Novo Natal

A partir do ano que vem, comemoro o Natal no dia 27 de Setembro. Não é uma data aleatória, e acho que futuramente ela será lembrada por ter uma importância bem maior que a atual data... Eu acho! Ah, e não é o meu aniversário, diga-se de passagem.

Mas tomara que poucas pessoas comemorem o Natal nessa data, assim eu não tenho que me preocupar em enfrentar shoppings lotados na véspera do Natal.

Feliz Natal a todos! :)

Kallisto's Diary III - Brindol

Brindol was a small city, but bigger than most of the other settlements the caravan crossed since I left my city. I can imagine around 7000 people living there. The majority of people living inside the city walls, and some fraction scattered around, living in farms. We arrived through one of the main gates, through a bridge crossing the Elsir River. It was night, and I was uncomfortably dirt, and very tired. I was too anxious to arrive there, and finally there I was...

Map of Brindol

I heard that the Silk and Spoon Inn was the best inn in the city. Ian decided to stay there with me, and later we found out that Zoltan was also there. Some of the other merchants in the caravan also got a room there. The Silk and Spoon is sponsored by the Ghallanda House, and that was a good sign. I got a single room, near Ian's room. The room was very clean, containing everything necessary for a very comfortable stay. The first thing I got after getting the room was a good and refreshing bath. Then I went to the tavern in the first floor to eat something, and then to bed...

Just the usual dreams... No sign of anything at all...

The next day I left the inn to walk around the city. I had to buy new clothes. The ones I had brought with me were already totally worn out. It took me all the morning, and part of the afternoon, to find something that suited me. I could not buy too many things, as I had just my backpack to carry my clothes. I like to wear blue and black, sometimes green or red, and black, too. I had bought with me three sets of clothes, and I had these three sets replaced in Brindol. A fancier set of clothes for the nights, mostly covered in blue and black, with some green details. And two sets of a more utilitarian nature to be used during the daytime, together with my leather armor, one black with red details, and the other one almost all covered in dark blue. If I had a horse of my own, I could buy many more clothes, and I would not have to worry about how to carry them in my backpack myself. As soon as I got the money I would buy a horse for me. I spent the rest of that day walking around the city. Nothing really exceptional. I started to wonder why I had to come to Brindol. It seemed just the usual small city. I spent the night at the Silk and Spoon's Tavern, having some fun. Ian was also there, but I have not seen Zoltan.

The people in Brindol was not so amazed to see a tiefling, so I really had no real problems while dealing with them. And most of them were really nice to me. The first impression was always an expression of awe, but after a while it was just normal. Just the usual expression of someone who have not seen a tiefling in a while, or was not expecting to see a tiefling...

The next day was just another day. Nothing worth of note happened. I spent the day walking though the city, looking for anything interesting, or a sign, something that would make my trip here have some sense, but there was nothing. I was starting to wonder about that dream, and if it was really an omen after all, or just a weird dream... I decided that if nothing happened before the caravan's departure date, I would follow the road with them, to whatever destination they have. I went to another tavern that night, the Marooned Schooner. I was not really excited that night, actually I was bored. I had the usual drinking in the tavern, while some bolder guys were trying to approach me... None of them really interesting... I was starting to miss home. I left the tavern and went back to the inn sooner than usual, much sooner, to spend some time alone with myself in my room. I slept, and I had no dreams that night.

Then came the third day in Brindol, and it was the same as the first two. Nothing really happened. I walked through the city again. Boredom was starting to fill me. I was anxious for something to happen, but I had the feeling that nothing was really supposed to happen here. The next day would be my last day in Brindol, and then I would follow the caravan again. That night I decided to have some real fun, at some other tavern. I called Ian, and he came with me to the Blue Parrot. We got a table near one of the walls. There was a group of patrons playing cards. That table would be a good place to make some money to myself, later... A while later, Zoltan entered the inn, and he sat at the bar desk. I have not seen him since the day we arrived here. I went to the bar to get some drinks, and to finally talk to Zoltan. I was decided to find out if he was really sent by my father do look after me. I asked him, if he would like to join me and Ian at our table, and he came with me to the table. I was finally starting to talk with him, when suddenly someone called Josh entered the Inn, psyched, thinking himself as the heart of the place, and just after that, the long expected sign finally came...

Inhuman Working Conditions

Can anyone please quench the Sun? Or at least fix the AC Unit in the Astrophysics lab? It is simply impossible to work, melting inside the lab! I will have to strike until I have human working conditions again! All I wish is another Ice Age! Please? Anyone?

Coelhinho do Coração

Como comentei na minha postagem anterior, estou jogando Spore. Em Spore você começa jogando com uma criatura unicelular no meio do oceano, a criatura vai evoluindo a medida que você adquire partes de DNA de outras criaturas, até ela adquirir patas e sair finalmente dos oceanos. Logo após, sua criatura continua na sua busca pela perfeição, continua evoluindo, até que ela tenha a capacidade mental pra se tornar um ser vivo consciente, e formar uma tribo. A tribo eventualmente se desenvolve numa civilização, e esta por sua vez um dia chega ao espaço e então você tem que conquistar a Galáxia.

No meu jogo mais avançado, eu já cheguei a fase da civilização. A minha criatura mais avançada é o Coelhinho, que vive no planeta Coração. É uma criaturinha singela, fofinha, como vocês podem ver abaixo nas imagens:




Bem graciosa, não é verdade? Os Coelhinhos são uma espécie carnívora, predadora e altamente agressiva, que durante o seu processo de evolução acabou exterminando várias espécies inferiores. E assim que eles saírem do Planeta Coração, farão da Galáxia o melhor lugar do Universo, onde a única espécie permitida serão Coelhinhos...

Caso haja alguma dúvida, na face dos Coelhinhos existem tentáculos, e não chifres. Os chifres se encontram apenas no alto de suas cabeças. E aquelas coisas nos ombros são espinhos venenosos que podem ser lançados a distância. =)

Cliquem nas imagens para ampliá-las, caso assim desejem. :P

Games for the Future (?)

Here is the list of games that I have to buy and play in my near future:

• Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3)
  
• Mass Effect (PC)
• Bioshock (PC or PS3)
• Little Big Planet (PS3)
• Rock Band 2 (PS3)
• Fallout 3 (PS3 or PC)
• The Witcher (PC)
  

That is the list of games already released that I do not have. I still have to finish Assassin's Creed for my PS3, and I am kind of playing Spore for the PC too.

My first priority in that list is Fallout 3, and I guess I will give me that as a birthday present next month. :)

Of course, I will probably not be able to play all those games soon, as I have a PhD to finish, but I will use some of my almost ephemeral spare time to play something.

Actually, I also have a huge line of books to read, too...

Kallisto what?

You might be wondering - who in The Nine Hell's of Baator is Kallisto? Well... Kallisto is simply my current RPG character, and I decided to write an adventure diary to her. Inside there you will find her views about the facts that happened in her adventures. Kallisto lives in a world called Eberron, in the continent of Khorvaire, and until now, lived her life in a small undisclosed town in the country of Breland.

If you have no interest in RPG or in a Fantasy setting, you might as well just skip all the entries in Kallisto's diary, otherwise, you can keep reading as her adventures unfold. There are at least three entries in her diary, that were not written yet, but they will be written in the next few days... And she will still have a lot of stories to share with you, I hope...

Kallisto's Diary II - Going to Brindol

The trip to Brindol took around 3 weeks, and the caravan had no problems at all during the trip. That does not reflect exactly my situation though. I am a tielfing, and a tiefling is not a common sight is most of the Khorvaire's territory, not even in the cosmopolitan country of Breland where I always lived. The fact that I have demon blood running through my veins does not mean that I am an evil person, or that I am a bad omen, as some people think. And there are many other and worse superstitious tales regarding us tieflings. Merchants are used to meet tieflings in their trips, it is unusual though. During my entire life,I had not yet met even a handful of my kin.I am not a unique person, and we tieflings once had our own great civilization. Common folk, though, are more superstitious, and usually got uneasy with in the presence of tieflings. And of course that was bound to happend with the common folk travelling with the caravan. I am proud of being a tiefling, and I don't care about what people think about us, so I decided not to hide my racial identity. I never had any problems with my racial identity, and it won't be now that I will start to hide my heritage. To make everyone's life easier I had decided to be the further I could from those suspecting folks. And I was always near some of the more open minded merchants, and some of the more accepting travellers.

The trip was a very peaceful one, and after some days without incidents, people started to leave their prejudices behind and be more relaxed around me. I am good at dealing with people, and it makes me good at making friends. This skill helped me a "little" bit during the journey. I am a tiefling, but I am first a girl, and in my 18 years of life, I learned very well how to deal with most men. I also know that most men feel very attracted to me, they usually tell me that I have an exotic kind of beauty. The fact that I have a crown of horns in my head, and a tail, does not make me ugly. In fact, it quite the opposite. The fact that I am so different from most girls, make me attract men more easily than if I was just human or even elvish. This helps me a lot some times. Men, no matter if human, elven, dwarven, or whatever, are always the same, and they are always very eager to help a beautiful defenseless girl. Unfortunately, that usually does not work with the women, and most seems to like me less and less if their men start to help me too much. To gain the confidence of a woman you have to follow a different approach, and one that does not work for me all the time. Woman are much more suspicious than men, more yet when their mates did not take their eyes off me, as it usually happen.

