Another upgrade in my hardware department: This week I bought a LC Display on eBay. I purchased an Eizo FlexScan L685 for the price of € 290 (including shipping). It is an 18 inch flat screen display with two input ports and a 4-port USB hub included. Having two video input ports is really excellent for me – I can connect my PowerBook and my G4 PowerMac at the same time, using the huge 18 inch display as additional screen estate for the PowerBook when I need it. Just the press of a button away. I’ll check if I can get a cheap USB switch too, so that I can use one keyboard-mouse combo for both computers, further minimizing clutter on my desk, and making my ergonomic keyboard and mouse readily available for my laptop too.
The display is older than I thought (more than 4500 hours of use, the screen manager says), but it doesn’t feel old. It is spotless, has no pixel defects, and it is amazingly bright, clear, and colorful. I personally think I made a very good deal. At least if it doesn’t die in the course of the next 18 months or so. My former display (17 inch CRT) slowly got worse and worse, small fonts getting hard to read so that my eyes started to complain even more. No complaints about sharpness anymore. A nice side effect of it being an 18 inch display with a resolution of 1280×1024 pixels is that the pixels on the Eizo and on my PowerBook have almost exactly the same density (~90ppi), so that the size of windows and pictures doesn’t change when I move them from one screen to the other. Call me a happy camper!
Screen real estate growing.
February 25th, 2005Angenehme Störungen.
February 22nd, 2005
Am Freitag war ich in schönen Clubhaus der FU Berlin in Dahlem auf der Tagung Steuerung und Störung. Gute Vorträge, offene Diskussion, aufgeschlossene TeilnehmerInnen und ReferentInnen. Leider habe ich auf Grund schweren Verschlafens dem Vortrag von Christian Kehrt nicht lauschen können, auch wenn sein Thema (Das Fliegen ist immer noch ein gewagtes Risiko – Risiko und Kontrolle in der Flugzeugtechnik
) für den Konferenzflyer Bildgebend war, wie man zur Linken sehen kann. Erfreulicherweise sind auch andere Menschen der Videoanalyse aufgeschlossen, auch wenn eine lästige Einordnung in die Lager der deutschen Methodenszene kaum vermeidbar erscheint. Das Spektrum der Vorträge am Freitag war breit, aber zueinander passend, geerdet und sich auf interessante Weise ergänzend.
Nett abgerundet wurde Abend noch durch eine wirklich gelungene Papiertheater Vorstellung von Rüdiger Koch aus Berlin. Die dargestellte Wolfschluchtszene aus dem Freischütz war dramatisch und die Aufklärung über die eingesetzte Tricktechnik erhellend und lustig.
Konferenzprogramm
Sweden is in Berlin.
February 20th, 2005
Thanks to my movie-biz apartment mate Olli I got a ticket for Popularmusik från Vittula, a movie based on the novel of the same name. To my dismay this movie (and the novel) are classified as being “for teens”. Germans seem to have a problem with (Scandinavian) Literature that deals with the adolescence and young adulthood, not accepting it into the body of “serious” or “adult” fiction. Grrrr. Well, as can be guessed from my frustration about this, I am quite convinced that these are really good stories, that should be read by adults, and especially by them! A bit of reflection about what you actually wanted to do when you were younger, about your dreams, and – quite essential – about your dissappointments, your bad experiences would certainly do some good not only in these troubled times. This movie does a very good job reflecting this, with an adequate amount of lightness, humor and seriousness. I have laughed more than my share while watching this movie, and I was moved and touched. Get the novel (which I haven’t read yet) or watch the movie. While you’re at it, try to get one of the novels written by Erlend Loe (sadly, they have been out of print for much too long here in Germany).
IMDb entry
I like his style, but he has been better.
February 18th, 2005The last movie I saw in Darmstadt has been A Very Long Engagement (German title: Mathilde). This is the most recent movie directed by Jeunet – and it is again featuring Audrey Tatou (best known as Amélie). In the World War I setting of this movie, the fantastic elements are not as outrightly presented as in his other films. Still, there always remains some uncertainty if something not quite normal or natural is going on or not. Jeunet pays much attention to detail and to color – that is why I really like his movies. However, for me this movie does not come close to Delicatessen or The City of Lost Children, both probably belonging to my top ten movies. I guess the reason for this is that he is best when he was working together with Marc Caro, head-on into the grotesque and arabesque.
