Import verbod

Hmmm.... In Canada heerst een invoer verbod voor autos en motorfietsen jonger dan 15 jaar. Alleen Amerikaanse autos en motorfietsen mogen het land in, zogenaamd voor veiligheidsredenen. Pfff, geen Aprilia RSV1000R dus, hier in Canada. De torx sleutelset is gearriveerd. Helaas was de nek de kort, zodat ik niet bij de schroef kon. Een collega uit de UK had echter een enorm Zwitsers zakmes, en de flat-head schroevendraaier werkte. De PS3 ligt open, ik zag geen overduidelijke fouten, geen losse kabels. Bij opstarten gaat de fan draaien, het lampje gaat aan, maar verder is ie zo dood als wat. Erg lastig allemaal. Wellicht maar opsturen naar mijn electronica expert in Heemskerk. Werk gaat prima. Ik heb mijn eerste brouwsel gedemonstreerd aan mijn bazen, en ze waren allebei tevreden. 's avonds na het werk zijn we vaak de game aan het testen.

Haircut

Hmmm... ik heb mijn eerste haircut gehad hier in Canada. Toch eigenlijk wel spijt van gekregen. 'Undercut' noemen ze het hier: Boven op lang, en van opzij en achter gemillimeterd. Nou, Nicolien had toch gelijk: dit staat voor geen meter. Het was wel een chique kapperszaak (Suki's genaamd) en kostte een flinke duit, maar er moet toch maar weer een tondeuse overheen om de rest ook weer kort te krijgen. Het werk gaat goed, ik kom er steeds beter in, en begin resultaat te zien van mijn programmeer werk.

De Forens

Wat een wereld van verschil: Bumper aan bumper op de A6,A1 en A10 staan, of met een bootje 'False Creek' op. Het mini bootje op de foto rechtsboven is tegenwoordig mijn transport naar het werk. 5 minuutjes lopen naar de stijger, het bootje in, en een paar minuutjes later weer uitstappen, gevolgd door 5 minuten lopen. Dat doet me denken aan mijn Flevo Ferries tijd, toen ik per draagvleugelbood van Lelystad naar Amsterdam reisde. False Creek Ferries kost iets meer dan een euro per overtocht. Tja, over transport gesproken, als je kan parkeren (wat moeilijk is als je downtown woont) dan is ook de auto goedkoop. De benzine is betaalbaar, maar vooral het gebrek aan BPM maakt een auto spotgoedkoop. Ik weet dat de Nederlandse overheid eigen autobezit wil ontmoedigen, maar dat het zo schandalig is wist ik niet. Een instap model Volkswagen Golf kost hier 14900 CA$, wat neerkomt op 10400 euro. In Nederland kost dezelfde auto 21500 euro. Dit is dus meer dan het dubbele. En dat is zonder sales tax (BTW). Met BTW is het verschil nog groter. Pfff... hier krijg je pas een goed idee van wat je koopkracht eigenlijk is als het belasting systeem redelijk is. Geen wonder dat hier zoveel Porches, Ferarri's en Astons rond rijden. Voorlopig houd ik het maar even op het bootje en de fiets, en hopelijk binnenkort op mijn motor die overkomt. Maar het is goed te weten dat ik hier voor een habbekrats een 'cool ride' kan scoren mocht het nodig zijn. Het regent namelijk veel hier, wat de motor minder aantrekkelijk kan maken. Nog geen pakketje ontvangen van Amazon met de security-torx, dus de PS/3 is nog steeds defect.

Nederlandse Samenvatting (Dutch Summary)

Op verzoek nu ook maar even een samenvatting in het Nederlands, zodat Ingrid en Oma ook mee kunnen lezen. Ok... Ik ben nu dus twee weken in Vancouver. Ik heb via de webcam een sollicitatie gesprek gehad met het bedrijf Slant Six Games. Dit bedrijf maakt nu een schiet-spel, SOCOM:Confrontation genaamd, voor de Playstation 3. Zowel het nieuwe bedrijf, als de nieuwe stad, Vancouver, bevallen me erg goed. Ik heb een appartement met 1 slaapkamer in een hoge toren. Helaas zonder uitzicht, omdat alle torens zo vlak bij elkaar staan. Ik zit downtown, of te wel, midden in het centrum. Het centrum is gezellig, en compact, zodat alles met de fiets of te voet is te doen. Het is wel even wennen aan de flinke heuvels als je aan het fietsen bent. Ik heb de eerste dag een fiets gekocht, en heb daar veel plezier van. Je kan hier je fiets zelfs meenemen, voor op de bus, in een rek. Het werk hier is inspirerend. Het is bijzonder om met zoveel mensen aan 1 spel te werken. Het niveau qua werk ligt hier wel wat hoger, dus het is zeker voor een nieuweling als ik wel alle zeilen bijzetten. Ik maak lange dagen, maar denk vaak: Tjonge is het nu al weekend? De tijd gaat dus snel, maar da's een goed teken. Het eerste weekend ben ik met collega's de kroeg in geweest, en dat was erg gezellig. Afgelopen weekend naar een American Football wedstrijd. Dit was ook erg de moeite waard, als je het alleen nog maar op televisie hebt gezien. Helaas heb ik niet mee kunnen doen met de gevechts-training die een aantal collega's hebben gekregen van ex-mariniers uit het Amerikaanse leger. De lunch hier is een belevenis. Het bedrijf zit vlak bij Granville Island Public Market. Hier zit ook een enorme bazaar, met wel 40 eet-tentjes onder 1 groot dak. Elke cuisine is hier vertegenwoordigd, waar je voor weinig geld prima kunt eten. Ik probeer nu mijn huisraad over te laten komen. De eerste maand zit ik in een gemeubileerd appartement, maar in juli is dat een leeg appartement. Ik laat mijn Amerikaanse old-timer in Nederland, maar wil wel op mijn Italiaanse motorfiets gaan rijden hier. Helaas zal ik wel weer opnieuw examens moeten afleggen. Eigenaardigheden hier: ze drinken hun bier met tomatensap, doen een helm op tijdens het fietsen, en sommigen zeggen inderdaad 'aboet' als ze het over 'about' hebben. (Zie South Park's Terrence en Philip).

