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Multi-touch is one of the hottest technologies currently available. The technology can be seen in iPhones, iPod Touch devices and the Microsoft Surface computing system … oh, and in the Social Contemporary Center for the Arts Amsteredam

Peter Distol was so kind as to explain how the technology works and also elaborate on the potential uses:

Click on the image to see the showcase, it is roughly 17 megs in size.

And, as an extra treat, here is a short clip showcasing the actual multi-touch technology, dubbed with a very special quote:

Click on the image to see the showcase, it is roughly 2 megs in size.

I went on a little road trip today (well, train trip really) to our capital to deliver a very special package to some people I know and when I came back, I met an old teacher / mentor from my high school and we got into a talk about the past, the present and the future.

Occasionally, it can be really interesting to meet people from the past, especially if those people expressed their doubts (albeit in a very subtle way) about your future before… this time around however, the cards were stacked in my favor.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not cranky or mad or anything about the behavior of (most of) my former high school teachers, but I find the way the situation has changed kind of amusing.

When I left high school, I set out into an uncertain future, or that’s what most of my teachers (wanted to?) believe(ed).

I was never really the poster student, nor did I try to be. I have this knack when it comes to learning: I generally only devote my attention to the things that really bother me and my old teacher confirmed that today, stating that I was “hard to reach” sometimes and teachers had a hard time “getting through to me”.

Funnily enough, the day I started my college career, all those things seemed to have vanished. So far, I have had more than 70 different classes and to be honest, I found something that interested me in every single one of them.

Yes, some classes managed to pique my interest a lot more than others, but all in all, I did not have but one subject with which I was unhappy with.

In the end, this probably comes down to the fact that I made a great decision when it comes to college and had the luck of finding a place that teaches just about everything that I am interested in, but still, it is funny how things work out sometimes…

It is said that, the way a person wakes up defines their mood for the rest of the day.

For me, this is definitely true, if I wake up with a bad mood, I will most certainly be cranky throughout the day, but if I wake up in a relaxed kind of way, I will be able to go about my daily routine in a much more positive way.

One thing I love after waking up, no matter which time it is, is music. Not that I do not love music in the evening or during the day, but a few good tunes here and there can get you started into your day and are as important to me as a good breakfast.

The other day, I was looking for some relaxing music, I came across a software called MyWake-UpTunes, which supposedly makes your waking up experience “a good one”.

While the software seems to be nice enough, the thing I really like is their soundtrack.

Composed by Will Musser, these tunes are a collection of energizing and inspiring tracks that are simply a pleasure to listen to, not just in the morning but whenever you are looking for some music to tone down a little and get rid of some stress.

Go grab yourself a copy, you will not regret it.

Just came across Sir Ken Robinson’s talk about education.

Take 20 minutes of your time and watch that clip, but do not just watch it, but rather watch it.

Apart from the captivating presentation style, the things Robinson has to say are as true and spot-on as it gets, if you ask me.

Sometimes, people ask me why I devote time to blogging, after all, it is one of those pastimes you do not earn much ‘cred with on the streets. Which, obviously is not entirely correct, but that is not the point.

The reason I do this is simple, I like to share my thoughts with the world, and occasionally, the world replies and tells me heartwarming things like this:

If this is not one of the best reasons to do this, then I would not know what is. Thanks, Josh.

I just came across a clip on YouTube that I felt was worth posting about. The clip has been viewed close to 500,000 times already and as always, this kind of attention also attracts those that try to take the high road by claiming that they would never do the things depicted in the video.

Now, before you get any wrong ideas about the clip, rest assured, its mostly safe for work. There’s no nudity or anything, in fact - its nothing more than a visualization of human nature:

Paul Robinett, director and producer of the clip is taping his son, who has been trying to bury himself under the sand, when all of a sudden, Robinett spots a trio of young women:

Now, beautiful women on a beautiful beach aren’t that uncommon these days, so what’s the fuss about you might wonder? Well, instead of stopping the tape or focusing on his son again, Robinett keeps taping the women, in order to point out that his actions (watching them) aren’t all that bad, considering that the trio is doing exactly the same, namely watching a handsome lifeguard and even having the guts of walking in front of the lifeguard in order to take a few pictures with him standing in the background.

So, I am wondering, how is it that it is acceptable for women to watch men and yet, at the same time, it is socially unacceptable for men to watch women?

As expected, this video gathered quite a few responses, with some of them complaining about the content of the video and others congratulating Robinett for being courageous enough to post this kind of clip on YouTube.

My take on this video is simple: Robinett has a point and a very good one at that. It is simply human nature to seek out the more attractive members of a society and there is nothing wrong with that and even more, that is nothing to feel guilty about.

Robinett does not portray these women as sex objects in any way, he only shows the viewer that females do not differ from males as much as socially accepted values would lead us to believe.

So, it’s been more than two months since I last blogged here. The main reason for my absence has been College. We had some new stuff come up that demanded my attention and I kinda got lost in the fun that is game development with Flash Action Script.

The other reason was my recent server move. I’ve switched the hardware platform (still with the same provider though) and the backups that my control panel generated killed something in the database. No data was lost but some things stopped working and an upgrade to the latest WordPress version didn’t help. This issue has been fixed though and comments and posting should work fine again.

The final “excuse” for not blogging has been the massive amount I spent with customizing Instiki to better suit my needs. More on that later though.

While walking home today, the weather suddenly changed and it started raining like mad. Now, all in all this wouldn’t be anything worth blogging about, since this kind of weather is to be expected in the Netherlands, but something worth mentioning occured.

Before I continue, I’d just like to mention that you should try walking home some time. Be it from your office (if possible) or from a train / bus station … it’s relaxing after sitting all day long, it’s healthy and most important of all, it gives you time to reminisce on the events of the days, big or small. Treat yourself to a good walk home sometime, it’s cheap and you’ll most probably love it.

So, while I was walking in the rain, which is awesome (if you don’t have to walk for more than ten to fifteen minutes), I came to a ped crossing and was just drifting away mentally when all of a sudden a car stops in the middle of the street, in front of a green traffic light, a door opens and the driver asks me if I “still had a long way home” and if I needed a lift. Since I only had a few hundred meters left, I declined and thanked the guy.

My first thoughts, when the car stopped, were that someone I know must have recognized me and wanted to give me a lift - which would be perfectly normal, but no - a total stranger. I think that’s awesome. In today’s world, these random acts of kindness seems to be very rare … heck, if I’d been in his position, I don’t know if I’d have done the same.

I talked about this with a friend of mine and he mentioned the dangers associated with this kind of “help” … like getting into the car of a total stranger and all and I think that’s where it’s all going down the drain. If the first thing you think about, when someone you don’t know helps you, is that the person might try to rip you off / scam you / whatever … then there’s something really wrong.

Being alert is one thing, suspecting everyone of malintention is something else.

Either way, what I wanted to say is “Thank you!” to all those people-who-offer-a-lift-to-someone-who-has-to-walk-in-the-rain out there. You make our society a little bit better.