Mei

Moving

I've spent yesterday moving stuff from the old office to the new one. The plan was to go on friday (tomorrow), but the patience had run out and the schedule changed. When I got to work yesterday morning, the network was already down. So nothing work-related to do for me then. It was a good day nonetheless. Although far too warm for my liking. The only thing I could do yesterday evening was sink into a deep couch coma.

So this morning I started in the new location. Had to look up the busroute though. I hate going somewhere I've never been before, by public transport that is. It always goes wrong somehow and you arrive way to late, or on time but in a total panic, because you had to search for such a long time. Fortunately I had already been here yesterday, so I was able to recognize my busstop. Phew. And after some tweaking of the new LAN settings I am now online and able to continue my work. Think I'll check Slashdot first, though. Oh, and I haven't checked my Yahoo! mail in two days. Maybe I can do that now to.

Installing Linux

The dumbing-down of programming, by Ellen Ullman. "The author of "Close to the Machine" installs Linux on one of her computers -- and realizes why so many engineers are embracing the joys of difficult computing. Ullman's two-part article considers why it's important for software developers to work closely with code -- and what they and we lose when their tools "protect" them from the inner workings of their products."

Ringtones

I've entered a whole new world, one of ringtones and icons and covers and strange accessories. The world of the mobile phone. I think I'll go for the Knight Rider ringtone. Which is (long live copy paste!) C2(1/8) Cis2(1/16) C2(1/16) G2(1/8) P(1/8) C3(1/8) Cis3(1/16) C3(1/16) G2(1/8) P(1/8) C2(1/8) Cis2(1/16) C2(1/16) G2(1/8) C3(1/8) Ais2(1/8). So, there you have it.

Meeting

Just had a meeting about my current status and activities. Showed my creations. Seemed to go okay. Had cake again today. Wow, not good for me, but a great way to start the week. Then we sat outside for a bit. Others have to feed their nicotine addiction. I just enjoyed the weather. So here we are. 11:36 and still hardly any action. Better get to it.

Changes

I've had it with today. My shoulder hurts. Everbody is quite active here, as we will be moving on Friday, to the Rooseveltstraat in Leiden. So people are filling boxes, and packing stuff. Hard to focuss in the midst of such activities. And I wasn't even in a very active mood today. Sigh. It'll be strange to go to school in Utrecht next week for my exam. Have to do a lot of work this weekend. And I have to get on with the coding, here at work, tomorrow. I'm at the threshold between design and development, and I have to get myself to cross it. Also it saddens me that Tjerk is no longer working at the moment. He had to go, because business wasn't very good, where he was. He'll start a new job in a few weeks. But in the meantime he can sleep in every day. Plus I don't have anyone to mail with, as frequently as we did.

Assimilation

This will definately be very cool, once I get my phone. Did I mention, my brother has deceided to order one too? Well, he is. What is happening to us? We will be assimilated.

Pist.on

Graspop 2001 » Pist.on has been added to the line-up! They were supposed to play a few years back, but didn't. A second chance. Hurah.

Weak as I am

I've done it. I've ordered the Siemens M35i (not in yellow, though, it will be a modest green). I've joined the other side. I've been assimilated.

Nice and shiny

I hate myself for it, but I'm actually tempted. If I transfer 1000 guilders from my normal account to my savingsaccount at the Postbank, you get this Siemens M35i phone. I hate phones. But I like gadgets. And this one does have WAP features. What to do. Sigh.

Mouse

I apparently have some kind of a conflict with my mouse. My computer, that is. Hoping I could download some new drivers at the Logitech website. But unfortunately I already have the latest version. Sigh. Hope it won't crash anytime soon, I still have some stuff to look up. By the way, have you noticed that the Logitech site is made with ColdFusion. I see it more and more. Excellent.

Iron age

Just watched another episode of 'Surviving the Iron Age'. "Surviving the Iron Age is an experiment in living history. Seventeen volunteers, including three children spent seven weeks experiencing life as it might have been in an Iron Age hillfort in West Wales." Good idea for a show. Shame they spend so much time on sorting out the group and the interaction, instead of experiencing life as it might have been back then.

I wonder if there will be a show called 'Surviving the 20th Century' in about 2000 years. Will the people on strange planets go and live in small flats with nothing but work and television for their entertainment?

History

Today In History: In 1647, the first recorded American execution of a "witch" took place in Massachusetts. You might also like to check out my pages on Witchcraft.

Uploading

I am about to upload the files for my completely re-designed site! Hurah. Hope everything will go allright. I must also remember to update my Blogger template.

Movies

Had a rather tame few days. Spend most of the time on my site. To celebrate, and because there wasn't much on television, it was time for another trip to the videostore. Ended up with the adequate The Prophet's Game (1999) and the excellent What Lies Beneath (2000).

Help

I have just one problem remaining with my stylesheet. I just posted it on A List Apart. Hope someone can help me.

Complete

Hurah! Everything is online. The only thing I'm not quite happy with is the menu for 'Weblog'. I wanted to have it dynamically, but that didn't work for some reason. Maybe I'll try tweaking it in the near future. But for now, I'm quite happy. Tell me what you think. Send me an e-mail.

Standards

I have deceided to use "Standards on the Web - and the need for them" as my focalpoint for my paper. One resource that could come in handy for that is Hobbes' Internet Timeline, which claims to be "the definitive ARPAnet & Internet history".

Japanese

A few years ago I had a rather cool DOS program which allowed people to learn Japanese. I thought it was rather interesting and within a few weeks I knew and understood the basics. Unfortunately my interest died down and I moved on to something else. I'd like to pick things up again though, if I ever have the time. Here are a couple of sites with online courses: Japanese-Online.com and Teach Yourself Japanese on findtutorials.com. Now I only have to find the time...

DOM model

I am currently working my way through the Document Object Model FAQ. "This document contains the most frequently asked questions about the Document Object Model." Interesting, but quit theoretical material. I need to see some code before I can place it into context. Sigh. The warmth isn't helping me. I think that if I close my eyes I'll fall asleep, right here, at my desk. Only two and a half hours before I can leave. Hope I'll stay awake that long ;-)

Bus hell

Nearly weekend! I could use it, my shoulders are killing me. Time to take a break from the mouse. Why is the weather changing back to hot again? If it's on my account, they can change it right back to very very cold.

I think I had, what could be described as, the worst busdriver in the world yesterday, when I went home. First he arrived to late. Even though it is the beginning of the route. He must have fallen asleep in his break or something, I don't know. When I pointed this out, he said I was wrong. Which I wasn't. Then I missed my other bus. It usually is a rather tight switch, the first bus (number 65) leaves from the busstop at 17:11 and arrives at 17:18, the second bus (number 169) arrives there at 17:19, but the 65 crosses path with a lot of trafficlights and even a bridge, which tends to be open for all the leasureboats wanting to pass. Excellent :-( So ofcourse I missed the 169. Also my driver on the 65 got into a shoutingmatch with a motorbiker, who my driver had, apparently, cut off. What a way to end your day.

But thankfully today is wednesday and I have a mini-holiday unitll this monday. So no work 'till tuesday! After today, that is. Yippie!

Bookmarklets

I found some interesting bookmarklets at work yesterday, and mailed them to my home address, so I could use some in my new site design. But ofcourse, the mailserver now appears to be down. And as always finding stuff for the second time online, proved to be very hard. But I succeeded. Hurah!

B+C

Today in History: 1934 - Bonnie (Parker) and Clyde (Barrow), notorious American outlaws, robbers and murderers, were killed in a shootout with police. (Check out this site for more information.)

Post 990536575

Check out the Email Disclaimer Awards at The Register. The categories are Longest Disclaimer, Most Incomprehensible Disclaimer, Most PC Disclaimer, Best Bi-lingual Disclaimer, Best Spoof Disclaimer, Special Award for Best WWW Disclaimer.

Post 990524863

Interesting, though a bit dated (1995). Characterizing Browsing Strategies. "This paper presents the results of a study conducted at Georgia Institute of Technology that captured client-side user events of NCSA's XMosaic. Actual user behavior, as determined from client-side log file analysis, supplemented our understanding of user navigation strategies as well as provided real interface usage data. Log file analysis also yielded design and usability suggestions for WWW pages, sites and browsers. The methodology of the study and findings are discussed along with future research directions."

Post 990520762

I love CSS. Can't read enough about it. Here's a document on CSS Positioning. "In the old days, HTML authors had very little control over where elements were placed on the page. The most they could achieve came from complex table code that was difficult to maintain. With CSS positioning, you can now enjoy complete control over positioning, not to mention easy and efficient animation capabilities. A place for everything, and everything in its place."

Post 990520037

There were no trains between Alphen and Leiden today. Fortunately I no longer travel by train at the moment, but by bus. So I thought I was safe. Unfortunately my bus was 20 minutes late this morning, and fully packed. So the driver drove on. Thanks alot! Fortunately the next bus arrived shortly after and I was only 30 minutes late at work. A nice start to the day.

Fragile Dreams

Winamp is playing "Fragile Dreams" by Anathema for me. This is a beautiful song, and somehow it always makes me think of Graspop, probably beacuse I've seen the guys play it there live a couple of times. Excellent. I can't wait for their new album "A Fine Day To Exit"!

"Tonight your soul sleeps, but one day you will feel real pain, maybe then you will see mee as I am, a fragile wreck on a storm of emotion. Countless times I trusted you, I let you back in, knowing... yearning... you know I should have run... but I stayed. Maybe I always knew, my fragile dreams would be broken for you. Today I introduced myself, to my own feelings, in silent agony, after all these years, they spoke to me... after all these years. Maybe I always knew…"

Post 990456864

Looking for an interesting read? Try "Designing Web Usability" » "Look at the Web as you've never seen it before, through the eyes of the average user.

Users experience the usability of a site before they have committed to using it and before they have spent any money on potential purchases. The Web is the ultimate environment for empowerment. He or she who clicks the mouse decides everything.

In this landmark design reference, the world's acknowledged authority on Web usability, Jakob Nielsen, shares with you the full weight of his wisdom and experience. From content and page design to designing for ease of navigation and users with disabilities, Jakob Nielsen delivers complete direction on how to connect with any Web user, in any situation."

Post 990454215

Yahoo! DailyTips » Health & Fitness » Ease Eyestrain. That's perfect timing. I was just beginning to feel the result of the previous hours of screenwork I had done today.

Post 990446010

I watched Father and Daughter (2000) last night on television. When I read in the tvguide that it would air, I remembered it had won an Oscar, but didn't have any other thoughts about it. But I was at a loose end and tuned in, just as the announcement was made. I was blown away. What a way with light, shadow and dark. Such detail, and the music and sounds were chosen exactly right. My compliments to Michael Dudok de Wit. In one word sublime!

