DS Demon of Speed!

MarioKart for Nintendo DS was just released in Europe. That means I can now race and battle with people all over the world whenever I am at any WiFi hotspot.

And it's fun as hell, proving again that polygons and motion capture don't matter (mostly).

If you want to race me, my "Friend code" is 244873-352476.

P.S: That logo on my car is custom-drawn. You can have your face or swastika there, if you wish...

Ocaml Sudoku solver

I stumbled upon this Sudoku solver by an accident. It's written in Ocaml, solves Sudoku puzzles and is 769 bytes (19 lines) long! (Also see the links to other solvers at the bottom of the linked page.)

I am not sure if "code density" is the right term but it's astonishing how much can be done in Ocaml in so few program instructions. When I analyze the program above, I understand how it works but I seriously doubt I will be able to write anything like it soon. Almost everything I ever knew about programming must be thrown out of the window and I must approach the problems from the new angle and actually THINK while coding. It's very nice feeling, the feeling I didn't have since VIC-20 Basic in the early 1980s. :)

Of course, it's not easy to approach programming from fresh angles when you have to make living for yourself and programming is currently not part of making that living... :)

Face of terror

Maybe I am ignorant but I never before heard of Gary Glitter until his recent "complications" with Vietnamese girls.

However, I can positively say I never saw a face that says "I molest children" more clearly than the photo on the right! (Except maybe Tim Curry in the "Legend" movie and Mr. Paroubek.)

Yes, this is the same man as on the pages linked above!

Kryspin's sense of snow

Today, Kryspin experienced snow for the first time.

Of course, he had no idea what it is so naturally he decided to hunt it and kill it!

UPDATE: Several people told me the link above does not work. It definitely works for me! Maybe there is some weird problem with Flickr. Try clicking here and then using "next".

Baldachyn has a problem

As I wrote before, I've got a problem: What to do in Amsterdam for 5 days (I don't drink, I don't take drugs, I am heterosexual).

However, Baldachyn has bigger problem: Does anyone have any suggestions what he should do for 4 days in Sofia, Bulgaria? He is also heterosexual, I think.

Any suggestions for Baldachyn would be appreciated here or in talkbacks.

"Lady in the Water" trailer

"Bedtime story"? Click here for another dose of weirdness from M. Night Shyamalan, master of WTF.

St. Albert

Today is Albert's name day. That means November 21 is the day of St. Albert and all Alberts get presents. Because of higher bed in our new flat, Albert would like something like this but they don't ship internationally...

Because there are only 365 saints in the calendar (actually even less), our other dogs have/had no standard name days (there is no St. Chucky or St. Stimpy). Our cunning solution is to celebrate their name days exactly 6 months before their birthdays!

And something for all the people who wanted to see more daring photos of Karolina: Here she is doing it doggie-style!

"The best of..."

Some people are using Flickr to post the very best photographs they take.

Not me.

Considering I am paying Flickr for 2GB of usable space per month, I see no reason not to upload almost everything I take photo of, after discarding the absolutely shittiest unrecognizable images. It might be educational to look through all that stuff some time in the future.

Of course, having well over 3000 of my photos on Flickr presents a problem for someone who wants to see something nice / interesting / not shitty.

This is why I created this set (which should grow in the future) containing the photos I prefer the world to see. Either because of the psychedelic colors or because of the cute dog with big eyes...

And, please, don't tell me my photos don't conform to basic photographic conventions. I looked at some photography books and I really don't enjoy taking that road.

I don't know shit about art but I know what I like!

All your Google base are belong etc... (not funny anymore)

OK, so Google Base is public at last. Fine. Now, what should I do with it?

By the way - if I define my kind of item (let's say "My favorite disease") and add a few of them, how can I add another several days later? Do I really have to define all fields again? That seems stupid. And yes, I know it can be done using batch upload. I am now talking purely about the web interface.

"Haunted Memories"

I hoped to write this before Halloween but the wonderful Czech Post took OVER THREE WEEKS to deliver a package from USA to me. So this post is instead in remembrance of all the students who gave their life on November 17.

I ordered two pictures from HauntedMemories.com and I hope to have them framed and placed at strategical points in our flat where they'll do maximum psychological damage to unsuspecting visitors.

You see, the images, when viewed from front, seem like normal ancient portraits. However, If you move to either side, they change to something rather unpleasant. Of course this trick is old (I remember Czech postacrds like this from the early 1970s) but these paintings are done very profesionally and the change is gradual (several stages and even something that looks like animation (see the actual footage here).

I purchased "Da Vince Corpse" and "Uncle Charles" (smaller versions) for $140 total, including $20 postage to the Czech Republic (which includes package insurance).

Surprisingly, even Karolina "sort of" likes them and came up with the idea of buying the aunt for the uncle. We shall see...

If you have enough space (and money), I definitely recommend going for the large versions, the detail is really amazing.

UPDATE: I almost forgot: If you are really rich, for "at least $800" the author offers to create a custom changing portrait based on your photo! See the FAQ on his pages.