a lot of nonsense

I'm a year behind with news and stuff

2007-12-11T10:38:00.000+01:00

And that is probably never going to change. I did come across a really cool blog-ish site, hope you enjoy:

This and ton of other little witty comics: http://xkcd.com/

Something for the teachers out there

2007-10-22T09:10:00.000+02:00

http://progressiveboink.com/archive/calvinhobbes.htm

p.s. I have a degree in teaching so I'm allowed to make fun of you.

Images that take your breath away

2007-10-17T11:30:00.000+02:00

http://pinguy.infogami.com/blog/vwm6?=

A Cup of Tea

2007-09-29T10:54:00.000+02:00

This is from : http://www.101zenstories.com/

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

2007-09-24T23:10:00.000+02:00

A few weeks ago I got to enjoy some gorgeous weather while hiking on Velebit. I hope you enjoy these:

2007-09-19T11:42:00.000+02:00

Ok, ok, it really has been a while that I've blogged last, but this video I saw today on the net got me infuriated enough:

MSNBC news:

Here's a kind of neutral news article about that: http://www.local10.com/news/14138122/detail.html?rss=mia&psp=news .

(De)Motivators

2007-05-15T08:09:00.000+02:00

http://www.demotivators.com

The Family Guy - deleted scenes

2007-03-19T13:40:00.000+01:00

I'm at work. And my work is stressful. So this means I have to do some Web surfing to let some steam out. By doing so, I came across this YouTube compilation of deleted Family Guy scenes. If you like Family Guy you will probably enjoy this, if not, you will probably be offended. So consider yourself warned.

Interactive bloggin'

2007-02-27T08:42:00.000+01:00

You might ask yourself what would that be? Well that's when someone, claiming to be your brother's dog, calls you from a Hong Kong number, and reads you stuff from your blog and then you feel obligated to blog about it.

I felt as if I was this guy:

without asking for it :)

Well anyways, I've learned a few life changing facts today, and I wanted to share them with you:

25 things you should have learned by the time you have reached middle age

If you're too open-minded, your brains will fall out.
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
It ain't the jeans that make your butt look fat.
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.
If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.
A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.
Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.
Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.
No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.
There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.
Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.
Someone who thinks logically, provides a nice contrast to the real world.
If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.

I've got it at http://desiredcreations.com/misc_25Things.htm , but the original author(s) are not known.

A comeback

2007-02-25T17:10:00.000+01:00

My dear and faithful friends: I'm back :)

Well news is that I've started working for a new company, well new for me, anyways. And with getting up around 6:30 and slaving the day away, and having no free time whatsoever you do get an unexpected bonus: a ton of little amusing e-mails to get you through the day. This one is for all the men out there who don't know how to give a man-to-man hugs :) Enjoy:

VideoJug: How To Give A Great Man To Man Hug

Graham Chapman's funeral

2006-12-17T18:39:00.000+01:00

You could expect that a funeral for one of the Monty Python's would be different. But you can't probably imagine how different it can be. DISCLAIMER: curse words.

More about Graham Chapman

Dilbert - never touch your computer again

2006-12-10T16:03:00.000+01:00

Dilbert is a part of my daily routine. Check out todays edition.

Battle of the sexes

2006-12-02T13:15:00.000+01:00

Well I bumped into this one, and couldn't resist posting it here:

(couldn't figure out how to download it so you will have to go to their site).

And another one, dealing with women's suffrage:

Now, I've been accused of being insensitive to such problems, and known for making girls cry (which I've always been sorry afterwards). So, in order for that not to happen again, just a standard disclaimer: views presented or implied above do not necessarily reflect my own.

It is high time for

2006-12-01T00:30:00.000+01:00

a new blog post. So what in the world should I blog about? The past week has been all but boring, but among all the work on the thesis, coding and debugging I didn't have time for a proper night of sleep, so it's really not easy to come up with something that would interest anyone, including me.

I guess I just have to blog about my commute to Senj today. Senj is a small town some 70 km southward from Rijeka. To get there I have to take this road:
Too bad you can't really notice how curvy the road is, and bumpy, and FUN!!!

So, anyways this morning I get a call from my colleague, informing me she will not be able to make it today, and that I'm on my own. So I get to drive for an hour or so on my own...hm...what should I do to entertain myself? I have two cd-s in my cd-changer that I haven't changed in probably a year. One holds Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne and Linkin' Park. The other is a mix of HIM, Chris Isaak and similar stuff. So cd listening is always a choice.

Oh, I know. I will think of a new blog post. For instance...look at that guy driving behind me, he's been flexing his neck for the past 10 minutes holding his cell with his shoulder. It looks painful, and imagine how good of a topic it would make if he continues that for the rest of the way! Oh no, he hung up, and is turning left on the crossroads. Oh well...

Look at that truck in front of me. He has a line of cars behind him, and he's not stopping to let us pass, and is not even signaling when the road is safe to overtake him! Such a ....censored....! Oh, I'll overtake him now with my powerful Clio, and even protest with my car horn at him for not being a nice person! That felt good! Oh, oh, oh, I better slow down here. The limit is 50 and I'm doing 90 not caring about strong wind warnings!!

