Interesting stuff about Computers, Linux and Life
Virtualization is not only a major topic in computer industries, but lately also in medicine. A Taiwanese laboratory introduced a “3D-virtual guinea pig” system for drug testing. And they even say “such a process would be able to replace some live animal experiments”.
You don’t believe me… read yourself:
www.chinapost.com.tw: ‘3D virtual guinea pig’ to be used for drug development
Last week I went to cinema once again. In the tiny Kellerkino they showed the documentary “Manufactured Landscapes”. It is definitely a movie that should be seen by everybody.
The Canadian photographer and cameraman Edward Burtynsky attracted a lot of attention by his longterm work about how mankind changes the natural landscapes. The movie “Manufactured Landscapes” is showing us how industrialization in China looks like. He did choose China because it more and more becomes the factory of the world with all its negative consequences.
But compared to the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore about the global warming this movie does not rate the human acting. “Manufactured Landscapes” does not explain or discuss the destruction of nature it only shows it. Exactly this neutrality of the film-makers does lead to a speechlessness. You cannot totally accuse what you see because we depend on it and we provoke it with our economy. But on the other site it irreversibly destroys what has been on earth a long time before mankind.
The mixture of pictures and videos is underlaid with cold music and industrial noise. Sometimes there are short interviews, for example with a Chinese girl who assembles about 400 fuses a day, since six years. Or with an official of a coal mine trying to prevent the artist from filming their facility. You see the construction site of the Three Gorges Dam and the people destroying their own houses because their city will be flooded by this project. You see girls destructing our Computer waste for regaining the materials. But they cannot drink their ground water anymore because it is full of heavy metal residues. The movie shows the city of Shanghai which has to assimilate an increase in population of more than a million people per year. These are definitely other dimensions than we can even imagine here…
If I made you curious now you can watch the trailer of “Manufactured Landscapes” online.
What finally made me writing this article are some recent news about the Three Gorges Dam. First there was a video from National Geographic about landslides threating Chinese farmers. There they were still talking about a threat but today in the news there was already reported about a big landslide killing 34 people in the region of the Three Gorges.
Did you see the movie? Can we continue our extensive life forever? Can China handle this big challenge? Discuss it in the comments…
I like statistics. Not really when it is about calculating them but when it is about studying them. Of course first af all when there are statistics about myself. Gaming statistics is the one thing and statistics about music the other. last.fm provides me since one and a half year with hit lists from what music interprets, tracks and albums I am listening on my computers. I already had a lot of ideas about how this statistics collection could be expanded but others already did it.
Check out musickum.com: Open Mind Index Generator, enter your last.fm buddy name and let you show how open-minded you are when it’s about listening to music. You can compare it with others from same country or with same music taste.
For example here my last.fm OMI:
As you can see is my index about 104. The mean index of the people using this tool was 94. The interesting thing is for example that the mean OMI for people mainly listening to music tagged “Hip-Hop” is only about 85! Wow, what’s wrong here? Did hip hop once grew up from many different directions of music and ideas for ending here? Or men are with a mean index of 94.76 more open minded than women with 92.90. How can we read this?
There are many other interesting things that you “could” interpret from these numbers. But already our maths professor said: “Don’t trust statistics when you didn’t fake it yourself”.
Now let’s give me your OMIs… Who is the most open minded here?
After nearly one year of searching an appropriate flat it succeeded. You cannot imagine how hard it is to get a flat near the university district Länggasse in Bern. Ether they do not have a balcony or they are much too expensive and they do not want students or, when you finally found one you like, there are at least twenty other parties having the same impression. But now, finally, I got the keys to my first own flat this weekend. Unfortunately it is not near the university but just next to the famous bear pit near the old town. Haha, I cannot wait to say “good night” to the bears before going home. Admittedly it is not only my flat. I share it with two colleagues who I already know since several years or even since the high school time. Soon I do not have to walk home for more than forty minutes when I once again missed the last bus. But I do have to wash for myself, cook for myself, care for myself… I am looking forward. Within the next few days I will always take some stuff into the new flat (beer is already cooled in the fridge since we received the keys 
) and when there is eventually Internet available everything will be ready to move. Life, i am coming…
As most of you already know I safely returned back home. Even when I am in Switzerland again since one month a lot of thoughts still concern myself with this travel. It was a unique time in my life. Because of this I am still willing to fill the gaps in the diary during the following weeks. So far I already added the second day in Guangzhou: The traditional China - 8. 3. 2007
Like you can see now I made it to merge the backup blog on http://ganto.crimson.ch with my original one. At this place I would like to commend the very comfortable import/export feature of WordPress 2.1. I also switched the theme to Ocadia even when I am not yet that happy about it. But at least it is better than the default theme. 
