Twouble with Twitter
Funny video about Twitter… with quite a bit of truth in it 
Sebastian Vettel explains 2009 F1 changes
Nice video of Sebastian Vettel explaining some of the changes that will affect the forthcoming Formula 1 2009 championship!
Novedades no tan nuevas
Más vale tarde que nunca… y es por eso que aprovecho para poner un par de fotos un tanto retrasadas. Bueno, en realidad no tanto, pero el tiempo vuela y parece que hubiera sido hace años.
Empiezo por fotos de la boda de Mary y Marc, la cual fue tan divertida como emotiva. Tuvo de todo un poco… ‘bloopers’ en la iglesia, invitados tardíos (o de plano ausentes), apagón de luz en la iglesia (durante la sesión de fotos), excelente comida, mucho alcohol, bailarines profesionales, cuenta-chistes con zapatos dispares, etc. En fin, una boda muy completa jeje.
Además, debo decir que quedé con una impresión super positiva del fotógrafo, que aunque ya había visto fotos suyas de otras bodas antes, las fotos que he visto hasta ahora son increíbles. Aunque todavía no están todas listas, dejo un par de muestra de la sesión de fotos en la Feria de Chapultepec
Y bueno, de vuelta a la vida en Madrid no han habido novedades importantes. Me he escapado de las nevadas pero no del frío, aunque por lo menos ya empieza a mejorar la temperatura y los días son mucho más alegres.
Además de alguna que otra fiesta, también me fui un fin de semana a una casa rural con Álvaro y el resto de la familia brasileña-francesa-española-dominicana-bulgara. Muy divertido y la casa de lujo, aunque no sé si es exactamente lo que se conoce generalmente como una experiencia rural… con mesa de billar, televisiones planas, etc.
Y el último viaje fue otro fin de semana a Marruecos, un sitio que tenía muchísimas ganas de visitar y representa mi primer visita a un país musulmán. Definitivamente una experiencia que vale la pena, y más aún bien acompañado, como tuve yo la oportunidad de ir con toda la bola de nokieros y ex-nokieros. Aunque saque muchas fotos, pongo mis favoritas aquí.
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- Feria de Chapultepec 1
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- Feria de Chapultepec 2
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- Feria de Chapultepec 3
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- Marrakech 5
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- Marrakech 4
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- Marrakech 3
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- Marrakech 2
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- Marrakech 1
Ahora, los próximos viajes planeados son a Barcelona y Toulouse… aunque me muero de ganas por visitar Paris, Londres, Irlanda, Alemania, etc etc. En fin, ya veremos a donde nos lleva la vida. Saludos!
Weddings & more
Holidays have come and gone… so I guess it’s a good time for a small review.
This past Christmas I had the opportunity to go back home to Mexico for the Christmas season. It was great enjoying time with the family and friends. On top of that, I had my sisters wedding, which was great fun and lots of stressful moments, as any wedding should be. At the end, everything turned out well and we had a great time. I also had the chance to spend new years at Valle de Bravo with Marc’s family and, except for getting sick, it was great.
Overall it was nice going back to Mexico, but on the other hand it also felt strange… or rather than strange it felt dissappointing. I am impressed as how quickly things are getting worse in Mexico City. And it is not that there is too much traffic or whatever, what dissappoints me is that there is a complete lack of authority, causing that everybody does whatever they please. Some things that you would have never seen 5 years ago are now a daily, and the worse part is that no one seems to care. Talking about this with friends, I just got quick replies but no real answers. I guess people get accostumed to living in that situation but that obviously doesn’t change the fact that things are not as they should be. And I do realize it has a lot to do with the current government and that the rest of mexico is not like Mexico city, but it is still very dissappointing to see where it is all heading.
I now have the chance to live somewhere else and see it all from afar, but that doesn’t stop me from wishing the situation gets better. Let’s hope next time things start to change for the better.