I made it safely to Senj and took a quick few pictures since I needed to get to my class:

The classes went fine. I got a bit upset with a guy starting a game and fiddling with it for a few minutes while I was trying to talk and I still decided not to say anything. I kind of reckoned that if he didn't care now he wouldn't care even if I had said anything. It turned out he didn't really know how to exit the game. You can tell he wasn't paying attention when I was explaining the ctrl-alt+del magic.

The drive back was uneventful. A bunch of those long trucks on the road, but polite enough to let me overtake them.

You made it this far? A picture taken from my terrace for you then:

Babydogsitting and stuff

2006-11-13T23:53:00.000+01:00

Today I learned something new, which can be very useful for mobile texting:

"The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human."

This is the text that gets you in the Guiness book of world records for fastest text messaging. It is also a good thing to text back if you have problems like these.It is sure to keep the the text terrorist wondering why would you provide such information, even though it may well save their life, especially if they're clumsy and prone to stumble and fall while trying to escape the piranhas.

Since this will be a bit longer post, you might consider grabbing yourself a drink. Like the one on the left. It's not alcoholic, not stimulative and moderately tasty. So what's so special about it? It has one special feat: it looks cool :) . It's tee with some lime juice and some milk. Milk is here purely for aesthetic pleasure, and me trying to use it all up before it goes bad (for the third time in a row - bachelor life). And you might use it after you escape all those hungry piranhas.

On the other topic: I got to do some dog sitting this weekend for my brother, who had left town for some horse equipment fair in Italy. His name (the dog's not my brother's) is Franz and he is such a big and cuddly puppy.

Especially when you go to bed in the 4 in the morning because you've been working on an ASP.NET application , just to be awaken around 9 by your dad banging on some rock just outside your bedroom window, while shouting something resembling a high-pitched "C'M FRNZ" (banging on the rocks and calling the dog are not in any way related, just happened in the same time). It wasn't until later that I expressed my doubt as to the quality of communication when using so few vowels, and that 'come Franz' or 'here Franz' might be better. I've been labeled 'dog expert' for such profound insight. Sarcastically, of course.

Well here's a few pictures (Franz's, not my dad's):

As you can see, he's a crossbred between Lessie and German Shepard. That's the only reason why he wasn't really listening to my commands - shepards need to be independent and self-sufficient. Right.

Such poise, such stance. A pure crossbred.

Tequila is good for you

2006-11-08T11:46:00.000+01:00

Another good commercial came to me in an email from Canada. Enjoy, and no leaving till the end:

Autumn

2006-11-05T19:07:00.000+01:00

Autumn is fun...in a melancholic way :) . Here are several pictures from a little 2-hour hiking trip to Lisac, a small place near the Slovenian border.

On the left you can see a satellite image of the area on GoogleEarth, if you use the program you can scout the area starting with this placemark. There isn't much detail available I'm afraid.

Going uphill.
Catchers in the rye?
An epidemic of catchers in the rye?
Cheerfully going back.

It was really refreshing to walk in the woods a bit, and there's no denying that the city air smells way worse after such a hike.

p.s. I actually don't like autumn...*sigh*

Cartoon guy

2006-10-31T12:58:00.000+01:00

I'm boring and have a boring life. So the only thing I got for you today is this cartoon quiz.

Let me know what you turn out to be. I'm

Politically incorrect video of the day

2006-10-27T14:31:00.000+02:00

I received this mock commercial by e-mail a couple of days ago. It truly is politically incorrect, and could be offensive to those who believe violence is in accordance with religion. You've been warned. Feel free to complain in the comments section.

Website of the day

2006-10-26T18:49:00.001+02:00

Did you ever wonder how do mice on drugs feel? And why? Then check this out.

Porn missionary updated

2006-10-24T00:39:00.000+02:00

I had to share this with the world. And, no it has nothing to do with the missionary position, but with a webpage - JC's Girls Girls Girls.

See, this girl, Heather Veitch, was a part of the adult industry, but has turned to God and is now doing missionary work with girls who are a part of the industry or are looking into it. She puts her 'holy hottie' t-shirt on and follows, in her own words, "God to the darkest places.. but finding so much light!".

It also has testimonies from ordinary, everyday people, like this one:

http://tinyurl.com/yegqhm

Keep up the good work Heather!

*an update*
This is not the only webpage dealing with porn and Christianity, one other caught my attention: XXXchurch.com, with an interesting banner:
(Don't you just love how they included the palm of a hand on that banner?)

While on the right of the page was an advertisement for a shirt with this cool design from randomshirts.com:
Now, am I the only one noticing some discrepancy here? Logical fault? Just maybe? :)

Secure thy wireless

2006-10-13T02:13:00.000+02:00

This one time when I was taking a bus back home from work (yes, I do work sometimes) I was bored and popped open my laptop and my 3G wireless card (goes through the mobile operator) to surf the Internet, thus alleviating my boredom. And then I read about this small island in the middle of the Amazon getting Internet access. How appropriate.

