the Russians are coming!

I can't believe that Russia is invading Georgia! Someone up there in the K-house must be absolutely nuts. Invading a European country with a democratically elected president is a bit too much. Do they think there will be no consequences to this? After the gas cut-off scare a few months ago? And besides, do they really think they will be able to CONQUER the Georgians, who have been able to maintain their traditions and language time after time when they have been under occupation?

I find hard to believe that a country that considers itself "civilized" would do this. I have great respect for the intellectual achievements and the hardiness of the Russian folk, but this has gone one step too far and they should realize it.

I believe the following video from Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili says it all (from BBC News):


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7554480.stm

Mr. C

move, move, move....

everything will soon be clear...
Mr. C

campeones, campeones, oe, oe, oe....

It was about time! Spain wins the Euro 2008!!!!

Mr. C

the idiocy of it all

Today our largest computer cluster crashed. The reason? Zero storage left in the user directory. The reason? Users complained that the default quota was too small and IT decided to... YES, REMOVE THE QUOTA.

I'm speechless. Annoyed as hell AND speechless. I do not think there is anything else to say.

Mr. C 

unecessary Science

this week Nature and Science highlight some research work that I can't believe has been funded, much less HIGHLIGHTED by these two journals. Here area some snippets:

1) Apparently people in western countries are getting fatter because they eat more than before. No, really?

2) Apparently, impulsive animals get addicted to drugs faster. No kidding.

3) It turns out that people in they daily lives stick to a restricted geographical area, making many short trips, with more infrequent longer trips (commuting?). Another breakthrough, clearly.

Do not get me worng, I am sure there is nothing at fault with these Pieces Of Science, but are these the breakthrough investigations one expects to read from in Nature and Science? Are these not completely redundant, unnecesary, investigations? I suspect you have guessed my opinion already...

Malaysia F1 roadtrip

I just came back from a weekend in Malaysia. I went there with my friend G and we had a really nice ride in our bikes. I always love it in Mlaysia. It is a simple country with good infrastructure and friendly people (and the food is fantastic and the gas cheap).

The F1 in Sepang wasgood to see, and to hear. My God, the noise those machines make! We were a good couple of kilometers away from the circuit and I could hear the engines even with my helmet on. Amazing.

After this trip I've decided I must overcome my natural lazyness and register to upgrade my license to get a bigger bike. Riding is just soooo goood....

Mr. C

some travel pics

Today, some travel pics, fundamentally to make my sisters envious whenever they check this out :)

First, a big-ass Indian bull. Sort of important, that dude is. Apparently only four of this giant statues in the whole country. Very impressive. The statue was so big I had to back out of the temple entrance to take this pic. And it is made of a single stone!



The standard way to move around in India if you are a foreigner seems to be the auto-rickshaw or, as the locals would call it, an auto. They are everywhere and, if you care not much for your life, they can be as entertaining as a roller-coaster or bungee jumping. This picture is to remind you never to take one of those things without making sure the drivers starts the meter...




Now for a couple of pictures of a completely different country. While India has a booming economy and the level of education in the population continues increasing, with the country generating some of the better trained mathematicians and scientist in the World, Cambodia has only recently starting recovering from the bloody massacre that took place in recent times.

It is hard to find paved roads, and the level of living is clearly into what most westerners would call misery. I disagree here. Cambodia struck me as a country that was poor and underdeveloped, but with people that seemed content, often happy, and that make the best of a recovering country. Looking at how fertile the land is and how positively minded its people are, I expect they will recover and soon living standards will go up. I will definitely visit again, and probably more because of the Cambodian people than because of the temples, impressive as they are. So here we go, first a pic of a dusty road and an overloaded truck...



And now a rather impressive tree growing on one of the many Cambodian temples...



And my favorite, taken at Angkor Wat:



Well, it was about time I updated the blog. Bye, bye...

Mr. C