Boom Chicago
Yesterday evening, we went to the theater (“Het Arsenaal” in Vlissingen) to see Boom Chicago.
I don’t know if you know them, or have heard about them, but they are (obviously) a theater group. They do improvisation theater. We had seen them once before, a year or two ago, so we knew what to expect. If you don’t, maybe you have seen De Lama’s on Dutch television…? That’s more or less similiar to Boom Chicago.
The group consists of a couple of Americans who live in the Netherlands; it’s very funny to hear “foreigners” characterising “us”, the Dutch people, our habits, et cetera. But they’re very good at it! 
Some improvisation examples from the show: people in the audience yell out some professions and the names of some famous people, and they make a sketch of “Sean Connery as a flying doctor”, or “ET as a bank robber”.
Or they ask the audience for a couple of one-liners from movies. Two of the actors, who were back stage during that time, then have to do a scene in which they randomly get these lines and have to integrate these into the scene.
And yes, on stage it is much more funny than if you read it here…
Anyway, if you want to know more about them, or see some example videos, have a look at boomchicago.nl.
Have fun! And go and see them some time, if you can.
Computers & Graphics
Yeehaw! We can add another journal paper to our publication list!
It has taken a little over a year since our first (hardcopy!) submission. We already got the definitive “accept” on January 3rd, but today I was informed that the article is now available online, together with all publication details and so on. You can find it here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cag.2006.01.032, although for the full text, you will need a valid login.
Family visit
We went away for the weekend, to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Bristol, UK. It had been more than a year since we were there last time. Luckily they come to the Netherlands more often than we go there!
We had a lovely, relaxed couple of days. On Saturday, we visited Tintern Abbey and made a walk in the surrounding area. On Sunday, we just strolled around through town. Unfortunately, I was a bit sick both days, but that didn’t stop me from walking.
All in all, we had a nice weekend, some time to read a book, chat with each other, and relax.
On the “professional” level: my first month as a software engineer has come and gone. And I’m allowed to stay! I’m very pleased with the job, so far, it’s nice, it’s interesting, and it’s challenging. And with a bit of luck, before long, I will be able to do most of it from home!
@work
After five months, my unemployment days are finally over!
Last Friday – on my birthday! – I signed my new contract, and starting tomorrow, February 1st, I will be working as a software engineer on database (web-)applications, using MS SQL Server, ASP.Net and so on.
Part of the technologies used will be new to me, as well as the database applications that have already been developped and sold. So, it will be quite a challenge, but I’m very much looking forward to it!
Flaine
This morning we returned from our skiing trip to France.
We stayed in Hotel Aujon in Flaine, in the Grand Massif.
We had a very nice week, although the first few days we had a lot of snow. Because of that, a lot of pistes and lifts were closed. As the weather got better, more pistes were opened, and by the end of the week, we had skied most of the 265 kilometers of piste.
Nice detail about the village of Flaine: the site was not discovered until 1959! In 1968 the resort was officially opened.
ShipIt dot Ubuntu dot com
The postman delivered another package for me, the other day.
As I wrote earlier, you can request a set of Ubuntu cds, to be posted to you, completely free of charge. Just register, fill in your address, the amount of cds you want to receive, and you’re done!
So I did that a few weeks ago, and now I’ve got 5 boxes, each containing one install cd and one live cd of Ubuntu 5.10 “Breezy Badger”!
LOTR
Woohoo! The postman just delivered a package, I’ve been anxiously waiting for…
It’s the DVD box set of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Special Extended Edition!
12 DVDs containing 35 hours of video!
I wanted to have the DVDs from the moment I heard about the first movie. But I waited… and waited… and waited some more… for the extended versions and the trilogy box.
And then I thought it was a bit expensive, 130 euros or so. So I doubted… and waited… and doubted some more…
Until Proxis reduced the price, a few weeks ago, to Eur. 69.99! That was it, no more doubts, I just had to have it.
So, now the question is: when am I going to watch all that? I don’t know! Let’s see, if I start right now, I’ll be finished… Saturday morning around 4 am! OK, let’s go!
BTW, I just noticed that other shops have lowered their prices as well (of course!), but I’m pretty sure Proxis was the first.
Kubuntu
Last week I installed Kubuntu on my home pc. Last month, (K)Ubuntu version 5.10 “The Breezy Badger” was released.
The installation was without much trouble. The only problem I have is with my Abit Hotrod IDE controller. Because my harddisks are connected to that instead of the onboard controller, they are /dev/hde and /dev/hdg. I have had these problems before with other distributions, and back then I had to download a bootfloppy-image with the correct support for this controller, before I could even start the installation.
None of that now, luckily. I booted from the cd, it detected my disks, installed everything, no problem.
EULA
Found on Slashdot: End User License Gems.
There’s an article about statements in End User License Agreements – you know, the things you should actually read before you click “I agree”. Some companies really want you to agree to the most insane statements. I seriously think that some of these are, in fact, against the law.
My Best Friend’s Wedding
Yesterday, we went to the wedding of two of our best friends.
They looked georgeous and perfectly happy, and the weather was great!
They married in Breda, a beautiful town, first in the city hall and after that in a very nice, little old church. Champagne and wedding cake after that, and in the evening there was a great party.
I videotaped (the most important parts of) the entire day. I’m anxious to see how I did! I didn’t keep the tapes of course, so I’ll just have to wait and see…
They’re off to Thailand for their honeymoon in a few days. Have fun, there, guys! And I wish you all the best and happiness together, for the rest of your lives! *BIG HUG*
Search
Categories
- Computing (64)
- Funny (38)
- Interesting (11)
- Leisure (38)
- Movies (12)
- Personal (74)
- Photography (10)
