all things me

Note to self: Adding a nicer search function a la Raena. I removed the counting of search results because I use pagination so if there are 10+ results it would show “There are 10 results…” even though there were more. Also, I changed the length ($excerpt_length) of “the_exceprt_rss” function in template-functions-post.php, line 194.

Added a Statistics hack for my own fun. Note to self: Doesn’t show private messages.

An observation: I don’t understand what the word count really counts… it always seems to be missing a few words. E.g. it claimed there was 18 words before this note here, and I counted 19…

I downloaded a lot of goldie oldie games from Pelit [Games] magazine’s site (you need to be a subscriber and registered to download): New Adventures of Zak McKracken, Maniac Mansion Deluxe, and Mario Forever. I also downloaded Codename Gordon, a 2D game with a Halflife motif. I was looking for Space Quest: Replicated, a fan-made game, but didn’t find it.

*insert proper curse word here* I’m going crazy with these mad insects flying around. They’re attracted to my desk lamp. If only I could whack ’em.

Last night, around 1:50 I finally got to the Final Boss Fight in Beyond Good & Evil. I fought the darn thing for about half an hour and finally after a whole lotta K-Bups and going through the “choreography” over and over (I ended up playing with my eyes closed — hey, I was tired! ) I beat it! The end movie begins, good. And then, no voices, screen fades to white. The background music seems stuck. Nothing happens. I hit del, esc, any key. Nada. Ctrl + Alt + Del opens the program list, luckily. It was 2:20 then and I couldn’t stay awake anymore so I had to leave it at that.

This afternoon I decided to try it again. There had been a saving point just before the final battle but that was alright. <irony>I knew it by heart anyway…</irony> This time it took me 10 minutes to beat, not flawlessly though. And this time the end movie worked. *phew*

So, now I can say I beat Beyond Good & Evil.

I joined BG&E fanlisting, by the way.

Yesterday when Dad left for his annual volleyball tournament (company vs. company) I stole Beyond Good & Evil which he’d been playing. It’s an interesting game — a nice change after FPSs (well, I just played NOLF II which isn’t all FPS either). And very very funny! The installation music, which later is playing at Akuda Bar, was a hoot!

On Ubi Forums I read how to get the song, so now I’m listening to it over and over and over… “Propaganda!”

The game is set on a planet called Hillys and you play Jade, a reporter/photographer who joins a rebellious group, the IRIS Network, which is trying to reveal the truth and free the Hillyans from their oppressors, the Alpha Section. Along the way you get to fight alongside with uncle Pey’j and Double H.

In addition to making money by exposing a conspiracy, Jade photographs the fauna of Hillys for a Natural Museum catalogue.

There are a few (I’ve found 4 so far) pirate caves on the planet. Once you enter the pirates (or looters) steal 100 Units from you and you have to chase them. At least I didn’t pass the “race” on the 1st try, so after a couple of dozens (in total, not per cave) “Look out, Miss Jade! Looters! Don’t let them get away, Miss Jade!” a la Double H, I felt like banging my head against the table (I took an easy way out, I turned the volume down…). But once I do catch the darn looters and get their treasure, plus a big pearl with which I’m able to buy all kinds of goodies to my (sorry, Jade’s) hovercraft — ah, what a feeling.

Game’s website

The game site is very very odd. Or not the main site, but the “side sites” of
Hillyan News and IRIS Network. On Hillyan News it says “Others News” and on IRIS Network “Lastest News”. Bah! And none of the sites can decide if it’s “Hillyan” or “Hyllian”, “Hillys” or “Hyllis”.

Spotted in the manual for command zip (on department’s Linux):
-x files
       Explicitly exclude the specified files

I still don’t know how to zip files though… Why can’t there be a LinZip?

Eh… I was flabbergasted cause a Java code’s output was being cut off in various places (I thought it was my doing cause I had modified it). Finally I realized that I was running it on the local computer so maybe it just didn’t have the strength to run the program all the way to the end. I logged in our dept’s server and voila. Even the last character is output to the file like it should.
This is almost in the same category as “why isn’t the bloody Ant code working?!?” and all you need to do is add fork="yes" in the places where you run Java.

Updates: Read The Little Prince (Dad had got it from “his English teacher” ; some business English course) and finished Unreal II today. Made a card for my little cousin (literally ‘little’, 4 yrs) whom we are visiting tomorrow

Didn’t have work today (hurraah!!) and I slept for almost 13 hours.
And yesterday, I did leave at 2pm. I have my opening statement sketched in case they drag me to court…

A professor just asked someone if they knew Windows well and when he said no, the prof said “or at least you’re not going to admit it” …

Everybody always trashes Windows and Bill Gates. I wonder why. Who would be using computers today if it wasn’t for Windows? The nerds. And would there be nerds if they weren’t introduced to computers via Windows or similar easily graspable systems at an early age? The graphic interface allows lay(wo)men to use the computer without having to know dozens of different commands and their usage. And when they realise and learn that there could be a better OS than Windows (better in the areas they appreciate), they get interested in others.

OK, I don’t know if that’s what happens, but I like Windows and I’m not afraid to admit it. I don’t know if I would like computers if I had to stare at the light blue text on blue screen of a Commodore 64 or the black screen of DOS all day (I know they can be customised… but you get the point), or type commands and check how the arguments had to be written again.

And besides, games work on Windows.

