Tsipise

It"s been a while

2015-04-20T11:04:00.001+02:00

I must confess, i gave up on blogging for quite some time. mainly because google was shutting down on advertising. I still don't know why, and I don't get any reason why they stopped to advertise on my site. I broke the rules, they say. Any appeal on their decision seems to be useless, they just do what they want.

Anyways, it's been a long time, but the situation now has changed that people asked me to write again, and besides having a lot of time at hand now (post-surgery time, that is), i decided to give it a boost again.

I've been operated, that's right. I was unlucky to have a second herniated disc in my lower back, as painful as the first one six years ago. and again, nothing to do but take pain killers in enormous amounts, then operate. ANd wait in a hospital bed for the doctor to give his blessing to go home, i hope today. But I will not be able to do normal work again for at least a month, so i'm planning on posting a lot in the coming days.

Besides not being happy at all to be incapacitated this way, I also realise how lucky I am to live in a coutry where the medical care is so sophisticated that the can do something about this. Imagine the pain going on for years...

Buy some extra time.

2011-04-05T09:09:00.000+02:00

So, you are late with that homework, text, powerpoint presentation... You know it will cost you if you don't send anything. You will get bad marks, or your boss will get angry at you (again) and you don't wanna loose your job...
You just need another day, you are the top of procrastinators, but your work is generally OK, but always

Too Late....

Go here. Use it. But beware: don't get caught, it will aggravate your case.

http://neddyy.net/docs/

From now on you can blame it on bad bits.

Ask yourself five times "Why?"

2011-03-14T11:30:00.001+01:00

A good trick to reach you inner motivation, your drive why you do or don't do an action, is asking Why. five times in a row.
Since it is your own exercise, you have just three rules:

be sincere and honest to yourself.
Make it personal. It's about YOU, YOUR thoughts and feelings. Not about the others.
If you answer "I don't know", be even more sincere and honest to yourself. You deserve it.

You'll be surprised what the result is.

So I write this post.
Why (do I write this)?
Because I found out this technique is interesting and confronting. I want to share this with other people.
Why (do I want to share this)?
Because I think it confronts with my inner motivation. Personally, I feel the urge to share this because it's important people know why they do things.
Why (do i feel this urge)?
I guess I am frustrated sometimes because people do stupid things without thoroughky thinking over.
Why (am I frustrated about this)?
I'm not only frustrated, I'm fed up with the stupidity of some people and their motivations (if they have any ) They ruin it for a lot of other people. I want to change things.
Why (do I want to change things)?
Because I believe things can change.

There it is. I am still the idealist from high school.
Only I'm more frustrated now than I was in that time.

To keep it funny, think this:

Di Caprio knew it already :)

afternote: this technique is known in project management and problem solving, consult wikipedia or search google on "five times why" or "5 whys". Using it for self reflection is just one way to exploit it.

Who is in power?

2011-03-01T15:20:00.000+01:00

Libia is chaotic.

It is very unclear how this will end. But it's crucial, even for us poor powerless civilians. A total civil war will have its effects on global economy. Because of the oil.

Why was Khadaffi not the West's best friend? Because he was totalitarian, and did not want to listen to the West. He made his own deals. He supported terrorist groups from all over the world, gave them their nice place under the sun, in the immeasurable Libyan desert, to 'spread and reproduce' The US and Europe did not like this, for years. They supported anti-Khadaffi forces, and Khadaffi supported any group that was active in terrorism against Western countries.

This is old like the sand dust in the desert. It gave support to IRA, RAF, PLO, Umkhonto We Sizwe (the armed wing of the ANC of South Africa), and some others. These went from extreme right to extreme left, it didn't matter as long as it destabilised the Western world.
Therefore he was not particularly loved by the West. But after the Lockerby attack, there was an immense international pressure to hand over the terrorists, so he did. A lot of bans and boycotts were lifted, as a sign of goodwill, and almost everybody started to tolerate the Libyan policy. They had oil, reason enough.

How much oil are we talking?

Libya is the largest African producer, and ninth on the world list. Their oils is especially attractive, because it's easy to win, and close to the European markets. The reserve, at current rate of production, is estimated to last for another 50 years, But, since the boycotts, an estimate of 35% of the oil reserves are unexplored. So there is still a 'gold mine' under the desert of Libya.

That's a lot of oil. Enough to start a war over. At hte given situation of who is in control, and what might change, the West, but at this time, also China and a few other emerging economies, are happy with the crisis in Libya, as longs it does not take months. They would be very happy if a more liberal regime would come to the power.

So, what is all this saying about the close future?

My guess: If the revolution staggers, we might see international intervention. Even a secret one, with special ops, the French Foreign legion (who are particularly home in African deserts), to overthrow the regime. But it will get bloody. Khadaffi has well trained troops, and abundance of weapons, which were provided to him (I suppose mainly in exchange for the oil)

Other countries won't be that happy with the intervention of the West in Libya: It destabilizes the agreements that the Arabic countries made about oil prices, so they might put pressure on the West not to intervene. In the worst case, The actively support Khadaffi and send troops.
In those cases, oil prices will rise.

So, expect expensive oil. Expect a critical destabilisation of North Africa and the Middel East.

Be happy if you live in Australia or New Zea-land. Its fucking far from your beds.

Iran Yemen Algeria Jordania Tunesia Egypt...

2011-02-15T20:47:00.000+01:00

There is something strange going on in the Muslim world.

I try to understand the motives why suddenly (I mean, over the past few years) the call for democracy has grown to a strength where revolutions burst out and shake the whole Muslim world on its foundations. Not that I don't approve this, I very much encourage free speech and democracy.

