Hiro Protagonist

No. I've moved on from Ye Olde Political forum on the BIS boards. I wouldn't be surprised if Obsidian didn't want to go back to that again.

The view from 5.30am this morning. Hard session as it was already 27c (81F) according to my car. It's going to be a hot day today. Two instructors are out of the picture setting up the course. A lot of people eventually turned up at the beach around 6.30-7.00am by the time we finished.

I'm a bit jealous because of how many people in this thread who from my perspective seem to take their self-discipline ("drive") and ability to self-motivate ("enthousiasm") for granted. I didn't have any of that in my formative years... For many years after I left school, I didn't do much and it wasn't until I hit my early 30's when I realised I wasted 10+ years of my life. That was the turning point for me to pull my finger out and do something. It's a big regret when I look back and realise that my 20s were a waste. Didn't save any money, didn't take on and finish any higher education, stopped doing all sports, became unfit, etc. Once I changed my outlook on life, I was able to motivate myself to get into higher education at night and did a 3 year course in 18 months. Out of the 16 subjects, I did 14 in the first year. The education institution (in QLD) had concerns if I could do it as no one had attempted what I was trying to do. I moved interstate with the same company to do this because the institutions in the state I was in (NSW) refused. I then moved back after I finished and that was the time I changed companies. I was feeling burned out at the end of the first year but wanted to get it over and done with as quick as possible. Then sat for my national exam later in the second year and out of 144 Australia wide, 29 passed and I was one of those 29. It did open doors and I've never looked back. Another reason for my turnaround is surrounding myself with people who are motivated themselves and receiving encouragement from them. Financial advice or assistance from my partner also played an important part. Having someone trying to steer you in the right direction when you don't want to can be hard. Especially financially. It can be hard at first when someone is saying, don't buy this, don't buy that. Put your money into this. Or if you have to buy this, lets find a better option. Some of the financial advice I received was a big WTF for me as some of it didn't make sense or even seem logical, but now it's so obvious since doing it. Now, I'm getting things in order so that I can retire in 15 years or less. I want to be able to shift from a working job to retirement and still feel like I'm getting the same income. The next 3-4 years as I've been doing in the last few years will be setting up things (eg. investment properties) and then 10 years after that making sure everything is ready and finalised (paid off) when I do retire. I could work another 20 years or so but don't want to anymore. I have a lot of interests and hobbies outside work that I want to do full time. My partner is the same and want's to retire in about 5-10 years. She's already set up everything for herself but then she didn't waste 10+ years like I did. I can't understate how important it is to have people help you, but most importantly you have to be willing to accept the help and change even though you may not see any sense in it. Otherwise, I would still be on that downward spiral.

Back to boot camp today - first day of the year. We did our benchmark. We have one every month. Did a lot better than when I did my first benchmark two months ago. Working up to a half marathon off trail run that I'm going to do in April.

I find people generally don't want to do 'work' when they get home and will chill out with things like watching TV. They've already worked all day and the last thing they want to do is more work. When I say 'work', it means anything including exercise that requires more effort than getting off the lounge to go to the fridge to get something to eat or drink. If there are kids involved, the home may not be conducive to a good study environment. Personally, I rather go somewhere else to study like a library than do it at home. It can take hours to do stuff. I recently sat down and wrote a six step guide for anonymous internet surfing and downloading. I sat down one Saturday and spent hours working out finding the best VPN for me, how to install a VPN, setting up your Tap Windows Adapter, setting up a proxy, setting up utorrent, port forwarding, increasing uploads and seeding. While I already knew how to do some of this over the years, the VPN was new to me. The reason I did this is because I couldn't find all this information in one guide or one spot on the internet and if I ever re-installed Windows on this computer then I had a guide to follow. So I wrote my own and eventually shared it on another forum. It makes sense to me for someone who's already interested in doing stuff to sit there and work stuff out, while others will sit at home, switch off and do something that requires less effort.

I was the opposite. I gained my knowledge and experience through working at companies first, working myself up, then did my higher education later on at night to gain my 'credentials'. When I had both the years of experience and certificate from the course, I obtained a license in my field. I breezed through the course quite easily since I had the years of technical experience compared to others who had little to no experience at all. It also helps when companies pay your tuition fees which is standard in my industry. There are no strings attached. Once I finished the course and obtained my license, I left 6 months later to work for another company. I've also been able to do some management and computer courses at Uni fully paid for by my current employer. The time I found to be easier to do courses when I've been working siince I never work overtime unless I get paid to do so. If my hours say 38 a week, that's all I work. You want me to work more, then show me the money. I don't accept there's an expectation to work back and it's included in your salary. Nope that's not what it says when I signed on and I make it clear from the start. It can also come down to how valuable you are to the company and negotiating to have your fees paid for.

I'm averse to any manual labour or long hours. I've always wanted an office job (from watching a movie in my teens) and sitting behind a desk in an office. I'm also fortunate to not have to work more than 7 1/2 hours a day

Bought a new bluray player, amplifier and speakers online. Hopefully will be delivered this week. Also, changed the incandescent lights in the house to led lights. I won't have to change the lights for another 10+ years.