Looking for the Christmas spirit
Another month another post…
Someway somehow it seems rather difficult to be regular at writing posts, but in line with Murphy’s law I always think of something to write when I have the least time available. Anyhow, let’s get on with another news update…
This past month has been good… without any major news, but as they say, no news good news. Winter has finally arrived, and its getting cold, dark and rainy in Madrid. Although I generally like winter, being home alone can make it a bit depressing, hence I am now only thinking about going to Mexico… which will be next saturday 20th. Related to that, even though we are close to Christmas I haven’t felt any christmas spirit at all… definitely don’t feel like going shopping (nothing to do with the , and all I’ve had (and will have all this week) are Christmas dinners… which is dangerous hehe. But hopefully all of that will change when I reach home
And well, lately work has been…. weird. Lots of work but no projects, which means a lot of commercial activity doing proposals and commercial presentations, but somehow there is a big lack of planning. Besides work, it has been good… we suffered from Imad’s visit almost a month ago, and we had a great time. Lots of party and lots of jayness… Afterwards a couple of parties have taken place, with the last one including a big bunch of brazilians, some gift exchanges and even a visit by the police to shut us up.
Ahh and in a less important note, the tv show “The IT Crowd” has started the third season… hilarious, I highly recommend it for a good laugh.
And now the countdown has begun… only 5 days left before leaving, and lots of things to do (of which some I want to and others not so much hehe). This trip back to Mexico marks another year that has gone by, and I am now in the first quarter of my third year in Madrid… which although very fun, starts to seem a bit scary. Let’s see how things evolve…
Is Yahoo! the perfect match for Nokia?
It is more than well known (and getting boring by now) the intentions of Microsoft to buy Yahoo! At the end, it seems that the Microsoft has given up but with all the turmoil Yahoo!’s CEO has stepped down and the company’s shares have taken a plunge. But everything is not bad news…
Reading an article from ZD Net, they commented on how Yahoo! could do a great match for Nokia, and viceversa. Although I didn’t feel an acquisition of Yahoo! by Microsoft made much sense due to a cultural shock, Nokia could be a very different story. Although Nokia comes from the hardware manufacturer point of view, they are recently trying to become a services company. They have launched the Ovi initiative, which hasn’t really had much success. Unless you are a Nokia fanboy (or happened to work previously at Nokia ) chances are you have never heard of Ovi.
On the other hand, Yahoo! is a great services company which would get a great push by adding a hardware factor. This would ensure Yahoo! the access to mobile platforms it is looking for. And why should Nokia copy reinvent Flickr, Yahoo Mail, Search, etc…? Although Nokia might make good phones, they have always lagged on the software point of view, which is where Yahoo! could be very beneficial, providing the current services and software technology for phones. And it could make a better competitor against Google’s android, which although still doesn’t seem much of a threat, it could easily become one faster than it seems.
Even business-wise it seems as a good idea…. Nokia has been falling behind severely in the american market, where Yahoo! has not only a good brand name but also an important user base, and at the same time would help promote Yahoo! on the less popular Europe.
It all seems to good to be true…
50 years of NASA
This is a long forgetten post that got lost in the drafts section. Although I don’t intend to say what I originally wanted to say, I do want to point out that this year was the 50th anniversary of the creation of NASA.
Over the course of these 50 years a lot of things have happened… from walking in the Moon to driving RC cars in Mars, the Hubble telescope and the International Space Station.
But the history of space exploration also reflects the history on earth, from a race to space to an era of cooperation with an International Space Station. And now NASA has competition not only from Russia and Europe, but also China and India are investing heavily on their space programs. Last week even Australia announced they are planning on launching a national space agency. All this focus on Space exploration shows the importance it has for real life on earth…
However, although NASA certainly has earned the right to celebrate (despite the several unfortunate accidents that are always innevitable), I can only think of the ageing fleet of Space Shuttles. Built during the 1980s, only 3 remain (Discovery, Atlantis & Endeavour) but are scheduled to be retired in 2010, which is not that far away. They are planned to be succeded by the Orion Spacecraft, but with the current financial crisis and shrinking budgets, lets hope NASA can celebrate with as much pride in 25 years.
10 datos curiosos de México
Les comparto un mail que me ha enviado mi hermana. Aunque algunos son más o menos conocidos, hay otros bastante interesantes.
Saludos!
1.- ¿Sabías que el meteorito que provocó la extinción de los dinosaurios se estrelló, hace 65 millones de años, en lo que actualmente es el pueblo de Chicxulub en la costa de la península de Yucatán?
