About Life, the Universe, and Everything

On Existence

2011-02-11T04:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I fell asleep to a powerful thought.

Let me set the ambiance first. I'm laying on my bed thinking about tomorrow and then realize that I hear no outside sounds, a peculiar thing in my apartment. My door is shut and the bedroom curtains are down.

I realized that my perceived world is always very limited. As far as my senses are concerned, there is nothing else outside of my field of vision, beyond my hands' reach and whatever limit my hearing and sense of smell have. So there on my bed, hearing no outside sound, looking at my 4 walls and roof, there exists nothing else!

I'm fond of rambling around an idea, I'll try to leave this one at that.

Myths: Evolution, Transformation or Universality

2010-03-02T07:42:00.000-05:00

* Comments are in italic. I thought of putting them as a footer, but I think that applies more to regular ways of publishing. Blogs are supposed to be informal and so I prefer to keep the reading as my train-of-thought goes, but differentiate between statements and comments. Maybe its bad writing form but I like it.

This topic (actually two topics) occurred to me a long while ago, while reading/studying various mythologies. Recently I discussed a related subject with my friends on Buzz, and thought that this would produce a more agreeable conclusion. A big thank you to all that were interested and contributed to that discusion, I hope for your criticism here as well.

Comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures. There are several recurring themes told in distinct fashion by each group. These recurrences are often found to signal the interaction of two cultures: by trade, assimilation or other means.

Considering the catholic background on which I grew, while reading these stories, it is hard to not notice the appearance of these same recurrences in the catholic system of beliefs. Due to this, it seems plausible to consider most stories from The Bible worthy of analysis as a myth.

Initially this post was to be about that, finding some of the origins about those tales. I had a change of heart. Through discussing this with friends, I noticed that out of the two ways to write such a post: radical criticism was beyond my liking, and true in-depth research required more time than the interest I had on the topic right now. Anything in-between, I thought moot (not worthy of a post). So the subject is slightly changed into a different but related reflection.

I do belief in God, I am not an atheist. I do, however, find most of the tales found in religious texts to be amusing for they are full of allegory and demand careful interpretation. Many annoying situations arise from the more strict interpretations, the problems go from hot headed discussions, to The Inquisition and all-out wars such as the Catholic-Islamic wars of the Crusades, and more currently to the conflict in Israel - Palestine. This gives me a severe distaste for organized religions.

Regardless of my distaste, an important recurrence that I see in most religions, is the universal mandate to be good and harmonious with your peers. This to me, is a much better testament to the existence of a divine father figure, than most other efforts to instruct this belief into someone. Pardon the convoluted arrival to this point. I think everybody and nobody is right about God. Each may experience God in a way that is more attune to itself, thus making this experience true, but not exactly right for the rest.

Harmony and Chaos, Good and Evil, Yin and Yang. I am intellectually tickled by the coincidences indeed.

Anecdotally and off topic, I once fantasized of a future where our civilization fell into obscurity. After several centuries or millennia, amongst the ruins of our cities, the only book that becomes decipherable by archeologists at the time is a copy of "The Lord of the Rings". These archeologists, have only this fictional book and interpret that tale as a written record of our history, and possibly theirs (if they are human).

My Identity Crisis with Free Software

2010-02-05T17:54:00.000-05:00

I have what I consider a big dilemma in computing. For most of my undergrad studies, I was a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) proponent. Nowadays, it seems I've lost my way after stumbling into the world of Apple.

I carried the banner of FOSS with some friends at our university. I like to think that we made a big impact in the community that surrounded us; we influenced a lot of fellow students and teachers into using FOSS in their work and lives. I am very proud of my involvement in this effort, and I fully enjoy developing with free* tools rather than closed** ones.

However, about a year ago I fell into Apple's enchantment. For several reasons, Mac OS X is a very attractive proposition! The hardware is gorgeous; my macbook provides me with a closed UNIX environment, and so, many FOSS tools are still available; my system is the closest thing to "always-on" that I've seen, hibernation works exceptionally well; most regular user applications really just work.

Programming puts me again at a cross-road, installing and running free software on a current linux distribution is very straight-forward, not so on a Mac. I want to go back to my beloved ubuntu. But I don't want to leave behind the comforts that I've gotten so used to. If possible I'd keep the macbook with Mac OS X as a secondary computer to handle web browsing, email and leisure, but I don't have the money for keeping to computers right now. Double booting is an option, but the mac performs horribly with ubuntu, and so goes my love/hate relationship with Apple (I think they do it on purpose).

