Tzup's Little Furry Ball of Stress

Book 'em Danno!

tzup — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 13:19:50 GMT

Yup it's the big Five-O!

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Life Tables by States & Territories informs me that my life expectancy is now 32.9 years and of course I still have no idea at all what I should be doing with all that time.

I completely failed at 40 to predict where I'd be in life, where I'd actually be and who I'd be with at 50. Just as I did at 30 and 20 (and even 10!). I guess that's a good thing really, at least I know stuff has been happening! ;)

We'll see what happens in the next 10 years I guess, maybe I'll even make a LJ post if LJ's still around!

Hope to see ya somewhere, somewhen! :) Tzup

Oh no is he Lion again?

tzup — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:03:53 GMT

Oh no, Forty-Six!

The sum of the Euler totient function for the first twelve integers.
ie. φ(1)+φ(2)+…+φ(12) = 1+1+2+2+4+2+6+4+6+4+10+4 = 46

the number for the rather uninteresting Messier Object in Puppis which disappointingly has nothing to do with puppies. *frowns*

The atomic number of Palladium used in the phantom white-gold wedding band that I still subconciously spin when I'm nervous.

The number of chromosomes in humans, and guppys. ;)

On a sad note, the age that my father first showed signs of the brain tumour that eventually killed him.

The bike number of multiple MotoGP champion and known fursuit groper, Valentino Rossi.

Something unclekage and I share in common... *sigh*

So a lot of people picked up that last years post about Time Zones and the Union Pacific was not the real answer to "Why 'Tzup'?". So what is the real explanation?

Well as I think everyone knows, the Disney movie "The Lion King" has been a major influence in my life. I found the furry fandom and my mate of over 10 years nbowa through TLK fandom. Part of the wonder of the film comes from Tanzania where Disney originally sent some of their animators to capture the incredible beauty of the Serengeti and it's Lions. Now you may not know but Tanzania was formed by the union of two countries Tanganyika and Zanzibar which itself is made up of two islands, Unguja and Pemba. So 'Tzup' is a simple nod to the region in which my favorite movie is set.

Tanganyika,Zanzibar,Unguja,Pemba. ie. T.Z.U.P. :) Simple yeah?

Anyways, that marks another year of LiveJournal neglect!

And as usual if you're going to be at Midwest FurFest this year, please come say hi and steal a hug or three, or just steal me! ;) *hugz*

Lame name number games with time zones and trains. Or, it's my Birthday again.

tzup — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:03:46 GMT

Ah, Forty-Five...

the sum of all the digits in base ten. (0 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 = 45)

the number for the Messier Object the Pleiades which in Japanese is 'Subaru', my favoured and current marque of car.

the sixth positive integer with a prime factorization of the form p²q, where p and q are prime. Six being the number of Subaru's that I've now privately owned.

the atomic number of Rhodium, used in the catalytic converter in my Subaru.

the name of an Elvis Costello song.

and now, the number of years I've been alive.

So a lot of people have asked me, "Why 'Tzup'?". Well, did you know that on this day in 1883, Union Pacific, and other railways, decided to adopt a system of standardized Time Zones across North America?

Time Zone,Union Pacific. ie. T.Z.U.P. :) Simple!

To anyone going to Midwest FurFest, please come say hello and claim your hug!

And of course to my fellow birthday bro's; twiztidwolf, artyskox, farraptor and you too Mickey Mouse, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Pimp ma con!

tzup — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:41:18 GMT

Well Wild Nights 2010 is almost upon us. So if you just happen to be passing by Oklahoma next week and have nothing to do, apparently prereg has been extended 'til tomorrow, so it's still not too late to secure yourself a place.

I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone and as GoH, trying to bum booze off everyone!

Well you know how I said I wouldn't make it to FC2010?

tzup — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 07:01:02 GMT

I lied again.

