Friday 23 December 2005, 8:06am BCT
I think ill try to take a squirrel back to Australia.
Every morning when i walk in to work, theres at least one squirrel in each tree. They scurry around with their bushy tails and look so cool 
I wonder how they would adapt to Australian life…
Monday 19th December 2005, 11:05pm BCT
Went today to apply for a social security number. Its kind of like a tax file number in Australia and you need one to do any kind of work in the US.
We headed off early into down town San Jose to hopefully get it done quick. 4 hours after we left we got back… yep… 4 hours later. It was kind of nutto which really shouldnt have surprised me really since it was a govt department.
We got to the social security office to find a line up outisde the main foyer. One line was for people that had a meeting at 9:30, the other was for people who didnt have appointments (us). So we stand in the line waiting for our turn, only one person at a time is allowed in the foyer and each person is put through the usual security procedures.
Since we didnt have a meeting or appointment we were low priority, which means that anyone with an appointment or a meeting could rock up at anytime and get in before us. So we stood outside for sometime before finally getting in. Went though the usualy bag scan / body scan then headed to the social security office. Once there, yep, we joined another line and got given a form to fill out and told to take a seat and wait for our names to be called.
One at a time we were called up, handed over our documents and stood there while the lady typed numerous stuff into the keybord. After i dunno how long we each got given the piece of paper telling us to expect the social security in the mail in a few weeks.
After that long wait and time, we made our way back by bus then walked to work. We managed to get there by noon.
People at work were a bit worried, i didnt expect it to take that long so didnt think to email/call anyone to let them know. Its all good now though, i shouldnt have to go and do anymore stuff. Just got to fill in and fax off my 2 week AIPT survey thingo and its all good.
Work is great, lots of fun.
Thats all… for now
Thursday 15 December 2005, 8:49pm BCT
The section i work in had their xmas party today. They used a ‘white elephant’ system where everyone who wants to join in brings a gift and puts it in the pile. Then everyone draws a number to determine the order.
From lowest to highest, each person takes a gift and unwraps it. On your turn, you can either take a gift or swap your gift with someone else. This continues until its declared the end.
They liked the caramello koalas i took, so that was good. I chose to give away my AUC WWDC 2005 shirt. I had two anyway so i figured it would be a good gift. They liked it a lot since it was kind of unique and none of them had seen one before.
Work is going great, really enjoying it. I grab a hot chocolate each morning as i walk past the cafe to help warm me up.
Its getting chilly in the morning, but the ride in is really enjoyable. Its flat ground and you could probably roll 3/4 of the way so its good. Ive thought about buying some gloves, but as yet my hands havnt got that cold. Ill see how i go.
Thats about it. Work is good, internships is good, project is good… all is good and hopefully i get paid tomorrow woohoo!
Went to Target today and found that they sell bread. To make it even better, its actually pretty cheap Its kind of strange though.. tastes strange… but thats ok.. im sure ill get used to it.
Busy busy busy at work. Presented my proposal today and it was accepted. Which basically means i can start full on coding it. Im really looking forward to it. Ive got a timeline worked out and hopefully all goes to plan.
Hard to believe its so close to xmas already. Ill be heading up to Mel’s parents place which should be fun.
Lunch lately has been curly fries and burgers, i just cant go past it cause its actually pretty good and the burrito line is always sooo long. Ill have to go early one day just to get a burrito, no doubt the people are lining up for a reason.
I got my ‘official’ name plate today at work which is somewhat cool. My little ‘intern cube’ has my name outside it. 
oh! Also got my Bank of America debit card Ive got my fingers crossed that there will be a miracle and ill get paid this friday. Ive got a few xmas things i need to buy which ive been holding out for.
So yeah, thats about it. Last two days have been fast but im really enjoying it. Thursday im off to an xmas party which should be interesting. It uses some gift exchange system that sounds pretty neat, ill have to wait and see how it goes. Ive got a pretty good idea about what to take so all is good.
Friday 9th December 2005 BCT
Time has flown… Its the end of the week already. My first week has been great,met a lot of people, read a lot of stuff, learnt a lot of things. The next few weeks will be great too, my project is getting underway and should really get started next week.