Furthermore, Apple's ecosystem sucks compared to a FOSS community. It is clear to anyone that the company means to make a specific set of people happy, its shareholders. Some features I consider the work of genius, others I despise because they are clearly meant to rip you of your money. Everything works very well together, when you use approved products, but integration with the outside I consider a little flaky.

For the current time, Apple has beat me, I'll stay around for a little longer. But as their business side doesn't appeal to me, I'm pretty sure I'll go back to FOSS on my next computer purchase. Anyway, I don't foresee a closing to my problems anytime soon. I expect I'll miss the mac as soon as I boot my next ubuntu.

* A sensible comment for non-programmers is that free in this case means complete liberty of use.
** Closed being the opposite of free in the above sense.

Comienzo del Otoño

2009-12-10T12:29:00.000-05:00

Pues ya entrados en el otoño, debo decir que encuentro el clima de Barcelona bastante difícil para acostumbrarse. No por el frío, sino por la fluctuación de temperaturas que está siendo bastante grande, algunos días helado y otros relativamente caliente. De cualquier forma me parece que los cambios de temporada son entretenidos. Esto al menos para quienes estamos acostumbrados a casi inexistentes variaciones de temperatura y vestimenta durante todo el año.

Por otro lado, los colores del otoño son un espectáculo muy bonito y fugaz. Digo fugaz, porque debido a mi mala apreciación, el día que por fin me tiempo para salir a tomar fotos, muchas de las hojas coloridas ya se habían caído.

Actualizando mi status fotográfico del departamento, ahí va mi nuevo wallpaper. La foto que acabó de tomar desde mi ventana. Afortunadamente el campus está situado en una zona no completamente céntrica, y se da el lujo de estos paisajes y parques.

También he comenzado a hacer un poco de cicloturismo por la ciudad. Ya he salido algunas veces de casa en la bici, con mapa en el bolsillo y sin rumbo fijo. Barcelona es una ciudad muy amigable para peatones y ciclistas, muchas de las calles importantes tienen carriles específicos para bicis y parterres amplios. Además en bici la ciudad se vuelve muy rápida de atravesar, estoy a unos quince minutos de pedaleo de la Sagrada Familia por ejemplo. Ahora me falta alguna mochila que me permita llevar cómodamente la cámara, cuando la consiga creo que podré relatar con más emoción estas experiencias que se están volviendo de diario.

Ya tengo tema de tesis, me lo confirmaron hoy y estoy bastante contento con el problema que me han planteado resolver. Adelanto para los interesados que voy a trabajar en el desarrollo de un sistema CAVE. Cuando pueda publicar más detalles los verán por aquí con seguridad.

Evolución de las Comunicaciones

2009-11-23T18:15:00.000-05:00

Hace 15 años, mis papás se comunicaban por fax con la familia en Ecuador. Recordando con ellos, notaban como era muy importante escribir las cartas con letra clara pero muy chiquita. Los mensajes se cobraban por carilla enviada.

Pasarían unos 8 años más para que nuestra familia empezara a utilizar emails. Durante los años en que fuimos de intercambio Edu y yo. La comunicación ya era más constante, pero igual muy puntual e informativa a ratos.

Y con esos pasos llegamos a la mañana del sábado. Tuvimos una conversación tripartita con mi papá (en casa) y mi mamá (de congreso). De no haber sido por complicaciones con el horario nos hubiera acompañado también Edu. La normalidad de la ocasión me agradó mucho. Estando en cuatro lugares distantes, una conversación familiar es un evento fácilmente realizable.

Ahora recibo mis sermoncillos periódicos, mi mami me dá clases de cocina internacional y nos mantenemos al día de tecnología con mi ñaño. Sigo pidiendo consejos de vez en cuando y conversando de trivialidades cuando se han acabado las noticias. Estos dos meses han sido muy agradables y cotidianos.

On Living Abroad

2009-11-15T12:33:00.001-05:00

Coincidentally, in 2009, a large group of close friends and family left the comforts of home for various purposes. Many are having a hard time, feeling homesick and having trouble adapting to their new life.

