Tuscany
A week holiday in a medieval Italian village - a white wine every evening, sitting on the edge of a private pool - skinny dipping in ice cold water - insane curly roads and crazy u-turns - driving 15 miles to find a decent shop - horrible Italian restaurants and unfriendly shopkeepers - an official wine tasting in a medieval village.
These are some of our impressions during our visit to Tuscany in Italy. We didn't had lots of luck with the weather or the food (anyone praising the italian kitchen is either romantisizing it, or has never eaten there), but that couldn't spoil too much of our holiday. Check out some of our pictures.
These are some of our impressions during our visit to Tuscany in Italy. We didn't had lots of luck with the weather or the food (anyone praising the italian kitchen is either romantisizing it, or has never eaten there), but that couldn't spoil too much of our holiday. Check out some of our pictures.
Geek with guns
EMC World 2008 has ended; great event, lots of interesting stuff in the domain of storage and backup. Data deduplication certainly is a hot item in backup apparently, funny that we were actually looking into this area before even knowing of data dedup in VTLs. Interesting to see how inband dedup (like Avamar), outband (in VTLs) and the dedup technology in the upcoming TSM 6.1 will work together (or not at all ;)
I survived the last couple of nights mainly on Johnny Walker Black Label. Johnny Walker has always been one of my favorite blends, but the black one (12 yo) I had yet to taste. I tasted spicy heat and sweetly malty, creamy vanilla, and a very very small amount of peat.
Time to leave Vegas, but first why not stay a day longer and have some more fun in Sin City ? The US is the land of milk, honey and lots of guns, so we decided to go for some target shooting at the Gun Shop. I chose a shooting session with two of the most renowned automatic rifles, the AK-47 and the Uzi 9mm.
The AK-47 is better know as Kalashnikov, is a true legendary weapon, known for its extreme ruggedness, simplicity of operation and maintenance, and unsurpassed reliability even in worst conditions possible. It is used not only as a military weapon, but also as a platform for numerous sporting civilian rifles and shotguns. The gun, which is way more lighter and slimmer than I expected, is fed from 30 rounds, stamped steel magazines of heavy, but robust design. Shooting the AK felt very light, and the gun almost has little or no backdraft. Very sensitive trigger too, it's no wonder lots of accidents happen with this baby.
The Uzi 9mm is a much smaller gun, with smaller bullets too. The UZI submachine gun was developed in Israel by designer Uziel Gal in around 1949. UZI had been adopted by police and military of more than 90 countries, including Israel, Germany, Belgium. It was also produced under license in Belgium by FN Herstal; more compact versions, Mini and Micro UZI, which were developed in the early eighties, and are adopted by many police forces around the world. The Uzi has the same shooting experience as the AK, though the trigger is less sensitive. Bullets from an Uzi leave larger bullet holes too : whereas the AK left nice round holes, this one almost shreds the target paper.
Shooting these arms subdues the gunman literally with a rain of bullet shells. These empty shells fly all around, are burning hot, and leave an impressive burn mark whenever they hit a naked arm. Lets just say I have a nice souvenir from this experience ;)
I survived the last couple of nights mainly on Johnny Walker Black Label. Johnny Walker has always been one of my favorite blends, but the black one (12 yo) I had yet to taste. I tasted spicy heat and sweetly malty, creamy vanilla, and a very very small amount of peat.
Time to leave Vegas, but first why not stay a day longer and have some more fun in Sin City ? The US is the land of milk, honey and lots of guns, so we decided to go for some target shooting at the Gun Shop. I chose a shooting session with two of the most renowned automatic rifles, the AK-47 and the Uzi 9mm.
The AK-47 is better know as Kalashnikov, is a true legendary weapon, known for its extreme ruggedness, simplicity of operation and maintenance, and unsurpassed reliability even in worst conditions possible. It is used not only as a military weapon, but also as a platform for numerous sporting civilian rifles and shotguns. The gun, which is way more lighter and slimmer than I expected, is fed from 30 rounds, stamped steel magazines of heavy, but robust design. Shooting the AK felt very light, and the gun almost has little or no backdraft. Very sensitive trigger too, it's no wonder lots of accidents happen with this baby.
