Alex Piotrowski

Jad's 30th Birthday

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 19:52:12 +1100

Jad’s 30th Birthday

This is the Tale of Jad’s 30th Birthday.

Jad’s Birthday was held on the 8th of October. We went to a restarant by the beach and dinner was served. There was starters, mains and then cake for desert. Starters there was choice of bread/butter and meat. Mains, there was steak, fish and vegetarian and for desert it was a chocolate cake. My older Cousin is a vegeratian and my younger cousin is deathly allegic to nuts. Overall this restarant was very accomdating to everyone. And the bill came out to be $1700 for 14 people.

Characters:

Middle Sister: Catherine (Rarely shorten to Cat).
Oldest Sister: Caroline (Sometimes shorten to Carol).
Dad
Mum
Sam: Married to my eldest sister (Caroline).
Chhay: Married to my middle sister (Catherine).
Charlie: Son of Catherine and Chhay, 11 years old.
Charlotte: Daughter of Caroline and Sam, roughly 6 months old.

Why do I mention the age of the kids, but not the Adults - Well I just think it is important to draw a distinction from kids to adults. (Hopefully not being Ageist).

I originally sat next to Mum, and across from Morgan, Belinda and Jessica. I told mum that I would like to swap with Catherine so that I could talk video games with Jad, Oscar and Charlie. In fact while walking to the restarant with Jad, we briefly talked about video games where he stated he likes “Death standing 2” - I some light heart humour towards him and called that game a “Walking simulator” “The Auspost experience”.

I texted Catherine, saying to her that it is impossible to swap. But to my surprise she came to me and asked to swap seats. She stated that she “Would like to talk to Jessica”. I was a little bit hestiant to swap but after a while I agreed to swap.

I did not realise that I would be swapping to sit next to Caroline, I made some small talk to her but then quickly realised that is not a good idea. In my mind I was like “I really should not talk to her” so then I stayed silent to her.

The topic of conversation was “Getting older is worse” I agreed as I mentioned that getting older means it takes longer to heal from injuries.

I then mentioned to caroline that she has always minimized my injuries - The two instances were when I got my knee cut from the snow boarding accident and when I broke my toe in the kitchen.

In the snow boarding after the hospital she mentioned - Imagine you are feeling so much pain, in really it just a bruise.

And with my broke toe she said “Well if you are still walking then it is probably not broken”. Well after a scan, my toe was really broken. (And I still did a half marathon with Catherine).

When I brought these two memories up - She flat out denied it. “I never” minimize your injuries. And immediately I thought “This is gaslighting”. I then shared this with Catherine via text.

I never would have imagined how quickly things can turn bad.

Caroline then came around to me and loudly whispered “I never want to talk to you again” and then said “Also you smell like shit”.

She then prompted me to swap seats with Sam. Part of me wanted to say “No I prefer not to move” and stand my ground. But in the interest of diplomacy and not making a scene. I swapped seats with Sam.

Things were really tense between myself and Caroline. We did not talk and she did not make contact. I think she was also a little teary eyed.

Honestly, it pushed me to the point of comptemplating suicide - I wanted Caroline’s last words to me to be “I never want to talk to you again, Also you smell like shit”. I know I am not the first in my family to contemplate suicide - Catherine has had a really hard life, I have a memory of Caroline locking herself in the bathroom and trying to overdose on medicine, Mum told me that at one point in her life she was going to kill herself and well Dad - Dad openly talks about this “End” and that he Won’t be here forever. It was one of his rationisations for smoking. Because smoking would bring him to the grave quicker.

Caroline then left dinner, it was clear that she was distaught. She said goodbye to everyone but me. Later I learnt that she also did not say goodbye to Catherine.

After Caroline left, I also learnt that Caroline saw that Catherine recieved a text message from me to her phone. Caroline asked Catherine “What did Alex send you” to which Catherine said “I don’t know, I have not read it yet”. She then read the message and Caroline asked again, “What did Alex send you” to which Catherine did not want share. It escalated to the point where Caroline was like “Let me read your phone, Let me go through your text messages” and Catherine said “No, it’s my own privacy”.

Aftermath

8th of November - late night right after Dinner

Saturday.

I went into my room to watch some YouTube and essentially chill out after dinner. Caroline then knocked on my door and asked “If we should talk”.

I said No. “I am not ready to talk”.

She seemed somewhat in hestiant, but then the idea of “Sleeping on it” appealed to her and she agreed. This was probably the nicest she was to me.

9th of November

Sunday.

