Merry Xmas

Dial-up sucks. I've been Xmas-ing for the past few days, spending time with the folks, fighting my allergies and so on.

Cryptonomicon is so much better this time through. More later.

Me out.

Pre Cryptonomicon

Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon is one of the geekiest books I’ve ever read. The massive volume of historical fiction explores the evolution of currency, cryptography, technology and geography through parallel stories of the fictitious families, the Waterhouse family (geeks) and the Shaftoe family (grunts) during World War II and the boom of the Internet.

Not only the book is action packed, funny, extremely geeky (equations!) and fun, but also features an incredible level of historical accuracy. I decided to reread the book, but not after doing my own research on these subjects.

If you are planning to read Cryptonomicon, or have more of a passing interested in World War II, I suggest that you study some of the following. I have included only some of the highlights, hoping that it will help you to have a fuller experience with the novel. Go ahead, bookmark this post and consult it later.

Required studying before reading Cryptonomicon:

Battle of Wits – This history book is the real life counterpart to Cryptonomicon. Quite technical, but at the same time, action packed (the one and only Ian Fleming is in it), it describes the cryptographic efforts during the war and how they redefined what we now think of Intelligence. It is a must read. I’m pretty sure that Stephenson read this book and that is how he came up with the idea for Cryptonomicon.

The Second World War – This book does a really good job of making sense out of the overwhelmingly complex War. It serves as an excellent overview of the subject.

This page has a funny as hell summary of WW2, as if it was a chat room in an internet game.

Alan Turing: The Enigma – This biography is so detailed that it is creepy and somewhat tedious. But, since Al is one of the most important characters in Cryptonomicon, it is a must read. Also, the analysis of Turing’s most important papers make this one a winner if you have some interest in the history of computation. Just skip through the boring parts of his life at the end.

Tora! Tora! Tora! – It is a historical reenactment of the events that lead to the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. The script is merely expository (read: dumbed down), but it is an accurate and simple way to understand what happened. Also, pay attention to the attack on Nevada, you can almost see Lawrence Waterhouse playing in the band.

Other references that are pretty good too:

Hammond Atlas of World History – I have reviewed this book before, and again is the reference I turn to over and over. At least make yourself the favor of checking it out at your library and studying the maps related to WW2. Everything will make more sense after you do that.

The Ultimate National Geographic WWII Collection – This documentary used a lot of real footage from the war, and is an easy way to understand many of the most important battles.

Das Boot – It is the best submarine movie ever. Although it is very long, it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It will help you understand what the marine Bobby Shatoe encountered in some of his adventures; a must see if you are interested in war movies or naval adventures. Even Stephenson says that he studied this movie before writing the book.

Band of Brothers – The critically acclaimed HBO mini-series directed created by Spieldberg is a reenactment of the adventures of the 101st Airborne during the American offensive starting in Normandy all the way to the Eagle’s Nest. Excellent!

References for the hardcore only:

This website features some vintage educational posters on the American technology during the war.

Patton – This fun movie is a character study on the eccentric American general of the same name. Not so useful for understanding Cryptonomicon, but a good movie overall.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich – This is a historical volume on the history of Germany that lead to the beginning and end of the War. Obviously very biased, but at the same time, extremely detailed. If you are into political intrigue, or want to really understand what the hell was that dude with the Chaplin mustage all about, this is the book. Warning: It is very long and dense.

The Rising Sun : The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 – It is the pacific side counter part of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Less on the political intrigue, and more into the warfare, it is an excellent book. Long, but easy to read. Oh, and it even talks about the warnings given to the marines about huge lizards in the pacific, just like the one encountered by Bobby Shaftoe.

Check out this link to hear the mp3 of Roosevelt’s speech after the Pearl Harbor Attack.

Grave of the Fireflies – This anime portrays the Nipponese suffering during the American firebombing campaign on Tokyo. Depressing.

Edo-Tokyo Museum – If you happen to be in Tokyo, try to visit this museum. It might help you understand the Japanese perspective on the War.

Enigma: The Battle for the Code – It is an extensive study focusing on the anglo efforts trying to break the german Enigma cryptographic engine. Read it if you really want to understand the machine.

This website has a cool java applet modeling Enigma that might help too.

Why should you care about this long list? Well, first of all, I feel that I have tapped into many of the resources that Stephenson himself studied. Second, you will understand many of the subtler aspects of Cryptonomicon after studying these. Finally, because WW2 is a very interesting period in history, not only politically, but technologically.

the kobbo diet

Definitivamente una de las figuras puertorriqueñas mas ilustres de las ultimas decadas es Kobbo Santarosa. Su show compite directamente con las noticias poniendo su credibilidad al nivel de los reporteros del canal 11. Ahora descubrimos otra faceta de tan talentoso productor de television.

Kobbo Santa Rosa: Ganador del Worldwide Contest Challenge
La insipiracion de Kobbo fue la gente que le dijo que no podria terminar el reto. Perdio 20 libras y bajo su porciento de grasa de 20.3% a 10.9%.

vamos a ver si ponen al paparazzi en la dieta de Kobbo.

Perdona, sa'e

La popularidad del reggaeton ha desplazado la salsa; no negaré que mi pasión cocolística me hace resentir mucho este género. Todo comenzó hace unos años cuando muchos salseros empezaron a darle espacio a cantantes de reggaeton en su música para validar este género de bajísima calidad de producción.

Puerto Rico se caracteriza por excelentes producciones musicales, así que no me puedo explicar por qué quedan tan flojas las pistas y los efectos de distorción de las voces. Pero lo que se lleva la corona de la tecatería eran los primeros videos de reggaeton. En imitación al gangsta-style americano, pero con pocos fondos para su producción, trataban de representar el exceso bling-bling poniendo segmentos de tipas chonchi en bikinis bailando en puentes peatonales que interrumpían al rapero que era circulado por motoras brilladas corriendo en una cancha de baloncesto de un caserío. Hubiera sido más interesantes si hubieran puesto las motoras en el puente peatonal, y las tipas en bikinis corrieran dando vueltas en la cancha de baloncesto para que rebajaran el chicho.

Creo que el evento que marca la muerte de la salsa fue el video de "He chocado con la vida" de Tito Rojas y Big Boy. El video no lo dejaban de repetir en el canal siete, y siempre me daba mucha risa como el director pensó que resultaría interesante visualmente que la cámara no apuntara a El Gallo Salsero, si no a su hombro, que daba un efecto de camarografo borracho. Estos visuales intercalaban los de Big Boy destruido emocionalmente (ja!) contemplando el carro accidentado.

Cómo dicen 3 Kings: Más charros que Chevy.

Why I will never get married

As you might remember, my best friend is getting married. Since we are both living away from where the wedding is (Puerto Rico), and from each other, planning is mostly done through phone and email.
My mother is in Puerto Rico, and she is constantly asking me about his wedding plans. She is always frustrated with my lack of knowledge of the most minuscule details of the wedding, and then she assumes that since I don't know, those details haven't been dealt with by the wedding planner. This empowers her to feel like she is the wedding planner, and she pounds me with things like "Tell him not to forget to [insert random wedding thing that I didn't even know existed]"
I know she is just trying to be helpful, but today it was too much and while on the phone she was driving me crazy and made me think that maybe inserting splinters under finger nails wouldn't be as bad as dealing with her. I invented an excuse to cut her off.

Yes, I am a bad son and I will burn in hell next to the cannibals.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

For some reason in the past year I have ended up reading a lot of incredibly heavy books. I tend to read in bed, just before going to sleep, and now I think balancing huge heavy books in my belly should count as working out.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes consists of three volumes of 22.5lbs*1/3 weight each. This includes every Calvin and Hobbes comic ever published. C&H has a very peculiar charm: when it doesn't make you laugh, it makes you understand. The art is wonderful, to the point that sometimes the story isn't necessary. Sometimes the writting is just really witty with simple drawings. But it always carries this magical warmth to it, sort of like reading hot chocolate in a cool night while playing with plastic dinosaurs.

As a comic book collection, it isn't as good as it could have been, especially after being spoiled with The Complete Far Side. Those feel sturdier and more durable. Also, they have a lot of extras and comments on the comics and the responses that they produced. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes seems simpler in comparison with no extras.

But, then again, it is every single Calvin & Hobbes ever published. If you like C&H, go buy it now. If you aren't familiar with them, borrow them from a friend. You will understand the joy and sadness of what Calvin once said:

It's a magical world, Hobbes, Ol' buddy ... let's go exploring.

Cheese Koan

There are cheeses made out of the following animals' milk:

buffalo
camel
cow
ewe
goat
mare
reindeer
yak

That is, cheese can be made out of almost every mammal that can be farmed, and then some.

But what about pig? I don't know. Pig milk must be really nasty or something.

Think about that.