The Uzi 9mm is a much smaller gun, with smaller bullets too. The UZI submachine gun was developed in Israel by designer Uziel Gal in around 1949. UZI had been adopted by police and military of more than 90 countries, including Israel, Germany, Belgium. It was also produced under license in Belgium by FN Herstal; more compact versions, Mini and Micro UZI, which were developed in the early eighties, and are adopted by many police forces around the world. The Uzi has the same shooting experience as the AK, though the trigger is less sensitive. Bullets from an Uzi leave larger bullet holes too : whereas the AK left nice round holes, this one almost shreds the target paper.
Shooting these arms subdues the gunman literally with a rain of bullet shells. These empty shells fly all around, are burning hot, and leave an impressive burn mark whenever they hit a naked arm. Lets just say I have a nice souvenir from this experience ;)
EMC World 2008, Las Vegas
How big is your electronic footprint ? We're all producing electronic material at an astonishing rate : pictures, e-mail, work documents. And all that stuff has to be stored somewhere. Luckily, storage devices are getting bigger and cheaper every year : I just bought a 8GB memory stick for under 40$. Storage is expanding at an incredible rate : the megapixel count of digital cameras keeps expanding every year, more and more people are taking more and more pictures, and video content is just starting to boom. I'm not yet even talking about high-definition material, only a small part of the early adopters is starting to use this, and probably only partially.
Storage is an incredibly intriguing area to work in. That's why I'm visiting EMC world right now, held in Las Vegas. EMC World is a yearly event by EMC for technical people, digging in the storage areas EMC is working on. EMC World is big, even for American standards. The current head count is over 9300 visitors, and that's not counting the people organising this event (catering, security, ...). The Mandalay Bay hotel and convention center is equally sized, getting from one convention room to another can be quite a walk. I received a pedometer which counted an astonishing 7.4km for the first convention day only !
Las Vegas itself isn't quite my cup of tea : last year I already wrote about the plastic fake environment, but luckily the Luxor hotel is rather modest in this area. It featured a sushi bar, which was my first sushi experience, and I must say I like it. Unfortunately, they didn't offer Japanese whisky, so I had to content myself with a taste of a shot of Jim Beam American whisky. One glass is rather insufficient to offer a decent review, but I found Jim Beam rahter sweet, and begging to be mixed with coke. I must say whisky and sushi make a very good combination.
Time to head off for the second EMC World day, there's lot's of stuff to explore...
Storage is an incredibly intriguing area to work in. That's why I'm visiting EMC world right now, held in Las Vegas. EMC World is a yearly event by EMC for technical people, digging in the storage areas EMC is working on. EMC World is big, even for American standards. The current head count is over 9300 visitors, and that's not counting the people organising this event (catering, security, ...). The Mandalay Bay hotel and convention center is equally sized, getting from one convention room to another can be quite a walk. I received a pedometer which counted an astonishing 7.4km for the first convention day only !
Las Vegas itself isn't quite my cup of tea : last year I already wrote about the plastic fake environment, but luckily the Luxor hotel is rather modest in this area. It featured a sushi bar, which was my first sushi experience, and I must say I like it. Unfortunately, they didn't offer Japanese whisky, so I had to content myself with a taste of a shot of Jim Beam American whisky. One glass is rather insufficient to offer a decent review, but I found Jim Beam rahter sweet, and begging to be mixed with coke. I must say whisky and sushi make a very good combination.
Time to head off for the second EMC World day, there's lot's of stuff to explore...
The evolution of mobile phones
e2save features a nice flash slideshow of the evolution of mobile phones in the last 20 years, and provides a sneak peek into the future.
DeliciousButtons for Firefox3
Time to rejoice for all Firefox3 beta users (which means 99% of all Hardy users) : Delicious Buttons is available for Firefox3, albeit in beta form.
Great, I missed *alot* this since the Hardy dist-upgrade. Now if only Tabkit...
Great, I missed *alot* this since the Hardy dist-upgrade. Now if only Tabkit...
