Warning: This blog post contains spoiler for the movie Inception.

I’ve just seen Inception on Xtremescreen and I really enjoyed it for a few simple reasons:

• It taps into real world experiences. For instance, why is it that you never remember how a dream begins?
• It does not depend on a lot of technologies that does not currently exists. The key piece of technology that has yet to be invented is the dream machine.
• The key technology is well explained when the girl, who was recruited to be the architect, is first given the opportunity to experiment with the system.
• It involves clever use of the key technology by attempting to layer the dreams. The idea of using a totem to differentiate between reality and someone else’s dream is neat.
• It kept the viewers in suspense; wanting to find out what actually happened to the wife.

All of this makes 150 minutes seem like 5 seconds. I like movies like this because it makes you question reality, the way that Matrix did. Now, how can I be sure this is not a dream you ask? Simple. I’m still worried about my assignment, and have to go to work tomorrow. As much as I hate them, I suppose they keep me grounded in reality; my totem in a way.

I was just reminded how soothing blogging can be. You can just dump whatever is in your head onto a web page for the whole world to read. Though, you probably ought to think twice about what you do put out there; as digital content lives forever.

This morning, I was having trouble uploading photos onto Flickr. It looked as though the photo was transferred successfully, but then it reported that the upload failed. My mind kicked into troubleshooting mode, trying to work out what could be wrong. Windows Live Photo Gallery has never been very robust when it comes to publishing photos onto Flickr. So, I tried Flickr Uploadr instead. Same problem. I started to think it’s a server side issue. Attempting to upload from the web interface produces the exact same symptoms, confirming my suspicions. It became a waiting game. I retried several times, but the situation remained the same. It got me extremely frustrated. I had wanted to get all the photos uploaded by the end of the day.

Rather than continue waiting, I decided to go play badminton instead. There is no telling when the problem will be sorted.

After I got back from playing badminton, I retried the upload. No change.

I started thinking if something else could be the problem. The help listed a corrupt photo as a potential cause for a failed upload, amongst others. At first, I didn’t think much of it as I could view the photo just fine. However, after reconsidering all the symptoms, a corrupt photo seems like a possible explanation. I skipped that first photo, and voila. The other photos uploaded just fine.

Taking a break can sometimes be the more productive option. It helps clear your mind so that you can see things in a different light. I frequently find myself in similar situations at work. Faced with an impossible problem, having exhausted all possible solutions I could think of, I would simply leave it. You might be surprise how you will start to see the problem differently when you come back to it.

Linksys by Cisco means quality. Yeah, right!

I’ve always thought Linksys make good networking hardware. I still do, actually. Just bought a WRT54GL today. However, my recent experience with their ADSL gateways has significantly changed my opinion of them. It started with the WAG160N, whose DHCP server fails after a few hours in operation. Rebooting fixes the problem, but not for long.

Soon after setting up the WAG160N, one of the machine went into a repetitive reboot cycle. Surely, it can’t be because of a new wireless router. As it turns out, I was wrong. The D-Link DWL-510 doesn’t seem to agree with the wireless-N signal emitted by the WAG160N. After updating the wireless card to its latest driver, the situation is the same. Granted, this is a D-Link issue rather than a Linksys problem. However, seeing the DHCP functionality isn’t operating properly, I decided to exchange it. Thankfully, Dick Smith made the process rather pain free.

I was not going to try another WAG160N after all the online posts I’ve read. Things are failing all over the place. In a way, a broken DHCP server is considered not bad already. I decided to go with the WAG54G2 instead. The WAG54G2 turns out to be even worse. Settings won’t save properly at times, SSID gets mangled, DHCP requests get mangled, and the ADSL connection drops off every so often. I can’t even recall how many hours I’ve wasted trying to get the gateway to work as it should.

I’m quickly running out of ideas. I’ve just upgraded the firmware to the latest version, 1.00.16. It’s not without issues, but I can live with it. Hopefully, when I wake up later this morning, the nightmare will be over. Otherwise, it’s back to the D-Link DSL-G604T. It’s the lesser of two evils.

Now, this is not a movie I’ll normally see… at the cinema especially. But having been, it’s enjoyable. There are some rather funny scenes. My favourite line from the movie is by Po—‘There is no charge for awesomeness’.

The thing that struck me the most is the content of the Dragon Scroll. That is the secret to a lot of things in life. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it already.

I don’t think I have much more to say. Just watch the movie.

And a really expensive webcam at that.

When I bought my digicam, it came with an AV cable. I didn’t have a TV to hook it up to before so I’ve just left it in the box.

Just now, as I was adding to my random shots collection, I thought to myself – Hey, I’ve got a TV tuner card that takes an AV input and I’ve got a digicam. I wonder what I can do with that. So, I went and got the AV cable from the box and hooked everything up. I was kinda expecting it to only to be able to playback slideshows and stuff but surprise, surprise. It’s just like a webcam. I never had a webcam before. I tested it out with Windows Messenger and it just works. I did run into a bit of a colour issue but that was easily sorted.

The only thing I’m missing now is a mic. The digicam does have a mic on it but I don’t have anything on my PC that takes an RCA audio input. Oh, well.

By the way, the latest Windows Live Messenger is pretty cool. Looks like a Vista app. Give it a go if you haven’t already.

Hope not! But, that’s how freaking hot it is today in Christchurch. Feels like I’m being roasted.

Christmas is just 14 sleeps away. However, I’m still not feeling the Christmas spirit. Maybe I should hit the mall this weekend. Even the Santa parade recently lacked a Christmas feel to it. It was great seeing so many people participating in the event though.

Since Christmas is all about the big fat man in the red suit and the spirit of giving, I got myself a Playstation 2 this year. I wish that was a typo but my pockets ain’t deep enough to handle a Playstation 3. The only reason I have to justify getting a PS2, knowing plain well that any new games that I’m interested in will not be supported by this dinosaur, is the fact that there is a bunch of games that I’ve yet to enjoy. I’m currently working thru Need for Speed: Pro Street. The most challenging thing is not having a memory card and having to start from the very beginning every single day!

If you’re thinking of getting me something for Christmas, my wishlist in order of preference at this exact moment is:

1. White Christmas – a holiday in Canada perhaps
2. Air-conditioning unit
3. PS2 memory card
4. PS2 WRC games