Again I stated to Caroline that I am not ready to Talk. She brought up the point that I have work tomorrow. I repeated myself Not ready to talk.

She then asked “Well then how do you expect i solve this?” I replied, “When I am ready to talk”.

10th of November

Monday.

Just another regular day at work - In fact it was very busy. Professionally I am thinking about changing companies. This has been on my mind for a while as another company is willing to pay higher.

I had lunch at Catherine’s place at 1pm (Nothing out of ordinary). Catherine was a little upset that me and Chhay walked in Quitely into the house. So instead of spending the full hour with us, it was 30 minutes instead. There was a little bit of an argument/discussion of “Well we did not know that you wanted us to let you know we are here” “We thought you were working or in a meeting”. But ultimately it was quite constructive.

I finished work and at around 4:50pm I get a text from Catherine.

“Hey I had a full on rage towards Caroline and mum today. Just letting you know so you’re aware if the vibe is not what you are used to.”

When I finished work, I got cheese cake slices from woolies and then went to Catherine first to console her. I know she would have suffered the most amount of pain from the three of them. So it made sense to me to go to her first.

After some time, I went woolies again and brought strawberries. I washed them and placed them in on my desk.

Caroline was the first to knock on my door. I am still not ready to talk to her. I wanted her to leave my room so then I pretend that she was not there and continued to watch my video. She “named called” me and “From a thrid point of view/perspective - What I am doing is rude”. Part of my wanted to escalate things but I am glad I did not. She then said “When will we talk” to which I replied “When I am ready, I will ask you”. She tried to create doubt “But what if I am not ready?”. I gave her no answer. She then left.

Mum then came to talk to me and we chatted for about 18 minutes

Interestingly - Sam is no where to seem. Perhaps Caroline told him not to come or perhaps he is working late and staying somewhere else. I have no idea and this is just speculation.

Reflections

Ultimately I feel the most sorry for Catherine. She absolutely had no part in the fallout and her only crime was that she received a text message from me. I’m really glad that she did not share the text message with Caroline. The fact that Caroline insisted on reading the text message shows that she has zero trust. It gives me vibes of the crazy girlfriend wanting to go through her boyfriend’s phone.

I think I know what I want to get Catherine. Mum gave me Catherine’s Sunglasses, she told me that Catherine threw it in her rage. I think with these glasses I want to frame it for Catherine, with some words. Either “It’s Okay” or “It will pass” or something else entirely.

I also want to get Catherine to game “Dispatch”. I would very much like her to play it. It’s a game where you make choices that impact the story. I think it would be good to compare the choice of “respecting privacy” versus “telling truths”. There is a moment in the game where you can tell the truth or lie about yourself - and live with the consequences of your choice. It is also a very short game too - Each episode is about 30 minutes so you can take it in episodes.

In regards to Caroline - Quite frankly I don’t want to talk to someone who says to me “You smell” or “You are rude”. To me that is on the bottom of the argument Pyramid and I really have no interest in partipating is such things. In the past she has also called me “Autistic” “Retarded” and other various names. I’m sorry we could not have a better relationship.

Mum - A part of me feels sorry for mum. She had a really hard life coming here to Australia. She wants to keep the family together but it seems like it is falling apart. She said to me that she wants to have Morgan’s family.

All that I want to do is make mum proud. She deserves it.

Dad - Dad has had a really hard life too.

Charlie - I feel really sorry for Charlie. I wish he did not have to witness the family infighting. It’s just so strangle, You are in the toilet taking a poop and then suddenly you hear yelling/screaming fighting where you witness your mum, aunty, grandma and grandpa at odds with each other.

Charlotte - I was told that Carlotte was crying.Yes this is really upsetting but to be honest, she should be fine. She won’t have any memory of this.

Another update:

Think and write about what you would like your relationship with your sister to look like:

Don’t say dont’s e.g. when a kid is jumping on a chair. Don’t say “Do not jump on the chair” instead say “The chair is for sitting”.

Stage 1: In regards to my sister

Don’t speak bad about dad. She says stuff like “Don’t be like dad” or “Do you want to end up like dad”.
Don’t trigger Catherine’s PTSD.

Stage 2:

I would like to be “friendly” - Even a simple nod will do.
Treat each other with respect.

Happy Birthday Catherine

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 19:30:33 +1000

Happy Birthday Catherine!

I often think about the times when you would take me to the gym at Carlingford. I’m not too sure why you did it but I am glad that you did. To be honest, If we went back to the first time you took me to the gym and past versions of us ran 21km, I think I would not finish. Thank you for doing what you did.

