Just finished installing a new computer. The one I'm still typing this with, served three years pretty ok. There was only one wipeout hard disk failure.

It is a well-unknown fact that there's a secret program hidden in every computer. Its purpose is to make the computer slower and slower so that in three years it becomes practically useless. That program is called Angry Dave.

Mis-cited Moore's law states that computing power doubles every 18 months. Angry Dave counteracts that by halving the computing power every three years. It's been put in place by a luddite conspiracy to hinder us reaching technological singularity.

"Daisy Bell" (or "Bicycle Built for Two")

The other day I flexed some muscle with php scripting and comma separated values. Before you see the results I can safely confess that programming is quite nicht mein Bier, but definitely on the long-term self-development list.

The whole thing ricocheted from an observation, that we often have very little vocabulary about birds. Last month there was a bird nest on the balcony. A new batch of blackbirds, I learnt. In May I freehandedly spied on some woodpeckers. Even megapixel'd pigeons led to some nice discussion on Flickr.

With visual motif at hand it's smooth to communicate, but what happens when we single out a bit more difficult birds and we don't know their names in any language? Then we describe how they look like, sing or behave. It can get quite creative and funny.

After picking up a dictionary it doesn't take long to notice, that the bird names are works of art in themselves. Who came up with Bohemian Waxwing? Certainly no innovation-driven government agency. Nördlicher Raubwürger? That sounds like the worst thing to come since Götterdämmerung. Then again, no (Finn) would probably hurt a vuorihemppo.

This took on a bit of a life of its own, so I started compiling my own trilingual bird lexicon. Just for the sake of the nomenclature. It's simply a table of species names in Finnish, German and English accompanied by each one's binomial name for added scientific precision, if you may. Sensible additions are welcome...

Now playing: Michael Nyman - Bird List

Tomorrow, 24th March, is the international Shutdown Day. The idea is to turn off the computer for 24 hours and go... cycling or to do something else. Apparently the organisers have already closed the lid, because the website is down as I'm writing this. If the winter is still on at your IP address, you can try some alternative sports with your laptop.

Running used to be the simplest form of workout. It is something, that you can do almost anywhere and anytime. No entrance or membership fees. No special gear needed. These things represent a freedom - and in this sense Parkour is freedom par excellence.

I'm still not doing parkour, but I became a jogging nerd instead. With the help of Nike+iPod Sport Kit, which I'm rebelliously using with Adidas shoes. Basically it's just an accelerometer chip and a wireless receiver that connects to an iPod nano, and Nano only. So if you've got one already, this chip is a reasonable accessory.

As you plug the iPod to your computer after the run, iTunes sends your workout data over to Nike website, where you can follow your progress. Unfortunately they missed a great opportunity to build a social network around their product. Nike+ website is a pretty but slow heap of Flash bling-bling and very limited functionality.

Justdoing.it is one example of an attempt to circumvent the system. At the moment, they can produce RSS feeds from your data and offer this kind of web badges:

Another notion is mapping. I've been plotting my runs on Google Earth. Its ruler tool does paths too and is great at measuring distances. At MapMyRun.com people can share their routes worldwide. I've also been doing some aerial reconnaissance to find new or better routes.

Proper spying is not based on satellite imagery though. The Nike chip uses active RFID transmission while on the move. Researchers of the University of Washington were able to monitor joggers from the distance of 20 metres. According to RFID Gazette blog, this is "possibly encouraging borderline personalities into surveillance activities that they might not otherwise bother with".

As 2006 draws to its end, I've gone digital with photography. That's a spanking new Canon Powershot G7, serial number 3131114078, in the mirror. Let megapixels rule.