Sometimes I worry...

tzup — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:41:38 GMT

Sometimes I worry that maybe I like advertisements like this just a little too much.
I mean it has leather, motorcycles, lions and honey... errr...

tzup — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:23:13 GMT

I was so ~~elated~~ saddened to see this post by jugularjaguar saying that he won't be able to visit nbowa and me next week. I'd been so looking forward to seeing ~~the old fart~~ that crazy kat again. I'd even gone to the effort of ~~making~~ buying a 'special' Bourbon just for Calamity, because I know just how much that ~~smelly hick~~ dear ol' cougar likes that sorta thing. Anyways, here's a photo for Calamity, so he can see what he's missing. :)

Oh well *sigh* I guess I'll just have to wait to give Calamity his 'special blend' Bourbon some other time...

Well you know how I said I wouldn't make it to AC this year?

tzup — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:04:02 GMT

I lied.

A Pretty Wire - Part. 2

tzup — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:41:58 GMT

Well I never did finish my Oooh a shiny penny! post from earlier this year in which I was soliciting offers for a Pretty wire and a 2007 US penny. The whole (somewhat lame in hindsight) point of the post was that the wire I found was infact Platinum. ie. "Pretty wire" = Pt wire

Given that the density of Pt is 21.45 g/cm³ and the wire is 22swg (0.71mm in diameter) and 10cm long, one could have calculated the wire's weight as:
10cm x π(0.071cm/2)² x 21.45 = 0.8492 g = 0.0273 ozt .
On the day of my original post, the price for Platinum was US$2065/ozt. This makes the value of the wire a whopping 2065 x 0.0273 = US$56.37 .

Credit has to be given to yukojin_mousei for being the most observant and noticing that 'P' & 't' were in bold type, but atariotter wins for making the best offer.

With the recent financial turmoil Platinum has plummeted to a mere US$822/ozt which would make my wire worth a paltry' US$22. Still pretty good value for the cute Otter's offer of US$10 though. I'll even throw in the penny too! ;)

Please ensure your seatbelt is fastened, your seat back is upright and your traytable is stowed...

tzup — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:29:47 GMT

Well after seeing everyone posting their flightmemory.com data, I thought I might as well have a go at it as well. Of course what started out as me just being curious as to how much I actually flew this year, ended up as some OCD driven all encompassing fetish which has already consumed some ludicrous amount of time, further compounded by the fact that I don't actually have all that many flight records with me in the States anyway, so I will no doubt have to re-enter everything in more detail once I get back to Australia. Anyway this is what I have managed to enter so far...

Current summary data can be seen at http://my.flightmemory.com/tzup .

So what have I learned? Apparently I've spent about 0.26% of my LIFE airborne and flown far enough to have made a return trip to the moon. Now if I could just work out the relativistic effects to see if I've gained or lost time. ;)

And just as a final note, my shortest flight, the one from Hualien to Taipei, I couldn't stow my traytable - it was broken... :P

Oooh a shiny penny!

tzup — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:26:56 GMT

So I've just been cleaning the top drawer of my desk out and look! I found a pretty shiny penny and a bit of wire *beams* :) So anyone interested in making me an offer for them? The Pretty wire is 22swg and about 4" (10cm) long, the penny is a 2007 minted in Denver.

So what am I bid? :)

It's a... Damn!!!

tzup — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:27:14 GMT

OK I know it's very out of character for me to post random nerdy links but I'm gonna make an exception this time...

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/04/scientists-prov.html

Damn! Now my textbooks are really out of date.

Duck, roll and cover...

tzup — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:09:00 GMT

OK, time to run screaming out of the room, cos yes it's THAT time of the year... The Fandom's Favorite Fursuit Fracas for 2008 is on again. And being the narcissistic fursuit whore that I am, I'm plugging myself in the tourney with a video this time.

( There is also a higher quality version available here. )

Anyhoo, if you are registered then please save me from the ever smexy looking but somewhat lifeless Tatonga by >>> VOTING FOR ME <<<.
Pleeeease? *makes puppy dog eyes*

Oh No! An emo post! Well almost...

tzup — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 09:46:21 GMT

Well I've somehow been swept up into Round 1 of the "Fandom's Favorite Fursuit Fracas". And currently it looks like... I'M GONNA LOSE!!! In which case, I'm just gonna go all emo on you. *sobs* Just like Spidey did in Spiderman 3.

