Words to Lyrics Ben Ho's observations from the cloud

10 February 2013

Year 4

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Ben @ 8:10 pm

I noticed that I wrote a post about my thoughts of starting at Macquarie Uni in 2010 and Sydney University in 2011. I didn’t write a post for 2012 for whatever reason, so here now is one for 2013. Consider the goals of the year my new year’s resolutions!

2013 marks my third year at Sydney University (USyd) and fourth year of university overall. It’s now the time to plan for the future and get serious about which direction to go professionally. This means planning to apply for summer vacation positions, plan for grad positions, gather information and network (*shudder*). I aim to do almost all that this year, as well as plan an exchange and lift my marks*.

Let’s start with the exchange. It has been a goal of mine to go on an exchange during uni. Why? Well, the usual reasons why: new experiences, travel, and new perspectives. The plan is to go somewhere is Scandinavia, most likely Sweden, or Denmark. But it starts with lifting my marks. I’ll need a distinction (75%) average this year for any chance to apply. Last semester I barely passed all my subjects! So, here lies the path ahead. Doable? Of course.

Now the positions with accounting firms. The smart thing to do is to gain experience by working a summer vacation position, and then parlay that into a grad position straight out of uni. This year I shall apply for these, and plan when I would be doing this (if successful) around the exchange (if I get to do that).

Finally, the task I don’t like the most: networking. I’ve always dismissed networking because I never considered it useful. As with anything we do, starting (initiating a conversation) it is hard, but once you get going (continuing that conversation), it becomes easier. This year it’s time to man up, go to these networking sessions and talk to people. It’s the connections made that count.

Here’s to a great 2013.

* – I blame my lower marks on an ongoing personal issue that has been happening. Of course some of you are going to say “Sure Ben, everybody has issues, grow a pair.”, but I don’t care. Close friends of mine know what I’m talking about.

2 February 2013

Sydney Universities Dates: Semester 1 2013

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 7:37 pm

Happy 2013!

DATES S1 2013

Notes: As reported by the university, therefore weekends may or may not be counted. If you have additional information, please email me.

S1 Start Mid-Semester Break Study Vacation Examinations Winter Break S2 start
MQ 25 Feb 13 Apr to 28 Apr 11 Jun to 28 Jun 29 Jun to 28 Jul 29 Jul
UNSW 4 Mar 27 Mar to 7 Apr 8 Jun to 13 Jun 14 Jun to 1 Jul 2 Jul to 28 Jul 29 Jul
USYD 4 Mar 29 Mar to 5 Apr 10 Jun to 14 Jun 17 Jun to 29 Jun 30 Jun to 28 Jul 29 Jul
UTS 25 Feb 22 Apr to 26 Apr 8 Jun to 28 Jun 29 Jun to 28 Jul 29 Jul
UWS 25 Feb 15 Apr to 21 Apr 3 Jun to 7 Jun 11 Jun to 30 Jun 1 Jul to 28 Jul 29 Jul
ANU 18 Feb 29 Mar to 12 Apr 1 Jun to 5 Jun 6 Jun to 21 Jun 22 Jun to 21 Jul 22 Jul

Sources:
MQ: http://www.mq.edu.au/about/calendar.html
UNSW: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/resources/AcademicCalendar.html
USYD: http://sydney.edu.au/about/dates/
UTS: http://www.handbook.uts.edu.au/dates_academic.html
UWS: http://www.uws.edu.au/currentstudents/current_students/managing_your_study/dates/2013_academic_year_dateline
ANU: http://about.anu.edu.au/principal-dates

16 July 2012

Sydney Universities Dates: Semester 2 2012

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: , — Ben @ 9:00 am

As usual, dates for Sydney universities. Enjoy!

DATES S2 2012

Notes: As reported by the university, therefore weekends may or may not be counted. If you have additional information, please email me.

S2 Start Mid-Semester Break Study Vacation Examinations Summer Break S1 ’13 start
MQ 30 Jul 15 Sept to 1 Oct 12 Nov to 30 Nov 1 Dec to 24 Feb 25 Feb
UNSW 16 Jul 1 Sep to 9 Sep 20 Oct to 25 Oct 26 Oct to 13 Nov 14 Nov to 3 Mar 4 Mar
USYD 30 Jul 24 Sep to 1 Oct 5 Nov to 9 Nov 12 Nov to 24 Nov 25 Nov to 3 Mar 4 Mar
UTS 30 Jul 24 Sep to 1 Oct 10 Nov to 30 Nov 1 Dec to 24 Feb 25 Feb
UWS 30 Jul 24 Sep to 1 Oct 5 Nov to 9 Nov 12 Nov to 1 Dec* 3 Dec to 24 Feb 25 Feb
ANU 23 Jul 10 Sep to 21 Sep 3 Nov to 7 Nov 8 Nov to 24 Nov 25 Nov to 17 Feb 18 Feb

* UWS has not confirmed the end date of exams.