To minimize all my problems with men and women, I chose someone to be my best friend during the trip to Brindol. A guy called Ian, a wizards as my father, and also going to Brindol. We had lots of very interesting chats about a lot of interesting subjects. He has a very deep arcane knowledge, and that is one of my favourite subjects. And he also knows a lot about history and other stuff, so he was always trying to impress me with his knowledge. It was very easy to become his friend, and I spent most of the time in the trip chating with him. He is kind of cute, but not really my type. I liked his company, and that was it. And of course, that help me with the women. At least, I was not alone, and I was not spending my free time talking with anyone else's boyfriend or husband. The women thought I was interested in him, and because of that they left me alone.

There was this other guy, Zoltan. He was the quiet type, with a very deep scar in his face. A man of few words. I got the feeling that if my father was paying someone to take a look at me, it was this guy. I got him looking at me from afar many times. Whenevert something troublesome was starting to boil near me, he was there to help sort things out. And he was also working for the merchants, as a hired guard. It was just a feeling.

I had no weird dreams during the trip, and that was very fortunate for me. It would surely arouse people's suspicious towards me. Strangely, with each passing day, I felt more connected to the stars. I started to fell that those uncontrolled powers were tamed after all. I don't know how that happened, I just felt that I could use them if I concentrate, whenever I wanted. Even feeling like that, I decided not to test if I really had such control over my powers or not... I thought Brindol would be the perfect place to test my control over my strange powers.

We passed through many small towns, and villages during the trip. And the caravan always stopped at those places for a day or two before taking the path to Darguun again. It was always good when we stopped at those civilized places. I could have some fun at night in the taverns, I could have a real bed to sleep, and the best thing was to take a good and needed bath. I got used to sleep inside tents on the cold floor with my bedroll, but I could not get used to be two or three days without a bath. Ian, always a good company during the journey, could not stay awake for a drink or two in the taverns. He always had something to eat, and drink, and always left before the party really started. I had to have my fun with the other people, with that I started to be closer to the other people in the caravan, and I always had a new friends the day after. Ian seems to be too old and grumpy sometimes, but he is a nice guy overall.

After three weeks of journey, the caravan reached Brindol. Most of the common folk that started the trip with me, left in one of those small towns. All the merchants and hired guards were already very friendly towards me. Just a few suspicious people left, and they were happy to see me finally leaving. The few clothes I had brought with me were already worn out and very dirty. I had to buy more clothes as soon as I was able. Maybe I could wash my dirty clothes and sell them somewhere. But my greatest desire after that long journey was a horse. If I had a horse I could carry a lot of clothes, and all the things a girl need to survive in the wilderness. Unfortunately, I had not enough money to buy my dreamed horse yet.

Zoltan, the strange guy, left the caravan in Brindol too. The merchants suggested the Silk and Spoon Inn, so we went there for a place to stay. We rented rooms there, and later we found out that Zoltan was also there. I was starting to get suspicious of this Zoltan guy. I had to keep my eyes open on him.

I was in Brindol after all. I had to test if my feeling about my powers were correct, and something was telling me that Brindol would be the perfect place for that. And I had to wait for a sign... After all, what was I supposed to do here in this city? I am sure something was going to happen, but what, and when? Would the sign be another dream or I would find them looking at the stars?

Kallisto's Diary I

I always had those weird dreams, since I was a small girl, but never before they told me what to do. Even being just a dream, I knew that for some reason I had to go to that city, as I have seen in the dream. I was never so certain of anything as I was certain of that. And I could see, looking at the stars, that something was really supposed to happen.

Since my early teen years, for some strange reason, I started to discover some mysterious powers contained within me, and I knew the source of those powers were the stars, or maybe something among the stars. Strange names, words appeared in my mind, my mouth performed the eldritch utterances and what followed were small, sometimes not so small, bursts of energy, coming from my own being, or from the stars themselves. The understanding of that was far beyond my comprehension. I was just a kid, but I was never scared, and I knew that was part of me.

I can say that the stars, then the dreams, and finally those powers help me define who I am, or better, who I was by that time. Of course, my bloodline, my family and friends also helped to define myself, but the weird is what sets you apart from the pack.

After that dream, I got the revelation that my path would start at the city of Brindol, but that was not the only revelation I got that night. When I awoke I knew my real name was not to be used for a while. Something inside me told me that your real name was not a given name, but a name earned by yourself. Kallisto was the name my mother had chosen to me before I was born, when she was still alive, as my father always told me. And I always loved that name. My friends always called me Silver, though. So it was not so difficult to choose another alias. And after the dream I started to use the name of Silver. The name Kallisto was kept only in my identification and traveling papers, and the true name I earn is still lost among the unknown stars.

I had to find where was this city before departing, and after looking for information on the countless books in my father's library, I discovered it was in Darguun. I always thought about the day when I would leave my home, and my father, and start a life of my own, exploring the world, but I never thought my first stop would be in Darguun. I expected something like Aundair, the Eldeen Reaches, or even Zilargo, but never Darguun. The unexpected was always funnier and more interesting than the carefully planned. I started to made the preparations, hidden from the watchful eyes of my father. I knew it was very difficult to hide something from a wizard inside his own house, and my father was a very experienced one, but I tried it anyway. But the day after I started to prepare my things, he came to me to talk about my strange behavior of lately.

He always knew about the dreams, and the stars, and those weird powers, and that seemed to scare him a little bit. But he also knew it was part of me. When I told him about Brindol, he knew I was meant to go there. Coincidently, he had just met some merchants, part of a caravan that had just arrived at our town, and they were heading that way. That struck him as an omen. Of course, it was not so easy, as it seemed to be. I had to convince him, that I would stay safe, and I had to promise that I would not look for trouble, and if a dire situation arise I would leave the city immediately, and go back home. He did not think I was ready, but he knew he could not convince me otherwise. After all, once he was my age, too. And I am sure he paid someone in the caravan to keep an eye on me. I love my father, and I knew that he just wanted to be sure that nothing bad would happen to his only daughter.

I spent the last two days in my village, with my father during the day. He kept telling stories about his days of adventures, and about what to do, and what never do in case of danger. He covered so many situations that I could barely remember most of them. He was always a good father, and I miss him. The nights I spent with my friends, drinking, eating and singing at the local tavern. I will never forget those days.

The life of near ignorance of the world was gone. Before me was my path, a path I was not so sure was under my control, and a path that I did not know where would lead me... A path that would lead me to a far away city, in the middle of a unknown country... Brindol...

The caravan left my town in Breland, heading east to Darguun, five days after that revealing dream... Brindol was also near the Mournlands, a place covered by mistery, death, chaos, and decay... Was I ready for this trip? I was anxious, excited, but there was also fear... I was alone for the first time in my life... Would those uncontrolled powers help me if I need them?

Estagnação mental e um talvez qualquer

Um mês sem escrever aqui, e o mundo está acabando. Economia mundial em crise, na próxima terça começa a invasão alienígena, e meu doutorado estagnado. O LHC está parado, e parou antes da primeira colisão. Muito sem graça. Nenhum buraco-negro foi criado para destruir o planeta, agora só no início do ano que vem. Vamos ver se a economia colapsa de vez, e logo, porque aí não precisamos esperar mais 6 meses para o fim do mundo. Ou que esses aliens apareçam mesmo e cheguem pra criar Caos no planeta.

Como podem notar, estou perdendo a paciência pra chegada do Apocalipse! :P

Jogando Half-Life 2 - Episode 2, ainda lendo Grande Sertão: Veredas.

Amanhã tenho uma prova didática para professor substituto no CEFET. Salário baixo, três matérias da matemática (Cálculo I, Cálculo III e Equações Diferenciais A), pra começar semana que vem, dando de 3 a 4 aulas por dia. Resumindo, ou me mato preparando e dando aulas, ganhando quase nada, ou continuo meu doutorado. A escolha é meio óbvia. Acho que nem vou aparecer lá amanhã pra perder meu tempo. E teria que apresentar uma aula de uns 20 minutos sobre Séries de Taylor. Prefiro dar prioridade pro meu programa que não funciona, e esperar um cataclisma...

Está na hora do mundo ficar cyberpunk de verdade.

Sobre Tapetes de Banheiro

Eu nunca nem percebi que tapetes de banheiro têm frente e verso. A única finalidade do tapete pra mim é não deixar o chão do banheiro molhar assim que você sai do banho. Quando ele está pendurado no box, eu o puxo, jogo no chão e arrasto com o pé até mais ou menos a entrada/saída do box, e é isso aí. Depois do banho, piso nele, pego a toalha, e me enxugo sobre o aparato de tecido supracitado.

Tempos atrás, percebi que de repente, havia dois tapetes pendurados sobre o box. Pensei comigo mesmo que devia ser porque a parede onde se encontram as toalhas ficavam a mais de dois passos do box, e o segundo tapete era pra fazer uma ponte até a parede, para não molhar o chão. E desde então é o que eu sempre faço. Um pequeno caminho de tapetes até as toalhas.

