Techior's Blog

Two jewels

2009-10-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

Some of you (spanish readers) know how fond I am of [Fogonazos], a wonderful blog in which, "Aberron" delights us with the weird and wonderful, the original and the impressive. Like me, he is a science lover.

Today he has brought us some videos in which he combines snippets of Carl Sagan's legendary series "Cosmos" together with others like Stephen Hawkins, thanks to the technology of MIDI and Vocoders and the talent of [The symphony of science], sing the glories of the Universe.

It is also better if you can understand the lyrics, of course ;-)

His entries:

[Como de grande es la antartida]

[Nuevo dueto de Sagan]

And the videos:

I will download the entire "cosmos" series, which already fascinated me back then.

Newer deviances

2009-09-28T14:14:00.001-07:00

I promisse, I will write something soon!!

New deviances

2009-08-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

Some recovered old pics, some more recent, slightly treated or very treated. In essence, pieces of what I see

Sorry for not publishing... My new responsibilities are, as you all know, taking a toll in both time and energy, though the rewards are great.

Let's find out!

2009-05-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

let's find out

That's a sentence that has become a war cry every time I draw my iPhone in the company of others. When I bought the gadget, I didn't imagine all the useful things that could be accomplished with it. I bought it out of a whim. I liked the concept and I could afford it.

But it has surprised me the usefullness I've been able to get from it.

Appart from being able to continue chats once I've left the office, level hanging pictures (yes, seriously), reply to important (or not) emails, here are other examples:

Resolve an argument about the Earth's circumference (where the "let's find out" cry was officially born) or the exact speed of light (Wikipedia).

What do the initials TT exactly stand for in the Audi model? (Tourist Trophy)

Look up the tube map well away from any tube stop and without the paper map.

Find out what's on at the cinema in the middle of a meal to plan ahead.

Photograph your gal's favourite car or a similar jewel.

Send forward examples for a DIY project in order to clarify what is needed.

To be able to show your bike to people who don't know about bikes but want to know which bike you have.

Report traffic violations (thought not legally binding) even commited by real car jewels.

Stay in touch with what your people are doing at all times.

Make phone calls overseas for free (yes, yes, this is Skype through 3G).

All this plus the usual suspects (ever more necessary to my new life), of course: datebook, calendar, tasks, notes, calculator, measure unit converter, music, videos, games and other gadgetry.

And still other examples: sending Xing invitations to potential collaborators you meet in parties. Give directions to people who ask for a street you're not quite sure where it is. And the list keeps on growing! What? Let's find out!

New blog

2009-04-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

Starting this new phase of my life, I have decided to share my experiences from a more serious point of view than this, my corner of expresion. I have opened a [NEW BLOG] to expose my experiences and explore another facet of my interests, the one on professional growth, coaching and other terms associated with these concepts.

I won't linger on this entry since it is now a little latem, the day has been long and I need my rest. There is still a long way to go on my projects, both professional and literary. The latter, as you will see, is still in dipers, since I have not spent a single minute on the graphic side.

I give you my [Diary on growth]

As usual, all critique is welcome.

New pieces

2009-03-20T01:02:00.001-07:00

In a continuing effort of creativity that burdens me, I present to you today two new musical pieces which, again, are half-way through production. I've decided I will be publishing them as I go along and I will let you know when they are finished (which will substitute the present ones).

All critique is welcome. Be aware, though, that except when otherwise mentioned, these are unfinished works. They are also published in diminished sound quality for reasons of space and versatility. If anyone wants a full-quality version, you only have to ask and I will gladly send it to you.

This said, I proceed.

The first piece, "Tame" (pronounced "tameh") tells a lovestory. It is a piece in 5 parts (see if you can differenciate them). It starts with the noise that fills it all, strange and uncomfortable, and a weak voice trying to be heard. The call for help is surrounded by a melancholic halo, still strange, but is suddently heard in an unsuspected new change. Two voices (still absent in this version, since I removed "the experiment" some of you have heard, untill I have it sorted out) start talking to each other, initially separatedly, then together, sometimes dissonant, sometimes harmonious, finally concordant... untill a third voice breaks the harmony and the melancholy returns, the sadness. But the sadness doesn't last long and turns to romanticism and returning, renewed love. This turns much more sober, mature and solid, in a promise of endurance that the music will continue.

