Need an excuse to take some time off? Look no further:
Posts Tagged ‘fun’
Procrastination excuse
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
Vista Speech Recognition
Monday, February 19th, 2007I guess we will not be programming in Vista using speech control anytime soon 
Of course, nobody in his right mind would even try it, but I think this makes for a hilarious video nonetheless. I cannot say if the speech recognition works for the stuff it’s actually meant for, as I have no (and never will) a Microsoft Vista Operating (ahem) System.
Wii
Monday, February 19th, 2007Last Saturday, I had my first Wii experience. We started out playing Wii sports. Tennis was uber-fun, boxing seemed not that much fun, but that might have been because we only had a single remote with a nunchack, so we had to play against the machine. We then moved on to the Raving Rabbits, which was great fun, but very tiresome for some games. My arms still ache a bit. The dancing and island running was cool, though one must overcome any fear of making a fool out of himself at first. Finally, we returned to Wii sports, played some more tennis and finished the evening (or rather, the night) with a game of golf.
I like the tennis best, because it feel most like you really are playing a human opponent, unlike golf, where you have to sit around and wait. The worse your opponent, the longer the wait. So, if I would ever buy a Wii, tennis will be played abundantly. I do think that, while the interface is good to play with initially, if you play a lot, you might yearn for some more control over your tennising avatar. I’m not sure if that’s possible, but using other input besides the timing of the swings might be useful, e.g., using the nunchack.
Anyway, a great experience, and my girl seemed to like it too. So, I’m having high hopes for the future
ACES
Tuesday, October 17th, 2006On October 3rd and 4th, I attended the ACES symposium. It is an opportunity for the PhD students of the participating research groups to present their ongoing work or wild ideas they would like to try out by means of a poster and a small introductory presentation. Obviously, getting practice for giving presentations is always a Good Thing ™. Additionally, it is a chance to socialize during the recurring bowling evening, and to exchange ideas. All in all, a good time is ensured, though the food – while excellent – can use larger amounts Pictures can be found on flickr.
Female Voices Metal Fest
Tuesday, September 5th, 2006Yes! I managed to secure three tickets to the Metal Female Voices Fest taking place on October 21st at Wieze, Belgium. The sole reason being that Tristania is coming to play. I saw them perform once before as the prelude to Lacrimosa, sometime back in 199x.
I hope the other bands playing aren’t too shabby. And that their live performace holds up. And that there are no technical issues to deal with.
Center Parcs
Monday, September 4th, 2006Last week we made a little journey to Center Parcs at the Vossemeren. It started out not too well: Elias threw up in the car, covering most of his sweater and part of his seat. Furthermore, the clouds decided to move over to where we were, and provide us with a bit of water. At one point, I could not see beyond, say, ten meters. This did not abode well for the days ahead.
After checking in, we had to wait another three hours before we were allowed into the cottage, so we decided to make good use of the time and went shopping (for food, not shoes). When we returned, the cars were unloaded, dinner was prepared (spaghetti we made the day before). After dinner, Veerle and Liesbeth decided to go for a swim. Meanwhile, Elias had developed a serious fever. Luckily that got resolved the second day.
The weather decided to play ball, and got a little bit better. Less rain, even sunshine appearing, so we could take a few walks. Elias enjoyed the sliders that were positioned strategically next to our cottage and on all the roads we walked. He also enjoyed the wimming pool, after, say five minutes of angst. We even went to the big pool. Which had colder water.
We enjoyed a good game of Uno, one where Mark did not win (a rare occasion). Veerle beat him to it, with a little help from the rest of us. I did manage no to lose, so everybody, except Mark, was happy. We also had a try at Munchkin, but as none of us ever played it before, it wasn’t easy, and it did not proceed as hoped.
The second to last day, we visited the Discovery Bay, a place stuffed with climbing goodies for the unexperienced climber. Lots of chicks and old people were up in the ropes, but we kept solid ground underfoot, for the most part at least.
The final day, after checking out, stuffing the car with our gear, we went for another swim with Elias. He was rather very possessive of his beach ball, when a cute girl wanted to play with him. Strange, considering he otherwise enjoys it when girls pay attention to him.
The ride back home went smooth. Unfortunately, we did see one rather major traffic accident, where a truck decided that it would love to see the ditch from a bit closer up. Fire fighters were tearing open the cabin with hydraulic knives. I hope the driver got out unscathed. At home, all was well, despite my fears that water might have penetrated the outer defenses once more.
Lacrimosa
Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006Saturday, we went to the Gothic Festival organised by thePurple Moon, to see Lacrimosa perform. We skipped the first bands, and arrived around 18:00 in Waregem. Just in time to fetch our pre-ordered tickets and enter the hall. Carefully avoiding the undead that were roving the grounds, we let our eyes move across the scene. Lo! a Leech entered the cave, trailing a thin vampire woman. They were followed by more fleshy creatures, dresses befitting the party.
First up was Garden of Delight, who seemed to use a drum-machine (nothing against that, SoM do the same). The music they teared out of their instruments was indeed a delight. Except for the first two songs, they were all quite good. Second was Haggard. Something seemed amiss with the technical side of the performance, as one of the girls singing had a mike that was not quite fully functional. Apart from that, I found their music to be a tad chaotic at times. They did provide us with a nice interpretation of “Herr Mannelig” (which I only know from In Extremo). But other than that, I found their performance a bit lacking. I’ll blame it on the technical issues they had.
Finally, Lacrimosa claimed the stage. There was sufficient cheering as Tilo appeared, and the crowd was quite enthusiastic when they performed ‘Ich bin der brennende Komet’. However, after the first song, the enthusiasm seemed to dwindle, and I had the distinct impression the band noticed that as well. By the third song, almost all the people who were standing further than the PA had left the hall. Sad. I did think the band performed less impressive than the previous shows I’ve seen, but it was still very enjoyable. But perhaps the spectators needed a batch of fresh blood.