Não é que eu estava errado. A finalidade não é essa, e ontem descobri o porquê dos dois tapetes. Segundo o que me foi dito, um dos tapetes é o tapete da minha irmã, que não gosta que eu o use, porque eu o uso ao contrário, do lado errado!!!! E o tapete fica molhado do lado errado!!!! Mal sabe ela que eu uso os dois tapetes ao mesmo tempo!

Pelamordedeus!!! Convenhamos, tapetes, como objetos praticamente bidimensionais e permeáveis, quando se molha uma de suas superfícies, automaticamente se molha a outra! Eu mal percebo a diferença entre o lado da frente e o lado de trás do tapete, na realidade, eu nem sei diferenciar os dois lados. Pra mim é tudo igual! Como alguém pode ser tão chato a ponto de reclamar que se usou o tapete do banheiro com a superfície errada voltada para cima, ou pior, que se molhou a superfícies errada de um tapete de banheiro!??? Será que também tem a posição certa para que ele seja usado? Com o lado menor totalmente paralelo ao vidro do box, e exatos 33,5 cm de distância do mesmo!? Será que esses fatores dependem do tamanho, cor e estilo do tapete? Alguém sabe de algum curso onde se ensina como colocar um tapete no banheiro!? E alguém sabe de alguma maneira de se molhar apenas um dos lados do tapete!? Talvez esse seja meu real problema!!

Só faltam colocarem uma etiquetinha, dizendo qual dos tapetes eu, como um ignorante sobre o uso de tapetes de banheiro, devo utilizar!

De qualquer forma, continuarei utilizando os dois tapetes para fazer a "pontezinha" até as toalhas, enquanto não faço um curso que me ensine os procedimentos corretos que devem ser adotados com os tapetes de banheiro.

Qualquer informação elucidativa sobre tais, agora misteriosos, objetos é muito bem vinda! :P

Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira

Li o livro "Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira" em julho. Inicialmente me assustei com o modo de escrita do autor, José Saramago. Como português, ele utilizou o Português de Portugal, que é bem diferente do nosso Português no Brasil, mas nada que faça o livro incompreesível, só diferente. Aprendi um monte de palavras novas com o livro. Os diálogos sempre ficam dentro dos parágrafos, separados entre si e do texto do parágrafo apenas por vírgulas. É meio confuso no início, mas depois que se acostuma a leitura fica fluida.

A estória é bem interessante. De repente, ocorre uma epidemia de cegueira, pessoas começam a ficar cegas do nada, e a epidemia se espalha por todo um país. As pessoas têm que reaprender a viver cegas. O governo com medo da epidemia, isola todas as pessoas que adquirem a cegueira, presas e vigiadas constantemente dentro de um prédio, mas mesmo assim a epidemia não é contida. O autor narra os fatos que ocorrem dentro do prédio onde os primeiros cegos foram colocados de quarentena. Dentro do prédio, a esposa de um dos cegos se faz de cega para não deixar o marido, mas enxerga tudo o que ocorre. E ela começa a notar toda a degradação que vai ocorrendo enquanto o tempo passa dentro do prédio. As pessoas se tornando cada vez menos racionais, e animalescas.

O livro é chocante muitas vezes, e cheio de escatologias, mas não deixa de ser muito bom. Realismo fantástico. Diferente. E mostra que não existe uma grande diferença entre humanos e animais, e que a linha que divide os dois grupos é muito tênue, e quase imperceptível.

Eu ainda penso sobre o que exatamente o autor quis passar com o livro, mas ainda não cheguei a nenhuma conclusão. Parece que esta semana estréia o filme nos cinemas, e acho que é uma boa assistir, talvez eu pegue algo que não peguei durante a leitura, e consiga chegar a alguma conclusão.

Agora, criei vergonha na cara, e estou lendo Grande Sertão: Veredas - Guimarães Rosa. Apesar da leitura meio difícil estou gostando muito!

Zeitgeist

Sometime ago I watched a movie called Zeitgeist, a documentary that tells some supposed truths about our world. It is full of conspiracy theories, but it is very interesting, and I believe some of the facts there are really true.

The first part is about religion, and that is the scariest but the best part of the movie in my opinion. The second part is about the World Trade Center Incident in 2001, and the last one is about the world economic system.

It is a long movie, about 2h 20min, and it deserves to be fully watched. But first, as you might have your world foundations shaken, and even shattered, be advised to be prepared before hit the link below and play it.

By the way, I love Conspiracy Theories! If I do believe in them? Well, sometimes, but not always...

Here is the link: Zeitgeist - The Movie

Legends of Dune

The "Legends of Dune" is a trilogy of books that tells the story of the Butlerian Jihad, a conflict that defined much of what is known in the Dune Universe. Dune, by Frank Herbert, is one of the best books I have read so far in my life. It is must-read book for any Science Fiction fan. But Dune is not the book I want to talk about here today.

The "Legends of Dune" trilogy is composed by: The Butlerian Jihad, The Machine Crusade, and The Battle of Corrin. The story of these books happens around 10000 years before the original Dune. By that time the human civilization had already colonized a great part of the Galaxy, but was in conflict with the Thinking Machines and the Cymeks. The Thinking Machines had rebelled against its human creators centuries earlier, and since then started to enslave humanity as a mean to create more efficient worlds. Not all human planets were under the influence of the thinking machines, and these planets formed the League of Nobles that fought the machines. The Cymeks are people with human brains and machine bodies, that before Omnius takeover were the ones that ruled humanity ruthlessly.

When the story starts the Machines have already rebelled against humanity around a thousand years earlier, and since then humanity is fighting against Omnius (the Machine Evermind). The Cymeks, led by the Titan Agamemnon, are not under machine control, but they help Omnius, secretly plotting against it, with the real objective of turning all humanity in slaves or cymeks, and ruling the Galaxy again, as was before the machine domination.

The Machines do not comprehend humanity, and just want to create a harmonious and efficient society, and because of that they started to enslave the human worlds. The Cymeks hate humanity, because of their frailty and because of the stagnation and bureaucracy that covered their worlds. And the humans, hate the machines and cymeks because they have enslaved and slaughtered billions of humans over the centuries of conflict.

The "two-sided" conflict was in a stand still, and neither side had gained any terrain against the other for some time. That is the Universe situation when the first book starts.

"The Butlerian Jihad" tells how this conflict that was in a stand still for so long turned into a full scale Jihad against the Machines. "The Machine Crusade" tells about the time some years after the beginning of the Jihad, and also tells about some developments that happened during that time of war in the human side, and also in the machine side. And "The Battle of Corrin" tells about how the war against the machine was won.

Very straightforward, but the fun of these books does not lie in the Jihad exactly, but in how the Universe has been shaped by it. You can see the influence of the Atreides and Harknonnen in the conflict, long before they were named Great Houses. How have begun: the House Corrino, the Bene-Gesserit Sisterhood, the Spacing Guild, the Mentats, and the Freeman. How people started to get addicted in Melange. Why the Tleilax are hated and outlawed all over the Empire. How some of the human technological breakthroughs like the energy shields, the space-folding engines were developed. And obviously why the use of thinking machines, and nuclear weapons was banned by the Empire.

You have to have read at least the original Dune, to savor these books properly, and I am sure that if you are already a Dune fan, you will love these books as I did.

By the end the fanaticism and zeal of humanity against the Thinking Machines were so strong that they seemed to be irrational beasts fighting the machines, using whatever means they could to attain victory. While the Machines were just defending themselves, and fighting because they could not understand the unpredictability of the human mind, always trying to replicate the actions of humans. I can not see any of the Thinking Machines in the books as the great villains, some of the cymeks could be seen as villains, but the greatest of all the villains came from the human side, and no, none of them were a Harkonnen.

The ending of the trilogy was a little too fast for me, a lot of unexpected, stunning and very decisive events happening in the last hundred pages. I did not like that very much, but overall the trilogy of books is a very good one, and I suggest it for anyone who likes Science Fiction.

Idéias à Deriva

Uma lista de textos que eu disse que escreveria, e que até hoje eu não escrevi, mas que podem ser escritos num futuro não tão distante:

1. Acontecimentos do último Reveillon;
2. Minha visão sobre a sociedade americana;
3. Minha opinião sobre a nova edição de Dungeons & Dragons;
4. Dia de Falar como Físico.
   

Agora uma lista de textos que eu já pensei em escrever, e nunca escrevi:

1. A carta aleatória para uma pessoa aleatória;
2. Sobre Smallville;
3. Livros que eu li ultimamente: Ensaio sobre a Cegueira, e a trilogia "Legends of Dune";
4. Sobre a última Escola Avançada de Astrofísica;
   
5. Alguma coisa sobre o Batman (pensei neste hoje);
   
6. Déjà vu (e neste também).

Devem ter outros, do quais não estou me lembrando no momento, mas pode ser que um dia eu volte a lembrar. Talvez eu utilize esta lista para os meus próximos textos, ou talvez eu nunca escreva nada sobre as coisas nessa lista... Quem sabe?

O pior é eu ter ligado o computador, já indo dormir, só pra escrever essa lista. E "déjà vu" é uma coisa deveras sinistra!

THE "Mihalas"

Yes!! Now I have an original copy of the "Stellar Atmospheres" book, by Dimitri Mihalas. The book is like The Bible for everyone who works with Radiative Transfer in Astrophysics. Since I first got my hand in this book, 2 or 3 years ago, this is the number ONE book in my wish list, but, unfortunately for me, the book is out of print since a time immemorial, and no one who I knew have this book would sell it. I could find used versions of the book, but always for more than $200.