The second piece, "Drawings" speaks of that moment when we stop and, distractedly start doodling, lost in the melancholy of the moment. But we realise where that line of thought will lead and we change it to something happier, experimental, attempting, testing, flowing with it. The contrast of staccattos with a finer melody combines the drawing of thicker lines with finer details. Where will this moment of divagation take us?

To listen to the pieces you only have to select them in the player, in the selection list. Be patient, as the pieces are "big" and will take some time to download depending on your connection, but it does work with any browser that has flash installed. Guaranteed! You can watch the download progress once you've selected a track.

By the way, this is the very same player you can find at the top of the menu on the right of these entries.

Enjoy and thank you for your time and thoughts.

Only with great ideas can you accomplish great things

2009-03-02T01:44:00.000-08:00

Not long ago, in a local station, TeleMadrid (know to be right-winged, but you have to read both sides to understand a story) I was watching a program called "Crisis Office". They usually interview important personalities, such as (the reason why I was watching), Mrs.María Garaña, responsible for Microsoft Iberica. The interview came about due to Microsoft's anouncement to cut 5000 positions as a world-wide measure.

I will not dwelve too much on the interview, in which the interviewer was attempting to get Mrs. Garaña to confess that Microsoft was in such dire situation as to have to sack people. This was frustrated by Mrs. Garaña when she explained, in all possible ways, that Microsoft was going to attempt by all means necessary not to have to fire anybody. This fact has been demonstrated.

Following the program's main subject, the host quoted, completely out of context, a piece by Albert Einstein by only mentioning the line "Incompetence is the the true crisis." In spanish, this could be interpreted as a clear criticism to the government and their "blame" in all this.

I will now reproduce the full text, so this sentence can be propertly contextualized and have its meaning restored and just to prove that a mis-contextualized quote can actually go against he who pronounces it. As Natalie Imbruglia once put it: "Second hand opinions don't make you look any smarter".

"Let's not pretend that things will change if we keep doing the same things.A crisis can be a real blessing to any person, to any nation.For all crises bring progress.Creativity is born from anguish.Just like the day is born form the dark night.It's in crisis that inventive is born, as well as discoveries, and big strategies.He who overcomes crisis, overcomes himself, without getting overcome.

He who blames his failure to a crisis neglects his own talent,and is more respectful to problems than to solutions.Incompetence is the the true crisis.The greatest inconvenience of people and nations is the laziness with which they attempt to find the solutions to their problems. There's no challenge without a crisis.Without challenges, life becomes a routine, a slow agony.There's no merits without crisis. It's in the crisis where we can show the very best in us.Without a crisis, any wind becomes a tender touch. To speak about a crisis is to promote it. Not to speak about it is to exalt conformism. Let us work hard instead. Let us stop, once and for all, the menacing crisis that represents the tragedy of not being willing to overcome it."

- Albert Einstein

Therefore, it is the actual incompetence which is in crisis. Those who are not incompetent will see, in this crisis, the oportunity they needed.

Sony eBook reader: How to make eBooks

2009-02-25T02:59:00.001-08:00

Yep. Given the acquisition of my new Sony PRS-505 (don't bother, it's still not available on Sony España's site since it's not available on the european market... although there are ways to purchase one, clearly ;-)) I thought I'd write up a small tutorial of what I've hacked from... errr... learnt from what it is and how it works. More specifically, how to create and manage eBooks of almost any format.

