Kimputer's Weblog

So, here I am, deciding on a Saturday afternoon it’s time to update the firmware of my ADSL modem. Lord knows how stupid that is, especially with no backup in place, AND no replacement within reach for a few days.
*Beeeep* *beeeep* *beeep* *beep* *beepbeepbeep*
My name is Jack Bauer, this is the longest day of my life…
Naah, just kidding, I’m still alive (besides the vomiting, shaking hands and other minor withdrawal symptoms), had a few downloaded TV episodes and a few unwatched DVD’s lying around. So the lesson the be learned ? Always buy more DVD’s than you can watch.

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

Still the same:
Total: 1029 out of 298 votes > Average is: 3.453

No no, I haven’t turned into a lonely alcoholic (well, I have, but I’m not admitting it). Those aren’t powershots you’re seeing. Those are the chocolaty kind. And if someone decides to drop them on my table, who am I to turn it down, and not get drunk ?

It had potential to be a special indepth psychological thriller. It had the birth of a serial killer, and later on an FBI profiler (a very cliche character played by Angelina Jolie). My own profiling session however, showed the characters were quite shallow, and the story nothing more than a few copies & pastes from other movies. From the beginning you can feel the movie losing integrity for the sake of the pace of the story. On top of that, I already knew who did it and the plan of the killer before the movie had a good start. Inconsistencies throughout the movie finally killed my hopes of this movie reaching a satisfying end. The suspense of waiting for a thriller reaching the quality of Se7en is probably the most exciting part for the next couple of years.6-.

UK researchers have completed another ground breaking research project. This time it’s about the annoyance of mobile phone conversations. Money well spent !
So, to maximise the efficiency of that money, we might as well discuss this matter. The outcome is quite surprising I might add. Is it the volume ? Is it the accent ? Is it the subject ? No, probably it’s because we (human beings) are too damn curious. A variety of discussions performed in front of people (mixing volume, subject, between real people and mobile phones), whom later rated the conversation, revealed the mobile phone conversations were most noticable and annoying. Not the loud ones between two persons.

So the question is, are you annoyed by mobile phone conversation ?

I don’t have to answer that, because with my ear-in headphones plugged into my mp3 player, you’d have to be really YELLING 50+dB BEFORE I COULD BE DISTURBED OR ANNOYED.

Oh, one extra question for the females, honestly, are you the sole half of the human race causing this annoyance ? Honestly ?

Rate 1 (sucks) to 5 (cool). Only rate the latest pictures, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 497 out of 152 votes > Average is: 3.270

Those are some pretty darn big flies you’re seeing. Some 3 cm in length, they go off and on, carrying small things, like a bird builds its nest. Maybe they’ll eat through the roof and attack me. Scary.

Controversy galore. UK’s Channel 4 aired a documentary last night called My Foetus, about a woman having an abortion, including very graphic images and footage of the whole procedure.
The two sides are obvious. The contra side says don’t give people any ideas, leave it be, taboohoo. The pro side says better education to prevent it.
Me, as a (failed) scientist at heart, would lean more towards the latter option. What about you ? Or wouldn’t you have watched it in the first place ?

Anyone care to venture a guess how much money I would earn if I were to go public that I’ve had sex with David Beckham recently ? More or less than the 1.sumthing million Rebecca Loos earned ?

So, my ADSL modem is havin’ hickups. For today, that means almost a whole day where my server is not reachable from anywhere except home. More detailed it means:
– Webserver down. My weblog can’t be read, a lot of laughs are lost to, well, uhmm… paradox. Never mind.
– Sites I host for other people are down. They don’t pay anyways, I don’t really care.
– Statistics I keep for some people are not recorded.
– Terminal Server down, can’t play around on my own server. No such things as downloading stuff that will be ready when I get home. No irc, no logs.
– Mail server down. Serves as both backup for other email addresses, as well as direct incoming ones. Bandwidth friendly IMAP or webbased, straight to my work.
– Backup line, unfirewalled, as double check on internet matter like DNS and availibility, checking VPN’s and such. This is actually work related.

So, all day, I practically did nothing at work. Don’t you just love the times we live in ?