I also think about that one time I got mad. I think I got mad because you would finish your set and then pause and wait for me to catch up. At the time, If we have 1 minute of exercise and you did 10 burpees and I did 7 then I think we should have moved on to the next exercise instead of me doing another 3 burpees. I also did not like how it would take us 1-2 hours to do “30 minutes” of exercise. Which I did not think was correct. Anyway, Now that I am living in Doonside I don’t get to do much exercise.

Serious question, Do you want me to home school Charlie? I honestly think it will be the better alternative. Although I am not too sure of the future. But I would certainty would like to home school him. I think we can get all the work done in 2 hours and then have the rest of the day for whatever. He won’t be missing out on socialisation too, He will have way more time for swimming and boxing.

It also touched me that you cried a little bit at Frankie’s for your Birthday lunch. I guess all of us coming together was heart feeling. (Even though I was supposed to be working on the Weekend). Thank you for saying to me “I appreciate you coming” Even though I should be the one thanking you. You also mention Charlie going through Puberty. I think it only just hit me how fast he is growing. I think you should also have “The Talk” with him and mention to him the dangers of porn. You have a really good opportunity to do this right. Instead of teasing and shaming (Like how you did to me with your bluff all those years ago) focus more on the actual dangers and brain changing effects. Chances are, he already knows of porn whether be from outside of home or even school peers.

Some good resources:

There was a really good story about a warrior from a village and a mirror. The mirror would show the warrior anything in the world. Worldest strongest warrior, worldest prettiest lady, etc. The warrior from the village eventually surrenders to the mirror, stops training and only looks in the mirror. I can find the story online right now and I actually think I will have to do a remake of it. But I do remember the whole story being an anecdote to internet usage.

And if Charlie wants practical advice, Tell him to not jerk off onto clothing or bed sheets. It leaves stains…

Anyway, that was a slight tangent. These are the runs I want to do before the next Hoka.

Planned Runs/Events

Three Bridge run - 13th of October 2024 (Sorry this one sold out! If you like, you can have my ticket)

Parramatta 10K - 10th of November 2024 (We are on the wait list for this one: Confirmation No. 34754882 )

Sun Run 10K - 1st of February 2025 (Not open yet for registations)

True Grit 10K - 1st March 2025 (I have registered on your behalf. I am waiting for my access code so that I can enter too)

Run2Cure Neuroblastoma 10K - 6th April 2025 (Not open yet for registations)

Hoka Runaway - 4th May 2025 <==== This will be the 21km! I have registered for us both.

I am not going to go for a Personal Best when doing the 21km. I’ll aim to be by your side for the whole run. I think we are going to have the most fun at True Grit 10K. I am tempted to get Chhay and Charlie in too.

Happy Birthday! Best wishes, Alex

I hate Twitch

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 21:32:23 +1100

I Hate Twitch. clarification - I hate the website twitch, not the content creators.

Too many Ads - unskippable
Too many Overlays
Just so bloat

If i had to stream - I would probably choose YouTube.

My Game of the Year 2023

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 13:56:11 +1100

It would be Armored core 6.

There were certain moments in the game where i was in Awe. Namely.

Fighting the Ice Worm. Rusty’s “I won’t miss”.
Fighting against Rusty. With his line “I won’t stop”.
Fighting with Rusty. When he comes to help you in one of the final acts of the game.
Fighting against Carla. And learning about her Motto.
Bosses.
Freedom of customisation of mechs including builds.
I Like Ayre.

I never felt hard stuck with this game the same way as Dark Souls or Sekiro. Sure I would grind and farm money for better gear, but that is really about it.

Armored core 6 was a lot of fun a had in a while. Fast paced action game.

Lets looks at the nominees for game of the year 2023. I will give my thoughts on each game (Even though I have not played it).

#h3 Alan wake 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_GVjTHtmlU

The criticism here is that it is not as shallow as a pond, it is as shallow as a puddle.

#h3 Baldur’s gate 3

I’ve played through Baldur’s gate 3 from start to completion. I did this with a custom character doing a monk build. (level 9 Monk and level 3 Rogue). I copied this build from YouTube (Nizargg). Dispite that - I still have a few issues with this game.

Save scrumming - The act of saving and reloading the game over and over again, until you get what you want.

Turn based combat will always be slow - And all the combat in this game is turn based. It is also chance based too.

#h3 Marvel’s spiderman 2

First I would like to state that I liked the original model faces from the first game over the second game.