Velociraptors in Puerto Rico

I posted about this site in the old, long gone blog. It is full of clever Christian extremist satire. But, there is this new jewel in it: Project Pterosaur.

Mission Statement

The goal of Project Pterosaur is to mount an expedition to locate and bring back to the United States living specimens of pterosaurs or their fertile eggs, which will be displayed in a Pterosaur Rookery that will be the center piece of the planned Fellowship Creation Science Museum and Research Institute (FCSMRI).

Of course.

Why Look For Living Pterosaurs?

[...] By finding and displaying living examples of what the Evolutionists claim is impossible, we will sow the seeds of Evolutionism doubt, thereby making the public receptive to the truth of the Bible.

Yes, but why not some other dinosaur.

While there are other extant creatures which Evolutionists claim have gone extinct long before man, they are not as ideal for our purposes as pterosaurs. Some of the alternatives are:

[...] Velociraptors: Today terrorize the goat herders of Puerto Rico and are rumored to guard the remains of the Ark. They have become vicious since the Fall as the result of the effects of genetic entropy, making them too dangerous for the sort of interactive public experience we have in mind.

Just picture it, Chemo Jones in Jurassic Park.

Please, don't confuse the cheese with cocaine

The grocery store nearby has an excellent selection of cheeses; and the woman who cuts the cheese is my friend's aunt. She is always recommending new good cheeses for me to try. I am not a cheese expert or anything, but I can recommend a few practical choices.

My favorite kind? It is hard to say, but I find myself constantly buying the king of cheeses, Brie de Meaux. With bread, crackers, wine or just by itself is incredible. I tend to like goat cheeses too, and a very malleable one is the famous Feta. It goes perfect on salads, sandwiches and anything with hummus. At some point in life, everyone should make a pizza with real, fresh Mozzarella. Smoked Gouda is a great fondue cheese. Queso fresco with black beans is another winner. Good ham is the best sidekick to Manchego. Also, check out the cheap Laughing Cow. I am not sure if it is cheese, ("processed milk product" it says), but it is a delicious spread that you can put on anything to make it better.

I just love cheese.

But cheese is not cocaine.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - In an unusual case of mistaken identity, a woman who thought a block of white cheese was cocaine is charged with trying to hire a hit man to rob and kill four men. [...] A search of the home with the permission of the occupants revealed no drugs, only the white, crumbly cheese common in Mexican cuisine.

por favor, no lo dejen salirse con la suya

Tufo es definido por la real academia española como "Emanación gaseosa que se desprende de las fermentaciones y de las combustiones imperfectas." Todos hemos sido victimas de algun tufo en algun momento de nuestras vidas. Para aquellos que han cogido guagua pública, debe de ser muy conocido el tufo que emanan los sobacos de la gente que hace compras en Capri de Rio Piedras.
Contrario a la creencia popular, la peste bubónica (o peste biónica segun cierto prócer puertorriqueño) no es un tufo si no una simple enfermedad infecciosa. Otras pestes que no deben de ser confundidas con tufos son las pestes que acompañan al Hercólobus. Aún no se ha podido determinar si los Pitufos poseen algun olor caracteristico que sirviera como inspiración para darles este nombre.
Algunos bandidos han adoptado el nombre de "Tufo" en un intento por dañar la reputacion de nuestros amigos mal olientes. A continuación, un caso directo desde Nicaragua de las fechorias que están dispuestos a realizar estos rufianes.

«El Tufo» es grosero

LA PAZ CENTRO, LEON, (Especial, por Leo Cárcamo).- Un sujeto conocido con el sobrenombre de «El Tufo», sin mediar palabra alguna le asestó una pedrada a Luis Andrés García Rojas, quien recibió el impacto en la cabeza, exactamente en la región parietal derecha.

El agredido fue trasladado de urgencia al centro de salud de esta localidad, donde el médico de turno orientó que le realizaran doce puntadas en la herida. «El Tufo», después de cometer el hecho, se dio a la fuga, informó el teniente Yáder Toval, de Seguridad Pública de la Policía Paceña, quien aseguró que este antisocial caerá de un momento a otro en prisión.

Just in case you aren't tired of the Medal yet

Just in case you aren't tired of me posting about the Medal, I have yet another one. Here is another article, this one about the appeal process.

TEN SCIENTISTS on Saturday sent an appeal to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on the wrongful omission of the Indian physicist E.C.G. Sudarshan, a professor at the University of Texas, Austin, United States, from this year's Nobel award in physics.

It explains a bit of the controversy too:

Dr. Glauber, in fact, gave it a new name, the P-representation, as if he had discovered it but went on to make inaccurate assertions as well. He had claimed that the P-representation was valid only in the limit of high intensity whereas Prof. Sudarshan's diagonal representation is, in fact, valid for all fields, whether of low, high or intermediate intensity.

Yuca Warning!!!

Pancha's Kiosk, Philippines - In a story right out of a Shakespearean play, several dozens of people in the Philippines are in critical condition for eating poisonous yuca (cassava).

Nearly 30 elementary school children in the Philippines have died after eating fried cassava balls obtained from a vendor

Yuca is a poisonous root, and proper care has to be taken to extract its cyanide-related compounds. By carefully pressing the tubercle, the dangerous liquid can be extracted. Taí­no indians fermented this milky liquid to create a dangerous liquour-like substance. This should not be tried at home.

The victims suffered severe stomach pain, then vomiting and diarrhea after eating the snack during morning recess

The most common and safe way to prevent yuca poisoning is by cooking well the yuca. Raw yuca should be avoided at all costs! The vendor claimed to have carefully cooked the yuca treats.

The vendor who sold the cassava balls insisted nothing was wrong with them and ate a few to prove the point. Now she, too, is in critical condition.

Make sure you discuss with your children the dangers of yuca treats.

The p is for pana and Papitito

I'm craving some fried Pana, (breadfruit) with a tomato sauce to dip 'em in. Delicious. It is very starchy, so it can be boiled, broiled and baked; but as most starchy foods (like plantains) they taste better deepfried. After all, fats and starches go hand in hand in the kitchen. El almidón y la manteca son panas.

The most common variety in Puerto Rico is the seedless kind. There is also a seeded variety known as Pana de Pepita. Pana de Pepita's seeds are traditionally boiled, then pan fried a bit, and eaten. Its flatulence-producing properties are legendary, and this is why the seeds carry the nickname Rompe Matrimonios ("Marriage-breakers").

Pana skin is very hard, and peeling it is a very difficult task that should be left to experienced Dones or Doñas. Also, pana grows in trees that can be more than 60' tall, and the fruit itself can be the size of a small watermelon.


My greatgrandfather, Papitito, took care of his farm until he was 86 years old (85? his documents were contradictory about his age). One day he was walking around the farm and got hit on the head by a big pana from a very tall pana tree. He was never the same again, and at this early age had to retire from his farming hobby and focus solely on his sitting-at-the-porch hobby. He only lived until he was 99 years old (98?) after this. Who knows how long this blooming life would have lasted if he had taken the safety precautions of proper pana manipulation?


There are certain safety rules that should be followed around panas or pana-prone environments to make panas fun and safe:

1) Wear safety shoes. There isn't something worse than stepping on a rotten pana and falling down, or caerse como pana.

2) Wear safety goggles. A lot of mimes (fruitflies) live in these pana areas, and can enter your eyes. Blowing air constantly also keeps them out of your mouth and nose.

3) Inspect the pana before eating it. Panas can get fermented, and those should be discarded. When in doubt, do not operate heavy machinery after consuming bad panas.

4) Do not run around the house with pana-cutting knives. Knives appropriated for pana-cutting should be very sharp, and are extremely dangerous.

5) Plan ahead. Do not consume Pana de Pepita before important social events such as weddings, graduations, baptisms or sexual intercourse.

6) Lift with your knees, not your back. Back injuries are common in the pana industry.

7) When transporting panas, keep an eye on them at all times. Do not leave them unattended, and do not carry panas for people that you don't know.

8) Wear a construction helmet. Heavy fruits that can fall from very high trees tend to convert all their potential energy into kinetic energy, and a direct hit cause permanent injury, or even death.

If you would like to know more about this magical fruit, a good start would be to contact your local chapter of The Breadfruit Institute.

water bottle jet pack

Funny internet videos are too addictive. I don't like it when people start asking "have you seen this and that video?". That's a really stupid question, I can not watch every single funny video there is.
But anyway, after seeing that Panama Canal video, I decided to watch some other videos and ended wasting 3 hours of my life. The most interesting video I saw was the Water bottle jet pack video which not only is extremely funny but also interesting. It features everyone's favorite conjugate variable, as well as a Japanese tv show.

the t is for tough and tender

In his first appearance on jala jala since "Mr T and Your Mother" Mr. T presents us with an interesting interview about his upcoming reality show 'I Pity the Fool'

"For example a lady might write to me saying she's having trouble at a car dealership, because she's the only female employee and the men are harassing her. So I'll go in and straighten things out.