The passive aggressive SJW doesn't know when they're being hypocritical.

British retirees watch 'frozen' pensions disappear, campaigners hope Brexit brings change http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-05/british-retirees-watch-frozen-pensions-disappear/8161786 Some quotes:

With the exception of the dodgy shower scene, I found this interesting. I can empathise with both the unfit and fit people shown here. I know what it's like to lose a lot of weight and get back into shape, what it feels like when you plateau for a week or two and feel disappointed with putting in so much hard work and not seeing the scales move, but then sticking through it and seeing it eventually come off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA5hKombXVI I can also understand where the fit people are coming from as well. After my training finished three weeks ago, I've been feeling lazy, tired and wanting to get back into it again. Just lethargic. Good thing is my training starts up next week and can't wait to get back into it again. Also, I train with some of the people in the video below. While I've never done a 75K survival run, I'm going to compete in some long distance runs this year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0_ozneo0eE

Had to entertain some family/friends from overseas and went to a restaurant in the city. The girlfriend and I were there half an hour before going through the menu with the manager and what to bring out. It was pretty good food, but I suppose when everything on the menu is triple figures, $300+ per kg for Lobster, $130 for a bottle of wine, it should be good. Had a private room for ourselves with 12 of us. Once it was over, the girlfriend saw everyone off while I stayed back and paid the bill. She was a little shocked when she saw the total but I said, my Christmas bonus from work paid for it so it's all good and my boss paid for it. I'm kind of glad we won't have to do this for a while and it will be someone else's turn when we go overseas.

Downloaded and converted a lot of music (videos) to MP3s and had it on a USB stick plugged in my car. Driving along and a whole heap of Bad Lip Reading songs were playing and I had a big grin on my face listening to the lyrics. After a few songs, my girlfriend said, these songs are pretty good, they're happy songs. I asked if she was listening to the words and she was like, no, but the music is good.

I watched The OA and thought it was great. Bring on Season 2!

You cared enough to reply.

Finished training and now I can relax. Can't remember when I wasn't sore. I think it was back in September. Some of the guys I train with compete in Survival runs around the world. And most of the instructors I train with a military or ex-military personnel. This years survival run in Australia had 4 of 40 people finish. Tegyn Angel - Aus (1st), Glenn Sedwell - Aus (2nd), Hélène Dumais - USA (3rd), Curtis Pote - USA (4th). This was last years Survival Run in Australia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0_ozneo0eE

I like all the Bad Lip Reading videos. I've watched them all and have downloaded quite a few to my phone. Also, the music videos (Taylor Swift, Michael Buble, Black Eyed Peas, Bruno Mars feat. Lady Gaga and Jay-Z, etc) are great and no idea what the original videos are like. Never bothered to check out the original songs.

The Chinese (with the help of North Korea) will send out the Sabre-rattling dancers.

Inferno with Tom Hanks. Pretty average. These Robert Langdon movies seem to be declining in quality imo.

Westworld. Binge watched all 10 episodes. Great Stuff!

This has been trending here in Australia. http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/home/pets/viral-kangaroo-video-is-more-than-meets-the-eye/news-story/5cc6c08c2de68f0a0906b6eee5eeec20 IT’S been dubbed the most Aussie video you’ll ever see — a man dressed in a flanno [shirt] squaring off with a big roo in the rugged Australian bush https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIRT7lf8byw

Been watching a few series over the past few weeks. American Horror Story - Season 6. Enjoyed this season. At first was a little confused with episode 1 but then realised they were making a documentary. Loved how they did 'Season 2' of Roanoke halfway through the season and it kept changing with so many people wanting to see the 'house'. Also loved the spirit chaser TV crew at the end as well. Brimstone Show from the '90s with a dead cop returning from Hell. John Glover as the Devil is perfect and his sarcasm and one liners were hilarious. Cancelled after one season but couldn't see it lasting anyway. It was getting a bit monotonous by the end with the cop hunting down the escaped spirits. Camelot Really enjoyed this and shame it was cancelled after one season. The season ends but you could see where this was going if they continued with it. Channel Zero Anthology TV show about creepy horror stories from the Internet, 4Chan, reddit makes its way to the small screen. Didn't realise there was a name for it - Creepypasta. Season 1 was about Candle Cove and thought it was quite good. Containment Virus outbreak and a wall is built around Atlanta to contain it. It was cancelled after one season but Season 2 sounded interesting if it had been renewed. This show is a remake of the Belgium show Cordon which I have and will watch later as it continues on with a second season. So it will be good to see how the Belgium show continues with its story. Goliath Courtroom drama in and outside the courtroom. Thought William Hurt was terrific in this. The Night of This was great. Mini-series of 8 episodes and no idea where it was going until the final episode. I was hooked on every episode and It ends really well imo. The Strain - Seasons 1-3. Quite enjoyable. The fourth and last season will air next year.

Spent 3 hours with my accountant today and my Tax return is done for another year. Ended up paying 5.71% tax and a nice refund coming my way. Inching my way to 0% every year.

I never give money to beggars. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/sydney-beggar-earns-50000-a-year/story-e6freooo-1225765222551

We give our old clothes to the local charity.