Les Pataconés

Da Alegria, pero tambien da un poco de tristeza cocinar la comida con la que lo criaron a uno cuando uno esta a miles de kilometros de la tierra del olvido.

Hoy con mucha dicha compre unos platanitos verdes de Turbo que encontre por aca en un supermercado chino, compre el aceite y los limones para darme el gustico en esta semana tan atareada que tengo. Aunque no soy el gran maestro pataconistico tampoco tengo necesidad de buscar la receta ni ver videos en youtube de como hacer patacones, muchas, pero muchas veces los hice con mi mama y se como hacerlos para que queden matadores. Pero ni esa experiencia ni la alegria de saber que iba a comer patacones de nuevo fueron suficientestes para soportar la cachetada de de la realidad: el sabor de los frutos tropicales traidos a Europa no es comparable.

No es la misma cosa un platanito fresco a uno cortado hace dias y metido en un barco en condiciones infra-platanas para cruzar el atlantico. El sabor que tenia en mi boca no se comparaba con el sabor de mi patacon-unitario de referencia, por ese lado un poco de tristeza, pero ah, que güevonada, al final de cuentas estaba comiendo Les Pataconés en La France despues de casi dos años sin probar bocado!! no me iba a dejar dañar esa alegria ni por el chiras! Esta noche mi corazon y estomago sonrien con la curvatura de un platano verde :-)

Passion, you again

Today I had, just by change, one of the best classes in a while. And I said by chance because the official teacher got sick and they sent a replacement, a guy who made that class a remarkable one.

If you asked me what did I learn I would be able to reply much, because the most important of the session was the rough way he reminded me about how important is to know my passion, and that in order to find it I have to move, to do things, to try things, to fail, ...

I felt he slap my face, asking me the same question I've been asking from a while "What is my passion?"

Then I started to connect some ideas, some interests and some discussions I've had with a colombian friend here in Grenoble recently...things such as La ley de la papaya  and my interest of erase that from the Colombian-culture, the importance of influence others, my lack of interest in making part of the $y$tem, came into my mind and then I just thought that what I'd like to do is to change cultures, to provoke changes, to make them happen...

This thought is very uni-cellular still, it's very lite, but at least it's a spark I got and following today's slap in my face, I better move and do something to find out more about it.

The Monk and The Riddle (My highlightings)

Before writing my review about the book, I'll take advantage of one of the Kindle features and I'll share my highlightings of the book:

The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living (Randy Komisar and Kent Lineback)

==========
No matter how hard we work or how smart we are, our financial success is ultimately dependent on circumstances outside our control. (Ask any once high-flying startup that is currently looking for a life-saving round of financing in these bleak times.) In order to find satisfaction in our work, therefore, we should train our attention on those things that we can influence and that matter to us personally.
==========
principal use of the plan comes at the beginning, I explained, to show that the founders are intelligent, capable of structuring the business concept and expressing a vision of the future. Later the plan can help track problems that may reflect on the startup strategy itself.
==========
Anyone can sail with the wind to his back. Startups usually sail into a stiff wind, leaking like a sieve, in high seas, without food or water.
==========
“My experience tells me if you do this for the money, you'll just end up howling at the moon. The money's never there until it's there. There must be something more, a purpose that will sustain you when things look bleakest. Something worthy of the immense time and energy you will spend on this, even if it fails.”
==========
You have to be able to survive mistakes in order to learn, and you have to learn in order to create sustainable success.
==========
business isn't primarily a financial institution. It's a creative institution. Like painting and sculpting,
==========
So why were they doing this? Why was it worth their time? I am always amazed that venture capitalists don't ask that question.
==========
It bothered me to see talented young people give up, or defer, their ideals in the hope of a fast buck that was unlikely to ever arrive.
==========
But knowing what we require to be willing to do something lifelong provides invaluable self-knowledge.
==========
Passion pulls you toward something you cannot resist. Drive pushes you toward something you feel compelled or obligated to do.
==========
Only passion will get you through the tough times.
==========
This one is very important, is about the Deferred Life Plan.
Its very structure—first, step one, do what you must; then, step two, do what you want—implies that what we must do is necessarily different from what we want to do. Why is that the case? In the Deferred Life Plan, the second step, the life we defer, cannot exist, does not deserve to exist, without first doing something unsatisfying.
==========
Working at companies like GO and WebTV convinced me that there is no margin in the consumer hardware business. It requires an enormous investment, demands massive distribution, and scales slowly. I believed the value of consumer hardware could be derived only from the services it delivered to the consumer and industry partners (in this case, advertisers, programmers, and networks).
==========
The chance to work on a big idea is a powerful reason for people to be passionate and committed. The big idea is the glue that connects with their passion and binds them to the mission of an organization. For people to be great, to accomplish the impossible, they need inspiration more than financial incentive.
==========
Business conditions are forever changing. You need to reconsider your strategies and business models constantly and adjust them where necessary. But the big idea that your company pursues is the touchstone for these refinements. Ditching the big idea in order to deal with business exigencies leaves you without a compass.
==========
The culture you create and principles you express are the only connection you will have with each other and your many constituencies.
==========
Management and leadership are related but not identical. Lenny's vantage point from the bowels of the Borg, though, had never given him an appreciation for the difference. Management is a methodical process; its purpose is to produce the desired results on time and on budget. It complements and supports but cannot do without leadership, in which character and vision combine to empower someone to venture into uncertainty. Leaders must suspend the disbelief of their constituents and move ahead even with very incomplete information.
==========
I liked being the leader better than being the guy who made the trains run on time. I found that the art wasn't in getting the numbers to foot, or figuring out a clever way to move something down the assembly line. It was in getting somebody else to do that and to do it better than I could ever do; in encouraging people to exceed their own expectations; in inspiring people to be great; and in getting them to do it all together, in harmony. That was the high art.
==========
For me, the moral of the story of Steve Perlman and WebTV is the need to emphasize visionary leadership over management acumen in the formative stage of a startup. If you turn a visionary startup into an operating company too early, you throw out its birthright. It will never be as big, as grand, or as influential as it might otherwise be. It will be much harder, perhaps impossible, to expand the vision later, when performance is being measured quarter to quarter against operating plans, because then there's too much at stake.
==========
Lenny was going to have to answer those fundamental questions he had so neatly avoided thus far. Why was he doing this? What was important to him, and what did he care about? Who was he, and how could he express that in his business? I was now curious about the answers.
==========
In the Deferred Life Plan, by definition, you postpone risking what matters most to you; that happens later, if it happens at all.
==========
Silicon Valley does not punish business failure. It punishes stupidity, laziness, and dishonesty. Failure is inevitable if you are trying to invent the future. The Valley forgives business failures that arise from natural causes and acts of God: changes, for example, in the market, competition, or technology. The key question here is why a business failed. When you have a big idea as GO had, and you turn out to be years ahead of the market, failure doesn't end careers. Ironically, businesses that fail for acceptable reasons can actually provide a wealth of experience and increased opportunities, as was the case for all the key players at GO.
==========
Change is certain, and in a world of constant change we actually control very little. When there are important factors outside your control, the risk of failure always looms, no matter how smart or industrious you are. We delude ourselves if we believe that much of life and its key events fall under our control.
==========
there is only one element in life under our control—our own excellence.
==========
Here's what I tell the founders in the companies I work with about business risk and success, and what Lenny needs to understand: If you're brilliant, 15 to 20 percent of the risk is removed. If you work twenty-four hours a day, another 15 to 20 percent of the risk is removed. The remaining 60 to 70 percent of business risk will be completely out of your control.
==========
You don't want to entrust your satisfaction and sense of fulfillment to circumstances outside your control. Instead, base them on the quality of what you do and who you are, not the success of your business per se.
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And then there is the most dangerous risk of all — the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.
==========
Work hard, work passionately, but apply your most precious asset—time—to what is most meaningful to you. What are you willing to do for the rest of your life? does not mean, literally, what will you do for the rest of your life? That question would be absurd, given the inevitability of change. No, what the question really asks is, if your life were to end suddenly and unexpectedly tomorrow, would you be able to say you've been doing what you truly care about today? What would you be willing to do for the rest of your life? What would it take to do it right now?
==========
The plan was a reliable compass, as it should be, not a road map.
==========