I look forward to seeing him solve things A-Team style!!!

In 1993 an 80's star was sent to the hospital by a terrible cancer he didn't deserve. This man promptly escaped from a maximum security hospital. Today, still wanted by the government, he survives as a soldier of fortune. If you have a problem - if no one else can help - and if you can find him - maybe you can hire: Mr. T.

A man, a plan, a canal: Panama

According to Herodotus' Histories, The king of Egypt, Necho, started building a canal that would connect the Nile with the Red Sea (600 BC). The Persian King, Darius, after conquering Egypt decided to finish it (500 BC). He had the following inscription made to announce it:

King Darius says: I am a Persian; setting out from Persia I [1] conquered Egypt. I ordered to dig this canal from the river that is called Nile [2] and flows in Egypt, to the sea that begins in Persia. Therefore, when this canal had been dug as I had ordered, ships went from Egypt through this canal to Persia, as I had intended.

But again, it seems like Darius never finished his Canal. The Ptolemies did, building a Canal that was 50 yards wide (250BC). It was forgotten for centuries, and its existence erased by the elements.

It wasn't until Napoleon Bonaparte that this idea was resurrected, and some evidence of the existence of the old Canal found. Napoleon's engineers wanted to build their own, new Canal, but they thought it wouldn't be possible; they erroneously concluded that the seas had a big difference in their water level that would make it too expensive and probably impossible to build. It wasn't until 1869 that it was built without any need to compensate for the erroneous water level difference. It is what is called the Suez Canal.

The Panama Canal, on the other hand, does have a pretty huge difference on the water level from one side to the other. The average water level in the Pacific Ocean has 9 inches of difference across the Panama Canal, being higher on the Atlantic side; with the tides, it can be even more. To keep one ocean from flowing onto the other and eroding the whole canal on its way a complicated system of locks is used. The best explanation I've seen of how it works is in this video. It is an ubercool timelapse video of the locks working in sequence to let the huge ships crossing.

Oh, and, the subject of this post is a cool palindrome.

Por favor, no me destacen la hermosa vaquilla

Luego de comer hoy muchas sobras de pavo, es apropiado leer las noticias de Nicaragua donde dejaron a un probre campesino con las sobras de su hermosa vaquilla.

Impactantes noticias de Nicaragua:

Destazan res mientras el propietario bailaba

SANTA TERESA, (Alberto Cano).- El señor Pedro Alberto Saborío se arrepiente mil veces de haber asistido a una fiesta en la comarca El Caliwate, ya que mientras bailaba, los cuatreros le destazaban una hermosa vaquilla en su propia casa.

Al llegar a la vivienda, según el afectado se encontró con un charco de sangre y el susto fue mayor cuando buscó la vaquilla y sólo encontró los cachos y las vísceras, porque la mejor carne se la llevaron los abigeos.

En esta zona, los campesinos igualmente están preocupados ya que según dicen los caballos están siendo robados. En algunos casos para ser destazados, y en otros porque en el parque turístico Las Vegas, los compran para alimentar a los tigres y leones, dicen varios de los afectados

Soy Boricua, tu lo sabes

There are many stereotypes about people from Puerto Rico. One of the most famous ones here is that we are really into music. Also, some people think that we are all alcoholics or drug addicts. Another common stereotype is that we are crazy and like to fight a lot. I'm not going to deny that I have used that last one to my advantage, but it still isn't a good stereotype. In the past few weeks I've met several Boricuas in random situations, and you can be a judge to see if they fit the stereotypes.

I was at the bar with the best jukebox and burgers in town, having a pre-concert meal while talking to some of my old friends from PR. This girl approaches us after recognizing our accent, and introduces herself as a boricua too. After much conversation, she tells me about her band, where she plays the drums, and I promise to go check her show sometime.

A week later I was walking downtown, and see this huge SUV truck parking. It had a small PR flag, and I stared at it for a second. As I was walking away from it, the driver of the SUV rolls down the window and yells "What the fuck is your problem?". This guy wanted to kick my ass; an activity that he could have performed without much opposition, as he was a lot bigger than me. I apologized, and said I was from Puerto Rico, and his attitude totally changed. "Sooooocioooooooo, de donde eres?" he said, after shaking my hands. We talked some, and he seemed like a cool guy now that he wasn't thinking about killing me for no reason.

Last night, at the Stretch Arm Strong concert, the lead singer was talking to us and this guy comes to him and tells him: "Dude, I saw you in Puerto Rico." WHAT? It turned out there were two other boricuas in the show beside us, and they have their own hardcore band. After multiple questions mostly around our inclinations towards alcohol and drugs, we agreed to go support his band sometime.

For the record

We were more than just a tour date.
You were more than just a song.
We sweat and sang together
and that helped us to carry on.
We were more. You were more.
For the record.

I just got back from the Stretch Arm Strong and Suicide Machines show. I'm not into hardcore, but I am a huge SAS fan, and I have been wanting to see them since the first time I heard their music several years ago. The Suicide Machines gave an awesome show, with a lot of interaction with the crowd. So, how was the SAS show? Here is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The Good

SAS packed SO much energy, and I couldn't help but to sing along all the time. Their sound was impecable, and their guitar riffs were just amazing. One of the guitar player noticed my energy and walked accross the stage just to connect fists with me. The songs that they played were among my favorites, and I had a total blast that left me voiceless. They also acknowledged how much I was into their music, and they gave the proper fan service. There weren't that many people at the show, and the stage was small, so it was very personal.

The Bad

Their set was a bit too short. I wanted to hear more songs, and I convinced the singer to play at least one more. The show being just before Turkey-Day, there weren't many people. Most of them were there to see the Suicide Machines, and didn't care about this hardcore band.

The Ugly

Some stupid drunk guy kept acting like a dumbass. SAS several times tried to calm him down from the stage, and at one point had to stop a song because the bouncer got into a fight with the drunk dumbass. Not cool at all. I think that SAS decided to cut it short in part just because of that guy.

the most wonderful time of the year

Ya se acercan las navidades y quien mejor que lo niños para recordarnos el verdadero significado de la navidad?
Cartas de niños a los reyes

Mi hermano se ha portado bien por los dos:

hola mellamo alejandra mihermano se asta portando bien;
1bebe amore
2carioqui
3un pericode verdad
4una mini niyac
5maquina de pagar
6maquina decoser

Los reyes hacen credito:

Nos hemos portado bien y un poquito mal, pero esperamos este anio portarnos mucho mejor.

Yo voy a usar la misma cajita el año que viene, pero mas vale que me traigan juguetes nuevos:

Saludos y muchas felicidades y bendiciones para ustedes los Tres Reyes Magos. Soy Anibal y tengo 6 años y mi hermano se llama Angel y tiene 4 años. Nos hemos portado muy bien para que ustedes esten bien contentos y nos traigan muchos regalos. Ya llenamos nuestras cajas con yerba para los camellos con nuestras listas de los regalitos que queremos, en especial yo quiero una guitarra y mi hermano un muñeco de power ranger. Los queremos mucho y aunque se que hoy estan ocupados espero que lean mi carta y aunque sea luego me contesten. Ya nos vamos a dormir pues queremos que ya sea mañana. Por favor que los camellos se coman la yerba sin morder la caja pues esta muy bonita y la voy a usar para la proxima vez que vengan. Mami y Papi les manadan saludos. Los queremos muchooooo.

Face to face with facebook

I wasn't sure of what it was, until someone sent a link to her profile because she had a photo album there that she wanted me to see. I don't think that facebook hosts the pictures, but that was the link that I got, so, I dared to enter my name and email, and created an account, checked the pictures, and logged out. "I don't understand why 70% of the college students use this thing daily." I thought. It is so popular that even my students have asked me about my facebook thing.

Facebook is freaking scary. Do you remember friendster a few years ago? The social network where you could connect with your friends online, exchange messages, and pictures, and so on? Well, it is pretty much the same thing, but limited to your college.

A few days later, I decided to look someone up (I was trying to match the name to a face; yes, I have a horrible memory like that), so I logged in again. In the profiles, there are pictures of their friends, and I recognized a friend of this person. Very quickly this expanded into many diverging paths of [friends of]^n that grew driven by my recently discovered voyeurism. At one point I was able to find my exgirlfriend's boyfriend's profile, and that is when I realized that this was out of control.

What the hell what was happening to me? In 30 minutes I learned way too much information about too many people. It was addictive, too addictive. And I know a lot of people that check this thing daily. DAILY. I don't want to get addicted like that. So, I deactivated my account before it was too late.

I came face to face with Facebook, and it was scary. I think I'm out for good. I hope.

Rock In Peace, Link Wray

Link Wray will rock forever.

