A Year Ago…

Exactly a year ago, I handed in my diploma thesis after a few months of transforming a few simple conclusions about high quality video streaming in high bandwidth environments into the most complex sentence structures – as far as my writing skills are concerned – I ever wrote, just, as everyone else who works on a thesis paper, to gain academic glory from people who figured out exactly the same trick years before.

Back then, all students were really happy that they got it done in the given time frame. Some of them got so excited that they decided to burn up some drafts of their papers as a statement of the very fact that it’s simply over. I failed to do so, but my draft versions are still somewhere around, so maybe it’s not too late…

Novarock

Heat. Sweat. Shlepping. Sunburn. Exhaustion. Alcohol. Alice in Chains. Motörhead. Metallica. Tinnitus. Total exhaustion. Burning feet. “Heeeelga.” Sleep deprivation. Dirt. Heat again, sweat again, sunburn again. 50,000 using a bunch of restrooms. Stench. Flood. Mud. Smut. Filth. Some guys muckraking. Torridity. Overpriced drinks. Headache. Live. Massive Attack. Placebo. Total exhaustion, again. Some more sleep deprivation. Barbecue. Drinking water. Dust. Three raindrops. Keith Caputo. Tool. Total exhaustion, happiness.

Going by Train

I’ve been using public means of transport more often in the last few weeks and months as they provide a relaxed way of getting from A to B. What is more, is that going by car is getting more and more expensive and if you’re travelling alone, you can do that for about half the price when using the train. One of the major advantages is that you are able to work on some code when carrying a laptop computer with you. However, as these laptops have limited battery capacity, it’s sometimes very helpful that at least in some waggons there are power outlets where you can plug in your computer.

As I write this entry, I’m sitting in a train named “Europäischer Computerführerschein” (german – “european computer driving licence”) and guess what – really funny – no power outlets here ;) For those of you wondering about the strange name – the major connections and trains, respectively, have all such strange names here in Austria…

Anyway, this time I was thinking of that possibility before entering the train and therefore my laptop batteries are fully charged…

(think of a two minutes break here)

Haha, it gets even funnier, I was just interrogated by a plainclothes policeman who was searching for something or someone I don’t know. He asked for identification, so I handed over my driver’s licence. He looked somehow puzzled for a few moments, then serious again as he realized that I wasn’t the terrorist he was looking for. He definitely didn’t get the point how funny it is to check a driver’s licence in a train with such a name…