Tempus Tommy

2006-02-03T20:20:00.000+01:00

I cannot understand that I did not open the new blog year until now...where did the time go?
I cannot describe how it is to Danish outside Denmark these days. It is very surreal - I can see in the Danish medias that the Mohammed cartoons take up a lot of space...but here in the Netherlands it is mentioned now and then. It is known but not central news down here. I guess distance also can be a filter in this sense.

Taking a walk always brings interesting pictures along:

2005-12-26T18:13:00.000+01:00

Merry Christmas everybody :)

2005-12-18T20:09:00.000+01:00

Hahaha - after adding the banners below my "Good" rating grew to an astonishing 69%!

2005-12-18T20:04:00.000+01:00

It's certified - this blog is more good than evil!

Rated by the gematriculator

2005-12-17T16:19:00.000+01:00

Hmmm...
From the Cryptophile website:
Mona Lisa
Thief Alias
True First Name

Thoughts:
Well, in 1911 the Mona Lisa was stolen by a guy called Vincenzo Perugia who contacted an antique dealer in a letter signed "Leonardo".
So the true first name of the thief would be "Vincenzo" and his alias "Leonardo Vincenzo".
Ok...then what?

And who is Lisa S.?

2005-12-17T15:56:00.000+01:00

Next step must be to find Robert Langdon...and I sense that wikipedia is somehow involved!

2005-12-17T15:28:00.000+01:00

The five symbols on the Cryptophyle web page are (according to the Religious Symbols Dictionary linked on the same page):

1. Tau cross
The Cross is one of the oldest religious symbols of all time, from the prehistoric solar cross (an equal armed cross), to the Cross adapted from Pagan cults for Christian use after the council of Nicaea. Cross symbols are among the oldest on earth, and are found in every culture. Crosses are almost invariably symbols of the sun, the sky, and the passage of time, and are linked with most solar deities.

2. Solar cross/Alchemy: Copper alloy
The solar cross is probably the most ancient spiritual symbol in the world, appearing in Asian, American, European, and Indian religious art from the dawn of history. Composed of a equal armed cross within a circle, it represents the solar calendar- the movements of the sun, marked by the solstices. Sometimes the equinoxes are marked as well, giving an eight armed wheel.

3. Ouroboros/Alchemy: Volatility
The Ouroboros is a greek word, and means "tail swallower." The ouroboros is usually depicted in the form of a snake swallowing its tail, and is usually circular, although it is sometimes depicted in a lemniscate shape. The ouroboros originated in Egypt as a symbol of the sun, and represented the travels of the sun disk. In Gnosticism, it was related to the solar God Abraxas, and signified eternity and the soul of the world.
In alchemy, it represents the spirit of Mercury (the substance that permeates all matter), and symbolizes continuous renewal (a snake is often a symbol of resurrection, as it appears to be continually reborn as it sheds its skin.), the cycle of life and death, and harmony of opposites. A double ouroboros (two creatures swallowing one another) in alchemy signifies volatility.

4. Sun/Alchemy: GOld
The astrological glyph for the sun, and the alchemical symbol for Gold. This symbol originated in ancient Egypt as a symbol for the sun God Re.

5. Saturn/Alchemy: Mercury
Represents the planet Saturn, and it corresponding alchemical metal, lead. Alchemically, lead was the prima matera, or primal matter, and represented putrification and decay.

And then what?!

2005-12-17T15:01:00.000+01:00

Chapter 2
And another AAAH!!!
On the shoulder in the movie at the first Mona Lisa sequence at http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/davincicode/site/index.html

And in the following art works:
Left side of head: "0.5(1 + square 5)" = the Golder ratio
Left side of the body, under arm: "1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21" = Fibonacci row
To the right of the rightmost head: "P.S." = Priory of Sion
Bottom of the picture´, upside down: "Rose Line" = The Mary Magdalena blood line
In the hair: Fleur-de-lis/French Lily symbol = compas rose? Referring to the Rose Line?
Under the left hand of Christ: "Sang Real"
In the frame of the Mona Lisa, last sequence: Another Fleur-de-lis.

2005-12-17T14:53:00.000+01:00

Aaaah!
www.seekthecodes.com

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We finally got heating in the house, but nevertheless I came down with some lung infection that triggered my astma - how uncool is THAT!?

2005-12-17T11:33:00.000+01:00

The Beast II?
The end credits in the new trailer from The Da Vinci Code contains letters that lights up (we expected that, right?) - mysteriously? Definately...and a new hunt can begin!
Chapter 1: "Seek", "THSECDEO", "sodarktheconofman.com"
> "Seek the codes on www.sodarktheconofman.com"?

More to come...

2005-11-29T23:48:00.000+01:00

Hey! Wireless internet access at Utrecht Centraal station. Neat!

2005-11-20T13:51:00.000+01:00

Then the Domino Day in the FEC came and passed again this year.
This year with a side event. A sparrow (NL: mus) entered the room with all the domino tiles (4.000.000 tiles) - after attemps to catch it, it was shot.
This incident ended up on numerous frontpages and the sparrow now has its target="_blank"own web site for condolences (6709 condolences and counting).
The site is primarily in Dutch, but there are also numerous German and English comments + a few in Spanish, Slavic, Danish, Swedish etc.

2005-11-19T12:56:00.000+01:00

Thinking about getting married?
ST: EXP
Oh yeah, gimme some of that SmorgasBORG!

2005-10-20T14:04:00.000+02:00

- still here, but very busy!

2005-09-24T17:49:00.000+02:00

Corrupted Blood - the "virus" of World of Warcraft

Many rumours and many speculations have rumaged out there. Personally I believe this one: www.rpgamer.com/news/Q3-2005/092005a.html

True or not, I find the thought of an in-game online virus interesting. It nutures the ancient debate on realism in online games. How realistic do we want online games? Should avatars/characters obey the same "rules of life" their players do? SHould characters experience permanent death? Etc. etc. etc.

For now I stay clear of other characters and solo like I have been doing all along :)

2005-09-17T16:39:00.000+02:00

Crash course in Swedish
Yes, I know I am Danish, but this Swedish crash course at www.slayradio.org is just SO funny!
The four lessons are divided in "Homographs", "Inflections and putting spaces where they don't belong", "Schomething schtranger", "An excersise in pronouncing various letters" and they of course only picked the funniest examples or most tongue wretching examples. Listen to the reaction of the poor English guy as he tries to learn something from these four courses.

2005-09-17T16:14:00.000+02:00

Misheard lyrics
How often did you found out that the lyrics that you thought you heard, turns out to be totally wrong? I still remember the year Rage Against the Machine launched their breaktrhough album and a friend and I were sitting in the bus louding singing "Worms, worms - yes, you got the worms". WE late found out that the lyrics goes: "Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn".
www.amiright.com collects misheard lyrics and some are very funny. Looking through the songs from Depeche Mode you find out that at some point someone out there have been walking around humming "Found new life in jeans and tights" instead of "Found new life in Jesus Christ" (Depeche Mode, Blasphemous Rumours).

Hahaha...someone misheard Condemnation as "Condom nation"...