Post 990440543

A plan so cunning, if you'd stick a pin on it, you could call it a fox. Blinde en dove ruziën om hoofdprijs lotto. Twee Belgen, de een blind en de ander doofstom, zijn in een hevig conflict verwikkeld over de hoofdprijs in de loterij (ruim 2,5 miljoen gulden). Het geld staat op de bankrekening van de blinde, maar de doofstomme zegt dat het winnende lot van hem is. Omdat hij zich alleen in gebarentaal kan uitdrukken, nam hij zijn blinde vriend mee naar het lottokantoor. Die zou daar stiekem zijn eigen rekeningnummer hebben doorgegeven.

Post 990440427

Driewerf hoera, of zoiets. Nu.nl - nieuws: Prins Willem-Alexander trouwt op zaterdag 2 februari in Amsterdam met Máxima Zorreguieta. Dat blijkt uit het wetsvoorstel om toestemming aan het huwelijk te verlenen, dat maandag bij de Staten-Generaal is ingediend. Het burgerlijk huwelijk en het kerkelijk huwelijk worden op dezelfde dag gesloten, maar wie het huwelijk voltrekken en waar dit gebeurt, is nog niet bekend. In het wetsontwerp is voor Amsterdam gekozen, omdat het de hoofdstad is.

Post 990440032

Have some time to kill? Browse the Dumb Criminals Acts library. "Our goal is to build the largest database of stupid criminal acts on the Internet. While we realize that criminals aren't usually the brightest people, some just stand out, err...sink below, the rest. We are dedicated to publicizing their completely humiliating stories."

Post 990439366

As you probably know, I am redoing my site. To have a nice menu I use a JavaScript to include a file on several different pages. But I wasn't sure on how this would work with my Blogger archive pages. I started working on this yesterday, but as I want to finish the rest of my site first, it doesn't have a high priority. But I just wanted to place a link to this discussion section at the Blogger site. It deals with including the archive page with JavaScript. You never know when this will come in handy. ;-)

Post 990430076

From UselessKnowledge.com: The Useless Digest - Weekly Trivia Newsletter ("Everything You Never Needed To Know About Anything"):

An apple placed in a bag of potatoes will help keep the potatoes from sprouting. Eating a raw apple will cleanse your mouth of more than 95 percent of bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Post 990429888

Goodmorning everybody. Another week starts. A short one though, as thursday is Ascension Day, which means a day off! Hurah. I still have 2 free days left for this month, so I think I'll stick those to the weekend, meaning friday and monday. Today I'm going to continue coding on the Channel4Cars site, using ColdFusion. So I'd better get on with it.

Post 990361938

I am still busy with the makeover for this site. I just went online for a few minuters, to check my mail and to look for a cover graphic of some CDs. I must remember this site, CDcovers.cc, because they had a lot of rare stuff I couln't find elsewhere. So that's all I'll write in my blog today. Probably there will be more tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Post 990282264

Went into town today, Leiden I mean. With my brother Tjerk. I hate doing that on saturday, far to crowded. But today we were on urgent business. The new Tool album, Laturalus, was released earlier this week and I just had to have it. At the recordstore I deceided to also buy the latest Monster Magnet album, God Says No.

Also, Tjerk needed a new pair of armyboots. And I still hadn't bought him a birthday present, so that was my chance. I ended up buying a book on Celtic Mythology. So, busy day for me. And now I will continue working on the new look for my site.

Tragedy

Winamp played "...A Distance The Is..." by Theatre Of Tragedy for me. I love that song, I often play it when I go to bed, just before I fall asleep. That way it is the last thing I hear that day. And usually stays with me the next morning. I even think I'd like to have it played at my funeral. Or is that morbid of me? Also, check out this page by Jon Ringsevjen who used the song as an inspiration. You can also take a look at the lyrics or buy the album now. Shame that the band took a completely different turn somewhere and don't make the same beautiful music they once made.

Here's just a small fragment of the end, to liven up this page: After all these years thou left'st me down in the emotional depths. The sombre soaked velvet-drape is hung upon me, turning my feelings away from our so ignorant world. All the beautiful moments shared, deliberately pushed aside. A distance there is…

Post 990197863

Before I forget, just wanted to wish you a good weekend. I'm going home in 5 minutes and probably won't post for the rest of the day (oh no!) So. There you have it. You'll have to entertain yourself now. Good luck.

Post 990196824

Today In History - May 18: Rock musician Rick Wakeman (Yes) is 52. Isn't that nice. I saw them live, years ago. With my parents and brother. Drama is one of my all time favourite records. And they still rock!

Also on this day: in 1804, the French Senate proclaimed Napoleon Bonaparte emperor and in 1911, composer Gustav Mahler died in Vienna, Austria.

Post 990189300

A Day-by-Day In the Life. Yet another article on blogs. This time on the Washington Post website. It's really becoming popular now. I wonder how long it will take for, for instance, PC Magazine to do a feature. Then you know it is here to stay.

Post 990188389

This is it! Source On Server, the answer to my include problem. Hurah, it can be done using javascript. Wonderful. Now I can begin my remake of The Hermit's Tower!

Post 990184669

"Weblogs rulen hard" is een artikel uit het Nederlandstalige stationsblad Metro in Vlaanderen. Van de hand van de alombekende Bram Souffreau. En gepubliceerd op woensdag 25 april 2001.

Post 990178589

Oh my god! I have been added to the e-team page of the e-Vision website. With the most awful picture that has ever been taken of me!

Post 990174049

Adam Curry's Weblog - Frightening. A weblog by somebody I know from television only. Wow, I wonder how many more 'famous' people have weblogs. "...Had dinner with Robert DeNiro last night..." That would be cool. More interesting than me whining about the bus being late ;-)

Post 990110414

On Slashdot I read that today is the Tenth Birthday Of The World Wide Web. Hurah! More info on A Little History of the World Wide Web. "17 May (1991) Presentation to "C5" Committee. General release of WWW on central CERN machines." This indicates that the Web was released to the world at large on May 17, 1991. Congrats to you all. Also, if I remember correctly, Arpanet originated in 1969. So in 8 years we can celebrate it's 40th (!) birthday.

Post 990109329

Here we go, I have the results: "Stop the clock! Your inner superpower is timetravel! Your answers show a keen sense of insight for all the mysteries of time. Whether you enjoy reminiscing about thepast or find yourself lost in thoughts of the future, your energies definitely point away from the present. Maybe you're mere seconds ahead or behind the rest of us, but you could also be days or even years out of sync. Your unique position in time and space gives you a wider perspective on daily events and makes you an especially wise person. You're probably a great planner. And since time is yours to play with, it's almost a given that you manage it well. If you haven't yet taken a trip through the fourth dimension, you're in for the ride of your life. Don't delay! Visit the future. Fix the past. And when you come across a very special moment, make it last as long as you like."

This rules! That is exactly the superpower I would have chosen, if I had the option. Now if only I knew how to control it.

Post 990109097

Talking about focussing all day, I wondered what would be the coolest superpower to have. This caused me to think about the X-men movie, which I saw a few weeks ago. Also I wondered if there's a site listing all kinds of superpowers, and I did a search on Google. This led me to Emode.com: What's Your Superpower? So wait a minute while I take the test...

Post 990108883

I have a feeling this is of great meaning to me. But I'm not able to grasp it now. Don't you hate it when that happens. Like reading something a couple of times, untill you realise you still haven't a clue what it says. I hate that. Wish I could be completely focussed all day. But I'm not. Sigh.

Post 990107312

You will be assimilated! I must remember to download this when I get home tonight. Macromedia Flash Component Kit for ColdFusion (Windows) from the Developers Exchange at Allaire.com.

The Macromedia Flash Component Kit for ColdFusion (Windows Edition) enables ColdFusion developers to quickly and easily add Macromedia Flash elements to their Web applications. Now you can immediately take advantage of the design and delivery benefits of Macromedia Flash and Macromedia Flash Player without learning a new authoring product; or, you can use the kit to create and customize your own Macromedia Flash components for ColdFusion.

Post 990106590

It just occured to me that, even though I keep mentioning ColdFusion, I'm sure there are people out there who don't know what on earth I am talking about. To be nice (which I try to be), here's a link with some more info: Cold Fusion Product Information.

But in short I can say that "ColdFusion is a powerful Web application server that provides the most productive way to develop and deliver scalable e-business applications. ColdFusion offers a highly productive development environment based on the popular CFML scripting language, connectivity with a wide range of back office systems, and a reliable, scalable server platform for deploying applications."

Post 990104655

It's a good thing that I stumbled upon the following post. "Query results into Custom tag" on the ColdFusion Support Forums, as I was working on a CustomTag a few weeks ago and got stuck with this very problem. Hope I can get results with their code. :-)

Post 990103639

I spotted a cool .sig: "No man is an island, but if you tie a bunch of dead guys together they make a pretty good raft." -- Bug-eyed Earl

Post 990100556

Ja, I want da cheezy poofs. And I'd like to mix ColdFusion and voice to! This rocks, big time. Check out the tutorial at Voxeo. Wouldn't that be great, if every site could be read outloud. Wunderbar!

Post 990098694

I just had to share my favourite Opeth songlyric. It's taken from the song Black Rose Immortal:

I have kept it / The amaranth symbol / Hiddin inside the golden shrine / Until we rejoice in the meadow / Of the end / When we both walk the shadows / It will set ablaze and vanish / Black rose immortal.

Post 990094759

I've only had them for a day, but I have remove the BlogVoices discussion link. I didn't really like the way it looked, and also it is completely unnecessary because I'm sure my weblog doesn't have many readers, let alone people who want to discuss posts. But if you are one of those people and would like to discuss something, you can always send me an e-mail on mirthe@yahoo.com.

Post 990094214

Yet another open source related article: The GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF), take some to and have a look. It's quite interesting. Atleast, that's what I think.

Yoda's philosophy ("There is no try") sounds neat, but it doesn't work for me. I have done most of my work while anxious about whether I could do the job, and unsure that it would be enough to achieve the goal if I did. But I tried anyway, because there was no one but me between the enemy and my city. Surprising myself, I have sometimes succeeded.

Sometimes I failed; some of my cities have fallen. Then I found another threatened city, and got ready for another battle. Over time, I've learned to look for threats and put myself between them and my city, calling on other hackers to come and join me.

