Kimputer's Weblog

It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. So here’s a short photo-report of that day. Click here.

The great escape in this case, is the gateway to full-blown contemporary pop, leaving behind her Nashville influences that combined so nicely with her hoarse yet soothingly soft voice.
This album has a highly experimental sound to it, with many different styles and also stretching her voice differently for each song. With this style going on, I somehow can extremely easily pick out the ones I like, and the conclusion is not a nice one. This album suffers from the title song syndrome, where in the end, you’re left enjoying only the already released single (which usually is the title song, and in this case is so), which resembles her earlier schtick the most.4.

Take a look at this link !
Isn’t this taking it a bit TOO far ? Even me, who has speakers in the kitchen and the shower, thinks it’s too much. And that’s mainly because toilets don’t have power sockets installed by default. Still, IF you ARE interested, you can always call me, I know a few tricks to get this thing installed. If you’re willing to buy that, I’m sure you won’t mind me installing it for you (for about 200 euros an hour).

…who’s the geekiest of us all ?
I already won in the category “Total Memory You Have On You At All Times” (40 GB iRiver, 512 MB CF for Canon A80, 2 GB CF for iPAQ hx2190, 512 MB SD for iPAQ hx2190, 512 MB MS Duo Pro for Sony Ericsson W810i, 2 GB MS Duo Pro for Sony Ericsson W810i, not counting the many more internal built-in memory in those devices). I just figured, I’d also win in the “Total Display Pixel Count” category (67.000 for the Canon A80, 37.840 for the W810i, 76.800 for the iPAQ). Come to think of it, I’d certainly also win in the “Total Battery Power” category (1300 mAH iRiver, 920mAH for the iPAQ, 900 mAH for the W810i, 930 mAH for Bluetooth GPS receiver and 10.800 (4 x 2700mAH) mAH for the Canon A80 (plus several spare sets)). Can you think of a category I _wouldn’t_ win in ?

I once had a small sample of this Tempur material in my hands, and I was sold on the idea of this NASA product. Like the website states, it’s an exclusively licensed product, that’s visco-elastic. Hence the form moulds around your head, and it always bounces back to its original state. Besides that, it has pressure relieving qualities.
So, it is worth the €114 euros ? Well, it’s kind of a tough sell. Of course you can’t expect miracles, like sleeping as if you’re floating high on fairy dust. When first used, it might even feel too hard to ever become comfortable. But in the end, it’s still nice material (it’s also temperature sensitive), and from this week’s experience, I think I’m sleeping slightly better (less disturbance during the night, means less occurences of getting up) than normal. This is due to the pressure relievance, hence optimally preserving the blood flow to my massive brains, which even in idle mode needs massive amounts of oxygen.
Since I was already thinking of a new pillow, it’s a no-brainer I got my money worth, but if you already have a comfortable one, I’m not recommending you to spend that much money.

I tell ya what, I haven’t earned one dollar (yes, you’ve read it correctly, $1) yet since I started adsensing for Google (beginning of May). C’mon, don’t tell my you didn’t see that block of advertisement in the right menu. I only earn money if you actually click on it, y’know. Now, click away, make me rich !

I had didn’t know about this new flavor, nor was I aware of this whole Hoogstandjes series. Apparently it’s been going on for a while, and this could even be the last in the series (with the online poll, to decide which of the temporary flavor may come back and stay, already closed). The reason I never noticed it might be the us of the same packaging of the standard flavors, whereas the more luxurious flavors use transperant packaging to showcase the colors, and whet our appetite and curiosity.
As for the ice cream itself, the flavor is very mild, almost too mild. There no full cinnamon nor cherry flavor, and it’s actually not that creamy either. There’s some caky crumblings mixed for contrast, but it can’t save it as a whole. And even though it’s mild in taste, there is some synthetic cherry feeling coming through. While there’s definitely no danger in feeling saturated after a portion (or two), there might be a danger in eating too much without noticing it. So, while it’s nice to try it out, it didn’t make my shortlist for an encore.6+.