The King of Rice

I don't blush to say I AM THE KING OF RICE. (3:-P)
After almost three years making rice almost daily (without rice-pot) I have developed a method to cook very tasty rice, here it is:




What you need? Rice and a cup to measure it, oil (it doesn't have to be form Olive), a cube of flavor (instead of salt, later I explain why) and a tooth of garlic (this is optional)












Step 1: Pour oil into the pot and put the maximum power of the stove (in order to get the oil very hot)









Step 2: Meanwhile the oil is getting hot, chop the garlic in three or four pieces, you can also cut half of the Flavor cube too.
















Step 3: Once the oil is hot, drop the garlics there and fry them, once they start to get burn, put them out. This will give to the oil a light taste of garlic. Sometimes, instead of garlic I put chopped onion, just with the onion there is no need to put it outside the pot.

Step 4: Once the garlic is out, throw the cup of rice into the pot, and fry it a little bit, take care not to fry it completely!!, you'll need to move it a little bit to get the oil into all the rices.

Step 5: After few seconds of frying (remember the oil was very hot), you should reduce the fire about two thirds of the maximum, (my stove's maximum is 6, then I reduce it to 2), and pour two cups of water (eternal formula for rice, 1-to-2).











Step 6: Add the half cube of flavor. This has been one of the best things I discovered, because I used to have huugeee problems calculating the salt for my rice, but with the cube the problem is solved (half cube is perfect for one cup of rice) plus it gives a nice flavor to the rice.














Step 7: Then you just put the lid covering completely the pot

Step 8: Here I'll give a little but hugely important trick. Once you complete step 7, it wont take long until the water will have bubbles, when that happens you should open a little-mouth to the pot to allow the vapor to go out.

Step 9: In the middle of the process I decided to give some color to my rice and to put some chopped vegetables (those that you buy frozen ;-) )

Finishing: Then it's just a matter of time (like 15 minutes) until the water is evaporated and the rice is soft and tasty!! (when I took this picture the water was not complete gone yet, forgive the inaccuracy :P)

Te digo Adios

Te digo adios, si acaso te quiero todavia

quiza no he de olvidarte, pero te digo adios...

no se si me quisiste ... no se si te queria o tal vez nos quisimos demasiado los dos

pero este cariño triste y apasionado y loco me lo sembre en el alma para quererte a ti ...

no se si te ame mucho, o si te ame muy poco

pero si se que nunca volveré a amar asi ...

me queda tu sonrisa dormida en mi recuerdo 

y el corazon me dice que no, que no te olvidare ...

pero al quedarme solo y sabiendo que te pierdo

quizas empiezo a amarte como jamas te ame ...

te digo adios, si acaso con esta despedida

mi mas hermoso sueño muere, muere dentro de mi

pero te digo adios para toda la vida, 

aunque toda la vida siga pensando en ti.

Jose Angel Buesa

Y para el que gusta de la salsa:

Some Music I discovered Today

Just wanted to share some good music I discovered today, plus the Jazz of Mingus Big Band I talked about last time.

 

El dia que un Colombiano conquistó la Francia

Muchos años despues de aquel dia en que un Colombiano venido de Cundinamarca le herizó la piel a un pais, que agoviado por la crudisima realidad que vivia en esos años ochentas no podia creer que la Francia estaba siendo conquistada por uno de los suyos, quien pedaleando humildemente su bicicleta devoró los mas de 1750 metros de altura hasta coronar el alto de Alpe d'Huez, soy ahora, otro Colombiano quien viviendo a unos pocos kilometros de aquel sitio quiero rendirle un humilde tributo.
A continuacion Lucho Herrera ganando la etapa numero 17 del Tour de 1984, Lucho Herrera el primer y unico aficionado en la historia del Tour de France en ganar una etapa (¡y que etapa!)

Ese momento no lo viví, pero por tradición oral sé que mi papá casí lloró escuchando la transmisión por radio, estoy seguro que yo lo hubiera hecho, y estoy seguro que si yo hubiera vivido en Grenoble en esa epoca, habria ido ese dia con mi bandera. Pero como el hubiera no existe, me limito a decir ¡Gracias Lucho! ahora soy yo, quien muchos años despues de ese dia conquista a la FR.

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Make this world happier, follow the Latin vibe

More than one year ago I got to know this video which points out a couple of interesting points; like the one saying that we are measuring the progress without taking into account those things that make life worthwhile to live.
But, how to measure Happiness? which unit to use to quantify it? The issue is complicated indeed, but not for that we should skip the topic.

It was interesting for me their approach about the Ultimate Outcome (Happy and Healthy lives) and the Fundamental Income (Planet's resources), something like how much does a country use to make its citizens happy.
Even more interesting was the five positive actions to improve well living:

1. To Connect (social life, friends, relationships,...)
2. Be Active (practice sports, move, dance, walk, work out, ...)
3. Take Notice (be aware of your environment, surroundings. ... )
4. Keep Learning (keep curiosity alive)
5. To Give (share, be generous, ... )

In my pursuing of Passion

Last Monday I started my MSc degree. We didn't start with a normal lecture, we started with some group and creativity activity.

The important thing about that first day was that I felt persecuted. I felt that the topic about passion has been chasing me, I found it everywhere, I connect it with everything, the books I read, the movies I watch at, and now the videos that are shown to me in class.

The following video never mentions the word PASSION, but I felt it is about it. It's about the importance of doing those things that give meaning to your life, to do what you believe in.




It was very curious too that he connected the theory of the 3-brains (which I got to know in a recent book I read: The Culture Code) with the issue of passion.