Lunch today was great I got invited to go with Ashley and a few of the people he works with to experience a cheese steak sandwich Apparently its a very philadelphia type meal.
So what it is? Im glad you asked. Its basically steak thats cut up fine, thrown on a sandwich with cheese put on top. You can also get salads and sauces put on. I ordered a pepper steak one with cheese and it was really good
The website of the place is http://amatoscheesesteaks.com/
Not sure what ill get up to on the weekend, im pretty keen to go for a bike ride either to find some shops or just for a general look around and take some photos. Id also like to work on some work stuff even though they tell me not to do mroe then 8 hours 
Its fun, i cant see a problem with playing around with it.
So yeah, thats about it. More to come
08 December 2005 11:10pm BCT
Apple shouted the interns (about 20 max) a free ticket to the San Jose ice hockey. The San Jose Sharks were playing the Canadian team. We managed to get a lift with a girl Ashley works with, she was nice enough to let us 3 pack into her mini cooper and drive us to San Jose for the game.
We met the other interns out the front and got our free ticket and 2 x $5 food/drink vouchers.
Inside, we hit up the food store before we went to our seats. I rocked up and saw Jumbo Hotdog on the list for $4.75 and Large Soda for $4.50 or somthing. Jumbo hotdog sounded awesome so i handed over my food vouchers. What came back shocked me. The Jumbo hotdog was smaller in length then my hand 
It was so tiny Not much i could do about it though, but decided to grab a pretzel as well. With arms full we went and found our seats.
I ate the hotdog in about 2 bites, and started on the pretzel. Only got 1/4 of the way through the pretzel though before i had to put it down. Damn it was salty, lucky i bought a pepsi as well.
I was seated next to some other dude, who i started chatting to. He was canadian and came to a few games so he said. Once he heard i was from Australia the questions started. Every few minutes he would ask me something about Australia, it went something as follows:
“So you got hockey in Australia”
–insert my reply–
–pause for 2 min–
“So you got ford or chevy in Australia”
–insert my reply–
–pause for 2 mins–
“So you got budweiser in Australia”
–insert my reply–
–pause for 2 mins–
This went on for most of the game, he was a pretty funny guy. At one stage he asked me how many lesbians are in Australia, my reply was “LOL How would i know”, he got a bit of a kick out of that.
He also told me he was an inventor, he has a few patents in the works, one for a toy UFO which floats above your house permanently. :O Keep an eye out for that in stores.
But yeah, it was a lot of fun… the game was ok as well.
With about 10mins to go, my new friend said he had to head off. He stood up and handed me a cd and said “These are some of my tracks, im trying to get a record deal, can you take it back to Australia for me?”. I looked at him blankly and manage to say “oh ok”, he extended his hand and i shook it and he left.
All in all it was a fun night, and i met a new friend who is apparently called Jeff according to his cd cover.
Works going great, everyone is cools. I finally got my apple email today and was flooded with questions on the internal mailing list for the team im on. Mostly about Australian stuff. It was funny and cool.
So yeah, thats about it. Once again its time for bed… sleep then back to Apple i go.
oh! Lunch today i gave in to my temptations and had a mac burger and curly fries again. The funny thing is ive actually lost weight, when i first come over here my watch band didnt fit on my wrist, now it does
Ok, im going to sleep!
EDIT FOR JASON:
There was no information about the game cause it wasnt all that exciting… no fights at all. The guy i sat next to said youll see probably 1 fight every 5 or so games.
The game itself was alright i spose, keeping up with where the puck was is kinda hard. A few of them hit each other into the walls and stuff but nothing that great.
So yeah, The game was good, talking to the guy next to me was better though
Wednesday 7th Dec 12:40pm BCT
Just back from lunch, waiting on the dev tools to download and install.
The cafe here is pretty good, yesterday i had a Mac Plus burger (cheese burger) and curly fries, today i had Pasta with Basil Sauce – very nice indeed. Theres a wide selection of foods available and im not sure if ill manage to get through them all in the short time im here, ill sure give it a shot though.
XCode is done… back to work!