God is playing my guitar, I am with God when I play.
-Link Wray

At the age of 76 the most influential electric guitar player ever, invented the powercord and introduced distortions to rock, has gone to the place where you never have to retune your guitar.

If you don't know him, for sure, you have heard his songs. Just check out Rumble, Jack The Ripper and even the Batman Theme, and you will go "Oh, THAT guy."

He had the odd distinction that his music was banned in many radio stations, although it was purely instrumental. Why? Because it rocked too hard.

Rock In Peace, Wray, Rock In Peace.

Cómo preparar el pavo perfecto: guía ilustrada

Guía ilustrada del pavo perfecto (sangüivin 2002 - Chefs Sheplan y Phobos)

Siguiendo estos simples pasos garantizarás que este día del pavo no te sobre ni el pejcueso.




1) Empezar con ingredientes bien feos y frescos. Matarlos.







2) Adobar bien chévere por debajo del pellejo y por tos laos. Meterle cebollas por el trololó.







3) Hornear y sacar a cada ratito para revolcarlo en su propia manteca.







4) Mira que dindo quedó.




5) Jampearse el pavo con mucha gula.

my childhood

This are some of the events that I remember quite vividly from my childhood. Many of them were quite traumatic, many of them were funny, all of them are before third grade. I've compiled in an easy to read list for your reading pleasure.

I had a yellow Popeye shirt.
- It was later used by my dog 'Tandy'.

I was the master of ceremonies for the circus in my Kinder Garden graduation.
- I had a terrible cold that day.
- I wiped my nose with my sleeve.
- Everyone found that very funny.

I made a puppet out of construction paper once.
- My brother ripped its head.
- I cried very much.

I had a green scooter
- I tried to jump once with it and broke my nose.
- Don Julio told my mom.

There was a slaughter house near my house.
- I got very scared when the pigs escaped.
- I hid under the bed.

I asked for a "mazorca" in a school sale
- They gave me a "mallorca"

I spilled hot soup over me
- They scrubbed me with a potato.

As you can see, I lived a happy childhood.

Por favor, no te comas eso en la iglesia

Cuando tenía tres años aprendí que hay observaciones que no se pueden hacer en la iglesia. Mi abuela me llevaba a la iglesia del barrio desde temprana edad. Ella cuenta que una vez estaba en el proceso de la Santa Cena, y pasaron el pan (la ostia) y el vino (jugo de uva). Pregunte a mi abuela acerca de la galletita esa que le dieron, y ella me explico que eso era el cuerpo de Jesús. El pastor procedio a invitar a todos a que participen del pan, y todos proceden a comerse el pan. La ceremonía fue interrumpida por mi grito de horror, "Abuela, te comiste el cuerpo de Jesús!!!" Mientras la congregación completa reía, ella trataba de calmarme explicando que era sólo algo simbólico. Tal vez mi grito de terror ocultaba una protesta al concepto de la transmutación.


En Nicaragua, un niño protestó en contra de los intereses económicos que manipulan las iglesias:

Niño se traga moneda que daría como diezmo

MASAYA, (Edwin Somarriba).- El niño Korey Narciso Alonso Martínez, de cinco años, en un descuido de sus familiares se introdujo en la boca una moneda de un córdoba, a la que saboreó como si fuera caramelo, hasta que se la tragó.

El menor llegó donde su mamá a una de las iglesias católicas de Masaya, para recibir la misa de ese día. Antes de entrar al templo, la señora le entregó a su hijo para que la entregara como diezmo.

Ambos se sentaron juntos, pero la buena mujer se concentró tanto en el mensaje del sacerdote, durante la misa celebrada el 27 de diciembre, que no se fijó cuando su vástago empezó a jugar con la moneda dentro de su boca.

El menor se tragó la moneda, la cual pasó fácilmente por la tráquea, pero se quedó atorada en el trayecto al estómago, por lo que empezó a sufrir mareos y en varias ocasiones vomitó, pero la bendita moneda no salió.

La madre, sorprendida por lo que le ocurría al niño, inmediatamente salió de misa, se dirigió a la calle y al pasar un taxi lo abordó, para trasladarse de emergencia al hospital de esta ciudad.

Los médicos no pudieron extraerle la moneda al niño, quien a estas alturas todavía la tiene alojada en la región del tórax, lo que le provoca dificultades para respirar.

Por tal razón, deberá ser sometido a una cirugía, pero la madre prefirió consultar primero con su marido, el papá del niño, quien es médico y está ubicado en un centro de salud de Boaco.

The Physics of Cornstarch

Cornstarch, or in general, fine granular materials have tons of cool physical properties. For example, while cooking, we use cornstarch as a thickening agent. Its little granules can trap water molecules, making delicious gravies with it.
But, also we can create a non-newtonian liquid, that is, where its viscosite changes if you let if flow or push it. With some water and cornstarch, this granular material has some weird properties. It flows like a liquid, but if you hit it really hard it feels as solid as a block.
The guys upstair made this really cool video of other properties of this non-newtonian liquid, check it out. They shake the liquid at high accelerations, where structures form. Some are stable, like holes in the liquid, others are dynamical, like fingers that grow out of it. Pretty cool, and a bit gross.

Por favor, devuelvanme la chancha

Hay preguntas de ética biomédica muy difíciles de contestar, algunas de ellas relacionadas a los cerdos. Por ejemplo, ?acaso un judío debe aceptar un transplante de valvulas de cerdo?.

En Nicaragua se dio una noticia que tiene que ver con donación de cerdos a hospitales, pero nada con preguntas éticas:

Sorprenden a roba chanchos con botín

GRANADA, (Augusto Cermeño).- Un ladrón fue sorprendido en la vía pública de la ciudad de Nandaime cuando trasladaba en un carretón cubierto con plástico negro, una hermosa chancha muerta, que se presume la mató para que no hiciera mucho ruido mientras la llevaba a su destino.

La sub comisionada Concepción Torres, al informar sobre el hecho, dijo que el sospechoso fue reportado por un cuidador del hospital de Nandaime, quien vio el misterioso carretón que cargaba un raro bulto cubierto con plástico negro.

Ante la denuncia, el oficial Ulises Gutiérrez Nicoya fue encargado de la misión, dio alcance al sospechoso que empujaba el carretón, supuestamente acompañado de otro sujeto, que ya se había esfumado. Al requisar el carretón, levantó el plástico y vio la cerda ya fallecida.

Ante tal situación, el oficial Gutiérrez procede a detener al ciudadano Antonio Chavarría Paisano, de 28 años de edad, el conductor del carretón. Al ver que no aparecía nadie a reclamar, la Policía de Nandaime decide donar la chancha al hospital, para la alimentación de los enfermos y personal.

Como a eso de la cinco de la tarde del martes recién pasado, apareció en la Policía un señor que dijo ser el dueño de la cerda, pero ya era demasiando tarde, porque en el hospital Rommel Carrasquila, ya la habían convertido en chicharrones.

Furby vs Microwave

Teens tend to have too much time in their hands, which can turn out disastrous. It is good to see some young people channeling their energy into destructive but victimless behaviour.

For the sake of science, these kids studied the effects of a microwave on a Furby. The video is pretty amusing, but the experiment will never answer the enigma that surrounds Furbies: Are they they really the spawns of a Gremlin and Satan?

Also, the same kids created this high-production value video of the Mortal Kombat theme song. More fun than grinding toenails with a mortar. If you aren't impressed by the special effects, you should at least be charmed by how much fun they had making the video.

Por favor, no me mojen los frijoles

Noticias viejas de Nicaragua:

"Alguien echó a perder mis frijoles"

ESTELI, (Máximo Rugama).- El señor Rodolfo Castillo Gómez denunció que un grupo de desconocidos le destruyeron nueve quintales de frijoles, que tenía guardados en una bodega ubicada en la terminal de buses de esta ciudad.

Según el afectado, los maleantes le rociaron agua a sus quintales de frijoles, que se pudrieron al entrar en contacto con la humedad.

Café Colao

Raphy Leavitt y la Selecta tienen un lugar especial entre mi salsa favorita. Las letras de sus canciones son de temas reales, del barrio, y hasta personales. Nadie podría olvidar "La Cuna Blanca", con su letra impactante que combina imagenes como en El Velorio de Francisco Oller, junto a las visiones que sufrió Raphy durante su coma luego del horrible accidente automovilistico que cobró la vida de su amigo. Esta canción para los pelos, definitivamente.

Pero hoy quiero comentar acerca de una canción que no había apreciado hasta hace poco.

Café Colao

Mujer de la piel morena
dame un trago de café.
Aquí te traigo mi crema,
pa' que tomes tu también.

Hierve lentalmente en la casuela
bajo el fuego intenso del fogón.
Brota el aroma, es café colao.
Café colao, café colao.

Yo lo tiro en la casuela,
bajo el fuego endemoniao.

