2011-02-28 11:52:00
This morning I read about a new feature in Lion, which made me think. Lion allows virtual desktop login.
Of course OS X has always had Remote Desktop / RDP, but with this new feature OS X now finally supports something akin to Terminal Services or Citrix: multiple accounts using the same hardware to run their own applications and sessions simultaneously. At home this could of course be fun and sometimes even handy. But where it would really shine is in a corporate environment with a VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure).
It makes little sense to run your VDI on Mac Minis and Mac Pros which are strapped into a 19" rack, so it'd be more logical for Apple to beef up their XServe line. But... Wait? Didn't Apple recently -kill- their XServe line of products?
Have Apple made an oversight for a cool product? Do they believe that VDI has no future? Or are they up to something more devious? :D
Imagine a nice, fat HP blade server with oodles of RAM and CPUs, running OS X terminal services. Data access could be provided on the SAN, through fiber. Wouldn't that be nice for production houses etc who might want big, noisy machines cluttering up their offices and would like to have them tucked away into a server room? Or what about offices moving most of their employees from to cheaper thin clients, instead of putting them on full-featured "expensive" Macs.
So could it be that, under the philosophy that "others can do servers and SAN better than us" Apple could be opening up licensing of OS X to other vendors' hardware?
The fact that they've rid themselves of the two OS X versions (desktop vs server) and merged them into one could also be interpreted as further evidence. One OS X to run on desktops, laptops, servers, blades and virtual machines.
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2011-02-27 11:24:00
After two missed trainings (illness and our Copenhagen trip) I finally went back to class yesterday. The effects of three weeks without proper training were very clear, because I was quite lost in my timing. I had to relearn all manner of things.
On the positive side of things, my striking motion has in fact improved since last time. About two weeks ago it finally "clicked" in my head. The reason why my strike was moving in an arc instead of a straighter line was because I was flicking my left wrist right from the start. Instead, what I have to do is first pull my left hand in a straight line, with the flick and the swing coming in much later.
So... Stuff to focus on:
The stupid thing is that I keep getting the various suburi mixed up in regards on when to raise and when to strike, in relation to my footwork. Of course it's simply a matter of repetition to ensure that I memorize it. I think I'd better clean up the back yard a bit to provide the required space for my practice. There's only so much I can do in my study.
kilala.nl tags: kendo, sports,
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2011-02-22 21:23:00
Man I'm looking forward to this movie. I haven't read Norwegian Wood yet, but so far I've loved all the other Murakami books I've read. I reckon I'll need to go with my sister, unless I can coerce Marli.
kilala.nl tags: japan, movies,
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2011-02-21 22:08:00
This fall we will be making a trip to Japan. This time it's not just me going to the land of the rising sun, like in 2007, but it's all three of us! Or actually, all five or six of us since my sis+b.i.l and possibly even Kaijuu are joining us. In preparation of this long holiday, which involves two twelve-hour flights, we decided to do a short trial run with Dana. Last weekend we took her on her first plane ride and it went wonderfully!
We'd chosen to go to Copenhagen, because if Dana'd really flipped her lid, we'd still be able to go home by train. But the backup plan was not needed, because she had no trouble at all. The wait at Schiphol airport, the take off, the flight, the landing and the final round up at CPH: no problems at all! Dana was entertained by iPhone games and puzzles such as Monkey Preschool Lunchbox and Tozzle, both of which she really loves! That kid is just nuts about puzzles! ^_^
And, as the picture on the left shows, on the way back she was so exhausted and comfortable that she fell asleep in my lap during landing in Amsterdam. Awwww <3 We're feeling confident about the long flight to Japan. Takeoff and landing will be fine, now we'll just have to keep her entertained for the remaining eleven hours :p
EDIT:
I have to say: I absolutely love the Copenhagen CPH airport! All the logistics are efficient (e.g. border security and the gate procedures), they have plenty of play areas for children and their shopping areas are great. It feels brighter and friendlier than Schiphol.
Also, with regards to my earlier panic blog posts: on our way to Schiphol I was getting more and more anxious and when we finally got on the plane I was feeling pretty badly. However, being occupied with Dana took most of my problems away and in the end I didn't have any real attack at all. Wonderful! On the way back i had no troubles at all, so that's also a nice reinforcement for this fall.
kilala.nl tags: baby, anxiety,
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2011-02-21 21:24:00
Earlier I wrote a little about my shopping experience with Kendo 24. I'd like to take a little bit of time to write an actual endorsement, because their customer service is absolutely great.