Well today was my first day at Apple, started off at 9:30 with a visit to one of the recruiters to fill in some more forms and get run through some basic newbie stuff. From there i biked it up to the ‘Infiite Loop’ (main Apple campus building) and had my picture taken for my bright shiny new Apple ID.
Near the end of the process my manger came down and met me and took mew up to the area ill be working in. He introduced me to all the other guys and gals in the team which was pretty cool. I recognised a lot of them from previous WWDC’s id been to.
So we walked around a bit and i met most people, then got shown to my desk / space more commonly known as the ‘intern cube’. Got my machine setup and installed and was shown through the various Apple stuff online i should read.
I got given a run down on the type of project ill be involved with and it sounds pretty cool. Should keep me busy for the short time in over here as an intern.
Before i knew it, it was lunchtime. My manager took me down and shouted me lunch which was cool. I got a Mac Plus Buger (cheeseburger) with curly fries. I was really amazed at the selection of food, i think ill be flat out trying everything in the 2 and a bit months i have left
After lunch, i spent some time reading over work related stuff and numerous online Apple stuff that new employees should read. Before i knew it the clock read 4:30 and it was getting dark. I decided to leave a bit early to go to the bank and get an account created.
The bank was weird, i got the account created but the guy gave me nothing, no pamphlets no info, nothing, just 3 free checcks. He did tell me my account number was on the bottom of the check though Anyway, i find out that Ashley actually got a folder with lots of new customer information. Its got me buggered why i didnt get any of it, but i guess it means ive just gotta go back there tomorrow on the way home.
All in all it was an awesome day, its everything and more that i thought working at Apple would be. I cant wait to get in and start doing stuff. Its the type of job id really like, something that doesnt feel like work at all
BTW: this may sound a bit vague, but im just trying to cover my butt. I dont want to name any names or mention any specifics cause its all secret stuffs
Monday 5th December 2005 – 2:54pm Brett Cupertino Time (BCT)
After weeks of traveling, im finally in Cupertino CA. The flight over was pretty good, cramped as usual but ok. The plane was completely full, so full that they were asking every person as they checked in whether they wanted a free $800 USD credit to stay one more night in Sydney. I said no of course, no way i was going to miss my flight considering i start at Apple tomorrow.
Missed out on getting an isle seat as well, even though i checked in early. So i got stuck with a window seat and was cramped in the corner. I tried to sleep a bit, but couldnty really get settled. Tonight i should sleep well.
Arrived in San Francisco pretty much on time. Melanies Aunty Doris and Uncle Tim picked me up at the airport. I was planning on taking a taxi to the unit, but got a call at the last minute before leaving Sydney from Melanie telling me to look out for her Aunty and Uncle. They are really nice, took time off of work to drive the 40mins or so to the airport to pick me up, then drove me back to the unit im staying then even took me out to lunch!
I managed to work out how the international calls work, seems i just dial the number and its free. Called Melanie and it worked fine. Ill try ringing Mum or one of my sisters later to see how it goes.
So yeah, Ive got to write a few posts and back date them about the whole trip to Newcastle / Sydney and the visa process. Stay tuned for that, might do them later this arvo.
The time has come, tomorrow i start at Apple at 9:30am. I was given some instructions to find my way to the orientation and intern people, and apparently its just across the road from the unit which is good. Ashley and Wade can probably tell me where to go anyway.
Ill post more Cupertino updates over the coming months. Probably wont be able to mention anything specific about Apple but theres plenty else here to blog about. Stay tuned for pictures too
Thats it for now.
Had my ‘interview’ at the US Consulate today. Was a rather simple process after getting through all the security. I got there early and headed to the 10th floor. Out of the lift there were signs firecting me where to go. I ended up in a little room with about 20+ other people. We were all lined up and one by one got scanned by a hand metal detector and our stuff was searched. I only had a folder with papers so it was easy.
After i got the all clear, i continued up to the US Consulate on the 50 something floor. I was behind a family that had small children and their security check took ages. They had to drink and eat a bit of all the food to prove it wasnt harmful, every bag was searched completely and each person was metal checked again.
