Archive for November, 2004

the struggle for simplicity

November 26th, 2004

Note: I suppose it's about weekly that I feel I'm on the verge of an epiphany and this week is no exception. Here's some more alleged wisdom coming your way.

It dawned on me just now that what everyone wants is for life to be simple. I think all relationships that fail do so because things became or always were too complicated. And isn't that how it goes, when you meet someone and you hit it off, there is something unique about that situation, you're on the same wavelength, you're getting each other, that's simplicity at play.

But then time passes, new things come up and just maybe do you not always see eye to eye. Behavior is not understood, "I can't believe he did that", things are misinterpreted, signals are misunderstood, it gets too complicated. So you wanna straighten it out, get the cards on the table, map out the problem areas and make sure you get what's at stake. You think once you know what the problems are, you can fix them. Maybe so but sometimes you never get there, things are too complicated to be mapped out. The human mind is very complicated, especially so compared to the mind's comparatively modest ability to process information. Things have to be simple, otherwise the mind does not follow. And if there are too many complications, I just want to cut through it and start over. Sometimes there is no way to "talk it through" and map it out because there was never enough understanding to unite on the differences no matter the effort applied. One gets to a point where no matter what you know the person will never understand what you're saying. And probably vice versa, so what's the point of living like this? It's more harm than good.

Such is life..

Ps. Norway's leading paper (a tabloid) runs a story on how IE is insecure (big news :rolleyes: ). What they neglect to mention is any alternative browser. There is a reference in the article to a past story about computer security, where they among a plethora of references mention Opera (and predictably mention that it's Norwegian). But no mention of the leading browser these days or any mention of Mozilla whatsoever. Yet again, brilliant work, VG.. :wallbang:

futsal is fun!

November 25th, 2004

The first time I saw it was a couple of years ago on Eurosport, they were showing the matches from the Euro tournament at the time (Forza Azzurri!) and a friend of mine was really into it so I started watching some too. Still, it seemed too different from the real thing to really be enjoyable.

But now the spirit has been rekindled, I was watching Iraq-Cuba from the ongoing World Cup in Taipei (that's Taiwan, kids) and I realized it's actually quite fun to watch. Unlike soccer, the end to end action is a lot more frequent and there aren't many long stops for free kicks and fouls. The game is still a lot different, but it's more exciting too.

I recall playing indoor, which I never liked. Too much friction off the floor, ball was uncomfortable on the parquet etc. But for watching it's nice..

jævlig bra motivasjonsemail!

November 22nd, 2004

Disclaimer: For those of you bilingually impaired, I guarantee this text is actually quite brilliant. But translating would distort the tone and language, so I'm not going to. :P

Fikk denne i posten i dag, var så bra at jeg bare måtte ha den med her! TIHLDE er forøvrig en linjeforening på HiST..

TIHLDE HAR NAKNE DAMER!!!

Men, og det er alltid et men! For at vi skal få de til å komme til dere må dere alle hjelpe oss litt. Tihlde har nå satt ut et par tomme bruskasser rundt omkring på bygget. Disse står der for at dere skal få en anledning til å putte flaskene deres i disse kassene, fremfor å la de stå på pulter rundt omkring eller kaste dem i søpla. Dealen er som følger...

1) Panten for de flaskene som kommer inn fra kassene er øremerkede penger til sosialen. De pengene skal brukes til en ting, og bare en ting: På slutten av vårsemesteret samler vi alle pengene, stikker ned på Dreams og leier STRIPPERE!!! Så jo flere av dere som klarer å dra den late ræva si bort til kassene og legge fra seg flaskene sine der istedenfor å kaste de gjennom hele rommet og bomme på søppelkassa, jo flere strippere og bedre show får vi råd til. Og showet! Det blir selvfølgelig for dere!

2) De flaskene som havner utenfor kassene tilhører vaskedamene. Man kan si mye pent om vaskedamene våre og de holder det rent og pent rundt oss, men har du lyst til å se de strippe?

Enn så lenge er det begrenset hvor mange kasser som er satt ut, av den enkle grunn at vi ikke har flere kasser. Men fortvil ikke, det kommer flere. Det var flere kasser, men på mystisk vis begynte de å forsvinne. Vi kommer derfor til å bytte ut de bruskassene som står rundt omkring med kjedelige pappesker etter hvert, men inntil da, vær så snill! Du får ikke så jævlig mye igjen for å pante en stakkars bruskasse, men vi taper masse på at vaskedamene får alle flaskene som ikke havner i den bruskassa som ikke er der!

For øvrig så er det jo sånn at Tihlde er der for sine medlemmer og man skal nyte godt av å være medlem. Det vil derfor være en stor fordel for deg dersom du er medlem når du står der i køen utenfor og har buksa full av kontanter, klare til å putte de i nærmeste bh. Når du kommer til døra vil vi nemlig nappe mindre penger ut av lanken til de som klarer å vise frem medlemskort, enn fra de som ikke klarer det.

Er du ikke medlem ennå så kan vi informere om at du ikke trenger å banke opp noen for å få tak i medlemskortet deres riktig ennå. TIHLDE skal nemlig ha en NY INNMELDINGSFEST i januar, så alle som ikke kunne komme i høst får en ny sjanse til å skaffe seg sitt eget.

Tihlde er heller ikke snauere enn at de lar du, deg og dine skolevenner velge hvilke smekre babes som skal kle av seg i deres åsyn. Når tiden nærmer seg vil det bli lagt ut en poll på www.tihlde.org <http://www.tihlde.org/> hvor dere kan stemme på deres favoritt. Hvis du har lyst til å smugtitte alt
nå kan du finne utvalget her <http://www.dreams.no/gallery.htm>

Kos dere!

depressing picture of the day

November 20th, 2004

Waking up, the first thing I see is the amount on snow on the balcony railing.. :(

snow
  • can't play soccer, pitch covered in snow :lazy:
  • walking is about 2/3 normal speed thanks to the lameass friction of snow :rolleyes:
  • biking is out, lock frozen, no friction, snow way too soft :wallbang:
  • driving is stoopid, snow way too soft and slippery :mad:
  • can't wait till my driving exam next week, no doubt on snowey/icey roads :wth:

And the dumbass award of the day goes to yours truly for trying to debug a dvd drive that wouldn't burn dvd-rw media for 2 hours only to realize that it's a dvd+rw drive that only accepts dvd+rw media... :wallbang:

introducing people

November 16th, 2004

Disclaimer: First off I gotta say I know this applies to American/English culture but I don't know what the equivalent is elsewhere.

You've seen the introduction, you know it so well. It happens all the time, two people are walking down the street, they bump into someone one of them knows.
"Karen, this is Suzie"
"Suzie, this is Karen"
Is it just me or is there something funny about the sequence? Watch it in slow motion.
"Karen, hello, are you paying attention? Meet my friend Suzie."
"Hey, earth to Suzie. Can you please stop day dreaming for one goddamn minute? I'd like to introduce you to my friend Karen."

Clearer now? Why on earth would you need to call out the people's names when making introductions? There are only 3 people involved, the person making the introduction is obviously not talking about themself so the only possibility the two people have when they hear a name that isn't their own is that the name belongs to the other person. Now, how much focus and vigilance really is required to understand this turn of events? Is it really that difficult to follow this sequence below?
(turns to Karen) "This is Suzie"
(turns to Suzie) "This is Karen"
Or better yet..
(turns to Karen, gestures at Suzie) "Suzie"
(turns to Suzie, gestures at Karen) "Karen"

Less is more.