Nowadays, often I'm not the only one. It is a relief and a joy when I see a regiment of hackers digging in to hold the line, and I realize, this city may survive--for now. But the dangers are greater each year, and now Microsoft has explicitly targeted our community. We can't take the future of freedom for granted. Don't take it for granted! If you want to keep your freedom, you must be prepared to defend it.

Post 990091927

It works! Hurah, instead of the ugly 01/01/01 - 07/01/01 format, you now get the full date. Wonderful. I'm thinking of beautifing it some more. But that can wait a while. You can check it out by clicking on the 'Archive' link at the bottom of this page.

Post 990089697

Here's what I've been looking for! A script to change the way my Blogger Archive displays. Finally. I found it in the discussion forum at blogger.com. Hope it works.

Post 990086533

Very good: Box Lessons (nice site btw). "This is a Problem & Workaround Set for a series of CSS Boxes going from a simple single box through 3 columns with a full width top box, all with variations."

Post 990084629

I've been working, in my head, on a new lay-out for my site. One completely in CSS, so now frames and few to no tables. However it would be quite handy if there was a way to include files in other files. Like a menu, or a header and footer file. But that can't be done with simple HTML. Ofcourse it is easily done with something like PHP or ColdFusion. But since I use a Geocities account, I don't have support for those things. Then I heard of Server Side Includes, but don't know if your server has to support this. So I did a search on Google and ended up at the SSI tutorial page. However there I read "If your server is already SSI enabled...". I even made a test.shtml file and uploaded it to my account, but I got an error message, saying that it was the wrong file format. Damn! I can't use it. Sigh. Now what? Any ideas?

Post 990024903

Check out nDroid. This is a very original site. I wish my Photoshop skills were better. And I wish I had my own domain. Sigh.

Post 990024765

Almost time to go home. Got a lot done today. I have also been checking out Jeffrey Zeldman's Exit Gallery. But I'm not nearly at the end though. That's one of the reasons for this link, so I can continue tomorrow. Otherwise I will forget. I know what I'm like. Sigh. You should see my desk. Filled with to do lists.

Post 990023614

The Register: Email is top cause of workplace stress. I find it rather relaxing actually, way better than a phone. In fact I don't even have one of those awful machines on my desk. Thank goodness!

"More than a third of IT managers quizzed for the report in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific said email software was the top support problem, says software company Support.com.

Around 23 per cent blamed computer password resets, and 20 per cent cited general enterprise and office applications, such as Microsoft Excel. Ten per cent said networking software errors were the top problem."

Post 990023160

I never even knew. Save The Web - The Movement to save Europe's Internet: The digital copyright threat and threats to privacy.

Post 990022192

Winamp is playing Slayer's excellent song Bloodline. The song is taken from the 'Dracula' Soundtrack. By the way, on the news page at Slayer.net, I read that the new Slayer album will be called 'God Hates Us All' and will be released on July 3rd of this year. Can't wait! If 'Bloodline' is anything to go by, it will be great.

Post 990021325

Great site. RachelAndrew.co.uk. I love just browsing someone's thoughts, someone's life. I wonder how many people do just that with mine. And how much of what we show is true, is it what we would like to be true. Wow. Such deep thoughts for a wednesday afternoon. Also, you may notice, now and in some future posts, that I've borrowed some of the quotes Rachel has on her site.

Post 990016540

They just played the Simple Minds with the song "Don't You Forget (About Me)". This always makes me think of the movie The Breakfast Club(1985). Though quite dated now, it still is one of my favourite movies.

"When five students are thrown together by Saturday morning detention, each begins to see the others apart from their stereotypes. Andrew, the jock; Brian, the geek; John, the wastoid; Claire, the popular Prom Queen; and Allison, the psycho girl; each finds qualities about the others that make the Saturday morning change their lives." If you've never seen it before, it's definately worht a trip to the videostore. You can also check out the script.

I can't resist, one more quote, this time from the intro. "...and these children that you spit on, as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through... - David Bowie".

Post 990016379

Slashdot | Threatening Online Tablature. There currently is a lawsuit against the OLGA (Online Guitar Archive). This sucks. I hope they don't go after lyrics sites soon. My own site, The Lyrics Archive, is doing quite well and I enjoy spending time on it. It would definately suck if 'they' went after me next. I wonder who could play me in the television movie they made about my life and the story of my courtcase and prisonyears. ;-)

Post 990013272

I love Flash, but I see so many bad uses of it. Still browsing on Tech News at CNET.com I read: Criticism of Flash grows with its popularity. My personal nightmare "Beyond bad design, the Flash debate highlights questions about the benefits of making the Internet more TV-like--a development that is slowly taking shape alongside parallel moves to make television more like the Net. Advertisers and some Internet analysts say such an evolution is necessary to tap the medium's full commercial potential, but others believe otherwise". Internet is about information, television today is mainly about entertainment. The two can have overlap, but differences must remain. We can't let those awful marketing people take over our Internet and commercialise it untill it is completely unrecognisable. Sickening!

Wow, Jakob Nielsen (cool photo by the way) actually wrote something similar further down in the article. "People don't want to sit and be entertained on the Web--that's what television is for," Nielsen said. "Flash is mainly viewed as being an annoyance that gets in the way of what you really want to do on the Web, which is get information."

Post 990008063

Just visited my school's website, School voor Communicatiesystemen, to enroll in the coming examinationperiod. I have one, on Wednesday June 6th. I hope I'll pass, as it is one of my two last exams. If I pass I can get an assignment instead of the exam for my last subject. And that would be great, because I don't seem to be able to pass that subject. Sigh.

Post 990004931

Vanochtend in de bus hoorde ik mensen praten. Zij zei op een gegeven moment "hun hebben" en toen nog van alles. Hoe lang moet ik dat nog aanhoren? Waarom kunnen mensen niet het verschil tussen 'hun' en 'zij' onthouden? Het zou echt verboden moeten worden.

Terwijl ik vocht tegen de neiging om in slaap te vallen heb ik de bus maar eens goed bekeken. Heb je weleens gezien dat er vooraan een bordje hangt met "x zitplaatsen en x staanplaatsen"? Dit zitplaatsen kan ik me nog voorstellen, maar hoe hebben ze dat met die staanplaatsen in vredesnaam vastgesteld. Op een mooie zomerdag iedereen uit de buschauffeurskantine gehaald en in een bus geduwd? En zijn dat dan willekeurige mensen of nemen ze expres de dunste mensen, zodat het getal op het bordje hoger kan zijn? Dat soort dingen, daar ben ik dus de hele dag over na aan het denken. Gek word ik ervan!

Post 990004708

Wednesday already. Wow. Today I am working on the navigationstructure of the site I am building. Could be declared insane when I'm done with this project. I had things in my mind all morning, that I wanted to enter into my blog. But now that I'm actually behind the keyboard, my mind has gone completely blank. Maybe later things will come back to me. Anyhow, for now, I hope you have a good day.

Lateralus

Finally, Tool has released a new album. And it was about time. It is called Lateralus, and the reviews are pretty good so far. I have to buy this. Now I only have to find time to go to the store to get it...

Post 989930795

Taken from the IT-humor mailinglist: EuroEnglish The European Union commissioners have announced that agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications, rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phased plan for what will be known as EuroEnglish (Euro for short).

In the first year, 's' will be used instead of the soft 'c'. Sertainly, sivil servants will resieve this news with joy. Also, the hard 'c' will be replaced with 'k.' Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome 'ph' will be replaced by 'f'. This will make words like 'fotograf' 20 per sent shorter.

In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of silent 'e's in the languag is disgrasful, and they would go.

By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing 'th' by 'z' and 'w' by 'v'.

During ze fifz year, ze unesesary 'o' kan be dropd from vords kontaining 'ou', and similar changes vud of kors; be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.

After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil b no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozer. Ze drem vil finali kum tru.

Post 989927179

I just found out, but it happened on Friday, May 11th. 'Hitch Hiker's Guide to Galaxy' Author Adams Dies. Douglas Adams, the British humor writer whose cult classic "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' sold more than 14 million copies, died suddenly at his home near this central California city, a spokeswoman said on Saturday. He was 49 years old.

Post 989923942

Monster Magnet has a song called "Baby gotterdammerung" from the album "Powertrip". The lyrics to one verse are as follows: "So what would Modok do if his memory got too full? He'd find a powersource and then he'd pick what plugs to pull" Ever since I first bought the record, my brother and I have been wondering who on earth Modok is. Well just now I got an email from Tjerk with the following link: information on Modok. So now I know. Sigh.

Post 989923435

Just implemented a Blogvoices account. BlogVoices is a free discussion system for Blogger-powered blogs. So if there is anything you'd like to add or contradict to a particular post in my Blog, simply click 'discuss' and type your little heart out. Enjoy.

Post 989918527

Definately one of my all time favourite movies has to be Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). I have seen it so many times, I practically know it by hard. Why is it so much easier to memorise movies then, for instance, math formulas?

"Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a Mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony." - "Be quiet!" - "Well, but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!"

"Well, on second thought, let's not go to Camelot. It is a silly place."

"Please! Please! This is supposed to be a happy occasion! Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who. We are here today to witness the union of two young people in the joyful bond of the holy wedlock. Unfortunately, one of them, my son Herbert, has just fallen to his death. But I don't want to think I've not lost a son, so much as... gained a daughter!" - "For, since the tragic death of her Father" - "He's not quite dead!"- "Since the near fatal wounding of her Father" - "He's getting better!" - "For, since her own Father, who, when he seemed about to recover, suddenly felt the icy hand of death upon him. And I want his only daughter to look upon me as her Old dad, in a very real and legally binding sense. And I feel sure that the merger-- er, the union between the Princess and the brave, but dangerous, Sir Launcelot of Camelot."

You can also check out the complete script online.

Post 989917883

Interesting article. Slashdot | Will Americans Have Trouble Finding IT Jobs, Overseas? I think I'd like to work overseas someday. Would be an interesting experience. I'd prefer not to work at all, but you can't have everything. Yesterday I read somewhere that the 40-hour workweek is becoming less common in Holland. It is become more and more. I just don't get it. You should work to live, not the other way around. For the length of my asignment here I have to work from 9 till 5 and have 2 days a month off. But after that and I have to work in the 'real world', I'll make sure to be able to set my own working hours. Why not work from 11 till 7 on one day and from 8 till 4 on others. Or from home, that would be ideal. Sigh. Well, we'll have to wait and see what the future holds for me.

Post 989915767

One of my main irritations is definately public transport. And in particular people sitting in a very busy bus, who insist on sitting on the isle seat, while placing theire bag on the seat by the window. Ofcourse I gesture or ask, always remain civil, that I would like to sit there. Then instead of picking up their bags and shoving their buts to the window seat, they pull up their legs about 3 centimeters and you are expected to climb over them. I hate that!

