lunes, agosto 17, 2009

Pittsburgh Information Technology Examiner

Hi All,
I am the Pittsburgh Information Technology Examiner for the experts' page Examiner.com

http://www.examiner.com/x-19650-Pittsburgh-Information-Technology-Examiner

I will be posting articles frequently. Let me know if you want something to be discussed.

Natalie

jueves, mayo 21, 2009

Superman - Five for fighting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKmxpeSKA34

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me

I'm more than a bird:I'm more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It's not easy to be me

Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home I'll never see

It may sound absurd:but don't be naive
Even Heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed:but won't you conceed
Even Heroes have the right to dream
It's not easy to be me

Up, up and away:away from me
It's all right:You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy:or anything:

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees

I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me

It's not easy to be me.

martes, abril 14, 2009

LART, BOFH's ultimate weapon


Cool, I caught your attention. This is not a new weapon of the last state-of-the-art video game. Let me say something. I belong to a silent, big organization named the BOFH followers. Once you are an initiated sysadmin, you might join us or die (or resistance is futile, Borg’s dixit). That’s the only way to survive the lusers. I love this word: luser (loser + user). Hey, for my former users: If you are reading this, you’re not fitting in the luser category :)

Anyway, if you wanna know who is the Bastard Operator from Hell (
www.theregister.co.uk) go and google it. Ok, about LART (Luser Attitude Readjustment Tool), it could mean almost everything from remove lusers access to delete their files and tell them that they have more space with the same disk quota (?) Those are the kind if ideas that BOFH gives to their followers. Nice. Personally I enjoy to do it to lamers XD. I think I'm not in a condition to do it again. Too much economy and finance in my mind is killing my skills.

That’s what a night of insomnia do after too-much-Indian-food buffet dinner and some new born birds in a nest outside my window, realizing that spring arrived at 4am. Now I’m writing non-sense things. And you are reading them too. Have a nice week.

miércoles, abril 08, 2009

Cathedral of Learning



When I first decided to come to Pittsburgh I realized that it was a box of surprises. It was the 2008's most livable city in the US, CMU is Andy Warhol's alma mater and from many others. It has a lot of bridges. And it has the 2nd tallest educational building in the world, and the weirdest.

It is the central building University of Pittsburgh, near CMU, and an historical landmark since 1926. It looks gothic and has a lot of rooms on the first two floors, from several nationalities. I found the French and Chinese pretty cool!

Somebody asked me if I’m attending to Hogwarts. The commons actually look like I’m Harry Potter’s Class 09’ .Yeah, I will be a professional witch hahaha. The view from the 33rd floor is amazing if you can get to the top (and look like a UPitt student).

Ok, need to go back to classes. Enjoy the photos ;)

viernes, febrero 06, 2009

The potato is not Irish for god's sake

It was domesticated in Peru 7000 years ago. Spanish explorers brought the potato plant from South America to Spain in the mid-sixteenth century, then the plant was taken to Italy, and other European countries.

"Incan myths relate that the Creator, Viracocha, caused the sun, moon and stars to emerge from Lake Titicaca. He also created agriculture when he sent his two sons to the human realm to study and classify the plants that grew there. They taught the people how to sow crops and how to use them so that they would never lack food"

Remember this next time in front of your frech fries :)

Sources:
http://www.potato2008.org/en/potato/origins.html

http://www.cipotato.org/pressroom/facts_figures/2008_international_year_of_the_potato.asp

domingo, enero 25, 2009

When the Terracotta Army went to Europe (and America)


As long as I can say, today's Chinese New Year. Will be calm for me (only today, this year I think will be the most challeging ever for me!). I found Chinese culture amazing. By the way, I realized better that in 2004, that I witnessed one of the most amazing expositions I have ever seen: Terracota Army.


For historical details take a look to the information online,




I will talk about the experience, by far shocking. Detail of the faces, clothing is simply amazing. Forum of the Cultures at Barcelona was, a wonderful place to show them:




I spent most of my time, as I remember, trying to figure out how they made this magnificent art piece. All the environment in the Forum was about globalization, culture, and taking care of our world. This exposition perfectly fitted there. Actually, it was their first visit to Europe.


Later, as a coincidence I met them again in Bogota (2007)




And remind me, how small is the world, how globalized it is and how lucky I am to be in contact with all this culture mixes. Love these.
新年好!

sábado, enero 24, 2009

Back to home (for a while)



The semester ended early in december and I decided early go back home. And I went. I'm so lucky to live in the south hemisphere, here is Winter and there, full summer. Amazing Summer in Lima, not to cold, not so hot. Adequate to walk in the street. To visit friends, spend time with them. To go to the beach. To go partying.




Lima is such a beatiful city, and ugly too. The sky is never blue, even in the summer. It never "rains" never snows. There are not tropical storms, but earthquakes from time to time. Poverty is obvious in many parts of the city. Actually not in the notorious and touristical pictures I took in my visit (by the way was not on purpose).




Now I'm back to the hardest winter, at least for me. DUH. Love the snow, but hate the cold,thaaaat cold. Well, it's just a new experience. See you.
By the way I did the paragliding thing. I took the first flying over the coast, landing later on the top of the cilff :)




Honolulu, Cusco - Cosmopolitan Cities


I need to say that being in a new city is always challenging. And more if you're on your own (alone). I went to Hawai'i last month, to Honolulu. And found it cautivating myself with its mood. What I mean is that, there were a lot of people looking for the same: a new experience, just look, know people, most of this people are not looking for commercial tourism, just some experience.


There are a lot of foreigners. The day I arrived I found the streets full of Japanese people, just before the Honolulu Marathon. I watched them, not all of them be be unfair, but in the commercial mood, you know? On the other hand there are people living there, because they move from crowded cities, or another rhythm of live. May be surfers, or just travelers.


I found it interesting, because Cusco is about the same, in terms of people moving there, working or running business, just because the city is magic, and you can find people from everywhere. As in Honolulu, in the commercial mood, or just the mystical mood. I went there in both so I can explain how it feels!.


Both are not big cities, one is right in front of the sea (or in the middle of nowehere in the Pacific Ocean) the other, in the middle of the mountains. In both, you can feel the mood of the native people, or the people that just move there lo enjoy living on sush a place like this.


By the way, take the "Cosmopolitan" definition in the way you want. For me it is just to have different cultures, and moods in the same place.