Dear Channel 10,

I’ve pretty much always loved you (and Channel 7; CH9 sucks). Hence, I hope we can come to some agreement with my following proposal.

First, I’ll give you a brief back story.

I’ve watched Good News Week off and on over the years. I recall having a few chuckles, but I’ve never watched an entire season; I only really watched it if I happened to be in front of the television and it was on. I’m 23, so in previous seasons I may not have understood the full extent of the jokes/stories/games, and I might appreciate those older episodes now. I’m also a geek, and I would prefer not to buy DVDs anymore; downloads all the way.

I happened to watch 99% of Good News Week episode one for 2010. I laughed my brains out! Sure, the foam was nuts, but the episode as a whole was awesome! Then, tonight, I watched about 95% of the episode (for 5% I was distracted by a phone call which I initiated) and enjoyed it just as much as the first one. Pure chaos!

Here’s my proposal.

I’m heading to the United States of America tomorrow, and I’ll be there for more than a year. I’d rather not let the rest of Australia enjoy GNW without me, moreover I want it available online.

I know the podcast (6:23 truncated episodes) is available for free on iTunes, but I want the full episodes. If that means I have to pay $10 (c’mon, please be reasonable) for a ’season pass’, then I’d plonk down the cash so quickly you’ll wish you’d done this sooner!

*SCREEEEETCH!*

Okay, ignore my proposal. I just looked in iTunes and Season 3, episode 1, of GNW is available. Good!

Wait. The season pass is AUD$92.99?! How many episodes is that? The entire season 2 is only twelve episodes and I could buy that season for AUD$15.99 — that is far more reasonable than almost $100! There must be a glitch on the season pass, right? It’s not even in high definition!

If you put the season pass down to $15, then I’m in. Otherwise, explain yourself, or it looks like I’ll find it by other means.

I love the show, so keep up the great work, and don’t forget that Aussies live overseas too!

Giddy,
Derek Steen

(For everyone else: If you haven’t seen Good News Week before, I highly suggest you preview the show by checking out the podcast on iTunes. If you enjoy it, then rally with me to get season 3 cheaply available on iTunes/online worldwide (it’s currently only in the Australian iTunes store, here).

Both Channel 10 and Good News Week are @ChannelTen and @gnwtv, respectively, on Twitter.)

Short URL: http://djsteen.com/wp/p/855

Alrighty, I realise that just talking/writing about this is promoting it even more, so I’ll try to refrain from brand names during this post.

During the ninety-nine percent of 2009 I was completely confused about the #fiestamovement hashtag on Twitter. The people that come to mind when I think about who was tweeting the hashtag last year are @SarahAustin and @iBoughtAMac. I know Sarah was part of the Fiesta Movement, but I think Brent was just joining in on the hashtag to win a contest or something.

Anywho, it wasn’t until I saw an article or video (sadly, I can’t find the link) which explained what the Fiesta Movement is/was.

Basically, it’s Ford’s attempt to use social media to promote their small/sporty car, the Fiesta. To do this they accepted entries from bloggers, vloggers, and other personalities relevant to social media and gave them a car for 6+ months.

During that whole time the only thing I saw from the campaign was thousands of tweets like the following: “I’m eating some cake. #fiestamovement” (yeah, no context or relation whatsoever!), and this video of Justine inside a Ford Fusion. Wait, Fusion? Yes, you read that correctly; Justine’s video had nothing to do with the Fiesta Movement, yet I related them together because it was a Ford. Gosh!

Summary of the above: Ford gave bloggers cars to drive around and persuaded them to drive more; taking cross-country trips across the USA, etc.

Yay for them! Using even more dirty fuel to promote their cars. C’mon, seriously!? Yes, seriously. They’re even doing the whole campaign again this year with a new set of bloggers/vloggers. Soon it will have it’s own reality TV show. Then we’ll all be doomed!

Ford has never been at the top of my list of favourite cars, and now it has plummeted even further!

I challenge a car manufacturer to build a car that runs completely on clean energy, and get some people to promote that. I’d be happy to get in on that campaign!

Until then, I’m going to slash the tires of every #fiestamovement car I see.

