yes, it's a cellphone --with benefits that make the iPhone look like a quaint appliance from Captain Kirk's ... nano%·$&·$%technology!!!! nano%·$&·$%technology!!!!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
you know you live in science fictional times when....
Friday, March 28, 2008
The kids are (not) allright
All over the world, teenagers give their parents headaches. Why are the migraines induced by British kids felt across a whole society? Part of the reason may be that parents aren't always around to help socialize their children — or even just to show them affection. Compared to other cultures, British kids are less integrated into the adult world and spend more time with peers. Add to the mix a class structure that impedes social mobility and an education system that rewards the advantaged, and some children are bound to be left in the cold [...]Britain's Mean Streets - TIME
A study in 2000 by the OECD found that British parents spend less time with their children compared to other nationalities, leaving them more open to influence from their peers and a commercially driven, celebrity-obsessed media.
This is becoming more and more common over here with Spanish kids as well. And the reason is, again the same. Kids simply DO NOT spend time with their parents, mostly because both their father and their mother spend a ridiculous amount of time working. In Spain, it is common to start work at 9 and not come back until 8 or 9 pm. The idea of "conciliation" (of work and family life) is a pretty new and often considered "softy-liberal-utopian bs".
The article also talks about guess-what... yes. Ratios. Again. But neeever mind... you won't hear any politician talking about that, at least not in my country. Go figure. Maybe we'll have to wait until kids start bringing guns to school here as well.
So, continue blaming the TV, the videogames and the teachers. Because they're the ones that are raising the kids.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Everybody say OSCAR WILDE!!!!
Ah the US and its interesting "crimes"... (the amused bolds are all mine)
"I'd been planning the go the US for six months," he told the Guardian yesterday. "I had got to the airport in full dandy regalia - top hat, long velvet coat, velvet scarf. One concession to their Ivy League sensibilities was that I had taken off my nail polish. When I put my finger in the scanner, they took me aside and interrogated me for eight hours."
Horsley said he had a previous conviction in the US for possession of amphetamine sulphate but assumed it had expired. However, his book did not do him any favours with the immigration officers.
"They said ... they knew I had been a crack addict, a heroin addict and a prostitute," he said.
"The good news was that they'd read the book - but the bad news was they'd read the book, and I was deported for my notoriety and for being an alien convicted of a crime involving 'moral turpitude'."
Moral failure bars dandy from US | News | guardian.co.uk Books
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Great Pretender
I can't even think of adopting a cat. I don't even know where I'll be living next year.
Going back home, the radio comes up with This.
Freddie Mercury – The Great Pretender – Música en Last.fm
Ugh.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Plate tectonics is super-cool
And the story gets cooler. The article comes with a great animation of Gondwana splitting into pieces, which is just awesome.
Supercontinent was too heavy to hold - earth - 21 March 2008 - New Scientist Environment
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Operation Chaos!
Can GOP Voters Spoil the Dem Race? - TIME
"I want our party to win. I want the Democrats to lose," Limbaugh said. "They're in the midst of tearing themselves apart right now. It is fascinating to watch. And it's all going to stop if Hillary loses."
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Arthur C. Clarke died last night
Looking around Wikipedia I found this priceless video of his (last) 90th birthday (can't be embedded)
YouTube - Sir Arthur C Clarke 90th Birthday reflections
The collected quotes he's got on wikiquotes are also pretty good, but of course, I'd have to keep this one:
Any teacher that can be replaced by a machine should be!
Electronic Tutors (1980)
Fortunately, most teachers can't ☺
I also liked the following:
If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run — and often in the short one — the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative
The Exploration of Space (1951), p. 111
Which allows me to seamlessly proceed to cheer at
Google Shoots For The Moon - Forbes.com
"[...]One bold ambition of the project: using lunar materials to make solar
power collectors that can generate carbon-free energy, which is then
transmitted to the Earth. [...]"
When Internet Moguls decide to go to the Moon, anything is possible... I think Clarke would like that.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Olga doesn't have a clue
I am dreaming to find my real man. Maybe this is you? What do you think
about it? Please, write me a reply here:
mailto:olga@b*******s.com
olga
Sunday, March 16, 2008
I've been meaning to post this for a while...
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Mhm. Someone should import this to Madrid
They drive me nuts. Especially the ones with expensive cars. One of these days, I'll go to cafepress.com and get a sticker that says "you bought an Audi, not the F$·%" road"
Just wait and see.
Things I *can* do
2. This means I can blog instantly about anything whenever, without the fuss of logging in and out of blogger. This sort of thing is highly appreciated on 56k.
3. Thanks to my new wireless keyboard, type stuff while sitting on the sofa or while cooking pasta in the kitchen. Seriously. It's really cool. And, of course, watch episode after episode of Babylon 5 using my mouse as a remote control. Heee heee heee
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Oh, my, where has science fiction gone...
More disheartening news, the title of this article by The Guardian...
Clarke prize moves beyond sci-fi | News | guardian.co.uk Books
... fortunately once you read the article through you find out that they're exaggerating a bit. And mind you, this is the award Margaret Atwood got for The Handmaid's Tale, so that another dystopia gets the award shouldn't raise many eyebrows... anyway.
Ps. Finally I've downloaded Flock at the Up North computer. Maybe it is a Totally Subjective appreciation, but I think internet goes faster with it. Hm.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Things I can't do
-- navigate all those quaint Facebook applications, download pictures from my email or read any RSS feeds without getting grey hairs in the process
-- listen to Last.fm
-- watch Youtube videos
I'M GETTING COLD TURKEY. I EFFING MEAN IT.
--------
Ps. I've driven for 10 minutes with the door of the back seat of my car open, until a cute little girl and her dad have warned me. This proves two things:
1) There are still nice drivers out there
2) I'm getting dumber by the minute.
I want to shoot bureaucrats, badly.
This is Orwell at its finest.