Last month, I was browsing through Amazon looking for books to buy, and then I decided to look for it again. Then I saw it, a copy of the book being sold there by less than a hundred dollars. The description was saying the book was in good conditions. Then I thought with myself, or I buy it now, or I will never find such a bargain again in my life. I thought for 2 seconds, before adding it to my shopping cart. And then the waiting started...

Today THE book was delivered at my place, here in Brasil, after a little more than 2 weeks. I was just expecting it by the end of August or maybe even mid-september, but it took only 2 weeks! I was also expecting a somewhat used book, maybe a worn used book, but when I look at it, I was stunned... The book was in an almost perfect condition, and seemed to have barely been used at all. Just some small scratches at the edges of the hardcover, and it is a 30-YEARS OLD book. I am gleeful with my new aquisition!!

NOW I HAVE THE LEGENDARY "MIHALAS"! And I can even dream with my PhD, without remorse of not having "THE Mihalas". I swear that I will put the book to good use, and I will not use its power to strengthen the Evil in this world. It will only be used to bring more Entropy to this dimension! =D

Header Phrases - Battle of Corrin

Greatness had its own rewards... and bears its own terrible costs.
Primero Xavier Harkonnen

The path to victory is not always direct.
Tlaloc

The line between life and death is sharp and quick in the desert.
Admonition to Spice Prospectors

The Universe constantly challenges us with more opponents than we can handle. Why then must we always strive to create enemies of our own?
Swordmaster Istian Goss

Those who have everything value nothing. Those who have nothing value everything.
Raquella Berto-Anirul

War is a violent form of business.
Adrien Venport

Technology should have freed man from the burdens of life. Instead, it imprisoned him.
Rayna Butler

Evolution is the handmaiden of Death.
Naib Ishmael

If there is no plausible hope for survival, is it better to know that you are doomed, or simply exist in the blissful ignorance until the end?
Primero Quentin Butler

When men achieve paradise in this life, the result is inevitable: They go soft, lose their skills, their edge.
Zensunni Sutra

Successful creative energy involves the harnessing of controlled madness. I am convinced of this.
Erasmus

The deadliest of poisons cannot be analyzed in any laboratory, for they are in the mind.
Raquella Berto-Anirul

The Weird that might not be so weird

... and if all those absurd conspiracy theories, that seem to come from the delirious mind of some people, were nothing but a background to confuse, and hide the real conspiracy!?

There are so many weird conspiracy theories around the world, regarding whatever theme suits you best, and most of them are so absurd that it is very easy to simply regard them as just fantasy, bullshit, and the work of a very delirious mind... But, if that was something planned, something carefully woven as the great tapestry of all time. A tapestry of facts, where 99% of them are just too absurd to be believed, but the remaining 1% is not so absurd after all, and actually mirror exactly what is really happening... You look at the bigger picture and all you see is fantasy, illusions, a world that seem so far from the truth that you disregard the whole picture, not even looking at the Real details... Blindness and Disinformation.

Why? Because we think that we are too smart to be deceived. We are simply arrogant in our own blindness. The ones who know the truth, thus can control you, watching your blind life, and laughing at it...

Just a small rant about things yet to come...

Iblis Ginjo, the Counsel of the Jihad, and the Jipol suck!!!

Xavier Harkonnen, Vorian Atreides and Norma Cenva rule!!! \m/,




ALL MY PRAISES TO THE LADY OF PAIN, THE ALMIGHTY RULER AND GODDESS OF SIGIL!! (I wonder how long will it take for HER to find me out, and maze me! =D)

Bolinhas de Gude e Bene Tleilax!

"The spice must flow, and the green transparent marbles must be hated." - The Spacing Guild Handbook of Galactic Paper Folding and Commercial Enterprises

Se tem uma coisa que me deixa MUITO nervoso, são bolinhas de gude! Elas são verdes, e meio transparentes! Tem coisa mais revoltante do que coisas verdes e transparentes!? Claro que não!!

Eu sou verde, entretanto, eu sou totalmente opaco! Aceitável pelos padrões sócio-econômicos normais e pela CNTP! Mas eu não sou mau, e portanto sou a exceção viva à regra: "Se é verde, é mau, e deve morrer!" A maldade está diretamente ligada ao processo de produzir energia através da fotossíntese! Bom... eu acho! Sei que ainda não faço fotossíntese, mas quem sabe um dia!? Mas será que quando este dia chegar, eu serei alguém mau?

Bolinhas de gude são más! Pelo menos hoje, elas são... Amanhã talvez eu sinta um pouco menos de asco em relação a elas, ou talvez eu nem me lembre de que hoje eu as tenha odiado! Ódio é uma palavra muito forte, mas cabe bem no caso... Eu ODEIO queijo, e hoje, bolinhas de gude! Queijo eu sempre odiarei...

O que seria da raça humana se não fossem os médicos!? Minha opinião é a de que seríamos mais baratas, e mais humanos... Homens-baratas!? Não... Antes que perguntem, eu nunca li! O quê!? Se você se sente confuso, não se preocupe, você também nunca leu, o que não importa. Talvez os humanos fossem até mais verdes... Hmmm... Então seriam maus, e deveriam ser exterminados! Azul é uma boa cor... Talvez fossêmos homens-baratas-azuis! Com certeza seria mais divertido...

E o que as bolinhas de gude têm a ver com isso!? Bom, em algum momento você leu que elas eram culpadas de alguma coisa!? Se leu está enganado! Eu simplesmente odeio bolinhas de gude hoje, pelo simples fato de ter que odiar alguma coisa todo dia... Odiar políticos, advogados, e queijo não tem mais graça! Preciso de um ódio novo! Bolinhas de gude verde e transparentes hoje, e amanhã, hmmm... Amanhã é um novo dia!

Vou continuar lendo "The Battle fo Corrin". E eu sinto, também, uma certa repulsa, talvez eterna, pelos Bene Tleilax a partir de hoje... "Axlotl Tanks"!? Tleilax é uma palavra muito legal de se pronunciar, agora Axlotl, eu nem sei se alguma língua terrestre consegue reproduzir tal som com perfeição, mas mesmo assim eu adorei a palavra. O problema é o conceito ligado aos "Axlotl Tanks". Acho que nem mesmo a mais verde é má das criaturas seria capaz de por em prática tal conceito, só os Bene Tleilax mesmo! Deve ser tudo viado!

Small (True) Dialogue

...
GH of Xaos: And if I am GOD?
SM: Then you suck at it!
Both: HAUhAUhUAHuAHuAHUha...
...

Another Day, Another Step

It is been another day, and in this special day, nothing special really happened. Actually, I saw in the news that Iran just tested some long range missiles that stroke their targets accurately. I also discovered that Russia's president is not Vladimir Putin anymore. The new President is Dmitry Medvedev (cool name), and he loves the classical Hard Rock from the 70s and 80s. This guy loves Rock'n'Roll and has nuclear weapons, in just one word, AWESOME! Vladimir Putin now is the prime minister of the Russia Union. I was a little bit outdated on that.

For a while (past few weeks), I thought my code was working fine, but then I found out some inconsistencies in my results, and since two weeks ago I have been then working on that. It is still not working as I expect, and every day it got more and more tedious to debug that. So, no new step here, so far...

One day, I am going to write so many bizarre things here, that I think I will make someone else insane just for read them... Not today, though. Today the only person insane here is me, or maybe someone else, who is already insane, and will read it in the next couple of hours.

I do not think I am the only person in the world who has strange thoughts about Reality. But every time I think about it, for whatever the reason, it seems I simply go more insane. Comprehension and Insanity are best friends in my point of view.

Just to give you a taste of what crossed my mind in my way back home... I was in the bus, almost leaving it, thinking about a myriad things... I was hearing trance music, and then the thought came into my mind: "What if God is this sound sample (2 or 3 seconds of the music playing in my Creative Zen)? No... What if God is that number 3 painted in that wall? Three is a perfect concept after all... Was it?"

This was just a small string of the whole train of thought that started in the same moment I left the lab today. And after that I just became a little more insane... There is no way back, anymore! But whatever, I just love it...

Dance Off With The Star Wars Stars 2008

I have nothing to say here, just watch and laugh! YEAH!!

And here, for the sake of completeness, and more laughter...

Dancing with the Star Wars Stars 2007

"All too easy!"

Just Another Misconceived Idea?

Have you ever had the feeling that due to some hidden process or reason, you are the cause of someone else's bad luck? Worse yet, someone you like very much!

It might be very presumptuous of me to think like that, but when everything seemed to have gone awry just after I became part of this someone's life, and, since that, nothing good seemed to have happened in this person's life, the idea does not seem so misconceived...

Yes! I am crazy, megalomaniac, arrogant, and maybe much more and worse than that... But, beyond that, I do not know what to do, and those feeling are just ripping my soul apart...

.sigh.

Maybe I am doing everything wrong, and it is really all my fault... Damn! May the Elder Gods enlighten me... (This time I swear I want enlightenment, not more confusion and insanity, if there is really a way to not have the whole package together...)

O que faz a água sair da torneira?