The PSR-505 is an electronic book. No more, no less. It has no WIFI, Bluetooth, nor anything like it. Nor does it need it. It does exactly what is says on the tin (and it does it very well). It is a book. Or, to be precise, it's a whole lot of books on the palm of your hand. Its main advantage and the reason why it costs what it costs (apart from being Sony and a not very extended piece of equipment, of course) is it's intelligent ink screen. You cannot explain it, you have to see it to appreciate it. It's an LCD with no back-illumination (that is, it's not tiresome for your eyes), great contrast, resolution and a technology which makes extremely efficient use of the battery (which is why it lasts soooooooo long). It has sockets for SD and (of course) Sony's own MemoryStick. With them it means you carry with you more books than you can read already in your eBook. Carrying even more books means carrying memory cards which don't take much space at all. And it is impossible you'll read them all before your holiday is over... however long your holidays are...

It's comfortable and really easy to use. Technically speaking, once plugged to your USB (from which it gets its charge, you need no extra for that) we are talking about three external drives in which the books are stored in the format you chucked at it, and a bunch of XML files which take care of the library's organization, bookmarkers, etc. Nothing else. Sony's own library management software is... generally defficient and dissapointing. It does the bare minimum. But, of course, it's still early stages.

Another small detail you're not told because they want to increase sales of the battery charger (sold separately, of course) is that it requires the same charge (voltage, polarity and amperage) as the PSP battery charger, so if you have a PSP you can use it's charger for both.

For a much more practical (and useful) management of the library, format conversion and almost anything you need for the eBook, you're better off using Calibre. It is, of course, a child of the Linux culture, and therefore free and open source. The best thing is that it breaks no code, law, convention or anything like it and you can use it with your eBook without loss of warranty, dangerous patching, suspicious hacks nor anything like it.

PRS-505's native format is LRF. It is capable of reading other formats, too, such as PDF, ePub, TXT, RTF, DOC (no, not the new Word 2003/2007 format, but I'm sure it will in the near future...) as well as several picture and music formats. But let's stick with what is important: books.

There are plenty of sources for books (Sadrac's library, the Guttenberg project, eMule, etc). As soon as you do some testing with the PRS-505 you will see that not all come in formats "optimal" and comfortable for reading. Here is the conversion proces starting from a flat-text format. Obviously, you can adapt it to other formats (with a little thought).

As I say, we start with a flat-text file. We open it up in Word (or Open Office), we select the whole text (no worries here, flat text has no styles, but with other formats you will have to bear fonts in mind) and we set the whole thing to Arial 10. We set the margins to the bare minimum (0,5cm x 0,5cm x 0,6cm x 0,6cm) and the page size to about half an A4 (11cm x 15cm). For an easier management of the library, edit the document's properties (Title and Author). Then save as a Word Document (not the new format but the traditional one). From Calibre you can edit the doc's properties but they don't stick

Convert to PDF with Acrobat Pro (or better priced PDF converter).

... Small detail here. Acrobat sometimes (haven't been able to determine if due to version or configuration) will ask if you wish to save the accessibility markers. Strangely enough, in order to get the zoom to work propery on the eBook, you need to choose NO. Don't ask...

Drag and Drop over Calibre and transfer it to the eBook as indicated in the apps documentation (won't re-write a perfectly efficient help document).

Also, you don't have to kiss goodbye all those books you had in LIT format that you could "only read with Microsoft's Reader" on PDAs and (badly) on computers (due to back-illuminated screens). Calibre will allow you to import them "as is" (you then have to ask it to transform them and that's that) and you can enjoy them in your PRS. Of course, you can also export them to other formats for editting, if necessary.

There is also a PRS-700 model which is touch sensitive, but apparently the screen is clearly not as good and therefore not worth the extra dosh.

Any questions?

Latest deviances

2009-02-24T03:22:00.000-08:00

Primarily from this past weekend. I will upload the non-artistic photos to the blog of La Esquina probably this evening.

Of Justice and crisis

2009-02-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

It's not fair... I hear it so often...

It's not fair that he/she is not what you expected from him/her. Its not fair that he/she does not give you what you ask for without having to ask for it. Its not fair that you don't get all you wish for. Its not fair that the grass is always greener at the other side of the fence. Its not fair to push away someone just because he/she gave you what you needed.

It's not fair that it isn't fair.

What if everything was fair for everybody?