El impacto formó un cráter de 180 kilómetros de diámetro, que actualmente está sepultado sepultado a 600 metros de profundidad.
Fue descubierto en 1981 cuando trabajadores de Pemex hacían perforaciones en busca de yacimientos petroleros, detectando un cambio brusco de la densidad a esa profundidad.
2.- México significa ‘en el ombligo de la Luna’.
Del Náhuatl ‘Metztli’ (luna) y ‘xictli’ (ombligo). Los Aztecas lo pronunciaban ‘Meshico’. Los españoles lo escribían ‘Méjico’ ya que no existía la pronunciación de la ‘x’. La Real Academia de la Lengua permite las dos versiones: México y Méjico.
3.- ¿Sabes porqué se le llama Zócalo a la plaza central de la Ciudad de México?
En 1842 el presidente Antonio López de Santa Ana mandó construir en la entonces Plaza de la Constitución una gran columna conmemorando la Independencia. Sin embargo debido a múltiples problemas sólo se terminó la base o zócalo, la cual permaneció durante varios años hasta que fue retirada, pero el nombre llegó para quedarse.
4.- La residencia oficial de los presidentes mexicanos se llama ‘Los Pinos’ no porque en ella abunden estos árboles, sino en recuerdo de una huerta en Michoacán donde el presidente Lázaro Cárdenas (quién fue el primero en habitar dicha residencia)conoció a su esposa.
5.- México (el estado de Zacatecas) es el mayor productor de plata en el mundo.
6.- México es el mayor consumidor per cápita de coca cola a nivel mundial (527 botellas de ocho onzas por persona al año, superior al promedio de 411 en Estados Unidos).
7.- México es el país que tiene más taxis: 60,000 registrados (súmale los piratas).
8.- El nombre de la zona de México conocida como Península de ‘Yucatán’ se debe a que un conquistador preguntó a un maya cómo se llamaban esas tierras. El nativo probablemente le respondió: yuk ak katán.
Lo que el español no sabía es que en maya significa ‘no te entiendo’.
9.- El castillo de Chapultepec es el único castillo construido en el continente Americano donde han habitado monarcas.
10.- México, D.F. es la ciudad con el mayor número de museos en el mundo: 110 museos.
Tales of the unexpected
As always, a while without writing… but now the lack of projects at work and hence more free time is allowing me to write some thoughts So yeah, lets look at the positive side of the bad news
Well, recently it has been a weird mix of good and bad things… first of all, I received the visit from Gautam Chandarana, an old friendo from Erasmus I met in Jönköping, Sweden. It had been a veery long time since we last saw each other, to be more precise about 5 years. But what impressed me is how after such a long time during which we hardly communicated, he is still the same fun guy and we still get along great. He arrived last thursday and came with his brother… in a small detour from his family visits to London (although from indian origin, he was actually born in Kenya and lives in Florida ).
With Gautam and Rishnan’s visit, the bad news started… first, while cleaning I accidentaly connected my old Xbox directly to the powerline, which caused an inmediate puff followed by a thik and stinky cloud of white smoke declaring the death of my old Xbox. I think my poor old xbox almost deserves a post of its own 
It has a very peculiar story but in brief, I bought it in Canada in 2002 while studying a summer course. It was the first generation, just released… I carried it in my back to Mexico where it enjoyed years of service Then I took it with me to Querétaro, then back to México, and last February I brought it with me to Spain. While performing a software update I half-crippled it, loosing the ability to play movies, and now this weekend I gave the final blow… which I guess is a good excuse to buy a new xbox or PS3
But my bad luck didn’t end there… later on during the same day, while watching the TV with Gautam and his brother, it suddenly went pitch dark. At first, we thought it had accidentaly powered off, but no… it suddenly started making screetching noises and showing lines and odd things at the top of the screen. And so, both my xbox and tv died the same day 
The TV is almost new (3 months) so it is still covered by the warranty, however it is a royal pain in the ass.
But we end with some more good news I had a great time with Gautam during the weekend… we started off with Diwali dinner on friday, went to Segovia on saturday and visited Madrid on sunday. They are leaving tomorrow tuesday, and my parents are coming over, arriving on thursday and staying for a week! And yes, I will post pictures soon!