Post 989915590

Today I'm working on a database model of an existing database. That's always a nice job to do. Chaos. But I'll get there, somehow.

My parents came home yesterday. We had a bit of a cleanup session sundaynight. So everything was okay. They had a good time, were even tanned by the sun quite a lot. Got some Chinese takeaway for dinner. Hurah!

Trivia

  • Air conditioning was invented by Willis Carrier to help a Brooklyn, New York, printer get decent color during hot, humid weather. Air conditioning wasn’t used for cooling people until 1924 when it made its debut at the J.L. Hudson Department Store in Detroit, Michigan.
  • It took 214 crates to transport the Statue of Liberty from France to New York in 1885.
  • Nyctitropism is the tendency of the leaves or petals of certain plants to assume a different position at night.
  • The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor.

Post 989849604

Dissension in the Closed Source Software Community (a TechSightings Editorial): "We need to stop talking about the "Open Source" community, which was here before there was any other kind of software community, as if it was some sort of isolated group living outside the bounds of normal computing society, and start treating "Closed Source" software as the aberration.

We've had 25 years of proprietary personal computer software. That's enough. It's time to return to our computing roots, and share our intellectual resources freely the way we're supposed to.

And while we may no longer wish to hail Torvalds, Stallman or Raymond as inventors of the Free Software(tm) or Open Source(tm) concept, we should still revere them the way we revere the medieval monks who kept the idea of open learning and knowledge acquisition alive during the European dark ages, a role that is worthy of honor in and of itself."

Post 989848799

Almost 16:00 hours. I leave at 17:00. So that means I have only one hour to go untill I can end this workingday. Time flies on some days, doesn't it? Now, what exactly is an hour? For that I went once again to Britannica.com and found:

Hour, in timekeeping, 3,600 seconds, now defined in terms of radiation emitted from atoms of the element cesium under specified conditions. The hour was formerly defined as the 24th part of a mean solar day - i.e., of the average period of rotation of the Earth relative to the Sun. The hour of sidereal time, 1/24 of the Earth's rotation period relative to the stars, was about 10 seconds shorter than the hour of mean solar time.

In even earlier systems of timekeeping, an hour was 1/12 of a period of daylight or darkness - hence, variable in length with seasonal changes in the length of day and night. The custom of dividing the cycle of day and night into 24 periods seems to have originated with the ancient Egyptians.

Post 989847850

O jee, dat belooft wat. Kan ik me dan toch niet in het wit hijsen? IT-vrouwen trouwen het minst. Vrouwen die zijn afgestudeerd in de IT-sector blijken de minste kans te hebben om te trouwen. Meer dan 40% van deze vrouwen is op 44-jarige leeftijd nog niet in het huwelijksbootje gestapt. Volgens een van de onderzoekers wordt in sectoren waar het aantal huwelijken relatief laag is, waarschijnlijk nog gewerkt met ouderwetse werkopvattingen, "de praktijk op de werkvloer is onvriendelijk voor het vormen van gezinnen".

Post 989847574

From Techsightings.com: When Bill Gates started selling commercial programs that ran on home computers, many people considered him an opportunistic bleephead who was trying to get rich by doing something almost everyone else was willing to do for free. Gates also got a reputation early on as a crybaby, especially after this letter ("An open Letter to Hobbysts") was published in several computer magazines in 1976.

Post 989847026

I was just reading an article on Filmfestivals.com about Cannes 2001, specificaly on the movie The Man Who Wasn't There, by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen. Story: "Summer, 1949. Ed Crane is a barber for men in a small California town. His wife Doris has been cheating on him with another man; who soon turns up dead." I'd like to see this as I like like their other work, even though I haven't seen all of it, which is high on my list though. The Big Lebowski (1998) and Raising Arizona (1987) are two of my favourite movies.

Post 989846349

Speednames - check for availabilty of your domainname worldwide! Mirthe.nl is still available. That would be very cool. Maybe someday. Sigh.

Post 989841943

I've said it before, but I am anxiously awaiting this release. Slashdot | You Liked This Movie, Or Else "All the Norwegian news papers, and some Swedish ones, are raving about the forthcoming "Lord of the Rings" movie after a 25 minutes screening at a chateau near Cannes. BBC reveals why the reviews are that positive, all those who atended had to sign a declaration of goodwill. A New Zealand report spins it differently, apparaently the audience was genuinely impressed. A quote from the end of the article: 'I don't think it will be a film for children. One of the big monsters was genuinely terrifying.'" (see also lordoftherings.net and this pervious post.)

Post 989841092

De tentamens komen er weer aan! Van 4 juni tot en met 30 juni is het weer zover. Ik moet er in totaal nog twee, maar ik kan nog maar 1 van de twee doen dit jaar. Dat moet dan aankomende module. Kijk hier voor Proeftentamens van de School voor Communicatiesystemen. Ik wil me eigenlijk vandaag al inschrijven, maar dat kan nog niet. Onthouden dat ik de site dagelijks check. Het kan immers maar gedurende een beperkte periode. Zucht. Bureaucratie is vermoeiend.

Post 989837287

How true. In chapter 8: When Is A Rose Not A Rose? it reads

  1. Smart data structures and dumb code works a lot better than the other way around.

Brooks, Chapter 9: "Show me your [code] and conceal your [data structures], and I shall continue to be mystified. Show me your [data structures], and I won't usually need your [code]; it'll be obvious."

Post 989834844

My brother is doing some research for school on Open Source and sends me loads of links on the subjects. This morning I got one for an article called The Cathedral and the Bazaar. In chapter 2: "The Mail Must Get Through", the author lists 5 lessons, which I would like to share with you here.

  1. Every good work of software starts by scratching a developer's personal itch.

  2. Good programmers know what to write. Great ones know what to rewrite (and reuse).

  3. "Plan to throw one away; you will, anyhow." (Fred Brooks, "The Mythical Man-Month", Chapter 11)

  4. If you have the right attitude, interesting problems will find you.

  5. When you lose interest in a program, your last duty to it is to hand it off to a competent successor.

In the chapters after that he continues. Take a look for yourself.

Post 989834540

Allaire Knowledge Base. My source of information. I included this link because I can never find one on the Allairepage. Don't know why. Must be my blind spot ;-)

Post 989826077

I am on way to many mailinglists - even IT humor ones. Sigh. I received the following on Microsoft Active Server Pages

On the eigth day God turned evil and said: Let there be pain!

and there was pain... in the shape of A-S-P

Agonizing, Suffering & Pain

Try not to laugh to loud ;-)

Post 989825970

Mondaymorning again. The sun has gone, and rain has arrived! Can't say I'm very mournful. It was way to hot. Thank god for my ceilingfan, or I wouldn't have slept at all. Even the air smells fresher outside now.

I share the room at work with 4 people, the room is L shaped. I'm positioned in the top part of the L, and have full oversight of everything. Also nobody can see onto my screen. The desk attached to mine was unused, but unfortunatelly this morning a new guy started, and he will be using the desk. Sigh.

Why do I always have a busdriver who doesn't remember to open the backdoors, resulting in me wanting to get out and having to call to the driver, which means everybody in the bus is looking at you. Haven't they ever heard somebody speak out loud before? What's up with these people?

Vincent

Selfportrait 1886
I've just watched a documentary about fellow Dutchmen, painter Vincent van Gogh. Although I have visited his mothers grave, which is nearby in Leiden, and seen many of his paintings in museums, I have never read a book about him. I have to remember to put that on my list. He sounds so sad, even though his life must have been quite fascinating.

"Thanks to the preservation of 1000's of letters Van Gogh had written to friends and family, especially to his brother Theo, we have a nearly complete understanding of his feelings, experiences, and views on every aspect of his life. Surprisingly, his incredible artistic talent went undeveloped and unrecognized until he was 27 years old, after he had already failed at two other career choices, as an art dealer and a Protestant minister. Under the shroud of family shame when he was found incompetent to follow in his father's ministerial foot steps, he began to study art. He obsessively poured himself into this newly found talent and completed thousands of sketches and oil paintings before he shot himself to death at the age of 37 years old."

One moment, while I check Amazon. Here we go: The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh, In the Footsteps of Van Gogh, At Eternity's Gate, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=0847823326>Vincent Van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard, Vincent Van Gogh, Van Gogh's Van Goghs: Masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Complete Letters of Vincent Van Gogh.

And some relevant sites: The Vincent van Gogh Gallery, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, The Troubled Life Of Vincent Van Gogh by Bonnie Butterfield and the beautiful site About Van Gogh Art.

Post 989696623

I was watching the movie Anaconda (1997) on television, but didn't find it very interesting. Zapping around I stumbled upon the Eurovision songcontest (you can also check out the Dutch website). It's getting worse every year. Especially since everybody can sing in the language of their choice. That used to be the appeal, all those strange words and sounds. But now, it's all one song, in English, sung by the same happy smiling people. Sigh.

Post 989682426

Blogger gave me an "Error 210". Thanks. I believe there are some difficulties. Hope it'll be fixed soon.

Post 989682275

I forgot to mention that when I got home yesterday, I found a form in my mailbox that the DVD's (more info in this post) are available, but when they called to deliver, nobody answered the door. So now I have to wait untill monday to pick them up. That's depressing, isn't it? To know my DVD's are waiting for me at the postoffice around the corner, but I have to wait untill monday to get to them! Damn. Anyway, it's a good chance to train my patience.

Post 989682022

I spent most of the afternoon browsing through Canna's MP3 Page. There are lots of links! Maybe there's something here for you...

Post 989667808

The other movie we rented was Idioterne (1998). The story of a group of perfectly intelligent young people who decide to react to society's cult of an aimless, non-creative and non-responsible form of intelligence by living together in a community of "idiots". Their main activity becomes going out into the world of "normal" people and pretending to be mentally retarded. They take advantage of this situation to create anarchy everywhere they go and try by every possible means to make people annoyed, disturbed, miserable, ridiculous, angered, and shocked. The films start as they recruit a new lost soul and introduced her to their megalomaniac leader.

Post 989667780

Totally unplanned we once again ended up at the videostore. Why can't we resist? Must fight harder ;-) Anyhow, we left with two movies: Plunkett & Macleane (1999). Will Plunkett and Captain James Macleane, two men from different ends of the social spectrum in 18th-century England, enter a gentlemen's agreement: They decide to rid the aristocrats of their belongings. With Plunkett's criminal know-how and Macleane's social connections, they team up to be soon known as "The Gentlemen Highwaymen". But when one day these gentlemen hold up Lord Chief Justice Gibson's coach, Macleane instantly falls in love with his beautiful and cunning niece, Lady Rebecca Gibson. Unfortunately, Thief Taker General Chance, who also is quite fond of Rebecca, is getting closer and closer to getting both: The Gentlemen Highwaymen and Rebecca, who, needless to tell, don't want to get any closer to him. But Plunkett still has a thing to sort out with Chance, and his impulsiveness gets all of them in a little trouble.

