The Computer that Phill Built: The background story

Late one night (or maybe early one morning) I was sitting at my desk opening my laptop to do a little bit of work. My old trusty Toshiba, which had been left turned on for quite a while, was up to its old tricks again in that the screen remained black and would not respond to any stimuli from the keyboard, mouse pad, or the power button. Usually I would smile at its antics, turn off the power at the wall, unplug the battery, and then restart the machine. This time was different.
With a howl of rage I threw the infuriating beast against the wall, smashing it into a hundreds of pieces.

A computer in a thousand pieces

No not really, I swore once or twice and called Dan Rose, IT expert to ask his advice on how to build a bitchin computer'. The following is the result.

Me and my motherboard

It turns out that building of a computer is the exact opposite of building a bicycle. The actual building of the unit is fairly straightforward because everything is standardized, unlike a bike which requires quite a lot of practical and mechanical knowledge.

Briggs, Michael and I putting the computer together

However, the choice of components is extremely complicated. For the bike you decide what you need, how it fits on, find a brand you like and item purchased. For a computer you decide what you want, realise that there are two types, spin you head around the various numbers that get thrown at you, pick a model type and then realize that company that develops the technology doesn't make it. All of a sudden you find a hundred companies take the technology all with their own spin on what peripherals should be added, make a few different versions and then sell them off at a variety of prices that seem to make no sense. For the rank amateur such as myself it is stupendously overwhelming...but possible. And you learn a LOT!

Even professionals occasionally need help

After lots of consideration (I won't bore you with the details), this is what I bought:

Processor: AMD Phenom II 955 Black Edition
Memory: 2x2 GB Kingston HyperX RAM
Motherboard: Gigabyte 890GPA UD3H
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon 6870 OC
Power Supply: Corsair TX-650(v2)
Hard Drive: 1TB Samsung f3 spinpoint
CD ROM: LG GH22-NS50 (OEM)
Case: NZXT Guardian 921
Monitor: Samsung 23.6" B2440L
Mouse: Tte sports black gaming mouse
Keyboard: Logitech USB illuminated
Operating system: Windows 7 64 bit (OEM)

including postage it cost $1385.69. There is a further $95 added to that for my logitech Z523 2.1 sound system, but I am waiting on it to be repaired as it arrived broken.

This is the inside of the case after everything had been installed

After the bits and pieces arrived I gathered the most technically savvy people I knew and we got to work. After about 2 1/2 hours of humorous antics and it was finally ready for a test run.

Turning it on for the first time

I am super satisfied with the results, and personally I think I have the prettiest computer in Fenner - which was my original intention the while time.

I'm all about pretty!

Summer Journeys - Bombala to Melbourne

Entering Victoria - a crucial part of any trip to Melbourne

Day 2 dawned bright and cold. I attached my wet clothes to the bike bag for drying and set off down the Monaro towards the south coast of Australia.
The road and scenery were amazing all the way to Cann River.

I went for a bushwalk along the Genoa River in Coopracambra National park looking for a waterfall

Just before reaching Cann River I came across Australia's oldest school, located in the tiny village of Noorinbee.

I followed the coast to Nowa Nowa and then meandered through country Victoria, passing though towns such as Bruthen, Glenaladale, and Maffra.

The Lindenow pub - good lunch and great people

It rained intermittently the entire time. If I had my clothes out it would start to drizzle. When I put them away the sun would peep through the clouds.

A brewing storm

The section from Nowa Nowa to Bruthen was particularly dangerous. Rain bucketed from the skies, obscuring my vision.

The serviceman's monument at Lindenow

I spent most of the time following the tail lights of the semi in front of me. Coming into Maffra I witnessed a spectacular accident that left two cars totalled. Luckily no one was hurt.

There was also a dog in the tray of the back truck. Poor thing never stopped shaking.

From Maffra I headed south towards Stradbroke and then cut west towards Gormandale and Mirboo North on some pretty dodgy roads. I stopped off at the Grand Ridge Brewery in Mirboo North and quick game of the original Time Crisis (my favourite) before striking out to Leongatha and the Gippsland Highway. This leg was made a wee more interesting by the constructs of a witty farmer.I saw the punchline first and actually rode for ages looking for the set up before I realised they might both be on the same row of bales

I made the final leg of the journey into Melbourne along the Gippsland Highway and then Princes Highway. I had an awesome pizza for dinner but I cannot remember where it was (probably Leongatha). Once again the stupendously heavy rains hit as I came into Melbourne in the evening, reducing my visibility to dangerously low levels but I made it in fairly safe and somewhat damp.

A powerplant I passed on the way. These things a MASSIVE. I also can't remember which town it was attached too. Koo Wee Rup perhaps?

It was a good trip, marred a little by the rain as I was keen to travel along the Grand Ridge Road – supposedly a great trail. However I was a bit concerned at its reliability in the wet so I gave it a miss this time around. There’s always next year!.