Sources:
MQ: http://www.mq.edu.au/calendar.html
UNSW: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/resources/AcademicCalendar.html
USYD: http://sydney.edu.au/future_students/domestic_undergraduate/admissions/semester_dates/2012.php
UTS: http://www.handbook.uts.edu.au/dates_academic.html
UWS: http://www.uws.edu.au/currentstudents/current_students/managing_your_study/dates/2012_academic_year_dateline
ANU: http://about.anu.edu.au/principal-dates/semester-dates

17 February 2012

Sydney Universities Dates: Semester 1 2012

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: , — Ben @ 8:45 pm

As usual, dates for Sydney universities. Enjoy!

DATES S1 2012

Notes: As reported by the university, therefore weekends may or may not be counted. If you have additional information, please email me.

S1 Start Mid-Semester Break Study Vacation Examinations Winter Break S2 start
MQ 27 Feb 6 Apr to 22 Apr 12 Jun to 29 Jun 30 Jun to 29 Jul 30 Jul
UNSW 27 Feb 6 Apr to 15 Apr 2 Jun to 7 Jun 8 Jun to 25 Jun 26 Jun to 15 Jul 16 Jul
USYD 5 Mar 6 Apr to 13 Apr 11 Jun to 17 Jun 18 Jun to 30 Jun 1 Jul to 29 Jul 30 Jul
UTS 27 Feb 23 Apr to 27 Apr 9 Jun to 29 Jun 30 Jun to 29 Jul 30 Jul
UWS 27 Feb 16 Apr to 20 Apr 4 Jun to 8 Jun 18 Jun to 27 Jun 28 Jun to 29 Jul 30 Jul
ANU 20 Feb 6 Apr to 22 Apr 2 Jun to 6 Jun 7 Jun to 23 Jun 24 Jun to 22 Jul 23 Jul

Sources:
MQ: http://www.mq.edu.au/calendar.html
UNSW: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/resources/AcademicCalendar.html
USYD: http://sydney.edu.au/future_students/domestic_undergraduate/admissions/semester_dates/2012.php
UTS: http://www.handbook.uts.edu.au/dates_academic.html
UWS: http://www.uws.edu.au/currentstudents/current_students/managing_your_study/dates/2012_academic_year_dateline
ANU: http://about.anu.edu.au/principal-dates/semester-dates

11 July 2011

Sydney Universities Dates: Semester 2 2011

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: , — Ben @ 9:05 am

As usual, dates for Sydney universities. Enjoy!

DATES S2 2011

Notes: As reported by the university, therefore weekends may or may not be counted. If you have additional information, please email me.

S2 Start Mid-Semester Break Study Vacation Examinations Summer Break S1 ’12 start
MQ 1 Aug 16 Sep to 3 Oct 14 Nov to 2 Dec 3 Dec to 26 Feb 27 Feb
UNSW 18 Jul 3 Sep to 11 Sep 22 Oct to 27 Oct 28 Oct to 15 Nov 16 Nov to 26 Feb 27 Feb
USYD 25 Jul 26 Sep to 3 Oct 31 Oct to 4 Nov 7 Nov to 19 Nov 20 Nov to 4 Mar 5 Mar
UTS 1 Aug 26 Sep to 3 Oct 12 Nov to 2 Dec 3 Dec to 26 Feb 27 Feb
UWS 1 Aug 26 Sep to 3 Oct 7 Nov to 11 Nov 14 Nov to 26 Nov 27 Nov to 26 Feb 27 Feb
ANU 25 Jul 12 Sep to 23 Sep 5 Nov to 9 Nov 10 Nov to 26 Nov 27 Nov to 19 Feb 20 Feb

Sources:
MQ: http://www.mq.edu.au/calendar.html
UNSW: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/resources/AcademicCalendar.html
USYD: http://www.usyd.edu.au/future_students/domestic_undergraduate/admissions/semester_dates/index.shtml
UTS: http://www.handbook.uts.edu.au/dates_academic.html
UWS: http://www.uws.edu.au/currentstudents/current_students/managing_your_study/dates/2011_academic_year_dateline
ANU: http://info.anu.edu.au/ovc/Committees/110PP_Principal_Dates

2 July 2011

Technology Roadmap updated June 2011

Filed under: Forward Thinking,Tech — Tags: , — Ben @ 10:18 pm

Back in February 2010, I wrote about when I would replace various pieces of technology that I use. Tonight as I was doing some research on home servers, I thought I would revisit my original predictions, and see what has changed.

As for the home server, I found a solution and am very excited about its potential!

So here we go.