Nobody would ever win a match at any sport, ever.
Couples would not be couples at all, but networks of relationships but no-one would feel betrayed because we would all know it and we would all be doing the same.
We would all earn the same wages and everything we bought would cost the same no matter where you bought it or what make it was.

In movies, the good guys would always win because there would be no baddies! But they would also have nothing to win, either...

The world is not fair. Life is not fair. Justice is impossible when it depends on a point of view. That is why "justice is blind", but that blindness makes justice unjust. That is, assuming any justice is made at all!

And speaking of justice, is it fair that, with the justification (pun intended) of this crisis, the contributor's hard earned money is "given away" to banks? I got a Powerpoint this morning with a series of calculations and numbers which I will not reproduce here since I cannot verify them (Editted: as I thought, the numbers aren't quite as simple as real money being transferred but rather economical arrangements).

What I will mention is the "news piece" I heard this morning on how consumption has decreased an important and worrying percentage because of the crisis, which will only increase crisis. Let us analyze a little.

In Spain, for the last two years they've been critisizing on one side, defending on the other, but basically making plenty of noise about this crisis. Our dear John Doe, who knows little or none at all about national, european or world-wide economy only knows hard times are ahead. What is the normal reaction? One would think it's normal to remove unnecessary expenditures so when the crisis hits home we are at least half prepared, right?

Let's analize a little further...

Before this crisis, the problem was the ever-growing inflation, mainly due to the ever increasing price of homes... but everything has also risen since we got the euro. But right up to the crisis, consumption didn't descend. That means there was more consumption than was normal. But that also needed to stabilize!

You only have to take a walk up any High Street (or, in deed, any mall) to see that CONSUMISM hasn't stopped at all, but our dear John, terrified by the screams of "Crisis! Crisis!!!" has actually begun looking at price-tags.

So why are they surprised at the descent in consumism? Wasn't it what thet were expecting? Isn't it fair?

A little coherence would be welcome.

Everybody is free

2009-01-29T03:24:00.001-08:00

Every now and then I look back, in many ways. Today I (re)found a "song" (the guy doesn't actually sing) I heard a long long time ago. Every time I hear it, I hear something that makes me stop and think. See what you can find.

Everybody's free (to wear sunscreen) - Baz Luhrmann

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
Wear sunscreen!
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked...
You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.

What ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you.

Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen...

Quotes from the shower (3... I think)

2009-01-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

"Only the simple believe they can learn nothing from the small. The wise learn from all."

(previous quote modified by my editor with the following quote)

"The subtleness of the knife cuts deeper than the strength of the ax"

Own and other stories

2009-01-23T03:01:00.000-08:00

I've often wondered about the lure of television as well as the lure that novels enjoyed in the past and going back even further, the lure of age-old stories transmitted from generation to generation by the only medium available then: orally.

Many people would simplify it with statements such as "The poor bastards havech empty lives they have to fill them with other people's lives". Well, if one doesn't stop to think a little it may seem a relatively "reasonable" explanation... but it doesn't really hold up then you apply a little logic. Otherwise, 90% (beware, I didn't look up this statistic) of world population could be classified as poor bastards with empty lives!

There must, then, be another explanation. The explanation is that men (as a species, not a sex, nobody jump) has the need to feed his imagination with stories, possibilities, impossibilities and dreams both own and foreign. No matter how full our life is, we will inevitably dwelve in an alternative world be it through television, cinema, books, comic books (graphic novels), heck! When you think about it, even catalogues! We may imagine outselves as owners of a product!

We have all had to suffer the talk about the idiot box, not without some part of reason. Although, if going to the cinema was free, I'm sure we'd spend loads more time there, too, lets be realistic. The fact is that man (see previous comment) is lazy by nature. It is preferrable to obtain the same benefit (a fed imagination) with less effort; reading implies, for example, having to scenify the situations in our head, whilst these are "just given to you" on the telly and the cinema.

I wonder if our ancestors had to endure the accusation about not using their imagination in something more productive like reading a book when they listened to the radio series. At the end of the day, they were also being given part of the job done already, too!