Youch, Derek! That was a bit harsh. Yeah, well, current car technologies are outdated and manufacturers think it’s okay to charge people their live savings for a pile of metal. No sir, I’m not going to have any part in that!

Short URL: http://djsteen.com/wp/p/841

Howdy friends, readers, and muppets!

This weekend is my last in Sydney for quite a while — SHOCK HORROR!!

Why won’t I be in Sydney? Well, I’m moving to America!

I really want to catchup and hang out with anyone that I haven’t seen in years or even months, so I’m dedicating this weekend to you.

Yes, I realise it’s a little late notice, but hopefully that means that those of you whom do decide to come are true friends. I’ve had to put more focus than expected in to trying to give away my unused possessions.

I’m pretty well known for adventures to Pancakes on the Rocks (POTR), and The Rocks in general, so I thought we could start there at 1800 hrs on Friday evening — that’s TONIGHT!

I’ll only go ahead with these plans if at least ONE person decides to join me.

I’m happy to go on some photography adventures anywhere in Sydney on Saturday and Sunday. I’m also happy to organise specific locations as long as you tell me what you’d like to do, eat, or play on.

I’ve made a Facebook Event for this here. Please RSVP whether you’d like to join in and leave a comment about what you’d like to do. I’d rather NOT make this JUST about dinner at POTR. I want to roam around the city streets with a bunch of friends taking videos and photos — preferably during daylight hours.

I look forward to catching up!

(Bring cash for things like POTR because they don’t split bills and it gets awkward with large groups.)

Short URL: http://djsteen.com/wp/p/838

Rah! I seem to be using Facebook less and less over the past year.

I don’t ‘poke’ anyone anymore (I used to love doing that), I don’t upload photo albums anymore (I use PixelPipe to distribute my mobile photos to photo sharing websites, such as Facebook), and I don’t usually strike up a conversation with friends/fans (I respond to messages/comments though).

Tonight I’ve received four notifications stating that ‘[Friends' name] commented on a photo of you.’.

You’ve all seen a notification like that before. You click the ‘photo of you’ link and it would take you to the photo so you can see the comment that was left.

Well, that doesn’t happen when I’ve clicked these last notifications. What appears is the screenshot below.

I can’t find much information anywhere about what this application does, but the fact that it has no description and features the same icon as Facebook’s native photo function makes me wary about this.

I found a Yahoo! Answers post with a couple of answers stating that the application is a virus, fake, and not trustworthy.

Over the past few months I’ve seen friends of mine on Facebook sending instant messages and wall posts with malicious links. Obviously, my friends aren’t actually sending these; malicious applications (such as ‘Photas’) get a hold of your account (including the ability to see your e-mail, password, and other sensitive information) and start spamming your contacts with malicious content.

Please, please, please do not add any applications on Facebook (or other websites) that you are not familiar with.

If you think you’ve accidentally added a malicious application, remove it immediately, then change your password (using upper & lowercase letters, symbols, numbers, and non-dictionary words).

If you’re confused, please contact me.

Short URL: http://djsteen.com/wp/p/810

MAJOR UPDATE: Items crossed out have been sold or given away. There’s still lots available though!

This is a post aimed towards Australians (specifically my friends in Sydney), but anyone in the world can also take advantage of it.

It’s exactly two weeks before I zoom off on a plane to the USA. My ticket is one-way. I’m excited (and at the same time a sad to be leaving my family again)!

Over my 23 years of life I’ve accumulated a lot of magazines, t-shirts (and other clothing), cords, books, collector gear (cards, Tazos, etc), technology, and other random ’stuff’.

Right now the majority of it just sits without even a tumbleweed strolling by for entertainment. So, during my last two weeks in Australia I’ve decided to give as much of it away as I can. Read: If you need it, and I’m not using it, then you should have it.

Here’s how it is going to work: Below I will list a bunch of items off the top of my head (when I think of other things I’ll update the list) and you can feel free to come around to my place (if you know the address) to take specific things from me.

If you don’t live in Sydney then I’d be happy to send you the item(s), but you’ll have to pay shipping costs.

For expensive items (e.g. technology) I’d appreciate it if you at least offered to donate a fraction of the cost of the item to me. Item-specific rules will be added next to items if required.

Feel free to leave a comment or call/SMS me if you have any questions.