2005-08-31T21:01:00.000+02:00

Now I can also be found in the World of Warcraft. After briefly talking to Lisbeth I decided that I needed to also get into that world. And yes, it is pretty cool!
As a long time EQ player (EverQuest I and II) I feel that WOW combines the best from of these games - and it IS almost like playing an EQ mod.; a little too close I think.
But the graphical art is amazing - I love the expressive cartoonish style.

So look for Zaxaa in both EverQuest (UK Server) and World of Warcraft (Dragonblight server)...she's out there...

2005-07-23T18:54:00.000+02:00

Places to eat when in Utrecht

Some because of the food, some because of the ambience
3512: http://www.3512etenendrinken.nl/
Le Bibelot: http://www.dinnersite.nl/restaurant/?RN=3138&lng=nl
West: http://www.iens.nl/restaurantsVan/Utrecht/restaurant.htms?a=*Lombok&r=5333
Peper: http://www.lombox.nl/Ondernemers/Azhar.html#peper
Rosa's Kitchen: http://www.rosaskitchen.nl/

And Heen en Weer (midway on the Oudegracht) for the atmosphere, beers, dogs, cats and views!

Yummmm...

2005-06-24T11:03:00.000+02:00

Which ArchAngel am I most like?

Lucifer. The most misunderstood of all the ArchAngels, you're most like the ArchAngel of Light. You've seen the darkside and have opted for something better. You need better press,
though chances are no one will really understand your motives.

Which ArchAngel are you most like?
brought to you by Quizilla

I learn something new every day!

2005-06-10T22:23:00.000+02:00

I finally passed the test and now I'm officially a Mentor.
YEAH!

2005-05-04T21:52:00.000+02:00

Ooooh...a whole month went by without blogging anything! I wonder what happened?!

Jobwise I moved from being an agent for one team to being a mentor for the "twin" team. After a long hard procedural competition with 38 other candidates, I was picked in the end for one of the biggest challenges of my life.
Maybe that's why I never get around to blog anymore?

2005-03-24T23:30:00.000+01:00

It's interesting to follow the rumors and whisperings about a new Adobe CS2 package. There might even be material enough for a paper on "rumours on the internet".
The date most mentioned is April 9th - Adobe says nothing.
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/main.html
Especially the content of a future version of Photoshop is soooo hyped.

Uuuuuhhhh...the sweet urge to look behind the curtain...to sneakpeak through an envelope...to open juuuuust one corner of a christmas present.
- know what I mean?

2005-02-11T20:53:00.000+01:00

BioWare Corp. is casting to get "heads" for their future games. But will that also ensure that we also get a rich variety of facial expressions? The article from BBC says nothing about it and neither does the BioWare Corp. website.
It seems like it's all about getting new wrap-around pictures of faces rather than bits of video. Too bad - it could be cool to see what actual facial expressions from the real world would be perceived as in a game world. Maybe other players would actually be able to understand what you're trying to tell them with your body language.

2005-01-30T17:58:00.000+01:00

Work is hard in the beginning, but pays the bills. We're finally live, so no more training...that's both good and bad.
I talked to many many more Norwegians than I ever would have expected, and not all are positive and understanding about the fact that I service them (we have no Norwegians at this moment...PLEASE apply if your need a job)

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We went to see the "Viking" exhibition at the Utrecht Central Museum today. That was quite a disappointment. It was very black/white orientated about the victims of the viking raids. But there were some nice artefacts and the surroundings was made by Studio Job and that was quite appealing to the senses.
The exhibition will later be shown in Demark as well. I hardly can wait to hear about the reactions >:)

The museum also had an installation (Tribe Art Commission 2) by Hussein Chalayan that was really cool. Go see it!

2005-01-13T19:38:00.000+01:00

Well, I can see I'm not the only blogger who suffers from new year tiredness :)

I'm ready for another year (yeah!) and have promised myself to continue reading more. I feel that this side of me have been understimulated for too long.
But I started back in November with some lighter litterature to get me back on track (it is NOT a new years resolution...I don't do those!): Graham Mastertons entertaining horror-novel "Family Portrait". Then it was Paula Coelhos fantastic "The Alchemist" which I still digest. Now I'm reading Joseph Hansen's mystery novel "Fadeout", which is brilliant reading for my daily train rides. I think there was one more, but I forgot - and then there's my Dutch Language Course Book! *MOAN*

2004-12-31T16:03:00.000+01:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2004-12-29T14:30:00.000+01:00

Merry Christmas everyone. I'm in Denmark enjoying the holidays with family and friends.
Make 2005 matter!

2004-12-07T10:11:00.000+01:00

Wish I was here: Other Players

2004-12-05T11:13:00.000+01:00

Happy Sinterklaas!

2004-12-03T08:53:00.000+01:00

After reading a paper I found online I ask myself: Should the definition of community be based on a sense of area or just on the sense of belonging?
Trying to define community based on the sense of area means that you would look for the things that the people have in common, whereas basing on the feeling of belonging would push the definition of community in the arms of the user (instead of the spectator) that could give a series of reasons why he/she would participate in the given community.
in the case of EverQuest communities one could wonder how people can belong to so many communities at the same time (classcommunity, racec community etc.) but the user/participant might feel that these "sub"communities are all part of the same domain, so it feels like being member of one community. This is enforced by the fact that many participants are members of more than one "sub"community.

2004-11-25T22:50:00.000+01:00

Being over 40 nationalities speaking over 15 different languages is quite interesting. But it is also interesting to study how different people teach in different ways. Did you know that there still are people who think you can learn through 7½ hours powerpoint presentations without hands-on experience?!
They're there - and it's scary!

2004-11-17T13:08:00.000+01:00

I HATE cancer

2004-11-08T19:06:00.000+01:00

I got a job!!!

...as a technical supporter. Who would have thought that??

In the future you will then see me pendle between Amsterdam and Utrecht every day

2004-11-02T20:32:00.000+01:00

The Netherlands are in shock. For the second time in recent time an assasination has taken place - this morning is was the moviemaker Theo van Gogh. Tv is right now showing outtakes from different programs, where van Gogh participated. It is especially surreal to watch the debate between Theo van Gogh and Pim Fortuyn. Both are not dead because of meaningless and apparent political assisinations.

So, this is now the way to express your opinion?

2004-11-01T22:25:00.000+01:00

*LOL*
I guess it was only a question of time:
Gameboyzz Orchestra Project

2004-10-30T13:52:00.000+02:00

Yippieeee...
I got my hands on the beta version of EverQuest that is to be shipped in a week, so you might no see me around the next few days.
Have fun too!

UPDATE:
It takes 6 hours to download, so I can just as well do the laundry until then! *sigh*

2004-10-27T08:13:00.000+02:00

Role-playing pregnancy
Have you ever wondered if it was possible to have sex and get pregnant in a RPG?
Well, it is! And I will present the following pregnancy list to serve all you female and genderbending roler-players:

Each stage of pregnancy is listed below with the effects that the
pregnant character will suffer. Refer to the effects section for
specifics. Elf pregnancies are quite nice and comfortable. Therefore,
GMs may forgo certain unpleasant effects for pregnant elves.

1st Stage
- Check for mood swings at 55% chance.
- Check for morning sickness (20%).
- Lower constitution by 1 because of increased fatigue.

2nd Stage
- Check for mood swings for this stage at 65% chance.
- Check for morning sickness (25%).
- Lower constitution by an additional 1 for a total of -2 to
constitution because of increased fatigue.
- Increase in urination output.

