What the hell do we know anyway?

Dom dom dom

2008-07-14T14:16:00.003+01:00

Wederom zo'n briljante actie van slimme developers, een SMS en een e-mail met de volgende boodschap:

[...]

Je nieuwe telefoonrekening van de maand juli staat voor je klaar op My Vodafone. Log in om deze te bekijken.

[...]

Met vriendelijke groet,

Vodafone

Gevolgd door:

Stuur me dan gewoon geen bericht...

While scouring the web, ep. 4

2007-11-22T17:21:00.000+01:00

Don't you hate it, when people blatantly abuse that Wi-Fi network you've so cautiously set up, somehow ignoring all recommendations regarding encryption and network passwords? Well, here's how you can get back at them! Free of charge even...

Yay!

2007-10-27T15:27:00.001+01:00

Just one more week and it'll be in the mail.

While scouring the web, Episode 3

2007-10-19T12:18:00.000+01:00

For the current installment of the series "While scouring the web", which I nowadays deem "My own private stumbleupon", two episodes of webcomics, the second being a reponse to the first.

To those of you I know and like

2007-09-21T18:41:00.000+01:00

It's time for a party. Here are the details.

While Scouring The web, Episode 2

2007-09-05T10:14:00.000+01:00

In this second episode of our recently introduced series "While Scouring The Web", an example of how things can grow immensely popular due to "the internet community" picking up on it. The first example of this, at least one which I myself know of, is that of Esmée Denters, who, after posting videos of herself singing on YouTube and profiling herself on myspace rose to fame in record time after users picked up on it. Eventually this ended up in her landing a record deal and singing with none other than Justin Timberlake, both on YouTube and on stage.

Although the above-mentioned example was the result of Esmée herself intentionally promoting herself, in today's example this is not the case. In fact, it is the result of a late-night-drinking-spree-idea gone mental after the community itself picked up on something (in fact, I myself am hereby adding to its popularity). Inspired by loads of alcohol, actor and television maker Roeland Fernhout decided to create a boy-band named "BearForce1", consisting of 4 gay hairy (bears) men. Subsequently, 4 guys were cast for the band, a song and video were recorded (based on existing disco and italo hit-singles) and the result posted on YouTube. Well, suffice it to say, madness ensued. All in all, in my opinion, this effect is well worth looking into.

For your viewing pleasure (?), here's the video.

Day of Days

2007-08-10T07:54:00.000+01:00

And so, after having shunned visiting family and friends, doing dishes or laundry, work and play, I am about to hand in my thesis later today.

*shudder*

While scouring the web, Episode I

2007-08-08T09:05:00.000+01:00

It is still finally coming to this

2007-07-27T12:38:00.000+01:00

Deadline... Deadline... Got to make that deadline! My thesis is progressing nicely. 69 Pages and counting, all filled with scientific ramblings. However, I can't seem to keep myself from being a perfectionist. I turn over each word in my mind, wondering whether it's the right one.

"Is this fact or is this opinion?"

"If this is fact, why is that so? Who said that and when? And what did he/she say exactly?"

"Damnit, I can of course just copy this formula, but what if it's wrong? Let's just derive it... Darn, need a crash course in combinatorics for that... Ah well, let's just do that then..."

"'Significant'! No... I don't know that, I didn't test it... 'Obvious'! No... Don't want to offend the not so bright reader... 'Clear'! No... Used that five times already... 'Unequivocal'! Hmyeah... Should suffice...'

And that's how it goes with the deadlines drawing nearer and nearer. I already have to skip a first revision and just go straight to the 2nd. Let's just hope the work up until now suffices.

So it has finally come to this

2007-05-29T08:16:00.000+01:00

Having cleaned my entire room, done all the chores I could think of, just about perfected all the graphs I made of my data, there's just no putting it off any longer. I've started writing my thesis. Yes, hell must have frozen over and a couple of pigs in Western China probably just grew wings and succesfully completed their first test flight. Whatever the cause might be and however unlikely this course of events, the dye has been cast.

