unimatrixZxero

Dublin here I come

2009-10-18T19:46:00.001+02:00

Irish Pubs, Dublin
Originally uploaded by LauDeLyon

I'll be in Dublin next week. I've never been to any part of Great Britain. I'm very excited to get to know the people and culture of this town.

I'm traveling with my girlfriend and group of friends. We were trying to find a common date for a vacation for the last three or four years. I'm glad it finally happened.

I hope I will also get a chance to see more than the typical tourist attractions.

ひのまる Hi no maru

2009-08-31T12:20:00.001+02:00

Hi no maru
Originally uploaded by manganite

I'm still trying to plan my trip to Japan looks like it will be 2011 or 2012. I'm really excited. But there are a lot of things I have to get straight first.

Time for vacation

2009-05-08T13:58:00.001+02:00

Yachthafen Überlingen
Originally uploaded by andreas.zachmann (away for a while)

I'm longing for a vacation. I wan't to go visit my peeps in the summer. This picture creates such a nice mood. Meh. Got to keep working.

Arrrr!

2009-01-10T01:11:00.001+01:00

lolcat adaptation #3
Originally uploaded by Kevin Steele

To to not post this here.

Japan

2008-11-05T18:51:00.001+01:00

THE BROKEN TORII on the SHORES OF LAKE HARUNA, JAPAN
Originally uploaded by Okinawa Soba

Japan

2008-11-05T18:36:00.001+01:00

Shinkansen
Originally uploaded by Jaako

I really want to visit Japan some day. It's a country and culture that has always fascinated me.

How and where not to do The Fishstick

2008-05-30T18:10:00.001+02:00

How and where not to do The Fishstick
Originally uploaded by lonelysandwich

I've got to get this on some time.

Thank you Merlin Man for creating the Fishstick.

Damn procrastination

2008-05-17T13:06:00.001+02:00

Bella VS! Domo
Originally uploaded by mattzor

In German there is the idiom of "der innere Schweinehund". And basically translates to the inner voice inside telling you to chill and do that thing your supposed to do some other time but definitely not now.

I'm fighting him right now. I have a presentation due on Monday and I haven't gotten far yet.

Checkout subversion via ssh

2008-01-02T22:06:00.000+01:00

Just a quick subversion tip

You don't need to install a full Apache with WebDav to have access to your subversion repository over a network. As long as you have ssh access svn can wrap that.

Just take a look at the way you would check this out. (This is just one line)


localhost: user$  svn co svn+ssh://othermac.local//path_to_subversion_repository/project_name/trunk project_name

The duck has to go!

2007-12-31T02:35:00.001+01:00

35:365 - Only Room For 1
Originally uploaded by Ryan Paul Kikuchi

I'm using this to give a short update on my declutter effort. And since spring cleaning is just around the corner for a lot of you; getting a few tips head start won't hurt.

I haven't gotten to a point yet that I am comfortable with yet. Albeit, the path is proving to be fruitful. I've thrown out lots of stuff I haven't used in long while. Even things I would have hung onto emotionally in the past. It's true what they say. It gets easier over time.

Similar to the Zero-Inbox phenomenon; once you get use to deleting e-mails while you're processing them you get really fast and good at throwing away what you don't need anymore.

I'm not necessarily decluttering because I need more space but to get the stuff out of my life that I don't have any use for anymore. And somethings I just want to get rid of because they are bulky and ugly. I currently don't have any designated storage room anywhere in the apartment. Things I do keep, wonder into closets and drawers, or worse on top of closets.

So what kind of stuff has to go? Mostly things in the "hey this might be useful one day" category. These are usually items such as pieces of cables, spare parts to some device you don't even own anymore, or magazines that contain some tidbit of info you might want to access within the next 2 years. The way I deal with this currently: If I haven't used it in the last 2 years then I throw it out. I'm going to stick with that until I've gone through about every box, drawer, and closet in my apartment. Keeping at it, is ridding me of a lot of unnecessary garbage. When I'm through I'll try to narrow the parameter, to one year. (Iterative processes are the new buzz after all)

I started with what I could get rid of the easiest. Magazines. Even-though I amwas the sort of person who didn't like to throw away printed words. It always made me feel like throwing away part of my knowledge, or knowledge in general. But modern day Internet gives me no more excuses to keep outdated stale knowledge in form of magazines around anymore. Heck I don't even buy them very often anymore. Usually only if they come with good freebies, as DVDs or software.

