The Engineered Boulderer

I know it’s a little late to post a link to an article after it’s been on Digg, however, I think this article is the closest I’ve seen to revealing the secret of why Pixar is so successful.

“All these other animation groups want to be like Pixar, but they steal the wrong things from them. They don’t steal the actual process, which is take your time, hold out for the good stuff, which is kind of what `Ratatouille’ is all about.’ Don’t just stuff yourself with bland garbage. Wait for the good stuff.”

Pixar perfectionists cook ‘Ratatouille’

Apple, Inc. has made an art of not talking about its products. Fans, journalists, and rumormongers who love it or love to hate it have long had to practice a sort of Kremlinology to gather the merest hints as to what is coming next out of Cupertino.

Different @ Technology Review

Very interesting article about the way Apple designs their products. An interesting read for anyone who care about design, Apple, or both.

There’s a new movie in town, like the stylized rendition of Sin City it is based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. The movie is called 300 and loosely based on the battle in which 300 Spartans stood against the might of the Persian empire. I did not know this until today, but apparently a great deal of controversy surrounds the movie:

In just 12 days the article received over 110 comments, something of a small wonder considering this is my personal blog, a site that attracts less than 1,000 visitors per day. It became apparent then, and even more so when I read an article in Newsweek by Evan Thomas, that this was a broad and heated political issue.

Movie critic Neil Miller tries to make heads and tails in the controversy in The 300 Controversy: Fact vs. Fiction. Like Neil Miller I don’t really see the point, but his piece is well written.

Henrik Svensmark, a weather scientist at the Danish National Space Centre who led the team behind the research, believes that the planet is experiencing a natural period of low cloud cover due to fewer cosmic rays entering the atmosphere.

This, he says, is responsible for much of the global warming we are experiencing.

(source)

This morning I feel like Toby looks in this picture.

I’m becoming more and more of a runner, and I do have a goal of running a marathon within the next couple of years. This year, my goal is to complete a half-marathon. To that end I’ve signed up for the B.T. Half Marathon on April 29.

Yes, I’m going to run a half-marathon! It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I guess it will once I get closer. At least I have a focus for the next 14 weeks now

Now I would wish to run it in less than 1 hour 30 minutes, it is a dream goal, but something to work towards.

I am working on reviews of Nike+iPod sports kit, Guitar Hero II, and Chi Running. However, Susan is in the process of buying a horse which involves several full-day trips to Jutland. In the meantime read Michael bemoan the low level of social networking (á la Flickr) in Nike+.

Today I was reminded once again why the BBC motoring show Top Gear rocks. Jeremy Clarkson was test driving the new Audi RS4 and brought it to the bottom of the Gorge du Verdon. There he was met by Leo Houlding and Tim Emmett for a simple challenge: First to the top was the winner. Leo and Tim would take the straight route up the cliff face, a 400 meter multi-pitch route, while Jeremy would take the long way round, a demanding stretch of road 100 km in length. Combining two of my greatest interests in such an awesome fashion shows why Top Gear is the undisputed king on television.

I’m not going to tell you the outcome of the race, you can try and find it yourself on Youtube or something. I’ll only tell you that it was close.

As I might have mentioned once or twice that I’ve started running. While running I’ve just used my North Face shorts, but they’re certainly not made for it and are kinda bulky and heavy. Therefore, I’ve started looking for a pair of shorts to use for running. Unfortunately, that has proven harder than I thought. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of shorts out there, just not ones that appeal to me in any way, shape, or form.

What I want are loose shorts that go about halfway down my thighs with a small pocket for a key, but no-o-oo. Almost all the available shorts have those built-in underwear which just annoys the hell out of me. Why don’t you let me decide how I want to contain my privates? Or else, they are those tiny running shorts or tights that just look ridiculous.

So far I’ve visited Stadium and Sportsmaster in Lyngby and Fisketorvet, as well as Magasin and Løberen (running store) in Lyngby, with no luck what so ever. Thoroughly frustrating. Now I know that Løberen are getting new supplies next week, so I’ll try then and see if it is possible to get a pair of shorts I’ll like, otherwise I might just explode… or something.

Update: I bought a pair of Newline Trail Shorts. They are simple, lightweight, with no frills. I’ll try them out when I go running tomorrow. Might still go for a pair of those Prana shorts Thomas mentioned.

Went for a run Friday after work. I wanted to run faster than before, and set my target pulse rate to 165 (my average was 153 on my 7.5 km run Monday). I ended up with an average pulse rate of 163 with a max of 181, and I ran the 4.5 km loop in 20 minutes flat which I think is quite impressive.

In related news I went down to Løberen, a running shop here in Lyngby, and got a new pair of shoes. My feet are a little flat, and I lean each foot a little inwards when running, so I get a pain in my calf after a long run. The girl at the store recognized the symptom right away, since she has the same problem. A videotaped run on the treadmill proved she was right, and a new pair of shoes showed a marked improvement. I’ll try the new shoes for a real run Monday, and hope they help.