Category Archives: Hobby

Salt and shame

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Salt and shame!Today I heard a funny story by a colleague. While on the beach an unknown dog approached and started to lick him. A funny story, and for me an inspiration for a new song. I asked an AI for a song text based on the following premise (my colleagues story, made a bit more interesting):

  • Lying on the beach, daydreaming. I notice someone approaching. A tender touch. I can hear her breath. Not sure if I’m dreaming, or my fantasy just became reality.
  • Lying on the beach, daydreaming. I feel her touch. She’s not afraid, takes initiative. Wet and warm, a subtle lick. Sunscreen being rubbed all over my back.
  • Lying on the beach, I keep my composure. My eyes closed, relaxed, enjoying the moment. My stranger took it to the next level. Cream all over my body, she licks me with passion.
  • Lying on the beach, I start to get doubts, could it just be a dream, the girl is simply to wild. Were on a public beach, she is doing things to me that are probably not legal outside the bedroom.
  • Lying on the beach, I open my eyes a little. I see my lover, but she is so close. I only see shades of black and brown as she licks me with passion, still rubbing cream everywhere.
  • Lying on the beach, I suddenly wake up. It’s a dog. Literally a dog, my dreams are shattered as reality slams into my mind. My daydream was really a unknown dog assaulting me. I feel terrible, dirty.
  • Lying on the beach, it gets even worse. The beach was packed. I look around, and see thousands of eyes, all looking at me. People laugh. People are disgusted. The dog is still here, on top of me. What now?

The result I got were some very nice lyrics, and together with a style indication: dream-pop, pop, rap, dark ambient. I used my suno account and got a very nice song.

Salt and Shame Lyrics

(Verse 1)
Sun-bleached sand beneath my skin
Lying here, letting daydreams begin
Lost in thought, a gentle haze
Then a shadow fell across my days
Someone near, a breath so light
A tender touch, bathed in sunlight.
Is this real? Or just a plea?
Fantasy unfolding over me.

(Verse 2)
Warmth spreads slow, a subtle grace
Fingers tracing time and space
Sunscreen scent, a summer kiss
A boldness I couldn’t resist.
Wet and warm, a playful tease
Rubbed all over, finding ease.
She takes the lead, no hesitant plea
This stranger’s touch awakening me.

(Chorus)
Eyes closed tight, surrender slow
Letting go of all I know
A rising tide, a burning heat
Is this a dream? Or bittersweet?
Something wild, something free
Lost in the moment, just her and me.

(Verse 3)
Doubt creeps in, a whispered fear
This feels too much to be held near
Public sand, a reckless game
Things she’s doing, whispering my name.
A line is crossed, a boundary blurred
Passion flares, unspoken word.
Licking slow, with fervent grace
Lost in shadows of her face.

(Verse 4)
I crack an eye, a blurry view
Shades of brown and black shine through
So close now, I can almost see
The intensity consuming me.
Creamy touch, a fevered plea
This isn’t right, it can’t be she.

(Verse 5)
I wake with a start, the spell is broke
Not a lover’s kiss, but a canine stroke!
A dog? Oh God, it’s truly true.
My daydream shattered, soaked in dew.
Dirty and raw, a shameful sting
This fantasy, a ridiculous thing.

(Verse 6)
But the worst is yet to unfold
A sea of faces, stories told.
Thousands watching, judging eyes
Laughter rings beneath the skies.
The dog remains, oblivious still
While humiliation takes its fill.
Stuck in place, what can I do?
Underneath a horrified view.

(Outro)
Salt and shame, on this crowded shore
A broken daydream, forevermore.

Inter Colonia song

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AI is getting better really fast. My latest test is a generated song using suno. The style is a mix of a football song combined with a splash of sexuality, and it worked. Inter Colonia, Alan’s team, mixed with droplets of sweat sliding down someone’s blouse. The result sounds amazing.