Desde que fiz o texto "Sobre Torneiras",várias pessoas já entraram no blog buscando a resposta da pergunta: O que faz a água sair da torneira? Mal sabem as pessoas que fazem essa busca, que este é o blog de um físico, e como bom físico, eu vou tentar explicar da maneira mais complicada possível o porquê da água sair pela torneira!

Isto ocorre devido a um princípio básico da hidrostática, chamado princípio dos vasos comunicantes. Vasos comunicantes é o termo utilizado para designar um sistema de dois ou mais recipientes interligados por dutos fechados, ou seja, todo o sistema de água de uma cidade, é um grande sistema de vasos comunicantes. E segundo a hidrostática, caso o líquido no interior dos tubos seja homogêneo, ele deve atingir a mesma altura em todas os recipientes que se interligam, como ocorre na figura abaixo.


O que faz com que a altura seja sempre a mesma é a pressão. Tanto a pressão atmosférica, quanto a pressão gerada pelo peso do próprio líquido dentro dos recipientes.

Imagine agora, se colocarmos um furo, abaixo do nível do líquido, em cada um dos recipientes. O líquido vai começar a vazar, e se inserirmos um regulador de vazão após o furo, então teremos uma TORNEIRA!!!

Concluindo: Para uma torneira funcionar, temos que ter um sistema de vasos comunicantes, onde a fonte de água, deve estar sempre a uma altura mais elevada que todas as torneira, ou chuveiros, ou qualquer outro aparato que verta água. Caso contrário, não sairá água das torneiras. Por esse motivo, é que todas as caixas d'água existentes, sempre ficam no topo dos edifícios, ou então, são as estruturas mais elevadas em cada região!

É tão simples, que eu nem consegui complicar, e colocar integrais no meio! Bah! :P

Diablo III

It is saturday, 9:20AM, and I am already awake. For a week I have been following some unknown evolution at Blizzard Website. I knew today we would have a bombastic announcement about some unknown game already in development.

I went to their website, and for my surprise, I finally found out what game was the secret all about.


...and there you will find even the first cinematic teaser trailer, and what a tease is that! Also a gameplay trailer, and some scattered information about the game. I can not hold my excitation! But I will need to wait, until 2010, maybe sooner, maybe later, to play this game... But this bombastic information already made my day!!

Strange Sightings

... and so it came to pass that I was inside the bus, going to the University, wondering about something already forgotten, and then over the window I saw it... There... Something that should not be there. Was that my mind playing a trick on me? Was it the true face of reality? Or just the hidden face of Insanity making an ephemeral appearance in my mind? I do not know...

I saw it inside a car that just passed by. For a glimpse of a moment I thought I have just seen something that should not be... I closed my eyes for a while, then blinked two or three times, and looked again... I was not mistaken. There was something very amiss driving that car. There seemed to be an aura of wrongness around that figure, something non-euclidean surrounding that thing... And just in the midst of that aura of insanity was the thing I can not even start to describe, even though I still can see that which should not be clearly in my mind...

That thing was driving the car. It was humanoid, but what else? No tentacles that I could see, though. But I saw it as something shaped by the hands of Entropy Itself... It was not only horrid, but also decayed as I have never seen before... A zombie of some sort driving a car!! How dead was that, I have no idea! Fortunately for me, the sighting was a very rapid one, but I can not take it out of my mind... Am I going insane or are there truly zombies amongst ourselves? And that aura surrounding it, what was it?

And the small green footprints, of a large humanoid beast I have seen in my way home, while I was crossing the Human Sciences Building (FAFICH)? Was that someone's doing, or another trick played by Reality on me?

And there was something else I cannot recall, maybe a selective amnesia to keep my mind from another trauma...

Shall I trust everything I see? Or are really things that are not true!? Or maybe too TRUE to be perceived by common eyes!? Things that the people's mind just filter to not shatter!? Why me??

It can only be The Cube!! I know... It is the Cube hunting me, even in my dreams... And I though I was free... The Cube's minions are after me, after so long, but who are they!? Can I escape? At least, I have not seen any of those Evil Squirrels anymore... It can also be The Rock, or maybe both!! I hope I am not doomed... I will run away... Where? I cannot tell yet, but I will be free from The Cube invisible clutches again... I swear I will!!

Or maybe Entropy is just showing me something... Something that I already know (?), but I have not seen yet...

Os Mil Metros

Finalmente, pela primeira vez, eu consegui nadar 1000m durante a aula de natação!! Fiquei até feliz hoje por causa disso!! \m/,

Tudo porque eu resolvi acompanhar, a menina que estava nadando na raia ao lado da minha. Eu comecei a nadar antes dela, e estava uns 50m na dianteira, e a menina chegou. Começou a nadar, foi nadando, e me alcançando. Quando eu estava nos 500m ela já estava nos mesmos 500m. Consegui por um tempo me manter no mesmo ritmo que ela, mas ela não se cansava, e acabou me passando! Por fim, ela nadou os mesmos 1000m que eu, mas quando ela terminou, eu estava a uma raia de distância. Eu não me importei nenhum pouco, e fiquei bem feliz de ter conseguido os 1000m!! No final, eu fiquei tão empolgado, que ao invés de fazer os últimos 25m na tranquilidade, eu usei minhas últimas forças, nadando "crawl" o mais rápido possível. Não preciso nem dizer, que sai da piscina com o coração quase saindo pela boca, e demorou algum tempo pra eu recuperar o fôlego.

Foi ótimo, e vou tentar acompanhar outras pessoas mais vezes, pra superar meus limites. E quem sabe um dia, eu não acabo deixando essa mesma menina pra trás, respirando espuma. :P

Só pra constar, na minha 1a. aula de natação este ano, eu nadei 500m, e parei por causa de uma mega cãimbra... Finalmente, consegui dobrar a distância! =D

Lost - 4a. Temporada

Ontem, eu finalmente assisti ao último episódio da 4a. temporada de Lost. A 4a. temporada, até agora, foi a melhor temporada sem dúvida alguma, a mais intrigante de todas. E o episódio final, não deixou nada a desejar. O final poderia muito bem ser o final da série, mas não foi, e abriu uma nova trama... Só o futuro dirá sobre as próximas temporadas.

E sobre o final da 4a. temporada eu só tenho um comentário a fazer: "PUTAQUEPARIU, BÁTIMA!!!"

E após assistir, eu fiquei mais de 1h pensando no final, que apesar de ter explicado algumas coisas, me deixou, ao mesmo tempo, totalmente estupecfato!! Durante todo esse tempo, repeti o comentário acima a cada 10 segundos, seguida várias vezes de outras interjeições de espanto, e palavras de baixo calão! Não de maneira revoltosa, mas sim como maneira de expressar a minha satisfação, e ao mesmo tempo meu assombro...

Agora é hora de esperar ansioso alguns bons meses até o início da próxima temporada...

Broken Quasi-Stability

...and when you think your insanity has reached an optimal quasi-stable level, one to which you are fully satisfied, then, suddenly it happens, and your mind starts to play new tricks on you, and madness starts to grow and reshape itself again...

I do not like stagnation, but every time it breaks, I have to learn how to be more and more misleading...

The normal world, which was once the only reality known, is just a faint shadow of the Truth. Before the eyes, just a semi-transparent veil over the unfathomable... Something so alien the mind can barely grasp an ephemeral piece of understanding without shatter... The ephemeral turns to be so deep that seems to be Infinity, and maybe It is that... What remains? Nothing else, but_

I don't think I can pass as a normal person anymore, but who cares? My Peace lies where I am, never in the same place... A wanderer... A daylight dreamer... Dreams or Nightmares? Irrelevant. The only known path, should be cautiously taken, a misstep and obliteration follows.

What I have seen today? Just the usual Purple Tentacle trying to takeover the world.

Instead of writing this, I should have been reading a paper to prepare a seminar... Towards Understanding Massive Star Formation... The usual.

...and oblivious to the world around it, it plots, hidden, unknown, waiting for the time to reveal another ephemeral piece of the Ever-Changing Puzzle, and destroy another quasi-stable view of an already deranged, disarrayed and unstable Reality...

Spread Firefox

Portal

This weekend instead of preparing a seminar I have to present next friday, among other things I played a game called Portal. Portal is a game that came inside a bundle of games called The Orange Box. It is a first-person puzzle game, and it is an amazing game. One of the best, and terrifically funny games I ever played.

In this game you play a female character, who is a test subject inside a science facility runned by a AI called GlaDOS. During the game, the character learns how to use portals to cross various test chambers, and while this happens, GlaDOS makes various comments trying to "help" you with each chamber. The first test chambers are very straightforward, and exist only to teach you the basics of using portals. But they get trickier and trickier until the end of the game. To generate portals you have a Aperture Science Hand-held Portal Device, that can create blue portals or orange portals. Blue and orange portals represent each side of a portal, so if you enter the blue side, you will leave in the orange side, and by placing both portals throughout the chamber you can solve the puzzles. You also have to use some basic laws of physics like momentum conservation to solve some of the puzzles. It took me around 5 or 6 hours to finish the game. It was a very fast game, but an excellent one, and hilarious to say the least.

Here is the game trailer to give you an idea about the game.