Nun ist es bereits ein Weilchen her, seit dem letzten Eintrag. Das hat auch diverse Gründe. Diverse Grössere Sachen stehen mir demnächst bevor. Da wäre der Serverumzug. Im Hintergrund bin ich seit ein paar Wochen am Einrichten eines neuen Servers und damit auch am Herumspielen mit Linux VServer. Bis dieser aber einsatzbereit ist, vergehen wohl nocheinmal ein paar schlaflose Nächte. Weiter ist am Samstag Unifest und damit auch die Foobar, welche wir auch dieses Jahr zur besten Bar des Fests machen wollen. Dann rückt auch die Fussball WM und damit die Deadline um das Paninialbum zu füllen immer näher. Ich hoffe einmal, dass ich die knapp 30 Bilder bis dann noch zusammen bekomme. Und als letztes und wichtigstes findet ebenfalls bald meine Physik Abschlussprüfung statt und so muss sich Torvalds halt auch einmal von Dirac und Schrödinger geschlagen geben.
Der Sommer rückt näher und damit auch die Fussball Weltmeisterschaft. “Na und?” sagen die einen und die anderen haben bereits schon jedes wichtige Spiel in der Agenda eingetragen. Ich schwebe so ein bisschen dazwischen und gönne mir ab und zu ein Championsleague oder Premierleague Spiel als Appetithäppchen. Gestern Abend war ich wieder einmal in der Fussballbeiz schlechthin, im Mr Pickwick. Nach der Cupfinal-Enttäuschung vom Montag, wobei für mich mehr das Spiel an sich, als das Resultat eine Enttäuschung war, stand nun gestern AC Milan gegen FC Barcelona auf der Speisekarte. Das Spiel bot an und für sich nichts Besonderes, wenn da nicht der Weltfussballer Ronaldinho auf dem Platz gestanden hätte. Ein Traumpass aus dem Stand auf den vorspurtenden Ludovic Guily, welcher den Ball durch eine Direktabnahme sofort ins Tor hämmerte, und weitere sehenswerten Technikeinlagen haben meinen Fussballhunger weiter geweckt. Ich bin schon gespannt auf heute Abend, wo Philippe Senderos mit Arsenal auf dem Menuplan steht. Da binde ich mir doch schon mal die Serviette um…
Wenn me i Usgang geit, weiss me ja bekanntlech nie so recht, wies nähr usechunnt, wenn meh wider hei geit. Mängisch isch me im Moonliner u denkt, de Aabe isch jtz ou für nüt gsi. Oder de isch mer glücklech, wös eifach e geile Aabe isch gsi. Am Fritig het eidütig z letschtere zuetroffe. Gstartet mit ere guete Rundi Billard. Später louft me nichts ahnend dür d Autstadt und was steit da plötzlech? E super Sessu. Und druf e Zedu “Gratis”! Naja, es isch 1h ir Nacht und de Sessu isch ou nid grad liecht. Aber was söus, er isch derfür ou super komfortabu. Mau bis zur Fassbar mitgnoh… när witer zum Bahnhof… mischt, letscht Moonliner isch scho wäg. Auso vor d Heiliggeischt Chile gschteut und ab is Dead End. Dert si si leider nid so gaschtfründlech gsi. Aber was söus. De machi mi haut mit em Stueu uf e Heiwäg. Bis zur Sulgenau hanis no gschafft u när isch glich ou scho sächsi gsi. Ab i erscht Bus…
Und nach emene witere Zwüschestopp bim Ussichtspunkt vom Burdiweg, woni no nie so komfortabu gnosse ha, bini de doch no dehei acho. Und das ganze mit Stueu. Auso durchus e Usgang wo sech glohnt het. 