Freudianisms

Yesterday I just wanted to update my blog to the latest version, but then something broke with the old theme (K2, good but not good enough) and now I changed to the aptly named Qwilm!2 theme by (Brazilian?) designer genius Oriol Sanchez. The new color scheme is mine and it is… well, good enough and at least more RipperDocish. The re-design is a work in progress, some parts of the blog are broken at the moment. Let me know if the new theme makes you throw up on your keyboard, which is not good, and sticky…

Time for a small update! Currently I am experiencing one of my rare colds, which struck me hard and suddenly two days ago. It has kept me from working as I should, and I am currently behind schedule. Expect me to be 100% busy all the way to Christmas, and in January too. I want to finish the thesis in time, so that I can get my degree as soon as possible.

I’m sure you have heard something about the falling dollar? The Hong Kong dollar is fixed to the US dollar, which means everything just get cheaper and cheaper here in Hong Kong for me. During most of my time here, the rate was somewhere around 1 HKD = 0.95 Swedish Krona (SEK), in a sense meaning that I had a 5% discount on everything i bought in Hong Kong. Now, the rate is 1 HKD = 0.87 SEK and falling, giving me a whopping 13% discount on everything! A 15″ MacBook, as comparison, is listed as 18 000 HKD (with educational discount), which now only equals to 15900 SEK (included the 1.5 % currency exchange fee I have to endure). With less than one month left on my Hong Kong stay, buying or not buying those gifts, gadgets and souvenirs is a constant consideration.

This leads me to the shopping status update: I have ordered a tailored suit, black with subtle stripes (900 HKD), I have bought a new pair of glasses (700 HKD) – picture is coming, and my PS3 package (5200 HKD) is due to be delivered within one or two weeks! I am also definitely considering getting a DSLR, probably Pentax K100D, Canon Eos 400D or Nikon D80 (they all have their pro’s and cons, and they all are within the price range 5000-6000 HKD including lens). And with my room mate blessing his new MacBook, I never stop thinking about getting one too…

Of course, buying all this stuff will set me back a lot of dollars, and in a sense I am already spending the salary I (quite optimistically) expects to receive from February and onwards… I’m glad the Swedish government doesn’t ask where I spend the study money I borrowed from them

Just to prove that I actually have done some real work this autumn, here are some results of my research/thesis Game Sound Effects Synthesis using Statistical Methods (working title):

• Some sound examples
• A screenshot of the GUI

Yes, most of it sound really bad, but then again, this is just randomly made. I have a lot of work cut up before me still, although I already have written some 2000 lines of code. Wish me good luck!

Many people prefer sites such as Youtube or Metacafe over Google Video, but Google offers something the others aren’t: upload of (infintely?) long movies, and direct download of movies for iPod or desktop computers. These features makes Google Video a great place to find longer movies or tv-shows for those long flights or cross country train rides. What is especially useful for those with iPods is that you won’t have to go through the lengthy and troublesome process of converting the movies to iPod-format – Google will serve you with the right format (just click Download for Video iPod/Sony PSP).

I compiled a little list of more than 15 longer movies I found on Google Video and downloaded for my iPod
(note: Some of these videos might or might not be copyrighted, and could subsequently be taken down, and/or be less than legal to download):

• New! Hitler Speaks (46 min), a documentary based on film recorded privately by Adolf Hitler or Eva Braun. The films were previously silent bu leading edge lip reading software has enabled German experts to re-voice them, providing a chilling insight into Hitlers private world.
• New! Iraq: The Hidden Story (48 min), a Channel 4 documentary about Iraq.
• Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning (1 hr 43 min) – a hilarious, yet somewhat silly, parody film of Star Trek, which makes a fantastic effort in special effect and other areas, in spite of having a minimal budget. The movie might be more funny if you have a connection to Scandinavia 😉
• Tetris – From Russia with Love (58 min), a BBC documentary on the creation of the legendary game Tetris, with some early game industry history thrown in for good measure.
• Will Wright and the game Spore (39 min). A presentation of the very original game Spore. Features Robin Williams in the end!
• On the Edge (52 min), a great Blade Runner documentary from Channel 4 that is a must see for any cyberpunk/sci-fi fans.
• Revenge of the Nerds (1 hr 30 min), a classic nerd movie from 1984, now being remade for release in 2007. Read more at IMDB.
• Pixar’s Cars. Yes, it was online for some time, but when I saw it referenced in, for example national Swedish media and digg.com, the movie was quickly taken down. Luckily, I was fast enough 😉
• Rammstein Live in Berlin -98 (1 hr 31 min). There is nothing like Rammstein live!
• The Best Bits of Mr. Bean (1 hr 11 min). If you like Mr. Bean, here is all of it in one package for you!
• Warriors of the French Foreign Legion (50 min), an interesting documentary on the French Foreign Legion.
• The Story of One, (59 min) a witty Terry Jones documentary from BBC about the history of numbers.
• The Doomsday Code (1 hr 41 min), a Channel 4 documentary that takes a spin on the Da Vinci Code hysteria.
• Richest People of the Middle East (45 min), a Discovery documentary that happens to have Swedish subtitles. Interesting!
• Nosferatu, (1 hr 24 min), a famous silent Dracula-movie from 1922, a true horror classic. Read more at IMDB.
• Night of the Living Dead (1968), (1 hr 35 min). A classic horror flick, which I personally don’t really like, but I know many others do. Read more at IMDB.
• Vampire Hunter, (1 hr 42 min), full anime movie (with not-so-good sound quality). I have yet to see all of it, but the artistic quality is good!
• Ricky Gervaise faux Microsoft training video, (20 min). Famously leaked, intentionally or not, from Microsoft. If you like The Office, you’ll like this. Oh, I don’t mean MS Office 😉
• Ghostrider – The Final Ride (53 min) – one of those getaway movies where people drive like crazy, in this case driving a motorcycle like crazy through Stockholm. Not really my cup of tea, but I throw it in here at the end of the list as a bonus.

If this is not enough, there is a load of different documentaries on Google Video. Try this search! But be aware, many documentaries are either anti/pro-religion, anti/pro-bush or just wacky conspiracy “documentaries”. I guess the lesson is: don’t believe everything you see on Google Video. Happy iPodding!