So I said to myself: let’s check how many victims out there have unprotected wireless networks. I wasn’t going to connect, and the application I was using to discover the networks actually doesn’t let you connect (so I didn’t break any laws I am aware of).

Ok, so, let’s look what the Network stumber app discovered:

( SSID ) Time (GMT)

( Homer ) 19:33:53 (GMT)
( kapula ) 19:35:32 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:36:01 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:36:05 (GMT)
( Zorovic ) 19:36:06 (GMT)
( hpsetup ) 19:36:13 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:36:14 (GMT)
( default ) 19:36:35 (GMT)
( tz-rijeka ) 19:36:37 (GMT)
( bejb_connection ) 19:36:45 (GMT)
( HotSpot ) 19:37:16 (GMT)
( default ) 19:37:59 (GMT)
( HDZClanovi ) 19:38:05 (GMT)
( Vinalco ) 19:38:06 (GMT)
( Jadrolinija2 ) 19:38:11 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:38:20 (GMT)
( LR_AP_2 ) 19:38:23 (GMT)
( AgitRi ) 19:38:27 (GMT)
( LR_Bridge_1 ) 19:38:29 (GMT)
( BlueLemon ) 19:38:30 (GMT)
( Nomen ) 19:39:07 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint. ) 19:39:13 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:39:23 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:39:36 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:39:44 (GMT)
( IMBConnectionPoint ) 19:39:47 (GMT)
( www.LDT.biz.hr ) 19:39:47 (GMT)
( st.ord ) 19:40:21 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:41:05 (GMT)
( energija i tehnologija ) 19:41:07 (GMT)
( Ds-eling ) 19:41:08 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:41:15 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:42:04 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:42:27 (GMT)
( ExAP ) 19:42:29 (GMT)
( mreza ) 19:42:46 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:42:48 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:43:12 (GMT)
( acer ) 19:43:33 (GMT)
( RiWireless-Turnic2 ) 19:44:02 (GMT)
( texas ) 19:44:02 (GMT)
( dsnproject ) 19:44:04 (GMT)
( claus ) 19:44:39 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:45:41 (GMT)
( Konekcija ) 19:46:31 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:49:13 (GMT)
( ingens ) 19:50:07 (GMT)
( Irena ) 19:50:16 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:50:18 (GMT)
( KADENA_WiFi ) 19:50:21 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:50:25 (GMT)
( ConnectionPoint ) 19:51:02 (GMT)
( zMreza ) 19:54:52 (GMT)

Wow, 53 networks within half an hour (with a bus driver actually speeding his way to the top of the hill I live on). And listen to this: 27 of them didn’t have any encryption set up!

What does that do? Well first of all, most of them were Internet access points, and Internet is usually not flat-rate here. So there might be someone (neighbor, a guy in the car, or an unsuspecting tourist looking for a Net access) transferring the data you will pay for. Second, the culprit might be using your Net access for something illegal, which might leave the trail leading back to you. Third, your computer(s) are hooked up to a local network through the wireless. So if you are sharing something in the network (e.g. pictures) they will easily be accessible by an unwelcome visitor. Forth, on an unsecured network anyone can listen to the data you exchange, so just imagine that e-mail you are sending to your best friend being read by a stranger. The list goes on.

So SECURE THY WIRELESS.

An act of goodness

2006-10-12T17:29:00.000+02:00

One of the girls receiving the keys from the mayor.

I’ve been reading newspapers this morning, well more like 13:00 hours, but that’s still morning to me. No, I don’t sleep till then, but I stay in bed doing work over the Net, till I get too hungry to ignore it. But that’s not the point.

There was an article talking about an act of goodness which touched my heart and made me think. An anonymous couple has given an apartment as a gift to a neglected kids’ institution to be used by orphan kids between the ages of 18 and 21. They have to leave the home when they turn 18, and in this way they have a few years for saving up money, getting a proper job training and learning how to live on their own, while still having the support of the institution.

The couple had done it because they lost a girl of their own, and they wanted to remain anonymous, which just adds to the nobility of the act. The apartment in question is worth about 50 000 €.

I was wondering…why is it that we can fully give only when we are faced with a loss, and only in the depths of misfortune can we fully appreciate the goodness we receive. I think we should devote some thought every day to the fortune that was given to us, and how we could best help other people by sharing either are time, our talents or any other portion of our wealth.

Clearly lost in space and time

2006-10-12T17:18:00.000+02:00

An excerpt from an e-mail exchange with one of the administrators at (still) my faculty:

Me: … Best regards, and have an excellent weekend.
Adm.: … If we don’t talk before that, you have an excellent weekend yourself.
Me: Urm, I thought it was Friday, not Thursday :(

A fun weekend

2006-10-11T00:31:00.000+02:00

There is a drawback to blogging: you don't want to let your (small but important) audience down, but can't muster enough inspiration to feed their hunger.

So just a humble reminder of the weekend:

Who says that Freestyle walkin' is old. Here you can see Andy gracefully starting his jump.

Cute,huh?

John and Andy