Don't Think Again

(I just have to start by saying I'm not a Mac user, but an iPhone user with Windows and Linux PC experience.) Having that said, and right after watching that remarkable video presentation of Google Wave , it's undeniable that openness, colaborativeness and accessibility are the way to go. Yes, this is a wide statement. I don't intend to push it upon you guys, the much appreciated readers who keep coming back to me. Instead I'm gonna try and point out some recent events that brought me to this point. If you have an iPhone and you're kind of a geek, you know it has lots of features (like bluetooth, video outputs) but that some of it is purposefully capped (no access to bluetooth headsets, video cables with switched outputs). Now I kept trying to understand why would someone deliberately make its own product do less than it could do. "Oh, I'm baking a cake, but I don't want it to taste that god, so..." And what I could come up with is that, in Ap...

What's different about a foreigner? Probably nothing, when compared to what's similar. So the differences only play a tiny role, unlike the differences between a bird and a dog, for example. Being slightly different, while strinkingly similar, presents a major threat. That's the combination that'll always make foreigners the scape goats: major threat, easy target. You'll always get away with easy jokes about skin color, strange habits and stupid situations. The point of getting the easy way out is to feel normal (and hopefully better about) yourself. Wish I could stop myself from thinking in those terms

What do you do when you're in a bad mood? My father has this story about when I six or seven years old. I looked like I was in a bad mood, and I was trying to get some sort of treat (probably ice cream). I wouldn't tell them what was wrong unless I got my ice cream. When they gave it to me, I said I didn't know why I was upset. Some things just don't change. iPhoneから送信

Once I again I'm posting about today's big bad wolf: swine flu. I apologize for that, and not to post on it again anytime soon. A brazilian newspaper published a piece which states (without proper references) that green tea can be used as a preventive tool and/or a treatment for the H1N1 influenza virus, or swine flu. This is due to the high concentration of polyphenols that inhibit an enzime called neuranimidase, responsible for reproduction of these viruses. Good news, for every 日本人 who's scared enough to wear a mask.

I'm slowly embracing the concept of you as a ghost. Haunting my kitchen, stupid concepts like orkut. I don't know if I'm waiting anymore, or if it's over. It's probably over. Feels like it's over. It's definitely over. Check out a guy named Jason Anderson. iPhoneから送信

Big Brother participants, politics and - in Brazil - some soccer players get my personal "sub-celebriy" seal sometimes. On a game last sunday, Ronaldo (you probably know who I'm talking about) was caught pulling some guy's hair (!). From now on, for bar conversations or for newspaper reporters, he's gonna be the-guy-whose-hair-was-pulled-by-Ronaldo.

Oh boy, am I sleepy today... The numbers are always different from newspaper to newspaper, but I wish I could have some estimative of when my university's going to gives a couple of weeks off. I figured wearing masks isn't an advantage: why'd you only want to get the new flu when the hospitals are all crowded? Also, can anybody tell me why this swine flu's affecting mostly developed countries? Spain, US, Japan. Rich man's flu. All that and a cloudy tuesday too. I can't wait for next summer. I know spring - just like autumn - is supposed to be a not too cold, but not too hot season, but I'm still freezing all day long. Made myself a cup of coffee 5 minutes ago and it's already cold (it's too strong also, but I won't blame that on the weather). Oh, bad mood, I welcome thee!

So, why is it that the Japanese people are terribly worried about the swine influenza? First, Japan has greater awareness than Brazil about disasters and epidemics for many reasons. Japan's been destroyed by wars, and has earthquakes - just to name two. As for Brazil, we've had dengue for some years now, and we haven't dealt properly with it. Right now, the cases in Osaka seem to be worrying everybody. Don't you think all colleges should give us some weeks to rest? iPhoneから送信

First off, I strongly recommend you to watch this video, from TED.com: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html What is it about? It's a very good talk about "artificial" happiness: why and how can you synthesize your own happiness using nothing but your own brain. It's really easy, because all you have to do is accept the inevitability of facts. When I first watched this movie my head went to all of the great thinkers and back to us,the regular guys. What's the difference between Kant and Nietzsche , put simply? Kant looks happy, while Nietzsche clearly is anything but happy. This leads me to a two-way conclusion: first, don't you think that the "happiness" of any given ideas could be a way to separate status quo thinkers (after all, artificial happiness comes from irreversibility) from change thinkers (unhappy deliberators); second, when you're thinking about something or making decision in your life, may...