Lyrics (spanish)

[Verso 1]
Si quieres de esta vaina me avisas (eh)
No tengo compromiso de una cita (eh)
Las caletas están dentro de la guisa (eh)
Ley seca siempre fue pa la noticia (eh)
Gotas de sudor bajan por mi blusa (eh)
Y me das una manguera pa la tusa (eh)
Si me crees muy complicada abusas
Pero yo de eso ya estuve muy cansada (eh)

[Puente]
Inter Colonia
Inter Colonia
Inter Colonia
Diez puntos

[Pre-Coro]
El enemigo me pide la cuenta
Cuando me ve papi puro comentario eh-eh
En qué barrio conseguiste eso
Pensé que éramos del mismo vecindario

[Coro]
Si no quieres fuego (ugh) (fuego, fuego)
No mires mi juego (no, no, no)
Niñas que no juegan
Inter Colonia lo ganó (wow, wow, wow)
Vas perdiendo cero (ugh)
Mi equipo primero (ugh)
Lo hago de nuevo (ugh)
Inter Colonia lo ganó

[Puente]
Inter Colonia
Inter Colonia
Inter Colonia
Diez puntos

Dell arrived

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She arrived! My new Dell laptop. A Latitude. So far, I’ve noticed that it’s nice and fast, much quicker than my old Dell, but contrary to my expectations, it’s not faster than my MacBook. Starting up and shutting down takes more time, and a restart takes much longer than the Mac. Normal software runs comparably, nice and fast. Games like Minecraft (the only one I’ve installed) do work, but they’re a bit choppy. It’s not a super-graphics-intensive game, but on the Snapdragon, it runs disappointingly. A local AI runs super-fast, much better than on the Mac.

I did notice that the laptop got faster after I cleaned up all the preinstalled Dell software. I only left the dell-updater, and the rest went to the trash.

Dell, v2

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It’s almost 10 years later. My old Dell still works well, but it now shows some flaws. The battery only lasts a few minutes. The charger is broken and the power cords are visible. The plastic frame around the screen has partially disintegrated, leaving behind a strange greasy residue. It’s not possible to upgrade to Windows 11 because I’m missing some modern components. A few drawbacks, but as long as the computer hangs by its power cord, it still works perfectly. Nevertheless, I found it time for some refreshing new hardware.

Dell Latitude!My new Dell (arriving soon):
Name: Dell Latitude 7455
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
Memory: 32 GB
Harddisk: 512GB SSD

Why Qualcomm?
I initially had some reservations about getting a Qualcomm processor. They are more expensive, and quite new, which means they may not perfectly compatible with some hardware or software. I worried that it might be harder to get things to work properly, and if I needed to troubleshoot issues myself, it could take a lot of time or effort. However, since I don’t use my laptop for gaming and I don’t require many external devices, I thought I should be okay.

The alternative is an Intel or AMD processor. These would always work, are cheaper, and fast. Normally, they would be the logical choice.

Intel and AMD produce X64 CPUs based on a CISC architecture (Complex Instruction Set). This means that these processors have high speed during numerical tasks, but slower speeds for data transfer. In contrast, ARM CPUs, such as those used in Snapdragons, are based on a RISC architecture (Reduced Instruction Set). This implies that these CPUs have lower bus bandwidth, but are fast for simple tasks. Apple has been using a RISC architecture with its M processors for some years now.

When I bought my first MacBook, it came with an M1 CPU, and this initially required quite a bit of extra effort to install emulators and get stuff to work correctly. I was impressed with the performance when I got my MacBook. Two years later, I’m still happy to see that the AI reacts much faster than an Intel machine. This made me reconsider my initial doubts about Qualcomm processors and think they might be worth considering for their future potential. So, I decided to give it a try.

Why Dell?
My shortlist had two laptops on it. A Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 and a Dell Latitude. The Microsoft machine looks really promising, but I was unable to configure one easily with 32GB memory, and it had a glossy screen, with I viewed as a minor negative point. The Dell was easier to configure, but was a bit more expensive. The screen was not quite as good as the Microsoft one, but it was not glossy which I see as a plus.