The Stuff I’m Giving Away:

• T-shirts (Most sizes are guys small-medium. I have many different colours, lots of blacks and whites, polos, etc.)
• Magazines (UPDATE: Specific ones listed at the bottom of this list.) (Dozens of almost never read Maxim, FHM, Ralph, and various car magazines; typical ‘guy’ stuff.)
• Green Coles Shopping Bags (Someone on eBay wanted these, but never followed through with payment.)
• Sony DVD±R Writer/Burner with USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 [i.LINK] (I’d appreciate a few bucks for this because it was the top of the line model a few years ago. Works with Windows and Mac OS X.)
• CDs (Ranging from The Offspring to The Cable Guy Soundtrack. I probably won’t be giving many of these away, but just name an album and I’ll see if I have it. I might just give it to ya!)
• Unused fish tank, complete with built-in filter, external heater, PH up/down chemicals, and black rocks/gravel for the bottom of the tank. (I used this for a couple of years and it was great for small, tropical fish. Glass, cannot ship.)
• Apollo 21-gear Mountain Bike with front and back suspension. (This is bike needs a lot of work done to it. It’s bright yellow (photos/videos on request), both tires need replacing, gear system probably needs replacing too (it skips gears a lot), front shocks work great/back shocks don’t do much, the hard racing-style seat can be uncomfortable and you may want to replace it.)
• UPDATE: Optus $79 Cap for iPhone (5 months remaining; ends in June). There will be no iPhone included with this. The bill each month is actually ~$110 because the cost of the phone is included. If you’re willing to take over the plan, then I’d be happy to pay the phone costs. Hence, you would be paying AUD$79 for the next 5 months for 1GB data/mo, unlimited TXT/MMS, and about $700 worth of calls (could be more or less; I never call anyone). I’m offering this because it would cost as much as $79 x 5 months to cancel the contract.
• UPDATE: Old calendars and posters. These can probably go under the girly/cars magazines category. I have a few from 2001/2002/2003. There are pictures. Nothing graphic. Some of the cars are nude. If no one takes them, I will recycle them.
• UPDATE: Skis. 175cm (~70inches) long. I don’t know much about skiis, so if you want to see what they are then watch me show them off live at 5:30 p.m. AEST; January 31st, 2010 on Ustream this video.
• UPDATE: Racing Madness 2. Includes Windows (PC) discs for the games Midtown Madness 2 and Motocross Madness 2. I’ve listed this on eBay. View listing.
• UPDATE: Xbox games. Brute Force , Project Gotham Racing . (Click the links for their eBay/Amazon listings.)
• UPDATE: ‘Men’s Lifestyle’ Magazines: FHM Australia, ranging from 2001-2006 - specific issues listed on eBay; Ralph, (ranging 2002-2006); Maxim (1 copy); Sports Illustrated (few copies); Inside Sport (1 copy).
• UPDATE: ‘Australian Photography’ magazines. (Ranging from 2005-2007. Almost all the content is timeless; photography tips and tricks don’t usually age; various contests in the magazine have expired by now.)
• UPDATE: Radio Shack Battery Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) Charger. (Charges A, AAA, C, D, and 9V battery types. Can charge about 20 batteries at once.)
• UPDATE: Car and bike magazines: various editions of Hot4s, Fast Fours, Mountain Biking International.
• UPDATE: Female magazines: various editions of CLEO.
• UPDATE: AIWA UZ-PS128 Digital Recordable Headphones. Store up to 128MBs of MP3 audio for playback without the need for wires. They can also be used as regular headphones by connecting an analog audio cable from the headphones to an external audio device (such as an iPod). (Includes original box  , software, instructions.)
• UPDATE: Rumba 2500 MP3 player. Store up to 512MBs of MP3/WMA audio, listen to FM radio, record sound with built-in microphone, and store any kind of data like a regular USB stick. (Includes original box, software, instructions.)
• UPDATE: Various Nokia cables. I have a Nokia charger, two Nokia headsets with microphones (one stereo, and one with a single ear piece), and USB to Nokia connection for transferring data to/from a computer.
• UPDATE: Motorola USB cable for transferring data to/from a computer.
• UPDATE: Sony SRF-M98 FM/AM Radio Walkman. This is NOT an mp3 player or USB storage device. It only receives FM/AM radio transmissions and stores your favourite ratio stations in its tiny memory. (Photos: front , side , back )

If there’s anything else you know I own, or wonder if I own, then please ask away in the comments.

