pick off another Potter pal: "J.K. Rowling has committed another killing" - or at least decided that one more character will meet his/her finale in the sixth installment. This is turning out like Rocky - every movie another friend dies, and it the final installment you sort of wonder if it will be all over for the "real" hero.
And if you haven't had a look already, visit her (sort of) new site and enjoy the flash cluttered-desk-interface!
Saturday, October 9
Friday, October 8
classic gaming fun
Found a nice page paying homage to some of the sort-of-old classic games (late 80ies...) Such as Hillsfar, a forerunner for Neverwinter and Baldurs Gate... wonder if it will work as well on a PC as on my old Commodore 128d?
Underdogs: Hillsfar: "Although not a full-fledged RPG, it's a fun diversion set in the D&D universe"
Underdogs: Hillsfar: "Although not a full-fledged RPG, it's a fun diversion set in the D&D universe"
[filling my head with the beats of: Wasted Youth - Meat Loaf ]
...well, is it?
...as seen on TV
JibJab.com has put out a follow-up to the hillarious "This land"... but "Good to be in DC" falls a bit short of the first one. So stick to the "classic" fun and watch it one more time (even if the other one was premiered on Leno)
[filling my head with the beats of: Whirly-bird - Count Basie ]
Wednesday, October 6
Competition brings out...
Google jamming: "Every autumn, thousands of programmers sign up to tackle the most ego-deflating problems Google's engineers can come up with, in a race against time and their fellow coders"
...way! would have been fun to take part just to try it - but since the qualifier was on the 15th last month, I'll have to settle for reading about it.
On the note of comp - I put up a post on "Commando Raid" a while back, well - now the event has been held with 19 participating teams. Mainly from Norway, but also danes, italians and germans (who won). Honorable mention to the team "Grey Nuts" - why? Because the are grey; aged 61, 63, 66 and 70 the completed the approximately 30 kilometers of cross-terrain running, with shooting (pistol, machineguns, sharpshooter rifle, 40mm grenade launcher - just another day in the woods?) and other challenges en route. Oh yes, just to make it more fun the event kicked of at 03:00
Semper fi.
...way! would have been fun to take part just to try it - but since the qualifier was on the 15th last month, I'll have to settle for reading about it.
On the note of comp - I put up a post on "Commando Raid" a while back, well - now the event has been held with 19 participating teams. Mainly from Norway, but also danes, italians and germans (who won). Honorable mention to the team "Grey Nuts" - why? Because the are grey; aged 61, 63, 66 and 70 the completed the approximately 30 kilometers of cross-terrain running, with shooting (pistol, machineguns, sharpshooter rifle, 40mm grenade launcher - just another day in the woods?) and other challenges en route. Oh yes, just to make it more fun the event kicked of at 03:00
Semper fi.
Sunday, October 3
Cozy and then some
There is a word in Norwegian "kose" - which can be used to describe a state; "koselig" - then it is more or less like cozy in English. But it is also a verb, "å kose seg" - to have a nice, comfortable time, enjoying life and the current place. I guess hobbits would be masters of "kose seg".
According to an article about regional food, the expression might have roots in the French "causer" and old-Germanic "kôsôn" - and hence bringing it in line with the modern German word "Gemütlichkeit". And with some Googling I got some other input on the term. Seems several of our neighbours have similar concepts, and similar problems translating/explaining them in English... what a shame for the brits!
Gemütlichkeit : "There is no direct translation for the word . However, G. is the warm, comfortable feeling one receives from pleasant surroundings and atmosphere."
"Warm friendliness; amicability. German, from gemütlich, congenial"
"Gemütlichkeit is a German abstract noun whose closest English equivalent is cosiness. ... connotes, much more than cosiness, the notion of belonging, social acceptance, cheerfulness, the absence of anything hectic and the spending of quality time. Activities pursued are never work-related but are expected by the people getting together to be productive in a non-economical sense. The Dutch have a very similar word, gezelligheid"
...which gives a nice lead to one of the better written pieces on the subject - from Canada: "most frequent translation of gezellig is "cozy," though the word is still inadequate." (last three paragraphs in particular)
According to an article about regional food, the expression might have roots in the French "causer" and old-Germanic "kôsôn" - and hence bringing it in line with the modern German word "Gemütlichkeit". And with some Googling I got some other input on the term. Seems several of our neighbours have similar concepts, and similar problems translating/explaining them in English... what a shame for the brits!
Gemütlichkeit : "There is no direct translation for the word . However, G. is the warm, comfortable feeling one receives from pleasant surroundings and atmosphere."