Laptop

Current: MacBook Pro 15″ (early 2008) purchased February 2008
Change every: 3 years
Original next purchase estimate: MacBook Pro 13″ after February 2011
New next purchase: MacBook Pro 15″ at next major update (~February 2012)

Since last year, I have replaced the internal left-side fan. Also, the performance has not worsened significantly. I have decided to stay with a 15″ model because this is my only computer, and that carrying the laptop to university almost everyday does not bother me at all. I also have a 24″ screen that can be used if I need more screen space. Although I aimed to replace it this year, I decided to delay replacement for tax reasons.

Mobile Phone

Current: iPhone 3GS purchased June 2009
Change every: 2 years
Next purchase: Next iPhone after June 2011

The plans for my phone have not changed. Although I am out of contract, I will wait until the release of the next iPhone.

Camera

Current: Nikon D80 purchased March 2008
Change every: 3-5 years, or until image quality deteriorates/equipment fails
Next purchase: Next Nikon dSLR

Nothing has changed here either!

Portable Music Player

Current: iPod (5G) purchased December 2005
Change every: When it breaks
Next purchase: iPod classic

The backlight of the screen began to fail, and I replaced the screen. Repairing is better than throwing stuff out!. It now looks as if it were new! This iPod is now plugged into the car, so at least it has some use. Still has not broken yet. There are rumours that the iPod classic may not be made anymore, so I will have to keep an eye on that.

Portable Hard Drives and their Functions

Current: 2 portable hard drives (80GB and 320GB), one desktop hard drive (500GB)
Change every: When they get full or break
Next purchase: Depends on the current need

Over the last few years, I have bought bigger hard drives as my need for storage grew. The portable hard drives are used for photos and other storage (disk images, archives) and the desktop hard drive is used for Mac backup via Time Machine.

Now I want to consolidate all these drives into one unit, as well as provide file and media sharing services over the home network. Put simply, a box that stores lots of things and can do certain functions. I had originally wanted to build a Linux-based PC with lots of storage, but that proved to be cumbersome.

I looked at network attached storage (NAS) devices, especially this QNAP one (TS-419P+), and knew this was a good enough solution. The spare hard drives can then be sold for dirt cheap!

The network router will need to be upgraded soon, as it is struggling to cope with all the wireless devices (at least 8). Faster network traffic would be a plus. I welcome any suggestions as to what router I should get.

 

So, that’s made me excited for what is to come. Anyone want to buy the 80GB hard drive for $10?

7 February 2011

Sydney Universities Dates: Semester 1 2011

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: , — Ben @ 12:24 pm

Another year. Here are the dates for the first half of 2011.

DATES 2011

Notes: As reported by the university, therefore weekends may or may not be counted. If you have additional information, please email me.

S1 Start Mid-Semester Break Study Vacation Examinations Mid-year recess S2 start
MQ 21 Feb 9 Apr to 26 Apr 6 Jun to 24 Jun 25 Jun to 31 Jul 1 Aug
UNSW 28 Feb 22 Apr to 1 May 4 Jun to 9 Jun 10 Jun to 27 Jun 28 Jun to 17 Jul 18 Jul
USYD 28 Feb 22 Apr to 29 Apr 6 Jun to 10 Jun 13 Jun to 25 Jun 26 Jun to 24 Jul 25 Jul
UTS 28 Feb 25 Apr to 29 Apr 11 Jun to 1 Jul 1 Jul to 31 Jul 1 Aug
UWS* 28 Feb 18 Apr to 25 Apr 6 Jun to 12 Jun 14 Jun to 28 Jun 4 Jul to 31 Jul 1 Aug
ANU 21 Feb 9 Apr to 26 Apr 4 Jun to 8 Jun 9 Jun to 25 Jun 26 Jun to 24 Jul 25 Jul

* Could someone from UWS please double-check these dates? They may be incorrect.

Sources:
MQ: http://www.mq.edu.au/calendar.html
UNSW: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/resources/AcademicCalendar.html
USYD: http://www.usyd.edu.au/future_students/domestic_undergraduate/admissions/semester_dates/index.shtml
UTS: http://www.handbook.uts.edu.au/dates_academic.html
UWS: http://www.uws.edu.au/currentstudents/current_students/managing_your_study/dates/2011_academic_year_dateline
ANU: http://info.anu.edu.au/ovc/Committees/110PP_Principal_Dates

21 January 2011

University Offers

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: — Ben @ 4:05 pm

Last Wednesday night, UAC released the Main Round offers for university admissions. As I have written before and mentioned to you over the course of last year, my aim was to transfer to UNSW. Well I’ve been a bit quiet over the last 36 hours or so, so let me tell you what is going on.

When I applied to UAC late last year, I only put down one preference. This was the B Commerce at UNSW. Closer to January, I added as second preference the B Commerce/B Science at the University of Sydney (USyd), and a B Science at UNSW as third. At the time, I thought I might as well try my luck for USyd; it doesn’t make a difference if I got into UNSW.

