2007

Tue, May 29

<01:40 EEST> Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End turned out somewhat better than I expected, a worthy conclusion to the saga. Reviews had not been too flattering, particularly pointing out scenes that were shot alongside Dead Man's Chest before finalizing the script for part 3. Fortunately these were quite few, and frankly, action and atmosphere are what counts in a movie like this, so a few shortcuts in the story's coherence are acceptable. For example, the white sands scene near the beginning wasn't particularly brilliant, but it paid great homage to The Matrix Revolutions :)

In fact, I found myself strangely immersed in the action, and soon recalled a possible explanation for the rather universal attraction into the genre: Buckminster Fuller's Great Pirates, from the book Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth.

Fri, May 25

<17:27 EEST> Having read Esko Valtaoja's Avoin tie ("The Open Road"), I have the exact same feelings as I did with its predecessor Kotona maailmankaikkeudessa. So, it's still an enjoyable and rather inspiring read, but doesn't leave you with much in the way of intellectual ammo. In fact, many times I felt like reading some old man's ramblings, which isn't too far from the truth.

I find it unfortunate and an obvious target for my sympathies that Valtaoja obviously has a lot to say about the state of the world, but he isn't doing enough to bring the ideas into practical -- i.e. political! reality. His explicit disdain for political systems is an obvious factor here, but it's still rather disappointing.

Thu, May 24

<16:42 EEST> Time for some serious geeking out! I'm back from the local post office with an IBM Space Saver II keyboard, and it r0x0rz :) It's THE keyboard I've been looking for since it featured on Sektori some years ago.

Unfortunately, it's hard to find and a little pricey. I don't feel like paying something like 100 euros for a keyboard-mouse combo, since I can find something that does the job for free. I found this particular one on JVS-Parts for mere 10 euros, with the catch that they only had UK versions -- just the kind I prefer :) It looks like it's completely unused, though I wouldn't call it brand new, they probably haven't made this model in years. Which brings me to the only downside: It's a PS/2 model. Naturally I would have preferred a futureproof USB version, but with the bargain price and the knowledge that I'll be using a PS/2 capable system for some time to come, it's fine for me.

As for the usability, it's even better than I expected. The space-saving idea is taken as an overall design philosophy, instead of just adding the trackpoint and removing the numeric keypad. It's small and solid, plastic in a good way, feels like proper IBM hardware, though it fortunately isn't one of those clicky-clacky classics. There's a very slight annoyance from the fact that NumLock is usually on when you boot up a machine, and here it means a laptop-style numeric overlay on the right side of the alphabet part. And since there's no separate numeric keypad, the NumLock key has been moved to Shift+ScrollLock. A pretty weird decision IMHO, since ScrollLock is probably much less used these days than NumLock, but then again this way doesn't mess up the unshifted triad of PrintScreen/SysRq, ScrollLock, and Pause/Break (another key I've probably never used :).

Overall, I love this little gem, and I'll probably invest in another one with USB some time in the future. Makes you think why all keyboards aren't made like this. Isn't it only a minority who uses the numeric keypad, like accountants and hardcore gamers?

Tue, May 22

<02:20 EEST> In tonight's entry I'm returning to an emotional state I remember having with the movie Pan's Labyrinth. It's somehow sad and magical at the same time, like when you look at the night sky and realize how alone you are in the universe, yet how wonderful it is. This particular example is a key idea in Stephen Webb's book about the Fermi Paradox: If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens... Where is Everybody?

While I don't agree with all of the points made -- some of them are even logically dubious -- the book is a very nice example of writing popular science. Besides presenting the scientific stuff in style, Webb possesses a neat kind of philosophical grasp on things that many popular scientist seem to lack.

Another source of this recent awe is the movie The Fountain, which earned my thorough respect in contrast to mixed reviews. Much like Pan's Labyrinth or JYT's Domina Anatomia, the movie is as much about a certain kind of 'world', or atmosphere and setting, as it is about the story. Then again, I could say the movie tells an excellent story, but it's the kind of story that cannot be told by the usual Hollywood formula of dialogue and action.

Thu, May 17

<00:55 EEST> It's over two weeks since a plumbing work started at my apartment in Jyväskylä, and I moved to Varkaus to stay with my parents. I was told it would only be a couple of weeks, and of course it seems it'll last for some time. Naturally, this is a time when I would have important stuff to do at JKL, for instance lighting tech with the play Heppatytöt, but fortunately the crew found replacements. I'll also have some university business at the end of the month, and I'm really hoping to be able to move back by then.

Of course, I've now grown pessimistic enough to expect a complete demolition of the building along with all my belongings -- for example, my server has been offline since Wednesday afternoon, and I suspect power's off. The BIOS has been set to boot when power is restored, meaning I often don't directly notice afterwards if there's been a blackout, but now it seems it's turned off for good, and I wonder if the fish in my freezer is being resurrected.

In general there's this overwhelming feeling of anger and powerlessness I've had to deal with, along with the boredom and worthlessness of being stuck in my childhood home while I have important stuff and people elsewhere. On the plus side, I think I've learned a little patience, but I'm afraid it's more on the nihilist side of spectrum.

On another positive note, I've finally got TV-out from my laptop somewhat working, though I'll have to continue tweaking to get a perfect picture via my parents' widescreen telly. Just tonight I watched The Hunger.