I found out online that the Microsoft laptop is build really well, better than the Dell, but I remember that my old Dells were all very well build, at least the Latitudes are very sturdy machines so I just went with my experience. After a few days spend sleeping on the issue it was clear to me that I would be happier investing in the Dell, so that’s what I did.

Why 32GB?
Memory is expensive. It is like a small harddisk, but as fast as lightning. If you have enough memory your computer will be fast. Previously my Dell laptops were all bought with the maximum allowed memory, and I would buy an extra memory strip together with the system, so I could double the memory myself once I received the machine. Even after years of operation this resulted in fast and responsive hardware.
My new system cannot be upgraded after buying the system, so I had to get the maximum amount of memory right away. Right now the minimum about of memory seems to be 8gb, but the normal amount is 16GB. By doubling this I should have enough for a couple of years into the future. I think AI applications like it when you have lots of memory available.

Why 512GB?
Harddisks are essential to store loads of data, but being realistic, the harddisk in my laptops are used for the operating system, and for a couple of applications. The rest is temporal storage for backups, projects, etc. Long term storage is done on external harddisks. Only looking at my photos I have way over 2TB already (starting storing my digital images since 1994). External harddisks can be used on any system and a copy can easily be stored in different physical locations.

What else?
I got a Dell with a 14″ screen. A small screen makes for a smaller laptop, which is easier to take with you. A small screen usually means that you do not get a numerical keypad, but I never use the keypad anyway, so there is no loss there.

When?
My new Dell is produced in China. It is on its way right now, but the estimated arrival is in March. Almost one month waiting impatiently. That is probably the price I am paying for living in paradise on an island.

Disclaimer: A few days after deciding on the Dell I took another look at the Microsoft store, and found that getting a system with 32GB memory was possible, but at a price much higher than the Dell. I guess it confirmed I had made the right choice.

After the Bestial race

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Wow, the day of the Bestial race I was mentally disconnected while Alan was celebrating his birthday with his class mates. I remember they went to play with lasers in Hangar 37, but I don’t remember any specifics. I remember arriving home, going to bed and just sleeping. The next day my muscles hurt. They hurt while moving around, and while standing still. An annoying pain that simply was all over my body. I decided to simply take it easy. The next day was a Monday, so I had to head over to work. The pain I experienced yesterday had somehow doubled. Another day of suffering, hoping that the next day would be easier. Still wondering why I did it. I found out my time was 1:29:31, but it felt like the entire trial took a lot more time.

I made a couple of videos before and after the event, and Alex took some videos of me starting with the trails and when I arrived at the finish. so there was enough material for a new YouTube video!

Bestial race

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Bestial race!With a colleague, I did the Bestial race today. He convinced me, and I actually assumed I would beat him easily, thus having a fun story for the coming months. The race took place in Arucas, a nearby town. 6 KM running and a few obstacles. At the start, it immediately became clear why my variant was called ‘hell’. Directly through pits and small hills, holes with mud, crawling under low bridges, jumping and diving, pushing tires while crawling, etc. Before the running started, I was already exhausted. The running afterward also turned out to be uphill, with wet shoes and socks, along a small path. There were also a few obstacles here: carrying a 20-kilo stone ball over an extra route, carrying a jerry can with 20 liters of water over yet another extra route, climbing over a two-meter wall, and several obstacles where you had to grab objects with your hands to avoid touching the ground and still ‘climb’ about 6 meters forward. Super difficult. Right before the end there were another two huge containers with water, and a lots of other obstacles, and then we finally arrived at the finish. What a relief. We did it!