Another criticism of the game I have seen is that Spiderman 2 is too similar to the first game.

I think the reason Spiderman 2 failed so hard is because of Sweet Baby Inc.

#h3 resident evil 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83BhJAZrXrc

Watching the comparsion between the old game and the newer game. I prefer the old game. It had soul.

#h3 super mario bros. wonder

Never played super mario bros. wonder. But given that it is nintendo, it is only available on the switch.

#h3 The legend of zelda: tears of the kingdom

I have touched this game a little bit (Thanks Amita!). But never got really invested into the game.

Since Baldur’s gate 3 is game of the year for 2023, I will play it from start to end and then give my thoughts about it.

Update! - I am having a few technical issues with playing Baldur’s gate 3. I am running the game with low graphics and frame capped at 30 fps.

I love Sekiro

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 14:14:23 +1100

I love this Game. This might be a game where i will earn all the achievements in the game.

When i first got this game, I thought i would struggle hard. And i was right. For a long time, i was stuck on Ogre boss fight and Shinobi Hunter. Then i was stuck on Lady butterfly.

There is a really good quote out there on the internet that i really like about Sekiro. I think it highlights what makes Sekiro different to other games.

“If you grind in other games, your character levels up. If you grind in Sekiro, you level up as a person”
“In other games, you level up your character. In Sekiro, the game levels the player up.”

In Sekiro you don’t level up Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Charisma etc. Instead you have two stats

Health
Attack Power

You can also acquire Prosthetic Tools and Combat Arts. Both of which can change your gameplay.

Prosthetic Tools also require Emblems. And can help counter particular enemies. If they have a shield, it can be broken with the Axe Prosthetic. If they are fast and airborne, they can be countered by a Shuriken. If they are on a horse or are beast type, then can be stunned by Firecrackers.

Combat Arts are basically very powerful attacks. Some of which use emblems to use. That way you cannot spam the Combat Art. Instead the player must carefully choose when to use it.

–

I love in the trailer from Sekiro. It ONLY features gameplay from the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXMX4YJ7Lks

By comparison most games don’t do this, instead they use a pre-rendered CGI to make their game more appealing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0zxlh63RtQ

This is a lesson that Hello Games learnt from their release of No Man’s Sky.

Sekiro does have an Opening Cinematic, but this is only to introduce the player to the setting of the game.

In Sekiro there is some much story telling via gameplay.

Sekiro shares the same attack pattern as Owl. This is because Owl was the one to take in Sekiro/Wolf when he was a child and train him.
Owl is the only one who can Mikiri Counter you. This is because he was the one to teach it to you.
Owl uses a lot of the same attacks that you have.
Isshin is the only one who can deflect the “One Mind” Combat Art. This is cause this is his Combat Art.

I have gifted this game to Oscar, a family friend of mine. I hope he enjoys it.

Now, is this game for everyone? I’m not sure. I can definitely see people get “filter” by particular bosses. It may seem that you could “hit a wall” in this game. I thought i would be stuck at Guardian Ape. But don’t give up! Continue to persist, and you will complete the game. Anyway, I highly recommend Sekiro.

I have beaten all the inner bosses.

The only boss i have not beaten is the Demon of hatred

One thing that i hate about Sekiro is the headless enemies. Terror status is so bullshit - It is instant death for you.

“Hesitation Is Defeat”

Isshin.

My Schedule

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 09:58:30 +1000

I do my best to follow this schedule. Although I usually miss 6am morning classes. 6am at Winter is hard due to the cold. I have my Monday and Wednesday mornings free, so I thought about going to Club de lutas to do 6am classes with them. However this will require me to use a car and be back in time for my mother to use. I am leaning towards not doing this since I would also like to save on fuel.

Other than this, I work my usual job that is 9am to 5pm. Sometimes I am oncall for work. And when I am oncall, ideally I should not leave the house in case I get called for work outside business hours.

Other times I have to skip my schedule due to birthdays, other events etc. The general rule of thumb is if the event is of lesser quantity than the schedule, then go to the event. For example, birthdays are once a year but karate training is every week.