3rd Stage
- Check for mood swings for this stage at 75% chance.
- Check for morning sickness (30%).
- Danger during spell-casting.
- Increase in urination output.

4th Stage
- Check for mood swings for this stage at 45% chance.
- Check for morning sickness (10%).
- Noticeable weight gain. Increase weight appropriate to race.
- Food cravings: Friends may be sent on wild treks to find exotic
food to curb the pregnant women's cravings.
- Lower dexterity by 1 due to loss of agility.
- Thief skills Climb and Move Silently suffer a -5%.
- +5% chance of spell failure due to discomfort.

5th Stage
- Check for mood swings for this stage at 35% chance.
- Check for morning sickness (05%).
- Weight gain. Increase weight appropriate to race.
- Food cravings.
- Lower dexterity by an additional 1 for a total of -2 to
dexterity because of lack of agility.
- Thief skills Climb and Move Silently suffer an additional -5%.
- +1d6% chance of spell failure due to discomfort.

6th Stage
- Check for mood swings for this stage at 25% chance.
- Weight gain. Increase weight appropriate to race. Adjustment to
armor size is likely and probably expensive.
- Food cravings.
- Lower dexterity by an additional 1 for a total of -3 to
dexterity because of lack of agility.
- Thief skills Climb and Move Silently suffer an added -1d10%.
- +1d6% chance of spell failure due to discomfort.

7th Stage
- Check for mood swings for this stage at 35% chance.
- Check for backache.
- Lower dexterity by an additional 1 for a total of -4 to
dexterity because of lack of agility.
- Speed cut by half. Must rest triple the normal amount of times.
- +1d6+6% chance of spell failure due to discomfort and lack of
concentration.

8th Stage
- Check for mood swings for this stage at 45% chance.
- Check for backache.
- Lower dexterity by an additional 1 for a total of -5 to
dexterity because of lack of agility.
- Speed cut by half. Must rest triple the normal amount of times.
- +2d6+3% chance of spell failure due to discomfort and lack of
concentration.

9th Stage
- Check for mood swings for this stage at 55% chance.
- Check for backache.
- Lower dexterity by an additional 1 for a total of -6 to
dexterity because of lack of agility.
- Speed cut by half. Must rest triple the normal amount of times.
- +3d6+2% chance of spell failure due to discomfort and lack of
concentration.
- Develops nesting habits (i.e. desire to make a warm, cozy home
and prefer not to go anywhere).

Some pregnancies might be "quite nice and comfortable", but have you ever thought of the racial issues? Centaurs and humans f.ex.?
And then there are the condoms issue - according to this text they only give 75% protection...
And finally the text includes a percentile table of sexist quotes to be used by the GM (game master). A must for every tabletop role-playing game.

2004-10-25T13:55:00.000+02:00

"Gesture" by Adam Kendon
I got my hands on this book by this author. This will become my evening reading in the future, and it looks VERY existing (and is also in my primarily area of interest)

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BBC has put a series of "finger" programmes online. Five short programmes - each dedicated to a finger. Very interesting introduction to finger gesture and meaning.
In the thumb programme you can furthermore hear A. Kendon elaborate on the misconception of "thumbs up" in the movie Gladiator.

2004-10-22T13:45:00.000+02:00

Game rules are a funny thing. I overheard two boys (brothers) yesterday who jumped around on the Vredenburg square in Utrecht. One (the older one) said to the other: You can't jump from here to there in one jump! The other one tried and tried, but couldn't...then he apparently got a bright idea and cut the jump in two by using first one leg and then the other. He said: I could! The other one of course said that he was cheating, but the younger brother simply refused and stated: I'm allowed to do it - and thereby ending the discussion.
Of course game rules are less consistent than world rules (world rules are in this case the physical laws and game rules the frame of rules within a task must be succeeded) but it had forgotten how easy children can reinvent rules in midgame. "This did not go before, but it goes now because it does" is a statement I now remember from my childhood, and it is certainly a statement I would love to transfer the game context to the "reality" context. I will work on that.
It's always great to get in touch with your inner child again!

2004-10-17T13:18:00.000+02:00

Wow, I can now say that I have been working in the NL. Manpower found a one-day job for me in Apeldoorn, where I was to call norwegian companies to solve a technical problem. Unfortunately they only needed me for one day, since they already had new people in training.
But they thought that I spoke fluently norwegian, because I'm a Scandinavian. Quote: "But you all speak the same language up there". It is a problem I run in to again and again. It seems that many Dutchmen actually think that Scandinavia (more or less) is one country.
Well, the job went well - I only had ONE norwegian, who did not understand me, so I consider the experience a succes.

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New field of study: Dragonology

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I finally found where the computergames people are hidden here in Utrecht: Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht

2004-09-21T07:37:00.000+02:00

Sometimes it's really funny to be away from your native country. Last week it was announced that this man and this woman are divorcing.
Since I'm not in Denmark I didn't see it relevant to comment on it, but now - when I talk to Danes and read blogs and articles by Danes - they seem to all have been inflicted by the urge to remain impartial (except for the gossip magazines of course). The rumours surrounding the events are many, and it seems like there is an public opinion forming in favour of the princess. But what do I know - I'm 900 km away from Copenhagen (but a little less far awar from the actual center of events), so I lean back and make the fullest out of the study of my fellow countrymen.
So...dear Danes, forget about being so careful and impartial. I know you all have an opinion, so let it be heard. The royalty is still subject to a public opinion (but you better not gossip about what the prince might or might not have been doing - hehehe).

2004-09-10T23:05:00.000+02:00

I was asked to republish the link to my thesis from February, so here it is:
"Yuk I just kissed a frog"

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Oh, and I found the web site of my cousin. Here it is - and he's blogging too (site is in Danish)

2004-09-10T20:10:00.000+02:00

I don't get it!
I just got a stack of brochures from different places you can get courses in Dutch for foreigners. They are ALL in Dutch! What's with that??
At least I understand enough Dutch to read them, but if you're a total beginner, you would be pretty lost. Are they trying to give a lesson in Dutch? I don't think it works...

2004-09-09T19:55:00.000+02:00

All the stress from the moving finally caught up with me. I have had some problems with a little pain in my upper jaw for a few days, so I checked in with my new dentist in Utrecht (who is from Argentina and WAY COOL).
So...now I'm sitting - high on pain killers - with a severe jaw ache from a root canal procedure...argh!

Poor me!

Get better cards will be received on: tommyblogger@hotmail.com

(Just kidding - I will be up and running in no time...getting visitors from Denmark this coming Saturday, and I can hardly wait)

2004-09-06T01:44:00.000+02:00

Almost forgot. We went to the Jaarbeurs (dammit; that's a BIG place!) in Utrecht the other day (actually both friday and saturday). There were 3 (three!!!!) markets at the same time. First of all the book market with tons and tons of book. I ended up buying an book of Ursula K. Le Guin, "Illia" by Dan Simmons, a handful of Flash and Media books, an opera book, a cook book (Thai) and a few other things (I can't remember right now). We went there to buy books for around 50€, but came out with books worth the double of that! Typical?
The second market was the "Blokker 3-dagse" (no, not blogger!). Blokker is a chain of shops that sell everything from plates over vacuum cleaners to bikes and placemats. I refused buying anything but what we came there for (an electric orange/lemon juicer), but two knives and a box of dish washer tablets ended up in the basket anyway.
Last market was a game market arranged by Ducosim (the Dutch play association), and was a mekka for play enthusiasts. It was possible to try out everything from roleplaying games over advanced board games to simple cards. We just looked...and the bought a game for 49€. The game is Alchimech, that we tried to play tonight. But the rules are ONLY in Dutch, and quite complicated, so we will try to look at it again another night. But it looks quite cool with a very different artistic look, which you otherwise only find in computer roleplay games. Maybe this is a game, that is so complex, that it should have been made as a computer games instead?! Remediation...