IMDb entry | Trailer
After the long blogging break it is again time for … tada! … another quiz: From which famous American author did I learn the words grotesque and arabesque?
It is not easy to be compliant.
February 12th, 2005Dear readers, I must ask you to bear with me in this time of mishaps: a few days ago I changed the way my blog is delivered to your browser – at least if it is a standards compliant browser. Now, this weblog is being delivered with the correct MIME type of application/xhtml+xml, instead of being delivered with the type text/html that is appropriate for mere old-fashioned HTML.
The side effect of doing this is that browsers of the Gecko familiy (Mozilla, Firefox, Camino, etc.) only render this page if the underlying code is 100% correct. Not a single small error is permitted. If the browser encounters such an error, you will see a short description of the error in the browser window. May I ask you to send me a quick note describing where you encountered what kind of error? Just like Christian (M.D.) – always an example to the rest of us – did today.
Trample down on German tradition.
February 9th, 2005Florian just sent me this link http://www.wurstteppich.de. I would love to have one of these, alas, I can’t put it on my amazon wishlist…
Wurde wirklich Zeit.
February 4th, 2005Nach jahrelangem sich-nicht-so-recht-aufraffen-können habe ich heute endlich den entscheidenden Schritt getan: Ich bin Gewerkschaftsmitglied geworden. Ha! Arbeitgeber, ihr könnt kommen, ich bin gewappnet in diesen harten Zeiten.
War ja alles ganz einfach. Man kann sich nämlich mittlerweile bei ver.di online anmelden. In weniger als zehn Minuten war’s erledigt. Feine Sache. Auch für Studenten wie mich ne sinnvolle Angelegenheit – ich habe mittlerweile schon reichlich Jobs gemacht, in denen ich von gewerkschaftlich erstrittenen Tarifverträgen profitiert habe. Solidarität tut Not.
First: puzzlement, then: delight.
February 3rd, 2005This is why one should have student or university film clubs: to be pointed to movies that are really good, but that you would normally not see. Last week I’ve seen one of these pearls, again presented by the Studentischer Filmkreis Darmstadt. Radio no Jikan is set in the studio of a radio station and revolves around the many mishaps, mismanagements, misunderstandings, small favors, flirtations, frustrations, and other human flaws that make life interesting. First, I was a bit insecure if this movie is meant as a drama or as a comedy – and I am still not totally sure – since Japanese customs are unknown to me, it took me a while to adapt to what was going on and who might be good or bad or nice or unfriendly. However, I guess much of this movie’s high quality stems from the fact that this really remains a bit in the dark. Most of the characters have their charming sides, and almost all of them annoy you too. Excellent ensemble movie with a totally chaotic, dramatic and hilarious ending. To be recommended. As should be the folks from the Filmkreis, who even prepared a small introduction in Japanase (I think).
IMDb entry
Schalalalalalalalalaaa.
January 26th, 2005Time to celebrate. Celebrate a new PowerBook in an old case. Today the order I placed at Fastmac did arrive. I ordered two things: a 2x SuperDrive (in non-Apple lingo: a DVD burner) and a processor upgrade for my Pismo PowerBook.
2x SuperDrive: This drive is advertized as an upgrade for PowerBook G3 laptops like mine. This is correct in so far as the drive works flawlessly in my Pismo, and that FastMac is providing a detailed installation manual for putting this into a Pismo. However, the front bezel does not match the port into which the drive is fitted – it is too small. That means that there is a small gap of about 1 to 3 milimeters around the front of the drive. Through this gap dust and whatnot can enter the case of my PowerBook. Booo, FastMac, booo! I will see if I can find a fix for this. This doesn’t really hamper the functionality, but it doesn’t look good and facilitates the entry of unwanted substances into my dear PowerBook.
Processor Upgrade: I chose the best they have: the Motorola G4 7410 running at 550 MHz, with 1 Megabyte of L2 Cache (2.5:1). Installation was easy, at least if you have opened a Pismo before. ;) They offer three modes of delivery, two of which include sending your old processor board to them, which they will replace with a new one, and then send back to you. I chose the other mode; they send a new processor board to my address and I send back the old one. Since I had to place the order in the US I chose this option, because sending stuff back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean is risky and takes a lot of time.
