●iMac G5 on the fritz

Well it seems even Apple computers run into some trouble at times. I've had my iMac G5 since April 2005 and its performed faultlessly, until a few days ago. It seems my particular machine has a problem with the power supply making the computer shut down intermittently. It's doing it 5-6 times a day now, which is not very nice if you are in the middle of something. A short search on Apple's website reveled this is a known problem with 2.0 GHz iMac G5s built at the same time mine was, and Apple will fix the problem for free.

Here is the relevant info from Apples's website:

Only problem now is I can't exactly go without a computer for 7-10 days while it's in for repairs so just placed an order for one of the new MacBooks. I've been meaning to get myself a laptop for some time now and I guess this is the perfect excuse. Hopefully it will get here soon so I can finish backing up all my files and bring the iMac to the Apple Store for repairs.

●Tokyo Game Show 2006

Dropped by the TGS 2006 for a little bit. I only wanted to have a quick go on GT HD. After sitting in line for about 30 min I was taken to my driving cockpit and let loose on some Swiss mountain roads. My choice of car, a BNR32 Skyline GT-R (the only GTR available). Graphics on GT HD were better than GT4 on PS2 but apart form the resolution increase I was truly disappointed. The game kept on slowing down for 2-3 seconds at a time, while all through out my game play of about 4 min I had a black line, about 4-5 pixel tall popping up on the screen 80 % of the time. Game play seemed to be identical to GT4...even the Logitech wheel was the same one I've been using since GT Proto. While I was in line I noticed 2 PS3 crash which had to be reset by the strangely dressed Sony girls. All in all I was far from impressed. On top of this I heard rumors that the PS3 will be delayed even in Japan and from what the Poliphony Digital stand had to offer I wouldn't be surprised if GT HD was delayed a few months...nothing new then! ;-)

A few (mobile) pix from the show

TGS 1

TGS 2

TGS 3

The PS3

●Car/bike spotting Japan Style

Both of these were spotted in one day. First the MV Augusta F4 Vento D'oro spotted at Fuji Speedway. I have never heard of this bike and I can't find any info on it either. Seemed to be really kitted out, even had Brembo Racing radial calipers. Beautiful machine to say the least.

F4 back

F4 side

And driving back from FISCO on route 246 a little before Shibuya I couldn't believe my eyes. A road-spec Lancia Stratos!! This was no replica....

Stratos 1

Stratos 2

Stratos 3

Apologies for the quality but the pix were all taken with my mobile

●Herman Miller Aeron

Recently picked up a new gadget for the office. What you see below is the Rolls Royce of office chairs! Design aside, which I personally really like, I doubt there is anything out there that would even come close to offering the seating comfort the Aeron provides. Once you set up your preferred seating position, through the multitude of adjustments, the chair supports you in a natural and comfortable fashion. Since there is actually no metal structure in both the seating and backrest areas there is no chance the circulation to your legs will get restricted, a problem I've always had, especially after spending hours in front of the computer. Furthermore the optional PostureFit lumbar support is just what I needed to keep my lower back happy! More info at:

Herman Miller

Some pix:

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Spins around pretty well too...

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●Thumbnails & pop-up images

Anyone out there have any idea how I can get my images to show in thumbnails & then pop-up in full-res when clicking on them?

●Long exposures

Took these shots last month back home in Italy. Actually snowed three times as much the day after I took these.

BTW...these make good wallpapers

●Venezia

Few pictures taken durng a very hot and muggy day in Venezia.

●DIY pen holder

Take one piston (in this case a Honda B18 piston, 81mm). Wash off all the crusty deposits off and you should end up with something like this:

Get some sand paper and start smoothing off the rough cast surfaces and markings. Polish with an aluminium polishing paste and you should end up with something like this:

You really need a Dremel to get into the hard to reach places but I think the result is ok considering it was all done by hand. Anyway it's a very nice pen holder:

...or if you want to see your hard work you can always just use it as a paper weight or something nice to look at

●Step up in performance

Well it was inevitable that I would need to upgrade my desktop soon. What with my poor 500MHz G4 Cube struggling to keep up with the weekly 1000+ photos I throw at it. So as soon as the G5 iMac was updated last week I put my order in. A few days later a big box showed up on my doorstep

Being a total Mac addict I can't stop myself looking at the sheer elegance and simplicity of the iMac's design. And with 2GHz of G5 processing speed and 1Gb or RAM it takes everything I throw at it. In fact it has cut down the time it takes me to sort through pictures by almost half, Photoshop has become a joy to use rather than an exercise in patience and the 20 inch screen (1680x1050) is just a bonus to say the least.

But I can't bring myself to eliminate the Cube quite yet. I will use it for the odd job as it's still a good computer. In almost 5 years of use it has never let me down.

Side by side

●Kyoto to Tokyo

On the drive back from Kyoto I was lucky to get a clear shot of Fuji-san. In all the times I have visited the area around Fuji I can count on one hand the times the bloody thing has actually been visible! As with most beautiful things in Japan there is always something nasty in the way to spoil the picture so enjoy this snap of the famous volcano with a nice high-voltage power line right bang in the center of it;-)

And what a lucky shot this was. Nice view of Tokyo Bay in late afternoon.

●Kyoto - Part II

A few more pictures from Kyoto.

●Kyoto - Part I

Even the rain couldn't spoil the beautiful scenery Kyoto has to offer.

●Nara

Spent today in Nara checking out the usual tourist spots. Amazing weather for the time of year.

●Warp speed

Played around with my latest gadget tonight.

Been meaning to get something like this for ages, and after months of searching I found the right one. There is still something scary about bolting expensive equipment on the end of a rig held on a car by 3 suction caps, but it seems pretty solid and no accidents yet!
Here is what can be achieved (even by using a shitty 12 year old Accord!)