Post 989667647

Ah, weekend! Plans to sleep in were destroyed after my brother went out at 06:00 (!) to get tickets to Hans Teeuwen, and forgot his key. So when he returned at 08:30, guess who had to open the door. :-(

Don't you just hate that! And because it was already getting warm in my room I was unable to get back to sleep. Thanks again.

Post 989616834

The time of my previous posts for today appear to be completely wrong. Most of it was posted around 15:50 hours, as I copied the entries I typed earlier from notepad into Blogger after it was back up again. It hadn't been most of the day you see. Anyhow, I'm just checking on some downloads that are currently running on Getright, and think I'll go to bed soon. Warm weather makes me very weary. Good night.

Post 989614344

Deceided it was better to ask if I could go. But ofcourse, was the reply. Great! So only 15 minutes more untill weekend. Everybody else has already left. I believe some people started at 07:00 hours this morning, just to leave early. Some people are insane! I'm outta here. See you. Have a good weekend.

Post 989614320

Another option in my festival choice (thank you Bart, I hadn't thought about this one): Wacken-open-air. The line-up for this year is: Annihilator, Artch, Behemoth, Blackshine, Brainstorm, Cage, Carnal Forge, Chinchilla, Cryptopsy, Culprit, Dark Tranquillity, Deceased, Desaster, The Deströyer 666, Paul Dianno & Killers, Dimmu Borgir, Exciter, Exhumed, Exumer, Grave Digger, Hammerfall, The Haunted, Holy Moses, In Flames, Krisiun, Lacuna Coil, Mägo De Oz, Metalium, Mortician, Naglfar, Napalm Death, Nasum, Nevermore, Nightwish, Nostradamus, Opeth, Primal Fear, The Sins Of Thy Beloved, Sodom, Soilwork, Sonata Artica, Subway To Sally, Tad Morose, Tankard, Therion, Torniquet, Vintersorg, Voivod, Warhammer.

I'm more confused now than ever. Graspop, Wacken, Waldrock, I don't know anymore... Help!

Post 989614305

I would like to leave an hour earlier today. It's friday, and terribly warm. Maybe I will do that. Another advantage is that it will probably be less crowded in the bus at that time. Now the question remains, shall I just go, or do I have to ask permission. I don't know. I haven't been here long enough to know that. Hmmm. I'll have to think about that. Have to check the OVR site to see at what time the bus leaves.

Post 989614298

The Ultimate HTML Reference Database. You can use this database to look up the list of attributes supported by any HTML element tag that is (or was) supported by a range of browsers. The list includes those element tags and attributes proposed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), but not yet implemented by the two main Web browsers. For each HTML element tag and each attribute, the database indicates which version (if any) of HTML, and which of the three latest versions of each of the two most popular browsers, supports it.

Post 989614289

"Be incomprehensible. If they can't understand you, they can't disagree with you."

Post 989614284

I love the 5k webdesign contest. "The idea behind the contest is that the rigid constraints of designing for the web are what force us to get truly creative. Between servers and bandwidth, clients and users, HTML and the DOM, browsers and platforms, our conscience and our ego, we're left in a very small space to find highly optimal solutions. Since the space we have to explore is so small, we have to look harder, get more creative; and that's what makes it all interesting. Just celebrating that is all." You should especially check out the entry with 5k Pong. It rules!

Post 989614279

How true. Shooting Yourself in the Foot, taken from Python.org. There's an endless series of jokes about how to shoot yourself in the foot using a particular programming language. Here are the entries for Python and Java (by Mark Hammond):

Python: You create a gun module, a gun class, a foot module and a foot class. After realising you can't point the gun at the foot, you pass a reference to the gun to a foot object. After the foot is blown up, the gun object remains alive for eternity, ready to shoot all future feet that may happen to appear.

Java: You find that Microsoft and Sun have released imcompatible class libraries both implementing Gun objects. You then find that although there are plenty of feet objects implemented in the past in many other languages, you cannot get access to one. But seeing as Java is so cool, you don't care and go around shooting anything else you can find.

Post 989614271

"Computers are useless; they can only give you answers!" -- Picasso

Post 989614260

Why do I keep on getting emails offering me University Diplomas? "Obtain a prosperous future, money earning power, and the admiration of all. Diplomas from prestigious non-accredited universities based on your present knowledge and life experience. No required tests, classes, books, or interviews. Bachelors, masters, MBA, and doctorate (PhD) diplomas available in the field of your choice. No one is turned down. Confidentiality assured. Call now to receive your diploma within days!!! 1-602-798-7690 or 1-312-577-1677 Call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including Sundays and holidays." Who on earth deceides after reading this, to call the number? Are there people who have even tried it? I wonder. And who on earth though of this first? I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. Just stop bothering me! Apparently I am not alone here, as the article Buried in email? on Slashdot.org proves.

Post 989614251

Cool: The Collection of Computer Science Bibliographies. This is a collection of bibliographies of scientific literature in computer science from various sources, covering most aspects of computer science. The bibliographies are updated monthly from their original locations such that you'll always find the most recent versions here.

The collection currently contains more than 1.1 million references (mostly to journal articles, conference papers and technical reports), clustered in about 1400 bibliographies, and consists of 660 MBytes of BibTeX entries. More than 16000 references contain crossreferences to citing or cited publications. More than 100,000 references contain URLs to an online version of the paper. There are more than 2000 links to other sites carrying bibliographic information.

Post 989614232

How could I not include a link to the Request For Comment file for the HTML 2.0 specification? So there it is. It was originally proposed by Tim Berners-Lee and Daniel Connolly in November 1995. They also wrote the original Draft for HTML, subtitled "A Representation of Textual Information and MetaInformation for Retrieval and Interchange". This document dates from June 1993! For more documents on the origins of HTML, check out this document at the W3C: HTML 2.0 Materials.

Post 989614224

I just payed a visit to the Gaborcorp website. I remember when I saw their site for the very first time. That must have been around 1996. I had just begun experimenting with Flash. Must have been version 2. Wauw. We're at 5 now. Can't believe it. Where has the time gone? But anyhow, back to the site. It was the first site I saw that fully used the possibilities of Flash. And actually I have never been more impressed since. It's a shame the site is currently under construction, but the preview that is displayed is very impressive nonetheless. Don't forget to turn on your speakers before checking it out.

Post 989614217

Het overleg met Pieter (zie dit bericht) ging goed. Duurde ongeveer anderhalf uur. Jemig wat vliegt de tijd toch op sommige momenten, en op anderen kruipt 'ie voort. Hoe kan dat toch? We hebben in ieder geval eerst een korte uitleg van mijn begeleiders, Kees en Richard, in de presentatiekamer. Daarna heb ik op mijn eigen werkplek een en ander laten zien. De site en wat dingen die ik al gedaan heb. Verder heeft Pieter uitgelegd welke punten belangrijk zijn. Het belangrijkst waar ik om moet denken is dat ik in mijn eindverslag niet alleen een procesweergave toon. Het moet duidelijk zijn dat ik op HBO niveau heb gewerkt en er moet dus ergens een iets meer theoretisch zwaartepunt komen te liggen. Ik zit zelf te denken aan CSS en het belang van de scheiding van content en lay-out. Dat is op zich wel een onderwerp waar ik wat mee heb. Bovendien heb ik daar in de afelopen maand al veel onderzoek naar gedaan, met dank aan onder andere A List A Part: For People Who Make Websites. Wat een goeie site is dat zeg!

Post 989614203

Blogger was down again! What is going on? Anyhow, thanks to notepad and cut & paste, I am still able to share some stuff with you.

Post 989568199

Heb over een half uur een gesprek met Pieter van Waesberghe. Hij is mijn door school toegewezen mentor tijdens mijn afstuderen. Maar ik heb nooit les van hem gehad, ken hem dus niet. Spannend. Gelukkkig heb ik op de site van school gelezen wie hij ongeveer is: "Sinds het schooljaar 98/99 is hij docent aan de SvC. Hij geeft modules als Marketing, Java, Computerconcepten, Informatieanalyse, etc. In een ver verleden studeerde hij af als socioloog met als specialisatie massacommunicatie. Zijn onderwijsloopbaan startte hij in 1974 als docent aan de School voor Journalistiek te Utrecht. Daar raakte hij vanaf het begin van de jaren tachtig betrokken bij allerlei automatiseringsprojecten. Rond 1990 stapte hij over naar faculteit Journalistiek en Communicatie in de functie van informatiemanager. Later werd hij projectmedewerker voor ICT-projecten. Maar het onderwijs bleef trekken en zo maakte hij in september 1998 de overstap naar de SvC."

Post 989567767

Summer has truly set in since the beginning of this week. I didn't even wear a coat this morning. Just three weeks ago I was still wearing my long, black wintercoat. (Weersverwachting: Zonnig en droog. Oost tot noordoost, toenemend matig, 3, langs de kust in de middag en avond af en toe vrij krachtig, 5. Minimumtemperatuur omstreeks 11 graden. Middagtemperatuur ongeveer 25 graden.) I don't mind a bit of sun, but why does it always get so extremely warm here? I feel myself getting irritated far sooner and also I am far more tired. I definately prefer winter. Most people don't agree however. Now, what exactly is Summer?

Summer, warmest season of the year, between spring and autumn. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is usually defined as the period between the summer solstice (year's longest day), June 21 or 22, and the autumnal equinox (day and night equal in length), September 22 or 23; and in the Southern Hemisphere, as the period between December 22 or 23 and March 20 or 21. The temperature contrast between summer and the other seasons exists only in middle and high latitudes; temperatures in the equatorial regions generally vary little from month to month. For physical causes of the seasons, see season.

The concept of summer in European languages is associated with growth and maturity, especially that of cultivated plants, and indeed summer is the season of greatest plant growth in regions with sufficient summer rainfall. Festivals and rites have been used in many cultures to celebrate summer in recognition of its importance in food production. A period of exceptionally hot weather, often with high humidity, during the summer is called a heat wave. Such an occurrence in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in the latter part of summer is sometimes called the dog days.

Post 989567335

I just added a Search page for The Hermit's Tower. I used the Atomz service. Looks good. Ofcourse I need to tweak it some more. But that's okay, it'll be weekend soon. Plenty of time for that.