When i placed my first order I dillydallied a little bit about the size of my uniform. In the end I picked a size which I knew was slightly too big, assuming that it'd be easy to fix if it was -way- too big. Bernd was friendly and patient with me and promptly sent out my order. And when it did turn out that the uniform was waaay too big he had no problems at all with sending me a new uniform (with free shipping!) even before I'd returned my original order. At their prices, the cost-quality ratio is just perfect for a beginner. My next order will definitely be with them again.
kilala.nl tags: kendo,
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2011-02-18 16:14:00
Aptly called Panic Party.
Call it a forum, slash support group, slash source of information and tips. A few things I've learnt so far, though not all of it was news:
I'm gonna hate cutting back on the coffee, but then again that's just my attitude regarding coffee which I need to get over. Imagine that, from someone who started drinking coffee only five years ago.
kilala.nl tags: life, health, anxiety,
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2011-02-18 16:02:00
Source: Type 2000 going over the Yomase bridge, by Wamu8.
I love the old fashioned train model, but I have to admit I'd be a bit jittery about riding the train over that bridge. It's just barely wide enough to hold the rails themselves. *shudder* I reckon the picture was taken somewhere in the vicinity of here, probably between the Yomase and Shin-Anotakehara stations, seeing how there's a dale with a river between them.
kilala.nl tags: trains, japan,
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2011-02-14 12:12:00
I wonder why not everybody does this: carry a small booklet or card in their wallet with relevant medical information. I'm sure that it'll be helpful if the proverbial sh*t ever hits the fan.
In preparation for our next trip to Japan I've made bilingual booklets for the both of us, with our personal information, emergency contact info and our medical history (blood type, medication, illnesses). Making the booklet with Pages was a snap, because of its wonderful layout capabilities.
In the case of Marli it'll be important for emergency crews to know of her gastric bypass. Similarly, it'll also be helpful to know about my hyperventilation and my panic attacks.
Speaking of which, last night I had another one again without any particularly obvious reason and the effects lasted for well over an hour. This prompted me to take a day of sick leave to recuperate and to have a chat with my GP. He agrees that it's highly likely that what I'm experiencing are indeed panic attacks and that it's best if I have a few sessions to learn about cognitive behavioral techniques. Like I discussed with Menno a few months ago I certainly recognize the agoraphobic aspects that usually accompany panic attacks. Our upcoming 1-day trip to Kopenhagen with Dana will certainly be an interesting challenge.
kilala.nl tags: life, health, body, anxiety,
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2011-02-11 19:24:00
This morning Dana runs up to Marli, holding a Duplo Lego cat toy.
D: Puss! Puss!
M: Indeed it is.
D: Puss! Puss!
M: That's right! And what does a pussycat say?
D: Tha'k you!
We've been teaching her to say "thank you" if we give her something, but saying "and what do you say?". I guess that prompted this slipup :)
And tonight Marli's changing shirts and has stripped down to her bra. Dana comes up for cuddles and tickles after which I give Marli her shirt.
D: *pulls shirt away from Marli* No!
M: *takes shirt back*
D: Noo-ooo!
T: *stands there with sweater in his hands*
D: *looks at me* *pushes me away* Go 'way!
M+T: ROTFLOAO ^_^
kilala.nl tags: baby,
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2011-02-08 22:13:00
In my music collection, there is a CD that collects a number of popular songs from Japan's sixties and seventies. On it are many songs that I really like, but only a few that I -love-. One is "Kandagawa" (神田川) by folk band Kaguyahime, from 1973. From the moment I first heard it I knew it was -something- melancholic, and thanks to the Wiki page and the translations I now know what it's about :) I still love it and it actually goes quite well with Murakami's first books, which play in roughly the same era.
========================
Maybe you've already forgotten how we went to the public bath down the lane with our red hand towels as mufflers
You said, "Let's go together", but you always made me wait
My damp hair was frozen down to the roots I rattled the small soap, you held me and said, "You're cold"
When we were young, I wasn't afraid of anything, only your tenderness made me afraid
Maybe you've already thrown away the drawing of me you made with the twenty-four-color set of pastel crayons you bought
"Make it good," I said, but it didn't look like me at all
I can see the Kanda River from out the window of my three-tatami room at the boarding house
You looked at my fingertips and asked, "Are you sad?"
When we were young, I wasn't afraid of anything, only your tenderness made me afraid
EDIT:
The song was used as inspiration for the "Kandagawa" movie from 1974, about which another blogger also wrote.