But getting back to the subject about why stories are so enjoyed, they drive us away from our daily worries and allow us, but for a while, to enjoy a holiday away from ourselves (however our lives may be). The only problem arises when people try to find in their daily lives that which they miss or most enjoy from these unreal lives: the drama, the unexpected turn of events, the euforia of success, etc. Or when they confuse reality and fiction and try to bring to normality certain reactions, attitudes or thoughts which are not normally found in real people.

A clear example of this is the world famous "american dream" which keeps capturing an ever growing portion of the world population, including our beloved politicians... But I'll go into that some other time...

I won't be as simplistic as to sat that television is to blame for certain dramas that really happen all to often. The blame cannot be laid on the gun but on the gunslinger. The blame is on who looses their sense of reality, on who doesn't have enough of a brain to separate reality from fiction, normal from fantasy, and tries to apply standards from novels to find everlasting happiness.

"Everlasting" happiness does not exist as such. It is an "american dream" whose only ultimate result is a constant depression caused by never arriving at an unreal goal. The successful attainment of small daily goals is our only way to reach satisfaction; to enjoy our achievements, at any level, to basically know when you are happy instead of worrying about trying to be happy. As my good friend and mentor, Guillermo, was saying to me yesterday, whilst talking about something else, if you only have one unrealistic goal in your project you are guaranteed a constant frustration. Setting attainable milestones guarantees a sense of progress, of achievement and therefore the realization you wish to achieve.

So, my friends, stop building movies, dramas, romantic comedies and senseless storylines. Reality is a lot simpler, easier, attainable and generally better. Crisis or no crisis, people still purchase, lovers keep loving, friends stay in touch and people still love, no matter what.

Life would be a lot simpler if we could only see how simple it really is...

Compromised... almost

2009-01-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

These days everybody wants to express their passion in the clearest possible way, being the best in their environment, the ritchest, the smartest, the tallest, the most femenine, the most tolerant, etc. But we find ourselves with pieces of news such as the one that caught my attention this morning, namely, The Atheist Bus (I have a link to a Spanish paper in my Spanish blog, but there are plenty of sources.

In a nutshell, there is a global movement by an group of atheists which call themselves the International Federation of Atheists which proudly communicate to the world to stop worrying because "there is probably no God". They are so convinced of their own doctrine that they had to put the word "probably" in it, which, to my understanding, reliquishes all credibility. What would we think if the Church said "there probably is a God out there"? Or if our own government said we'll probably be better off next year? What if your boss said you're probably gonna be considered for a promotion? What if he removed the word "probably"? Wouldn't it show a little more conviction?

The word has probably (hehehehe) been put in just to smooth things out with the other side, the believers, which is even more absurd because I doubt very much it will be less offensive because the offenders are less convinced (apart from the fact that the Bible forces believers to forgive their offenders... but that's a different matter entirely...).

The funny thing is that atheism, if one looks it up (ok, not Atheism because that's just "the doctrine of the atheist"; search "atheist") is the denial of God, but this feels more like an "Anti-God" campaign rather than a "No God" campaign. What do they expect to gain from this? To gain more atheists that don't believe in God? Isn't this Federation there to promote Free Thought? Woudn't it be better to actually back this up with some more conviction than "probably"?

Are they not commited to their own ideas? But, if they are not convinced, why are they trying to convince everybody else? Do they expect to gain conficence through social acceptance?

... or are they just trying to get their 15 minutes of fame the easy way, through scandal?

The new aquarium

2008-12-30T06:16:00.000-08:00

Not having enough with one aquarium where everything died (past) I decided I shouldn't have an aquarium just sitting in a corner gathering dust. Also, my Plecostomus, being the size it is, needed a new home... and I don't want to throw him out just because he's eating the other fish in the tank! So now I still have some time, I gathered the necessary materials...

... and after a couple of hours of labour (no rush, ok?), this is the result

So the new 40l tank is now installed and working and will be the new home of my Butterfly Plecostomus (and the Betta, of course)

As soon as it is mature (a couple of weeks) and the plants have rooted nicely, I will organize the transport. We'll continue to inform.

