Melbourne PC User Group
home of Melbpc
Melton Community Radio 979FM
as the name says
Metalman's Realm
Peter McMurray home page
Pov-Ray
Ray tracing renderer
Moray
modeller for use with Pov-Ray
Fan Film FX
Amateur film by amateur movie makers.
Star Trek : Hidden Frontier
on-line series of amateur Star Trek episodes
Star Wreck
home page, brilliant Star Trek send up
Fluffy The English Vampire Slayer
home page.
Fan Film Exchange
including brilliant amateur version of The X Files.
And this page is about my interests and hobbies.
I'm retired, and spend most of my time as a house husband.
I began karate with G.K.R. in early 2001, after my son and daughter started, like some of the other parents, I stood by and watched for a while.
My Daughter dropped out to pursue other hobbies, and I took her place, I have never looked back.
In 2005, I undertook the S.T.P. course for Sensei training, but a very bad bout of flu forced me to drop out mid way through, I succsessfully tried again in early 2006
In early 2006, Sensei Lorraine left the Melton South dojo to have a baby, I took over as Sensei and have been running it ever since.
I have been a member of the Melbourne PC User Group since the 1990's, and have gained a lot of knowledge about computing by corresponding with the various members, originally on the BBS, and now via the internet news groups.
Apart from Karate, my hobbies are 979fm
Community Radio, on which I host a country music show on Monday between 10:00 am and 12:30 pm, featuring requests
and the weeks top 10 country singles from the Billboard country music charts.I also co-host a Jazz show on Saturday evenings, taking turns with 2 other announcers, all of us have different tastes in jazz and present very diverse programs.
I am a past President of the stations Committee of Management, and the recipient of two in-house Announcer of the Year awards, in 1989 and 1991, and I am currently at the station as a member of the production / programing team.
My son Peter, also hosts a radio show on Friday nights on NorthWest FM community radio station, details of which are available on his website at Metalman's Realm
A hobby that I unfortunately do not have enough time for is Ray Tracing. Using a shareware program called Pov-Ray, a text based editor and renderer. This along with it's Windows based modeller, Moray, very photo-realistic renders can be made, all to rival dedicated graphics programs that cost hundreds of $'s.
I have many unfinished renderings that I get enthusiastic about, but something crops up and they never get finished, maybe someday.
My son Peter got me started on ray-tracing using Pov-Ray and some of his work can be found at Metalman's Realm
As a fan of science fiction and amateur movies, I have found a number of sights that host film made by amateur film makers.
These are mostly fan films of already existing television series or motion pictures.
For the Star Trek fans, two that are a must to see are:- Star Wreck, a series of short films that make fun of the Star Trek universe. The first 4 shorts are completely computer generated, so it is best if the fan starts at No 5, the first that was made with live action, and is very loosely based on the Star Trek film, First Contact, which they entitle, Lost Contact. Downloadable in 3 x 15 minute mpeg format
Other shorts based on the Star Wreck universe are also available.
A second is Star Trek: Hidden Frontier a series of shorts set in the Star Trek universe, that takes place immediately after the motion picture, Star Trek: Insurrection, and is a more serious offering than Star Wreck. These are available in multi QuickTime files ranging from 7 to 50 mb.
Not to be left out are the X Files and Buffy fans, 2 excellent films are available for downloads.
From Fan Film Exchange comes The X Files, a 45 minute Real Video amateur episode of the TV series that will leave you begging for more, and has a unique twist to the workings of the pop music industry.
Foiled productions out of the UK present Fluffy The English Vampire Slayer, but don't let the name fool you, it is as serious as the original. Presented in Real Video, it runs just on 20 mins.
Fan Film Exchange and Fan Film FX also have a number of amatuer films that touch on other films, such as Star Wars, The Highlander and many other, try them out.