That Monday, tired of feeling persecuted by a ghost asking me all the time What's your passion? what's your passion? I declared that instead of it, I will begin my:
Pursuing of my Passion.

Picasso's case

I haven't been able to understand why some people confuses my name with Pedro, it has happened to me even during circumstances that i am not going to share here in family time.
I think that the P beginning, the O ending , the five letters and the Latin-style name might be confusing for other cultures.

I was forced then to develop a way to introduce myself to those who (now i know who) are likely to call me Pedro someday. It's very simple and it's just about this:
"my name is very easy, do you know a painter named Picasso???"
-here usually they say: "yes off course!"
-"great" i say "do you know his name??"
-here about 90% of people aim and say my name correctly, 5% says "off course I know about Pedro Picasso!" :s. The 5% left says "who???"
I confirm then my name and people seem to get it right, I thought I smartly solved the problem!!

Just now some people call me Picasso!!!

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ideas al tratar de dormir

Si hace dos años y medio me preguntaban: que es lo que más me gusta de colombia? Habría tenido mil respuestas en 5 segundos. Hace unos días sin embargo, me preguntaron lo mismo y no sólo no respondi de una sino que no supe que decir en concreto. Eso me preocupó muchísimo.

En esta nueva etapa que estoy viviendo me he dado cuenta que mi comportamiento dentro de un grupo de varias personas es muy diferente a mi comportamiento cuando estoy hablando con una o dos personas. Siendo el segundo caso el más extraño pues la mente se me pone en blanco y al final o no digo nada o no pongo temas extendibles.

Nunca me he considerado introvertido (el cuento de los bultos de papas me lo creí muy bien), sin embargo el Pablo que salió de Colombia era un poco tímido con las mujeres y para conocer gente "a pelo" (acercarse a un(a) desconocido(a) extender la mano y decir: hola, soy Pablo...como Picasso), en Budapest creo que prácticamente se diluyo la primera y en Grenoble la segunda esta desapareciendo del todo.

Si el Pablo de los 90's tomará el DeLorian del Dr. Brown y viajará al "futuro" y me conociera se decepcionaria de mí (o de nos) sí le digo que ahora amo a la coliflor y al brocoli...mis más odiadas legumbres :P

En general estoy feliz en Grenoble. No estoy nostálgico de Budapest y estoy motivado por lo que viene.

Esto de tener androíd y de poder escribir y publicar desde el celular no me va a dejar dormir...2am y aún quiero escribir pendejadas.

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A new Ja(n)zz(e)

I'm not a guy who is very up to jazz, I admire though its power to transmit sorrow and joy at the same time, it's impressive indeed, but I can't stand few songs in a row of Miles Davis for example.

But today I gave a new chance to the Jazz, I step into this song from Mingus Big Band, and I just got caught on it. The whole day I've been listening to more of their songs without the need to skip them :), good discovering of the day!

from android

First post from android, lets see how much do i enjoy such amount of connectivity

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The Old Man and The Sea (and my opinion)

A Classic book, a very classic one. With it Hemingway won the Pulitzer on '53 and then on '54 the Nobel prize in Literature "for his powerful, style-forming mastery of the art of narration". The story itself is simple but could be very symbolic, and as I finished the book just when I was in a train making a huge change in my life I think I'll give more meaning to it.

It's the third Nobel prize that I read, first one was Garcia Marquez (100 years of soltitude) and then it was Jose Saramago (Essay about Blindness), both were either great or left me with a particual taste in my mouth. This one was not like that, I felt it pretty plane but still I was feeling there were something important to say about it, some depth to explore.
I finished it two weeks ago, when I was in the train getting into Grenoble, and since then I tried several times to write about it but I didn't find the way to describe it or to talk about it until now, when through another book and movie I got the spark.
The book is about that thing inside that gives sense to your existence and to your actions, we could call it faith but I'd prefer, in this case, to call it Passion, because the book shows how Passion will sustain you even when things look bleakest, shows how doing something for your Passion is worthy of immense time and effort no matter if at the end you fail.

I don't know whether to recomend it or not, I just would say that if you dig it you'll find a meaning about reaching goals, about a stuggling, about loosing, about fighting yourself, about being defeated and about passion.

Which is my "music"?

I'm right now reading The Monk and the Riddle (Randy Komisar and Kent Lineback), few days ago I finished The Old Man and The Sea (Ernest Hemingway) and the last week I watched Music Within, and between all these three very different stories, passion in life seems to be a common topic.

After all of those, I just wonder to myself: Which is my passion? as Komisar asks in his book:
...[what is that] Something worthy of the immense time and energy you will spend on... ?

Is that an easy question? I don't think so, that's why Oliver Wendell Holmes said that "Most people die with the music still in them.", most people die without knowing what was that inner potential and energy which would pull them toward something they can not resist.

I think it could take time and effort to discover the answer for that question, which for sure is within us, but I'm willing to invest the time and the energies to discover it, I don't want to die with my music within.

Practical explanation of the rule: DO NOT mix Tequila

understood?

About Sadness

I use to say that we should not hide and deny the "negative" feelings, such as sadness. I believe they make part of a healthy life, and with this I don't mean that we should look for them, I just mean that when they come we should accept them and embrace them as a proof that we are alive. In that sense that deep sadness I was feeling just before leaving Budapest and those tears I cried I took them as a positive symbol: They were just a great proof of how good my life was there, and how lucky I was to meet many amazing people.

First week in Grenoble - impression

It's been one week here in Grenoble. I'm really happy I found a flat before arriving (thousands of thanks Simon!), because I've seen some people having tough time looking for affordable places to stay.
The flat where I live is close to the university, it's just 5-7 minutes walking. The neighbourhood is quiet, grocery stores and little bars arround. The only thing about the flat is that doesnt have a proper division between the "rooms", so each of us has its own space, desk, bed, gardrobe and all these, but we are not accustically isolated. But as there is nothing to do about it we better get used to it and we take it easy. I live with an English guy who is also going to the same University and so far I'm happy living with him, we get along pretty well.

My first impressions of living in France aren't many and sadly almost all of them of them are comparasion, which is not good and not fare, I know, but still those are. French take the holidays and the lunch time really serious, I think that's nice but it makes you feel like in a tiny town, and when you come from a capital city it makes you feel like you went backwards.
Last week was like all days were sundays (and sundays are like the end of the world), because many French were still in holidays and arabs were in Ramadan. This week seems different, more students have arrived (more pretty girls in the street ;) ) and city seem to wake up finally.
Regarding to legal stuff everything seems in slow motion. I'm still without cell-phone and without internet in the flat (annoying point), I need a bank card and a check book to get them, I hope it will arrive this week, then I have to buy the Internet-box and then wait again maximum 10 days for activation. So I'll stay disconnected at home.

The student comunity seems nice, people from everywhere and for different programs, surpricingly I havent meet my first classmate, but at least we already played football :D.
In general I'm happy here, just a bit dissapointed things work sooo slow, and that I can hardly get food on the street after grabing some beers :P.