And Bill Gates. It’s not like he keeps all the money he’s made to himself. He and his wife have foundations. I think they contributed money even to the Finnish libraries for the exceptional work they’ve (the libraries) done to give public access to computers and the Internet.

@ 12:38
I’m hungry so I could’ve gone to eat to an actual Unicafe, but… there are two cafes close by, one is closed for the summer and the other one had only steak and omelette. I don’t eat eggs and I’m pretty sure the steak would be pork, which I don’t eat either. Lucky me.
So, cheese rice cake it is…
I could go … no, shoot … Mum just baked yesterday (or the day before that) I would’ve gone via some bakery on my way home and buy something really really good for coffee.

Ehm… a dictionary claims that “hard cheese” means “bad luck” … does it? I can’t find anything for or against. And I don’t have my Idiom dictionary with me.

@ 13:22
* singing *
Should I stay or should I go now…. if I stay it will be trouble, if I leave it will be double. Or the other way round. I really don’t remember the lyrics…

It feels like everybody’s leaving… I’m afraid I will be locked in. Actually I *was* locked in A girl who left the “sub-room” (a tiny room where you have to go to through this one) closed the door (to this room) and after a while she came back and opened it.

I’ll leave at 14. Forgive me, for I’ll sin. (I should be here till 16)

Yesterday Dad had installed (or whatever you call it) 256 Mb more memory to my computer… behind my back! I noticed something was “wrong” when I saw my monitor light blinking (if you leave it on, it blinks when there’s no signal) but I thought I had just forgotten it cause I had to do some bachelor’s thesis stuff late the previous night.

When I was playing Splinter Cell he came there to watch and asked how my computer was working and “how much memory do you have? Do you know?” I couldn’t understand what he meant and said “256 of course, or you mean hard drive?” He made me Alt+Tab to desktop and check; My Computer –> Properties. “Look! It has multiplied!!” Dad said and slipped away.

The computer, sorry — Simon, does run smoothly. The thermo-goggle mode in Splinter Cell looks amazing (well, the whole game looks amazing, all the lights that weren’t there before on Geforce).

To another thing, yesterday our study councellor and her dog were here. I was “stupid” enough to talk to the dog so I was its best friend after that (and also, my hand smelled like cheese rice cakes). I was already on my way downstairs when I hear ‘clickclickclicketyclick’ down the stairs. I had to turn back and ask them to keep the dog entertained so I can leave.

Anyway, this morning I noticed that it had decided the front of our library is good enough place for a toilet. Nice one. Hopefully no one steps on it.

Protege mailing list (http interface) doesn’t work.

Protege 2.1 won’t open my ontology (not like I need it to open it but it would be nice now that there’s a new release and not a beta anymore)

The smell of coffee drifts into my nose. Too bad the taste is shocking.

While I’m at it (“complaining”). I’m veeeery annoyed by the use of 3rd person singular verb with 3rd person plural. In Finnish, that is (we have different verb forms for each of those, 1st p. sg to 3rd p. pl that is — in case you didn’t know). It’s like using non-3rd person singular verb with 3rd person singular noun (“she say”; and that is in use as well). I know that some people are annoyed with the colloquial personal pronouns which I am “fluent” with (but I would NEVER use them in writing — hardly ever in the “internet speech” either, or text messages.. oh, no) and sometimes (in speech), I have to admit, I might slip a passive with “alkaa” (shame on me). But if that (either wrong number in verbs or that passive thing I mentioned) ever becomes acceptable, like the scary rumours I’ve heard could suggest — I’ll probably drop dead on the spot.

Now, enough bitching, time for coffeeing.

He-hey! There was sugar! (for coffee) This makes the taste not-so-shocking.

Hmm… I was going to write about something… oh well.

I forgot my key this morning (the key to the room here at work) because I had taken it off that thing, that loop thing on trousers to slip the belt through. What is it? I don’t even know it in Finnish (at least not right now). Anyway, luckily there was a cleaning lady (the same that said good morning to me the other day) around so I asked her to open the door for me.

There’s this man (I think he’s Indian, but that’s not the point) who hands out free magazines every morning (or how could I know, he could be there all day). He says “have a nice day” in a high-pitched, monotonous voice to every single person (almost). And he chases you!! Almost forces you to take the magazine (I usually just shake my head). Also, when he sees someone running to a tram he pushes the button to open the door and holds it open until the person has reached the tram. So, then the person must take the magazine cause the man has been so kind. The “have a nice day” is a sneaky way too cause who can say no to that? Well… after a while and too many unnecessary magazines, I could.

Talking about monotonous… there’s a monotonous drilling going on somewhere in the building. Agh. *drrr drrr drrr* *drrrrrrrr*

Hehey, the next entry (if it’s not today’s) will cause the 1st entry to scroll off this page. Exciting!!

Can’t wait to get home (have to go via the library, I’m taking Carrie and the two translation studies books back) and start playing Conflict Desert Storm II (I stole it from Dad cause he’s playing Hitman II at the moment, and very well too) with my brand new graphics card. I could play Tomb Raider too but I’m in an annoying place and my switch-target key doesn’t work! It’s the same key as roll (I’ve changed it to Alt) and it should work when the gun is drawn but Kurtis just ROLLS! No “typo” there, I do mean Kurtis. Uh oh… a spoiler. I think the problem is that the roll key should be tapped and my Alt is a bit sticky. I have to change it to Ctrl or something and try again cause I’m not giving up now!