Radio Scorpio start benefietactie
Radio Scorpio 106 FM, 's lands oudste vrije radio, lanceert in de maanden mei en juni een grootscheepse benefietactie. De bedoeling is om de alternatieve zender, die uitsluitend op vrijwilligers werkt en geen inkomsten haalt uit reclame, een structurele financiële injectie te geven. Twee verhuizingen in de recente geschiedenis van Scorpio zorgden immers voor een zware financiële aderlating.
De vzw acht de tijd rijp om de last uit het verleden definitief af te schudden, zodat ze de nodige investeringen kan doen om aan nieuwe behoeften van haar luisteraars te voldoen. Een prioritair project is internetradio; de vraag om Scorpio te ontvangen strekt zich immers ver buiten de Leuvense regio uit.
Verschillende evenementen worden georganiseerd om geld in het laatje te brengen. Scorpio draait in de eerste plaats om (alternatieve) muziek, wat zich uit in verschillende fuiven en benefietoptredens ten voordele van Scorpio. Maar er is meer. Op de symbolische datum 10/6 zijn alle sympathisanten van de welbekende frequentie 106 FM welkom op het Scorpio-buffet in restaurant Rossi in Leuven, waarvan de opbrengst integraal naar Scorpio gaat. Op de Scorpio-veiling worden verschillende objecten ten voordele van Scorpio te koop aangeboden op ebay. Opmerkelijk is ook dat de zender een aantal uren radio veilt: de vier hoogste bieders zullen in de maand juni elk een uur naar believen radio kunnen maken op 106 FM. En tot slot houdt Radio Scorpio een eigenzinnige Scorpio-tombola; de prijsuitreiking is voorzien op het Scorpio-labo.
Wie Scorpio zonder meer financieel wil steunen kan een overschrijving doen op 001-0793790-18 met vermelding 'Benefiet'. Vanaf dertig euro krijgen de schenkers een fiscaal attest; gulle schenkers krijgen vanaf honderd euro een Scorpio-T-shirt cadeau.
De vzw acht de tijd rijp om de last uit het verleden definitief af te schudden, zodat ze de nodige investeringen kan doen om aan nieuwe behoeften van haar luisteraars te voldoen. Een prioritair project is internetradio; de vraag om Scorpio te ontvangen strekt zich immers ver buiten de Leuvense regio uit.
Verschillende evenementen worden georganiseerd om geld in het laatje te brengen. Scorpio draait in de eerste plaats om (alternatieve) muziek, wat zich uit in verschillende fuiven en benefietoptredens ten voordele van Scorpio. Maar er is meer. Op de symbolische datum 10/6 zijn alle sympathisanten van de welbekende frequentie 106 FM welkom op het Scorpio-buffet in restaurant Rossi in Leuven, waarvan de opbrengst integraal naar Scorpio gaat. Op de Scorpio-veiling worden verschillende objecten ten voordele van Scorpio te koop aangeboden op ebay. Opmerkelijk is ook dat de zender een aantal uren radio veilt: de vier hoogste bieders zullen in de maand juni elk een uur naar believen radio kunnen maken op 106 FM. En tot slot houdt Radio Scorpio een eigenzinnige Scorpio-tombola; de prijsuitreiking is voorzien op het Scorpio-labo.
Wie Scorpio zonder meer financieel wil steunen kan een overschrijving doen op 001-0793790-18 met vermelding 'Benefiet'. Vanaf dertig euro krijgen de schenkers een fiscaal attest; gulle schenkers krijgen vanaf honderd euro een Scorpio-T-shirt cadeau.
Wolfsheim splits
Man, this must be one of the saddest news items I've ever heard :
"After the announcement of Peter Heppner releasing a solo album, Wolfsheim's Markus Reinhardt has now officially announced that they will split up. He will continue alone with a new singer. The silence since their 2003 release Casting Shadows can be found in a difference in vision on the future of Wolfsheim."
'Casting Shadows' is my all-time favorite album. A real bummer we won't see any more goodies like this one...
"After the announcement of Peter Heppner releasing a solo album, Wolfsheim's Markus Reinhardt has now officially announced that they will split up. He will continue alone with a new singer. The silence since their 2003 release Casting Shadows can be found in a difference in vision on the future of Wolfsheim."
'Casting Shadows' is my all-time favorite album. A real bummer we won't see any more goodies like this one...