"Warm friendliness; amicability. German, from gemütlich, congenial"
"Gemütlichkeit is a German abstract noun whose closest English equivalent is cosiness. ... connotes, much more than cosiness, the notion of belonging, social acceptance, cheerfulness, the absence of anything hectic and the spending of quality time. Activities pursued are never work-related but are expected by the people getting together to be productive in a non-economical sense. The Dutch have a very similar word, gezelligheid"
...which gives a nice lead to one of the better written pieces on the subject - from Canada: "most frequent translation of gezellig is "cozy," though the word is still inadequate." (last three paragraphs in particular)
Saturday, October 2
Stranger and Strangerhood
Strangerhood: the new series from the team behind RedvsBlue - only a trailer/intro out so far, but looks like it could be good fun. Guess the Sims are ready for a little machinima as well - bring on the geeks!
Interactive Fiction Comp
The 10th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition: "For fans of the old Infocom games as well as for newcomers to the genre, the competition is a chance to enjoy some of the best short adventure games available anywhere"
...if only I had the time to download and play around a bit with the games! Maybe in the wintertime?
...if only I had the time to download and play around a bit with the games! Maybe in the wintertime?
Seeing what we can't see
Catching up before I get to far into the latest issue of Wired;
Discovery Channel had a nice segment on "Proof Positive" about an image enhancement/visualization tool - possibly (but not likely) from MinXray, used to create 256 shades of gray from a basically monochrome picture - and presenting it in 3D as valleys and hills - thereby making for easier comparison and understanding (think fingerprints, xrays and writing)
And coming up - virtual history (Norwegian link) - a computer-assisted view on the world as it was.
So you thought you were safe on your cell? Punksms.com puts another nail in that coffin by sending out sms with a fake/chosen number. So, spoofing is coming to a phone near you... are you sure your girlfriend asked you to buy a catsuit, or that you are invited to a party at the boss' house? Maybe not anymore. (Technical note: exploited a vulnerability/feature of the GSM network, hence not applicable directly worldwide - put it is all about using IP to transmit and initiate messages)
And a short snippet from the holiday;
"Floating, hardly moving, not really here at all. The sea is so clear, feel it, smell it, letting it move me about as a float gently on the surface. No boat, no guide. Just water holding me up."
(yes, I finally got around to downloading and installing the winamp connection for w.bloggar again)
...and the sun is deeply missed today, on a cold and gray fall day...
Discovery Channel had a nice segment on "Proof Positive" about an image enhancement/visualization tool - possibly (but not likely) from MinXray, used to create 256 shades of gray from a basically monochrome picture - and presenting it in 3D as valleys and hills - thereby making for easier comparison and understanding (think fingerprints, xrays and writing)
And coming up - virtual history (Norwegian link) - a computer-assisted view on the world as it was.
So you thought you were safe on your cell? Punksms.com puts another nail in that coffin by sending out sms with a fake/chosen number. So, spoofing is coming to a phone near you... are you sure your girlfriend asked you to buy a catsuit, or that you are invited to a party at the boss' house? Maybe not anymore. (Technical note: exploited a vulnerability/feature of the GSM network, hence not applicable directly worldwide - put it is all about using IP to transmit and initiate messages)
And a short snippet from the holiday;
"Floating, hardly moving, not really here at all. The sea is so clear, feel it, smell it, letting it move me about as a float gently on the surface. No boat, no guide. Just water holding me up."
[filling my head with the beats of: Bad Seed - Metallica ]
(yes, I finally got around to downloading and installing the winamp connection for w.bloggar again)
...and the sun is deeply missed today, on a cold and gray fall day...
Oil Above $50
"Oil Closes Above $50 a barrel for the first time yesterday as concerns linger about damage to oil production in the Gulf of Mexico from Hurricane Ivan" (W. Post)
-and another "mark" is reached. Being here in Norway it certainly gives mixed feelings; first it feels good for the future of our nation, sweeping in the oil and gas profits by the barrel ("crude" pun...). And the thought that maybe, just maybe the average American will have to consider when and how to use his car. But on the downside the continued high price might lead to slower economic development around the globe, and continued exploitation/exploration in enivromentally fragile areas... and there is all to often the good 'ol "oil for blood" - corruption, despotism etc in certain oilproducing areas.
"for want of a nail, the kingdom was lost" - mostly a proverb about details, but also about consequences; one thing leads to another, who in time has its own impact on events. Money to a rebel group today - big trouble down the road anyone?
-and another "mark" is reached. Being here in Norway it certainly gives mixed feelings; first it feels good for the future of our nation, sweeping in the oil and gas profits by the barrel ("crude" pun...). And the thought that maybe, just maybe the average American will have to consider when and how to use his car. But on the downside the continued high price might lead to slower economic development around the globe, and continued exploitation/exploration in enivromentally fragile areas... and there is all to often the good 'ol "oil for blood" - corruption, despotism etc in certain oilproducing areas.
"for want of a nail, the kingdom was lost" - mostly a proverb about details, but also about consequences; one thing leads to another, who in time has its own impact on events. Money to a rebel group today - big trouble down the road anyone?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)