After that I started at my man pile. Man pile, huh, what's that? You might be asking yourself right now. Well if you have to ask. It's that "pile" of boxes you have(assuming your a guy) with a bunch of cables, old hardware, tools, scraps, power bricks and what have you in them. Just about every guy has one of these piles and usually we tend to nurture them over the years. (And the thing is women might not speek up about it but it often drives them mad.)
Do I really still need a PCI Diamond Monster 3D 4MB VRAM video accelerator card? The frak I don't. I haven't even had a PC that can interface that thing for the last 1.5 years. Let alone, would have any benefit of using it. Out, out, out. It has to go. It's mostly all just emotional baggage none of us need anymore.
Sure it feels cool to go on a geek-spasm and reminisce about the "good old days" that nobody would wish upon themselves today. But, you can do that without the physical stuff collecting dust in your man pile.

Toss it!

Power brick you don't own the device for anymore.
Toss it now!

Maybe you could use it down the road? Probably not. Make an exception if it outputs 5 or 12 volts, since that's pretty common amongst devices(That is if you are handy with a soldering iron). 5V especially considering USB devices. But you probably wouldn't need 3 of those bricks. I certainly was surprised how many useless bricks(power supply adapters, usually the big bulky black boxes that take up 3 outlets at a time) I had. I threw out so many crap cables, bricks, extension cards, mice, keyboards, cpu-coolers that I had two storage boxes to spare in the end. I threw them out as well. Empty boxes just mean more space for new clutter.

So if you haven't used your rubber duck in a very long time make him leave, even if it means buying a gun and pointing it at the little thing and making the NRA proud of you in the process ;P

Happy decluttering!

Going Gordon Freeman on Criminals' Asses

2007-12-23T00:31:00.001+01:00

Going Gordon Freeman on Criminals' Asses
Originally uploaded by tjwilde

Another great note left by somebody who is clearly pissed.

From APT Bldg

2007-08-31T22:46:00.001+02:00

From APT Bldg
Originally uploaded by joshualane

Just a little something I wanted to share with you all.

Ludgeri Kreisel

2007-08-18T11:37:00.000+02:00

I took a little trip to Münster today. I wanted to visit a few stores especially I wanted to go to some place they sell Macs. And at Gravis I found one. Since the day Steve Jobs announced the new iMac and The Keyboard, I was curious. I checked them both out today. And I must say if I had the money to spare I would have ordered one today. That machine is sexy and fast. I'm comparing it to my black MacBook and my Dual G5 2Ghz. I think a big part in the "zippy-nes" is on part of the graphics card. I tried out the new iLife apps on the 20" iMac, and now I really think it runs slow on my G5.

The design is much more applealing to me in real life. Looking at the photos on Apple's site didn't really amaze me. You'll have to see it for yourself. The shiny screen wan't going to scare me any bit, since I've gotten use to my glossy goodness on my MacBook. I really like the way the gloss lets me enjoy my pictures and movies. And when crunching out code it isn't a burden. Albeit I must say that it goes a long way to have your screen in a right angle to a window. Competing with the glare outside or having the sun shine on your screen directly isn't even a good idea on matt displays.

How I want to start a Day my Way.

2007-06-20T06:49:00.000+02:00

Well to keep this short.

I started my day with getting up early. And for me that's 5:45 am. I got into some clothes and made some space in the living room for some exercise. I usually practice HapKiDo as I did today. First some basic techniques and them some sword swings and combos. After about 25 min and getting sweaty I hit the shower, got dressed, turned on some of my favorite music, and made breakfast. Not much just a small portion of Muesli to get my metabolism started up.

So how does it feel? Well I know what most of you are thinking right now. "Oh, gosh, I could never get up that early, not mentioning doing exercise!" Well I was like that a few weeks ago as well. It takes some uptake on self discipline, which is doable.

There are a few things that helped me do this. A few blogs I read about productivity and life-hacking(why no links? Google your own I don't want to influence you on that). And Joe's Goals. I lets you track little achievements and mishaps in a very simple way. Looks kind of stupid at first but trust me it works(at least for me). I had used it for a couple of months before I really started benefiting from it.
I also took up testing a few GTD-tools (Getting things Done methodology by David Allen) I'll write about that later. You might have heard this from every other blog as well but it really helped my get my life organized and on track. If you thing you have ADD or something similar because you can't get things done and are procrastinating every other task all day long, chances are you might just be drowning in your own organizational mess.

So if you have been wanting to turn a few things around in your life, I hope this article gave you some starting points and some inspiration to finally do it.

How do you guys start your morning?

What's in my bag?

2007-05-10T23:01:00.000+02:00

So lets see here. Johannes Kleske wrote on imgriff.com about sharing what's in your bag on a daily basis on his post. And called for other bloggers to share. I'll follow this one up right here.