Felions

The match was quite an experience. The stadium was far from being sold out, with only 24000 spectators or so. The cheerleaders, 'Felions' as they call them were very pretty, but had a hard time keeping their dances synchronized. The guys on the field were not fully up to the task either, as the visiting Rough Riders team was simply better. Pre-match, I experienced my first "Oh Canada" live performance. Good atmosphere in the stadium, and really a family experience. My co-worker brought his two little kids. Fans of both teams mingle, have BBQs together, with no animosity whatsoever as we often see in European Football. During the game you need to pay attention. The play is stopped frequently, but when resumed, the pace is fast, and the action is harder to follow compared to soccer. This evening I saw 'Perfect Stranger' with Bruce Willis: a shitty movie with a great ending. When I exited the cinema, I wanted to get my parked bicycle. However, it was parked in the middle of a police action. Two drunk girls were dragged over the street, as they resisted arrest. One of them was deposited on the pavement, half a meter from my bike. The officers warned everybody that came too close, so I thought I would wait for the scene to disperse before I got my bike. But as the arrest-vehicle took a while, I thought I could probably very carefully approach an officer about my bike. Canadians are a friendly bunch, and so are the police officers, so I was granted access to my bicycle.

BC Lions Game

This evening, I will witness my first game of Football, North American style. The company had four tickets to spare, and I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm excited to see what it is like, and my findings will be put on this blog at a later time. About my broken PS/3: Sony US refuses to repair it, as it is a Japanese model. Sony Japan does not take repairs from outside Japan. This means I will have to fix it myself. I have not been able to open up the console, because it uses a Security Torx. Its a Torx screw with an additional center pin that prevents standard Torx drivers to be used. I ordered a set of Security Torx drivers from Amazon. Let's hope I will manage to fix the darn thing.

Applying for a lease

A quick update on my Vancouver experiences. Sony Talks about our game. 'Who are these Slant Six people?' the interviewer asks. Also, I've applied for an apartment lease. It turned out that there was an apartment available in the Beach Tower that I am in now. First week of July, I will move into that one. What really worried me though, was the tale of a British colleague: His UK to BC shipping took 6 months. Uh Oh. The people here tell me that it should be much faster though. The apartment I will be in is unfurnished, so let's hope the Spartan Life will not be too long. Getting the lease was not a simple matter. They really scrutinize you. You need to prove you are worthy, and they want statements from former landlords, employers, and banks. However, they approved me yesterday.

First Viewing

Today I find myself smack-bang in the middle of the triathlon course. I picked up a newspaper to find an apartment here downtown. I have made an appointment for my first viewing of an apartment. Tomorrow during lunch, I will be checking out Metropolitan Towers. They charge 1400 dollar (1000 euro) for a 1 bedroom apartment. The price sounds not too outrageous, as the going rate for this is between 800 and 2000 dollars, and they claim to be "luxury rental apartments". Housing cost is significant here, but other costs of living seem moderate so far. As long as I have my Lelystad property, I have to keep my costs down though. Especially since I will no longer be enjoying the Dutch mortgage tax reduction. (Stupid idea anyway... encouraging debts, and having 30yr loans that you never pay off, because of the tax incentives).

Screeched

Last night I got drunk with ten of my coworkers. It all started at the end of the day, when a keg of beer entered the office. The session continued in a nice bar downtown. The company's talent coordinator has some talents of her own, as she turned out to be quite a party animal. I guess that I was saved by the fact that the Karaoke bars were already closed. When we went looking for one, I was the only one with a bicycle. To my surprise, when the group took a bus, my bike was clamped to the front of the bus. What a great service by the bus company to cyclists. I tried some Canadian specialties, as there are: beer with tomato juice, screech (rum) and a cesar (cocktail, supposedly having up to 20 ingredients). Rumor has it that the company owns seats at GM place, the hockey stadium, so maybe my Canadian assimilation can be completed soon.