© 2007 OzKangaroo - click for larger image

So if you want to save 'Tzup' from a bleak future existance of long lopsided fringes and a LJ full of "Mood: depressed." posts, then please, please >>> VOTE FOR ME! <<< Pleeeeeze?!

Now anyone who knows me pretty well would know that I have a phobia of anything recognizably superhero. So as an incentive, should I actually survive the 1st round, I promise to post RL pictures of the horror that was Tzup in a Spiderman suit for the poster.

(Observant readers might note that I have not actually posted for 38weeks only to come out now for some unabashed vote whoring! That's V O T E whoring...)

Speechless

tzup — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 06:43:08 GMT

Peter Brock died today competing in the Targa West Rally. I'm not going to claim to have really known him personally, though we did have a good chat once while locked-in in a motel corridor ;) but he was always a childhood hero, and I really don't have many of those. I really don't know what else to say :(

A mob of roos, a huddle of penguins...

tzup — Sat, 28 Jan 2006 16:05:57 GMT

I'd like to propose a new collective noun, a drama of furs ...
新年快樂! and welcome to the year of the Dog! 恭喜發財!

Aww crap! I'm FORTY!!! thud

tzup — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 12:36:24 GMT

Well I'm finally forty. Damn. Funny, doesn't feel any different.
*pats self down with paws* I wonder if the insurance premiums for my cars will go down?

So here I am at 6am frantically packing as nbowa and I are leaving for MFF in a couple of hours. As I said in my earlier post, I definitely could never have imagined that this is where I'd be and what I'd be doing on my 40^th.

I really wish ozkangaroo could be here as well. He's done so many things for me recently, and even though I know I'll be back with him in Australia in under a fortnight, I still miss him so much. Oz surprised me by arranging for several artist to draw pictures of my character and has been sending me a pic every couple of days. :) I have to showoff at least one them!

© 2005 NickWolf - click for full image.
And finally, it's now my turn to say it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
twiztidwolf You have a good one bro! You deserve it!

Thanks so much to each and very one of you, for all your kind comments and messages. I promise I'll let the subject rest now... well at least for another decade... *hugz you all!*

Surprise!!! Yep, it sure as hell was!

tzup — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 20:25:05 GMT

I thought we were going to a Halloween party with people from Nbowa's work. And I thought we were late but nbowa kept trying to get me to dress up in fursuit, even though he didn't seem at all keen to dress up himself. It was all very strange. We arrived at the party, and I walked up the stairs. I wondered why our host kept taking pictures of me rather than saying hello. Then a couple of dozen people yelled out "SURPRISE!".

Ooh! I figured it out. Duh - surprise party as well :P Wonder why Nbowa hadn't told me. I was this close to yelling out 'surprise' myself. I figured seeing we arrived late, the birthday boy/girl must have just arrived then as well.

Then all at once it struck me. Why was everyone staring at me? Why on earth were Nbowa's parents at his work party? Come to think of it, why were all these other unrelated people that I know, here? And why the @*%#! was ciron1732, a fur from interstate here???!!!

All I can say is that I was utterly flabbergasted. I really can't begin to describe how I felt, or how much I love nbowa for doing this. I never realised how many people I've come to know over here in the States in the past couple of years, and how this has become a second home. And I'm so touched that so many of them saw fit to come to my party.

So there it is. In a couple more days - the 18^th to be exact - I'll finally be forty.

click to see the 'old dog' wheezing... (1.3MB DivX)

Life's definitely full of surprises. No matter how much you might think you're in a rut, there's always tomorrow. In 1999 I was a very stressed senior software engineer consulting with a Japanese multinational and I felt I was stuck in a rut. I never in a million years would have thought I would be spending my 40^th running around in a fursuit at MFF in Chicago.

I'm very lucky to have have met nbowa and ozkangaroo and to have them as part of my life. I love you both so much!