Ven ven y mezcla de mi crema
y verás que esto es melao.

En este ambiente está cargao.

Ven acá, cosa prieta
que me gusta tu tumbao.

La canción tiene un tempo lento con un juego hermoso de cueros, pianos y trombones que resaltan la sensualidad de su letra.

Qué clase 'e canción mi pana.

Por favor, ayuden a los huelepega

Noticias de Nicaragua:

Estafan a campesino con truco del oro falso

JUIGALPA, (Auxiliadora Martínez).- Otra persona más fue estafada con el famoso truco del oro. En el mismo sector de la farmacia Sin comentario, cincuenta varas al Norte, se reporta esta otra víctima de los avispados estafadores, que escogen muy bien a sus víctimas entre éstos los de aspecto campesinos.

El pequeño productor Mario Duarte Ramírez, de 31 años de edad, originario de El Coral, dijo que cuando estaba en compañía de su esposa esperando bus para regresar a su casa, se le acercaron dos jóvenes, quienes les ofrecieron el negocio de que les vendiera un oro, pero que en garantía les dejara una motosierra que acababa de comprar y trescientos córdobas.

Al aceptar el negocio y enrumbarse hacia donde haría el negocio, Mario sintió curiosidad y abrió la cajita de fósforo en donde presuntamente llevaba el oro, llevándose tremendo susto al descubrir que lo que llevaba eran simples piedras.

Al verse estafado y despojado de sus pertenencias, el campesino se dirigió a la Policía a denunciar a los hábiles sujetos, quienes ya habían alzado vuelo.

El afectado pide a las autoridades hacer mayor presencia en estos puntos claves ya que en varias ocasiones estos sujetos han perjudicado a personas humildes sin que sean auxiliados por la Policía.

No hallan qué hacer con menores huelepega

OCOTAL, (Henry Vargas).- Extraoficialmente EL NUEVO DIARIO conoció que instituciones como el Ministerio de la Familia, la Comisaría de la Mujer y la Niñez y varios OGNs de esta ciudad, se consideran incompetentes para resolver los problemas que ocasionan los menores huelepega, como se les conoce, quienes oscilan entre los once y catorce años de edad, debido a los múltiples delitos que cometen.

Entre los perjudicados están el taxista Camilo Reyes, a quien le desmantelaron el tocacinta del vehículo y le robaron más de doscientos córdobas que portaba en la guantera. Igual situación le ocurrió a otro taxista que estacionó su vehículo frente a la parroquia católica, a quien le robaron una cantidad no determinada de dinero de la guantera.

También al ciudadano José Alberto Parrales Pastrana le sustrajeron trescientos dólares y que gracias a la DIC, que logró identificarlo y entrevistarse con los menores transgresores, éstos devolvieron el dinero. Otra víctima de estos menores fue la Casa de la Mujer, de donde se llevaron bastones y relojes para no videntes.

Por favor, no me roben la bicicleta 9906571

Más noticias viejas de Nicaragua!

En 3 minutos quedó a pie

OCOTAL, NUEVA SEGOVIA, (Róger Olivas).- Sólo tres minutos esperó el ciudadano Luis Alonso González Maradiaga, de 29 años, para salir del Polideportivo Solidaridad, ubicado frente al parque central de esta localidad, pero cuando regresó buscó su bicicleta chasis 9906571 valorada en 150 dólares y no la encontró, por lo que tuvo que caminar hacia su vivienda. El hecho ocurrió a las 9 y media de la mañana del 29 de junio.

Africanizadas entre guanábanas

ESTELÍ, (Máximo Rugama).- La efectiva labor de los miembros de la Dirección de Bomberos de Estelí evitó que un enjambre de abejas africanizadas afectara a los miembros de la familia del señor Edgard Suárez. El panal se había ubicado en un árbol de guanábana que se encuentra en el patio de su casa. El sargento mayor, Sergio Montoya, oficial de turno de la Dirección General de Bomberos de Estelí, informó que Suárez reside en el barrio Aristeo Benavides, de esta ciudad, donde las abejas fueron exterminadas con un mechón y diesel. Los bomberos tuvieron que impedir el acceso de personas a pie y en vehículos, para evitar que éstas fueran afectadas por las abejas africanizadas.

Mortandad de gallos de pelea y pérdidas

MATAGALPA, (Francisco Mendoza).- 20 gallos muertos y una pérdida hasta por la suma de 19 mil córdobas es la que lamenta el gallero Canuto Soza, quien habita en la comarca Wanawana, municipio de Río Blanco, quien denunció que elementos desconocido aprovecharon que la vivienda donde tiene los gallos de pelea estaba sola, para llevarse la cantidad de 18 gallos de los mejores, los que han merecido premios internacionales. Según Soza, a los ladrones no les bastó con llevarse los 18 mejores gallos, sino que mataron a otros 20 y los dejaron tirados en los lugares que estaban encerrados, por lo que el monto de las pérdida asciende a más de 19 mil córdobas.

Quick death to the evolutionists

Former presidential candidate and current religious crook, Pat Robertson, condemns towns that rejected intelligent design in their school boards.

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city," [...] "God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever," Robertson said. "If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."

A friend of mine was a broadcast engineer for Pat's radio station. He has numerous stories about fake calls (that were really made FROM and TO the station itself) were people claimed to be healed from his prayers.

Long live the Intelligent Designer

Man blinked. "What is the purpose of all this?" he asked politely.
"Everything must have a purpose?" asked God.
"Certainly," said man.
"Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this," said God.
And He went away.
-The Books of Bokonon

There is very little to be said about this issue:

The kids from Kansas have lost.

clowns are our friends

Last night was hilarious. I spent several hours doing research about clowns with some friends and I discovered that this can be a very respectable profession. So, in case you are interested in becoming a clown, here are two links that may be of help:

Clown Insurance

If you are performing as a clown at any public event such as parades or birthday parties, you need the security that is provided by a good entertainer's liability insurance policy.

Clown code of ethics

I will keep my acts, performance and behavior in good taste while I am in costume and make up. I will remember, at all times that I have been accepted as a member of the clown club only to provide others, principally children, with clean clown comedy entertainment.

In a related note. He may not be Buffo (The World Strongest Clown), but Apesgrapes is Northumberland's most famous midget clown!!!

"Well I don't know much about it, although my son has curiously started wetting the bed since his birthday party" - Paula McGee, Cramlington

Do you like him? Maybe you can help him with his bail.

Also, the "I hate clowns" thing is a little used already. Almost everyone I know will say that they hate clown (obviously not Buffo) but won't say why. I bet you are not as devoted as this guy.

I tried to tell the sadistic clown-man to stop the "magic" saw. Nothing was coming out. I SWEAR I saw a trickle of blood seep out from the bottom of the magic box. That's when something did come out; some cake, some ice-cream, and some 7-UP came out of me. The clown stopped sawing. Something came out of him too. To tell you the actual factuals, this was the first time everyone could swear that something came out of the assistant-lady.

the world strongest clown

He's strong, he's funny and he's a clown!!!
* plays circus music
He has a Master's degree in education, he rides a buffalo and he can rip a phone book in half.
He's the world stongest clown!!!!
Heeeeeee's BUFFO!!!

BUFFO BUFFO BUFFO!

Buffo is my new role model! I am just amazed by how incredible he is. He is not an ordinary clown he is a SUPER CLOWN!!

Yarrrr!

Pirates are cool. This time I don't mean media or software pirates, but real pirates with real boats and parrots. Well, maybe not parrots. I am a bit of a sucker for those kind of adventure books, my favorites being 20,000 leagues Under the Sea and The Confusion.

But pirates can be found in real life too.

A LUXURY cruise ship with 22 British tourists aboard survived an attack by Somali pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades yesterday as it rounded the Horn of Africa.[...]
The liner used a sonic blaster to foil the pirates. Developed by American forces to deter small boats from attacking warships, the non-lethal weapon sends out high-powered air vibrations that blow assailants off their feet. The equipment, about the size of a satellite dish, is rigged to the side of the ship.

Yarrrr!

Educación, chico, educación.

I had to ask a favor from one of the cleaning ladies in campus. I have seen her around many times, and I knew that the common language was Spanish. "De Cuba, ?y tu?" she said. She didn't had to, her accent was distinctively Cuban. After some small talk, she told me the story of her life.

She was a history Professor in Cuba, and less than a year ago came to this country. She doesn't know any English, so she has to have two jobs, and vacuuming the physics' building is one of them.