2004-09-05T18:35:00.006+02:00

Who composes for 8 celli?
Today we went to Vredenburg concert hall for a free concert with Cello Octet Conjunto Ibérico playing Symphony for Eight. It was a really nice concert - very competent.
The concert was part of "Utrecht Uitfeest", which is a weekend where many cultural institutions are open to the public...for free. Also many acts and outdoor concerts were part of the whole arrangement. Quite fun!

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Talking of Glass, I (finally) got my hands of a copy of the DVD with "Koyaanisqatsi" og "Powaqqatsi"
The former one is my entrance to Glass, when I saw the movie in the Danish tv back in the mid-80ies. I'm SO happy I finally got it!!!

2004-08-27T16:19:00.000+02:00

What is THIS???? Blogshares??
http://www.blogshares.com/blogs.php?blog=http%3A%2F%2Ftomnord.blogspot.com%2F&PHPSESSID=5fbbcc9e6536f1241d8587ffdaafd200

2004-08-27T14:08:00.000+02:00

And they say the sound of water makes you relax!
During the last week the following two incidents happened, which forever will make me jump by the sound of some kind of water.

1. Waking up in the middle of the night hearing:
"driiiip..........driiiiip.........driiiiiip....."
Roof leak!!
I has now been fixed, but I still find myself with sharpened ears when I am about to sleep.

2. Waking up in the middle of the night hearing:
"Clonk.....DANG.....SPLAAAaaaaash....dripdripdripdrip"
Cat tipped over the new 20L vase I bought! Water everywhere.
The carpet is now hanging halfway across two chairs and a fan is standing under saying: "wrrrrrrr.....drrrrrr.....wrrrrrr....drrrrrr..." 24 hours a day.

Owning your property isn't that fun. Will I get used to it???

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I have now (finally) filed the Danish state for moving out of the country, so I am now officially not a Danish recident any longer. I need to file for recidency in Utrecht, but that shouldn't be a problem, since the hardcore paper work was done in Leeuwarden.
It also means I'm off the unemployment benefit. I need a job NOW!

ADVERTISEMENT: Job needed for intelligent person, who knows his way around in the structure of the hyperspace complexity. I also type fast!

2004-08-16T23:26:00.000+02:00

We finally landed in Utrecht and also regained access to the internet after 10 days without (scary!)
Check out our new neighbourhood here.

2004-07-26T12:23:00.000+02:00

New online game "buzz": "Ilovebees" aka. "The Haunted Apiary"
Site and forum
Have fun :)

2004-07-18T17:28:00.000+02:00

Yipiiie...a new (commercial) alternate reality game is out. It's "Missing" that together with a bought CD-ROM uses real time emailing and web browsing as parts of the game. As it is the case with other ARGs you have to assume another identity, so it is not a pervasive alternate reality as we saw in f.ex. "Majestic". Too bad, but I guess the genre is finding it's (less wild) balance within the game genres. If I wasn't in the middle of moving I would get the game and try it out myself. But for now I just follow along on the web (salemwitchmystery.com is f.ex. part of the game) and in different fora. CNN has an article on the game and unfiction.com will without doubt cover it a.s.a.p.
Have fun!

2004-07-14T17:28:00.000+02:00

Narratives in games
The objectives for a game can be compressed to a minimum as in this game "Scamper II":

Get the stuff
Stay away from the thing
When you get all the objects on a level look for the doorway out
Each level is bigger, has different objects and a faster thing chasing you.

It's almost poetic in its simplicity!

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MMOG Chess
Ever heard of EverChess? It's (as the name indicates) a hybrid between EverQuest and Chess. You have your usual 16 pieces, but this time they are set up in a circle on an endless chessboard, where you can move every 15 seconds. You score by capturing any other players pieces. Simple game!
Too bad I'm the only one in there....

2004-07-12T11:31:00.000+02:00

Life is sneaking up on me. Suddenly I'm about to buy this apartment in Utrecht with R, so I too can find a suitable job. But along all that, there are tons and tons of things to do. Call ingenieur to make measurement of supporting wall (that has to go down to make room for a BIG kitchen/eatroom), call windowguy to make an offer for repairing windows, make design for the cupboard for the upper floor livingroom etc. etc. etc.
We might have gotten the apartment relatively cheap, but fixing it will be a fulltime job for me as well...maybe I should get another diploma in handymanship??? I certainly get enough offer about university diplomas on my mail (just like the rest of you)

2004-07-07T11:51:00.000+02:00

I just removed the Shout box, since it was subjected to spam - which means that someone actually thinks that the time wasted on posting would be (at least) equal to the numbers of readers clicking on one of the three links that was there. I don't think so!
I already saw examples on spam in blog comments, which is totally unexeptable as well. Both cases are a like posters or grafitti on places that ruin the communication from someone else.
So dear shout-box-spammer and potential comment-spammer: please don't, ok? I reeeeally don't have THAT many readers anyway!

---

R just called: the house we've been looking at has been bought....BY US!!!! Seller accepted and we only need to put our signatures on a piece of paper. Furthermore the owner wants to get this done asap. which means that we should be able to move in before July 28th, where R starts at his new job.
I''m SO excited!

2004-07-07T11:26:00.000+02:00

Tommys law about colored kitty litter: When a white kitty washes her face with peach-colored paws after having been to the litter box with colored kitty litter, she will get peach-colored all over her face as well...

2004-07-03T11:27:00.000+02:00

Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to meeeeeeeeee. Happy birthday to me!
My grandmother called, which is quite something. She's over 80 and can't speak anything but Danish. She has never been outside Denmark either, so I greatful respect the effort she put into calling me.
That was definately the call of the day.

---

With contributions from family and bfriend I bought myself the camera I wanted for my birthday: Canons IXUS 500...and I love it! We've been taking pictures of almost anthing, so I have tons of material to make a photoblog...which I won't...yet...hehe.
The extra video feature is so cool, and we've been recording eachother, the kitties, the moon...anything! It also meant I had to find a program that can rotate an avi-film, since I like to use the camera on both sides...(stupid me! Hahaha...)
Even though it's still pretty expensive (€600 incl. extra 256M memory and battery) it is worth it - the colors are accurate and it takes very sharp pictures - also under conditions where an analogue camera requires a flash. Definately the buy of the week (and it will quite a while before I buy an item that expensive again!!).
(By the way - can anyone tell me why it's called IXUS 500 in Europe but Powershot S500 in the US?)

---

Advice to cat owners: If you have cats with white paws, DO NOT buy colored kitty litter. Dian and Mollie now both have peach colored paws!

