Kimputer's Weblog

As a responsible driver, who feels himself important enough to stay connected by phone, I bought myself a headset right after I got my driver’s license. But apparently, some jerk, yeah I know you’re out there, somewhere, cast a voodoo spell, probably called “the headset curse”, on me, and hence, within weeks, I’m already at the third set. First was an official Siemens, a simple one cord design. Connector somehow didn’t connect anymore. Second was a Vivanco, neck-strap design, with the connector failing, and while that was being taped, the PTT (push-to-talk) button got stuck and gave up on me. Now my third is a Logitech one cord design, two-part modularity. Let’s see if a good brand name can dispel this nasty curse hanging around my neck. Send some positive energy my way, if you have any spare. That seems to help a lot too.

That’s always the question. Who with a sane mind would brush teeth above the sink while fiddling with a new HP iPAQ hx2190 ? On top of that, who actually fiddle so badly, it would drop in the water. The answer is, of course, me. Astounded by my own stupidism, I actually watch its maiden voyage tumbling in the water, instead of my usual lightning-fast ninja-style retrieval reflexes.
Needless to say, *brzz* *kggg* *brzz* was the magic word, but luckily, the electronics employed by HP are quite sturdy (my previous iPAQ 3950 lasted a few years including a few drops on the street pavement). So, it resumed normal operation some 6 hours later (with a lot of blowing into the holes as to hasten the drying process. My general advice is still, don’t try this at home, though.

A pretty serious movie about not very much actually. The trailer makes it look like a deep intricate drama thriller, but when you’re in the movie theatre, it doesn’t feel that thrillery or dramary at all. The multiple story line converging style doesn’t seem to work either. With Magnolia clocking in at three hours, it made perfect sense. With this movie running at two hours, it feels too long (you’ll notice it already during the start and first half). Something as valuable as oil can drive whole goverments and big companies to the dark side, but this movie doesn’t display anything new or surprising, and only shows the few obvious and predictable moves everyone expects (in a slowmotion kind of way, that is).6-.

A very slow box office despite the Oscar night anticipation leaves Madea’s Family Reunion with no real competition. A steep drop (50+%) brings it down to $13, but still enough to remain the top spot holder.
Unable to reach the number one spot (must be the age, just like Harrison Ford couldn’t a few weeks earlier), Bruce Willis in 16 Blocks gets stuck at number 2 with a mere $11.7 million.
Another week of just a slight decline, Eight Below clings on to the number 3 spot, with $10.3 million.
Female actioner, Milla Jovovich starrer Ultraviolet and mermaid comedy drama Aquamarine barely made it in the top 5, resp. with $9 and $7.5 million.

This just in… Well, what special report might this be, you might ask yourself, as I’ve never done it before ? Is it an Oscar scoop ? Maybe an asteroid the size of New York is coming our way ?
Well, not really. But it’s pretty important nonetheless.

Let’s take a look at picture 1. Innocent looking right ? Makes your mouth water too. Beware though:

The top lid is quite a sturdy thing. It’s so tight, you have to use your thumb with all your power and push it upwards. Result ?

Wide open gap on my poor thumb (of which the main use is the thumb button on my Logitech cordless mouse, currently programmed for double click duty). Apparently, the described method to serve yourself a nice scoop of sorbet isn’t the correct one (as in both red circles, the plastic is quite sharp) (please let me know if you know a safer way). Precious red life water has been lost now, I’m already firing up the grill and putting on a big beef steak to replenish my red bloodcell count.

Incidentally, I just bought a new life saving gadget yesterday, it’s the Hansaplast Active Gel Strip. It’s as if fate wanted me to review it. I hate you, FATE !

Wow, the instruction leaflet says it regulates humidity and temperate, and includes an airflow control and bacterial defense system, while being waterproof and hypoallergenic.

Well, this is how it looks now (again, unfortunately, it’s near a joint again, so it’s still limiting my thumb dexterity by as much as 75%). If I’m not dead tomorrow, I’ll let you know if the wound heals faster and more natural than before (with traditional plaster).

Rate 1 (FR#^&% MESS !) to 5 (how very tidy !). Only rate the latest picture, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 1311 out of 429 votes > Average is: 3.056

to: service@interlanden.nl

Geachte Service,
wederom ben ik er weer om mijn beklag te doen over de bezorging. Dit maal
niet over de folder (helaas nog steeds niet opgelost, sommige emails
worden niet meer door jullie beantwoord), maar via de redactie van de
(Charlois) Havenloods heb ik te horen gekregen dat jullie deze ook
verspreiden.
En het lijkt wel of de bezorgers over mijn rug meelezen. Om reprimande te
voorkomen op herhaling van fouten, verzinnen ze telkens wat nieuws. Zo was
het rijtje:gewoon in de brievenbus, boven aan de trappenhuis bij elk
individueel deur, boven aan de trappenhuis als stapeltje, onder aan en
midden op de trappenhuis als stapeltje.
Vanavond was het een stapeltje opgerold tussen de trapleuning. Rechts.
(Een paar dagen eerder waren er op dezelfde wijze de reclamefolders
bezorgd. Links).
Ingenieus dus, maar nog steeds niet volgens de simpele regels van de
overduidelijke NEE/NEE stickers.

Mvg, KaNam.

An expert can smell’m miles away. Others will have to dive into the matter to find out. But the signs are usually not too obscure. Shady second rate production companies and foreign equity investors. No name director and writer. Slow and small scale non-US release schedule after the film has been lying on the shelf for over a year. It all adds up to a direct-to-DVD quality movie. And still personal scheduling anomalies exist, and hence, I got served.
Making the script and dialogue sound smart is always a good move. You can make a trailer that sounds interesting (something to do with Chaos Theory), and still grab the low expectant viewer with the usual explosions and car chases. Of course, anyone paying attention will figure out pretty soon the smart talk is just a diversion (if this movie was about the Chaos Theory, then my grandma was Bruce Lee’s kung-fu teacher), with gaping plot holes to laugh about later (to make up for the money spent).5½.