Monday

Legends BJJ 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Tuesday

CDL BJJ 6:15pm - 8:15pm

Wednesday

Legends BJJ 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Thursday

Running alone, around parks

Friday

UCA BJJ - 6:15pm - 815pm

Saturday

CDL BJJ - Morning

Sunday

BJJ with Kris - Mornings (times are variable)

OLD Schedule for when I was living with my parents

Monday

Boxfit Express: 5:15pm - 6:15pm
BJJ at showground: 6:45pm - 8:30pm
Judo at showground: 8:30pm - 10pm

Tuesday

Functional Fit: 6am - 7am
BJJ at seven hills: 6:15pm - 7:15pm
Wrestling at seven hills: 7:15pm - 8:15pm

Wednesday

Run club: 6:10pm - 7:10pm
Functional Fit: 7:10pm - 8:10pm

Thursday

Box Fit: 6am - 7am
X Training: 7am - 8am
X Training: 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Box Fit: 6:30pm - 7:30pm

Friday

X Training: 6am - 7am
BJJ at showground: 6:45pm - 8:30pm + open mat

Saturday

Run club: 7am - 8am
Functional Fit: 8am - 9am
BJJ at community center: 10:30am - 12pm
Karate at community center: 12pm - 1:30pm
Home: 2pm
Bikram yoga: 3:30pm - 5pm

Sunday:

Usually free, but events are usually held on Sunday. This might include running events (city to surf, Marathons, etc) and BJJ tournaments. There is Bikram Yoga on Sundays too.

Resources:

I would also like to point out that accerler8fitness’s Boxfit is not boxing. I mainly do it just for the fitness aspect.

AI_regulation

Wed, 17 May 2023 20:50:36 +1000

I thought i would put down some of my thoughts upon hearing news about AI regulation.

This is what i heard on the news:

Control who gets to create AIs
Ensure that AIs do not spread misinformation
Ensure that AIs and the companies that create AIs follow all rules in regulation.

I disagree with this. If anything, it should be enforced that AIs have to be free and open source.

If regulation was to go through - what would happen is that a few companies will have total control of the AI market. It would be impossible for one single person to compete in the AI market.

It will solidify power with those companies that own the AI.

Instead let AI be the wild wild west.

Hogwarts Legacy

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 20:25:38 +1100

I’ve been thinking about this game for a while. This is the type of game that Rebecca would have loved, if she was a gamer.

But i am skeptical, and i would like to call it. I don’t think this game will be a good game at release.

This studio does not have a track record of producing good games.

The combat does not look good to me - It is all ranged combat, It does not look like there is any strategy to the combat. It does not show any meaningful spacing, guard or timing.

I have heard people saying this will be on par with Witcher 3 - I disagree with this.

Will this be game of the year for 2023? I highly doubt it.

I feel a lot of people are expecting this to be an amazing game. It is banking on the Harry Potter nostalgia.

God of war vs marvel

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 11:12:05 +1100

This has been on my mind for a while and i decided it would be better if i put it down on paper instead of it staying in my head.

On thing i want to compare between the two is the “Shield fall” stunt. The idea is that the protagonist falls from a great height and breaks their fall through the use of a shield. I think it is important to say, the use of a shield in this manner does not break the fall. If you want to break your own fall then i would recommend taking up Judo or BJJ.

The two stunts below are timestamped

Captain America doing the stunt in winter soldier: https://youtu.be/QF38tMQ7HaE?t=152

Kratos doing the stunt in god of war (2018): https://youtu.be/ea7eWFbncU0?t=321s

I think the clear winner is god of war. And i am not saying that “oh Kratos fall height is greater than Captain America’s and therefore it is better.”

First thing - Steel beams (They are not steel beams) don’t break like that in the way that Marvel has done it. Steel is more elastic than it is brittle. Steel is also better for Tensile rather than compression.

The Reaction from the stunt is also one thing to consider. Both Protagonists are “hurt” from the stunt. Yet i feel Kratos gives a way more genuine performance. (He is a god after all). While Captain America acts like he is really hurt - but then walks it off? We see the sheer will of Kratos as he looks up to the falling dragon and see’s Baldur with his son. Once he knows that they have landed in the center (whats the name of this place?). He runs towards his target.

Also what happens next after the stunt? Both Protagonists “move” from the area. Captain America is fleeing. While Kratos is running towards a goal.

The action never stops with god of war. Santa monica have somehow turned krato’s running along with his running grunts entertaining.

Meanwhile - Captain America finds a bike (I don’t know how) and flees the area.

God of war’s One camera shot through out the entire game is very technically impressive and a marvel to look to.

Introduction to Hacking

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 16:06:42 +1100

Hello!

This is intended as a Christmas Gift to Jad. However i see no reason as to why it should not be public. At the end of the day, It is just my own ramblings. However i do think i am qualified to offer some sound advice on the topic of security. After all, i have been working in IT.