2004-06-27T23:54:00.000+02:00

We're back from Copenhagen after a very nice week, where we got to see my family and friends again. It's cool the way you get new energy from being with your friends - that it something I definately can feel. Both after my Danish birthday party this wednesday, the brunch gathering this morning and all the encounters in between. But MAAAN I'm tired now - in the cool way!!! :)

---

Oh yeah...we're moving! R was accepted for a new position in Amsterdam, so we're leaving Leeuwarden now. That also means that it will get easier for me to get a (new) job as well! Yippie...!

2004-06-17T10:30:00.000+02:00

Some time ago Frank blogged about the unfortunate naming of Googles online friend network called "Orkut". Well, if you have played "Age of Mythology" you will hear some of the Norse units say something like "skii-pann". This sounds so much like a foreigner trying to say "damned fryingpan" (skidepande) in Danish, that I'm giggling every time I have to play the Norse. Richard told me that the greek gatherers actually say "no" in Dutch, when you want them to do something....well, they might be stubborn, but at least they do what you want them to do anyway!

2004-06-17T10:26:00.000+02:00

Vacation is coming up soon!
Saturday my sister and her family is arriving here on their way to Euro-Disney, and monday we're off to Denmark!

2004-06-08T12:21:00.000+02:00

As a Dane it's truely fun to see what names they've chosen for the characters - I've putten the names of the real royalties parenthesis.
Crown Prince of Denmark: Prince Edvard 'Eddie' Valdemar Dangaard (Frederik André Henrik Christian, Prince of Denmark)
Queen of Denmark: Queen Rosalind (Margrethe Alexandrine Þorhildur Ingrid, Her Majesty Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark)
King of Denmark: King Haraald (Denmark does not have a King, but the Queen does have a husbond: Henri Marie Jean André Duke de Laborde de Monpezat, Prince of Denmark)

Haraald and Rosalind...hahahaha...like that would ever happen!

2004-06-08T12:09:00.000+02:00

I don't believe it! In the middle of the huge Danish royal wedding (Crown Prince to civilian Tasmanian girl, who now is the Crown Prinsess of Denmark) this movie comes out.
"Paige, a pre-med student from Wisconsin, is on the fast track toward her lifelong goals. Edward, the Crown Prince of Denmark, is trying to escape a life he never chose. Needing an escape from his royal life, Edward treks to Wisconsin and poses as "Eddie", a college student. Now they've falling in love and Edward is in the line to become King. Paige has to choose between her two dreams - becoming a prinsess or the doctor she's always wanted to be." (quoted from the movie's site)
Why not both? Please hand me a bucket - I'm about to get seriously ill!

2004-06-01T13:26:00.000+02:00

Ok, acting out a game real-life in the real world has been seen before. Role-playing games were taken off the table through the game system LARP. Ludo has been acted out, chess, checkers etc.
And now...PAC-MAN!!!! These people have created a city kit, so everybody can play it. The whole idea in Pacmanhattan is based on mobil phones, since each player (Pac-man and ghosts) are controlled by controllers standing outside the playfield - 10 people in total.
I wonder how they manage to do the famous pieces of melody in the game...maybe the Pac-Man should take a huge 80'ies boom box on his shoulder? And I wonder how it feels to die (actually be eaten by a ghost) in a game like this?
- and who wouldn't like to be Mrs. Pac-Man?
- and how about this version of the Pac-Man game...couldn't that be taken into the streets (a park might be safer though)?
---
Thinking about watching the tape I recently got from Lisbeth - 4 hours of Danish Crown prince wedding!!!! That must be an afternoon well wasted :)

2004-05-29T01:28:00.000+02:00

So, the "avond vier daagse" is over. Four evenings where you walk a route of 5, 10 or 15 km. The first and last night they passed us - first night was rather harmless...but the last night!!! Man, with bands and samba dancers and... *moan* ...I took some pictures and suddenly realises how much I want a Canon Ixus 500 camera. Maybe I should wish for financial contributions for my up-coming birthday?

---

Tomorrow it's STRAATFESTIVAL again. The inner part of Leeuwarden is turned into a big weaved carpet of theater/music acts. I bet it's going to be quite something - just like last year. And I will bring my camera!

---

We got the ticket for Denmark from SAS now. We'll be leaving from Schiphol 21st June. Around €350 for the both of us. That's the same as if we took the train! The airplane prices certaintly dropped the last few years! I'm looking forward to be able to use only a few hours of transport instead of the usual 13 hours (by train). Germany might have a beautiful countryside, but when you pass it for the 12th time, it suddenly seem less breathtaking....if you know what I mean.
And I'm SO looking forward to see all my Danish friends again! *kiss*

2004-05-21T15:16:00.000+02:00

Just wanted to congratulate my good friend Rikke with her new (and second) auntship - I know how much she loves that first niece of hers, so that there now is a second will only improve their lives - AND Rikkes!
I'm posting this here, since I mysteriously can't comment at Rikkes blog.

2004-05-21T11:24:00.000+02:00

I got myself a new CD.
A while ago I looked through some of my old stuff I had dragged along from Copenhagen to here. Among that I found this weird cartoon book I bought in a bar a few years ago. A really cool little piece. Studying it a little further it turned out to be created by an artist collective called Twang. I wanted to found out more about this collective, so I checked out the internet and found that they had created this CD - Enado - a few years ago.
I finally got it - together with the 32 page inlay with more stories (one for each track). Twang is cool! The CD contains a mix of many styles from Electronica to hard rock...

Now Tobi Twang has make a new record under the name DJ Legba "dj legba - electronica compilation". I'm thinking about getting it. It even got a decent review...

---

Right now I'm in love with The Dandy Warhols. I knew I should have checked them out way earlier, but I never really came around to do it. So now I'm making amends by listening to a rotation of four of their five albums.

2004-05-21T10:46:00.000+02:00

OK, it seems that the next step on the reality ladder has been reached. In Singapore they have created the new "Make a baby" concept - a show called: Dr Love's Super Baby Making Show. 10 couples compeat in being the first to procreate.
The problems from Big Brother in making people have sex on tv (even though it happened in ao. The Netherlands and Denmark) seem to have been surpassed in this concept. The "Bio-communication" guru, Wei Shang Yu (www.meggpower.com) says that he doesn't think it will contain any pornography - "It's about conception, not about birth" he adds. Slightly conflicting statesments?
Oh, I forgot to says what the grand prize is: $100,000 AND a baby!

2004-05-11T09:10:00.000+02:00

For those who are intersted in the more lyric sides of the internet's functions. Blather is words. bunches of words, strewn about in a twisty tangly web of pontification, insight and nonsensical delight.
I found several quotes I could recognize from other media. F.ex. under "Lady" I found this piece from the movie "Almost Famous" where Penny Lane says to William when she finally reveals that her real name is Lady Goodman: ""marry someone grand...and that's why she named me Lady. Lady Goodman"

2004-05-10T14:37:00.000+02:00

R's birthday is done now. We had a flower power themed party called "Temple of Love" - complete with Ravi Shankar and Summer of Love music + a home-made curtain made of straws. Indian food was on the menu and I got some new recipes that will stay on my repertoire like potato-curry, Jamie Oliver curry and banana/chili-dip. Yum!
My milk allergi of course is totally out of control after an evening like this, but it was definately worth it.
Now it's back to the study books - I'm still struggling with the dutch language and a party like we had this saturday only spurs me to get it learned faster. It is hard for me to understand dutch when many speak at the same time, and even harder when I'm being tested in my language skills too ("do you know this or that expression?").