Scent

Scent is a bizarre thing. Have you ever smelled something and immediately thought of something in your past? As I was installing Windows 2000 on my computer at work, I was browsing a binder with a collection of plactic folders, which contained the cd-roms with the software I needed to install. Anyhow, as I was turning the pages I caught the smell of thick plastic. It was the same as the inflatable rubberboat I used to share with my brother when we were vacationing in France. We used to go to the beach, my brother and I and my parents. And because we had a lot of stuff to move from the parkinglot to the shoreline, we used to inflate the boat and load in all the food, towels, toys, books and other necesseties for a day at the beach. Isn't that strange, I hadn't thought about that for ages, yet after a brief smell I almost felt as though I was on the parkinglot in France again.

Read more on scent and the development of scent tracking here. Or take a look at this page at Britannica.com on Human sensory reception | Smell (olfactory) sense | Effects on behaviour.

Post 989504889

Quite relevant for me is the following article on Slashdot | Recipies For A Good Night's Sleep? I need a lot of sleep. Especially now that I have to work all day. Before I started here, in April, I spend about a year with minimal work for school and nothing much besides that. Well, alot of coding ofcourse, but that's not work. Plus I got to sleep when I wanted to. Go to bed about 02:00 hours and didn't wake up untill about 13:00 hours the next morning. Then suddenly I had to switch to 7:40 hours. I deceided that I have to turn off the lights at 23:30 hours to be somewhat functional the next morning. Also I use my CD player as my alarm. That beep the normal alarm clock gives makes me want to kill myself. So at night I choose a nice CD, some Opeth, My Dying Bride, Anathema or Katatonia. Then I set the alarm at the last possible minute, which is 7:40 hours. Then when the CD starts playing in the morning, I sit up as soon as possible. If I don't, I will fall asleep again. Then I drag myself to the shower and after that I am actually quite clear. Ofcourse some days are better than others.

Post 989495489

Breng ook eens een bezoekje aan de Red KinkFM website. Mijn favoriete radiozender Kink FM dreigt namelijk te verdwijnen door het gerommel van de overheid met de frequenties. Dat mag natuurlijk niet. Kijk op de site voor ideeen over wat jij kunt doen om te helpen!

Post 989494764

Emode.com: Your Emode Horoscope for Pisces (February 19 - March 20)

Is your mirror telling you lies? This week, try just for a while to see yourself as others do. It is entirely possible, Pi, that any flaws and wrinkles that jump out at you, are entirely invisible to the world around you? In fact, you may find that no one is as critical of you as you are. Once you've finished this little experiment you may feel better about the wonderful person inside that shell of yours.

Good days: May 28

Post 989494513

"In thinking, keep to the simple. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present." - Tao Te Ching

Post 989494385

Memory. The retention and retrieval in the human mind of past experiences.

The function of remembering and its converse, forgetting, are normally adaptive. Learning, thought, and reasoning could not occur without remembering. On the other hand, forgetting has many functions, including time orientation by virtue of the tendency of memories to fade over time; adaptation to new learning by the loss or suppression of old patterns; and relief from the anxiety of painful experiences.

Some theorists believe memory is best described as a single storage and retrieval system. Others conceptualize a short-term memory where a limited amount of information (about five–nine items) can be held for a few seconds, after which it is either coded into a separate long-term system or lost. Organic evidence is adduced in favour of the two-system theory: persons who have suffered damage to an area of the brain called the hippocampus can retain short-term memory functions but are apparently unable to store any new long-term memory. Taken from Brittanica.com.

Post 989494338

Smell. Also called Olfaction, the detection and identification by sensory organs of airborne chemicals. The concept of smell, as it applies to humans, becomes less distinct when invertebrates and lower vertebrates (fish and amphibians) are considered, because many lower animals detect chemicals in the environment by means of receptors in various locations on the body, and no invertebrate possesses a chemoreceptive structure resembling the vertebrate nasal cavity. For this reason, many authorities prefer to regard smell as distance chemoreception and taste as contact chemoreception.

Olfaction by air-breathing vertebrates depends primarily on chemically sensitive nerves with endings in the lining (epithelium) of the nasal cavity. Mammals such as carnivores, which rely heavily on the sense of smell for locating food or for warning against predators, have intricately curled turbinal bones (which support the nasal epithelium), providing greater surface area, thus increasing olfactory sensitivity.

In addition to the nasal epithelium, Jacobson's organ, located in the roof of the mouth, also serves for chemoreception in some animals. Taken from Brittanica.com.

Post 989479769

My personal nightmare. Seen on Slashdot: Technology Exposes Cheating at University of Virginia. "Which is the story of a professor at the University of Virginia who heard rumors that his students were cheating and took action - he wrote a program to search through all the papers, identify common phrases, and flag the cheaters. Now a large chunk of the class is facing possible expulsion for plagiarism."

Post 989437879

Speaking of Charmed, this is one of my favourite shows of the moment. Three siters reuinte and unlock their powers to become the Charmed Ones - the most powerful witches to exist. Now they must vanquish evil and save innocents while living their lives as normal women in the real world. Life isn't so easy when you're Charmed. Starring Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell, Shannen Doherty as Prue Halliwell and Alyssa Milano as Phoebe Halliwell. A full hour of magical entertainment. Great! Read more on one of the many websites, like The Charmed Ones, Charmed.org or take a look at the Episode Guide. Tonights episode was called "The Good, the Bad and the Cursed". "When Phoebe sees ghosts in a deserted town, Prue travels back in time to the mid-1800s to save an American Indian from a local thug." By the way, Charmed is also featured on my My Favourite TV Shows page.

Post 989437488

I am downloading some songs with Getright, so I have some time to kill. Just watched Charmed on tv, but that has just finished. There isn't much on now. A perfect moment to pay a visit to the site of one of my favourite recordlabels: the Swedish Cold Meat Industry label. Another reason that I share this link with you, is that I think this site is very beautiful. Check it out. Don't miss the samples for Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio (formerly known as Ordo Equilibrio, don't know why they changed it, but okay). I own the "Reaping the Fallen... The First Harvest" album and love listening to it. Especially in bed, just before I fall asleep.

Post 989432701

While doing some semi-random browsing, I came across this page with the text and information of the Wilhelmus, the national anthem of The Netherlands. Ofcourse I felt a need to share this with you, my trusty reader.

Post 989431713

Ik had laatst het versje in mijn hoofd over Catootje en de botermarkt, maar ik realiseerde me dat ik eigenlijk de tekst maar voor een deel ken. Vandaar dat ik daar maar eens even naar gezocht heb. Zo kwam ik uit op deze pagina met kinderliedjes en deze pagina met andere kinderliedjes. Nooit eerder aan gedacht om daarnaar te zoeken, maar mijn query bij Google bleek toch behoorlijk uitgebreid. Ik vraag me af welke dingen ik in mijn onderbewustzijn heb zitten, die ik eigenlijk ook wel zou willen onderzoeken, maar niet doe, omdat ik me er niet van bewust ben. Duidelijk toch? ;-)

Post 989415710

I am currently using the CSS2 Reference at W3Schools alot. What a great site this is! For reference, but also if you want to learn more about certain things, or just feel like browsing. Definately worth a visit.

Post 989414263

If you're planning of going somewhere by plane shortly, check out Am I Going Down?, which is as they call is "A guide to your likelihood of personally experiencing full loss equivalency". Enter your destination and your place of departure and a few more details and based on the airline statistics you will be told what your chances are of making it without a planecrash. But remember, "if you took a flight every day, you would travel more than 1,000 years on average before being involved in a fatal accident. You would have more chance seeing Elvis overhead on a flying saucer".

Post 989414218

An interesting tip: hetillegaleparool.nl. This site offers an archive of the illegal publications in World War 2, Het Parool, one of the major illegal papers, and its precursor, the Nieuwsbrief van Pieter 't Hoen, which first appeared on 25 July 1940. It was the initiative of one man, who was responsible for the contents. The Nieuwsbrief was produced by a handful of individuals and distributed on a small scale. The Nieuwsbrief van Pieter 't Hoen became Het Parool in February 1941. Het Parool was written by a larger editorial team and was widely distributed throughout the country. It was published continuously from 10 February 1941 until the liberation.

Post 989414183

I also want to share some of my irritations with you. This morning I was standing in the sunshine at the busstop. Just enjoying the nice weather. Had my eyes closed. The bus wasn't due to arrive for about 5 minutes. (I know, but I like to be early.) Then some idiot drives by with his stupid car with the radio far to loud. And if it is something to be proud of, he is playing Wham with "Wake me up (before you go-go)". To top it all of that's a song that sticks in your mind. So when the bus finally arrives I still catch myself humming it. Arghh!

Another thing is that here at my work a radio is playing. And it is set to Yorin FM. This station calls itself number 1 hit radio. And if you have browsed my site you'll know I don't want to hear that. R&B till you want to jam your head through the computermonitor. Even that damned Starmaker song is played atleast once an hour. I can't take Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Destiny's Child and Shaggy anymore! Insane is what I'll be shortly. Thank god for winamp, headphones and mp3!

Closely related is the fact that all the bands mentioned above don't appear to have an ounce of originality in them. Covers of old songs keep appearing. For instance I am now listening to Westlife covering Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl". Was it really necessary to cover this? And how about Brandy with Phil Collins' "Another Day in Paradise". Who comes up with this?

Post 989414145

Blogger is down for maintenance at the moment (got forwarded to sorry.blogger.com), but I want to share a few thoughts. Thanks to mister Notepad, you can still read this. Long live cut and paste. Anyhow. Yesterday I deceided to install Windows NT, when I couldn't get SQL Server running. After the install the first thing I wanted to get up and running was ofcourse SQL Server. But the damn thing wouldn't install. Did the same things (or rather didn't) it did in Windows 2000. Turned out the CD was damaged and it wouldn't have installed anywhere. Great. Made a copy of the CD and deceided there was no reason not to reinstall Windows 2000. So I did. Finished at about 15:00 hours yesterday. First thing I installed after that was SQL Server. It installed like a dream. I hate computers. Think I'llhave a careerchange and become childrensroomswallpaperdesigner or something. Come to think of it, they probably work with computers nowadays. Sigh. I now, 11:58 hours, have my computer running great. Installed all my favourite software and have things set the way I like. Nice!

Post 989312922

Just checking out the SQL Server 7.0 Datasheet. I finally got Windows 2000 working properly at work. The only thing left to install was SQL Server. Piece of cake, I thought. But ofcourse that turned out not to be true. So now I am browsing the Internet for a solution. Haven't had much luck yet. Maybe I'll have to start again with Microsoft NT workstation 4.0 now. Sigh. I hate NT. What to do?