Wii Fit
Ik heb mijn vrouwelijke kant weer eens laten gelden : blijkbaar is dat de doelgroep voor de Wii Fit. De Wii vond ik zo'n fun-factor hebben, dat ik het nieuwste Wii gadget dan maar ook gekocht heb. De Wii Fit is een hypermoderne weegschaal (sorry : Balance Board) die je kan aansturen door je gewicht erop te verplaatsen.
De software begint met het opmeten van je gewicht & BMI. Daarna heb je de keuze tussen 4 hoofdcategoriën van spellen : Yoga, Power training, aerobic- en evenwichtsoefeningen. De laatste 2 categoriën lijken wat op wat je op Wii Sports training terugvindt. Yoga en Powertraining zijn grafisch uitermate triestig. Wel grappig is dat het Balance Board 'auw' roept iedere keer je erop stapt :) De tijd die je spendeert aan de verschillende oefeningen wordt netjes bijgehouden, en naarmate je meer tijd spendeert, krijg je toegang tot meer soorten spellen. De piggybank, die deze opgespaarde tijd symboliseert, is wel nogal onnozel, en mocht voor mijn part gerust ontbreken.
De spellen die bij de Wii Fit geleverd zijn, vallen ergens tussen Wii Play en Wii Sports. De graphics zijn matig, ongeveer vergelijkbaar met Wii Play, maar met een grotere fun factor dan dit laatste. Door het ontbreken van de competiviteit die je bij Wii Sports wel hebt, is het spel iets minder verslavend.
De software begint met het opmeten van je gewicht & BMI. Daarna heb je de keuze tussen 4 hoofdcategoriën van spellen : Yoga, Power training, aerobic- en evenwichtsoefeningen. De laatste 2 categoriën lijken wat op wat je op Wii Sports training terugvindt. Yoga en Powertraining zijn grafisch uitermate triestig. Wel grappig is dat het Balance Board 'auw' roept iedere keer je erop stapt :) De tijd die je spendeert aan de verschillende oefeningen wordt netjes bijgehouden, en naarmate je meer tijd spendeert, krijg je toegang tot meer soorten spellen. De piggybank, die deze opgespaarde tijd symboliseert, is wel nogal onnozel, en mocht voor mijn part gerust ontbreken.
De spellen die bij de Wii Fit geleverd zijn, vallen ergens tussen Wii Play en Wii Sports. De graphics zijn matig, ongeveer vergelijkbaar met Wii Play, maar met een grotere fun factor dan dit laatste. Door het ontbreken van de competiviteit die je bij Wii Sports wel hebt, is het spel iets minder verslavend.
Hardy
I just upgraded to Hardy, the new Ubuntu version. Not much to say, only that the upgrade went smooth and fast - I feared that the download servers would be overloaded the weekend after the release, but they were very responsive. There are only 2 minor upgrade problems :
First, Ubuntu choose to include Firefox3 beta, which sucks cause many of my add-ons are not compatibe with this version. Especially DeliciousButtons and Tabkit are extensions I already miss. Hopefully they get ported soon.
The second thing is that my fonts are foobarred, especially in Firefox. Which settings do you guys use with LCD screens (I currently use Best Contrast, with Full Hinting and VGBR subpixel ordering), and which fonts do you use in Firefox ?
First, Ubuntu choose to include Firefox3 beta, which sucks cause many of my add-ons are not compatibe with this version. Especially DeliciousButtons and Tabkit are extensions I already miss. Hopefully they get ported soon.
The second thing is that my fonts are foobarred, especially in Firefox. Which settings do you guys use with LCD screens (I currently use Best Contrast, with Full Hinting and VGBR subpixel ordering), and which fonts do you use in Firefox ?
What I learned from setting up ZFS on my fileserver
What I learned from setting up ZFS on my fileserver is an interesting look on the possibilities of different filesystems on differents OS'es, including OpenSolaris, BSD and Linux. Quite a different view from the ZFS. Respect article, which literally says "My personal opinion is that filesystems on Linux suck.".
My own opinion for file systems for home use : LVM and mdadm are sufficient, but YMMV off course.
My own opinion for file systems for home use : LVM and mdadm are sufficient, but YMMV off course.