new AUTOCAD shortcuts for architects

i found a very cool blog: http://www.coffeewithanarchitect.com/

(the similarity in the name should raise questions about architect’s caffeine addiction? )

source:  http://www.coffeewithanarchitect.com/2011/08/28/ctrlangstdel/

today’s quote

Computers are everywhere – Who asked for this ?

Anytime-anyplace! – Equals nowhere

Objects will be smart – And they will force us to do something stupid

Anything can be on the internet – Do you need e-mail in a toaster ?

Anything can get an interface – Will they all flash 12:00, like VCRs ?

We can invent the future – But don’t damage what already exists

Microchips are cheap – Dealing with them is expensive

Buildings get nervous systems – Inhabitants get nervous

You can monitor your family – Does that build trust ?

Stuff becomes programmable – I don’t have time

Stuff becomes programmable – I don’t like the way someone else does it

Systems anticipate needs – And they assume we need entertainment

Tags can carry intructions – Mind the step; eat your vegetables

System respond to you – Hi! You appear to be writing a letter !!

Smart conveniences – What, the curtains ?

People won’t tolerate this – Look how they took up mobile phones

Who could love a computer – Did the farmer love his plow ?

Big brother is watching – Through terabytes of data smog

It’s all about surveillance – And cars are all about emissions ? bad side effects

Computers crash – So do cars, but we still use them

The net boom is over – Computers are not going away; quite the contrary

I’m against technology – Except my dishwasher

 

 

Common objections to pervasive computing - Digital ground, Malcom McCullough

feelin’ nostalgic

 

the mechanic … is boring

much like in the expandables, i got bored watching this. this is a much better film than the expandables, because i did not fall asleep. it has some nice action scenes, but that’s about it. i could almost say that it has a plot; for the first half of the movie it has one … and then something goes ka-boom and it becomes just another action flick.

it’s nothing more than a sunday afternoon, easy going movie. it’s not memorable in any way.

king’s speech

rating: lovely

it didn’t make me cry, but it touched something inside, enough to make me keep it in mind to see it again on a rainy day. it gave me a warm feeling and it also made me smile a few good times.

good acting, and above all  i liked Helena Bohnam Carter who showed that she can also play a normal person, and quite an elegant one.

i recommend this movie for a very enjoyable evening

“scriem mai mult decat citim”

cu nesimtire voi da direct copy/paste, fiindca mi se pare atat de crunt de adevarat si atat de … “pus degetul direct pe rana” incat alte comentarii mi se par derizorii

”

Misiune indeplinita

E atita galagie in jur, isteria muta si spasmodica a blogurilor, facebook-urilor, messenger-elor, twitter-urilor acopera totul, asemeni zapezilor paradoxale din epoca incalzirii globale. In toata aceasta agitatie, nu mai e mare lucru de spus, incepe sa devina o arta a sti sa taci, a invata sa nu spui absolut nimic, adica, altfel spus, a te cauta pe tine fara nici un fel de mediator virtual, tu cu tine insuti sau insati, in brutalitatea unui fata in fata privindu-te in oglinda dupa o noapte prea lunga.

Inca nu putem percepe, decodifica toate intelesurile faptului ca incepem sa scriem mai mult decit sa citim. Este o revolutie culturala sau, mai degraba, paraculturala, anticulturala. De unde impulsul – pulsiunea, afectul violent – de a spune ceva, orice, de a lasa o urma pe ecranele si in ochii altora, cit de efemera si cit de neinsemnata, dar sa fie o urma, sinonima cu salvarea noastra din anonimat si uitare? De unde nevoia de a-si expune intimitatea, subiectivitatea, afectivitatea, primului venit, cunoscutului si necunoscutului? Face bine sa te “share”-uiesti? E deja o rutina, e o terapie, e o dependenta?

Sintem trecuti demult dincolo si de formare, dar si de informare. Si de emancipare, dar si de cultivare. Nu mai cautam informatie, nu mai avem a merge dupa ea, ne urmareste ea peste tot, ne bintuie, in case, la munca, pe strada, in masina, in avion, pe sosele, in magazine, unde nu e informatie, unde nu e imagine, unde nu e ceva nou, mereu nou, obsedant de nou? Cel mai greu de-acum e sa ne destelenim, sa smulgem radacinile moarte ale copacilor doboriti de avalansa noului.

Adevaratul act revolutionar pare a fi de acum inainte inventarea formelor de rezistenta la informare, iar ascetismul veacului nostru e posibil sa semene cu efortul de a renunta sa spui ceva, cu abtinerea de la “comunicare”, pandemia impotriva careia nu vrem, doamne fereste, sa inventam un vaccin.