Post 989246764

Finally, a decent operating system! It took me most of the day, but I installed a fresh Windows 2000 and after a few hours of tweaking and reinstalling other software, I finally have my PC the way I want it. Sigh. Maybe tomorrow I can finally start coding. Anyhow, only 20 minutes before I am going home. The sun is shining and life is good. :-)

Post 989230998

How could I not mention this in my Blog? The invasion of the famous sentence "All your base are belong to us". But where does it come from? The following is taken from the Jargon Lexicon: A declaration of victory or superiority. The phrase stems from a 1991 adaptation of Toaplan's "Zero Wing" shoot-'em-up arcade game for the Sega Genesis game console. A brief introduction was added to the opening screen, and it has what many consider to be the worst Japanese-to-English translation in video game history. The introduction shows the bridge of a starship in chaos as a Borg-like figure named CATS materializes and says, "How are you gentlemen!! All your base are belong to us." [sic] In 2001, this amusing mistranslation spread virally through the internet, bringing with it a slew of JPEGs and a movie of hacked photographs, each showing a street sign, store front, package label, etc. hacked to read "All your base are belong to us" or one of the other dopy lines from the game. When the phrase is used properly, the overall effect is both screamingly funny and somewhat chilling, reminiscent of the B movie "They Live".

Post 989230698

About the videos. We rented two yesterday evening. Tjerk came home at about 18:00 hours and after we watched 'Zaai', we went to get Chinese food and were seduced by the videostore.

The first was Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999). "Deuce Bigalow is a less than attractive, down on his luck aquarium cleaner. One day he runs into a male gigolo who asks him to look after his precious fish while he is away on business. However, he wrecks the house and needs quick money to repair it. The only way he can make it is to become a gigolo himself, taking on an unusual mix of female clients. He encounters a couple of problems, though. He falls in love with one of his unusual clients, and a sleazy police officer his hot on his trail."

The other video was Takedown (2000). "Kevin Mitnick is quite possibly the best hacker in the world. Hunting for more and more information, seeking more and more cybertrophies every day, he constantly looks for bigger challenges. When he breaks into the computer of a security expert and an ex-hacker, he finds one - and much more than that." Maybe you'd like to check out the Free Kevin Mitnick website.

Post 989230412

Monday morning sucks. I am so tired. Plus my computer at work died, I can't do anything or explorer.exe will crash. Thankfully Opera still works. Now I am just catching up on Slashdot and a few other sites. Maybe later I can format this thing and install Windows 2000? Also I am very pissed off with Tjerk, who was going to go to work this morning, but then deceided not to. This means I am hard at work here, and he is lying in his bed. Damn. I am willing to bet he won't even think about cleaning some stuff or atleast returning the video's to the videostore.

Post 989161952

"I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis."

Dying Words of Humphrey Bogart, actor, d. January 14, 1957

Source: Brain Candy

Post 989161551

From Daily Zen Meditation: Study the teachings of the pine tree, the bamboo and the plum blossom. The pine is vergreen, firmly rooted, and venerable. The bamboo is strong, resilient, unbreakable. The plum blossom is hardy, fragrant and elegant. - Morihei Ueshiba

Post 989159322

Plien & Bianca en postbode Siemen in Zaai

Een van mijn favoriete televisieprogramma's is het VPRO-programma ‘Zaai’. Waarin Plien & Bianca te zien zijn als Ingrid en Irma, ze zijn elkaars beste vriendinnen. Iedere dag spreken ze af op hun hek, dat op de postroute ligt van postbode Siemen. Siemen moet altijd werken, maar heeft in het voorbijgaan meestal toch wel even tijd om iets te bedenken tegen het zaaie bestaan van de twee vriendinnen.

Vanavond een nieuwe aflevering om 18:15 uur. Hoera! Voor meer informatie kun je kijken op de officiële ZAAI pagina bij de VPRO. Bekend van Ik deel altijd alles met je. Noga, chocola, stroopwafelkruim... Stroopwafelkruim? Ik geef maar een voorbeeld!, Ingrid moest achtervangeren, maar ze stond liever met Greta Sipkema te ouwenelen over d'r glitterpoes en natuurlijk Tienerbed Guikje en tienerburo Tanja met een burostoel met wieltjes.

Post 989151715

Boredom caused me to look up my weekly horoscope Pisces (Week from May 5th to 11st). Here we go.

Professional life: Someone you work with needs to be given independence and freedom.

If you don't leave them scope in which to move freely you may alienate them altogether.

Private life: Someone from the past just keeps on appearing. There's no coincidence here.

Perhaps this person is trying to tell you something, so keep your eyes open next time.

Daily life: You seem to have a penchant for lost causes. It's time to put a stop to this once and for all.

Keep your eyes open for the winners and don't waste time on the losers.

Misc: Your lucky numbers this week: 8, 16, 20, 34. Your motto of the week: self-expression.

Where your luck lies this week: finances. Who to invite this week: libra.

Post 989151547

These are the mails I like to receive! From my friends at A&B Sound Online: This is a message from A&B Sound Online to let you know the status of your order #xxxxxxx has been updated. The following items were shipped on May 4 15:33:32 2001: Casino, Usual Suspects, 8MM, Big Lebowski, True Romance. Regards, A&B Sound Online.

Post 989151192

Today in History - May 6: On this day in 1937, the hydrogen-filled German dirigible Hindenburg burned and crashed in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 35 of the 97 people on board and a Navy crewman on the ground. In 1889, the Paris Exposition formally opened, featuring the just-completed Eiffel Tower. And in 1941, dictator Josef Stalin assumed the Soviet premiership, replacing Vyacheslav M. Molotov.

Post 989151048

Misschien interessant in de toekomst? Volgens nu.nl/film: Best bezochte film in 2000 is The Sixth Sense. Bijna 1,3 miljoen mensen zagen de psychologische thriller met Bruce Willis in de hoofdrol. Mission Impossible 2, met Tom Cruise als steracteur, eindigde met ongeveer 838.000 bezoekers op de tweede plek. De derde plaats was voor een Nederlandse film: Kruimeltje. Ruim 681.000 mensen bekeken de avonturen van het straatjochie. De rest van de top tien wordt gevormd door: Gladiator, American Beauty, What Lies Beneath , Gone in 60 seconds, The world is not enough, Pokémon en Nutty Professor 2.

Post 989148981

Today is Sunday already. Have to go to work again tomorrow. Why doesn't the weekend last longer? Sigh. Anyhow, I am downloading a few files with Getright, so I can't go offline just yet. May aswell browse Britannica.com for the origine of sunday.

Sunday: first day of the week; in Christianity, the Lord's Day, the weekly memorial of Jesus Christ's Resurrection from the dead. The practice of Christians gathering together for worship on Sunday dates back to apostolic times, but details of the actual development of the custom are not clear. Before the end of the 1st century AD, the author of Revelation gave the first day its name of the “Lord's Day” (Rev. 1:10). Saint Justin Martyr (c. 100–c. 165), philosopher and defender of the Christian faith, in his writings described the Christians gathered together for worship on the Lord's Day: the gospels or the Old Testament was read, the presiding minister preached a sermon, and the group prayed together and celebrated the Lord's Supper.

The emperor Constantine (d. 337), a convert to Christianity, introduced the first civil legislation concerning Sunday in 321, when he decreed that all work should cease on Sunday, except that farmers could work if necessary. This law, aimed at providing time for worship, was followed later in the same century and in subsequent centuries by further restrictions on Sunday activities.

Post 989148756

On WHquestion, I read the following letter:

"Dear WHquestion Member, It is with a sad heart that we must inform you of the upcoming shut down of the WHquestion site. WHnetworks Ltd., the company that created and maintained WHquestion, in order to reduce its costs and expenditures for the foreseeable future has decided to focus its current efforts in different products. It was with real pain and a great feeling of loss that we, after much debate, decided, for the time being, to shut down the site and stop its various service(s) as of Sunday, May 6th, at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time."

This saddens me. I liked that site. Why do all good things have to be terminated just because there isn't enough money to be made? Shouldn't content be more important than commerce? Or am I just being naive? :-(

Post 989148491

Watched a documentary on robots, cyborgs and the future of mankind on tv last night. This reminded me that I don't have a place on my site for Isaac Asimov's "Laws of Robotics". This has to be changed, and why not in blog? Here we go:

  1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction,

allow a human being to come to harm.

  1. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings

except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

  1. A robot must protect its own existence as long as

such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

More information on writer Isaac Asimov.

Post 989061164

I wonder how my parents are getting on in Paris (more info for travellers here). They phoned me thursday night, everything was okay. It was raining a bit, but it would be better soon. They were staying at the Ille a Dam campsite, which is where we always used to go when my brother and I were younger, when we would go to Paris. I believe they were planning on going into the city on friday.

My brother, Tjerk, called on wednesday, from Lloret de Mar. He too was having a good time, even though it was raining there to. I think they'll be getting on the bus within a few hours from now, and will be home tomorrow around this time. Maybe we can get some Chinese food tomorrow night. I feel like eating that.

Sigh. Don't know what else to write now. I'm not really in a mood for anything right now. The sun is shining, but it isn't really warm enough to read in the garden. I should go offline in a few minutes. The phonebill will be huge this month.

Post 989060340

As it is one of my favourite books, I can't wait for the release of the movie of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Apparently I am not alone, because at the IMDb trivia page for the movie I read that when the trailer was released on Internet on 7 April 2000, it was downloaded 1.6 million times in the first 24 hours. Wauw!

Tickets Tool

I set my alarm clock for 10:00 o'clock this morning. Was awake about half an hour earlier than that. Paid a visit to the Ticket Service Nederland website, to get my hands on 8 tickets for the Tool concert. However, payment could only be done with a creditcard. And I don't own a creditcard. Damn! Called my friend Miranda who then went to the postoffice to get the tickets there. Unfortunately the tickets were sold out in about 45 minutes, which means we didn't get any. I'm very depressed now :-(

Post 989005286

There's nothing on tv and it's raining outside. Don't feel like doing much. After 20:00 hours the phone costs are lower than normally, so this is a great time to get online. I want to browse the Mp3-ojky [music.box.sk] archives for interesting songs to download. By the way, if you know similar sites with reliable downloads and few pop-ups (I hate those things!), could you mail me the URL? Thanks.

Also today is memorial day for World War II in Holland. Two minutes of silence in the entire country. Watched the queen place the reef at the monument in Amsterdam. Strange, this was the first time I was alone for this event. Usually there are other people around at the time, but this time there weren't.

