December 31, 2003
Adding Value to CDs
Nora gave me the Return of the King Limited Edition Soundtrack for my birthday, which is one of the most beautifully designed CDs I have seen in a long time. The CD box also contains a DVD and a well designed booklet. CD covers, booklets and boxes need to be pieces of art (or at least nice looking) on their own, if people are to choose them over digital copies of the same music. A large number of people still...
Posted on December 31, 2003 10:41 AM
| Permalink
| Comments (2)
| TrackBack
December 30, 2003
Coming Soon, to a Road Near You
It is done, I finally got it. As of this morning I am the proud owner of an Austrian driver's license. I can pick up the official license card on Friday, and will probably get it translated so I can use it in the US without any difficulties. Getting it took a lot of effort and money. I drove an estimated 600 miles in the last 10 days, driving three to five hours every day, even in the rain and...
Posted on December 30, 2003 07:39 AM
| Permalink
| Comments (5)
| TrackBack
December 28, 2003
Changing Perspectives
A few years ago I used to think that intellectual discussions should be like debates, with one side convincing the other. It is remarkable how different I feel about this today. It is foolish to think that one could ever have a complete answer; discussions are about conversation, merging of ideas, and learning. Maybe I just had not met other people with interesting ideas, or was too insecure to conceive that I could be wrong....
Posted on December 28, 2003 04:00 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 28, 2003
Welcome Back, It's been a While
Tomorrow is my birthday. Today it is two weeks since I'm in Vienna. My grades from last quarter were quite disappointing, and though I think that some of them are not quite justified, this confirmed that I completely overworked and overwhelmed myself. Last quarter, in some sense, felt like a disaster, after some of the things that happened to my group of friends and the immense amount of work and stress I had to deal with. But on the other...
Posted on December 28, 2003 02:43 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (1)
| TrackBack
December 13, 2003
Going Home
So all my five finals are finally over. This quarter was definitely among the most tiring one's, but some very good things happened as well. Packing is so much work, and moving rooms is even worse. The hardest part is that my new room isn't quite empty yet, so I will only store my stuff in there over winter, but won't have time to completely move in before Nick, the current owner moves out. But in the greater shape of...
Posted on December 13, 2003 08:28 AM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 11, 2003
The Final Challenge
This quarter has been pretty harsh on me. After four finals, tomorrow is the hardest of them all: E40. I am exhausted and tired, but I've studied, though not nearly enough. I think I will go to sleep and get up at 6 to study. Wish me luck....
Posted on December 11, 2003 10:39 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (1)
| TrackBack
December 09, 2003
Smart Environments
I was talking to Tristan about Bill Gates house where the rooms adjust the type of music to your personal taste, based on a wireless transmitter. Tristan said that his phone could do the same, and related it to the uselessness of Kevin Warwick's research. However, wouldn't it be great if your computer could automatically play music according to your mood? There could be various ways of recognizing moods, cameras, sensors, etc... Even more importantly, there needs to be a...
Posted on December 9, 2003 05:00 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (2)
| TrackBack
December 09, 2003
Googlicious
I am (like most people), a big fan of Google, and am wondering, what they are planning in the future. Google is central to web applications by providing tools to look for information, and tying things together. Tristan and I have been talking about interface issues lately, and I think I need to concern myself with getting him into blogging. For now I want to post a quote by Marc Andreessen about Sergey Brin and Larry Page, that I find...
Posted on December 9, 2003 01:37 AM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 07, 2003
The Music of Healing
More Tommy Sands: Don't beat the drum, that frightens the children Don't sing the songs about winning and losing Sit down beside me, the green fields are bleeding Sing me the music of healing Who would have thought I could feel so contented To learn I was wrong after all of my rambles I've learned to be hard and I've learned how to tremble Sing me the music of healing Somehow the cycle of vengeance keeps turning Till each other's...
Posted on December 7, 2003 05:07 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 07, 2003
Back to Ireland
I've been listening to Tommy Sands' music, and I feel like going back to Ireland and take a break from all of this. Tommy Sands is a musician who sings about life in Northern Ireland and the continuing conflict. His songs are hopeful songs about peace and friendship from somebody who has seen friends killed in the street and not lost hope. He is also known as an extreme pacifist that has organized events where ex-fighters for both the catholic...
Posted on December 7, 2003 04:34 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (1)
| TrackBack
December 07, 2003
Overanalyzing
Maybe we all overanalyze things too much all the time. Like this entry....
Posted on December 7, 2003 04:25 AM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 07, 2003
Give a Hug Day
If you have not hugged somebody today, go and hug somebody and tell them that you are their friend. Nobody has been hurt while being hugged....
Posted on December 7, 2003 02:12 AM
| Permalink
| Comments (3)
| TrackBack
December 05, 2003
The G4 iBook
I just received a new 933Mhz G4 14" iBook with 256mb of RAM, 40GB of diskspace, and an AirportExtreme card. Though the computer is not for me, but for my girlfriend, I will get to keep it for a week and in the process review it for OSNews. I am playing around with it right now and it seems like a very nice machine, though I will have to create a user account for myself before I can really use...
Posted on December 5, 2003 04:22 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 04, 2003
Work is Over
Most of my classes are basically over, and the only thing I have left to do before finals is a final presentation tomorrow. I managed to finish 2 problemsets and an essay today which makes me quite proud. I am now trying to relax a bit today, and finally getting rid of all remnants of my cold. I have been watching lectures for the last hour, and have started installing Gentoo on Virtual PC. The installation has had some problems,...
Posted on December 4, 2003 09:41 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 03, 2003
Enya Rocks
For the record, Enya is one of my favorite music artists. Now if I could only find the Paint the Sky with Stars CD. More about this later. Things are looking up....
Posted on December 3, 2003 02:20 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 02, 2003
Some Progress
Travis and I just submitted CS 143! Now I have a bit of 242 to finish till tomorrow, and most of the CS 143 problemset and a paper for STS to finish till Thursday. The essay is extremely important, because it makes up 25% of my grade, and should only be between 950 and 1050 words in length. I will probably start early tomorrow, and hope I can finish 242 quickly so that I can really concentrate on the paper....
Posted on December 2, 2003 08:56 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 01, 2003
Enough Compilers
After working on CS 143 for so long and being sick I feel like I really need a break. I am immensely looking forward to winter break, and am glad I am only taking four classes next quarter. I have 1,25 problemsets, a paper and a bit of a program to finish before I can start studying for finals. I will now finish these and get this quarter over with....
Posted on December 1, 2003 10:59 PM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 01, 2003
Off to Sleep
After listening to music my mind is calmed and I feel ready to sleep. I will write more tomorrow....
Posted on December 1, 2003 02:36 AM
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBack
December 01, 2003
I Cannot Sleep
I went to bed at 9pm and slept till 10:50. I then got up and went back to sleep at 11:20. I lay in bed till 2:10 am with millions of thoughts going through my head, while I was completely unable to sleep. I have never had problems falling asleep, maybe with getting up, but never with falling asleep. I hope that I won't be sick when I get up tomorrow. I am listening to Enya right now, which always...
Posted on December 1, 2003 02:23 AM
| Permalink
| Comments (2)
| TrackBack