The Aperture Science Computer, also known as GlaDOS, is one of the best and funniest characters in any game in my humble opinion, and the Weighted Companion Cube will never be forgotten! If you plan to play this game in the near future and do not like spoilers, DO NOT watch the next video. It is the ending song and might spoil your game play. If you do not care, just watch it, and have fun listening to that. It is fun, but will be funnier if you have already played the game. The song is called Still Alive.

A Small Insight

The answers and the understanding that I seek is clearer today than it was yesterday... There is beauty even in things that look dreary and hopeless... I have seen it... Can you?

...and the quest continues...

Through Fire and Flames

The first time I heard this song was in a Guitar Hero III video, as this is the hardest song to play in that game, and since then I became a fan of Dragonforce. This song is insane!! Pure HEAVY METAL!! Be sure to watch both guitar players playing around 3:30 (simply insane).

THROUGH FIRE AND FLAMES
By DRAGONFORCE

On a cold winter morning, in the time before the light,
In flames of death's eternal reign, we ride towards the fight.
When the darkness has fallen down, and the times are tough all right.
The sound of evil laughter falls around the world tonight.

Fighting hard, fighting on for the steel, through the wastelands evermore,
The scattered souls will feel the hell, bodies wasted on the shore.
On the blackest plains in Hell's domain, we watch them as they go,
Through fire and pain, and once again we know...

So now we're flying we're free, we're free before the thunderstorm,
On towards the wilderness, our quest carries on.
Far beyond the sundown, far beyond the moonlight,
Deep inside our hearts and all our souls...

So far away we wait for the day,
For the lights all so wasted and gone;
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days-
Through the fire and the flames we carry on!



As the red day is dawning, and the lightning cracks the sky,
They'll raise their hands to the heavens above with resentment in their eyes.
Running back through the midmorning light, there's a burning in my heart;
We're banished from a time in a fallen land, to a life beyond the stars.

In your darkest dreams see to believe, our destiny is time,
And endlessly we'll all be free tonight...!

And on the wings of a dream, so far beyond reality;
All alone in desperation, now the time has gone.
Lost inside you'll never find, lost within my own mind,
Day after day this misery must go on!

So far away we wait for the day,
For the lights all so wasted and gone,
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days,
Through the fire and the flames we carry on!



Now here we stand with their blood on our hands,
We fought so hard now can we understand
Ill break the seal of this curse if I possibly can
For freedom of every man!

So far away we wait for the day,
For the lights all so wasted and gone,
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days,
Through the fire and the flames we carry on!

Dust in the Wind

Religion is something interesting. Religious people look at things in a way that does not contradict their beliefs, but instead strengthen their religion, and in this way an every day fact gives them strength. Faith is a source of strength, and makes everything a little bit easier, even when it seems the Multiverse is conspiring against you, and nothing seems to work right. Usually religions are meant to be soothing and to give people hope, even in their darkest hour.

Today I was walking towards my building in the University, and I was thinking about my own religion. The Doomguard, the followers of Entropy. It is a weird religion I admit, and most people might think I am totally insane just to follow such a non-standard concept, and then call this a religion... Anyway, I was walking, hearing music in my MP3 player, wondering, and then, as an omen, it started to play a music called "Dust in the Wind" from a band called "Kansas". And while that happened, I saw for the first time the world in the eyes of a Doomguard. I will not even dare to describe what I saw here, as I do not want to scare you. It was not something soothing, nor gave me any hope, but it was beautiful in a way. And that made me think about life as it is today, not only mine, but everyone's.

In the end, there will be nothing, not even dust, much less wind... So why? We are nothing but tools of destruction, even not knowing. People build and care, but it decays. People create, and time destroys. Life was born, just to die.

All I am now is Confusion, Insanity, Chaos and Conflict... And there is where I have found "Peace" for now, but the search continues... What do I seek? Understanding...



DUST IN THE WIND
By KANSAS

I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind

Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind.
Oh________________

Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, all your money won't another minute buy

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind, everything is dust in the wind (everything is dust in the wind)

Fatos sobre BH

Andei lendo algumas coisas interessantes sobre Belo Horizonte na wikipedia, coisas que eu já não sabia, mesmo morando na cidade. Que BH já não é a terceira cidade brasileira em população eu já sabia a algum tempo, mas eu imaginava que ainda estava na quarta ou quinta posição, mas eu estava errado. Segundo dados do IBGE de 2007, BH já é a sexta cidade brasileira em população, atrás de São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Fortaleza e Brasília. O crescimento populacional de BH já está estagnado a algum tempo, devido a escassez de espaço físico na cidade, e por isso as cidades ao redor é que começaram a ganhar habitantes. A região metropolitana de Belo Horizonte já tem quase 5 milhões de habitantes, e ainda é o terceiro centro metropolitano do Brasil, e o sétimo da América Latina. Em BH, atualmente, vivem em torno de 2,4 milhões de pessoas.

Em compensação existem mais de 1 milhão de carros rodando na cidade, e a cada dia são emplacados em torno de 500 carros pelo DETRAN. Isso faz com que BH seja a segunda colocada em carros por habitante, e por isso o trânsito na cidade está cada vez pior. A área de BH é de apenas 330 km², e isso dá uma densidade de carros de mais de 3000 carros por km².

Eu gosto do fato do crescimento populacional em BH estar estagnado. O crescimento começa a ser mais controlado, e a cidade consegue se desenvolver melhor, e acho que a cidade precisa de melhorias principalmente relacionadas ao transporte de massas. Espero que a Copa de Mundo de 2014, traga coisas boas pra cidade, principalmente um metrô de verdade, e que as outras duas linhas previstas para o metrô realmente saiam do papel, e fiquem prontas até a época da Copa. Senão acontecer, com certeza a cidade vai parar nos próximos anos, com um engarrafamento constante durante todo o dia, principalmente se o crescimento do número de carros não parar. Se as pessoas com carros parassem de andar sozinhas, e oferecessem carona para outras, o trânsito com certeza seria bem melhor. A média de pessoas por carro na cidade é de 1,4 pessoa por carro. Se as pessoas sempre andassem em três dentro dos carros, o número de carros já cairia pela metade, e provavelmente os engarrafamentos seriam bem menores.

Outro fato que eu não sabia é que o PIB de BH é de R$28 bilhões, o quinto maior PIB municipal do Brasil, e 80% dele vem do setor terciário (serviços e comércio), e o restante da indústria. A agricultura é praticamente inexistente em BH.

Mais coisas interessantes sobre BH podem ser encontradas na wikipédia.

P.S.: A população de Brasília segundo o IBGE é de 2,455 milhões de habitantes. Brasília é considerado o único município do Distrito Federal, e portanto dentro desse número está também a população de todas as cidades-satélites do Distrito Federal, e novamente portanto, 2,455 milhões de habitantes é a população do Distrito Federal. Eu acabei de descobrir sobre esses pormenores, graças ao comentário da Mariana! :)

Funny Nerdy Good Old Story

The other day I was talking to a friend, and he made me remember a long forgotten website, full of funny nerdy stories... One of the most funny of all was this: Overclocked Jesus Performs Miracles Faster. It was old, but good stories never get too old...

There are a lot more stories like that in BBspot, but I must update myself... This site was long lost, and now has been found again... The link, now, can be found also in my link roll on the left sidebar.

Exposição Star Wars Brasil

Este texto já devia ter sido escrito a mais tempo, mas tempo para o Blog anda meio escasso, como pode ser notado. Eu estive na exposição Star Wars Brasil, que ainda está ocorrendo em São Paulo, da última vez que estive lá, a pouco menos de um mês. Estava extremamente empolgado, já que é a primeira vez que coisas originais, utilizadas nos filmes, vieram ao Brasil. Não nego meu lado nerd, e sou totalmente viciado em Star Wars. Desde que fiquei sabendo da vinda da exposição ao Brasil, no final do ano passado, quando ainda estava nos EUA, já comecei a fazer planos de visitá-la em SP.

Cheguei no Ibirapuera em torno das 10h da manhã, e como nunca tinha ido ao local anteriormente, demorei um pouco pra encontrar o local onde a exposição estava sendo realizada. Estava com medo de encontrar uma fila enorme na entrada do local. Cheguei a bilheteria, tinha algumas mães com filhos, e um sujeito vestido de Stormtrooper, fazendo poses e tirando foto com os pirralhos. Bem vazio. Paguei os R$30,00 no ingresso, e fui feliz, me dirigindo a entrada. Não tinha fila alguma, e acabei me sentindo com sorte por causa disso.

Entrei, tirei a máquina fotográfica, e comecei a olhar detalhe por detalhe, tirando fotos de tudo que me interessava. Algumas miniaturas de naves, várias roupas utilizadas nos filmes, muitos storyboards, posters, vídeos. Havia também Stormtroopers, Jedis e Leias andando por lá. Fui andando, tirando fotos, lendo informações que eu já estava cansado de saber, desviando de meninos pequenos, e fugindo dos Stormtroopers. Passou pouco menos de 1h, quando de repente, eu percebi que tinha chegado ao final da exposição. Tinha visto tudo em menos de 1h!!