I am really happy with the result of this upgrade. The PowerBook is a lot faster now. I timed the ripping of an MP3 from an audio CD file before and after the processor upgrade (both with the new drive). Before it took 2:06 minutes, after the upgrade it took … 57 seconds!! That is a speed increase of more than 120% in a real world app! I am still impressed. But there is even more good news.
Two things bothered me before I decided to purchase this upgrade:
- I was not able to play DV files in iMovie fluently. To be able to do this is definitely important when I am presenting video clips that I recorded for my research project. The last time I made a presentation containing video clips, for example, there was too much stutter to show the small movements of people that are most important to my analysis.
- I was not able to play Divx or Xvid encoded movies of a good quality on my Pismo, especially if the video file is on an optical disc. Too much stutter. Now, I can use my PowerBook as a Divx, Xvid etc. player, connect it to a TV or projector and watch movies without any stutter.
This is soo good. Working in the Finder, starting applications and everything else is faster too. A great upgrade. For me, it was worth the cost: US$ 550.89 for drive and processor including shipping. (I got a rebate of US$ 20 for pointing out a problem with their online store.) That is € 411.60. The only bad thing is the not-exactly-fitting case of the disc drive and that the German customs got their hands on the delivery. It took them one week to process it and I had to pay a € 65.86 customs fee (16% of the price). All in all a reasonable price to enable my Pismo to do the things that I really need it to do and nicely accelerate everything else. Being able to burn CDs and DVDs is great too. (My old DVD drive was almost completely broken.) Another great side effect: saving resources, and prolonging the use of electronic equipment is better for the environment than always buying the latest and greatest. My trusty Pismo rocks and the trees are happy too!
Slow beauty.
January 22nd, 2005Surprisingly, I had the opportunity to watch Girl with a Pearl Earring in a movie theater this week – would have thought that this chance has passed by. I did like the movie. Vermeer’s pictures are beautiful, the colors used for painting, the food, and the linen are beautiful, and, of course, Scarlett Johansson is exquisit. This is not an action film, the music is not adding much to the drama either (at least I did not notice that), so you have to rely on your eyes and your patience for the story to unfold. If you can do that, you will most likely like this movie. I did. Oh, I already said so. Well, it’s true.
IMDb entry | Trailer
Oh, what a beautiful movie.
January 13th, 2005This is not the title of one of my favorite songs by Ray Charles. But it could be said about this movie. Lars, Sybille, and yours truly enjoyed watching the story of Ray Charles’ life unfold on the screen. Listening to the great musician and watching how and where those songs were created and performed makes me wonder why I have never taken the opportunity to go to a concert of the recently deceased Ray Charles. This is not an outstanding movie, but it is very decently made, Jamie Foxx’ performance is great, and the music makes it a definite recommendation for everyone who doesn’t hate Jazz.
Ah, almost forgot it: the title is another quiz. The first person who guesses the title of the song that I hint at will be invited to a free beverage!
IMBd entry | Trailer
Singing the hymn.
January 13th, 2005What would life in Darmstadt be without the 603qm? A bleak and frustrating experience. This Sunday, for example, we enjoyed the Österreichspätstück. The employees of the 603 served Austrian food, and they even created a mountainscape out of cardboard to adorn part of the interior. Lars and I spent a happy afternoon there, lounging, listening to good and unobtrusive tracks, looking at the cardboard alps, and scrutinizing other customers – as every sociologist who is sincere about his or her calling has to.
Less drama than expected.
January 8th, 2005When visiting Kerstin in December we watched Garden State in a movie theater. I really liked this movie. Natalie Portman is very charming, the setting is relaxed, the colors are nice. The only thing that perhaps disappointed me a bit (and Kerstin a fair share more) was that although both main actors have psychological problems, and the main character – Andrew Largeman, played by the director and writer of this movie, Zach Braff – has been taking calming drugs for most of his life and suddenly stops taking them there are no real conflicts. In spite of this problematic constellation neither the lovers themselves nor their social environment really disturbs the linear development of their romantic love. However, this movie has a most excellent sound track which makes the whole experience very pleasant – I do recommend this movie, especially if you are in the mood for some romance.
IMDb entry | Trailer
2005.
January 6th, 2005New year, first entry. Old Lars, new shirt and pants. Shirt navy-blue with narrow stripes in brigther hues of blue. Pants made of corduroy, some kind of almost black color. Lars made of more stuff than before, stuff that is lighter than water – stuff has accumulated over the holidays. Tomorrow, Lars in swimming pool. Guess why?