General

Keeping Getting Calls From (02) 8015 7641?

Without fail, every single day I get multiple calls from the number 02 8015 7641 for the last week or so. They keep trying to call, yet don’t seem to leave a message on my voicemail. I keep putting off answering the call after some Googling seems to indicate that it is some kind of scam or competition. So, after being constantly hassled day-after-day I tried calling the number back with my caller ID on private. I tried a few times and I kept getting this pre-recorded message in an English accent that said: “All of our agents are currently busy, please stay on the line, your call is important to us and will be answered shortly” – then it hangs up on you. Weirdly enough, the number doesn’t even ring which leads me to believe it is some kind of automated spam/scam.

Candy Crush: Soda Saga (Refill Life Glitch)

Yes, I play the new Candy Crush: Soda Saga game (don’t judge me), it passes the time while waiting for my bus and train ride home. In doing so I discovered a nifty little glitch in the game that allows you to get unlimited lives. The process is a little involved, but I thought I would share it. This isn’t a Candy Crush hack, this is merely a glitch in how the game checks for lives sent to you by a Facebook friend.

Stan(.com.au) The Man: Initial Impressions

I was fortunate enough to receive an early access invite to Stan, the newest contender in the Australian VOD streaming war that has just begun. While the name might be silly, they actually have a surprisingly decent catalogue of content (movies, documentaries and TV series), however it isn’t as big as I would have hoped. What is Stan? Basically Stan is an Australian equivalent of Netflix (forgoing the fact that Netflix is about to launch in Australia and New Zealand themselves). You pay a flat monthly fee of $10 and get access to unlimited content across a multitude of devices. A similar Foxtel backed offering called Presto already exists, Stan is operated beneath a company called StreamCo which is a partnership between Channel Nine and Fairfax.

The Most Interesting Interview

I recently went for a job interview at a company within the insurance space. This story details clashing recruiters, an interesting interview process and a bad case of the flu. On the day I found out my contract position with the VOD platform startup in the US was ending because the project was being closed down, I went on a job applying spree. Not wanting to be idle for too long, I looked to Seek.com.au to see what was out there.

Wake Me When The NBN Nightmare Is Over

It is whinge time. As a front-end developer I am working on the Internet every day, uploading and downloading files from server, working with databases, participating in Skype and Google Hangout calls, reading documentation and pretty much relying on the Internet to do my job properly. When Labor announced the original NBN plan all those years ago, I was excited. The promise of fibre-to-the-premise made my mouth water, not having to rely on my dismal ADSL connection (because my suburb has no fibre) even though I am 15km out from the CBD. But then LNP came into power, and doing what political parties do best, they criticised the original plan as too expensive and proposed their own solution that was actually worse.

Well, I Am Back In Brisbane

After a nice opportunity to travel Canada and the US for 3 months, me and Marie are back in Brisbane. We got to see great parts of Canada and some great and (not so great) parts of the United States as well. While I was in the US, I had the opportunity to work with a great team on a VOD platform similar to Netflix (but seriously, a million times better). It functioned well, looked great and literally would have blown competitors out of the water. 

A Review of The Historic Mayfair Hotel In Los Angeles

Day #1 December 2nd, 2014 – Arrived at the hotel. The lobby interior did not look so bad. It actually had a nice historic charm about it. But then we got to our room, we had two keycards, only one of them worked. There was a big wet patch on the carpet near the fridge, the room smelt like mold. We told room service about it and their solution was to put down two towels on the floor.

My Review of A Greyhound Bus Trip From Downtown Los Angeles to Las Vegas (And back again)

The stench of weed and body odour is in the air. Homeless people and nefarious individuals sleep and loiter on benches outside of the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Downtown Los Angeles. One man comes up to us, “Hey man, have you got any spare change?”, it’s 5am and people are already asking me for money. Being near Skid Row does have its advantages though, if you are homeless or a crackhead, but fortunately we pulled up outside of the terminal and walked straight in. I would not walk here regardless of how close you are to the terminal, especially early in the morning or at night.

Why Street Fighter V Is a PS4 And PC Exclusive

Can you hear that? Put your head up to your monitor. That is the collective sound of XBOX fanboys weeping over the recent announcement that Street Fighter V is a PS4 and PC exclusive. You know why? Cross platform multiplayer. This is an idea that has long been touted in the gaming world in theory but never really actually implemented in practice: until now. Street Fighter V will support cross-platform play between PS4 and PC players.

What Is The Difference Between Google Polymer and AngularJS?

There is some confusion around what the difference between Google Polymer and AngularJS is. Both being Google supported initiatives, lets clear up the misconceptions and explain the differences. Google Polymer Essentially Google Polymer is for creating Web Components. Self contained modules written in HTML and used similarly to AngularJS directives using the type of “E” for element. Web Components are a W3C standard, although not finalised or fully implemented in all browsers, Polymer is a set of polyfills for implementing cross-browser Web Components.