Kimputer's Weblog

As self-appointed PR manager for Rotterdam (after all, it can’t be coincidence I was born AND raised AND never left this city, can it ?), I have to report on the Red Bull Air Race World Series of which the second leg took place right here. Then again, it’s kind of pointless, as possible every single habitant went outside (approx. 700.000 viewers) and tried to snatch a nice place at the shore hours before hand. This picture is from the massive crowd going home after the show.

And of course, what’s a report without a video from, like the 20th row seat. If you turn on your sound, you can hear no one less than Jack van Gelder live commenting.
Click here to download one section of the Air Race (5 MB, XViD)
In the following days, you can see webstreams from the first seat row on the Red Bull Air Race homepage

Another one in the Taste the World series, this time it’s the Unites States, probably the southern region (as you can see 2 cowboys eating smoked bacon being depicted on the can). The name is the most puzzling this time, as it doesn’t resemble the flavor at all. How could it be anyways, as it’s still a full vegetarian/vegan product. The lab guys probably mixed up some chemicals trying to emulate the flavor (the scent resembles it better, but the taste buds react differntly though). In the end, it’s not that bad, it’s still the Pringles you’ve always been addicted too, and with a new taste. The wrong labelling shouldn’t keep you off track too long. Long live the addiction.7½.

Over the years, some specific questions keep popping up, and sometimes they keep having the same answer. Like, Betamax or VHS ? Should I get internet ? How about DVD, when is it time to get a player ?
The answer usually depends on one thing (for the guys at least). Porn. And as a result, all of those mentioned above went on the be a huge success.
That’s what’s Sony is thinking right now. They have the Playstation Portable out. With it comes a new media format, a small disc called UMD (Universal Media Disc). And for it to succeed, what do you need ? Right. Porn. So, Sony just licensed a bunch of those, porn movies with their logo in it. And since porn usually pushes the envelope a bit further, they’ll also have the first region free UMD’s out next month.
You game ?

You know the guy. With the cool sunglasses. Remember ? The red pill/blue pill dude. Remember ?
Well, he almost died in The Matrix. Remember ? He also almost died in The Matrix Reloaded. And he most certainly almost died in The Matrix Revolutions too. But now, with most people not paying attention, he’s really dead.
How can, you might be asking yourself ? Well, the story continues in another paid format. The Matrix Online, the MMORPG game, is still a product of the Wachowski brothers, and with the cooperation of Monolith Productions, everything that happens online is to be considered canon. And then it happened last week. He got brutally killed.
Sadly, I have to hear about this from third or even fourth hand, as the game comes along with a monthly subscription fee that’s almost worth a full ADSL internet connection (plus, I don’t flip out my credit card very often, as I have none). Then again, who needs to, I’ve had all the Counter-Striking fun I need without ever paying a dime.
Well, say hi to Neo for me, Morph.

Jumping in on Pringles’ success as of lately, Lays tries to copy almost all the details with slight modifications. First is of course, the chip itself. Having the same rounded curve so they stack up nicely. Then there’s the flavour, nothing special there either (regular, paprika, cheese-onion). The design of the can is probably for extra convenience (curved outward), as if to hold the chips when you slightly tilt the can. That might be handy indeed, but the plastic used for this new design is thin, and won’t protect the potato chips under pressure.
Finally, the texture is the first thing you really notice. While it is crispy, it’s much more dense than Pringles, making it harder to chew on. For this alone, I can assure you it won’t be as addictive as Pringles (maybe a good thing, for the weight watchers among you). Pringles have this magical crispy and light texture where it seems it’s almost melting inside your mouth, and it seems this is a mystery not uncovered yet by their competitors.
In the end, it’s not bad, but it ain’t perfect either.7½.

While officially, we’re in the second quarter of this year already, let’s just say it reflects my hope of 3 more quarters of new ice creams to be flavored.

First up is Ola’s Magnum 5 Senses (€2.99). Those 3-packs are harder to find than a diamond ring in the Nile (and I mean the $1 million 6.1-carat ring that Ben Affleck gave Jennifer Lopez, not the $500.000 4.5-carat ring that he gave Jennifer Garner this week).
The first 3-pack (which probably means another 3-pack is on its way, with one sense making an encore) contains Taste, Touch and Aroma.
Taste is a Magnum with a subtle caramel taste to it. It’s actually so subtle, you probably won’t notice. Touch is again, just a Magnum, but the chocolate outside has hazelnut in it. The most special one is Aroma, a Magnum with chunks of coffee beans in the chocolate, giving it extreme taste and contrast (very crunchy). If you include the hidden sense (the sense of perception, because this Magnum is smaller than the regular “normal” Magnum), it makes the whole experience not extra special. Then again, the regular Magnum was pretty good to start with.7½.

Second is Nestle’s Extreme Gold Straciatella (4-pack €2.81). It’s a cone, with vanilla ice cream with chocolate decoration. First thing you’ll notice is that it’s not the normal crunchy cookie cone, instead it’s chocolate. Combined with the chocolate that’s already in ice cream, it’s a bit of overkill. Then you’ll notice Nestle isn’t experienced with ice cream at all. It’s more milky than creamy, resulting in a flimsy flavor.6+.