So in summary, unexpected bad news but still good news and good times to come
Rise or fall of Russia?
Just as a quick note… there is a highly recommendable article on the Washington Post about the supposed rise Russia has been experiencing lately. With news about all these rich russians and the military displays it has been giving in Georgia, it would seem as if the situation in Russia is improving. However as the article explains, there are many troubling problems within Russia’s society.
Definitely worth a read…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/03/AR2008100301976.html
Apple’s new console
Last week Apple had it’s Let’s Rock event where it showed the latest iPod line-up for the upcoming holidays. After so many leaks it was impossible to be surprised at the new iPod Nanos (4G) although I have to admit I like them quite a lot… They recognized their mistake with the fatty Nano (3G) and corrected the design. The iPod Classic was consolidated into a single model, which confirms the decrease in demand but I believe it is a mature product that still offers a lot of value and will be kept in store shelves for still quite a while.
And last but not least, Apple also updated the iPod Touch. The hardware updates are somewhat minor, adding volume controls, speakers and connectivity to the Nike+ running companion. However, on the software side there is a subtle but important change. It now comes with the App Store built-in, which gives it a whole new focus. It is no longer just an iPod, but now Apple is advertising it as a gaming device. But is it? Can it compete against Nintendo, Sony or others?
While Nintendo makes relatively cheaper products focused on a younger audience, both Apple and Sony are focused on the higher end customer segments with fancier hardware, which will make them compete head to head.
Whereas Nintendo and Sony use classical game cartridges, Apple’s solution is more technologically advanced, offering over-the-air downloads and an online store which can give instant access to any available game. This is very benefficial in many ways… it not only helps reduce costs and distribution time, but this in turn allows to make available many other apps which in the traditional model would simply be impossible to offer, either because they are offered for free or because they simply don’t offer enough value so that an acceptable price can cover the costs. However, regardless of how convenient it is, it may turn out backfiring to Apple on the higher end of applications, where users might feel afraid to pay a considerable amount of money for digital information without the backup of a physical object.
The iPod Touch (or iPhone in any case) represents a serious threat to mobile game consoles such as the PSP. Although coming from the media world instead of the gaming world may represent a disadvantage for serious gamers, it stregthens its ability to be an all-in one device, which is not only usefull for gaming, but allows watching movies (without Sony’s stupid proprietary disc formats), listening to music, web browsing, mail, etc. and has the added functionality of hundreds of small applications.
It is not very well know yet how the iPod’s interface (touchscreen) will be received for serious gaming, but with these capabilities and with big players in the industry such as EA developing games specifically for the iPod, it is only a matter of time before it becomes a serious player in the portable gaming industry.
American Pie
American Pie for dummies…
Summer’s over
Well, September has arrived and with it summer holidays are over. It has been quite a while since I reallly wrote a real post, my apologies for that, but as usual time flies by and its hard to find time to write about things that hide inside the every-day routine.
A lot of things have passed, so I guess I will try and start from where I left off… I have moved to my flat. Actually I have now been for more than a couple of months in the new flat and overall I am very happy about it. As always it has a million things I don’t like… such as hitting my head on the low ceiling, getting horribly hot, cracking floor, etc… but still the feeling of being my home and only mine is great! Yes I get to do all the cleaning, but at least I can keep it as clean as I want to, which results in the cleaning not being so bad after all.
And well, concerning my home, I recently bought a nice flat tv in order to watch movies and play videogames (I don’t really watch much tv). However, I had the great idea to update the software in my modded xbox (first gen) which resulted in a half-crippled box! :S I can still play original games but no longer “backup copies” of games nor watch dvd’s or other media. This is quite unfortunate, and is making me consider on buying a new generation console So still trying to decide between the PS3 and Xbox, and waiting to save some money
For the summer holidays, I went to Tenerife for a couple weeks with Alejandro, Virginia and Miguel. It was great to enjoy a lot of sun, sand and sea although surprisingly not everybody enjoys the beach! hehe It was a nice relaxing trip, and although it was a lot of fun, I have to admit it felt a bit weird going to Tenerife without my family… making me feel homesick more than usual.