So what do I take with me every day?

my MacBook including a Crumpler Gimp
power brick and MDVI to VGA adapter for my MacBook
Apple Remote for presentations
old headphones from my 3G iPod
some pens and a pencil & eraser
my business cards
a Moleskine for on the go notes
my trusty point and shoot HP R717
Cables(cross-over Ethernet, power extention, USB cable for cam, audio jack with adapter
a small 256MB USB stick for quick transfers
ear plugs in case it gets really noisy where I am
a spare pair of contact lenses and some eye drops
some chap stick, tic tacs and winter green chewing gum, and some paper handkerchiefs
a small "survival kit" with a lighter a knife and a flash light and a glow stick. (Although I have to leave the lighter and the knife at home when I go by plane of course)
and of course my wallet

I stuff all this in my Crumpler Crisp Suite. I use to have a Roll-o-Notes but it was to small for me because all the stuff you need plus maybe a water bottle and some food weren't possible in a pragmatic way. Another advantage of the Crisp Suite is that the weight is distributed more evenly which is way better on my back.

Microsoft Fraks Themselves In The Pooper. (imho)

2007-02-01T21:53:00.000+01:00

Arrrr, land rats!

Well this morning the mail man brought us a package with Windows Vista Business Upgrade. I though I was gonna have fun. But since the Vista experience amounted up to me not being able to install it because of a million things that would take to long to list here. So I wanted to snatch the manual and do a RTFM, that when I saw that cool pirate map they put in with the documentation. Yaaar, tis be a great idea to have come up with. I studied it a bit and when read the inside I almost fell of my chair laughing. A bunch of morons they be. Pwned themselves they did.
But have a look yer'self .

And the whole map.

The Quest is Over

2007-01-11T23:50:00.000+01:00

The Quest is Over
Originally uploaded by Noodleholz.

Back in November I finally got it. My very own MacBook. I blogged about this in May. The quest is over. I've managed to optimize my finances and scratch the money together. To say the least I love the new machine. Being used to a iBook G4 800 MHz that I borrowed in the mean time this thing is just screaming. I even think it feels faster than my PowerMac Dual G5. What makes me even more fond of this gadget is that I managed to bring up the determination and willpower to make this happen. So it reminds me of how proud I am of myself. I count it in as a trophy.

So the gloss I worried about, it's no deal at all. Of course if you're out in the sun it will distract you a great deal, but that sort of applies to all notebooks in my opinion. The battery takes me through 5 hours of school/work at least and about 2h 30m in Bootcamp(There aren't any efficient power management drivers out yet that's why it drains the battery so damn quick). Bootcamp installed as easy as cake. I don't use windows much since I hate it for every purpose except hardcore gaming. I guess I see the paradigm the other way around Windows boxes are for play and Macs for work and some play.

One more thing...

My colleague at work was also so amazed with my MacBook he went and got himself one for Christmas. I've teamed up with him and we plan on doing a podcast about web development. We are at the moment still planing the details and what we want to talk about. It will be in German since we have the feeling there are enough English language web dev podcasts out there.

What do yo do if you are unemployed 364 days a year?

2006-09-26T07:52:00.000+02:00

Lets just see if you guys will be crackin' up like I was this morning. So take a
look

Speedster

2006-08-02T23:39:00.000+02:00

Hey I was bored one day and browsed through my DV tapes and found some old footage from a trip to central park. Check
this out.

A quest for glory.

2006-05-18T19:16:00.000+02:00

IMG_0977.JPG
Originally uploaded by itsbetteronamac.

Now, I've been reading rumor blogs for quite some time now. Speculation on a new iBook. Since mine broke down late October 05. I've been so sad my little friend has failed me. But then the big surprise. The rumors came true. Apples new iBook successor is on the market. The MacBook. Sleek, sexy, and black. I love the design of the keyboard. I always knew Apple would give the next generation a cool new look as they did when the ClamShell had to go. The keyboard is a dream come true. The only thing I'm concerned about is the glossy screen. I've always been skeptic about them. I'll have to see a MacBook hands on and use it a couple of minutes to really find out if I can cope with the gloss. But one way or another I've got a quest for MacBook glory. Now I'll just need to spice up my income somehow. Maybe sell a few organs :) No really I'll have to get into some freelancing of some sort.

2006-05-11T00:19:00.000+02:00

You just have to check out this video. Having lived in Bavaria once and knowing what those dances look like in real and imagining(long sentence eh?) what it would look like in real life, is pretty hilarious. Plus that there's soda in thoe Maß(German name for those huge beer mugs. Pronounced like the MA in Mars. And actually like Mars without the R. Mas )

Need more bling?

2006-04-07T09:58:00.000+02:00

And just when you thought 40 pound necklaces, diamonds rings, golden knuckle braces and piercings galore were bad. You haven't seen this guys web shop. He's serious about it. Why is it people have to go through this just to get some bling on.
Mr T. used to be my bling bling hero, but today he just looks like any other brother on the streets.

read more | digg story

Need more bling?