You need to understand that this field will be a life long of learning. You will have to grow/expand your technical toolkit to understand basic things. Sometimes it will be very frustrating. Fall in love with the process, not the end result.

You have to be technical.

In basic terms, you need to understand how the internet works.
you will need to understand basic routing.
You will need to understand how user authentication works.
You will need to understand how programs and computers work.

And even then, there is no guarantee you will get into Security. But you will have a good chance at getting into IT at the least. So that is a start. Getting online Certificates increases your chances of getting into IT. CCNA is one example that will help you understand networks.

I remember when we had dinner in Canberra i said to you “You should learn Linux” to which you replied “Yeah, everyone has told me to use Linux”. But it seems like you don’t know how to start. I think for your first Linux Distro, you should use Ubuntu: https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop. It is also easy to install into a machine. Any YouTube tutorial will do.

You could go for Kali Linux, but that is just like any other Linux with a bunch of OpSec tools.

I also hope you enjoy the book i got you (Permanent Record by Edward Snowden). I know i will be purchasing another copy for myself to read through.

Free Resources you can find on YouTube:

The Hated one: https://www.youtube.com/@TheHatedOne This one is a personal favourite of mine. He is not that technical at all and focuses on Privacy.
LiveOverflow: https://www.youtube.com/@LiveOverflow This channel is a bit technical but it is also very fun.
John Hammond: https://www.youtube.com/@_JohnHammond He is very technical and the videos are very long, but he will show you every step.
Null Byte: https://www.youtube.com/@NullByteWHT Another technical channel but focuses more on tutorial videos.
PwnFunction: https://www.youtube.com/@PwnFunction Is also tutorial based and focuses on Web security
NetworkChuck: https://www.youtube.com/@NetworkChuck Not really a 100% hacking/security channel but he does have a few videos on the topic. This channel focuses on Networks.
DEFCONConference: https://www.youtube.com/@DEFCONConference A Conference on a bunch of hacking talks. They are very enjoyable to watch.
Mental Outlaw: https://www.youtube.com/@MentalOutlaw This guy always covers Online trends in the world. He is also a Linux User.

CTFs:

OverTheWire: https://overthewire.org/wargames/ Start with Bandit and work through the challenges. (All solutions are online and you will learn just by reading through the solutions).

If you want a more complete list. I found a pretty good resource online: https://github.com/vitalysim/Awesome-Hacking-Resources

Games

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 20:44:39 +1100

Games i have made

Spongeswap

I am really proud of this one because this is a game that i created without following a tutorial or youtube series. I did this on my own and using free online resources to do so.

Used OpenGL and OpenAL
This game was also finished when i left Macquarie cloud services
This game was the birth of the following two tutorials: ThinMatrix and Cross Coast Gaming
Github link: https://github.com/apiotrowski255/SpongeSwap
Youtube gameplay:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOVHGc2zwcM

Pong

Made in 2023. For this year i will aim to make one game a month. Starting from small simple games and progressively get larger

This short game was made in godot 3.5

Main takeaway from this project (What did i learn?)

I learnt the difference between reflecting a vector2d and bouncing a vector2d.

What could i do to improve?

I feel like setting the x position of the player paddle every frame is not great. There should be a better way of clamping the paddle on the y axis. However if i did not do this, the ball would apply a force to the player paddle and then it would eventually move out of the screen.

I think when exporting to HTML, i do not need an exit button on the main menu.

Github link: https://github.com/apiotrowski255/godot-2d-pong
Itch.io link: https://awesomea.itch.io/pong

Breakout

Or as i like to call it “Brick breakers”. I thought this project would be easy going in since Breakout is a variation of single player pong. However one challenge i came across is that the ball’s code needs to be abstracted. This is because there can be multiple balls in a game scene.

Issues:

It is possible for the ball to be bouncing between the left and right walls infinitely.
When the is one remaining brick left. It is incredibly hard to hit the last bricks.
Github link:
Itch.io link:

Snake

After finishing breakout, i had a choice between two games to work on. Space invaders and Snake. I decided on Snake since it seemed to me to be the harder choice.

The hardest part was getting the blocks to follow each other in a snake like fashion.

Things to do in future?

Allow the snake to tile across the screen (Leave on the left side on the screen and reenter on the right side of the screen.) This i personally find challenging.
Github link:
Itch.io link:

Animations

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 22:56:47 +1100

A bunch of animations i have created.

Software used:

Pivot
Adobe Animate
Blender (Current)

The Majority of my animations are available on my YouTube.