Sorry I didnt put any picture, I havent taken any yet.

I'm not going to give a qualification to the city yet, I still have to give it more time, meanwhile I just can say: I love you Budapest, you still being the best!.

About leaving

To leave Budapest was not easy, the last day was pretty tough. That moment when you say goodbye to those people who loved you and that you are quite certain you won't see them again in the same circumstances, that moment is when you really want to cry and when indeed you cry. I did, I cried when I was alone in my flat, I cried like a child with deep sadness when all my material belongings where packed into 3 luggages, when I realized my time and my life in Budapest were over.

Since a while ago I'd been preparing myself for that step, I'd seen how hard it could be and the crisis you can fall in after leaving. In Budapest you get used to say goodbye to people, and sadly but honestly, to forget about them a little bit. This is the way it works there, the city moves at a rhythm that doesnt allow you to think much nor to do much besides enjoying life.

I've thought a lot about it, and I think the sad part about leaving Budapest is not precisely that you won't see again the city or your friends. I'm sure I'll see them again someday somewhere and I'm sure I'll be back there. But what will never be back for me are the circumstances in which I lived there. The city, the friends (who become your family), the job, the housing routine, the age, the goals, the opportunities,...the mixture between all those things were what changed my life and what made my time in Budapest the best time in my life so far. And I have to accept that it won't happen again.

So what I can say about leaving that city is that: Budapest, in that meaning, has died for me.

Which doesn't mean I don't love it anymore, or that I forgot about it, just that I have to accept it as thought a beloved one passes away.

And as it's said in my country "El muerto al hoyo y el vivo al baile" (the dead one to the hole and the living one to the party). I just have to look forward, and be grateful for what I had.

About writing

It's disappointing that the moments when I feel like writing are those when I don't have a place to do so, and then when I sit in front of the computer all the ideas (and motivations) are gone.

He left as he lived

Few great people have the chance to say goodbye on the same way they lived.
Hugo Delgado, a quite special specimen from Maracaibo - Venezuela, a party animal, a party beast, a Maracucho that made us party, dance and laugh more than one year, said goodbye to us and to Budapest with the greatest party of 2011, at least many of us believe so.

The best thing about it:  it was not planned, that's why we love being Latin, we don't plan, we just let it be, let the party be. At last time he decided to hold his farewell party in our favorite Irish Pub, where on saturdays we always have great time with the live band. To our surprise this time there was no live music, but a KARAOKE, which was the perfect excuse to take the microphone and jump to the stage. We went thinking about listening some music but look how we ended up ...

Great karaoke night, great time, great party, great friends, great family.

Hugo, vergación maracucho!!!, Gracias por tantos buenos momentos!!  lo que te quiero es V.......


Pictures taken by Julita Maternowska, dziękuję bardzo!!!

Reto: Limpiar las regiones

Excelente articulo de Claudia Lopez acerca de los retos politicos que tiene el gobierno para lograr verdaderos cambios a nivel nacional

En otras palabras, mientras la gobernabilidad nacional tolere y dependa del status quo de la ingobernabilidad regional, no habrá desarrollo ni Estado consolidado en Colombia

Random Thoughts

It's a pleasure to introduce the new tag under which I'll write my...random thoughts. I apologize in advance if they are pointless or improperly finished. I'll try to write them in english, but this wont be a must, I might end up writing in my lovely spanish, in portunhol or even in french, who knows!

Random Thought:
Language is a tool which we all are given and by which we all relate between each other. If we over-use it then it becomes a weapon, if we under-use it then the other's language becomes a weapon against us. It means we'd better know how to use it right.
Assertiveness is the word, this is what I have to work on.

Nuestros propios Pedro Paramo

Acabo de leer un muy buen articulo de La Silla Vacia, en el que esta retratado uno de esos tantos absurdos a los que me refiero cuando hablo de libros como Pedro Páramo.  El articulo resume esos candidatos politicos o caciques regionales que a pesar de lo turbios que puedan ser, siguen mandando la parada.

A continuacion hago una selección de elementos del articulo, de primerito pongo a mi querido Medellín.

Luis Pérez: ha estado haciendo campaña para la Alcaldía de Medellín desde hace un tiempo, pero no ha conseguido quién lo avale... En 2010 buscó ir con el Partido de La U, pero no lo consiguió...También buscó el aval de los liberales, pero se encontró con la oposición del director del partido, Rafael Pardo, quien lo terminó vetando...también buscó el apoyo de Cambio Radical, pero, a pesar del anuncio de que recibiría el aval de este partido, el presidente de la colectividad, Germán Varón, dijo que el aval no sería para él.... obtuvo el respaldo del Partido Conservador de Medellín en un Congreso Municipal que fue cuestionado por varios sectores del partido, por lo que finalmente inscribió su candidatura por firmas.

ya tuvo un paso por la Alcaldía (entre 2001 y 2003) que fue polémico.... Se ganó el sobrenombre de Luis XV, haciendo referencia al nombre del Rey Sol -que en realidad fue Luis XIV- y al 15 por ciento que supuestamente cobraba para entregar contratos aunque esto no se le ha comprobado judicialmente...también enfrentó críticas por politizar la EPM y su administración fue criticada constantemente por el despilfarro.

Aunque ningún partido quiere avalarlo, Pérez es uno de los candidatos más fuertes en Medellín para estas elecciones

Simplemente no puedo creer que aun, despues de todo siga siendo uno de los candidatos mas fuertes a la alcaldia. Ademas pareciera que Partido Politico significara simplemente: Medio Para Llegar al Poder, y para nada este relacionado con la palabra: Ideologia, será porque de eso no hay.

Comencemos nuestro recorido por Colombia, vamos ahora a los Santanderes:

Ramiro Suarez Corzo: Suárez fue elegido como alcalde de Cúcuta en 2003... Al año siguiente fue capturado...Sin embargo, la Fiscalía archivó el caso en 2005 al considerar que no había pruebas suficientes contra él...Pero en 2007 volvió a ser capturado...lo acusaron de ser autor intelectual del asesinato en 2003 del Asesor de la Alcaldía.

De la frontera con Venezuela pasamos a nuestra region musica y arrocera:

Luis Humberto Gómez Gallo: El ex Senador fue condenado por nexos con grupos paramilitares...ha seguido siendo uno de los barones más grandes del Tolima...su influencia política desde la cárcel será una pieza clave en las elecciones de octubre...Tanto así que el actual Gobernador, Óscar Barreto, antes de la condena de Gómez Gallo, fue a visitarlo a prisión para intentar congraciarse con él.