My stay in Barcelona is, what I consider, my third big chance at being foreign. And I've been racking my brains the past months trying to remember what I've done right or wrong on my previous trips. I don't think that my experiences and conclusions will be of much help to anybody, but writing has always appeared to me as a nice way to put my thoughts in order. It should also be a good source of discussion.

I've always been very attached to my parents, I love them very much and enjoy spending time with them. I consider greatly their advice and generally have a friendly relationship with them. Fortunately, I've inherited their terrible practicality with stuff (when you two read this, terrible = very good). So, my first observation: Don't spend too much time thinking about how much you miss home. Whenever you decided it was for the best to travel, remember that and keep on. It gets easier with time.

I'm not saying that you should forget about friends and family. But if you want to avoid feeling alone and having the urge to go back, try to live your life where you are. If your whole schedule revolves around waiting for an email or a phone-call each day, you're probably doing it wrong.

I think one of the bad advices I got before going to the US as an exchange student, was that I should try to hang around with locals. That would help me learn the language faster and so. I think it was a mistake from my part to try to do so. The only person I keep in frequent contact now is a cute girl whom I only saw 5 or 6 times during that year (sigh). Don't be picky about new friends.

Overall, I think it is necessary to always have a good attitude towards your current situation. I don't pretend to say that it is easy. But if you are really not having a good time, at least a good perspective makes things bearable.

Lista de Eventos en Barcelona

2009-11-13T09:04:00.003-05:00

Pues, pequeño comentario antes de comenzar el post. Hablo Castellano, Inglés y Catalán. No quiero alienar a ninguno de mis amigos o familia, así que escribiré según tenga antojo en cualquier idioma.

Barcelona es una ciudad que para mi significa mucho. Viví acá de pequeño con mis padres y era mi gran ambición venir a pasar al menos una temporada. Ahora que esto se está cumpliendo, la verdad es que lo estoy disfrutando mucho.

Tengo una "lista de eventos", a los que he de asistir durante este año. Nuevamente, meto en esta conversación a los compañeros de la residencia con quienes congeniamos en que HAY que ir a:

El Camp Nou, a ver jugar al Barça. Ya está, y fue toda una experiencia inolvidable, se repetirá :)

Partido de la Champions League contra el Dynamo de Kiev. Gol del Barça.

El "Cirtuit de Catalunya", en Montmeló. Donde se corré el Gran Premio de España de la F1. La quinta carrera del 2010, del 5 al 7 de Mayo.
A ver un partido de Rafa Nadal, en el Torneo Conde de Godó. Que además las canchas nos queda a cinco minutos a pie. En Abril.

Estos son los tres eventos de gran envergadura, que para aquellos que conocen algo de estos deportes seguro han escuchado, que tengo en mi lista por el momento. Se aceptan sugerencias.

Getting away from Social Networks

2009-11-13T06:24:00.006-05:00

A few days ago I had a short chat with two friends from my residence. We were eager to make friends since we are all from outside Barcelona, so we started sharing contact details and deciding on something to do soon. They are of my same age, so I expected them to use Facebook, Twitter, IM or any of the now common methods of communication. They don't.

Being away from home, family and friends, has made me feel a sort of obligation to keep attached to social networks. But, when I gave this as an argument to my new friends, the short rebuke was that phone and email conversations did just fine for that.

The conversation made me remember some of the shitty things that Facebook/Twitter does to me:

Huge time waster!
Misinformation of important stuff. I was amazed one time at how something I had posted spread in rumor-like fashion. I am still disappointed of the people that spread the twisted message, I expected better. Which leads to the next point...
Facebook allows you to set some privacy limitations, but it is still too open. Nowadays, even employers have access to personal bits of your life. Employers being the tame case, you can talk about stalkers, scammers or whatnot.
More on that. Throughout six years of studying and working at an university, I have befriended a lot of the people that were previously my teachers. My connection to the teachers at my school, allows my undergrad friends to get access to parts of the private life of their current teachers. I know that some of them don't like it.

I would like to get away from these problems and still keep in touch with friends. Thus, I'm retaking my idea of writing a blog. Granted, blogs are even more open that some social networks, but you have much more control over what is out there and what you keep to yourself.

Another important reason, that drives me to blogging is that I have always enjoyed writing. I hope that this will become a more personal experience than tweeting or updating statuses.

With nothing more coming to mind for this post, I hope to discuss the subject with some of you.

Thanks for reading :)