Major works:

Walk the walk

A animation for DART1211. This is were i met a good friend “Suckerfish”. As soon as she mentions Hyun dojo in class, I knew we good pals.
Apparently i did this in a week? I finished off assignment 1 and handed it in early.
I can’t provide all the animation files for this one because it was broken up to 5 parts and then combined together in Adobe premiere pro.

Slush invaders tribute

I think with this animation i got a little impatient. I remember i just finished my two year contract with Macquarie cloud services and i was incrediblity burnt out from work. When i left MCS, i had a goal to finish this animation off. It took longer than expected and i did not want to develop the habit of starting projects and not finishing them. Gildedguy has seen it and he loved it: Link to his reaction.

In this animation i have also implemented a “versioning control” type to keep track of my progress and to retain copies/backups.

Engagement with this animation was a bit weird - it never went viral, but it had a steady growth. As of writing, it has over nine thousand views (It’s pretty close to one million!).

Adobe animate file: }} Video can be see here: }} Adobe file can be downloaded here:

Animation vs You (The Viewer)

A fan animation copying the formula of Animation vs Animator by Alan becker. I was happy to have shared this with Alan becker - He replied and shared the animation on his facebook page. I believe the video went viral because soon after Alan released his next video in the series “Animation vs YouTube”. This was my first video to surpass one million views. As of writing it has surpassed two million. I doubt it will grow after that. Video can be see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNXHH70fnI4 Adobe file can be downloaded here: TODO

Epic StickFigure Battle - Oct 26 2016

Originally this one was going to be named “AwesomeA vs Saminator” or “AA vs Saminator”. I had a good friend Samitha Balasuriya who i went to high school with. I thought it would be cool to work on an animation featuring myself and him battling. I think another part of it was the music. I remember listening to the music and thinking “Wow this is cool”. I Imagined an epic battle with this music and i guess i brought it to life. According to my notes - This was done in 3 months I look back at it now with slight cringe but great fondest. Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXT0qa_SGlA Adobe animate files:

Favourite websites

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 23:17:48 +1100

A bunch of websites i like with some brief reasons.

People:

https://lukesmith.xyz/ : Luke is the main reason why i have my own website and moving to Hugo (using Lugo)
https://stallman.org/ : The creator of GNU
https://linuxtorvalds.com/ : The creator of Linux
https://brendanregg.com/ : For some reason the link does not work. But if you google “brendanregg” he should be the first result.
https://maxzhang.net/ : a get inspiration for me and i love his 3D Art
https://ncase.me/ - Love the idea of explorable explanations and all the other projects.

Software:

Open source:

https://www.fsf.org/

open source books

https://easypeasymethod.org/ : I would not say i am out of the woods yet with my pornography addiction, but it has made me realize the biggest stopper is fear. Furthermore, this was my first time coming across a free and open source book! Its so much more than making money, Its about changing people’s lives.
Need to add Zlibrary here - Somehow need to find the Onion link.

blender specific:

https://blender.org/ - again
https://open3dlab.com/ - A great resource for 3d models, environments and HDRIs. All Free.
https://smutba.se/ - The same as openedlab, except all NSFW
https://www.blendswap.com/

Wikis:

Musicians:

https://www.daveeddy.com/
https://www.waterflame.com./ - This guy made pretty much all music for flash games (My childhood).

About

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 14:33:29 +1100

I have graduated from UNSW Sydney with a degree in computer science. As proof, you can see my Testamur, Transcript and AHEGS.

I do Game development and Animations as a hobby. I thought about getting some “actual” training on these two subjects but I think I will keep it as a hobby.

I also like animations. I used to work a lot with Adobe animation/flash but ever since they started charging for that as a service, i have been more inclined to use blender.

After reading https://manjarno.snorlax.sh/ i have switched from Manjaro to Endeavour OS. The main thing Manjaro had going for me was the GUI package manager. And then i came across an issue with OpenSSL, causing me to not being about to update my packages. Therefore i switched to Endeavour. In Future i think i will make the switch to Arch or Artix.

