Bizarre Art and the Japanese Food

As my sister's off to the Economics Course in Italy, I and my family decided to spend the entire Sunday in Copenhagen. Apparently there is a modern art museum just outside Copenhagen (close to Ishøj) called Arken. I'm not much for modern art, but Louisiana (also in Denmark) actually does impress me… sometimes. Arken didn't. As it is called Arken it is designed as a boat, but it looks newly painted and smells funny although it has been there for some years.

Actually, my collapsed body in blood would have blended in like nothing else

To get to the coat room and the toilets you had to climb down stairs that looked like a fire escape and the toilets looked like small prisons. But now on to the art; their main exhibition (if you can call it that) was called Nordic Lights. I felt so dark I could have killed myself. Actually, my collapsed body in blood would have blended in like nothing else into that cold environment. I felt sick and my lens decided to pop out; the timing was perfect. My dad commented on a picture of a forest. He thought it great to name the photo Forrest. Then there was another picture of a boy doing a number one into a river. It was called Ohne title which roughly translates Untitled. Brilliantly imaginative. We left pretty soon, having laughed at how obscene it would have been to give the finger to the receptionist and say: "Finger".

We had already decided in beforehand to eat lunch at Sushi'n'Sticks. It doesn't sound fancy but I like to think it is as it is quite pricey. The food there was delicious as it always is and we walked away a little happier. Even the sun broke through after all the raining.

Why New Technology Fails… Big Time

First of all I am sorry to bring up technology again but it is a big part of our lives. Unless you live in a stone cave, but then you wouldn't be reading this, would you. First things first: mobile phones. Mobile phones are extremely popular and most people like to switch to a new one every 6^th month or so. However, there is very little focus on the phone as such. A built in 5 megapixel camera with optical zoom and a flash is more popular than the quality of the microphone. And the new slick designs are so attractive millions of people end up with an 18 month pre-pay plan for a phone they'll only like for a year.

Don't get me wrong. I love technology and design very much but why put in a 5 megapixels camera and make it ultra-slim when a person with a well functioning brain can figure out it won't be as good as a separate camera and a phone. And yes, they break down… and mine did. Well, it wasn't 5 megapixels (only 1.3) and no, it had no built in GPS either but it had millions of functions I have never cared or known how to use. Now I use my old mobile phone which can call other people, receive calls and send messages… good enough for me really.

Next up in this "New technology that fails" post is my HDD. I've written quite a lot about it and that's because the hard disk drive is a rather important part of a functioning computer. You see, my HDD has a G-Sensor which in case of a free fall will retract the read/write heads from the disk so the that the disk won't be damaged, and all my data will be safe. In theory, like the mobile phone/megapixel camera, it is a perfect idea but it doesn't really work. What happens is the following:

1. The G-Sensor records a free fall (although my computer is perfectly still, sitting on my desk).
   
2. The read/write heads are retracted so fast it causes a loud click from the HDD.
   
3. The S.M.A.R.T value show a load/unload retry since the heads had to be retracted so fast.
   
4. The S.M.A.R.T value for G-Sense Error Rate increases ridiculously as it understands it wasn't falling at all.
   
5. The S.M.A.R.T values will eventually (after some months) reach the threshold value and the system will report the drive as broken.
   

I just want to congratulate all hard working multibillion electronics corporations for making products we are fooled to buy, when the gadgets will live a life of its own and die after laughing us in the face. My personal theory is that they want to put new technology on the market too fast. Please develop the products first will you?

Now it's your turn. Please comment on a new gadget that has wrecked your life. I know I'm not alone.

R6: RS Lan Summer 2008

"Brilliant, extraordinary!"
- The Guardian

Well maybe not but here it is! Please comment a time and date for this event and download Hamachi and TeamSpeak Client if you have not already done so.

Countdown, Magpies and Unnecessary Phone Calls

Previous night I decided to sleep with my window open. I usually don't do that but after a quick glance at my thermometer (which read 25°C or 77°F) I decided that the drag racers did not disturb me as much as the temperature. Around 04:30 in the morning I was proved wrong. Magpies were bullying my cat which had decided to go out for a stroll in the night. My cat has been bullied before by these nasty creatures and has since long preferred the tranquillity of my bedroom chair. Whole my family was awakened by the magpies, which should give you a picture of how loud they were. My first idea was to shoot the bloody birds, but apparently that's illegal in residential districts… but who will ever notice a few missing birds 04:30 in the morning.

My first idea was to shoot the bloody birds, but apparently that's illegal

The second thing that troubles me this lovely Monday afternoon is my new Samsung hard disk drive. As you might now, my previous HDD died unexpectedly and I had noticed strange clicking sounds. These clicking sounds seem to originate from the driver heads when they fail to load/unload properly. Dick from notebook review forums has noticed that the S.M.A.R.T values prove this right. Now I've also discovered that the G-Sense Error Rate values are increasing and the current and worse values are alarmingly decreasing towards the threshold value. This could be the data that predicts the life of my HDD. According to calculations based on G-Sense Error Rate values only my HDD has 2 years left to live. Just before the warranty runs out in other words. Those calculations should be valid unless the ECC Error Rate goes through the roof.

Other than that I love my Vaio. And Vaio Support seems to love their customers. Or why else would they phone me every day? You feel you missed something? Read my other blog posts!