Granville Lunch

The Slant Six office is near Granville Island. The Island offers a large indoor market where a wide range of freshly cooked foods are sold. The prices are low, which makes lunch quite an experience. So much to choose from, you can have a totally different lunch meal every day of the month. The market is next to the waterside, where you typically can have your meal with live music and sunshine in the summer. Today I had a lamb-pita. This weekend I have to put some efforts in getting permanent accommodation. The west-end of downtown, where I'm now, looks to be the best choice.

Vancouver Cycling

Riding a bicycle in Vancouver is a joy. The slopes can give you a nice workout at times, followed by an exciting race downhill again. The cars on the road are really courteous. They are really mindful of the cyclists. As a cyclist here, you go with the main traffic. There are some bike lanes, but often you will find yourself among the fast traffic. So in some ways it resembles riding a motorcycle in Europe. The traffic is pretty efficient as well. I don't understand why there is no congestion downtown, as it is full of high-rise buildings, so it must accommodate millions of people. A true mystery. I checked out the neighbourhood of Keefer Place. I'm not to sure about it. It is closer to the bad parts of town than Beach Ave is. This morning I got my social insurance number from HRSDC.

Bank Account

I now have a Canadian bank account. Getting one was an interesting experience. The CFO of Slant Six had set up a meeting with an account manager from Royal Bank of Canada. They really welcome you with open arms, and take all the time in the world to get to know the new client. I was also introduced to the bank manager. She invited me for their "Client Appreciation Day Party". Whoa... what a difference with the lousy treatment by Dutch banks. I now also have a checkbook, which I need to get used to. Writing and cashing-in checks is something I only know from American television. I need to find permanent housing. On craigslist.com I found this one that I may like. I think I will go check out that neighborhood with my bicycle.

First working day at the office

I had my first working day at the office. This morning I rode in on my new bicycle, which I fitted with two locks, so let us hope the bicycle is still outside the office. I spent the first day with two meetings, and getting to know the development environment. Some colleagues here will be having a combat training tomorrow, with actual ex navy seal people. Wow, how cool is that?

On Canadian soil

I have left Holland for Canada. Yesterday, I arrived in Vancouver where I will be working with Slantsix games as a developer. I just arrived at the office for the first time (I had my interview via webcam) and met the people here. They are a very friendly bunch. The office atmosphere is nice, and it really feels like a game studio, although there are no segways parked here :-) This morning I bought a bicycle to get around town. Some bad news about my PS/3 console: it died. It survived the shipping, as I had played on it here in Canada yesterday evening. Today, it will not boot up. I hope I can get it fixed. About my new employer: they recently announced SOCOM: Confrontation. I need to hunt for permanent accomodations now (currently I'm on 1600 Beach Ave), and get myself a social security number. The trip from Holland started with engine trouble, and me almost missing the connecting flight from London to Vancouver, but the second leg went very well. The plane landed 30 mins ahead of schedule. The Canadian immigration officer was much better than the Berlin staff. I had my workpermit quickly. So far, jet-lag is mild.

Kernel Upgrade

After I upgraded my Cell SDK to version 2.1, I decided it was time to upgrade the kernel as well. Stock releases of the linux kernel are not yet working properly on the PS/3. Also, the 2.6.20 PS/3 kernel that comes with Ubuntu/Feisty would not boot properly for me. The trick is to use GIT to get a development tree as described by Julipedia. I opted to build and install via a proper deb-package. The key here is to get the latest version of kernel-package from Debian's unstable repository, as kernel-package 10.068 has fixed the bug that would mess up make-kpkg commands in GIT source trees. I found that luckily, my ray tracer code would build without problems on the 2.1 SDK. Although I somewhat expected this, as it is standard policy to increase major version numbers when breaking APIs, and this was a minor version number upgrade only. What pleased me less, is that they did not bother to apply the fix I sent to the forums for the triangle intersection bug. The bug is still in there, which is somewhat sloppy I think.

Folding Proteins

Is it not ironic? I work at a super computing center, yet it turns out that world first petaflop/s computer will be housed right here in my living room in Lelystad. Well, at least a part of that machine will be. Expect the first petaflop/s to be reached this weekend, thanks to the PS/3 implementation of the Folding at Home code. Something amazing has happened here... a handful of PS/3's (currently 20K of them) dwarfed the contribution of the 200K regular PCs. As a matter of fact, if all PCs running folding at home were switched off, computational capacity of the folding at home initiative would hardly be impacted. I have to keep an eye on my energy bill though, as the PS/3 consumes 200Watt. At roughly 20 eurocent per KWatt-hour, it is costing me approximately 1 euro per day. The image of this blog-entry shows the Villin protein, that my PS/3 is currently simulating. One last note: the special purpose computer MDGrape-3 claims to have already reached the petaflop/s milestone.