After coming back from Tenerife, with a considerable delay due to Spanairs’ accident, I left the next day to Valencia with Alvaro, Jesús and Mauricio to the F1 GP of Europe! It was my first time at a F1 race and was very excited about it, plus it had the added bonus that it was the first time the race was held in Valencia, with a new street-circuit. And overall, I enjoyed the experience quite a lot. I have to say there were some things I liked a lot and some I didn’t like that much… The event is during three days (although we only went to two), which makes it bit intense… you have practices, qualifying rounds, GP2 races, porsche cup races, bmw cup races, etc. etc. and of course the F1 race. And for all of this you are sitting on a under-sized seat under the sun/rain next to a fat stinky guy Still, the sound of the engines is amazing… nothing I had ever imagined, and the atmosphere and excitement made it all worthwhile. Still, I have to admit you need to be quite a fan, but definitely something that needs to be experienced at least once in a lifetime
You can see some pictures from the summer holidays on the following public facebook album:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29510&l=1d47f&id=500254325
And well, now back to work and daily routine I started working last week, with the office half empty and not too much work to do. Now people are coming back from holidays and activity is gearing up again. So lets see what future project comes. We are already in September and the year is going by quicly… lets try and make something out of what’s next!
Cheers!
Pentagon’s Unmanned Spokesdrone
They really need one of these…
Has the potential to save countless careers! 
Rainy outside?
Is it rainy outside?? Not for me! I can see a beautiful skyline under a shiny blue sky! All thanks to my umbrella which I bought in Frankfurt
Superheroes Bollywood style!
As you should know, India has the biggest movie production industry in the world, nicknamed Bollywood, which produces every year hundreds of movies where everybody dances and sings. So, what happens when you combine Bollywood with classic comic superheroes Superman and Spiderman Spidergirl? Yes, something dreadful and disturbing…
Through Juan’s ‘recommendation’ I reached this video of just that… a part of an Indian movie that shows Superman and ‘Spidergirl’ flying around, singing, dancing and of course saving the world from evil!
What I know of the movie is little (although I don’t really want to know more!)… according to Divya, it is around 40 years old and the insightful lyrics are:
“Tu Mera Superman, Main Teri Lady, Ho Gya Hain Apna Pyar Already”
(English translation: You are my Superman, I am your lady; I have fallen in love with you already)
Caution: might cause irreparable brain damage!
Houston: the eagle has landed!
Well this was a long and interesting weekend…
After over a year and a half of living in Madrid in the same flat, I finally moved to a new place to call home. The old place left me lots of good (and bad) memories and friends which I hope will last for life, but after a while it was time to finally move on to a place of my own. Thinking about it, this is the second place where I’ve lived the longest, just after my ‘real’ home, and although it was originally a temporary place to stay, it ended up feeling as my home. And as any home it also had a ‘family’… sort of… through that time I lived with 11 people who came and went (except for Diego who’s still there 2 belgians, 2 spaniards, 1 colombian, 1 peruvian, 1 norwegian, 2 italians, 1 portuguese and 1 french. And now, I move on to the unexpected! This gives me a great feeling of excitement but I guess also some responsibility hehe.
So last saturday I kinda started to pack… as always, it is amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in such a short time. Then I spent the whole evening at the obligatory stop: IKEA. I bought lots of things… from dishes to a chair. I am still thinking on buying a dining table, but we’ll see… space is kind of a problem. I went to IKEA with Alex and Virginia and as always I wanted to buy everything… and at the end it was a miracle I fitted in the car after all the stuff we bought! And well, to finish the day off we had Fabien’s birthday party! which was great. Relaxed but lots of fun… exactly what I needed.
Sunday was the main moving day. My paisano Alvaro was kind enought to offer me his help to move everything in his car to the new place. We had to do 2 trips, which I guess was not that bad. However, my bags were heavy as hell, and having to lift them up to the second floor without an elevator was a royal pain in the ass. Still it all went ok and I was off with an empty room behind and a flat full of suitcases and IKEA bags in front. Thankfully, in Spain you get a day off for moving, which was of great help cause I could spend all monday cleaning and arranging. Still, there are lots of things left to do, but it feels great to set up your own home, with everything as you like. I will post pictures of my flat, but later when its organized and tidy
Ahh and yes, I have a new phone line at home, so anyone who wants to call me you can do so to my home phone (cheaper than mobile!). My number is +34 915 331 345.