SU INFLUENCIA DESDE LA CARCEL SERÁ UNA PIEZA CLAVE EN LAS ELECCIONES DE OCTUBRE!?!?,
aayy Salvanos Señor! te lo ruegooo!!!
A ver, vamos al Valle del Cauca, depronto por alla las cosas esten mejorcitas:

Juan Carlos Abadía: Gran parte de su Gobernación fue polémica y a principios del año pasado fue destituido e inhabilitado para ejercer cargos públicos durante 10 años... se comprobó de que había participado indebidamente en política...es el heredero de Carlos Herney Abadía, condenado dentro del Proceso 8.000 y durante su gobierno fue criticado por la elevada suma de recursos públicos que gastó para hacerse publicidad....También ha sido relacionado con el polémico Partido de Integración Nacional, PIN.

Ahhh que tipo correcto este!! No está en la cana, no tiene muertos encima, ni relaciones con los paracos, simplemente unos despilfarritos...que lastima que lo hayan destituido carajo!!

A ver, veamos ahora a los Boyacos:

Ciro Ramírez: condenado por nexos con grupos paramilitares...libertad condicional por haber cumplido tres quintas partes de su condena... uno de los más grandes caciques del departamento de Boyacá durante las últimas dos décadas y tuvo un recibimiento memorable, recibiendo entre cinco mil y siete mil visitantes en su finca en Moniquirá....es evidente que Ramírez -incluso desde la cárcel- ha mantenido su influencia sobre la política de la región

Y del frio altiplano, pasemos a nuestra calurosa y extremadamente fertil costa atlantica y depresion momposina. un tributo al lugar donde Simon Bolivar comenzo su Campaña Admirable

Enilce López 'La Gata':  controvertida empresaria del chance que tiene influencia sobre buena parte de la Costa Atlántica ... tiene la maquinaria y la suficiente influencia para ponerle votos a prácticamente cualquier candidato en la depresión momposina... también fue capturada...ha sido sindicada de varios delitos, incluyendo lavado de activos, conformación de grupos ilegales, homicidio y parapolítica y luego condenada por us nexos con grupos paramilitares...Por ejemplo, Meza -El candidato de La Gata- entregó, en Magangué, unos veinte mil juguetes a nombre de su familia y del movimiento "La esperanza de un pueblo", liderado por el hijo de la Gata


Lavado de activos, conformacion de grupos ilegales, homicidio, parapolitica y nexos con los paracos, definitivamente, La Esperanza de un Pueblo!

Que tristeza la que siento.

Pedro Páramo

Pedro Páramo ha sido mi primer libro leido en mi nuevo Kindle, por ende la ya tradicional fotico de la pasta trasera del libro será imposible ponerla.

Es un libro corto pero no quiere decir que sea facil de leer. Recomendio leerlo mientras se va haciendo un diagrama de personajes, porque aparece mucha gente que está de una u otra forma relacionada entre si. Los nombres de las personas son muy tradicionales (al parecer, Juan Rulfo sacaba los nombres para sus personajes, leyendo las lapidas del cementerio de Jalisco) y son faciles de olvidar, esto no lleva a perderle el hilo a la historia pero si a confundirse un poco.

Por su estructura, cambios de narrador y discontinuidad temporal me recordó a La Ciudad y Los Perros y a La Muerte de Artemio Cruz, por los absurdos de la hisotria y por Comala* me recordó a Cien Años de Soledad. Y si se tiene en cuenta que Pedro Páramo se publicó mucho antes que todos esos libros, me es fácil pensar que fué un libro que influyó bastante.

Nota: Hablaré detalles del libro, de forma que si algun desprevenido lector quiere leerse el libro, le recomiendo que no lea más, le dañaría la sorpresa.

La historia en si me impresionó bastante, más que todo la primera parte, cuando Juan Preciado llega a Comala y comienza a darse cuenta que todos aquellos a quien se encuentra en el camino, o quienes lo ayudan y le dan indicaciones estan muertos. Más aun cuando uno se da cuenta que Juan Preciado esta muerto, y hablando desde su tumba con alguien más.

En general es un libro interesante y por lo que he leido por ahi es muy importante en la literatura latinoamericana. Si tuviera que dale un numero, le daría un 8/10.

*Comala: El pueblo donde sucede la historia

Entre Macondo, Comala, Facundo y otros absurdos

En Bogota García Márquez me contó que cuando ganó el Nobel, los periodistas corrieron a la casa de su madre a ver que opinaba y ella dijó: Yo no sé nada de literatura, yo lo único que sé es que el Gabo tiene muy buena memoria, porque todo eso que escribió se lo contaron...
... Y esto me recuerda a nuestro querido Juan Rulfo, cada vez que alguien se acercaba, casi le reclamaba, porque hacia tantos años que no escribia, decia: Porque la gente que me contaba las historias se murió 

Facundo Cabral

Con esto quiero conectar dos autores, dos libros y hacerle un humilde tributo al querido Facundo Cabral, quien increiblemente se ha ido por culpa de esta bizarra realidad que vivimos en America Latina y que aceptamos como cotidianidad, como bien lo muestran García Márquez y Juan Rulfo en Cien Años de Soledad y Pedro Páramo respectivamente, y que son justamente de quienes Facundo habla en el monologo que arriba refiero.

Facundo, espero te estes divirtiendo con tu tio Pedro donde quiera que estes, gracias por cantarle a America, gracias por no ser de aquí ni ser de alla, por recordarnos que éste es un nuevo dia para encontrar al angel que nos crece los sueños, un nuevo dia para empezar de nuevo, mil gracias por muchas tantas!

En Colombiano se llamaría Golosa

Nosotros decimos Golosa, pues Rayuela es una palabra que no usamos en Colombia y yo sinceramente no tenia ni idea lo que queria decir, aunque sí sabia lo que me inspiraba: Temor

Rayuela de Julio Cortazar, es un libro al que siempre le habia tenido muchas ganas, pero tambien mucho miedo. Miedo a no entenderlo, miedo a no apreciarlo, miedo a enfrentarme al hecho de no estar al nivel.
En el otroño pasado cuando definí la próxima temporada de lectura me lo puse como meta, hoy con orgullo puedo decir que lo logré (al menos de una forma, pues lo hice de la forma tradicional como lo indica el autor hasta el capitulo 56).

El miedo a leerlo me lo quité pensando asi: "no hay que ser Pelé o Maradona para tener el derecho a jugar futbol". Aunque de igual manera si uno nunca ha jugado futbol, o si nunca ha intentado parar un balon, hacer una gambeta o un pase-gol muy dificilmente podrá uno apreciar y admirar a los grandes cracks del futbol.

Rayuela es unas consiquillas al lenguaje pulcro, refinado y rígido, una palmada en la cara a la forma tradicional de escribir, es una volquetada de originalidad y todo eso bañado por una refrescante ducha de humor.
Hay capitulos que son dificiles de leer y de entender, pero una vez se logra entenderlo la fascinación llega (el capitulo 34 es un ejemplo perfecto -ojo, sin el contexto de los capitulos anteriores no se entenderá-). Cortazar en algunas partes escribe en frances y en ingles, otras veces escribe con mala ortografia y frases enteras con la misma letra, hechos, que entre otros hacen el libro un poco dificil de leer.