---

We bought a new lamp the other day which I simply couldn't resist buying when we saw it in the lamp shop downtown. It's made to look like a fly, and that is accomplished with a few materials of which the tea maker is the most prominent.
Ckeck it out here - it's created by Sigi Bussinger. Be sure to check out the love story (requires Flash)!

---

I got done with the newest addition to our PS2 collection Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II.
It's a very cool game with great graphics, humour, level design and environmental design. It also has a pretty steep learning curve, so it doesn't take more than one try or two before the options in the game becomes obvious. BUT...it has a re-playability around zero. It simply becomes boring to re-play with another character. It also lacks a better differentiation between the three different play modes (easy, normal, hard).
All in all: I loved it...until I wanted to play it again.

2004-04-22T12:01:00.000+02:00

Google did it again. Since it is the equinox of march today, it is also "earth day". I must admit I never heard about it, so Google did their usual job of reminding me. Just like last year at koniginnendag.

2004-04-21T13:41:00.000+02:00

Talked to a friend today on Messenger and she told me about this Freudian term which according to vocabula.com means: "the tendency to make bad puns or tell long, pointless stories, while being oneself inordinately entertained thereby".

I'm convinced - I'm Witzelsucht!!!

2004-04-20T19:58:00.000+02:00

Frank blogs this funny meme.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

Well, my case is quite unique, since I'm trying to translate parts of the manual for the new dishwasher. but here goes:
"Turbo drogen" (means Turbo dry)
Source: AEG Favorit 64810 Afwasautomaat. Gebruiksanwijzing.

The page consists of a table of the program description, so since it is written in short statements, the above must be the 5th. The four first statements are: "Warm voorspoelen. 70 degree Celius afwassen. 2 x koud spoelen. 1 x warm spoelen". I'm suddenly happy that i got the Turbo Dry instead!

It is also interesting to read this discussion about the origin of the meme. Especially when you tried to backtrack it yourself :)

2004-04-20T09:53:00.000+02:00

This AEG Favorit 64810 has been standing in our hallway for the last few weeks because we couldn't get an installer to get by and install it (they are apparently VERY busy around here), but we finally got it put in place this morning. GOOD! The only negative things is that there's no room for a dishwasher in the kitchen (even though the apartment is well-sized there's no even room for the fridge in the kitchen) - well, there kinda is...but then it would cost us over 200€ to get it installed because water and electricity have to be wired all around the kitchen....expensive. The solution was to install it in the bathroom, which is very close to the kitchen. Now it's standing there next to the washing machine and looks so brilliant! Wow!
I love my new dishwasher!

Now we just need to wire some electricity so it can start...

2004-04-19T15:18:00.000+02:00

Do you have great half-finished design ideas that you fell you're stuck with? Enter them at halfbakery.com and read the judgement.
My favorite must be: Real Gauges for Sims, where the idea is to make "physical gauges for simulated instruments. This would be like a box with a dialface that looks like a speedometer, that you set on your desk." Imagine a first person shooter game like the good ol' Wolfenstein/Doom - I would then LOVE to have a dummy head sitting on my desk, bleeding all over as I got more and more beaten up by the monster. Great, huh?

2004-04-19T11:43:00.000+02:00

Another friend of mine finally got her own blog. Rikke is (like me) looking for a ph.d. position. She's a very dear friend of mine, and we (of course) met in the party committee of ITU where we both put in a tremendous amount of work. Now we both moved on - so world(!), look out!

The "dutchman" she mentioned is me :)
We redecorated her living room, so it better integrates work, study, relaxing, tv watching, reading, etc. etc. I'm glad that the walls turned white, since I strongly believe that the more light you can let into a room, the better. As a combined goodbye (going to the NL) and thank you (for helping at her birthday), Rikke bought me a VERY nice dinner at Ganløse Kro. The ambience there is that of Denmark 50-100 years ago. The replica "almue" painting style in the restaurant room was really inspiring and gave a good basis for the "old school" Danish dinner they served.

R & I have also been busy redecorating here, so during easter a HUGE shelf system was drilled into the living room walls, so we now have an additional 10 m of book shelf (much needed), and still have room for phone, paintings, things, gadgets and my wooden building blocks (good for creative relaxation).

2004-04-15T12:12:00.000+02:00

The Mikado
Yesterday R and I went to see Gilbert & Sullivans "The Mikado" in the Harmonie Theatre here in Leeuwarden. It was a great night in the company of the Dutch National Travelling Opera. I especially loved the scenography for its boldly and humourous mix of japanese and british cultural symbols. F.ex. were the Japanese bows on the back of the "three little maids from school" replaced by schoolbooks stringed together on their back, and the fabric of many of the costumes was printed with british colors and/or clan patterns. Most funny were the two parts of the opera, where there are freedom for contemporary expressions: Ko-Ko's "I've got a little list of society offenders who might well be underground" and The Mikado's "A more humane Mikado never did in Japan exist". Both were re-written to suit the actualities of today where f.ex. both mass-destruction weapons, Bush and "his poodle" Tony Blair were mentioned together with pierced people and opera-goers who leave their mobiles on - all on the list of the High Lord Executioner.

And now we've found out that the Opera company will do Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" in May. Count me in!

2004-04-09T10:43:00.000+02:00

Ad 4: Lamb in Vega
I just found out that Lamb just played in Vega, Copenhagen. Damn, I would have loved to be there. Lamb has recently entered my life through the Soundtrack from Six Feet Under. I have bought three albums now and I simply adore the sound of Lamb.

Ad 5: Flooding the kitchen and tearing down a shelf
Wednesday I left the house With the tap on *argh*, so when I came back an hour later, the kitchen was totally flooded. Water everywhere. To add to that "accident" I had earlier unpacked my dinner plates and placed them on a kitchen shelf, which fell down during my absence, so the kitchen was one HUGE mess of water and glass shards. Not funny. The downstairs neighbour wasn't home that day...and we haven't heard from him...yet!

2004-04-09T10:38:00.000+02:00

I'm 88% compatible with Lisbeth

I'm an apparently intelligent, liberal, disgustingly generous, relatively well adjusted human being!
See how compatible you are with me!
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

2004-04-08T01:06:00.000+02:00

Ok! I know I haven't been much active lately...and thanks for reminding me!!! :)

I have for once made a list of things I want to blog:
1: Highlander
2: Second part of dutch paper system
3: Kraftwerk
4: Lamb in Vega
5: Flooding the kitchen and tearing down a shelf

Ad 1 Highlander
I just saw "Highlander" on Veronica
- it was my first time! (YES I know....I'm from 1969, it should be one of my favorites...together with Rocky III??)
. I was baffled about several things: 1) the VERY different way of seeing women. 2) The very different way of seeing gay people (actually it's one of the first movies where the hero "kinda" DEFENDS being gay, but still too early to be depeicting real gayness in a positive way.....I think!) 3) BAAAD Special effects - at least for be seen today. 4) Character selection...ol. this is a bit complicated: Christophe Lambert is French playing a Scottish guy while Sean Connery is Scottish playing an "Egyptian guy who's been serving the Spanish" (please correct if I'm wrong, since I didn't catch some part of the movies because I found my Danish Christmas Brews in the fridge at the same time)

Ad 2 Second part of dutch paper system
I got to do the second roll of the administration hell here. If you think you can run by the tax office to get a SOFI-number (social-financial number) at 12.40 and still think you can make it to the foreign police at 14.00 then re-think! It is not possible. Well, I did wait together with 7 other people...(too me - as a Dane - that is slooooow). At least everything is ok now. I got my stamp and I got everything done....except ONE thing!!! And this is pissing me off: A week ago I went to the town hall to register myself because that is required to get a bank account. I finally got registered (after being send out twice because of things/papers that wasn't in order - they could at least have told me about ALL papers I needed the first time, right?) but that is A WEEK AGO now...is this the way I should understand the system here? I hope not...but I will head to the town hall tomorrow after the mail man has past by...