Another day at work at the Beurs World Trade Centre (finishing a two day job). Wow, what a relaxed building this is. Everything is taken care of. Kitchen for the whole floor. Nice offices with designers and other people ready to decorate these modularly designed office spaces just the way you want. And for the technical people (that would be me), the floor design is excellent for cabling.
And look at the view ! Wow, if I ever get rich, keep one office on the top floor free for me !

One tip for Rotterdam downtown regulars. If you’re in dire need to take a leak, and you have nowhere to go, nor the money to spend, just go into the main lobby of the WTC, the facilities here are free (no security to check you out) and clean !

More pics of the skyline here

Well, here’s a clearer picture of the k-uiz. As you can see now, it was a picture taken from the top of a thermal bottle, which had an unfortunate drop from the table. Combined with the still hot water inside, that makes the mirrory glass shining, while the steam on the camera lens produces the halo effect.
So, the closest to the correct answer is Tienz ! First prize: *MEGA*hug !

How about another photo K-uiz eh ?

Question is simple, what is this exactly ? (And believe it or not, there have been NO post-processing done on the picture, this is as pure as it gets)

It just turned spring, but for ice cream companies, it must be a sign to start marketing their new line-up. So first up is Nestle, with another batch of mini’s, for €3,49 you get 12 tiny scones (20ml each). Unlike the Gold version I reviewed last year, these are based on standard biscuit scones, and the flavor is divided in 6 x Creme Brulee and 6 x Chocolate. The last one leaves nothing to the imagination, it’s pretty straight forward. Chocolate ice cream with a chocolaty and nutty topping. It actually takes only 16.3 seconds to gobble these tiny ones away. Next up is the Creme Brulee, which by any restaurant standard, should be something exquisite. Well, in this case, it’s not. It’s normal vanille ice cream with some creamy sugary sprinklings. That’s it ? Yeah, that’s it. And again, timing the disappearance act from sealed package to digestive form in the stomach, 15.2 seconds. Nice treat for the kids, but adults actually need 2 full boxes.7-.

Edit:
Well, here it is, the requested 1.9 MB XViD video of how fast two cones (€0.58) can disappear. Actually most of the time is the unpacking. I can’t believe you actually wanted proof. Is my word alone not enough ?

Manganese atoms. What does it mean ? I have no idea. Google it with IBM engineers as added keywords, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find out.

A few months ago, I had a wonderful experience. It was a chair. It was THE PERFECT chair. It was during a tag-along IKEA shopping spree when I sat down on the Poäng lazy chair. The height was perfect, aligning my head at the exact correct TV watching viewing angel. The tactile feedback was perfect, just a touch of a subtle bounce-back. And the head support was perfect. Beating any couch, since a normal couch doesn’t even support the head, annulling all lazy activity by default. I could never sleep on the couch (with or without watching TV while I’m at it), but I could already imagine this possibility.
But since I didn’t have a car, I forgot all about it. Till today, that is, I had another unannounced tag-along, and it was deja-vu all over. And here it is:

And here it is exactly 12 minutes and 42 second later (names of IRC witnesses only at request):

I doesn’t fit my interior design (what actually does ?), and I have to puzzle around how to fit it, but trust me when I say, Poäng and me are going to have some excellent lazy time together.
Since I’m so highly recommending it, I’m sure you will try it out yourself, and eventually buy it. Don’t forget to time your own construction time (from closed box to the finished product as pictured here), and let me know if you can beat me.

Brrr. For some people, seeing a unique movie is the highlight of the day. For others, it’s winning the night’s “gooseboard” game (I think that’s the correct translation. No, I’m actually pretty sure). What a genius who invented the rules. I was stuck in prison from the start, and had to eat from my nose for the rest of the thirty minutes.

Wow, my car proved pretty unuseful today. 10 minutes to downtown, 45 minutes stop-wait-2 steps forward to the parking garage, 10 minutes to the second basement level to find an empty spot, just in time for the movie. And here I was, expecting to do some shopping beforehand.