She misses teaching. Sometimes, when there isn't anyone around, she writes on the blackboards. She is obviously extremely intelligent, and it is understandable why she has problems with her boss: she can't stand doing stupid things that her stupid boss asks her to do. And then again she misses teaching, she misses her students, her watery eyes make her stop in the middle of the sentence, and then she changes the subject. I tell her what I do, how I teach and study. Education, education, education is what is important; study hard and you will get far, is her advice to me. "Educación, chico, educación." was also the advice that she left to her 14 year old son who lives in Cuba. Her tears testify that the irony doesn't escape her.

great nickathlon in support of salsa

Many people tell me that they like the nicks that I use for my diverse IM accounts, so I will celebrate a nickathlon next Thursday. I will change my nick each minute for 8 hours. That sacrifice will be done to support salsa music.
That's about it, just giving some promotion to the nickathlon.

Crabs at high pressure

Even more stuff about the wonderful world of crabs. Today, we will study the effects of high pressure on crabs.

This is a video taken in 6000 feet of water. An undersea robot is sawing a 3mm wide slit (1/10th of an inch ... remember that width) in a pipeline. The pressure inside the pipeline is 0 psig, while the pressure outside is 2700 psi, or 1.3 tons per square inch. Then a crab comes along....

The video can be found here. Holy shit. Now you see the crab. Now you don't.

Salad Fingers

This flash animation is somewhat charming and extremely creepy.

The feeling of rust
against my salad fingers
is almost ORGASMIC

Of Pandas and People

Sigh.

Heather Geesey, a Dover Area School Board member, said she came to believe intelligent design was a scientific theory based on the recommendations of Alan Bonsell and William Buckingham — both members of the board's curriculum committee.

"They said it was a scientific thing," said Geesey, who added that "it wasn't my job" to learn more about intelligent design
[...]
"The only people in the school district with a scientific background were opposed to intelligent design ... and you ignored them?" he asked.

"Yes," Geesey said.

The Kneecap of Creation

The only debate on Intelligent Design that is worthy of its subject made me laugh out loud.

Intelligent Design advocate: YEAAARRRRGGGHHHH! YOU BROKE MY KNEECAP!

Scientist: Perhaps it only appears that I broke your kneecap. Certainly, all the evidence points to the hypothesis I broke your kneecap. For example, your kneecap is broken; it appears to be a fresh wound; and I am holding a baseball bat, which is spattered with your blood. However, a mere preponderance of evidence doesn't mean anything. Perhaps your kneecap was designed that way. Certainly, there are some features of the current situation that are inexplicable according to the "naturalistic" explanation you have just advanced, such as the exact contours of the excruciating pain that you are experiencing right now.

Hollow's eve

This weekend has been about walking around the city wearing Halloween's costumes. I was The Flying Spaghetti Monster, and was surprised to be recognized as the FSM by several people, as well as seen others with FSM costumes too!

The weekend has had its up and downs, but looking back, it was pretty fun.

por favor no me le hagan daño a la yegua

Noticias directamente desde Nicaragua.

Rescate de niño que cayó en letrina

MASAYA, (Edwin Somarriba).- Un niño de cuatro años cayó en el hueco de una letrina, cuando se encontraba jugando, mientras sus padres se dedicaban a orar en un templo evangélico.

Vecinos del templo religioso situado al Este de Masaya manifestaron que fueron ellos los que sacaron al pequeño de iniciales M.A.S., el cual tragó excrementos al momento que cayó en el lecho de la letrina. De inmediato, el menor fue bañado y desinfectado con cloro, mientras otros niños fueron a avisar de lo ocurrido a sus padres.

Aunque el pequeño sobrevivió a la caída, la piel se le irritó a causa del cloro y luego fue sometido a un lavado gástrico en el hospital de esta ciudad, donde quedó internado para su observación.

Hay que mantenerse al dia

Grosería con una yegua

MATAGALPA, (Francisco Mendoza).- Una yegua quedó tuerta cuando un sujeto desalmado, sin importarle que era un animal que no se podía defender, le lanzó una enorme piedra que terminó con la visión del animal. La denuncia fue interpuesta por el ciudadano Jerónimo Soza, propietario de la hermosa yegua, quien habita en la comarca Azancor, municipio de Muy Muy, quien asegura que a su casa se presentó el sujeto Anselmo Chavarría, el que sin motivo alguno apedreó al animal que usaba para movilizarse. Tras provocar el mal, Soza se marchó del lugar, como si nada había hecho, por lo que pide castigo para este sujeto que perjudicó a su hermosa yegua que utilizaba para las fiestas patronales.

When you drink, you sure can be an asshole

One drunk guy tells the other at a bar:
"You can jump off this 4th story building and nothing will happen to you. There is a draft that will put you right back in the 4th level."
"I don't believe you."
"I'll show you."
They go up the building, and the first guy jumps down, and just before he hits the floor, he comes up again and lands precisely where he started."
"Wow man! You were right!"
"Do you want to try it?"
"Of course." He says as he jumps off, falls and hits the floor really hard.
Then the bartender comes up and tells the first guy:
"Superman, when you drink, you sure can be an asshole."

That was a true story. Or sort of. Check this news article:

They said the man - who apparently had drunk several bottles of red wine before attempting the jump - appeared at the window ledge at around 4 a.m. and shouted: "I am Superman! Nothing can happen to me!"

about my last post

The don raton y don ratero post caused a lot of confussion. I am not Phobos, Phobos is not me. We are in fact two different entities. Phobos still has his Alienware, I still DON'T have my Alienware and it is very probable that I never will.
Regarding the hemorroids, I have nothing against people with hemorroids. I think in fact that most of them are nice people and it is really sad that they have to suffer such a terrible pain. I DO wish that the man who stole my laptop gets hemorroids, he deserves them. I work hard to buy my own stuff. For the rest of you with hemorroids, there are ANALgesics that can help you. Contact your rectal doctor for more information.

Just toss it into Mount Doom

My breadventure has reached an end, and I have failed at it. The bread didn't rise as much as it was supposed to, and it was hard in the center. It doesn't taste bad, but the texture is horrible. I have some ideas of what I could try next time, and I will ask some of my friends that know about baking.

I will conquer bread making.

I shall return!

At least I had fun.

Rise, Bread, Rise

As we speak, I am witnessing how I screwed up with the bread. It seems like the kitchen wasn't warm enough, and it didn't rise as much as I would have wanted it to. In a few minutes it will be done, and I will know for sure how it came out.

I am old

... and I have decided that today I will make bread. I have never made bread from scratch.

Why do you keep talking about the stupid medal?

Yes, I'm still blogging about the Nobel Prize.

Hindustan Times has a very accesible article explaining Sudarshan's part on the understanding of Coherent States.

“Although the coherent state representation was fully elucidated by Sudarshan, Glauber continued to think it was not fully general. The priority issue was settled by Glauber who got Sudarshan to acknowledge him without a reciprocal commitment,”

Kitchen floor

This is an interesting story I heard about a very memorable pick-up line.

He was drunk, and had been rejected that same party by some girl he liked; he was vulnerable. He notices a girl drinking a beer and peeling the label off.
"Did you know that peeling off the label of a beer bottle means that you are sexually repressed?" is the first thing he said.
"Yes" she responded embarrassed.
"It is ok, I do that too, so I must be sexually repressed like you."
And there was an uncomfortable silence.
"Maybe I could help you with that..."
More silence.
And then he reaches for her bottle and starts helping her to peel off the label.
The story ends with them making out in the kitchen floor surrounded by beer bottles with their labels peeled off.

Maybe I should try that line sometime.

The Exact Words of God

The exact words of God are contained only in The King James Bible. That is what this essay in one of my favorite websites claims.

Instead of trusting in man and his whim-of-the-day Bible version, trust only what God's people gave their lives to preserve: God's words in English, the King James Bible.

Explanations of the different currently used versions of the bible in English can be found here. My favorite version of the bible must be the one that Jules quotes as Ezekiel 25:17 in Pulp Fiction:

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Where KJV reads:

And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

KJV has so much to learn from Samuel L. Jackson.

don raton y don ratero.

The other day I arrived to my house and found the door unlocked. Someone broke into my house and stole the following:
My old Alienware laptop
My rent check
Some underwear
A can of fruits
My perfume
my watch
my pokemon cards

Luckily he didn't take anything else, but I am so angry. I just don't know what he is going to do with such random things, maybe he's constructing a robot to take over the world. I just wish that he gets hemorroids or something.

Philosophers and Crackpots

Physicists believe that we and only we can figure out the universe.
That, and our arrogance about it, is why we are the main target of many philosophers and crackpots (note that there is a distinction).
Yes, modern physics has some deep philosophical implications. The sad part is that they seem to escape the philosophers, as most tend to have a very narrow and inaccurate picture of what it represents. If I ever hear another person claiming that relativity and quantum mechanics say that everything is relative and that we are uncertain about everything and use this to start some deep philosofical discussion, I think I'm going to cry.
But also we have the crackpots. What is a crackpot? Well, this articles summarizes very well the set of rules to detect them. A perfect example of one is this one. Note how it starts with a vague idea of what quantum mechanics, electromagnetism and relativity are. Then, writes one equation, and points out that since part of the equation is less than one, it therefore must be a probability. And then claims that with good expensive equipment it could be tested out. Tested out what? No predictions are given, no logical argument, nothing. Go back to the set of rules to detect crackpots, and you will see the article follows most of them.
Why are there so man crackpots, and in particular, why are there so many with a technical background? This very interesting post proposes an explanation.