Quando eu gastei os R$30,00, eu imaginei que ia passar pelo menos 4 horas lá dentro, isso se andasse depressa, e foi exatamente o contrário! Depois de perceber que já tinha chegado ao final, resolvi voltar, e ler tudo, e ver todos os vídeos, já que não tinha visto nenhum, e ficar olhando detalhes. Em menos de 2h já tinha feito tudo isso, e estava com a sensação de que aquilo não valeu nem metade do dinheiro que eu tinha pago. Eu vi coisas bem legais lá, a que chama mais atenção com certeza é a réplica de um Imperial Star Destroyer, gigante, com todos os detalhes, e que eu queria roubar de qualquer jeito pra colocar no teto do meu quarto! A fantasia do Boba Fett, com todos os detalhes, em tamanho real também me impressionou. Outras coisas legais: as fantasias de Chewbacca, R2D2 e C3PO originais dos filmes, e os diversos sabres de luz, também originais, utilizados nos filmes. As outras coisas foram legais, mas eu esperava ver coisas mais interessantes. Várias réplicas de naves, mas minúsculas. Modelos em tamanho real de uma speeder bike, e do speeder utilizado por Obi-Wan e Anakin na perseguição em Coruscant no episódio II. Réplica um pouco maior da Millenium Falcon. Várias coisas secundárias, como vários dos vestidos utilizados pela Pádme, um boneco de uma raça esdrúxula que aparece no Episódio III, roupas de Jedis, todas estas, coisas que em outras circunstâncias não fariam muita falta. E algumas maquetes de cenários. Não vou reclamar das coisas que não fariam a menor falta, já que se não as tivesse, ao invés de 2h pra ver tudo duas vezes, eu teria gasto 10 minutos! :P

Depois de todo o alarde feito em cima dessa exposição, eu não imaginava que era uma coisa minúscula. A maior parte das coisas que estavam a mostra eram legais, mas eram muito poucas. E o preço do ingresso está super-faturado, e não vale de jeito nenhum, a não ser que você utilize sua carteira de estudante e pague meia entrada. Como não renovei a minha carteira de estudante a tempo tive que pagar a entrada inteira. (Bah!!)

Se você for fã, vá com dinheiro sobrando, porque no saída da exposição tem a lojinha com um monte de coisas legais pra se comprar, e a tentação é muito grande, e, infelizmente, tudo é muito caro. No final, acabei comprando uma caneca e uma camisa, após juntar toda minha força de vontade para resistir, e não comprar uma réplica da Millenium Falcon.

What D&D Character are You?

I Am A: Chaotic Neutral Human Fighter/Sorcerer (2nd/1st Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-12

Dexterity-11

Constitution-13

Intelligence-15

Wisdom-17

Charisma-10


Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those different from himself suffer). A chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it. Chaotic neutral is the best alignment you can be because it represents true freedom from both society's restrictions and a do-gooder's zeal. However, chaotic neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it seeks to eliminate all authority, harmony, and order in society.


Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.


Primary Class:
Fighters can be many things, from soldiers to criminal enforcers. Some see adventure as a way to get rich, while others use their skills to protect the innocent. Fighters have the best all-around fighting capabilities of the PC classes, and they are trained to use all standard weapons and armor. A fighter's rigorous martial training grants him many bonus feats as he progresses, and high-level fighters have access to special melee maneuvers and exotic weapons not available to any other character.


Secondary Class:
Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

P.S.: As you can see, my path was totally wrongly chosen!! Damn it!! I will have to start from scratch! :P

P.S.S.: Looking at the result in a more detailed way, I have noticed that I have the same score in the fighter, sorcerer and wizard classes (4 points in each). Due to my ability scores, I guess I would be a better mage/fighter, instead of a fighter/sorcerer. But I did not change the test results. :P


Detailed Results:

Alignment:
Lawful Good ----- XXXXXXXX (8)
Neutral Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (17)
Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (19)
Lawful Neutral -- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (16)
True Neutral ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (25)
Chaotic Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (27)
Lawful Evil ----- XXXXX (5)
Neutral Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14)
Chaotic Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (16)

Law & Chaos:
Law ----- XX (2)
Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXX (11)
Chaos --- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)

Good & Evil:
Good ---- XXXXXX (6)
Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14)
Evil ---- XXX (3)

Race:
Human ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Dwarf ---- XXXX (4)
Elf ------ XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)
Gnome ---- XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Halfling - XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)
Half-Elf - XXXXXXXXXXX (11)
Half-Orc - XX (2)

Class:
Barbarian - (-4)
Bard ------ (-2)
Cleric ---- (-4)
Druid ----- XX (2)
Fighter --- XXXX (4)
Monk ------ (-21)
Paladin --- (-21)
Ranger ---- XX (2)
Rogue ----- (-6)
Sorcerer -- XXXX (4)
Wizard ---- XXXX (4)

Random Thoughts

Sometimes The Dreaming is much more cruel than the real life...

I have a feeling that a war is about to start... But that was just a mad dream... and cruel, not because of the war...

I think COPOM sucks! And they really do not understand nothing about economy, or they do not really care for the real economic growth of Brasil.

The second season of my game started yesterday... Time to put fear again in the heart of my players!

Eu sou a favor da regulamentacão (o cedilha não está funcionando no meu teclado) da profissão de Físico.

P.S.: The last thought was written in portuguese mainly because I don't know how to say "regulamentacão" in english. It is also just a matter of internal politics, that I don't think concern anyone but the Brazilian physicist population.

Trip to São Paulo

This past weekend I had a fast trip to São Paulo. A friend of mine married last Saturday, and I decided to use the trip to visit the Star Wars Exposition that is happening in the city.

I took the bus last Friday at 23:45. The trip was uneventful. I was in the windows seat, but no one was sitting by my side, so I was quite confortable. Before leaving home, my mom was telling me to take a coat with me, but for me it was just too warm to even think about using a coat, so I just ignored her advice. But during the trip I regretted that... I don't know what crosses the mind of these bus companies, when they decide that a comfortable temperature inside the bus during the trip is something around 16 or 17 Celsius or even below that. I was very tired, for the first time in my life I thought that I could sleep in a bus trip, but that cold made it impossible for me. I just felt the cold all night long, nothing that would kill me, but enough to trouble my sleep. I am not sure if I gauge the temperature properly, but it was below a comfortable temperature threshold, that in my opinion is around 20 degrees Celsius, not only below, but far below that. For a while I was praying for the AC to break... The best moments were when the bus stopped in the road and they turned the AC off.

I arrived in SP, and the heat was on again. Not as warm as Belo Horizonte, but uncomfortable too. I took the subway to go to the hotel, and when I arrived at the hotel it was around 9:30 in the morning. Needless to say that I could not check in, and I had to wait until noon to go to my room. I decided to leave my bag at the hotel - they charged me a small fee, of course - and then explore the region to find a way to the Ibirapuera Park, where the Star Wars Exposition is still being held. I asked around for a while, and then found my way to the Park and to the exposition. I will talk about this Exposition in another post, but I will just say that 2h after I arrived there, I was leaving to the hotel again.

I had to ask for how to go to the hotel again, but I found my way. When I arrived there it was around 13:30, and I could proceed with my check-in, and after a while I had the keys to my room.

After a well deserved shower - after an 8h trip, and then after more than one hour walking under the scorching Sun - I decided to leave and look for a place to lunch. I found a place, an excellent one, the food was tasty, and it was a self-service. After I weighted my plate, and the woman there said me the price, I was stunned for some seconds... It was one of the most expensive self-services I have been in my life. I had to take a deep breath, then I paid for the food, and ate... At least, the food was delicious... I got back to the hotel and took a nap.

My company to the wedding were two sisters. One of them was a long time friend, and they came from Brasília. They arrived at the hotel around 19:30. And the wedding was at 21h. We went to the wedding - it deserves another post - after that to the party, and then we got back to the hotel.

Sunday was a very straightforward day. I wake up, took my breakfast, packed my stuff, checked-out. I said goodbye to my two friends, got to the bus terminal to take a bus back to Belo Horizonte. The trip was during the afternoon, uneventful, but this time the AC was in a more moderate temperature. It was possible to take naps from time to time.
I arrived back home at 23h, and that was it.

During the this trip I had ideas for some posts, three of them concerning this trip, and others were just random ideas. More on that in the next days...

P.S.: Always take into consideration your mom's advice when she says you will need a coat or an umbrella... :P

Sobre Torneiras

Alguns dias atrás eu estava observando alguns detalhes aqui em casa, quando uma coisa me chamou a atenção. Durante minha estadia nos EUA, meus pais resolveram reformar partes da casa, e quando eu voltei, encontrei meu quarto totalmente reformado, além de reformas em um dos banheiros, e pequenas mudanças do lado de fora da casa. O detalhe que me chamou a atenção, apesar de já fazer parte da casa antes, mas que depois da reforma acabou me deixando bastante intrigado, foram as torneiras.

A maior parte dos chuveiros e pias aqui em casa possuem pares de torneiras, e sempre uma com algum sinal de cor azul, e a outra de cor vermelha, o que supostamente indicaria água quente e água fria, não nesta ordem. Desde que eu moro nesta casa, o que faz MUITO tempo, nunca houve água quente nas torneiras das pias, e nem água fria nos chuveiros (apenas quando os chuveiros queimavam, ou o disjuntor desarmava, ou no caso do chuveiro desligado), portanto as duas torneiras nunca foram necessárias. E eu sempre imaginei, que os pares de torneiras um dia se tornariam totalmente funcionais, com a instalação de um suposto aquecedor (elétrico, ou solar, ou nuclear, ou gravitacional,ou positrônico, ou a gás, ou transdimensional, ou de anti-matéria, etc...). O fato é que o aquecedor nunca fez questão de dar as caras aqui em casa, e nem foi ao menos procurado, pelo menos não nos últimos 27 anos.