Propun o zi pe an fara “virtual”, fara “comunicare”, fara “publicitate”, fara “conturi” si fara liste nesfirsite de parole, fara retele de socializare si cereri de prietenie “à la con”, fara linkuri si status-uri si avataruri prefabricate sau personalizate. Poate fi mai rau decit o zi fara tutun, fara masina, fara becuri aprinse?

PS: Un trecator grabit pe acest blog a spus ca-l plictiseste locul. Misiune indeplinita. “

de ceva vreme am devenit fan-ul blogului unuia din fostii mei profesori – unul dintre oamenii pe care i-am intalnit la facultate si care mi-au facut o imensa placere sa ii ascult (si implicit sa ii citesc) desi era foarte rara vizita dansului la bucuresti.

sursa : Ciprian Mihali blog

AVATAR = blue Pocahontas ?

is it me or the story brings nothing new ? just a pretext for groundbreaking special effects… i thought movies are about something more. after seeing it and shaking off the huge effect of the images all i was left with was a story for kids. beautifully rendered, but still a story for kids.

after watching the golden globe awards i started feel even more frustrated because (even though i am no film critic) i don’t think that this movie deserved best movie award – a lot of cliches dumped, a lot of good actors with bad lines  (the ones that really stand out for me were the “bad general”‘s lines so poorly developed) and a very simplistic and easy to anticipate plot.

but then i calmed down and realised that the award is nothing else than a marketing tool.  another movie for the masses. don’t get me wrong, i watched it, i will watch it again probably and enjoy it… but i see it as a beautifully depicted simple story for children. i would even encourage people to see it just as i do with some cartoons… but even in that circumstance i think it’s lower than some disney’s.

once again i have been proven that an extraordinary packaging gives value to its poor content and some flaws that would have never passed the tests are overlooked because of that packaging. it is not rubbish, but time will tell the difference. it was the first of it’s kind, congrats to the team that made it.

but i can’t stop to wonder how it will be seen by those enthusiastics charmed by it’s looks when all this will be casual technique in the movie industry. i can’t blame them, it’s my job to look behind appearances and in the same time to create “envelopes” and maybe that’s why i am not fooled by all this and try to see what’s behind it, the content it’s what matters for me. i guess it’s hard to look at what’s inside in a world based so much on visual language.

i beg to differ

i strongly believe there are two major kind of people in this world : those who can and those who can’t.

ofc there are different shades of grey … but mainly what we got here is simple : pleople that understand the mechanics of this world and try to make the best of it or at least try to work their way through, with ups and downs, with pain and joy with all this life has to offer and following (or stepping on) their principles … some succeed, some fail, but in the end they did something – these are the people that we see as the heart and soul of the party, the people that know how to joke, know how to stand up when shit goes down, people that know when to be serious and when to wheep, people that know when to talk and when to shut up or better yet, people that know to smile and say “i’m ok” after they just triped and falled on their knees in a big muddy … sticky something…

and then, are the those who can’t… those that all they know to do is complain, all they do is talk how ugly and shitty and bad life is, how people are unfair, how life sux … blah blah blah… those people never understand life is the same for everyone, each and everyone of us has shit to deal with, just some of them don’t make a drama out of everything and try to see the other half of the glass.

this might seem kinda hypocritical coming out from me, a very cinical person (or so i like to think i am) but i am trully sick and tired of people complaining – this country sux, the other one is better, this job sux, the other one is better, this boyfriend/girlfriend sux, the other one is better, what i have is no good, all bad things happend to me, what the other one has is perfect, look what a happy life he/she is living  : cmon, every country sux, every job sux, everything around us cand be either shitty or good, depends on yourself to see the better in people and thing around u or to see the bad, dirty and filth in everything.

what u see and think is better are things that those people that can make it look easy, when it is not; it is the same thing everywhere (one may argue – it is not, do not compare mexico with romania or swiss with australia) – what i try to say here is that there is no “heaven on earth” stop looking for it, stop fraking complaining and get your shit together.

i am not complaining, i am just frustrated that i sometimes get fooled by those people and i start to feel sorry and start to care, when all they really need is a strong kick in the but.

i know people that have a lot of bad luck and stuff happening to them but they know how to make it through the day, they panic for a second there but always come out good, and i also know people that dramatize everything and all they know to do is complain about others.  those are the people that i am never going to raise a finger for because they are lazy and want others to do it for them because that is what they think a happy life means.

and some golden rules that stand for what i said here :

Rule 1 : Life is not fair — get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will
expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You
won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents
had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 5 : If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine
about your mistakes, learn from them.

 

 

Rule 6 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have
to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 7 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

respect

this is for the people that keep asking me why i don’t vote…

for ro …. and others that still love this country

vera found this blog : romerican while searching for some inspiration on wooden structures …. i guess google works in mysterious ways.
can’t really help not laughing … satyre is more than welcomed, i expecially
recommend this article a decebal christmas