Once through the second security area, i went inside and grabbed a ticket. From here the process was straight forward and painless. My number gets called, i move to the window, hand over my visa forms, get told to sit back down, my number comes up again, i go to another window, get asked a few questions, get told to sit down, number called again, go up to the cashier window, pay fee, done.
Tomorrow i can go pick my passport up between 3:30pm and 4:00pm – easy
The toughest bit of it all is the amount of public transport needed to get into the US Consulate in the city.
Ive been allocated a position, forms have been completed, forms have been faxed, more forms completed, more forms faxed, numerous emails…. The process is almost over
I recieved the ‘final’ fedex offer package in the mail late last week. Ive read over it a few times, signed the necessary dotted lines and have it all bundled together with the original VISA forms. Ive checked and rechecked it, but as always ive got the feeling im either missing something or will send something im not meant to. Just to be safe ive photcopied everything.
My interview at the US Consulate is on the 30th November in Sydney. Im still in Rocky at the moment but will be driving home to Inverell later this week. My cousin is going to be at Great Keppel Island and will be driving back home with me which should be fun. Gives me someone to talk to on the long drive.
But yeah, Interview on the 30th, which is apparently where they yay/nay the visa. Hopefully everything goes smooth and ill be flying out sometime soon after that.
Our apartment is organised and ready to go. As yet none of us know exactly when will be arriving, it all depends on the US Consulate interviews.
Im exicted though, although i dont tend to really show it. Little nervous as well with the occaisional ‘how the heck did i end up with an internship’ and ‘do i know enough’ etc etc etc. Im sure everything will be fine, and i cant wait to start working there. Should be a great time.
Guess ill have to find out the details about blogging aboutt he experience, Apple doesnt seem to favour employee blogs so maybe i wont be able to blog about it. hrmmm Something to find out
So im working on an app which will need to have an extra view added to the save panel. Sure, easy, i can just use the setAccessaryView: method in NSSavePanel right?
Wrong, it wont work for me and i cant figure out why.
Ive created a new view in my mainmenu.nib file, hooked up an IBOutlet then used that outlet to reference in code like so:
NSSavePanel *savePanel = [NSSavePanel savePanel];
[savePanel setAccessoryView:exportSaveDialogExtension];
I run it, and get nothing. If i inspect the exportSaveDialogExtension outlet variable i find it is nil, so basically the view in the nib is not being loaded.
Ive got no idea why, all the examples ive found on the web seem to do it the same as me, ive tried the numerous cocoa mailing list archives and so far nothing. Spent the whole day so far working on this one single thing and its bugging me.
gah, and its hot…
I think ill go kill some stuff in World of Warcraft for a bit.
UPDATE:
Found out the problem (thanks to Luke), There was a chunk of code that was being called which loaded an external NIB, which of course meant the current outlet to the View was being nulled. In the end i moved the code to another file, so now the Export Manager handles it, and put the view in a seperate NIB to keep everything nice and clean.
The internship process is getting really involved of late. Ive had a lot of interviews and chats with people from Safari, iChat, iCal. Its so awesome.
Some of the chats where done using iChat video chats and it worked really well. Its good to be able to use my iSight. I rarely get to use it with my regular contacts.
Hopefully the process will sort itself out soon and ill get me visa. I cant really organise flights until i know the exact dates of the visa.
Im excited though, should be an awesome experience.
The student talk thing went well. It was announced that we all received internships, so i guess no its official and i can start a new category on my blog for it
Wade, Ashely and I all had to stand up and talk a bit about our experiences so far with the Student Developer scholorships. I aimed my talk more at telling people about myself and how i come about the scholorship and stuff like that. Didnt demo any code, which was ok cause Ashley and Wade did.
Everyone seemed to like our talks, had a few people come up to us seperatly after the talk and the following days asking about stuff, was kinda cool.
Rest of the conference was spent chatting to people, listening to people presenting and eating free food. Has been really good.
So yeah, most of the people seem to have flights back this arvo, but me and a few others dont leave till tomorrow morning. So tonight i think illhave tea down stairs. Seems a reasonable price. Ashely is still around as well so might go find him to eat with.