My travels (2)

2008-12-17T00:43:00.000-08:00

By popular demand, allow me to introduce a selection of photographs from another trip, this one from way back in October (yes, yes, it was about time, yes). It was the trip I took to the beautiful city of Valencia, for the MotoGP motorbike races in Cheste.

Cheste_2008

Please forgive for not extending myself here. I am not very wealthy in time today.

My travels

2008-11-25T03:17:00.001-08:00

Taking advantage of the new technologies made available to the general public by Google, I am using one of my very rare moments of spare time to publish the photos of my two latest travels:

My trip to the UK:

Uk 2008

There was time for friends, family, music projects, socio-cultural visits and everything. The only shame was the accident which made my uncle and auntie's 50th anniversary party be delayed for an extra week. At least I got to see a large portion of family and the friends I desperately wanted to see.

My trip with the guys from La Esquina de la Muerte (section 2) to Soria:

Soria 2008

See the comments on this trip in La Esquina de la Muerte

Quotes from the shower

2008-10-16T22:51:00.001-07:00

Life is a game but only you can decide the rules and if you're winning or losing.

Discovering geniuses

2008-10-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

Mi passion for the guitar in all it's expressions is well know by my people. Last friday, my good friend [Luisildur] "introduced" me to this virtuous guitarist, a resident in Topeka, Kansas. Whilst his style is the most spectacular feature to the non-initiated (and to the initiated, too), you will only need a couple of tracks to see that this character has his heart between those strings and his talent is the result of an obsessive love affair with the instrument.

May this little blog entry serve as a tribute and for him to be known just a little more. This artist will never be comercial, but he's bought me already. Oh, his name is Andy Mckee.

More videos of his performances [HERE] and you can visit [HIS WEBSITE] for more information.

Latest deviances

2008-10-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

Although I have not yet made the graffities entry (it's still in production), Now I can I will bring you the latest photos I've published (just in case you're too lazy to look for the link to my gallery...).

These are from my visit to Leon.

Also, as part of the visit, although they will never be part of my collection (for reasons that will be made obvious in the corresponding entry), it tickled me how such opposing feelings could be found so near to each other, only a few meters (though the pictures were taken at different times of day, hence the change in light).

Spiritualism and truths in life

2008-09-30T02:35:00.000-07:00

I imagine those of you who read this often get those precious Powerpoint presentations (you can read them legally and for free with [Open Office], but thats meat for another entry) full of those secrets of life and beautiful images.

The problem is that however good the intentios are, they often visit common sins such as self-complacency and traditionalisms and they lead to a thought path that guarantees depression, which is the opposite of what they want to accomplis.

So, yesterday I was thinking about spiritualism and how people see it and I decided to share some truths I've found about reality. But before I list them, today, a conversation with [Oshita] took me to something that's been on my mind for some time and it is how people often confuse spiritualism with religion, often negating the former in the process.

They entrust themselves to God to ask him and demand explanations and help. They charge him with the responsability of catastrophies, with what they don't understand and what they can't see how to change. They often say "God willing" without a thought of the spiritual and religious calling that is, asking of the spiritual what is lacking in the terrenal.

It seems that now a days, being conscious of the inherent part of reality that belongs to the spiritual terrein instantly tags you as a hippie and being a little "like that". But it's not necessary to be surrounded by incense, candles and images of Buda or the godess of the fall solstice in order to be in touch with your spiritual side.

"Funny, I was just thinking of you just before you called"; "My life is so unlucky"; "You seem to have an angel guarding you" and thousands of other similar phrases and thoughts are often relegated to chance and anecdote weakening our ever thinner contact with the spiritual. How often can you feel the feelings of a person close to you "just by looking into his/her eyes"? How much of that analisys of the facial expression is something much deeper? How many "chances" are the product of a friendly spirit that "protects us" or simply walks with us?