 Como es sabido el libro tiene varias formas de leerlo, yo lo lei de la forma corriente, y quiero esperar unos años para leerlo de la forma sugerida por Cortazar.

En mi opinion la historia no es increible, aunque creo que me faltan elementos para entender el significado de las dos partes del libro (Del lado de aca y Del lado de alla). El caso es que la forma en como Cortazar juega con el lenguaje, su habilidad para hacer "macros literarios", y su sutil y afilado humor hacen de Rayuela un libro a sugerir, eso sí, para leer en español, porque no me cabe en la cabeza como este libro pueda ser traducido a otro idioma.

The procedure entry point ... could not be located ...

The procedure entry point libintl_setlocale could not be located in the dynamic link library intl.dll

Getting this error while trying to run a software from the company, which is made for Linux but through GTK Runtime for Windows had worked perfectly before.

Looking for the solutions I found this FAQ from GIPM. Where they suggest to change the name or delete a file named intl.dll in the C:\Windows\System32. I did that but didn't work.
I remembered then that I was working this time in a 64bit machine, then went to the C:\Windows\SysWOW64 changed the name of that file there and after that my software worked perfectly.

Windows error 43

Stupid solution for a stupid O.S:

Following the advice of a fella in some Microsoft forum, I just connected my USB device with a different USB cable, and the error disappeared. It's stupid, I know, but it worked for me.

Context:

Yesterday I sucked the whole day trying to solve the "error 43" droped by a brand new computer with a just-installed Windows 7 (100% original!).

The super-powerful Windows 7 of that computer couldn't recognize my device (a custom Radio Frequency Module we used at work). That device, with the same cable worked in a twin computer, brand new also and just-installed too. In the same hand, other devices with the same "problematic" cable worked perfectly.

I tried register fixing, installed the RegistryBooster and the Registry Mechanic, and it didn't solve the problem, even I had to reinstall windows because one of them destroyed the boot-up

Then I found a video of a Russian guy, who explained that this problem was mainly associated with the power supply, and suggested another registry change to fix it. Many people said it worked for them, but it didn't for me.

Then found that forum (I don't find the link now :S) where someone suggested, to try just a change of cable. Worked immediately.

During the whole day I remembered that sentence that says:
"to move from Windows to Linux is hard, but to move from Linux to Windows is impossible!"

There are no ...

There are no problems, just solutions

Happy Music's Day

21 of June, the longest day of the year on the northern hemisphere, is the day of the Music! Music, that friend who is always there to make the feelings and moments greater, that friend who can say for you those things you can not, that friend who I simply love.

Today, in her* day, I am pleased to post a great band I just discovered precisely today: Moriarty

What do you think about her voice? simply amazing. With that voice honey I don't need any summer solstice, I don't need any light!

*her: I know, Music doesn't have a gender in English, but since in my mother tongue it is female, I can not stop thinking on the Music as a woman (a pretty one).

Serial port under Wine

How to make a Windows program running under Wine get access to the serial port (or USB port)?

It's enough to make a symbolic link in the folder

~/.wine/dosdevices

pointing to the /dev/tty special file you are using. The symbolic link should be named using the Windows conventions to name the ports.

As things are easier with an example, here is my case:

I am running an own windows program which has to open the USB port (the com5 which is the ttyAMC0), so I typed in a terminal:

ln -s /dev/ttyACM0 /home/pablo/.wine/dosdevices/com5

and that's it, now my windows program is running in Wine under Linux perfectly (first I typed COM5 and it didn't work, it seems case sensitive)

No, it's not.

For long time I wanted to say that Johann Strauss lied, I don't judge him, we all lie after all. The thing is that he promoted the Danube as blue, sorry but no, it's not. Though my intention is not to make a bad image of him or such a thing, because I understand his purpose very well, hence I forgive him.

My first picture of the Danube@Margarit Island, more than two years ago.

The Danube is more than beautiful, I just don't want to use hundred of adjectives while I talk about it. I love this river when I go from Pest to Buda at morning and it looks silver from the Petofi bridge, yes silver instead of blue. And it is even better when the wind is not blowing that is looks like a mirror and you see the city duplicated, but when the wind blows it stills amazing. It's also nice then at the afternoon when I come back from work, this time from Buda to Pest, the river has another color (which is not blue still), the river reflects the city in another way, with another mood, like forecasting the vibrations the city is going to have at night. I better stop being romantic with the river and don't go out from my point: The Danube is not blue, it doesn't need to be so to be unforgettable.

Regarding to that I just today realized that the place I like the most* in Budapest is neither in Buda nor in Pest, and it is precisely because it is over the Danube, mainly at night. The view of the city from the Petofi Bridge is something I hope it never banishes from my mind

*mmm well, there are many places I like "the most" in this city, just let me be sensationalist for one time to make my post more impressive :P

Nausea y ganas vomitar

No exagero, estoy hablando con la verdad:
Leer lo que tengo que hacer para sacar mi proxima visa y respectivo permiso de residencia me esta dando nausea y ganas de vomitar, siento algo muy incomodo en el estomago.

Para colmo de males, el consulado Frances en Hungria no hace mas visas desde hace como un anho, tiene que ser en el consulado Frances en Viena, y me piden papeles oficiales de mi residencia, los cuales, estoy seguro me daran en Hungaro y los necesitaran como minimo en ingles, frances o aleman :S

Odio hacer estas cosas.

Oh Berlin

In this eurotrip with my mother I have had the chance to identify those other cities I feel connected with, and Berlin is without doubt one of those, this is just a picture in Berlin about my lovely Budapest.

Out of service

As many of you may know, nowadays I'm in an euro-trip with my mother, a so called: Euromama trip :)

I won't have time to write here, but I'm trying to report the trip in a simpler blog:

http://euromama.tumblr.com/

It's in spanish, because my mother writes there too. I'll make my best to keep the details of the places I go and report the issues and remarks of the trip to continue the posts under the tag: Travel

Los Fuera De Serie

(el post esta un poco escueto pero era mejor escribirlo así ya mismo, que dejarlo para dentro de mes y medio cuando lo pueda escribir con calma)
Lo que más habia escuchado y leído sobre Los Fuera De Serie era la "Regla de las 10.000 horas", de hecho me imaginaba que esa era la idea central y que simplemente el desarrollo del libro era analizando caso por caso a diferentes fuera de serie, mostrando que cada uno cumplia con "la regla", sin embargo para mi sorpresa eso es simplemente un capitulo de los nueve de los que se compone el libro.