Ao notar a reforma do banheiro, e constatar uma translação e rotação na posição da pia, e consequentemente a mudança das torneiras do lugar. E o mesmo acontecendo com o chuveiro, e suas torneiras, conclui que houvera a mudança no sistema de encanamentos do suposto recinto. Mas o que me intrigou foi que os pares de torneiras ainda continuam presentes... Eu não acho que vá haver a instalação de nenhum aquecedor aqui em casa nas próximas décadas. Mas mesmo assim, as torneiras "azul" e "vermelha" foram mantidas. O mais estranho é que ao abrir a segunda torneira, não há o menor sinal de fluxo de água... Fico imaginando se a torneira não estaria ligada a um pedaço de cano isolado dentro da parede, entre dois pontos aleatórios, sem cruzar nenhuma conexão de água. Antes da reforma, pelo menos costumava sair água, mesmo que de maneira inconstante, das torneiras secundárias, agora não há nem fluxo de ar...

Esse não é um problema apenas da minha casa. Já vi várias casas com pares de torneiras, que deveriam ser de água quente, e de água fria, mas que no fim das contas não possuiam nenhuma funcionalidade além da redundância, e às vezes nem isto, sendo apenas um detalhe estético. Um gasto inútil de recursos monetários na minha opinião. Vou tentar descobrir a funcionalidade dessas torneiras com meus pais, afinal eles devem ter feito isso por algum motivo sinistro, desconhecido pela minha mente...

Isso me faz lembrar do primeiro problema técnico que eu tive que resolver quando cheguei aos EEUU. Não sabia como a torneira do hotel funcionava, e fiquei um tempo tentando descobrir como fazer pra que a água brotasse daquele aparato, que na época, parecia alienígena. Alguns minutos de ponderações depois, acabei descobrindo o segredo. Não existem pares de torneiras lá, e na mesma torneira vc consegue regular o fluxo de água quente e fria, e deixar a água na temperatura mais confortável para o indivíduo. Ao se girar a torneira da esquerda para direita, ou vice-versa, você seleciona se quer a água mais fria ou mais quente (na maioria dos casos), e para controlar o fluxo de água desejado, você deve levantar ou abaixar a torneira. Todas elas parecem alavancas com dois graus de liberdade. Eu demorei alguns minutos girando as torneiras-alavancas de um lado pro outro, me perguntando se por acaso a água do meu quarto não havia acabado, e quase indo reclamar na recepção do hotel. Mas, felizmente, descobri o segundo grau de liberdade da torneira-alavanca antes de passar vergonha na recepção. :P

Após minha mudança para o primeiro apartamento, tive outro problema com torneiras. A torneira-alavanca da pia da cozinha ficava pingando. E todo dia, eu tinha que descobrir a posição exata que ou fazia a água parar de vazar, ou pelo menos minimizava a taxa de pingos por unidade de tempo. Claro, tal ponto de mínimo variava aleatariamente e após cada uso do aparato. Ou seja, após lavar as vasilhas, havia um divergente negativo de minutos, durante o processo de busca pelo elusivo ponto de mínimo.

Finalmente, quando mudei pra segunda casa, outro problema com torneiras. Desta vez com a torneira-alavanca do chuveiro-banheira. Ao invés de dois graus de liberdade, essa só tinha um grau de liberdade. Nos primeiros momentos, eu fiquei tentanto girar a alavanca de um lado pro outro sem sucesso, ela nem se mexia. Tanto o fluxo de água, quanto a temperatura da água eram controlados apenas por um grau de liberdade. Você puxava a torneira para cima, e a água começava a jorrar, e se você levantasse mais a água ficava mais quente, e se abaixasse a água ficava mais fria. Além disso tinha uma trava, que dependendo da posição fazia a água ou sair pela torneira para encher a banheira, ou então sair pelo chuveiro. Parecia óbvio, mas foram alguns minutos até o momento de elucidação sobre o funcionamento do sistema torneira-alavanca-trava-banheira-chuveiro. Orgulho-me de ter conseguido, sem ter necessitado de ajuda de ninguém, ou em outras palavras, sem ter passado vergonha. :P

Se você leitor, algum dia resolver visitar os EUA, já sabe como as torneiras funcionam por lá, e se você estiver com sede, e a pessoa pegar um copo e enchê-lo com água da torneira e te oferecer, não se assuste, é assim que funciona na maioria das vezes, e ninguém morre com cólera...

P.S.: O último texto foi o número (6 x 6 x 6).

Break... through... .sigh.

At long last, a small one, but a long sought breakthrough ... But I still hate Fortran 77!! More on that tomorrow...

My pre-cambrian communication device was also, finally, retired... It has been replaced by a more modern communication device, more akin to this geological Aeon and to the current state of technological development of the human civilization... :P

.sigh. (very tired)

Random Swimming and Playing...

Life in Brasil is almost as before I left the country last year. I am back to the swimming classes, and how I missed that while I was in the US. Every muscle of my body is in pain at this very moment, but I love this kind of pain... Yesterday I swam 450 m, and just before the end of the class I had a cramp. I was barely able to walk after that, I had to stop and the stretch my calfs until the pain passed... Today I swam 650 m, and no cramps, but I was dead after the class. It is just the beginning...

Sometimes I feel a void inside of me, and I don't know why I feel like that, because there is really no reason for it to be like that.

I am almost beating Rock Band, playing the guitar, in the hard mode, and I even started to play some songs in the expert mode. I am stuck in "Enter Sandman" by Metallica at this time. Each time I play this game, I have the feeling that I really should start playing something like electric guitars or bass.

Finally, the weather seems to be getting cooler.

I am having this crazy idea about letting my hair grow again to the point of a green-power hair, as I am green and not black. I hope this idea leaves my mind soon...

I did not forget about "The Day to Talk Like a Physicist", it was two weeks ago, but as I do not care about this temporal conventions, I still have time to talk like a physicist and post something about it in the near or far future... It all depends on my inspiration.

And, yes, I am back...

What is in my jukebox right now!? Superbeast by Rob Zombie...

I need to go home, and maybe find a new cell phone for me... I am back using my pre-cambrian communication device... Maybe another day, or yesterday in another life, but not today in this life... The music is over, so the post is done...

The Lethean Waters washed it away...

Sometimes we write things that seem to be plain innocent to us, but when we realize we have already hurt someone, and this someone might be the last person in the world you want to hurt. I did that twice in a matter of hours, and I am deeply sorry...

Today I am going to Goiânia to meet my girlfriend and spend the rest of the week with her. I dreamed about this moment for four months, and I almost lose it all due to some misplaced words at the wrong time... I love her, and I don't want to lose her...

I will probably not write anything else until next week. This will be a holiday very far away from computers, and I am sure it will be worth the four months of waiting. I will also use this time to rethink some things in my life... Things that have to change, and I want her to help me with that.

From next week onwards, everything will already be settled here again, and I will start to post more again. I have to fill a report about my 10 months away in the United States, and then I have a lot work to do. And of course, the gaming season starts again! I can't stand any more time without playing RPG... I will use some of my spare time during this week to plan my next game session, and players be ready for some hack and slash! :P

Last 19 hours...

So it is time to go back to Brasil again. These are my last hours in Ann Arbor. In this moment I am much more sad than anxious. Sad not because I don't want to go back to Brasil, but because I had to say "goodbye" to a lot of people I will surely miss. I never thought it would be so difficult to go back home.

I can say for sure, that the time I spent here will never be forgotten. It was one of the most amazing, and challenging experiences in my life. I am sure I am not the same Gustavo that left Brasil almost 10 months ago. When I arrived in Ann Arbor, I was totally alone, I did not knew anyone, and had no place to stay but a hotel room. It was fun to start everything from 'zero', but it was not easy. I survived more than one month without having a computer, and almost three months without Internet at home. I could barely understand what people said to me, and it was almost impossible to follow conversations. I lived totally alone for 2 months, and I had to learn how to cook basic stuff, and how to take care of my place (that is fun actually). During these 2 months there were days when I talked to no one at all... Many days without saying a simple word to anybody. And sometimes I felt really depressed... I also had a hurting heart, that was still trying to heal...

A lot changed after that. I don't know if all the changes were for the good though, but I learned a lot here. My cooking skills have improved a little bit (I guess I have 2 points of cooking, instead of just one). Now I am able to follow most of the conversations I hear, and I had not problem in understanding people talking in English anymore. My heart is fully healed now, and ready for the nearby future... I have met a bunch of people. Some of them just passed through my life, and I am sure I will never hear about them anymore. People that I thought were friends, but turned to be a great disappointment. And people who I will remember through all my life, and I really hope to meet again someday...

My last few days here showed my a critical fault in my personality, and something that must be changed at all costs.

My view about the United States, and the Americans had changed totally while I was here too. But I will tell about it in another post, in the near future.

I just wanted the World to be a smaller place...