Third time - and it was lucky

For the third year running Fenner Hall has won the interhall pool competition. Unlike last year, which was a decidly one sided affair, this year we had to earn our top spot. Each hall or college put forward four players ranked 1-4. Each player than played a single game against all others within their teir. This year I managed to only win 5 of my 7 games (2nd in the top teir), with the top ranked player from Johns taking the top honours of winning 6 from his 7. At the end of the afternoon Fenner Hall and B&G tied for first place and so a decider was played. A single game between one member from each Hall. I was a little surprised to see that B&G put in their 2nd teir player. It turns out they had stacked their 2nd divisions with their best player. Unfortunately the final game was marred by slight controversy. After breaking and potting a ball Keith (the B&G player) failed to nominate a colour before shooting, thus fouling and giving me two visits. He claimed not to know the rule (not my problem) and the B&G spectators thought I was being pedantic. From there I was always in control (even though Keith is a really good player). I was able to win without taking any chances except on my final shot in which I gently massèd the cueball around a coloured ball to pot the black.

The unbroken line shows the straight path of the cueball would not strike the black.
The dashed line shows the path I sent the cueball on to win the game.

Too many thorns!

Recently I received an email informing me of a $1500 sponsored trip to Perth. To earn this cash all I had to do was be in the top placed student team in the upcoming ACT rogaining championship. We would then have to enter the national university rogaining championship held in conjunction with the WA state champs. Never one to pass up honour and glory (and a bit if cash) I quickly snaffled the services of fellow Fenner Hall IB navigator Miss Sarah Buckerfied, orienteer extraordinaire.

Sarah and I pick up 100 points on the top of Pig Hill

We had somewhat unorthodox preparation techniques. I trained by running a total of 9 kms over three training session before deciding my ankle (pre IB injury) was still to sore to run on and I decided to eat Maccas instead of training. Sarah, prepped by rolling her own ankle and limping around for the four days before the race.

A vehicle found on the course. Double points were earned if you pulled it to another checkpoint

This year the event was held just north of Tinbinbilla in the Brindabella National Park. It was a sunny day, but relatively cold. After planning an exciting route that looked about 60 kms long we set off on our journey. From 12pm until dusk we covered just under 30kms and picked up 990 points, mostly from checkpoints hidden in dense bush that would be too hard to find at night.

A giant sling shot was also available for teams willing to risk life and limb to reach the other side of the course

Our first three checkpoints after the sun set did not go as planned. We missed one and wasted a lot of time bashing around the bush trying to find the other two. However, after that we had a string of good luck finding controls hidden in very thick bush. At night in dense bush visibility is extremely limited even with powerful torches and I spent most of the time ripping through brambles and tripping over roots and rocks. By 4:00am the temperature had dropped to about seven below zero and our energies levels started to wan along with the batteries powering my torch. Just before the sun rose we were greeted by the astronomical phenomenon of the aligned planets which greatly bouyed our spirits. By the time the sun had risen we had secured a further 1340 points.

A shot of Tinker's Creek. This was about 9:30am on our way to our second last control

At 8am we stopped by the Hash House for cheese toasted sandwiches, a change of shoes and socks, and a toilet break. We deviated slightly from out original plan, but spent the final four hours picking controls in open farmland finding another 500 and multiple electrified fences. We strode back to the finish at 11:30am finishing at the same time as the rival Ursies team with a total of 2830 points.

The last control for us: Sarah and I had a quick bite to eat before heading back.

The student teams all regaled each other with the tales of their journeys as we eagerly awaited the results. Sarah and I were excited to find we had won the mixed team category and we also managed to be the highest placed student team (Perth here we come!). However, it was a huge surprise when we found out we were leaving the Brindies as the 2011 ACT rogaining champions.

2011 ACT rogaining champions

Summer Journeys - Canberra to Bombala

I have finally found my way back to the blog. It has been a couple of long hard months. The next few passages will detail the exciting times I have had. I promise to leave out the boring bits.

With a chain this dirty it has to be exciting!

About a week before Christmas it was time for my annual pilgrimage to any city that has family. This year I decided on Melbourne, so I picked the most dreary day I could, jumped on the ol' Suzuki and headed off into the stormy weather.

Don't be fooled by the blue skies, it is just a cruel facade.

I travelled about two blocks and fueled up in my summer jacket with summer gloves before opening the throttle any blasting back to Fenner. I prudently changed gloves and then headed off through the mountains.

A sneaky break on Bobyon Rd

It was an interesting day to ride. I left Canberra in a torrential downpour heading south towards Bobyon rd. By the time I hit the dirt it was bright and sunny. Clouds slowly rolled towards me and I was soon speeding in the vain hope of making bitumen before the rain hit again.

Shannon's Flat, IB route from 2010

A took a break in Adaminaby where I changed into by thermals and chatted routes with some fellow motorcyclists. I overheard the rude bastards disparaging my route choice. These highway tourists couldn't understand the idea of riding to see the countryside.

Lovely countryside (this may or may not be parkland in Bombala)

From Adaminby I took the winding Snowy Mountain Hwy through Cooma heading towards the South East Forests National Park. I stopped briefly in Wyndham for a beer and to watch some cricket before snaking my way to Bombala.

A must visit pub in Bombala

I stopped off in Bombala for Dinner and a quiet drink. After a few too many I realised I would not be able to safely reach my camping destination so at the suggestion of the publican I settled down for the night in the middle of the town. Murphy* stopped by to visit as I prepared to set up my hootchie. Sure enough in the pitch black my torch decided to stop working. Finally I tucked in for a comfy sleep after a second dinner and an ice cold beer.

*Murphy's Law - and this is what it looks like. Without a camera flash it is slightly more Murphy-like. The campsite in daylight