thinkberg

The End and The Beginning

arte — 2008-09-29T00:06:43+01:00

In three days my assignment to Korea ends. It was a good time, a stressful time, we did meet new friends. I am grateful.

In three days I will be back in Germany. It will be a good time, great changes show their signs at the horizon. I am looking forward to it.

The quiet Tokyo

arte — 2008-09-15T15:50:26+01:00

View Larger Map

This is a map of all buddhist temples I have visited during my short holiday trip to Tokyo. Out of the 22 temples I visited I can prove 16 through my pilgimage book stamped and nicely signed by the priests. At first I choose the temples randomly but then decided to read a bit more. Here is a nice explanation of Buddhism in Japan. From this site I then selected temples by pilgrimage to give my walks more of a sense. However, since the Six Amida Pilgrimage (see bottom) can take a while when on foot, I decided for a bycicle. You can rent one just outside Kamakura station.

The best trip though was my trip to the Izu peninsula. Here you can either just visit the Shuzenji onsen or visit the similarily named temple and then hike along the Hiragana path to Okonuin temple. To get there I took the Shinkansen to Mishima and then the local railroad to Shuzenji. It then only takes ten minutes to the temple by bus.

It is an excellent way to experience this city and its surroundings.

Neue Technik, Alte Technik

arte — 2008-07-19T22:52:22+01:00

Irgendwie ist das schon eine komische Sache mit der modernen Technik. Sie verspricht komplizierte Dinge einfacher zu machen. Aber in letzter Zeit komme ich mir vor, wie ein Ingenieur vor hundert Jahren. Wenn etwas nicht funktioniert, nochmal etwas Öl dran, ein ordentlicher Tritt und dann ging es meistens.

Ich hab das jetzt ein paarmal durch. Zum einen wollte Outlook partout nicht mit meinem IMAP Server und mir ist bis heute nicht klar, warum. Ein paarmal virtuell drantreten und nochmal Schmiere in die Konfiguration und plötzlich gings. Das gleiche hatte ich gerade mit einer WLAN Konfiguration. Allerdings hatte die Einrichtung eher was von einem Kurbelstart. Ein paar Umdrehungen und ab gings. Auch hier wieder das gleiche: theoretisch weiss ich wie es geht und praktisch hab ich keine Ahnung warum es erst nach x-mal umkonfigurieren und reset funktioniert hat.

Naja, nur keine Panik und ein kleiner Schubser und alles geht :-)

Secure Online Banking?

arte — 2008-07-06T04:35:13+01:00

I think I wrote about this before, but it annoys me every week. Internet banking here in Korea is only possible using a PC with Microsoft Windows. Not only that, it is only possible using Internet Explorer. Still not done, I can only do it by installing ActiveX plugins that employ trojan horse like technology to protect me from other trojans and key loggers. Actually, I had to install about 3-4 different plugins before I even see the login, which in itself is a plugin that manages the certificats.

Fortunately I have a Parallels virtual machine to protect me, but it does not protect my online account. I wonder why on earth only here in Korea I have to do it. I have had accounts in different parts of the world and I was always able to use standard web browsers of different kinds to do the online banking.

i600 = M6200

arte — 2008-06-08T08:25:07+01:00

Looks like the Samsung Blackjack sold in Korea is identical in most parts with the European version i600. When I tried to update the phone using Samsungs MITs Upgrade Wizard the process stopped at 89% for some reason and I was left with a non-functional phone. Fortunately there are lots of adventurous people around who write about their experience flashing phones. While trying to get it back I decided to give it a try and flash WM6.

First I had to find the USB flash mode, which can be enabled by pressing and holding the green "Receiver" button and the power button. This is quite different from what you find on the net elsewhere. But then it all works as advertised.

Important, though, is to run the MITs wizard first in emergency mode to get the original flash files, just in case. Now the phone has a working WM6 with all its pros and cons. One drawback, however, is that the phones buttons change. In the european version, the number buttons are located in the middle and not the left side of the keyboard. However, that is something I can live with.

The Random Pick

arte — 2008-03-31T03:41:48+01:00

How do I get music like Teranoid? Whenever I am in Japan, I enter one of the big book, video and music stores and look randomly through the shelfes. I usually end up in the "Hardcore" section, where you find lots of fun stuff to listen to. If you cannot read what you're about to buy this is the way to go for me :-)

Rauschkapsel

arte — 2008-03-31T03:38:08+01:00

After month without a car I started driving in Seoul end of last year. The traffic is terrible, just like most drivers experience. When I enter the Gangbyeon Expressway near Hannam-dong I usually put myself into a sound capsule. Right now this is Teranoid Overground Edition. Some japanese techno stuff that simply drives you through.

I tried The Prodigy, but it does not work as well.

Pyongyang

arte — 2008-03-08T15:22:40+01:00

I am back from a trip to North Korea. It was a very interesting trip I now have to reflect on. The following pictures are a night and a morning view from the Yanggakdo Hotel. They make Pyongyang look much better than it actually is ...

I have seen many things in North Korea and I need time to think about many things. This is just a tiny little surreal impression.

Saxonia meets Korean ...

arte — 2008-02-15T06:02:26+01:00

My office is still in need of more furniture. However, now that I have managed to get a multi-function printer with fax I can at least do most of my work now. Yesterday I wanted to buy some more stuff for my office, like paper and pens. Conveniently located in our building is an Alpha store. It has most of what you need and we get reasonable prices and discounts. One specific pen I needed I could not find, so I asked the clerk to help me. He quickly found it and let me try one on those try-out strips you also find in paper and pen stores. I said OK and went back to the counter to pay. The clerk followed me and had five of those pens in its hand. I was wondering why and it took me half a day to realize, I had said "Ohhgei", which happens sometimes and is the result of having lived in South-East Germany for a while. For those wondering, "오게" (o-gae) means 5 pieces in Korean.

Watch you language …

Nethack - where you don't need graphics

arte — 2007-11-07T18:56:19+01:00

Some may know my port of Nethack 3.4.3 to the PSP. It has always been fun to play nethack. Not just to solve the game, but also to just run around and kill monsters.

I tried several versions just for fun. There is an interesting Nethack3D variant, but it lacks overview. So I reverted back to a white on black terminal with a few colors.

But I have to admit, I play cheating by copying the save games :-)