This can't be happening

I have been trying to accept the fact that reggaeton is here to stay, and that Salsa music is being forgotten. I have tried very hard.
What I will never accept is El Gran Combo remixed to reggaeton rhythms!

The latest release from one of the most popular salsa bands of all times, like the title, implies a retrospective of El Gran Combo's music and sounds of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Original tracks from many of its mega hits are remixed and edited in the hands of several leading DJs in the business, rejuvenating and updating the well-known classics to the dancehall sounds of today's turntable masters. Salsa purists may find many of these transformations hard to swallow at first but the truth is that they still swing and rock. [...] The classic Brujerí­a is featured [...] in a reggeton mix by DJ Kazzanova and DJ Créme with added raps by Yaga & Mackie. The selection Y No Hago Mas Na' also bares the same fate [...]

This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening.

Carcinazation

Watch out, there are many crab-looking things that aren't really crabs!

There is a process knows as carcinazation, where convergent evolution makes crustaceans take forms very similar to crabs. The best studied example is the King Crab. Also known as Stone Crab, this delicious creature it is not a real crab at all! Just count its legs, it isn't even a decapod! Unbelievable!
Actually, it is closely related to the Hermit Crab (Cobito), which in turn isn't a real crab either! Both the King Crab and the Hermit Crab are asymmetric, while real crabs are symmetric.

Amazing!

My Juey or the Highway

My mom sent me some salmorejo de jueyes (crab meat) from Puerto Rico. She even added some claws and legs too, so I've had a lot of fun cracking those open to eat them. What a feast! Gourmet!
Jueyes live in the swampy areas around mangroves. To catch them, traps are placed with food (they are particularly attracted to corn). Sometimes they can be farmed too.
I found this excellent website that doesn't talk about Jueyes, but of Cocolias, their water cousins. Cocolias (blue crab) can be fished in waist-deep water using chicken guts as bait. Tie the guts to a piece of string, walk into the water, and wait. When you feel them nibbling the chicken, just pull them out, they won't let go of the food! I prefer Jueyes, but they aren't bad.
Another variety of edible crabs from Puerto Rico are Buruquenas. They live in creeks and rivers, hiding under rocks. To catch them it is necessary to lift the rock, or just stick your hand in their caves. These bite really hard, so don't try this unless you wear proper gloves. They can make grown-up men cry if they grab onto a finger, even with proper gloves been worn. During their mating season, they go crazy and try to cross streets near the creeks to reproduce. Their smashed carcasses can be seen all over the pavement. They aren't as tasty as their mangrove or salt water relatives.

Crabs can be fun as well as tasty, so please consult your local library to learn more about them!

bull vs pit bull

Seems like the story behind those pictures is really interesting.
Here's Babelfish's opinion:
First picture:

15 September, Phoenix, the state of Alabama. Two pitbulya, which were remained after hurricane without the masters, obtain to themselves food independently.

Last Picture:

Finale histories - dog are shot down.

Wikipedia's opinion on pit bulls (pitbulya??):

Specifically, these dogs accompanied farmers into the fields to assist with bringing dangerous bulls in for breeding, castration, or slaughter.

No wonder the bull was so scared.

Cow vs Dogs

Pictures of a cow fighting two dogs.

"You son a bitch!"
"Your momma is a cow!"

The Skatalites

After grabbing the best burger in town at a punk bar, I went to the bar next door to see The Skatalites. Many of the band members were from the original band back in the day when they invented Ska.

Their sound was impeccable, and their music fun, even for my friends that have never heard them before. Some stupid people decided to Mosh Pit in a Ska concert and ruined the mood for some time, but at least it didn't last for too long.

how the emoticon killed the internet.

Emoticons were the best method to give personality to conversations and help the other person understand when you were being sarcastic or serious. However, now they are too popular. I am tired of those stupid Smiley Central banners.
I've turned off all of the custom emoticons from all of my messenger services, they are just too annoying. I know people that use a custom emoticon for most letters, each message is just a bouncing mass of unreadable images. This makes it too difficult to have a conversation. Many times I've talked with people whose messages get changed automatically. "suboblique" gets transformed into "suSPONGEBOBSQUAREPANTSWAVINGHISHANDSlique".
The problem now is that people have custom emoticons for random strings. Now when I receive messages like "good bybbbbb!!!!" I automatically assume that I should be seeing some annoying thing in there. I don't even ask, because I will expect to get a reply like: "can'tttttt uuuu ccccc my :))))))???????".
The custom emoticons are one step away from facilitating communication between thinking beings.
I will start to use text custom emoticons to confuse the people that use custom emoticons.
"LITTLEDEVILDANCINGAROUNDFIREo. SMILEYHOLDINGQUESTIONMARK are SMILEYPOINTINGATYOU QUESTIONMARKQUESTIONMARKQUESTIONMARK11"

Even more on the Medal

The New York Times has a piece on the nobel prize, they also mention ECG Sudarshan's contribution. This one pretty readable, unlike my previous links.

More on the Medal

The Advanced Information given by the Nobel committee refers to Sudarshan's work (Ref 11 in it). Here is his earlier paper on the subject, published almost at the same time that Glauber published his. I will not dwell into the controversy around this, but if you are into this kind of things, enjoy this very beautiful paper.

The Medal

The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded. Roy J. Glauber got his "for his contribution to the quantum theory of optical coherence". In other words, he got 1/2 for the theory of the laser.

E.C.G. Sudarshan has also made very significant contributions in this field. Check out this paper, and the references in it.

Euthanizing a Virtual Pet

I found this short post that describes what made a Computer Scientist euthanize a Tamagotchi.

Scarface vs Teletubbies

This is paradise, I'm tellin' ya. This town like a great big pussy just waiting to get fucked.
-Tony Montana

The FBI found a cocaine shipment labeled with pictures of the Teletubbies.

Cuco vs The Internet

Many moons ago I had a crazy roommate. By crazy, I mean someone that had to spend several weeks in a mental hospital and was heavily medicated after that. If he forgot to take his pills, he would become more loud and destructive than a gremlin that had food after midnight. There are uncountably many stories about him, Turbo, but I will not talk about them now. I will talk about his friend, whom I will refer to as Cuco (not his real name, in order to protect his identity).

Cuco was visiting us, and crashing in the chichacatre (a mattress we had in the living room). Turbo was out of town, while I was studying, and Cuco got bored, so he wanted to use my laptop and browse the internet. Fine, as long as he lets me study.

This was back in the day where the search engine was yahoo. So, he decided to go to yahoo, and instead of doing a search, starts browsing the categories. I have never seen anyone actually browsing them for so long, after all, they just sucked. Somehow he got into the "Jokes" subsection, and I thought that should entertain him for some time. I didn't hear him type or click for quite some time (15 minutes or so), and I turn around and see him staring at the screen. The screen contained something like this: the image of a half-way done progress bar that had a caption that read "How to keep an idiot waiting."

This is a true story.

I was going to explode laughing, when he turns to me and says "There is something wrong with your internet." My previously contained laughter conventional explosion drove his statement into critical mass creating in me a nuclear explosion of laughter. I spent quite some time trying to pull myself together, but whenever I would start explaining him that it was a joke I would start laughing again.

I even remember how much my stomach hurt of laughing so hard.

Then, he decided to check his email. He would click on the address bar, and the current address would get highlighted and selected as normal. That confused him quite a bit, and told me that he wanted to get rid of the "blue thing". I told him just to delete it and write the address. He looked very confused, so I said "just type www...". And he did, effectively overwriting the previous address and typing his own. "WOW, your computer can DELETE with the 'w' key!!!".

Oh my flying spaghetti monster.

Why students evaluations can be the most horrible thing ever

My department has been hit particularly hard with all the science funding cuts (money that has been used towards the war). This means that several research groups lost their grants, leaving their students without jobs. This had a huge impact on TAships, as an unprecedented amount of grad students were requesting positions. Many of them didn't get any sort of funding, and were notified late into the semester. I have friends that had to change advisors to prevent being deported (they would lose their student visas). Others just left the country, leaving housing contracts behind.

The department has announced that the situation next semester will be even worse. And, to decide who will get a TAship, they will take into consideration the student evaluations. The premise is that good TAs should stay, while bad TAs shouldn't.

Are student evaluations a good measure of how good a TA is? The evals have a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being "disagree" or "bad", to 5 being "good" or "agree". The questions are usually in the form of "Was the work load reasonable?"

