ipodbatteri rules

Last week I thought my ipod finally died. I tried everything to fix it, but the hard disk just didn't respond. I wondered whether I should buy another type of media player. Can't stand devices with an expected lifetime of a couple of years. It's unethical.

Now it seems my ipod works. The owner of ipodbatteri.no fixed it. While I was waiting. Charging nothing as he couldn't guarantee that he'd repaired it for good. When my ipod finally gives in, I will probably buy another one. As long as ipodbatteri is there to help me prolong it's life.

a messy post starting with Lessig on Keane and ending with me

Lawrence Lessig has written an inordinately clever review of Andrew Keen's The Cult of the Amateur: How today's Internet is killing our culture. I'm quite sure Keen has a few valid points, but Lessig's comments convince me more than Clay Shirky's semi-defence of Keen's main ideas.

A side-point: I find it particularly interesting to read the section entitled "The Least Important (Lessig) Fallacy", where Lessig comments on Keen's interpretations of his ideas. I do wonder how many scholars I misinterpret throughout my thesis? You know, communication and dialogues are really just continuous misinterpretations :)

Btw, I was quoted in Norwegian tabloid Dagbladet, apparently having said: "We are in the midst of a gigantic psychological experiment, which for ever will change the traditional distinction between public and private. As if I said that! Well of course, boundaries between private and public are being adjusted, partially because of individual online practices, but, "gigantic psychological experiment". Oh well, I'm learning to live with my tabloid self.

digital annoyance

A couple of weeks ago I dropped my camera while photographing. It, surprise, did not survive the fall. I should get it repaired of course. But you know the problem: fixing digital cameras seem to cost more than buying a new one. I really hate that about digital stuff. Argh. Maybe I should buy an approachable and user-friendly SLR-camera? And still get my other camera repaired?

edit: The service-guy at foto & video looked at me as if I were from the moon when I asked whether my camera could be repaired. At least I tried to do the right thing. I bought a Nikon D40x. Now I just have to learn how to use it.

computers and time

So I have this silly personal hypothesis. Computers affect the experience of time. It is of course related to the fact that time appears to pass more quickly when you're having fun (such as my experience of time at the magnificent Dolly Parton concert a week ago - oh, it was wonderful). The difference is I'm not necessarily having fun when I work with computers - yet time passes so quickly.

I have no other explanation for the fact that the years 2001-2007 ("my adult working life") feels like a much shorter period than 1995-2001 (student-years, when I generally didn't spend the whole day in front of a computer). It could of course be related to the fact that I'm getting older. I've also considered whether time actually passes more quickly than before.

But I like boring-time. Maybe I need to log off.

home sweet home

You know I had the best time in Brisbane. Home's good too though: a few things I like about being back home:

• It's home!
• Being back in my office, I'm one lucky PhD-student!
• Family, friends, colleges
  
• My own bicycle (which is brand new btw, my Xmas-present from Lasse)
• Winter. Though the weather hardly qualifies as winter, there's no snow and yesterday we had 8 degrees. The climate worries me (please travel "climate-neutral")
  
• The workout-facilities at the University: first-class equipment, the best instructors and the best venues.
• Reasonably priced fruit and vegetables
• Newspapers
• TV
• Real broadband connection

5 things you didn't know about me

Jean tagged me, so here we go:

1. I programmed my DVD/HDD recorder to tape more than 40 programs before I went to Australia in September. Now I'll have to watch my recorded shows in fast forward in order to have time to watch it all.

2. I used to be overweight as a kid. By today's standards I was probably just chubby, but I was the only one around.

3. I bought my first CD in 1988 when I turned 13: Def Leppard's Hysteria. I still have it, but unlike other early music-memories I haven't imported it to my mp3-player.

4. I easily cry - because of fictional and factual evilness.

5. I (want to) believe in some kind of God. People tend to be surprised to learn that I do.

I tag Hege and Luca.

So long and thanks for all

Darlinghurst, Sydney: Haven't been online for the last 12 days, and I won't spend a lot of time updating on our trip just yet (Lasse impatient by my side...). Tomorrow afternoon we'll be on our way home, and I'm kind of looking forward to it, Christmas and all...

I've had such a wonderful time in Australia! Thank you, and remember you're very welcome to come and visit us in Oslo!

cairns, alice springs, melbourne and sydney next

Time's almost up: we're leaving tomorrow, how sad and yet exciting. Tomorrow at 6.30 pm we'll be on our way to Cairns. We're travelling with the tilt-train. Which is supposed to be really fast, yet the 1600 km take 24 hours to travel (67 km/h). We plan to go snorkling (I love) of course and horseback-riding (I hope). As we couldn't decide where not to go, we decided to go everywhere. From Cairns we fly to Alice Springs - the compulsory day-trip to Uluru. And from Alice Springs we fly to Melboure - three days of shopping (christmas-gifts mostly...), and then finally the train from Melbourne to Sydney where we'll spend our last two days in Australia.

I've kind of finished a first-draft of an article where I analyse user-perceptions of creative practices. Now I'm confused and a little bewildered. I must be excited because I can't seem to concentrate on my work.

Noosa weekend

Noosa was wonderful, and I now kind of know how to surf (more in theory than practice). Noosa is pretty much a tourist's paradise. Sunscreen 30+ recommended (add hat and shades of course).

fast and furious

I didn't notice, working at my desk in the graduate student bunker, but there was a rather furious storm in Brisbane yesterday. A tree fell into our empty pool, we lost our power and it wasn't back until 10 pm, but worse - roofs flew of a couple of buildings in Red Hill. On my way to work I noticed my favourite church being one of those buildings. I love it's pale blue colour, and I like the weekly messages on the board outisde. This week it's "Welcome to the perfect church for those of us who aren't". And if I remember the previous ones correctly:
"Don't just stand there, prey something"
"There is no such thing as an ugly smile" (kind of cliché, right?)
"Live simply so that others may simply live" (my favourite of course)

work and play

After a pretty good week of some translation, some reviewing and most importantly progressing on my own PhD-article, I'm off to Noosa this morning for an extended weekend of play! Nina arrived on Tuesday morning, and Lasse has been her wonderful Brisbane-guide for the last three days while I've been working. Now we're definitely looking forward to beach and surf-classes!