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2011-02-07 21:46:00
Recently Dana's been weened off her afternoon nap, which means that she's bound to get tired around 1930. The past few days, every night, she'll fall asleep against me or on the couch or, as shown on the left, cuddled up against me while I sleep. Cute, but it's not really what's supposed to happen, so we fight her a little to get her to bed. Lesson learned: maybe without the afternoon nap we should start putting her to bed at 1930 instead of 2000.
With her expanding vocabulary, she's also finally starting to put sentences together. Last weekend over lunch she pointed at my empty muesli mug and said "Daddy food done". Also, while pointing out the various animals printed on her lunch plate she points at a pig, looks at me and asks "What that?". Woohoo!
What else, what else?... *ponders* Kindergarten's still going fine and Dana enjoys it tremendously. As one of the teachers pointed out today, "that girl's going to love going to school!". She loves playing with the other kids and by the end of the day usually doesn't want to go home yet ^_^
kilala.nl tags: baby,
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2011-02-05 23:35:00
I've just now finished 'Last Exile', a 2003 anime by Gonzo. I won't go into any of the details regarding the story (I'll leave that up to the wikipedia article). I certainly enjoyed the series, though it's far from perfect in my opinion.
I loved the setting, with its anachronistic mixing of WWII era tech and scifi (we've already ascertained that I love stories like that). I loved the concept of the story and most of the characters were attractive enough. The mecha design was great and I didn't even mind the CGI.
So what detracted from all of that so greatly? The haphazardness of the storytelling. At times the story bounces to and fro, and left and right, making you feel like Gonzo quickly skipped over a bunch of stuff to get to the next point. At two points in the series I actually felt like I'd accidentally skipped a whole episode thinking who the heck the new characters were or how things had led up to certain events. And especially the ending felt messy to me, where they tried to cram a whole episode's worth of closure into the last ten to fifteen minutes.
I've got high hopes for this year's sequel though :)
kilala.nl tags: anime,
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2011-02-05 20:13:00
Last week's training at was great and I enjoyed it a lot. The day after I realized that I might have enjoyed it just a little bit too much, because apparently I'd pulled a muscle in my left leg. Something running from my loin down the inside of my thigh. Either way, dumb me disregarded the problems and proceeded to attempt jogging to and from the office every day. Dumb :) Today it was still bothering me, to the point that I had to bow out twice, after sharp pains during practice. So, mental note to self: take it easy next week!
Both sensei Loyer and sempai Chris pointed out a few structural flaws in my technique, which I really need to work on. One has been obvious from the start, one was noticed only now.
Another important point is that, when landing a point, I should properly stamp my right foot. However, today I avoided doing that because of my pulled muscle.
So! Practice, practice! Renshuu, renshuu!
Today I also asked the teacher if I could enroll as a student. I was originally told that everyone could have five free introductory weeks, after which one'd join the dojo. Instead I was told that he would, for now, not accept my enrollment and that I should simply proceed as we are right now. Sensei wanted to impress upon me that "kendo is not something you do for a year", so first he'd like to see me get through the first few months. Based on our short discussion I assume this is to our mutual benefit: for me so I am not forced to make social and monetary commitments and for the dojo so they first get to know me better before truly accepting me. It's certainly not what I expected, but I can agree with all the benefits involved with this approach.
Finally, as I remarked last week: I really like the people in the group. At least one of them lives very close to me, so I gave him and his friend a ride back to Almere Buiten station. Given our proximity I see some definite opportunities for backyard training in spring and summer :)
kilala.nl tags: body, sports, kendo,
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2011-02-01 16:44:00
I'd heard of this series before and now I've stumbled upon it again while looking around for more "Alps Park" / "Alps Hiroba" stuff.
"Ekiben Hitori Tabi" (駅弁ひとり旅, or "train station lunch solo trip") is a slice-of-life story about a man on a mission! A mission to try all of the regional ekiben in Japan. Ekiben are the packed lunches sold at train stations all through Japan. Eki = train station, Ben = short for bento = lunch box. Most stations carry ekiben with local and seasnal specialties so you'll never get bored :) Seeing how I love both trains and Japanese food, the series is bound to contain the appropriate amounts of food and train porn ^_^
This blog post by Telophase contains a bunch of scans and images from the comic.
EDIT:
For those wanting some ekiben food pornography themselves, there is of course a dedicated Flickr pool.
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All content, with exception of "borrowed" blogpost images, or unless otherwise indicated, is copyright of Thomas Sluyter. The character Kilala the cat-demon is copyright of Rumiko Takahashi and used here without permission.