( see also - This time last year... )

You can be your cake and eat it!

tzup — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 14:38:24 GMT

( This time last year... )

I have to smile. I really do. I finally attained one of those lifetime goals today. One of those things that you've wanted all through your childhood, but never managed to get. Okay, so I had to wait nearly 4 decades for it, but thanks to my roo-mate ozkangaroo I finally have one. I've always wanted one for as long as I can remember. Most of my friends had at least one at some point. I dunno - guess my parents just weren't into that sorta thing. But now my roo-mate has fixed that, made my wish come true...

	Yes it's a cake. A character birthday cake! A Marbled Orange and Chocolate homemade Tzup character birthday cake!! Oz did it all, and it tasted unbelievably good as well!! I can never thank him enough, except to say that I love him so much for it. I just have to smile...

( see also - This time next year... )

Just for Mr. Brokken T Wolf ...

tzup — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 20:39:24 GMT

Well I was wondering what to cook nbowa for dinner, and then it struck me.. what could be nicer than a big fresh scrumptious bunch of the big blue wolf's favorite yummy vegetable...

KALE
Brassica oleracea sabellica

Anyways I really don't think a nice warm bowl of freshly made Zuppa Toscana ( done Tzup soup style of course ) looks all that bad...

( and just think how healthy all that cream and bacon and sausage and, oh yeah that Kale stuff, is! )

Free Money!!!

tzup — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 07:47:05 GMT

Well OK not quite... My mate nbowa is running an Art Comp with a number of cash prizes. So if you're fortunate not to be artistically impaired like me - check out his contest details. The more entries, the more prizes - so please tell your friends!

On a completely different subject, one of the Telcos in Australia is currently running a rather catchy advertisement on TV which I really miss seeing over here. So for those of you who aren't down under, enjoy!

Still on the subject of competitions, my roo-mate ozkangaroo also has a competition running. In this case, the main prize is a fursuit! Details of his competition can be found here.

Of course I had been planning to have an art comp myself - seeing I'm about to hit the big four-oh pretty soon. Oh well, back to the drawing board I guess...

Camp Feral 2005!

tzup — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:49:47 GMT

Well it's that time of year again! Man the time just flies past. We just said goodbye to Canadian hyper-puppy vlen who visited for a week, and now we're just about to leave for Feral2K5.

Whooosh!

tzup — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:33:19 GMT

Well in a few hours, I'll be on a plane, headed to the States again to be back with nbowa. I've missed him so much. We're off to Feral! as usual, and this time I'll be staying long enough to make it to MFF as well.

Of course I'm going to miss ozkangaroo. Lots of things have happened in the last couple of months, I'm so happy that everything is finally working out, and I can't wait to be back with him to see what happens next.

As always, this post is really just an excuse for a pic. And here it is.

Yes, it's a Tzup!

My roo-mate Oz stayed up the last couple of nights, slaving away on the finishing touches. I just can't thank him enough! Now it just needs some specs!

Don't mess with the ocean baby!

tzup — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 20:09:25 GMT

A bit over a month ago, ozkangaroo and I went for a short road trip along the rugged south coast of Victoria. As no doubt thousands and thousands of tourists also have done, I snapped this rather cliché panorama of a rock formation called the 12 Apostles.

And as everyone does, Oz and I looked out together over the ocean, marvelling at the waves crashing against these massive pillars, wondering just how many hundreds or even thousands of years each of them would last. Not many it seems! Because as of yesterday, at around 9:19AEST the scene now looks like this.

Surprisingly this is the 2nd major feature to have collapsed in my lifetime. About 15 years ago, the formation I grew up calling London Bridge suddenly became London Arch.

tzup — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 16:42:54 GMT

Well I'm going back to Australia for a few months again, flying out in a couple of hours, hopefully into the waiting arms of my inflatable roo Oz.
It's been a really special couple of months, with getting the car, visits from various wonderful fursons and generally feeling at home. So much happened that I almost feel guilty as to how happy I've been. Of course I already miss Nbowa - but I know I'll be back soon enough.
Any ways this post is really just an excuse to post a pic from a few days ago.

Lucky we realised at the last moment that she was actually a conservationist and aborted our attempt to ram her into oblivion! ;)