Watch this video to see most of the items described above. Follow me on Twitter to find out when more items are added.

ALL MUST BE GIVEN AWAY (or sold) by 7TH FEBRUARY, 2010.

Please help me out and take some of this stuff off my hands. Don’t do so just to be nice though. If you legitimately need something, then I’ll be happy to give it to you. These days, I’m cracking down on waste, so I’d prefer it if you put these currently dormant items to good use.

I’ll update this post as necessary.

Short URL: http://djsteen.com/wp/p/787

What’s new? I spend most days inside. Making. Creating. Moving this planet forward towards world peace.

I saw a story on the news about a week ago that mentioned Australians aren’t getting enough sun. Ha! They said there’s been an increase of people with Vitamin D deficiencies. Go figure; everyone’s on the internet. They (scientists/doctors) recommend that people expose themselves to around 5-10 minutes of sun 6 times a week. That seems reasonable; I’ve been doing that as much as I can.

To be honest, I don’t really know what Australia Day is about. I mean, I know it’s about the founding of Australia (right?), but I don’t know who was involved (Captain Cook?) or the exact dates it happened. Sure, I could look up the facts on Wikipedia and relay them to you, but that would be me telling you something I didn’t previously know/remember, and right now I’m telling you all that I know.

Yes, I am Australian. I’ve lived in Australia for 95% of my life. I love Australia.

For the record, my parents are Dutch and American, so there’s quite a few cultures running through my blood.

The only Australia Day I recall doing something significant was when my sister and I crafted a huge TPAN banner (back in 2007), went to a large netball court in North Sydney, and spread the banner across the court so that the Google Plane could photograph it. Sadly, the Google Plane didn’t fly over that area like they said they would.

This year the government made Australia Day commercials that suggested Australians put some lamb on the barbie (BBQ) and play cricket in the sun. Um, I know that’s stereotypical Australian, but that’s not how I roll. In fact, many people stated that the commercials weren’t true to the traditional meaning of Australia Day.

Bollocks I say! The fact that I stayed inside for most of the day doesn’t make me any less Australian.

What did you do on Australia Day?

Short URL: http://djsteen.com/wp/p/779

See that ‘listen now’ button above this text? That’s new, hey! Oooooo!

While reading some posts on Brandice’s blog I noticed she had the same button. Curiously, I clicked. Apparently the one on Brandice’s blog is broken. Nevertheless, I investigated some more.

Odiogo (the name reminds me of Odeo; long-time podcasters will reminisce with that) is a FREE service that offers a text-to-speech tool for bloggers (and others with text-to-speech needs).

It took me less than five minutes to set up:

1. I enter my blog feed and e-mail address.
2. The next page shows me instructions on how to install the WordPress plugin and activate it with my unique six-digit code. (These instructions — and more — are also sent to my e-mail address).
3. I test it and notice it only reads the first couple paragraphs of each of my posts. I searched their simple FAQ and discovered that this was because my feed was only showing summaries of each post. Switched to full text: solved.

As expected, the speech isn’t perfect, and for some it actually might be quite annoying. That’s why I this is a blog and you can read it if you prefer.

Yes, like all modern audio files, there’s an RSS feed (read: podcast) available for the audio files. That’s right, you can subscribe to my blog in iTunes and listen to it on the way to wherever you may decide to commute to. Ooo laa laa!

Click one of the icons below to subscribe in that app:

For all other applications just put this link in your app:
http://podcasts.odiogo.com/giddy-blog-derek-steen/podcasts-xml.php

If you’re reading this far in the future and I no longer use the Odiogo service, then please disregard this post.

For now, enjoy it, and hopefully the speech will eventually sound more like I’m talking.

You may ask: Derek, why don’t you just read your own blog? Then it would be easier to listen to because you know what you’re reading and you have that sexy Australian accent.

Well, frankly, I’d love to. But that takes time, time, and more time. This is an easy plug-and-go option (for now).

Short URL: http://djsteen.com/wp/p/767