The statistics in campus say that the average score is 4, and that most scores actually land either in the 5s or 1s. That is, the students evals are very polarized. If you are funny and entertaining, regardless of how good of an educator you are, you get good scores. If you go easy on them, regardless of how valuable the course is to them, you get good scores.

If you end up teaching a class like Physical Science, were all the students have problems with elementary school level math, no matter how hard you try to make them learn something, they had decided a long time ago that the class was too hard, useless and too much work. You get bad scores no matter what, with very little noise to distinguish among good and bad instructors.

It can be very challenging. So, an instructor can decide among several paths. The most extreme ones would be:

1) Teach them Physical Science. Try to remedy their lack of math background by giving them supplemental material. Ask them to work hard in this challenging class to see if they can get something out of it. After all, science is around us all the time.

2) Be "the nice guy". Make it easy. After all, they will never see science in their life.

Guess who will get good evaluations? Guess who would be a better educator? Guess who will get a TAship next semester?

Are students evaluations a bad thing? No. They are a form of feedback, not a very good one. I, personally, don't care too much about the numbers. I think I tend to get pretty high ones mostly due to the fact that I teach a class with excellent students with a solid background, and that I am a dork and they enjoy making fun of me. I don't think the raw scores give me any useful feedback on how good I was as an educator, but they do say how entertaining I was. To fix this, I do ask them to write comments on their evaluation forms. You know, the comments that nobody reads. They tend to be honest, critical and much more meaningful. They are the ones that help me to improve as an instructor. They are the ones that they don't consider when assigning TAships.

I have met so many TAs that were very committed to teaching that now are very scared that the TAships will become a competition based on the eval scores. They are smart enought to understand the game and have decided to take approach (2).
Hi ho.

More about the ACL

My friends have posted their ACL reviews. They are much more detailed than mine, and even include pictures! One is in English, the other one is in Spanish.

On a related note, the third day of the ACL Festival also was the hottest day ever recorded in Austin during the fall: 108F. Recall that this numbers are measured in the shade, and that in the direct sun (like the festival was) it can easily be 10 or 20 degrees higher.

After talking to some other friends that went to the ACL, it seems that everyone agrees that The Arcade Fire put up the best concert. Many of them did like me and went ahead and bought their CD. They were that good.

filiberto no murio en pr

Filiberto murio en macondo. Murio desangrado despues de recibir un balazo que le perforo el pulmon. Nadie le ofrecio ayuda. Le dispararon a alguien que robo 7 millones de dolares para regalarle juguetes a los niños pobres. Despues lo dejaron desangrar.
No me sorprendio que rapido hicieran marchas y pintaran paredes para demostrar su sentir. Despues de todo, el derecho a la libre expresion mejor se manifiesta a traves del vandalizmo.

Estos son varios pensamientos relacionados.

El recinto de Rio Piedras amanecio todo vandalizado y hoy hicieron una marcha que paso a traves del centro de estudiantes. El departamento de Ciencias Naturales esta todo pintado. No he visto ninguna pintura en el colegio, pero si he visto muchas cosas escritas en tiza. Como consecuencia del asesinato de Filiberto, la compañia Glidden obtendra ganancias de miles de dolares.
Mientras tomaba clases, escuche a un tipo hablando con un altavoz:

Hay que paralizar el recinto y movernos al frente de la oficina del registrador. Hay que denunciar el asesinato Filiberto

Aqui la gente cree que derecho a expresarse es hacer lo que les da la gana. No comprendo todavia que tiene que ver la Universidad con el asesinato de Filiberto, pero por alguna razon a los estudiantes les hace logica. Como si parando el colegio fueran a revivirlo. Hace un tiempo un profesor hizo una huelga de hambre porque lo despidieron, los estudiantes detuvieron las clases como muestra de solidaridad.

Esta noticia del mural que hicieron en Rio Piedras es muy contradictoria. Una de las fotos dice:

El Burguer King del alfrente de la UPR recinto de Rio Piedras fue vandalizado por un grupo de activistas. Pq no solo el FBI mato a Filiberto, tambn fueron los intereses capitalistas de las multinacionales y transnacionales.

Sin embargo, uno de los comentarios dice:

Han bandalizado el dibujo de Filiberto Ojeda Rios (Líder del Ejercito Popular Boricua "Macheteros" ) realizado en Rio Piedras. Aquí sencilamente nos podemos dar cuenta de la falta de tolerancia de algunas personas fanáticas en cuanto a los ideales y sentimientos de otros individuos que no tienen los mismos interes que ellos.

Vandalizar Burguer King es derecho a libre expresion. Pero vandalizar el afiche de Filiberto es opresion.

New Chick Tract

A new Chick Tract is available online. This one teaches us the real meaning of Turkey Day.

Also, there is a new essay that invites the reader to fight terrorism by converting muslims to christianism.

Chick is so serious that he comes out like a parody of christian extremists.

The Arcade Fire

I love The Arcade Fire. Their EP and LP both feature incredibly complex but refreshingly original music.

I can't stop listening to their music.

Mindblowing.

Check 'em out.

The Kiddie Pool

At the last few hours of the ACL, the wind created a dust storm. I was all covered with dirt, tired and craving a cold beer and a shower. I decided to leave the festival grounds before the last concert was over, and on my way to the car there were these guys that had parked their mobile home down the street, and had an awesome setup of a kiddie pool, beer and a water hose. These guys knew that most of the 60,000 people from the concerts would walk by there, and they were waiting to spray them with the water hose.
As I walked down, they sprayed me. It was exactly what I needed, so I asked them to spray me with some more refreshing water. Then, I thanked them for the public service they were performing, and they offered me some beer. So, I spent 6 beers hanging out with them, spraying people with water and listening to good punk music. It was so much fun! Finally, my friends walked by, and they were surprised to see me drinking beer there with these strangers.
It gave some awesome closure to an awesome weekend.

Austin City Limits Festival

I have seen a lot of live music in the past four days, and now I am catching up on the blogging.

The ACL Festival was even better than last years. At first it was thought that the hurricane might ruin it, but the weekend was dry and sunny, up to 104 degrees F on Sunday. The concerts are outdoors, in a park with very little shade, and can be very rough on you. Water is very precious, and so are the few spots with shade. At several times, under the abrasive sun I asked myself "why the hell am I here?". But, there were these jewels that made it all worth it. I got to see a lot of concerts, but will just comment on the highlights (and lowdarks(?)).
On Friday I started with the Morgan Heritage concert, that was just really fun reggae. Like my friend observed, you cannot beat a rasta on stage. Reggae concerts are all about interaction with the crowd. Then, we got to see Thievery Corporation (again), they were really good, but not as good as the night before. Many people thought that it was the best concert at the festival.
On Saturday, we started early with Aqualung: good fun rock music. Built to Spill is one of those classic indie bands that have been around forever, and they can show their experience on stage with some really cool jamming. I have heard before that Death Cab for Cutie had a good live show, and it was true. Their music is just too catchy. Bloc Party was a well engineered act, that had everyone jumping and singing along. Oasis sucked. Let me say that again. Oasis sucked. The arrogance of the band was too much too take, and we ended up leaving early. Oasis, if your music isn't good, it isn't your audience's fault. Assholes.
Sunday was the longest and hottest day of the whole weekend. It started with Ambulance LTD. I have never heard those guys before, and wow, I need to get their music ASAP! M83 was a good show, they sounded just like in their albums, which is very challenging considering the electronic nature of their music. Rilo Kiley was as good as last time I saw her: a fun, very melodic show. The Bravery had horrible technical problems, and they sounded just awful. It was one of those concerts that you end up liking their music less after it. But, it was promptly forgotten with the best concert of the Festival: The Arcade Fire. 11 people, with tons of instruments from xylophones to violas to french horns. They looked like they were all nerds, rejects and outcasts in highschool. And that due to their lack of social skill, they went crazy. Their music can be anything from soothing to harsh, from order to chaos, and from rock to I don't know what it was. Their energy lifted my mood (the sun can have a strong effect on it) and made me dance and jump with them. They went crazy throwing stuff around and beating the shit out of several instruments. They were just un-fucking-believable. The only bad thing was that I wanted to see more of them. I can't wait to see if they will come to Austin again. After the concert, I went and bought their CD. Franz Ferdinand had a good show, just like the previous year, and I hear that Coldplay had a Johnny Cash cover. I say I heard, because I am not a big fan of Coldplay, and since by then I had lost contact with my friends, I decided to beat the crowd and leave after a few songs.

Which turned out to be a really good decision.

Thievery Corporation

Last Thursday I went to see Thievery Corporation. I can't describe their genre, they incorporate sounds from everything from reggae to bosa nova, and their very original but accessible music had everyone dancing. I couldn't have imagined that what sounded like a studio band was a really good live one, with 7 singers, and like 8 musicians. Their sounds was impeccable. Don't miss them out if you have a chance to see them.