Things i want to learn (In no particular order):

Docker
MongoDB
Terraform
SQL
Kubernetes
OpenShift
Ansible
Ceph
OpenStack
Networking
NFTables on linux machines
IPsec and SSL VPNs
Fortigates - Maybe a few fortinet certificates
ARP
VXLAN
LDAP and OpenLDAP
CCNP
Redhat Certificate RHSCA
Maybe a few AWS and Azure certificates
AutoFS and NFS
How Email works
CheckMK
Mattermost deployment
Nextcloud deployment
Svelte and Sveltekit - Frontend development
Cable management
Hugo : To build this website, i would like to add a navbar and make it look like max zhang’s website.
Next.js
React
Reveal.js
Wiki.js
Lock Picking
How Monero and Bitcoin works
Piano and guitar
Unity Engine
Unreal engine
Godot
Love2d

Games i like

Bug bumble - N64
Mario Kart - N64
Ratchet and Clank (PS2 - PS3)
Assassin’s creed (1,2,3 - original series)
Halo 3 (xbox 360)
Don’t Escape
Epic Battle Fantasy
HellTaker - PC (Steam) - Free
God of war - PC (Steam) - Paid
Metro Exodus
Outer Wilds
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - PC (Steam) - Paid
Team Fortress 2 - PC (Steam) - Free
Armored core 6 - PC (Steam) - Paid

Film i like:

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Lego Movie
The Batman
American Psycho : This film has so many community edits and remixes.
Blade runner 2049
Puss in boots 2
Shrek 2
Fight club

TV shows i like:

Breaking Bad
Better call Saul
Avatar, the last airbender
The Inbetweeners

Music i like:

Anything Touhou. Zun is a great composer
Touhou - The Positive and Negative [ZUN-like Remix] : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqRu1TfncE4
I imagine this one to be a boss theme - something like a news anchor or pop star (Is this similar to metton from Undertale?)
C418 - Aria Math
I also like Phonk and synthwave
If i have used the music in an animation - I have to like it. When animating you constantly hear the same music again and again.

Interesting fact about me: Apparently, when i was really young, i used to watch “free willy” on repeat continuously. I could not talk at this age but i knew how to work the VHS machine. Also according to my parents, I could not talk until at the age of four. But hey, I Einstein was a late talker too: https://profound-answers.com/did-einstein-really-not-talk-until-he-was-4/ More on late talkers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_talker My Mum tells me how worried she was when i was young and not talking. She took me to every Specialist she could see. They did a bunch of tests on me - Made sure i was not deaf. I think they went on to find nothing. No explanation. I think there were fears that i was Autistic or had a Disability. I am glad to announce that i turned out fine. I am very happy for myself and my family.

I wonder if i should do a “character stats” page for myself? Something similar to Cyberpunk character stats? Or Elden Ring?

Current PC build

CPU: RYZEN 9 5900X
CPU Cooler:
Motherboard: MSI B550 GAMING GEN3
Memory: DDR4-3200 64GB
Storage: M.2 2TB SSD
Video Card: Gigabyte GV-R79XTXGAMING-OC-24GD RX 7900 XTX GAMING OC 24GB
Case:
Power Supply:
Operating System: EndeavourOS
Monitor:
Total Cost: 3500 AUD PC was built from ccpu.com.au

Body (Strength)

My weight: 102KG, (Now it is 97KG, Measured on 7th of August 2023)
My Height: 185cm
Max DeadLift: 90KG
Max brench press: 60KG

Body (Stamina)

Beep test: 8.2 - Tested on 17th of May 2023
10km run in 59 minutes. - Achieved on 7th of May 2023 (Sydney 10)
14km run in 1:22:56 (1 hour, 22 minutes and 56 seconds). - Achieved on 13th of August 2023 (City 2 surf)
21km run in 2:21:41 (2 hours, 24 minutes and 41 seconds). - Achieved on 21st of May 2023 (Hoka half marathon)
42km run in 6:02:24 (6 hours, 2 minutes and 24 seconds). - Achieved on 17th of September 2023 (Sydney marathon)
21.1km run in 2:33:35 (2 hours, 33 minutes and 35 seconds). - Achieved on the 5th of May 2024 (Hoka half marathon)

Body (other)

Blood type: B+
Eye sight: -1.25 in both eyes, I wear glasses

Yoga: Postures i can do: Touch toes? (Hopefully one day but not right now (22nd of Dec))

Reflexes

White belt one stripe in BJJ
I train Karate once a week
I have done Muay thai before but since leaving UNSW i have not trained regularly.
i have also ’touched upon’ Floro knife defense and boxing.

Technical Ability (Which in today’s world is the same as Intelligence?)

CCNA AWS cloud pracitioner RHSCA (Not today, but aiming for it.)

Cool

Current Youtube following: 10K
Github followers: 10
https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/alexpiotrowski/realtime
(Not that it really matters to be honest)

News that I follow

I tend to move away from legacy media and instead go for individuals stuff like

Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan
Joe Rogan
The Hated One
Russell Brand