Ad 3: Kraftwerk
I got a Kraftwerk record from a dear friend yesterday. I listened to the first three numbers and they were GREAT!!! Thanks, Anders! I love you!

Ad 4: Lamb in Vega + Ad 5: Flooding the kitchen and tearing down a shelf
That has to wait until tomorrow. Sorry...

2004-03-30T20:44:00.000+02:00

I finally arrived and everything is now chaos of course. Moving boxes everywhere and unpacking in the middle of the funeral of the Queen mother that sadly passed away last week. Today was spent in all the different administration offices that possibly exist - with all the complications that it involves. I got the big sticker in my pasport (big thing) and my social number (necessary to go any further around here) that I need for my bank account (which proves to be the most difficult thing to aqquire. More about that later. For now I'm here! FINALLY!

2004-03-17T10:30:00.000+01:00

Ready to move to The Netherlands. Two days left - everything is chaos, but I will hopefully get it done by friday. Stress stress stress!

2004-03-12T11:44:00.000+01:00

Well well, once again a Danish tv program deals with the concept of weblogs. This time (as all the other time) with an angle that tells us the fundamentals. Maybe it's about time to move on to f. ex. talk about how weblogs are used. To just present them as online diaries is maybe a bit poor.
Hmmm....but I think those who participated (Randi Lundberg, Jens Winther, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Jesper Balslev, Lisbeth Klastrup) made it through the screen. It became one of the better presentations of weblogs seen on Danish tv. I was in the middle of packing boxes for moving - and that involved taking a lot down from the attick...which contained tons of dust....which trigged my allergy. So I must admit that it wasn't much of the program that stuck to the inside of my cranial tissue.
But I DID notice that Lisbeth had cool hair!

All following links to Danish webpages (consider yourself warned!)
Link to the tv program 16½:
http://16enhalv.tv2.dk/articles/weblogs.php
Link to Lisbeth Klastrup's blog:
www.klastrup.dk
Link to Jens Winther's blog:
www.bound.dk
Link to Randi Lundberg's blog:
www.randises.dk/
Link to Poul Nyrup Ramsussen's blog:
www.nyrup.dk/weblog/weblog.htm
Link to Jesper Balslev's blog:
www.webmercial.dk/

2004-03-09T19:58:00.000+01:00

Talking about communication
Together with a friend I went to Field's in Copenhagen - today is the day it opened *gasp*
We were looking for some cool shirts when we saw this shirt made of 22% polyesther and 78% molan..."What is molan" I asked a salesperson, who went off to check with a collegue. He came back with the answer: "It's how it is woven"...!
"So...", I said. "It's made from 22% polyesther and 78% weave?". "Yes!", was the answer....and then - after a short break he said: "Eeehm...oh yes....let me go check again".
He went off again and left me to look a bit more around. I then found a similar shirt of the same brand made of the same fabric. It said 22% polyesther and 78% viscose. "Aha!" I thought and looked for the salesperson so I could tell him my discovery. I found him and overheard what the one salesperson said to the other: "Just tell him that it is some sort of cotton".
I left shortly after that episode - and I doubt I will enter this shop again.

Link to Field's: http://www.fields.dk

2004-03-05T10:53:00.000+01:00

I find blogs in foreign languages (for me that is non-English, non-Danish and some more) fascinating. It's interesting that even though I can't read it, I often know what is being said. Another good example of non-verbal communication for my work.

Link to blog in Italian:
http://blogs.it/0100206/categories/guerra/
Link to blogs in Persian:
http://bestwebsite.persianblog.com/
http://saraghazerooyesh.persianblog.com/
Link to blogs in German:
http://www.themenmixer.de/
http://andachten.twoday.net/
Link to blog in Tamil (I think):
http://peyarili.blogdrive.com/
Link to blog in Dutch:
http://www.ikzalwelgekzijn.nl/ikzalwelgekzijn/blog/
Link to blog in Japanese:
http://lowlife.jp/mura-ko/weblog/
http://masato.air-nifty.com/masato/
Link to blog in French:
http://1missdu62.joueb.com/
Link to blog in Swedish:
http://www.karlavagnen.nu/bikupan/
Link to blog in Spanish:
http://sudorfrio.blogspot.com/
Link to blog in Dutch:
http://www.ikzalwelgekzijn.nl/ikzalwelgekzijn/blog/
Link to blog in Malaysian:
http://suriram.blogspot.com/
Link to blog in Korean:
http://gopkorea.blogs.com/shingiilbo/
Link to blog in Chinese:
http://student.blogger.cn/saki/
Link to blog in Icelandic:
http://ritstjorinn.blogspot.com/

I reserve the right to be ignorant of the above weblogs, so the views reflected in them will not necessary be coherent with my own.

2004-03-05T10:27:00.000+01:00

At http://www.msn.dk/mobil/sms/sms_flirt/ SMS A/S offers a SMS service for those who want to "receive a flirt":

Personen der inviterer dig, er af det modsatte køn, og aldrig ældre eller yngre end 5 år i forhold til din egen alder!
(Translation: The person inviting you is of the opposite sex and never older or younger than 5 years related to your own age!)

Ok, two things annoys me: the sex and age disicrimination, so I mailed the support (something I normally never do) to ask why it is not possible to get a flirt from a person of the same sex. I could of course also have asked about the age issue, but chose to keep it simple.
Let's see what they say.

Link to Flirt SMS:
http://www.msn.dk/mobil/sms/sms_flirt/

2004-03-03T17:06:00.000+01:00

Step no. 1
Aaawwww...working out what you want to do with your life can be SO hard!
I'm about to move to The Netherlands to live with Richard, and then I would like to find a ph.d. position there. I thought...
Then I started to think about the amount of time and effort I need to put into a project like that - I mean, I have been studying at three faculties at two universities since 1991, where I got accepted at Biochemistry at Copenhagen University (I have a Bachelor degree in Art History from Cph. Uni. and a Master degree in Information Technology from IT Uni., Cph.). I have been thinking what to do for several months now and have several options.
But everything is also depending on Richard and his job opportunities. In order for me to pursue the idea of getting a ph.d. position we need to move, since there are no universities in Friesland. But then Richard have to change job too, and in The Netherlands you are often subjected to a test period of one or two months where you can get sacked or you can quit from one day to the other. Since we also want to buy an apartment and therefore need to take a loan in the bank, we are very dependent of an income.
So...everything simply have to fall in place at the same time. *sigh*
But I think that I for a while would like to get an "ordinary" job, where I can go home at 17.00 and simple BE OFF! That is something I haven't tried since 1990 where I worked full time for 16 months until I started at the university.
What to do? What to do? I don't know and it tears me apart some days. I HATE not knowing what I am doing and where I am in a month or two! But maybe I should take one step of a time - moving would then be step no. one.