2006-04-07T09:54:00.000+02:00

Spring is finally Coming

2006-03-23T15:56:00.000+01:00

spring is coming
Originally uploaded by fernandadesu.

I feel it in the air. Spring is here. And to acompany this feeling I've found a very nice picture on flickr.

Overall I'm feeling pretty good now that spring has come around.

I am currently working on my Ruby on Rails skills and finally got around to developing my personal homepage. It will be launched at the end of April. Which is a very small timeframe for what I've planed to do. You've got to push yourself from time to time to see what you can achieve.

Opera overtakes Firefox

2006-03-12T02:24:00.000+01:00

The latest preview of the skandinavian browser Opera 9 successfully passes the Acid 2 test.
Opera staff-member Tim Altman documents the build versions tests results with screenshots on his webpage.

Opera's latest build test result: View a screenshot.

Bin Laden

2006-02-08T10:12:00.000+01:00

According to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey conducted in December 2005, 68% of Americans believe that the United States will not be able to capture or kill Bin Laden in 2006.

And you know what? There are more important things so spend money on than to look for that old idiot hiding somewhere in the middle of nowhere between Afganistan and Pakistan.

It would probably piss him off way more if we just ignore him and laugh about him, than to take him seriously.

Life is good...

2006-01-18T07:57:00.000+01:00

Wow, I didn't post in here a long time I guess. So I guess whoever if anybody reading this could use an update.

Well my new job is fun. I program web applications all day long. It's actually better than college because I finally get to go hands on with programing. The theory is over! I like coding and college wasn't enough of it for me.

Anyhow I'm pretty exited about Apple's iLife '06 suite. The apps are pretty cool, especially the new iMovie. It really kicks ass. I'm really thinking about buying it, also because of the new GarageBand and its podcasting functionality.

If you want to check the whole details out yourself go head on over to Apple's website.

Lots of shit, but some good news.

2005-07-13T00:00:00.000+02:00

Well, last week of April I got my motherboard back. Well, not exactly, I got my money back and sent out for a new one. Then I visited the NorthCon Summer Event. It was pretty cool.

Anyhow, I'm out of college, under graduate. :( But, whatever! I promised some good news to.

I've got a new job. I start August 1, 2005. I've done an inturnship there already, it was cool.

Bad News. I'm not patient.

2005-03-17T00:00:00.000+01:00

Well believe it or not. My new PC is broken. I'm so sad. In the first week of February it broke on me. Being more specific, my motherboard was the cause. I sent it in for a repair or exchange. It hasn't returned yet. It is Taking very long. Over a month now. I sent it in on February 7, 2005. Luckily I still have a PowerMac to my side. The trusty Mac OS X and Apple hardware haven't let me down since I've become to know them in 2001.

I have it and I like it.

2004-11-22T00:00:00.000+01:00

My new PC is great. There are still two things missing I didn't plan on buying at first. Memory and a new hard drive. But My motherboard, CPU, and graphics card rock. I finally can now enjoy my games again. And have more fun on LAN parties. Speaking of witch the upcoming NorthCon will be a blast. From Dec 17 to Dec 19. Three thousand people are expected to be taking part in this event. I wonder just how big it will be. The NorthCon party is why I need a new hard drive :)

It is time for a new post.

2004-10-22T00:01:00.000+02:00

What's happened? Well, I still don't have my new PC. But, I have ordered the new components, though. It will be a P4 530, with a GigaByte 8I915P-Duo Pro-A motherboard. I haven't made my final decision about what graphic card it will be. I'm tending to a GeForce6600 GT. Probably the GV-NX66T128D, also form GigaByte.

What have I been doing the past month? Well I used a great part of my time studying hardware guides and forums, to make a well informed decision about my new PC. The other part of my time, well, college lectures started again. So I've been investing time in that as well. The bit of spare time left I used for online playing. Hmm?? Online playing, I thought your PC was broke! You might say. Well that's where my girlfriend comes in. She let me borrow her PC very often. That way it won't be like starting online play all over again. :)

You have to start sometime.

2004-09-22T09:01:00.000+02:00

Well I guess I always wanted my own blog. I never seemed to find the time for it. Finally I have time. It's my birthday today. I'm very old now. :D Yes, at an age where I don't tell my age anymore. Well not really. I just don't want to admit becoming a year older again. I hope this new year starts of better than the last one ended. The last 3 weeks before my birthday a lot of my stuff started breaking. First my PC. It overheated because the fan stopped on me. Then I found out my RAM also broke. Yesterday, the chair in my office wanted to throw me on the floor as it broke down. Well, wish me luck.