Things are moving

UPDATE: To accommodate for incoming readers from Kotaku, I changed this article to something more readable 😉 Thanks for reading!

Playstation 3 is coming. If you haven’t kept yourself updated – this gaming console/multimedia computer is incredibly sought-after and caused enormous lines in Japan were it was released on the 11th. The PS3 units are now being sold for more than double the price online by “entrepreneurs”. Well – that is just Japan. PS3 will be released in Hong Kong on the 17th of November, the same day as in US. However, Hong Kong is before US in time and therefore will be the second place in the world, after Japan, to get PS3. Rumor has it only a small amount of units have been confirmed for Hong Kong delivery. My plan is simple – I will queue for it, among other fanatics (yeah, I have suddenly become one). If everything goes as planned, I will queue from the evening of the 16th to the morning of the 17th to get my PS3. I will certainly keep you posted if I become the first (?) Swedish citizen to lay my hands on PS3.

UPDATE: And I got back from queuing a few hours last night. I was too far down on the waiting list to gamble a night’s sleep. But I took a lot of photos and some video, as well as getting some info. Kotaku.com, the gaming blog, published my experiences. So take a look there for a more detailed account. Now with a good night’s sleep I might add that my account of the event is based on what I saw and what my girlfriend could translate for me – there might be misunderstandings and errors. I hope the ones that chose to wait the whole night actually got their PS3 and that they can have some real fun with them. I just got a mail from Sony about the next batch of PS3s, so soon we can all be happy 😉

NEW UPDATE: Ok, so I got an email from Sony at 3:37 PM. A second batch of PS3 for sale on the 24th of November. I clicked on the registration link somewhere around 3:45-3:50 PM. The whole batch were sold out. Ok. Great. How many did they release this time? 10? But I must say I am very much impressed with the speed of my fellow Hong Kongers! I have much to learn yet, in order to control the force of quick web registration.

And now, for some non PS3-related stuff:

Otherwise, there is a lot happening here now. Not specifically in Hong Kong, but specifically for me. Tomorrow I am leaving for China on a shopping trip with Shirley’s family. Not just any kind of shopping trip – I will go to a trade fair with Chinese electronics, toys and other stuff. I have not mentioned it yet, but I am evaluating the possibility to start an import business of Chinese goods to Sweden. I will certainly know more about it’s feasibility when I get back on Wednesday – maybe with a couple of boxes of gadgets 😉

Finally- I have started the process of looking for jobs. I will graduate in February, if everything goes as planned. Soon, I will start working – an amazing thought. I am first and foremost looking for work in UK as Shirley will study for her MBA there, but I am also looking in Sweden. I do not want to have too high expectations, but I can say that I already have had one phone interview for a London IT-consulting firm, as well as an invitation to an interview with a Swedish computer game producer. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see what the future has in hold for me.

Spam as inspiration, part I

A few weeks ago I decided that I should try and track the sources of the spam I receive. My current GMail account hosts four active e-mail addresses, so there is a fair share of spam (which Google almost always finds). So I was reading the spam emails more careful and realized something: spam is a wonderful source for inspiration! Yes, you can go ahead and read that statement again. Spam is fascinating me, and let me guide you through it’s wonders in a series of posts.

We can begin with the easy part. The names of the spam senders. These are most certainly result of simple computer randomization from some name list. But hey, that makes wonderful material for my next novel or short story! Just take a look at some samples:

Tamikae Butts,
Deirdre Luna,
Rubi Jodi,
Trotter Gail,
Romeo Ellis,
Horacio Mack,
Jacinda Destiny,
Czcibor Gillum,
Vengeance,
Elvin Strong,
Lakesha Catarina,
Eymen Enouk,
Gerardo Hester,
Tiffani Natasha,
Mr Crenshaw,
Coleman Cross,
Mr Agbandu Godslove

If that is not wonderful character names, I’d eat my hat. They are unique, stand out, have deeper meanings and are even fun (my personal favourite is by now Tamikae Butts… she must be one special girl!). Take a look at your spam box and hopefully you will find the same plethora of cool names. As mentioned, you can use it for names in your writing, character names in role-playing or maybe for your own, secret alter-ego. What about the evil antagonist Mr Crenshaw, the jovial Horacio Mack, the mystical Eymen Enouk or voodo-priest Mr Agbandu Godslove? Even the more standard (?) spam names, such as
Geoff Cannon, Burt Cantrell or Kip Andrews are useful for those not-so-important characters if you have a hard time coming up with names.

Next time: Spam poetry.

Should I buy or not?

Christmas is coming, and with that, two things:

  • I will return home to Sweden (to be precise, on boxing day, 26th of December)
  • Christmas means shopping. I am starting to become a shopaholic.

When I realize I I’m leaving Hong Kong without clear plans on when or how I would return, I immediately starts thinking of all the stuff I can get cheaper in Hong Kong than elsewhere. Hong Kong is the shopper’s paradise. Let me give you a list of things my mind tells me to buy before going home:

  • e32006-ps3-fullPlaystation 3. Will be released already on the 17th of November, whilst medieval Europe has to wait until late March. This is a sure buy, after considering all facts. Approximately 350 euro (3800 HKD) is a good price, too.
  • A tailor-made suit. Hong Kong is famous for it’s tailor services. Tall as I am, I actually have a small need for tailor made suits (so it’s not just about the boast factor) – but then again, I seldom wear a suit at all. Around 100 euros / 1000 HKD for a suit with shirt is a good price. Should I buy or not?
  • More computer gadgets. They are small, they are cool, they are cheap, but are they useful? If my plans on starting my own company, currently in the works, succeeds, then there will be plenty of gadgets to play around with :)
  • Bluetooth keyboard. For my phone. So I can type novels on the go. Cool.
  • sonya100-bigA digital SLR camera for taking really good photos. People have lately told me my photos are good – I am flattered, but then people ask me what camera I have and… well. I know as a fact that SLR cameras give better pictures, but they are at least 500 euros, probably more. And they are heavy as a computer. And they need different lenses, most of them big. But they also allow cool things like fish-eye lens. Buy or not?
  • medium_macbookproMacBook. I have mentioned it before, but the fact remains – I’ve had my own Lenovo Thinkpad for barely a year, but a MacBook is faster, sexier, and yes, much more expensive. One could ask – do I survive the change to Mac OS X? But alas, Bootcamp lets me use Windows almost as good as any other laptop. A MacBook, obviously a Pro one, would set me back almost 18000 SEK/HKD – and by modern standards, that’s just very expensive.
  • Christmas gifts. To people at home. Can’t tell you more. But to be honest – I’m this close skipping the christmas thing altogether.
  • 00210061A new phone. My Eten M600 is excellent, but it is getting old – probably 9 months old 😉 There are newer, cooler models, and getting a 3G connection would be the dream, as I very rarely use internet on the go now due to the cost and low speed of GPRS. In addition, a built-in GPS receiver would be my favorite useless feature.

Oh, did I mention I have to use some serious magic or quantum mechanics to fit 60 kgs of Hong Kong equipment into a 20 kgs limit for air plane luggage? 😉