Cheers!
Slow-mo punching!
Well, through Dvorak’s blog I found this interesting video… and yes, just in case you were wondering, I do love slow motion videos hehe.
No matter what.
Following with my obsession with the movie “The Darjeeling Ltd.”, which I can’t get out of my mind for several reasons, and following my tocayo’s footsteps, below is a quote from the short film “Hotel Chevalier” which opens the movie. In an odd way so close and familiar, yet so strong.
Ex: Whatever happens in the end, I don’t wanna lose you as my friend.
Jack: I promise, I will never be your friend. No matter what. Ever.
Ex: If we fuck I’m gonna feel like shit tomorrow.
Jack: That’s okay with me.
Ex: I love you. I never hurt you on purpose.
Jack: I don’t care.
100 days
Today marks exactly 100 days since I arrived back to Spain from Mexico. This reminds me of two things… first, that I need to go pick up my new NIE card and second that time flies by extremely fast.
A lot has happenned in these 100 days… I started my new job at everis at which I also make today 3 months, meaning I am now officialy a permanent employee and no longer in “probation” period. Overall I have enjoyed a lot my new job and am still quite excited about it. It has had its ups and downs but it has been a very positive experience and helped me met lots new people…
I have also had the opportunity to have some unforgettable trips and obviously lets not forget about the parties I now have a new home to which I will hopefully be moving to in a week, which excites me a lot since I will now be living on my own for the first time, with all the advantages and freedom that means, but also with all the responsabilities and hard work it requires. But I think its a good step forward… so we’ll see, i will keep you updated when I finally move.
cheers!
Calm before the iPhone storm!
It seems that before every great storm there is a moment of calmness, and it feels like were exactly there regarding the upcoming 3G iPhone… except for rumors that is, which are as active as if the WWDC was tomorrow.
With recent announcements by several telcos, it seems that we are gonna finally see an almost worldwide iPhone release. Vodafone has already made an announcement confirming it will offer the iPhone in 10 European countries, America Móvil will offer it accross all of Latin America, Italy will have 2 operators offering it, and in Spain it will be offered by Movistar although it seems that Orange is also pushing to have it. So with operators offering it all over the world, Apple must really be stocking supplies like crazy right now, because no matter how expensive, they will surely sell like hotcakes.
But then, that is not all… lets not forget that Apple is going to make it an “open” platform. So for a platform which already has lots of applications while being locked and requiring “hacking”, I am sure we are going to see hundreds and hundreds of new applications.
So what does this all mean? Well, develop a platform with millions of users, which fosters thousands of applications, and add media content availability (through iTunes) of not only music but tv shows, movies, podcasts, etc. and to top it off have Apple’s “fashionable” style… it sure sounds like good business
All I need
Radiohead and MTV Exit version of “All I need”.
Algarve, Portugal
Summer is about to arrive, and it couldn’t be a better time for some days off from work! So last weekend with thursday and friday off, we took off to Algarve, in Portugal!
The whole thing was sort of a last-minute plan… I was told by Alvaro of the plan to go, and friends invited friends and so on, and at the end, it was a huge group of 24 people, and it turned out to be a great trip!
We parted from Madrid on Wednesday afternoon… 3 cars left earlier and our plan was to leave at 6 but obviously some how everyone got delayed and we ended up leaving at 8pm. With 8-9 hours driving ahead it seemed like it was gonna be tough but thanks to the in-car company it turned out to be fun (although still tiring). In our car the official driver was Alvaro and co-pilot Mónica, and we reached the hotel at about 4:30am (I can’t remember if that was local time or Madrid-time).
From then on, the long weekend was sleeping, eating, playing footbal, partying and basically enjoying the beach! Half of the fellow travellers were brazilians, which meant playing football, dancing samba, drinking caipirinhas and basically party all day long! It is amazing how they really do live at a very different pace!
The beaches were very nice… the weather was quite good, although a bit cold, but we still managed to swim in the sea and all. So overall the trip was excellent (except for monkey’s cousin of course) and to top it off Real Madrid won the league when we reached Madrid! Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to cibeles but next year I will
Below are some pictures… hope you like them. Cheers!