Lastly, we have Ola’s Cornetto Passion Pannacotta Chocolate (4-pack €3.09). First you is, you wonder what the hell pannacotta is. Well, it’s an italian recipe made from cream, which you have too simmer and after adding gelatin, after which you freeze it for a few hours. For this icecream, it’s just a normal cone, with several levels of sweetness to it. Not too surprising, but it’s nice nonetheless.8-.

My favorite Linux distribution just changed its name. From the tough sounding Mandrake to the girly sounding Mandriva (due to a take over of another distribution called Connectiva, and previous lawsuit on the Mandrakesoft name, which will now, of course, be dropped).
What to do now ? Continue to use it and risk being called names, or drop it even though it has nice features, is easy to use, and works flawlessly ?

What have I learned this week ?

– Well, the pope was a sporty guy, according to Schwarzenneger. And it goes beyond my imagined finger exercises. He did daily push-up and sit-ups, and was good in soccer and skiing. How looks can be deceiving !
– Michael Jackson had more damaging testimonies lined up than Star Wars fan are lining up at the movie theatres in sleeping bags. And that’s pretty pretty much a very lot, I tell ya. Testimonies included fondling and sucking of at least 3 different children over the past 15 (give or take a few) years, including a cook seeing inappropiate behaviour towards Macauly Culkin.
– German is the second language of the world. Stunned to find it was the second language to be released for the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, I also noticed they had almost a 9% share in the Counter-Strike: Source community, also a second place.
– Cappucinno is 1/3 coffee, 1/3 milk, 1/3 milky foam.

If you needed Windows, and you went to the store, and saw two versions lying there called Windows XP Professional Edition and Windows XP Professional Edition N, which would you buy ?

Before you start scratching off too much skin from your head, the name with the added N is the European Commission’s name for the upcoming Windows XP version without the oh so dreaded monopoly smelling Media Player. Microsoft’s own suggestion, Windows XP Reduced Media Edition, which is much clearer, was rejected by the commision.

Then again, WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT ? The versions will be priced the same, as the commission’s ruling did not include anything about that, so do you think the stores will even supply this nonsense ?

Two of my most favorite quotes spring to mind:
Did I not warn you. Did … I … NOT … warn … YOU ???
TOLDYASO !!! (optional:) Whahahhahah !!!!

For the first time in years, I’m walking around Parkerless (it’s always in the right front pocket of my pants). I lost my gold tipped one a few days ago, but knowing how much more powerful a simple pen is than a glock hand gun (once said by a wise Greek), I always have a back-up one (simple model, dark blue). I lost that one too now, who says today is a good Friday ?

Isn’t that a comforting thought. The new terminals for public transport (recharging the chip cards or getting a prepaid one) are obviously going to be powered by Windows 2000 Professional. This 5 year old operating system has seen 4 service packs, after which you still have to install some 60-ish security updates (with a current average of 3 new patches every month). Anyways, hope the blue screen of death doesn’t happen mid-payment. Who knows where the money will end up ?

A first for everything, so this time, it’s the first cub in my family. The first scouting rank is in ! Congratz to the lil’ one.

While sending my mail through gmail (see previous post), I noticed a whopping FIFTY invites left. Having no idea what to do with it all, and since I have my own mail server (so I can send myself the invites using different email adresses), I might just use them all myself. Think about it, 50 GB of external storage for free. And those accounts spawn more invites, giving me 100 GB more in less than a few months. Think about it, that’s probably more than most of you people have in your computer !

Mailing to bezorgingmaasstad@rotterdamsdagblad.nl

Geachte Maasstad/bezorging/klachtafdeling,
heden wilde ik wederom mijn afschuw spuien, dit maal via email (volgens mij is dit nieuw, eerdere klacht was per brief naar kantoor City Zuid verstuurd, hieronder nogmaals gekopieerd en geplakt, waar overigens heel vriendelijk NIET op is gereageerd.)
Als u het onderstaande leest, lijkt het erop alsof dat de druppel is dat de emmer doet overlopen. Nooit gedacht dat er nog een vloedgolf achteraan zou komen.
Wat is nu het geval ? Niet vind ik alleen WEER een stapeltje van 4 kranten op de trap (wederom ‘s avonds laat), maar nu zijn het er zelfs ZES. Zoals u ziet, de bezorger is te lui om de 4 brievenbussen te vullen (wat dus niet hoeft als hij/zij op de NEE/NEE sticker let) (punt c), maar maakt nu ook punt a waar, tellen is echt te moeilijk geworden in deze koude tijden.
Als de opleidingsniveau zo doorzet, en dezelfde bezorgers gebruikt worden voor het Rotterdams Dagblad (als ik dat zo goed uit de contact informatie haal), ben ik bang dat de toch al suffe “Het Bewijs van Rotterdam” reklame een heel andere uitwerking zal hebben dan meer klanten te trekken.
Hopelijk kunt u met mijn bewijzen gezonde conclusies trekken en er werk van maken om de kwaliteit weer tot een normale hoogte te brengen.

Mvg,
KaNam