Now, I’ve received an offer for USyd. This now sets up several options:

1. Accept USyd offer.
2. Accept USyd offer, wait for UNSW offer, decide which uni.
3. Stay at Macquarie.

Before I continue, can I say THANK YOU for your support and encouraging messages over 2010.

I’m most likely to accept the USyd offer next week. It was never my intention to consider USyd originally, so this will be another experience to take forward. This time last year, accepting the fact that I’m at Macquarie was a ‘challenge’ and a motivator to work hard. The only situation that will cause me to reject the USyd offer is if my credit doesn’t transfer over. I’m not willing to waste a year doing subjects again, despite the opportunity to go to USyd.

If I receive an offer to UNSW in a later round of offers, the decision is then which uni do I want to go to. The combined BCom/BSci course at UNSW is four years long and at USyd five years. BCom only is three years at both places. If you go to either university, I’d appreciate comments about what you like and don’t like about it.

Thus, there is a high chance that I am leaving Macquarie University. To those who are there, thank you, and stay happy. I’ll be back in Week 1 to properly say good bye, around a table with glasses of amber liquid.

3 January 2011

What’s in Store for 2011

Filed under: Forward Thinking — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 10:19 pm

I hope you all had a wonderful festive season and New Year celebrations.

In the days before and after January 1, many people make New Year’s resolutions to achieve over the course of the year. Some are achieved, others not. However the chances of succeeding are greater if you take a look back at what you tried to achieve in the previous year.

I’d like to share with you what were my goals in 2010 and what they will be in 2011.

The first goal was to work hard enough in order to successfully transfer from Macquarie to UNSW. I wrote about this in detail in my previous post. I’ll know the result when the offers are released on January 19.

2010 introduced university life after 13 years of primary and secondary education, so obviously the challenge was to ‘get used to it’. I’m happy to say that I’ve done that.

University life is an opportunity to make new friends and associates. I called this ‘making connections’, because the substance of the friendship is what is most important to me. For example, knowing a person who has knowledge of and/or associations with entities that may come in handy in the future is a connection worth making. The goal was to make as many useful connections during the year, assuming I would only be at Macquarie for one year. I’m happy to say that I’ve done that.

Thus, 2011 will be about preserving these connections, as well as making new ones at UNSW (assuming I get in). What I also want to do is to ‘reconnect’ with those who I have not spoken to or seen in 2010. I think working hard at uni (or my attitude to social life) has deprived me of opportunities to do this.

Many New Year’s resolutions involve starting a personal project, such as losing weight or quitting smoking. These projects are easily delayed by claiming that other commitments took up the time needed to start. And that is exactly what happened with my ‘arts blog’ project, of which I’ve written about here before. I spent 2010 exploring the arts scene in Sydney, but most of what I saw was ‘mainstream’. Probably getting the plan in writing would be more convincing that to have it swimming in my head. I must keep at this in 2011, and start soon.

The other thing that could do with a bit more TLC is this blog. I say this every year without substance, with nothing planned. It’s becoming a bad habit, frankly. At least improving the frequency of posting would be a start…

And finally something a bit out there. This year I want to continue to be inspired you. Maybe I’ll leave you to think about that.

29 December 2010

Week 26 of 90+

Filed under: Forward Thinking,Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 9:40 pm

At the beginning of this year, I wrote about the new challenge of beginning university after 13 years of primary and secondary education. Now that the first year is complete, and the results are in (after some pushing and shoving with the unions), I’m very happy to enjoy this long summer break.

As some of you know, Macquarie University was my second preferred university. I’ve been working hard this year to achieve good results that would yield the best chance to transfer to the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

I thought I’d write about it here because as the day that UAC release offers draws closer, there’s been a lot of interest about my situation (and I don’t want to sound/feel like a broken record)!

This is what I know, and please seek independent advice on admission requirements if you are in a similar situation. I won’t be held responsible for information which I believed to be correct, that turned out to be wrong. (Disclaimers FTW!)

My marks this year were quite good. A GPA of 3.25, average 72. From what I have heard, a credit average is sufficient for an external application into UNSW. Therefore the marks should be OK.

I’ve also spoken to a university staffer who handles admissions, and she said that for domestic applications like mine, university marks are considered first, with the ATAR possibly contributing very little in this process.

At Macquarie I studied a Bachelor of Commerce – Professional Accounting (that’s the name). At UNSW, I intend to study the double degree Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting)/Bachelor of Science (Computer Science).

Once there, I should be able to get credit for my study at MQ, thus eliminating the need to redo first year Commerce subjects. I find out on 19 January whether I receive an offer, just like every year 12 who applied to UAC.

In my opinion, my application is looking good.

Happy holidays everyone.

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