Revenge at the box office, with Kill Bill: Vol 2 taking the lead, earning a vengeful $25.6 million, up from the original’s $22.1 million. Runner-up is Marvel Comic’s The Punisher, with $14 million. Johnson Family Vacation stays happily at number 3 with $6.4 million. Hellboy drops to number 4 with Hellboy $5.7 million in its third weekend.

It had a pretty adventurous trailer, but that’s all it is. Nothing more to be found in the movie. No drama, no comedy, not even a tiny bit of romance. There is some action, but as an adventure, it’s pretty tame. The so-called hero character (Viggo Mortensen) isn’t interesting at all, and you don’t really care for the horse anyways. The story isn’t that much either. There’s not much more to do than stare ahead and let the dullness engulf you.5+.

Watch out, it’s not just the RIAA hunting you down. It’s also the artists themselves. A guy was already selling the yet to be released new album (Wilderness) of Sophie B Hawkins on eBay. Best known for her hit Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover, Sophie sued the man, and won. The judge awarded her with, and hold your pants now … $346.
Lesson to be learned ? Don’t be stupid, don’t sell’m on eBay !

Total: 1029 out of 298 votes > Average is: 3.453

Nobody found it ! Anywayz, DON’T VOTE AGAIN, you gave me enough 1’s already ! (And that’s besides the fact that it’s the same picture)

It was obvious from the start (early 1997) they weren’t the normal kind of boyband. They shouldn’t have been called that in the first place, as they’ve outlived a few generations of those. Heck, one of the brothers is now married and a father. No, it obvious they were a real rock band (though slinging a few poppy tunes our way) when they delivered their first album, all written and performed by themselves. They went on to prove themselves with an extensive live tour, and took on producer duties on the following albums. The release of This Time Around (2000) already marked a rougher type of rock, while still sharpening the lyrics.
With this long awaited album, they’ve shown they’ve grown able to produce a full-blown mature rock album. Not only that, they’ve set up their own record label through which this album is released, as one of the reasons of the delays (they were already in the studios recording in 2001) is the Polygram and Universal merger, where they jumped from Mercury to the Def Jam label, not exactly a place a rock band wants to be. As a result, their first single, has hit the number 2 spot of the Billboard’s singles charts already, being the first independent distributed release to reach the top.
The album rocks from top to bottom, with several rock styles to be savored. The whole album radiates a happy atmosphere (as opposed to the somewhat darker This Time Around), with an upbeat rhythm and a range of acoustic and electric compositions. The jump from pop to rock doesn’t mean the songs aren’t as catchy as their previous range of songs. More than half of them are picked out easily, while the other ones clearly have the potential to grow on you. Keeping the lyrics diverse and the vocals sharp and harmonious, it’s quality all over. That alone would be enough, where it not they threw in quantity as well (15 tracks !).9-.

As per request the review of the two currently available (4 pack, 2 by 2) icecream cones from Ola.

Love Potion nr. 1 – Tiramisu flavored with a cinnamon twist
First obvious thing, besides the flavor, is the more fluffy creamy icecream, as opposes to the more usual frozen milk type icecream. Second is the strategically position of the flavors. This way you’ll get through each flavor phase by phase. The flavors aren’t really overpowering, subtly sneaking in and out, while the crispy cone leads you towards the end. If it weren’t for the special flavors, the quality alone would have warranted a high grade.7½.

Love Potion nr. 3 – Rummy and chocalaty with eggnog sugary chips
Like above, you will go through a few phases, as by design. This one is like the above but with flavors I like more.8.

Just as a certain someone resurrected on Easter Weekend, so does Mel’s Passion, surging back to the number one spot in its 7th week, with $17.1 million. Number two is for the opposite of Easter Weekend, Hellboy earns another $11.1 million, a hefty 52% drop from last week’s premiere.
A shared third spot for earning $9.2 million is for Disney’s The Alamo and Johnson Family Vacation. One big difference. The Alamo costs $100 million, the other movie only $12 million. Walt Disney would have suffered a heart attack if he was still alive.
Another failer at number 8 is Bruce Willis/Matthew Perry sequel The Whole Ten Yards with $6.7 million.