After the race we rushed to another event, a birthday party for Alan. I was physically present, but I can’t remember much of it. I do remember being dead tired wondering why I never realised that ‘hell’-difficulty must be something pretty difficult and undesirable. I wondered why I ever signed up for this…

November ’24

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We started this month with a couple of days all-in. Bad for my weight/waist, but good for morale. Once again it was a pretty standard month, with only a few notable events. We had a couple of barbecues. Alan enjoyed a few minutes of fame. We made some homemade yogurt (which I ended up eating myself because nobody liked it) and a couple of very tasty cakes with apple in it. All in all November was a nice and quiet month

Camping and filming – Lessons learned

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Camping, llanos de la pez!Well, my first video that was basically centered around me got me quite a bit of comments. It also taught me quite a bit. First the lessons I learned myself:

– Batteries. Lots of video means you need some way to charge a battery, or have a replacement ready. In the two days camping I spend the battery of my good camera the first day. My phone was empty around noon the second day, and the two gopro clones I had did last a bit longer, but had a terrible image and sound quality.
– Interaction. It was difficult to film people I did not know. It felt like I would invade their privacy, so I did not film anything while I talked to others. People in our group also showed some restraint when appearing, so I also kept these interactions to a minimum. The result was a movie where I am almost the only person to appear.
– Clean. The video needs to be ‘cleaner’. I don’t know the correct word, but a lot of my sentences end in gibberish no-one can understand. I need to speak clearer. Some parts of the video show the ground, or my feet, or my shirt, and are not focused correctly. I needed to keep some of these parts to avoid breaking the monologue I was having.
– Information. I need a bit more of background information, so I have something to say when there is a dull moment.
– Editing. Cutting away boring parts is not so easy. I was talking a lot, and sometimes I had to leave bad parts to not cut my sentence in half. Sometimes I had to remove big clips, because I repeated things I had already said. Shorter sentences and a small pause before changing topic might help a lot to do the editing afterwards.

My family also had some comments. Quite a lot of comments actually, but most are covered my the issues I found myself.

– Focus. There is no clear goal for the movie. I was told nobody would be interested in seeing only me talk (and drink). It the focus is a family movie we see to little family. If the focus is transmitting interesting facts, I need to include more information.
– No interaction. The same as I already stated, but my family told me it was not all on me. The participants to the video should participate more, without being scared of the camera. This will probably be hard to achieve, because I told everyone I would be making a video, and everybody thought it was a good idea, but still almost nobody wanted to be filmed.

Conclusion: I liked filming and thought the video was not so bad, and maybe even a bit funny, but after all the criticism I have changed my mind. It is not a good video, and it would take a lot of effort to make it better. Will there be a next video… I´m not sure. We don’t normally go camping, so maybe I can make a video when we do something more often, and I need something to talk about. I’ll see, but for now my motivation is a bit low.

Camping – Llanos de la pez

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About two years ago we discovered two YouTubers that really inspired us. First ‘Bald and bankrupt‘, who made really great videos, like the one I like most, where he visits an off limits Russian production facility to the one of their last space shuttle like rockets. The ‘Buran‘.

The other YouTuber is ‘Kurt Caz‘ with lots of good videos, but the one I like best is where he visited a family in the middle of nowhere, they invited him to some food, and he then did a fundraiser for the family in Haiti, and returned later to give them some money. The family uses the money to buy a motorcycle, to help them with a better future.

We went camping recently at a site called ‘Llanos de la Pez‘, in the middle of Gran Canaria, and tried to make our own video, inspired by these two great YouTubers. See for yourself how it turned out!

The educational aspects of the video, that maybe remain a bit in the background:
– We are camping in a forest that is representative to Gran Canaria a few hundred years ago
– At that time the entire island was covered with forest/trees
– Roque nublo is the place where the original inhabitants (the guanches) used to meet, to discuss important issues
Maybe the video is a bit over the top, but we laughed really a lot during the production, so even if it is not the best video, we can only be happy with the result.

If you want to go camping yourself, then here are some more info and guidelines for your stay. Ask for permission to camp and spend the night. Walking routes available in the area.