Februari 2003

My computer here at work keeps crashing. It's driving me crazy. Checked most of the hardware and the only thing I can think of is that it's the power. Anyhow, better make the most of my uptime. I wanted to add some links yesterday, but I didn't have the time. So here they are today. Though American, Alternet has a number of interesting articles about the war on Iraq. On the same topic, there's Jihad Vs. McWorld, about the conflicts between tribalism and globalism. Meanwhile, this has to be the most discusting thing ever.

To be added to the huge list o'stuff I'd like to read someday » How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Learning with Python (hat tip to Glish).

Apparently French fries are off US menu in protest at France's opposition to the United States' stance on Iraq. Sigh. They're not even French. They're Belgian.

Festivalseason is approaching fast. Now if only I could choose one. Both Wâldrock (Type O Negative has just been confirmed!) and Graspop are looking good. But there's so much more to choose from » Rock am Ring, Wacken Open Air or even Roskilde. Shame there won't be a Dynamo this year.

My parents had their 29th wedding anniversary on saturday, which we celebrated with a trip to our favourite Greek restaurant. To stay in theme I watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding on sunday. With which I was pleasently surprised. Because I wanted to have a break from using the mouse, to give my shoulder some much needed rest, I spend the rest of yesterday watching Dune. I've read most of the books and seen the film, the latter of which really disappointed me. So I was eager to see what this version would be like. But I really enjoyed it. In fact I was planning to watch only about an hour, but I ended up having to stop for dinner after about three hours. Also, I'm pleased to hear SciFi channel is also doing Children of Dune.

Yes is doing the so-called Full Circle Tour this summer. It's with the original line-up » Anderson, Squire, Howe, White and Wakeman. My parents go see 'em every time they play nearby. I grew up on their music and my first concert was one of theirs, in 1991 when I was 12. It would be cool to see them again. Think I'm going to get a ticket.

Oh, and I've joined the Dolphin Project.

Just got home. Had dinner with my brother. Got some Chinese take-out and rented a DVD. I borrowed his Dune and retrieved my Sopranos discs. It's a beautiful night out. Just below 0°C and a very clear sky. The stars shine brighter than I've seen in a long time. Well, maybe that's my fault for living in a country with so much light polution.

Update: I found this satellite image of Europe at night.

The releasedate for the new Opeth, called Damnation, has been pushed back to May. Sigh. I was so looking forward to getting it in March.

Porter's Workshop contains some cool tricks.

Watched Catch Me If You Can on sunday. I was pleasently surprised. Shame James Gandolfini got replaced with Tom Hanks though. Oh, and here are some comments from the real Abagnale, about how real everything is and isn't. Also, I just got Mulholland Drive, which I'm told is quite good, so I'm looking forward to checking that out. But I'm most pleased with the new episodes of The Sopranos I borrowed on DVD yesterday. Now if only I could find the time to watch all those new goodies.

Apparently Google has bought Pyra Labs (via /.). I see some cool new possibilities for integration with blog and Google

Pulp Tolkien is funnier than it sounds.

Got back from The Hague a little while ago, went to see the Escher exhibit. Unlike most, who went to Amsterdam for the anti-war protest. I saw them gathering at the station in Leiden. Hadn't seen that many people looking like they came straight from the eighties with a time warp, since my last Iron Maiden concert.

Escher was cool. All the classics were on display, including Belvedere shown on the right. I could have done without the 'virtual tour with Peter Faber' though. That was quite lame.

Ik word helemaal gestoord van die StemWijzer. De vragen zijn zo slecht opgesteld. Je kunt sommige vragen echt op 10 verschillende manieren interpreteren. Zucht. Neen, dat was vorige keer duidelijk beter gedaan. Kans gemist.

Happy Fifth Birthday, XML and good luck LotR!

I have some reservations for The Godfather Returns. A fourth part, without Mario Puzo. Hope they're not simply trying to cash in on The Sopranos' success. But I'll wait and see.

There's a review of the Linux Mandrake 9.1 beta at DistroWatch. It's looking quite good. Redhat didn't really like my current RAID config, so I'm thinking of trying something else soon.

Just mailed work that I'm not coming in tomorrow. I feel so lousy. My nose is running and my head is throbbing. Feels like someone's sticking needles in the back of my eyes. At least, what I imagine that would feel like. Not sure I want to know. Hardly slept all weekend, everytime I lay down, my nose fills up and I can't breathe. When will they find something for the common cold??

My name day today. Saint Valentine's Day (Valentijnsdag in Dutch). Here's some info on the origin. Working on a few different projects today, the temperatures have dropped below 0°C once again and my cold is nearly over. Going to Escher in the Palace tomorrow. Should be good.

I feel like my head is filled with cotton. Hope I'm not getting a full-on flu. Even the two aspirins I've taken haven't really helped. Can't wait for today to be over, so I can take of my shoes and just sit down somewhere soft. No more fluorescent lights.

Joined de Lijst, which is a Dutch site for webgeeks. Some good stuff here. Especially since Alistapart hasn't had anything new in weeks.

I finished Chaim Potok's Davita's Harp last week and started on Shell Game by Carol O'Connell, but I wasn't really in the mood for that. So I got Bernard Cornwell's Stonehenge: 2000 B.C. from the library yesterday. Finished the first chapter on the busride home tonight. Think it could get interesting. Though it doesn't grip me like for instance Edward Rutherfurd's Sarum, which covers the same topic, did. But I'll wait and see.

I've just installed the new Opera browser. Looks quite smooth. And the nostalgia feature is very cool. Apparently there were some security issues, but they were fixed in less than 24 hours. Impressive.

My favourite chapter of The Silmarilion would have to be The Tale of Beren and Lúthien. Searching for more background information, I recently rediscovered The Encyclopedia Of Arda, which has a vast amount of information on all things Middle-Earth. A wonderful place to roam.

My first site, The Lyrics Archive, has finally expired. I'd been working on it since 1996, but I just couldn't find the time or energy to add new stuff. So I let the domain and hosting expire, which has resulted in this sad blue empty screen.

There's a lot of crap on MP3.com, but if you search long enough something nice could surprise you.

Ah, sunday already. It's been raining quietly for most of the day and the snow has been washed away. Which might be for the best, if you read this. What a strange world we live in. Sigh.

It's snowing!