My first contact with computers took place when I was at school. Using this wonderful HP25 calculator I implemented a few routines to calculate some mathematical formulas. Simply amazing what one could achieve then with just 49 program steps.
In those days, people tended to equate computer science with mathematical computations. But the Internet had already seen the light, symbolic programming languages like Lisp boosted the quest for intelligent software, and the mother of object-oriented windowing environments, Smalltalk, showed the way for all others to follow, from the Macintosh to Java.
Studying computer science at that time often meant taking up on mathematics for a start, which is what I did. After two years I decided to continue along the path of pure mathematics, simply because topology was so much fun. Although I have never regretted this choice, I finally turned this passion of mine for computers into a full-time profession four years later.
Having graduated I started teaching practical courses in analysis. By then, those magical calculators had become another fact of life. But although most students knew quite well how to use them, few actually understood the real possibilities and limitations of this new technology. Nowadays, I see many students leaving school, comfortable in their knowledge that computer science is about office products and setting up web sites. Computer science, however, is as much about problem solving, engineering and scientific methods as it is about works of art. I have yet to meet a good developer who does not care about the esthetics of his creations one way or another.
Never having been much of a sportsman at school, I only took up interest in sports when working at the university. The campus being located rather close to the Brussels forest, it was a natural to go for some long-distance running at noon, alone or in group. It's cheap (one only needs a decent pair of shoes) and ideal to get rid of stress and weight. Sadly, I hardly come to running at all these days. But I keep trying. Once you get into the mood, rain nor heat nor cold can keep you locked inside.
Reading, however, has been a long-time favorite of mine, in fact as long as I can remember, mostly science fiction as well as the odd fiction novel. These past years I have also developed an increasing interest in the better science books written for the layman. There is quite a lot of highly readable yet accurate literature around, covering and linking diverse topics such as the quest for a unified theory in physics, cosmology, biology and evolution, complex dynamic systems, number and game theory, linguistics and consciousness. Science needs not be dry and anaemic; it can be fascinating, entertaining and even fun. Just sample some of the "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman" stories by the late Nobel Prize winner himself to get the feel.
Even more exhilarating are comics by the likes of Scott Adams and Bill Watterson. If your main goal in life is to become a manager, simply follow the guidelines in the Dilbert series. Is your son about to go to school? Maybe it's time you start collecting the Calvin and Hobbes strips. Marvelous how the author manages to put the mind of a grown-up into the head of a six-year old. If you are running out of books, there are still the Far Side cartoons left. Injecting a little bit of human social behavior into animal life easily leads to highly absurd situations. And I find myself increasingly enjoying the Simpsons as well these days.
I love those comic books, much as I love cartoons by the late great Tex Avery. And I love music. After much tribulations I ended up buying a pair of those wee Sonus Faber Amator speakers. Smart looks and soul, they have it all. Partnered to a pair of gorgeous Marantz class A monoblocks and a Meridian CD player combination, they are real dynamite. For late-night listening I dig up my Grado RS-2 earspeakers. Warm and sweet-sounding when partnered to suitable equipment, they recently replaced my 25 year old Stax electrostatic earspeakers.
Recently I started investigating wireless streaming of high-quality computer-based music. Forget about lossy audio encoders and cheap built-in digital to analog converters. After many frustrating experiments I finally replaced Apple's Airport Express with a Squeezebox device. The device's digital output is connected to a sweet (and extremely rare) Watts Audio PAM Sixteen DAC.
One of the biggest problems in digital music reproduction consists in minimizing the effects of jitter. It is a common misconception that as long as the correct bits are played back in the correct order, all is well. However, these ones and zeros must also be played back at exactly the right moment.
I listen to all kinds of music. Well not completely. No house music in here. And operas are still not my cup of tea. But pop/rock, Latin-American, Irish, Spanish, Indian, Qawwali, fado, contemporary, classical (Baroque in particular), jazz, blues, and even the occasional movie score or new age album. There is much out there that I like. Just listen to Pieces of Africa by the Kronos Quartet. You'll discover some real gems by contemporary African composers. These are the same musicians who brought us Different Trains by Steve Reich. Whoever thinks minimal music lacks emotion definitely should reconsider.
If you've never given classical music a try, why not start with Telemann's Watermusic, a fine representative of Baroque music. Or hear the Tallis Scholars perform Josquin des Pres' Agnus Dei, British reserve combined with fourteenth century Flemish polyphonic music.
There are many great pop artists on record, so I would be very hard pressed deciding on a top-ten. But John Cale and Brian Eno are definitely in the list. The latter probably even more for that touch of magic he manages to inject once in a while in some artists' works. Thus he turned Talkin Heads' Remain in Light into a landmark in pop music. John Cale's Fragments of a Rainy Season is without doubt one of the finest live pop recordings.
Mainly a passive music-lover until recently, I finally decided on learning to play a musical instrument. To keep costs down, I settled for a Roland keyboard. The quality is suprisingly good given its price. And the accompanying rythm section is a real boon when learning the play the right tempo. If I can keep up the initial enthusiasm, I may still go for a good quality digital piano later on. But only time will tell.
As you may have guessed by now, photography is another hobby of mine, although I usually take it up only when travelling abroad. Then I bring my EOS 100 along and shoot lots of film rolls. I simply love the ergonomics of the Canon, as well as its unobtrusive way of quiely going about its business. It may be a little weak in the flash department, but it has most of the features I want, and those ultrasonic lenses really do operate smoothly and silently. So far it failed me only once, in the NASA Space Center. The electronics were literally frozen to death. I never imagined it could be that cold in Texas. It is not unusual for me to end up with several hundred pictures at the end of the week. Back home, I filter out most of the photos anyway, but occasionally a rather decent picture turns up.
Combining photography and digital technology seems a natural these days. A few years ago, I decided to spend my money on a Nikon slide and negative scanner, and on a flatbed scanner. This gives me the opportunity to breath new life into pictures apparently lost beyond all hope, even ones I took several years ago. In the meantime, digital cameras have improved considerably, so I got one of those diminutive Canon IXUS 500's. It looks nice, works well and fast, and it has some neat features, but noise is more apparent, as is typical for compact cameras with their tiny sensors. For more serious work I recently started using a EOS 450D digital reflex camera.
Some years ago I settled for a DVD player. Quality of the format is still not as good as can be (witness the fact that it took about two decades to get the most out of CD, before accepting that the format can be improved upon), but in general most movies in my collection have acceptable quality. I also started tinkering with digital TV by coupling some of those Elgato tuners and encoders to my Mac mini. I am interested to find out if DVB-T is going to catch on over here.
I've finally decided to build my own house (the photos are a bit outdated by now). It was 'declared' inhabitable half a year ago, but there is still considerable work to do, mostly related to decoration and to the garden. The ground floor measures 18m by 8.7m. The top floor, which houses the actual living quarters, gives a good view on the surroundings, and measures 11.5m by 8.7m. It lies directly under the roof, which adds to the impression of space. I like the way the house combines simplicity of design with overall practicality, while exhibiting a character of its own in a nicely restrained way.