El libro está escrito de una manera muy liviana (sobre todo despues de venir leyendo a Cortázar por un rato) y esta dividido en dos partes: Las Oportunidades y La Herencia diciendo que es ahi donde verdaderamente se debe buscar la explicacion de porque alguien es un genio o no.
En el desarrollo del texto, el autor pone sobre la mesa temas que me parecieron bien interesantes, mucho más que la regla de las 10.000 horas e incluso que la idea principal del libro. Algunas fueron:

• Edad Relativa
• Valle demografico: Se generan cuando por x o y razon hay una caida en los indices de natalidad de una region, esto hace que la generación nacida ahi tenga mas oportunidades (de trabajo, por decir algo) cuando llegue a la juventud, pues habrá carencia de personas de su edad.
• El caso de Los Termitas (esto me parecio muy interesante)
• La cultura del honor, y el experimento antropologico: Buenisimos!
• Las dimensiones Hofstede: muy muy interesante, para mi fué el mejor capitulo del libro (el 7)

Cada uno de esos temas se merece un post independiente, veamos si algun dia los llego a hacer. 

Tambien hice un mapita del libro, los capitulos y las ideas. Como lo advertí al comienzo no esta muy elaborado, pero mejor eso a dejarlo perder. Basta darle click a la imagen de abajo para abrirlo, como es un poco grande hay que tenerle paciencia.

Capitulo 23 y oficina de inmigración

Nada más aburridor que una sala de espera. Nada más amañador que una sala de espera con un divertido capitulo de Rayuela y un ingrediente secreto como acompañantes.

No sé si fue el Medellinense clima de esta tarde, o el hecho de haber comido postre en el almuerzo y salir temprano del trabajo, o tal vez la maravillosa sonrisa de la niña que me atendió en Información de la oficina de inmigración, o todos juntos.

El hecho es que el capitulo 23 de Rayuela venia siendo como algún otro (algún otro de Rayuela, quiero decir), pero despues de una segunda sonrisa que me regaló la niña de Información al entregarle un papelito donde le admiraba la primera, el capitulo 23 se volvió particularmente cómico.

Mal hago quitandole méritos a Cortázar y no incluirlo en las razones de mi goce. Pues fue justo despues del feliz incidente del papelito en la oficina de inmigración que comenzó el particular concierto de madame Trépat en el que Oliveira resultó metido y cuya narración fue la promotora de mis contenidas risas. Risas que se hacian más incontenibles por la tonta pena de quebrar con una inesperada carcajada el aburrido ambiente de las salas de espera.

Pensandolo bien y mirandolo todo con detenimiento, creo que me divertí tanto esta tarde gracias a una perfecta mezcla de dos cucharadas (de las grandes) de sonrisa femenina y una cucharadita de papelito tonto mezcladas con medio litro de Rayuela en un vaso grande de buen clima.

Como la mezcla resultó tan sabrosa, me animé a darle a la linda niña de Información una segunda cucharadita de papelito tonto, con lo que me terminé ganando una tercera cucharada de sonrisa :)

Olvidate del público

Cuando era pequeño y mi mamá me enseñaba a hablar en público para las exposiciones o presentaciones en el colegio, ella me decía

Olvidate de la gente, hazte de cuenta que son puros bultos de papas y listo

Y creo que aún, veinte años depues de esas lecciones, cada vez que tengo que hablar en público me digo a mi mismo, "nada de nervios Pablo, son puros bultos de papa" y creo que aun sigue funcionando el mecanismo.

¡Mucha Bestia!

Bestiario, es el primer libro completo que leo de Julio Cortázar, uno de esos autores que admiro por cosas tan maravillosas como Lucas, Sus Pudores, La Continuidad De Los Parques, Instrucciones Para Subir Una Escalera, o El Aplastamiento De Las Gotas, pero a los que tambien les tengo mucho miedo (por cosas como esta), pues sé que no les doy la talla por lo bestia que soy para analizar la literatura.

En la imagen, como es usual en mis entradas de lecturas, está la pasta trasera libro donde alguien con mejor verbo que yo habla del texto, lo que me permite hacer la entrada tan subjetiva como lo crea necesario.

En general el libro me dió muy duro y tristemente solo disfruté un par de cuentos (por ejemplo Las Puertas Del Cielo). Lo paré un par de veces y esos ocho cuentos me tomaron casi ocho semanas, aunque cada cuento facilmente se puede leer en dos horas (que es mas o menos mi dosís diaria de lectura).

Sin embargo hay algo positivo, el libro me ayudó a encontrar la palabra para describir lo que admiro de Cortázar, y es su habilidad para hacer macros, como en fotografia. Un buen macro, que te hace ver y sentir la textura de una superficie o sus detalles, Cortázar tiene una habilidad increible para poner en primer plano objetos de una manera sencilla y liviana que a la vez le permite retomar la escena completa y construir una imagen grande donde sus pequeños elementos puede ser protragonistas. Carta A Una Señorita En París o Instrucciones Para Subir Escaleras son unos buenos ejemplos del punto que trato de exponer.

Fue extraño y casual, estar en Budapest mientras vas leyendo un libro de cuentos escrito por un latinoamericano y de un momento a otro Cortázar comienza a mencionar a Budapest y el río y sus puentes, justo cuando estas cruzando uno de ellos, ese cuento se llama Lejana y aquí pueden encontrar un analizis decente, no como éste que hago yo.

El cuento de hoy

Normalmente paro de leer en el tranvía por tres razones; para quedarme dormido con el libro en la mano (o sobre la cara, dependiendo de la comodidad que lleve), para ver el Danubio cada vez que lo cruzo y para bajarme en mi parada. Hoy sin embargo solo paré por una de ellas, el imperdible espectaculo de cruzar el río. Cuando terminé el cuento que leía me dí cuenta que aparte de tener una sonrisa de tonto me había pasado mi parada como por cinco o seis estaciones.

Y todo por saber como terminan Las Puertas Del Cielo.

Nueva experiencia

En estos dos años me han pasado muchas cosas, pero entre ayer y hoy, despues de mucho tiempo hubo una experiencia nueva, y que a decir verdad no fue muy buena.

Ya he despedido a muchos amigos, tristemente tengo cancha para eso (o eso creía). A los primeros los despides con tranquilidad, con el segundo grupo ya te lo vas tomando más en serio, al despedir el tercer grupo duele y ya para el cuarto tienes callo, sencillo.

Pero ayer fue diferente y el callo que sé que tengo para eso de despedir amigos no me sirvió de nada. Nunca antes me habia tocado decirle adios a un gran amigo que a la vez era mi flatmate.

Fue duro y curiosamente las ultimas dos despedidas de amigos argentinos me han dolido mucho; Paisa -me dijo Lu entre lagrimas y abrazo- yo sé como sos vos, sos un hijo de puta que no se conecta al skype, que no chatea y no escribe, yo se como sos! no te perdás!. Ayer en cambio, no me dijeron nada más alla de lo que ver llorar a un amigo puede decir. Ya hoy, sentado en el aeropuerto esperando su vuelo, Julio escribió un correo con palabras que lo alegran bastante a uno pero que tambíen entristecen, palabras que hicieron que esta nueva experiencia se sienta más duro.

Hoy me he acordado mucho de esa cancion que dice "Cuando un amigo se va, queda un espacio vacio".

