, we know that there’s always tomorrow.
Lean on me, when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend.
I’ll help you carry on, for it won’t be long ’til I’m gonna need somebody
to lean on.
Please swallow your pride, if I have things you need to borrow.
For no one can fill those of your needs that you won’t let show.
You just call on me brother when you need a hand.
We all need somebody to lean on.
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand.
We all need somebody to lean on.
Lean on me when you’re not strong, and I’ll be your friend.
I’ll help you carry on, for it won’t be long ’til I’m gonna’ need
somebody to lean on.
You just call on me brother if you need a friend.
We all need somebody to lean on.
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand.
We all need somebody to lean on.
If there is a load you have to bear that you can’t carry.
I’m right up the road, I’ll share your load if you just call me.
Call me ( if you need a friend)
Call me
(Repeat Until Fade)

Update: Corrected lyrics.