Flying back tomorrow morning, via a 5 hour stop over in brisbane, should be ok though, ill find stuff to occupy me in brisbane.
All in all, the AUC conference was really good. Stay tuned for the addition of a ‘Apple Intern’ category and details
Well im in hobart for the AUC conference. Since i got a student developer conference i had to make an appearance here. All 3 of us who got the scholorships have to talk for about 10-15mins tomorrow arvo about what we have been doing and our experiences with the scholorship. Should be ok, im not sure exactly what to say yet – i mean, i dont know if they want me to give an overall talk about the scholorship or just concentrate on the project.
Ive aimed mine at the whole experience, so will try to cover the stuff we got, wwdc, and internships etc etc.
Arriving in Hobart was funny. The Airport terminal makes the Rocky terminal look awesome. Im not joking – the Hobart terminal is basically a big shed. Theres no carousel for baggage or anything, they just simply open the roller door (yep it is an actualy roller door), and drive the tractor up into the shed with all the bags on the back on trollies. They then open the gate (yep is is an actual gate / fence / wire), and its a mad rush to scamper through the bags on the trollies to find yours.
Was damn funny. I couldnt believe it.
Got to register for the conference around 4pm this arvo, then there are drinks with everyone else who is attending at 5:30. After that we have to find our own tea, which should be ok. Ill hook up with some of the other people and go find a cheapish place for food.
Had lunch at the hotel/conference place today, cost me $23, but it was a good feed. Still, i dont wanna be spending that much again
So yeah, thats about it.
Yep, im working on yet another Sports Draw version
This one uses the technologies in Tiger – Core Data, Bindings, etc etc
It works. Yep my fancy and somewhat complicated algorithm i wrote years ago actually works. The funny thing is i remember sitting for ages working out the algorithm years ago, and only the other day i googled it and found the solution in about 2 minutes. Still, my algorithm works and im going with it. I just need to clean the code up a bit.
At the moment it just spits the completed round robin draw out to the console, which is fine for testing and seeing that it works, but i need to think of a cool way of laying it all out.
Ideally id like to use Core Image to draw some fancy draw layout mainly to play around with Core Image, but im stuck on ideas on how to lay it out graphically. I think ill just dump it to a table view for the time being, at least then the app is somewhat useable.
One of these days i might actually get a version to a stage that i release it, until then ill just keep playing around with it
I’ve just deleted the podcasts i had in my iTunes library that i never listened to. So at the moment im running on bare minimum podcasts, but that’s ok.
The ones i still listen to are:
That’s about it. Its kinda hard to find decent podcasts. I guess it depends on everyones interests. shrugs
Ive read about and heard about Podcasts in the past, but only really tried them today with the release of iTune 4.9 which supports podcasts out of the box.
Im instantly addicted I did a google search and found that triple J offers some really cool podcasts here. The ones i subscribed to were Sunday Night Safran: religion, politics and hoochies, Hack and Dr Karl on triple j – triple j’s science guru.
Dr Karl has a podcast!
Ive gotta find more podcasts
Im trying to figure out how / if it is possible to access a forum via a remote application. I remember a few weeks ago reading about an app that did something similar but i cant remember now what it was.
I’ve done a little searching with google, but as yet i haven’t found anything. I figure its got something to do with xml / rss / xmlrpc /etc, its just a matter of getting up to speed with them and working it out.
Back to searching i guess, seems blog software like ecto use the xmlrpc file on blogs to post, so maybe ill see if forums support something similar.
So i havnt yet fully nutted out a project to do as part of the AUC student scholarship. At first i was going to do something access grid related, but since a mac version is already being worked on i figure ill take a step back and find something else to do.
Ive asked around here at uni and sent messages to a few mailing lists asking mac users what they think is missing but as yet i havnt got any response.
Ive got a few ideas, and im sure ill get one sorted soon enough.
Ive done some work with tiger and core data, i think spending time learning the new technologies is a good part of the scholorship. It can only make my final app better. Ive decided to use the tiger technologies which means it wont work on systems lower then 10.4, but the cool new stuff in tiger is too good to leave out.
So yeah, thats basically what i wwrote in my progress report. I feel good about my progress so far