Remarkably so, writing isn't going as bad as I'd thought. The words just sort of come to me and the number of pages written grows steadily by the hour. Having read quite a number of articles, essays, papers, etc I must have grown accustomed to the language used in scientific writings. As this can only be considered a major breakthrough, I can only hope I will not let myself be distracted, be it by friends in need of a coffee break, household or administrative chores or anyting otherwise remotely interesting or in need of doing.

Having said that, there's nothing for it, but to just get back to writing some more.

Pop quiz, think fast

2007-05-14T17:25:00.000+01:00

Your flatmate decides to stay in Australia for 6 more months and announces he met an ideal new subletter there for said period. You'll not get to see her beforehand though.

What do you do?

XKCD

2007-04-28T13:48:00.000+01:00

Yet again, the same goes for me, albeit that the graph's domain doesn't go to my own age...

Visual DNA

2007-04-24T00:01:00.000+01:00

I got curious after reading Nieske's blog…

Read my VisualDNA™
Get your own VisualDNA™

Robin Williams, revisited

2007-04-23T20:43:00.000+01:00

Professor Nicholas Winset of Emanuel College in Boston has been fired after trying to prove a point, albeit in a somewhat drastic way, concerning gun control and the recent shootings in Virginia. He's recorded a video and used the greatest modern soapbox in recent years to speak out and state his opinion.

So, should teachers, especially at universities, just avoid speaking out, however outrageous as they might?

Strangely familiar

2007-04-06T14:59:00.000+01:00

This feels strangely familiar somehow, albeit that in my case there's no real purpose…

I curse thee (and more...)

2007-03-31T13:49:00.000+01:00

Apparently, the possibly least used curse word in Dutch has the most elaborate description in the online Van Dale dictionary ever…

naar·ling (de ~ (m.), ~en)

1. vervelend persoon ⇒ beroerling, etter, etterbak, etterbuil, fielt, fluim, gemenerik, hondenlul, kankerlijer, klerelijer, kloot, kloothommel, klootspiraal, kreng, kwal, lammeling, lamstraal, lamzak, lazerstraal, lelijkerd, loeder, lul, lulhannes, miesgasser, misbaksel, mispunt, onverlaat, patjakker, pleurislijder, ploert, plurk, pokkenlijder, reptiel, rotzak, schoelje, schoft, secreet, serpent, smeerlap, smiecht, stinker, teringlijder, tyfuslijder, vuilak, zak

What the hell is a «fielt»?

On a side note, there's some more pictures and videos of Luna available through clicking on the album cover below (for which her mother seemingly modelled).

Luna meets Venetian Snares

2007-03-25T20:35:00.000+01:00

Like countless others Merije and Jeroen now also have a cat. It is supposed to listen to the name «Luna» and recently had its first encounter with Jeroen's music taste in a small experiment as to find out what effect Venetian Snares would have on a cute little kitten.

Conclusion: «None whatsoever». Apart from the music making it wander around aimlessly exploring stuff…
It's still quite a cute little bugger though.

The truth

2007-03-22T15:50:00.000+01:00

We all knew it all along of course, but now these facts of life can be purchased as lithographs accompanied by a suitable nice photograph.

Milk

2007-03-20T11:28:00.000+01:00

How the hell do they come up with this stuff? Ok, "sex sells" is true, to some extent, but splashing girls with bucketloads of milk? And what's that cat doing in the moon's ass?

Sure does have a high hoax probability, but you never know with the Japanese...

"Testing, one two ..."

2007-03-19T12:47:00.000+01:00

So, here goes. A change back from custom weblog software to blogger. For those interested in the old weblog, that went here (lots of broken links and missing pictures). Basically due to the ease of publishing as compared to the old, premade styles that pretty much nicely resembled my own ideas for a newer design and the fact I had a blogger count lying around anyway.

This is just a test though, so you can ignore this post...