Got a call from Miranda earlier. She asked if I knew the status of the whole Tool and tickets situation. The sales start tomorrow and after a couple of phonecalls between us and the people vacationing in Spain, whe deceided on 8 tickets. I will try to order them online tomorrow at 10:00 o'clock. If that doesn't work she'll go to the postoffice where you can buy them directly. Hope it works, because I really would like to see Tool live again. Last time in Paradiso in Amsterdam was great.

Also, did you know the following about today?

In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta.

In 1945, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany agreed to surrender. (See my second paragraph.)

Thought for Today: "God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other." - Reinhold Niebuhr, American clergyman and author (1892-1971).

Thanks to Today in History at the Yahoo! News pages.

Post 988989228

You should visit Interior Desecrators, which is a site dedicates to the interiors of the homes in the 1970s. Flowers and stripes in the most beautiful combinations of green and orange! Why don't we decorate like this anymore?

Post 988988937

Yesterday I rented "Guest House Paradiso" (1999). What a totally insane movie! Just like the great show "Bottom" (1991-1995) it was based on. What is it about you ask? Well "Richie and Eddie are in charge of the worst hotel in the UK, Guest House Paradiso, neighbouring a nuclear power plant. The illegal immigrant chef has fled and all the guests have gone. But when a famous Italian filmstar, Gina Carbonara, who is in hiding from a fiance she doesn't want to marry, arrives at the hotel, things get very interesting! Another family come to the hotel as it is the only one they can afford, and when Richie uses the many tunnels and airways to steal some of their rubber bikinis, then is caught by the family's dad, he tries everything to get the video back. When Eddie finds some radioactive fish and it's served to the customers, a bunch of power plant workers find out and a quaratine is on its way. Even worse, when Gina's estranged fiance arrives, all hell breaks loose! Just in time for Eddie, Richie and Gina to escape to the Carribean and spend all their new found money!"

Also I videoed (is that a word?) the classic "Mask" (1985) from the BBC last night. Think I'll watch that during dinner. Plot summary for this movie: "Rusty Dennis is the mother of Rocky, a seriously deformed but extremely intelligent and emotionally warm child. Rusty is a no-nonsense mother whose wild lifestyle is often at odds with her tenderness and protectiveness towards Rocky. She is determined that Rocky be given the same chances and happiness that everyone else takes for granted." Starring Cher, Sam Elliot and Eric Stoltz.

Post 988988308

Bit of a relaxing day today. Didn't get out of bed untill noon. That's a great start of a friday! Had a shower, read the paper, had some breakfast, played some Solitaire on the computer. Then I payed a visit to one of my mother's friends who was having some computer problems. Then I went to the shops to get a few basics. Fed half of my daily addiction with a new episode of Neighbours (the other half is Eastenders), whilst shaving my legs (summer is approaching fast, one has to be prepared). I am now just doing some browsing, looking for a few MP3 files and reading the lastest on Tweakers.net.

Wishlist

My Amazon.com: Wish List. They give these away to random people at regular intervals. Or so they say. Anyhow, I think I'd explode if I'd win mine. It contains a lot! Books, DVD's, CD's, Video's, gadgets, and lots more. I really should try to be less materialistic. :-)

Post 988904785

I was just browsing All Recipes dot com, which is a great site. But I'm not in the mood for cooking tonight. Think I'll visit the local snackbar in about half an hour. Might aswell pop by the videoshop. See if they have any new things in I'd like to see.

Post 988904320

While downloading some games I also stumbled upon SolSuite 2001, which is a version of the Solitaire card game. Even though I didn't really like it before, since my dad had a HP Jornada for a weekend to test, which included Solitaire, I have been addicted. So there you go.

Post 988888696

After ages of playing Age Of Empires II, The Sims and Rollercoaster Tycoon, I am now reaching back to the games of long ago. I just downloaded Snake from download.com. That game always used to rule big time, when I played the BASIC version in DOS. Hope this windows version can captivate me like it did back then. "The classic Snake / Worm / Nibbles game with a new face and new features. Includes e.g. level-play, growth-play and highscoretables for all game types. You can also create your own levels, which may be included in later versions. If you achieve some great highscores, you can go online and upload your scores at http://snakeplayers.cjb.net to be compared with other players."

Post 988886956

One of my favourite sites is WHquestion. If I hear part of a song and want to know details or have a question about a movie, book or life in general, chances are you can get an answer here. I also like the reward system. I recently received the WHquestion coasters in the mail and am now working for the t-shirt. By the way, my nickname there is Avari, so if you see me, say hello.

Post 988815231

Sorry. Just one more. But this is really the last one. The "What Color is Your Aura?" test from Emode.Com.

"We don't need a psychic to tell us that you're giving off a Crystal vibe. That shimmering, iridescent aura reveals your sensitive, introspective nature. A soft-spoken romantic at heart, you like to think of life as a fairy tale - complete with a happily ever after ending. But when you occasionally misplace your rose-colored glasses, your idealism can take a pounding. That's when you retreat inward, spending meditative time by yourself to restore your sometimes-too-fragile outlook on the world. Because of your delicate sensibilities, you prefer people and activities that don't challenge your ways and views. But once you find a kindred spirit, you're fiercely loyal - friends 'till the end. Quiet and gentle, you're a thoughtful soul with a shining light around you."

Post 988815110

Jeugdsentiment. Geweldig! Dat is het enige voordeel van ziek zijn: vroeg voor de televisie hangen. Op die manier word je getrakteerd op allerlei herhalingen van dingen uit je jeugd. Vanochtend heb ik gekeken naar De Film van Ome Willem en De Familie Knots. Genieten!

Post 988813755

Okay, just one more test from Emode.Com. I couldn't resist. It's the Career Makeover. Here's my result:

Mirthe, you're a Physicist. You're the type of woman who believes that everything is reducible to facts and figures. When you live by logic, as you do, and are challenged by a search for truth, unsolvable queries are the bane of your existence. You're a true data head. You're the brain the world calls when it needs to pad a case with facts, get the numbers to add up, or explore some scary, uncharted place like your hard drive or outer space. You're an independent thinker, and because you contribute viable solutions without wasting eons in collaborative brainstorming sessions, you're smart to keep on the payroll. As long as you're free to retreat to your library or lab to ponder in peace, you can unravel life's darkest mysteries.

Who's like you: Marie Curie (famous scientist of radioactivity)

Likely careers: Physicist, computer engineer, lab technician, astronomer, mad scientist

How you rate: Motivation: 3 Conflict style: 7 Leadership style: 6

Post 988812795

Just did the "Are you a workaholic" test at Emode.Com. Here's the result: "Hooray! You're not a workaholic. Not completely, anyway. Work is pretty important to you, and it plays a significant role in your life, but you definitely aren't strung out on it. You realize there's more to life than the company line. While you might spend a lot of time working, you know that "what you do" isn't synonymous with "who you are." Taking time for hobbies, hanging out with friends, and just relaxing are all very important. These sorts of activities not only energize and refresh you; they also improve your work performance. But we bet you already knew that. Kudos to you for striking a healthy balance between your life and your job."

Post 988812530

Winamp is now playing "Coyote Shivers" with "Sugar High" for me. This was played on the movie Empire Records (1995). It was on a few weeks ago, and it still lingers on in my brain. I liked that movie. Wish I could work in a recordstore. Sigh.

If you don't know the movie, you should rent is at the videostore. Anyhow, here's a small summary from the IMDb: "Empire Records is an independent music store in dire trouble of being sold out to a large chain. After a failed attempt by Lucas, one of it's employee's, to raise money to buy the store--using revenues from a day of business, they all have to band together to stage a wild party and raise the cash. However, throughout this seemingly normal day they also must come to terms with who they are and who they want to be. It's a tale of love, personal tragedy, and finding ones true self-- with the added splash of a little rock and roll."

Post 988812087

Finally a website for my favourite part of my daily paper, de Volkskrant, which is Dag in dag uit. This section also includes the comic Gummbah. This rules!

Post 988785751

I spend yesterday on the couch, coughing and sneezing and blowing my nose. However I deceided to go to work again today. I set my alarm and in the morning took a shower and got dressed. I even had my shoes on when I realised I still felt awful. So here I am, back behind the keys, mailing my boss to say I won't be in today. Also I deceided not to go tomorrow or the day after. I still have two free days from April. Why not use 'em now?

En dan nu een klein dankwoord richting Bart, want ik weet inmiddels dat je dit leest... Bedankt voor je kaart!

Also, my parents left at 6 (six!) o'clock this morning with the car and caravan to a campsite near Paris (France, not Texas!) where they will remain for the next week and a half. My brother won't be back untill sunday, so I only have you guys (if there are even people reading...) to talk to ;-)

No, just kidding, I don't mind a bit of peace. Although I miss the care a mother provides when one is ill. O well, I'll just have to fetch my own blanket and tissues and cough medicine and other stuff.

Arthurian

Just gone through my video collection. What else can one do when ill? Stumbled upon First Knight (1995). I taped it a while ago and hadn't seen it since. Have seen it in the past and I think it will help me slip into a nice comforable coma. Instead of for instance Pulp Fiction or Killing Zoe. Which are two of my favourite movies. But not for my current mood.

So what's this movie about, you ask? Well at the ever trustworthy IMDb I found the following: "A rebel knight from King Arthur's round table seeks to expand his empire by force, and terrorises the subjects of Guinevere, who has received an offer of marriage from Arthur. On the way to visit Arthur she has a chance meeing with the free-spirited and bohemian Lancelot, to whom she finds herself attracted.

I love the Arthurian myth, although this movie isn't very true to the story. If you're looking for something very excellent read Mysts of Avalon by Marion Bradley Zimmer. "Even readers who don't normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective worldviews. The Mists of Avalon's Camelot politics and intrigue take place at a time when Christianity is taking over the island-nation of Britain; Christianity vs. Faery, and God vs. Goddess are dominant themes."

AbFab

Absolutely Fabulous Complete DVD Collection. I want this, and I want this NOW! "Each of the first three discs in the four-disc set features a season of the show, complete with outtakes and a photo gallery (which proves slightly frustrating, as you are unable to skip around the photos--they are shown only in order). The fourth disc has the majority of the extra features: How to Be Absolutely Fabulous, a delightful behind-the-scenes look at the show; Ab Fab Moments, a retrospective of the entire series; Modern Mother and Daughter, the brilliant original skit from French and Saunders with Dawn French in the role of Saffy; picture galleries of the stars and guest celebrities; and a map of all the places Eddy and Patsy visited on the show."