2004-02-29T14:03:00.000+01:00

I'm going nutz these days! Since four days ago I have lost all connection to half the internet and I have no idea why...
Sites I use and read a lot can't be connected to - examples are: google.com, fragment.nl, blogspot.com (so I'm "blind-posting") but also sited I surf to are suddenly outside my reach. Maybe it's "healthy", since I now have found out how dependent I am on the internet...not addicted; just dependent! :)

---

I found a very found site proving that David Hasselhoff is anti-christ.
For example: The Facts First, the obvious. Add a little beard and a couple of horns -- David Hasselhoff looks like the Devil, doesn't he? And the letters in his name can be rearranged to spell
fad of devil's hash.
What does this mean? Well, Baywatch is David's fad. David is the devil. The Hash is what makes Knight Rider popular in Amsterdam.
(I was actually hoping to make the letters in his name spell out he is of the devil, which would be possible if his middle name was "Ethesis," which it might be. I'm sure his publicist would hide such a middle name if it were true.)

Link to David Hasselhoff is the AntiChrist (check out their URL-icon):
http://www.esquilax.com/baywatch/index.shtml

2004-02-24T12:06:00.000+01:00

mar_co is looking for a relationship.
Please join making him visible to all the women in the world by posting his link on your blog. Let's see if the medium can be used in this way as well :)

Link to mar_co (Männlich! Ledig! sucht ....):
http://marco.twoday.net/

2004-02-24T10:06:00.000+01:00

Wow - it is snowing outside!

2004-02-24T09:49:00.000+01:00

As I was reading a Danish game review magazine, I noticed (again) that even Danish reviewers use the word "game" as a verb. In Danish we use the two words "at spille" (to game) and "at lege" (to play) in almost the same manner as in the English language.
"To game" has changed popularity through the last five years to reach a level where it describes all the forms of play that is related to the new media and that is less free than "free play" as it happens in f. ex. the school yard.
In addition to this change, the Danish language has incorporated (on certain social and age levels) the word "to game" (Danish: at game) as a third form (perhaps) to help differentiate between playing (at spille) a PC game and gaming (at game) a console game.
It's interesting how the language change according to need and use, and I will try to follow this development in the future - even though I'm moving to The Netherlands in less than four weeks.

2004-02-23T22:33:00.000+01:00

I have finally published my thesis.

Link to Yuk I just kissed a frog: Supported Non-Verbal Communication in EverQuest:
http://www.itu.dk/people/nordkvist/thesis_nordkvist.pdf

2004-02-23T21:13:00.000+01:00

Nick Yee finished the next phase in his study of MMORPG's (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Game). He has - as usual - prepared the survey for the next round. Participate if you play MMORPGs.

Link to The Daedalus Project:
http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/
Link to the survey for the next phase:
http://www.nickyee.com/mmorpg/

2004-02-23T19:46:00.000+01:00

I added a comments section. But I can see that I have lost many readers from the time where I was most busy, so maybe this feature won't be used that much. Feel free to use it - I will read them and reply!

I chose HaloScan, because I was really simple to install - and I'm no pro when it comes to "installing wizardry".

Link to HaloScan:
http://www.haloscan.com

2004-02-22T18:44:00.000+01:00

Another way to advertise for yourself:

Link to heartmaker:
http://www.acme.com/heartmaker/

2004-02-19T23:47:00.000+01:00

Even though I am a little late, I want to congratulate my name brother with his son, Pojke Nordkvist, who was born last September.
I must admit that I now and then check for the Nordkvist's who get online. :)

2004-02-17T20:27:00.000+01:00

I just got home from watching The Last Samurai with my family.
Hmmm - it was entertainment with Tom Cruise at it's peak. Not much else. A few VERY beautiful shots (the door shots where Algren is having abstinenses). A lot of sentimentalism. Well engineered music to guide the viewers sympathy in the grand battle scenes. Good old classic Hollywood.
And it seems like slow motion is back - after tons of movies using bullet time etc.
I liked it for entertainment, but I don't think I will be watching it for a second time.

Apart from all this the overall theme in the movie made me think apart something Huizinga wrote in his Homo Ludens: "Juist echter de moderne oorlog heeft schijnbaar elke annraking met het spel verloren" (But exactly the modern war seems to have lost any touch with the game).

2004-02-13T10:12:00.000+01:00

DARN!!!! After the fusion of Air France and KLM airplane companies they have announced that the route between Rotterdam and Copenhagen will be re-opened. They will offer tickets for ~300DKR = ~40€ = ~60$.
Typically - since I have decided to move to The Netherlands for good.

---

I have decided to give up my piano *sniff*. It's too heavy to move and to big for the place where we live in Leeuwarden, so it will be shipped off to my uncle. I hope they will be as happy about the piano as I have been. *sniff*

2004-02-09T12:01:00.000+01:00

I love music in (almost) any form, and I have just made a HUGE discovery!
At DaCapo Records they created a CD with remixes of the first danish electronic work "Syv cirkler" (Seven Circles) by Else-Marie Pade from 1958. They even uploaded the compositions (including the original one), so we all can enjoy the early work and the contemporary interpretations. This is definately worth listening to.

Link to SignalDigital (click on "Afspil Soundtrack"):
http://www.signaldigital.dk/

2004-02-08T16:18:00.000+01:00

Through "Wandering Thru Adolescentville" I finally got to know my personal Shakespearian Tragic Flaw:

To be, or not to be?

What is Your Shakespearian Tragic Flaw?
brought to you by Quizilla

Is it right? Well, partly - but only the last bit ;P

Link to "What is Your Shakespearian Tragic Flaw":
http://quizilla.com/users/PlaidKing/quizzes/What%20is%20Your%20Shakespearian%20Tragic%20Flaw%3F/
Link to "Walking Thru Adolescentville":
http://shadesofshame.blogspot.com/

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I know why blogging hasn't been so interesting the last months. Beside writing my thesis - which makes you go into blog hibernation - I have been using tons of different computers. Borrowed from school, friends, room mate etc. and I'm not that good at working on computers that I'm not used to. Just writing my thesis required three computers, and every shift involved at least a week of down time. "Come on" you might think - and yes, I think so too...but that's how I am...even if I like it myself or not.
- it's just too bad!

2004-02-07T13:12:00.000+01:00

OK - I survived. I even got a high grade.
But did I expect that? Nooooo....:)
But I'm glad everything turned out so well despite the usual problems:
1) The laptop I burrowed from school crashed the night before and deleted the file with my defense. So I had to rewrite it - argh!
2) The day after - at the examination - the same laptop kep making RealPlayer crash, so I only could show 2 of 4 movies of game sessions.
3) The second laptop was hooked up to EverQuest, who conviniently chose THAT day to patch the game - so it was offline!