I couldn't say that I believe many things, even though most of the things I used to believe in have gradually been discredited. I used to have a lot to say, both about the world and about myself. Not that this matters, but that was important to me somehow. So I gradually lost everything I used to believe. I think it sounds sad, but it sure doesn't feel sad. It's a soothing sensation: "everything is gonna be alright", for example. This is one of the biggest lies anyone could ever hear, but it was terribly important for me at some point. Now I guess I understand that the world doesn't have any obligation to make things turn out the way I want them to. I don't even think I could get my mother to fulfill my expectations, let alone the whole world. And the world doesn't really care what you think, it won't change for you. People around you aren't always nice or thoughtful. And we all grow old. So will you. Sounds pretty desperate, but I type all of ...

今週は友達に 洋映画のダウロード方を聞かれていた。そして、ダウンロード方のメールは書いて送った。あのメールの一番大切な部分は下にしてる。 「ダウンロードの方法はbittorrentと呼ばれる ソフトが必要 になる。 ダウンロードするためのサイトは こっち 。この ソフトはP2 Pのネットワークにつながって、 世界中の人々のデータをダウンロードするのものだ。 その多量のデータから相応しいデータを選ぶために、特別な「. bittorrent」と言うファイル を手に入れなきゃならぬ。「 www.torrentz.com 」サイトからそのファイルをダウ ロードできる。たとえば Quantum of Solace 。正しいリンクを選んで、 これ みたいなページをみて 、「.bittorrent」ファイルをダウンロードできる。 このファイルは前にインストールした ソフトに開く。後は待つだけ。 サイトもソフトも全て無料だ。 でも他人からダウンロードしているから、 ヴィルスの危険には何時も気をつけて。しかし、「 verified」が書かれたファイルは安全だ。:-)」

The area of Japan represents about 4.4% of Brazil's, but Brazil has about 200 million people, compared to 127 million in Japan. No wonder everything looks so small. Now, if you take the GDP, Brazil's 2 trillion is less than half of Japan's 4.4 trillion, and that means Brazil's per capita GDP is roughly 10 thousand dollars against Japan's 38 thousand dollars. That's doing more with less. Brazilian people have their own way of trying to pretend Brazil's the best place to live on this planet. We'll simply take whatever reasons we can find, and then try to mix them up - in our own resourcefull manner - to make it sound like it makes any sense. It doesn't. This might be a surprise, but Japanese people do have a similar way to go around this, but I'll grant this: most of what they argue is actually true. Such huge differences couldn't keep these countries from having corny bands (brega). And I love them: Straight from Brazil... And straight...

Sometimes you don't have anything to do, and you don't really fell like doing something, know what I mean? It's not like those days you've got lots to do, but you don't. And it feels so good. Not today... it doesn't feel bad either. I like my company. So, since I'm not doing anything, I went on to read my horoscope. Not that I'm a believer or anything, but what harm could it cause? Everywhere it's written that I'm only alone if I choose to (agreed), and that this is a good time to listen to different opinions, and try to change some crystalized values (even the same words). Maybe astrology is an exact science and I don't know, but those people writing horoscopes could at least try to change the words... Ok, nobody expects you to write your daily piece from scratch. Copy as much as you'd like, because whoever reads it, knows that it is, after all, just a horoscope. Just don't treat your costumers like they're stupid.

Today is another lazy day back here. I live in a small suburb, so the crowds travelling on the Golden Week don't come this way. There are some temples here, but they're not crowded at all. On the morning, I woke up to screams that the soccer players do everytime they're beginning a game. Very Japanese. Right now I can listen to little kids playing baseball, running around. The sky's completely covered by clouds, but it's neither cold nor hot, making for a very pleasant day overall. The night's probably gonna be cold, and I just stayed inside the whole morning playing my new guitar. It's an eletric acoustic guitar made by Takamine, and I love it. I've played from 9am up to 2pm non-stop. Still trying to remember those songs I used to play all the time. It feels like I'm on a different level now, not "better" but enjoying so much more this ability to play... I think I'd forgotten what this feels like. I was hoping to do my premiere on the ...

Panic is a word that describes a specific type of human behaviour. Behaviour is an identifiable set of acts, performed by and individual or by a community of individuals. A community is a set of individuals, whether they are human or not. Panicking is considered an acceptable behaviour, when you can't do anything else. Influenza is a common denomination for a multitude of different viruses. Viruses are beings that are so simple that they might not even be called "living", even though they have functions similar to living organisms, such as the ability to reproduce themselves. Viruses require host cells to be able to reproduce themselves, but it is possible that the virus damages the host cell while interacting with it. The influenza virus has strains that affect swines, birds, humans and other types of animals. The " swine flu " that is causing news nowadays is an unusual mix of viruses, and it has swine, avian and human influenza's information on its RNA. ...

  This is from an artist named Andre Dahmer , from Brazil (Rio de Janeiro). He is so good I just had to put this one up for you guys. On a free translation: Title: Apostles, the Sitcom. Jesus says: Simon, dig this. (Jesus floats) Simon asks: Faith? Jesus replies: Plus veterinary anesthetic and vodka.