Note: The older the entry, the unlikelier outside links are to work.

As a response to several requests, Kekkuli will close down for the rest of the year. You see, many people have been concerned that they wouldn't be able to enjoy Christmas if they constantly had to find a computer to browse and see if something new has appeared on Kekkuli. Therefore, we're now telling you beforehand that you can take it easy, read this post and after it calmly wait until next year to check up on us again. Of course, Tero might still want to have the last word this year, so something might still happen. So if you're not going to be stuck in a snowed-down hut somewhere in the middle of nowhere (which is my plan), you might still want to check up on us now and then. Why are you taking advice from me, just do what you want. Who am I to guide you, especially since I've sunk so low as to invent imaginary people that send requests.
But if you're stuck at an office, reading this and wanting to get home already for the holidays, here's something to help you get that project report finished (of course, not surfing inane websites could help too). And once you're done with that report, you might want to check whether it was written by a man or a woman with the Gender genie.

I'm not a big fan of meaningless well-wishing, so I'm not going to write Merry Christmas here.

So you think you're pretty moral, eh? Well, you just see about that with these two tests on your moral values. Actually, the tests don't tell you whether you're moral or not, but rather what kind of (if any) moral structure you adhere to. So, since self-tests are always fun and you can actually learn something through these, check out your morality and whether it allows you to accept someone eating their pet cat.

Ever wondered why our year is 365 days long, except occasionally (like next year), when it's 366? Or why do we have a ridicilous figure like 24 to mark the number of hours in a day? Personally, I've been an advocate of a simpler time system for a long time, but unfortunately it's probably a lost cause. People seem to get so accustomed to the old that even a change in currency can feel like a big thing, not to mention the way we count time. I figure once there are permanent colonies on other planets we'll be forced to get rid of our Earth-centric timescale and find something more universal. We'll see what it turns out to be, clearly it's not that Swatch time that we have there on the left as well, since no one pays any attention to it (at least I don't). If you've never thought about the randomness of our calendar or wanted to know more about other systems (those French really had the right idea in the 18th century), there's a site (what a surprise, huh?) for all your calendar-needs. Very interesting and not so time-consuming.

Another way to count time is to think back to the time you played a computer game for the first time. Is it really that long ago? And even if it wasn't, the development has still been huge. I went to an exhibition on computer-gaming history and it was a real blast from the past, with old-time Donkey Kongs, Pac-Mans and Pongs (which I'm too young to have played as a kid). And some newer favorites like Bubble Bobble and Double Dragon. A few hours flew by easily. Unfortunately, today's the last day of the exhibition, so even if you're in Helsinki you won't make it anymore. Good thing I come up with these things well in time, isn't it? But since the real-world is such a bore anyway, all you people all over the world can take a crash-course to the history of computer games in the form of a great game. Hopefully they'll keep it up even though the exhibition ends. But just in case, it might be a good idea to try the game out before it's gone.

Yo pense que finalmente llego la hora de atacar el mercado hispano y poner un "posting" en español. Espero les guste. Y hablando de "postings", aqui les va el texto que una señora de Madrid, Ana María, envió a Radio Nacional de España para que lo leyeran en uno de sus programas:

"Desde que las insignias se llaman pins, los maricones gays, las comidas frías lunchs, y los repartos de cine castings, este país no es el mismo: ahora es mucho, muchísimo mas moderno. Antaño los niños leían tebeos en vez de comics, los estudiantes pegaban posters creyendo que eran carteles, los empresarios hacían negocios en vez de business, y los obreros, tan ordinarios ellos, sacaban la fiambrera al mediodía en vez del tupper-ware.

Yo, en el colegio, hice aerobic muchas veces, pero, tonta de mí, creía que hacía gimnasia. Nadie es realmente moderno si no dice cada día cien palabras en inglés. Las cosas, en otro idioma, nos suenan mucho mejor. Evidentemente, no es lo mismo decir bacon que panceta, aunque tengan la misma grasa, ni vestíbulo que hall ni inconveniente que handicap...

Desde ese punto de vista, los españoles somos modernísimos. Ya no decimos bizcocho, sino plum-cake, ni tenemos sentimientos, sino feelings. Sacamos tickets, compramos compacts, comemos sandwiches, vamos al pub, practicamos el rappel y el raffting , en lugar de acampar hacemos camping y, cuando vienen los fríos, nos limpiamos los mocos con kleenex.

Esos cambios de lenguaje han influido en nuestras costumbres y han mejorado mucho nuestro aspecto. Las mujeres no usan medias, sino panties y los hombres no utilizan calzoncillos, sino slips, y después de afeitarse se echan after shave, que deja la cara mucho mas fresca que el tónico. El español moderno ya no corre, porque correr es de cobardes, pero hace footing; no estudia, pero hace masters y nunca consigue aparcar pero siempre encuentra un parking. El mercado ahora es el marketing; el autoservicio, el self-service; el escalafón, el ranking y el representante, el manager. Los importantes son vips, los auriculares walkman, los puestos de venta stands, los ejecutivos yuppies; las niñeras baby-sitters, y hasta nannies, cuando el hablante moderno es, además, un pijo irredento.

En la oficina, el jefe esta siempre en meetings o brain storms, casi siempre con la public-relations, mientras la asistant envía mailings y organiza trainings; luego se irá al gimnasio a hacer gim-jazz, y se encontrará con todas las de la jet, que vienen de hacerse liftings, y con alguna top-model amante del yoghurt light y el body-fitness. El arcaico aperitivo ha dado paso a los cocktails, donde se jartan a bitter y a roast-beef que, aunque parezca lo mismo, engorda mucho menos que la carne.

Ustedes, sin ir más lejos trabajan en un magazine, no en una revista o programa. En la tele, cuando el presentador dice varias veces la palabra O.K. y baila como un trompo por escenario la cosa se llama show, bien distinto, como saben ustedes, del anticuado espectáculo; si el show es heavy es que contiene carnaza y si es reality parece el difunto Diario "El Caso", pero en moderno. Entre medias, por supuesto, ya no ponen anuncios, sino spots que, aparte de ser mejores, te permiten hacer zapping.

Estas cosas enriquecen mucho. Para ser ricos del todo, y quitarnos el complejo tercermundista que tuvimos en otros tiempos, solo nos queda decir con acento americano la única palabra que el español ha exportado al mundo: la palabra SIESTA."

Espero que les haya gustado. Yo estoy hasta los cojones.

And for those of you who didn't understand the first word of all that, be at ease, for we are coming for you when you least expect it. The conspiracy is on. Haha! But seriously speaking, the above article is about the world coming together, in good and bad ways perhaps, and while on that topic, read some more on how Europe is coming together, monetarily speaking at least.

You can tell a blog is good when you feel like you could put up pretty much all the same links on your web site as are on that other blog. And sometimes that's what is done, taking credit for other people's hard browsing and surfing (although chances are those people ripped off their links from somewhere else too). So instead of linking directly to a game like Super Bobby World or to the reminder that Internet is shit, this time I'll direct you right to the source: my friend's blog Venom & Diamonds. You'll find other fun stuff through that site as well, like this remake of the Nintendo classic Duck Hunt.