3 bits resolution

Few men can deny this fact, we see at 3bits resolution (maximum!) and besides that we have a huge problem mixing those few colors we are able to see.

I found a tool to aid myself with this "low resolution" issue. Just a little help is never bad taken, eh?
http://colorschemedesigner.com/

Group Picture

I've already said that in this city I have met amazing people, and I'm a lucky guy, because I can call many of them as my friends!

Now we are spread in the world, some are there, some are here, but technology somehow helps to keep connected.

This "group" picture was taken in Brazil at afternoon, while we here in Budapest where getting close to midnight. It was a great meeting! just the cold beers were missing, but I'm sure that day will come, I know!

La acuso, tengo pruebas

Para la Música, como para la Justicia, no hay intocables. Provocaría decir entonces que la Música es justa, pero me atrevo a decír que no lo es en lo más mínimo, incluso la acuso de tiránica.

Sí, tiránica. Basta mirar quien es su víctima más común. No hay que pensar mucho para darse cuenta que la Música se ensañó contra el Amor, ¿cuantas canciones hay de/por/.../a-favor/en-contra/ el Amor? tantas como bandas y musicos ha habido en la historia. Sin embargo es entendible, el Amor se mete con todos sin mediar palabra (aunque él diría que no es su culpa, al final de cuentas todos lo buscan).

Me puse a pensar entonces quien es su segunda víctima preferida y me dí cuenta que no es tan obvio ni tan sencillo de determinar como en la primera posición, sin embargo, explorando las raices de porqué el Amor está en lo mas alto del podio creo que es facíl encontrar un sospechoso para la segunda posición.

¿Quien más se mete con todos haciendo estragos? más aún, ¿a quien le tienen miedo todos? A la Soledad, fue lo primero que se me ocurrió. Y no fue difícil hacer un rápido recorrido mental por canciones y bandas para que una montaña de pruebas se me iluminaran. Con las siguientes (deliciosas) pruebas me atrevo a denunciar la persecución de la cual Soledad es víctima por parte de Música, la tirana.

Los convido a disfrutar las pruebas y a que me ayuden a recolectar más!

Es decepcionante buscar Eleanor Rigby de los Beatles en grooveshark! no está!!

Facts about Budapest - Geneva - Lyon - Lausanne

I'll try to remember some facts of the trip to share them, but I dont remember much, so it'll be quite plane.

Budapest - Geneva

• Easyjet has a direct connection between those cities. The airport of Geneva is very close to the city. 
• Before leaving the place where you pick up you luggage, take a look close to the exit doors, and you'll see a machine to buy transportation tickets, you can pick-up one for free!. So from the airport to the downtown is FREE.
• In front of the main door of the train station (Cornavin) you can find some places to change money.
• The city is very walkable
• The tour in the United Nations is not amazing, but it's interesting to know that place. (10CHF-student)
• The museum of the Red Cross is not big deal, honestly I didn't like it. It's cheap though (5CHF-student).

Geneva - Lyon

• The train ticket was about 33 CHF (~25€) it takes like 2 hours
• The old Lyon is very nice, small streets and lot's of bars to enjoy the night
• There is a big park with some animals and full of people on sundays, nice place.

Lyon - Lausanne

• The train ticket was 38.5€. 
• Lausanne is very walkable too. In the Touristic office in the train station you can get a map with a walking path to see the important things of the city
• I couldnt get in, but the museum of the Olympics looks amazing, plus it's located in a place that is unbelievable

That's it what I remember, it looks pathetic but better to write it than to forget it completely.

Modern safety bores my inner Prometheus

Sorrow and disappointment, those were the main feelings yesterday at home.
During the daily session of opening the pandora box to release all the evils created few hours before, I found an interesting couple of artifacts, both are commonly used to banish the path and hide the existance of those pandora evils.

One of them was a platoon of humble matches condemned to live in a tiny box and sentenced to only go out for a quick death avoiding with its immolation a fast spread of the evil. The other friend was the odor-spray, which is used for the same philanthropic purpose, just that it is much fancier and sophisticated than the first one.

When you see those passive inhabitants of the "small room" together, it's impossible not to think about combining them, in short: your internal teenager just took control of your mind again, you are not going to behave as an adult anymore until the desire is satisfied.
A short visual scanning of the odor-spray's can and the discovery of an orange square with a black flame drawn on it is enough reason for the joy. In your hands you just have that power Prometheus stole directly from gods and gave us.

As every teenager would have done, I fired the match, and placed the flame in front of the mouth of the odor-spray!, I wanted heat, I wanted Fire! I wanted to give my honest and innocent tribute to Prometheus, but I sadly discovered, that modern odor-sprays are not flammable!!!  I tried many times, placing the match at different distances but all those matches gave their lives in vain.

That little Prometheus that lives in me, that lives in all of us, was very sad yesterday, just because Modern Safety is playing the game with the gods in their purpose of taking away from us the fire Prometheus gave us once.

Dime porque!

Una clase de español ambientada con buena musica!. Yo sabia de la existencia de los cuatro "por-que's" pero no sabia su diferencias, una breve busqueda en internerd y aquí esta la respuesta, pero antes la canción:

Porqué, porque, por qué y por que

Porqué es un sustantivo (el porqué, es decir, la causa, el motivo); siempre va precedido del artículo (el) o de otro determinante (su, este, otro...). Admite plural : los porqués.
Ejemplo: No explica nunca el porqué de sus decisiones.

Porque es una conjunción causal: introduce una oración subordinada que explica la causa de otra principal.
Ejemplo: Lo he entendido porque me lo has explicado muy bien.

Por qué sólo se usa en oraciones interrogativas, directas e indirectas. Por es preposición y qué es un pronombre interrogativo.
Ejemplos: ¿Por qué no has venido a la fiesta? (Interrogativa directa)
                No sé por qué se ha portado tan mal.(Interrogativa indirecta)

Por que se compone de la preposición por y del pronombre relativo que; se puede sustituir por "el cual, la cual", etc.
Ejemplo: Fueron varios los delitos por que fue juzgado.

Good Presents

I've met amazing people in Budapest, many of them have left but not without building a good friendship. One of them is Roger, a Gaucho (sort of brazilian version of colombian paisa) who for a matter of not having born in the 40's and not living in Liverpool is not a Beatle, indeed I remember when I met him he was wearing a T-shirt of The Beatles and a guitar. Before he left Budapest he gave me a good present, he gave me music, brazilian music, and we made an agreement: Each email we'll exchange talking about our lives, we'll send a song in our language. The experiment has been successful, we don't write very often though, but we do still, so the connection keeps alive and the music keeps flowing, as it should be.

I'll try to share some of the good songs I've discovered thanks to him. I'll begin with a freaking good band (btw, Gaucha) and with a song loaded of feeling!
Here you are, Engenheiros Do Hawaii - Refrão de Bolero (Acústico MTV)