Government censorship - it sucks!

Whether it is the Australian government attempting to put a firewall around Australia's internet traffic, the banning of video games in Australia, or the Chinese government altering athletic details - and then trying to cover it up, there is one thing in common: CENSORSHIP SUCKS.

More recently, Stryde Hax writes on his blog that there has been a cover-up of athlete's ages. This seems to be something which stems from the Chinese government, but is assisted by the cooperation of search engines. Do follow the links - it does make an interesting read. It's not about sports, it's not about the Olympics, it's not about the common Chinese people - it's about a group of people entrusted to taking care of a department in a country (ie. in a position of power and trust), manipulating the facts for their own advantage. Seriously, it makes you think that the rules set up by the IOC are a waste of time, and in general, the IOC is a farce. Don't even get me started on Kevin Gosper and his dubious acts... that's a post for next time...

Playing around with images in GIMP (2)

Following on from a previous post of me playing around with that koko eating photo in GIMP, here is another one of my attempts:
The gimpusers page provided the overview on this.

Playing around with images in GIMP

I've recently gotten a new version of GIMP on my Ubuntu work laptop, and was playing around in it. Now I'm far from a professional (or even an amateur) when it comes to playing around with photos and images, but I do like the way that GIMP has many tools. I took a photo of myself eating some Koko Black chocolate to send to a friend, and I've changed that photo in GIMP with a couple of clicks. So here is the before:
And here is the after:
I'll try to play around with GIMP, and see if I can come up with similar tips (or more ambitious HOWTOs) to what I've seen on hongkiat.com site.

GNOME 2.22.3 has been installed...

I haven't been updating my Gentoo box as usual, so I recently did a sync and updated the entire system using:
# emerge --sync && emerge -DNuva --with-bdeps y world && etc-update && revdep-rebuild
What came down and hence was installed on my system was the new version of GNOME - 2.22.3. Seamless and easy.Too easy!

Which group would you be in?

So if you've been following what I've been writing, you'll know that I now have an ex-wife. We're sorting through crap at the moment, and the lawyers are involved, but I can say that she spoke to me recently in a very civil manner. I just thought I would jot down a few thought before I forget what I am thinking about.

The strange thing about this situation is I don't know if I want to have anyone new in my life. I was speaking to my father-in-law, and he says that I will eventually meet someone. While I'm happy to meet people, I don't know if I want another relationship. I was with my ex-wife for around 13 years - 7 of those being married, and I didn't think I wanted to have anyone else. No - I was sure I didn't want anyone else. I didn't want anyone else, and it didn't matter how or what approached us in life, as long as I was with her. But now it is over - and I think she was right to make that decision.

So now I'm meeting new people, but as I told a friend of mine (pappaD), I'm keeping any personal relationships at an arm's length. It appears everyone is very friendly in Canberra. It's not a void when it comes to meeting new people. And since I don't cook for myself, I seem to be meeting a lot of new people - especially in the hospitality industry, something I have a history with. So far, the people I meet can be categorised into 3 different groups:

1. People that give me crap (as in tease me - for no reason)
   
2. People that get me drunk
3. People that keep me fed, alive and available for the next day
   

The groups are not mutually exclusive, as there are people in multiple groups, and there are a few rare people who may be in all three groups. Another reason for keeping relationships at an arm's length from me is I've been chatting with my brother Jay (we're not really genetically related, but people find it hard telling us apart) about working abroad. The line in the sand has been drawn, and we will make out decision closer to the date. We are both looking forward to it, and I don't want to disappoint. Anyone is welcome to join us though!

Finally, there is another group - a very exclusive group - but more of that later on, because 14 years is a long time, and I doubt anything will happen!