I could go on, but I'd rather "open the mikes" and let you think aloud for a while. These are the truths I've found so far:

- You cannot reach happiness. You can only see it when it's there and you have to enjoy it while it lasts. (Derived from the wise thought "Be happy knowing when you are").

- Pain is never forgotten, you just stop thinking about it.

- There is nothing you can't do if you set your mind to it... with all the consequences.

- That God exists or not is irrelevant to understand what is Good and what is Evil.

- The person you love will be as close to you as much as your doors are open.

- And, relating the last one with the next one, don't be so stupid as to think you are the only person he/she loves. The sooner you accept that, the easier you'll make it to be loved. Do you love just one person?

- There is always someone smarter, more intelligent, more successful, wiser, ritcher, more powerful, stroger, sexier, etc. but that doesn't make you any less unless you deny it.

- There is always a point in any negotiation in which you have all the power. Be watchful.

- You will never understand politics (nor politicians) by what is said about them in the news. Didn't you know there is a whole career dedicated to Politics?

- Whenever the best idea (melody, verse, concept, project, invention, etc.) comes to mind, there will be nothing around to write it down.

- Everybody at some stage will forget something of critical importance. Take that moment to think of those of us with memory problems and how we feel every day.

I have many others, but I'll leave them for another entry.

... The day I see any of these in a presentation I get by email, I'll crack up...

The dangers of Internet

2008-09-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

Now that information is so readily available to everyone, it often happens what has always happened to the human being: someone invents a new weapon and someone else comes along and uses it for evil purposes (since the very first pre-human being who decided it was a better idea to throw the rock to a fellow pre-human's head rather than using it to hunt prey).

Now-a-days the same kind of things happen, though in other situations, but it happens..

This is the case of stories about [Google Maps] and the subject of provacy. You only have to do a little searching to find plenty of stories about it. As an example, someone today threw [THIS ONE] my way (sorry, no translation. Basically, employers are using people's Facebook pages to decide wether or not to hire someone). Someone may consider this unethical or an invasion of privacy, but employers only use the gun. It's the Facebook users who shoot themselves in the head with it.

People don't seem to realise just how easy it is to find the traces each one can leave behing in blogs, social networks, etc. and the kind of image that may leave for employers, friends, family, etc. Also, there are many tools easily available to, for example, trace the source of blog comments to specific IP's, companies, towns and with the use of very little logic deduction, people can easily be identified.

So, boys and girls, beware when you have a loaded weapon in your hand and treat it with respect, lest you shoot yourself in the foot and make a boo-boo!!

Quotes at midnight

2008-09-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

Masclism and feminism are the same language spoken in two confronted countries.

Obituary for a hidden star

2008-09-17T08:13:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I found out, through a friend with similar musical taste to my own, of a very sad piece of news. Rick Wright, keyboard player for Pink Floyd, co-founder of the band, innovator of sounds, melancholic soul of their melodies and main base for the musicality of their tunes died on the 15th by the hand of a furious and quick cancer.

This news item, to my understanding, as important as the death of other renouned stars of the musical world, almost made no sound. Even requiems in Rolling Stone weren't big enough for his talent and career, but mostly just a small resume of his musical career.

To understand the profoundness of his talent, you have to carefully listen to the Pink Floyd tracks in which he played pianos, hammonds and other synths and keys which simply flow like a river of sound upon which Dave Gilmour did his guitar acrobatics, as well as that spectacular Clare Torry (mother of Sam Brown whom we remember for tracks like that single "Stop" and who also made her mother the honour of repeating her feat in Earl's Court's concert)'s blues solo in "The Great Gig in the Sky" (I've alwasy wanted that piece played in my funeral).

Little has also been heard his career in solitary, with just two albums (Wet dream and Broken China) and another team-up, but in my opinion his talent was "one of those" that achieves full potential when interacting with the other members of the band.

All the info on his life is out there on the net. What talent he has left us will allways be too little. When an artist dies, the loss cannot be measured.

Rick, you will live forever. Rest in peace.

New acquisition

2008-09-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

¿Veis como sí se puede?