(I have my thoughts with a total liberal economy, though. It's mostly to the disadvantage of the weaker, poorer economies.)

What encourages me the most, is the example Egypt set here: In an almost perfect non-violent way, they took all obstacles they faced, and still, while the military is on guard now, they keep a reasonable, healthy amount of reserve against this ruling power.

I was afraid, yesterday, when Iranians came to the street, and indeed, the actions were much more violent, and so was the acting of police forces. Yemen also.

Egypt might have the advantage of being close to the western world, in full contact with the West because of the tourism, and therefore give them a clearer view on what they want and how to get there.

A very cool map, coupled to tweets, can be found here and here:Unrest Spreads Through Arab World: Updated Interactive Map

300.

2011-02-13T14:09:00.000+01:00

You are my Spartans.

Walk like an Egyptian.

2011-02-12T00:14:00.000+01:00

I've never been so hopeful, so proud the last 20 years as today. I really feel with the Egyptians, and I respect them for the unbelievably mature way, peaceful but firm, making their stand for justice and change.

You make me proud, Egyptians, for showing the world that there is a future to build, and showing how it can be built.

You also show there is another face of Islam, one that wants progress and is not afraid of change. the face of Islam that says that we can be brothers.

Keep your revolution going. I'll stand by and applaude.

Contradictions and consequences.

2011-02-10T10:19:00.000+01:00

Why is it, that it's possible to deny god him/herself?

Epicures found out already that god is not omnipotent:

If God is willing to prevent evil, but is not able to
Then He is not omnipotent.
If He is able, but not willing
Then He is malevolent.
If He is both able and willing
Then whence cometh evil?
If He is neither able nor willing
Then why call Him God?

I turned from a practicing catholic into an agnostic theist, sometimes atheist. Because I don't know. I really don't. I wish there was some kind of god, I hope there is, but I'm afraid there is not. That we are just a coincidence of evolution.

That's not a happy thought, because, in the light of eternity, what will be left? Where is the greater purpose, meaning of all this?

I hope you people are not struggling like me with this on a daily basis. It's not really a positive way of life...

What would they think of us?

2011-02-07T16:55:00.001+01:00

I sometimes imagine what extraterrestrials would think about us, humans, if they ever come to earth. Would the consider us as a kind of pet, undeveloped, and too busy with our own poor selves?

but then
I stumbled on this:

And first, like always, I take this as a hoax. A good one.
But then, a second vid turns up, from somebody else.

And then, a third:

And then, somebody combines them.They seem to be perfectly synchronized:

So, I'm very impressed. This is cool! I somehow would like us to be in contact with higher intelligences, and I hope it's not some stupid government that is the first to make contact with them. Because then, we're screwed. They will start shooting at them, and then for aliens it's easy to decide all of this human race are just unreliable violent aliens.
We can not defend ourselves anyway, so we better try to keep ourselves low profile in the galaxy.

But then, some clever guys saw flaws in the whole thing. Some nice techniques were used, but still, mistakes were made. It's a HOAX - a big one. All put together, You can read it here, if you want.

I feel disappointed... It's like Mulder. I want to believe. but I accept the truth.

Unless... The third and fourth vid were put up especially to discredit the one and two version....

Wait.
Where are my pills.
Need them.
Now.

Sick...

2011-02-03T20:48:00.000+01:00

It'll take a day or two to get better... See you soon.

revolutions and blood baths

2011-02-02T17:55:00.000+01:00

I thought it would not be so wise to post my article on quantum computing right away: This blog would be as dry as a nun's... ehm... as a desert, let's say. So I focus on reality and today.

I'm very worried about the evolvements in Egypt. Now pro-Mubarak activists have entered the scene, and things get violent. I've always been pacifist, not necessarily the defenseless kind, because even non-violent action can be hard and thorough. But, in my opinion, violence creates only more violence, and an opposing hatred that cannot be contained. So. Keep it human. That's what we are.

But now... I hope the military in Egypt can keep parties apart, because otherwise they will have a full-scale civil war.
Looks like there is not much common sense anymore. Let's hope it doesn't end in a blood bath.

Btw, do you also have the gut feeling that the pro-Mubarak manifestation is orchestrated?

Last time I was so excited about a revolution was... The fall of the Berlin Wall.
Yes.
I'm that old.

Quantum mechanics - an introduction.

2011-01-31T20:56:00.001+01:00

I thought I'd tackle another hard science subject of the future - quantum computing. But I realized you first have to know about a whole new way of thinking. Thinking in quanta.

So, first comes quantum theory.

Best known -or better: least unknown- is the field of quantum mechanics.

In essence, quantum mechanics is just a mathematical description on how matter and waves (read: radiations like light). On macroscopic scale, these effects are seldom observed, but at extremes (microscopic, or very high or low temperatures or energies) some odd observations can be made.
Max Planck observed that some physical quantities can only be changed by discrete amounts, called quanta, which are multiples of the Planck constant, instead of varying in a continuous way.

A bound electron, for example, can only change within certain energy states. The difference in energy between these states is the quantum involved.

A second observation made was that the matter and wave-like behavior seem to overlap. A particle (like an electron) can behave like a particle, and eg. collide, but also has a wave-like property, and can therefore interfere with other particles/waves.

A third effect involved is Heisenbergs uncertainty principle, where you can, on microscopic scale, not say what the total characteristic of this particle/wave is: if you observe it as a particle, you wont get information on it's energy, but only on its (probable) position, and vice versa: if you observe the wave, you can get info on everything but the position. You see the dilemma. It's like a spooky thing that forever slips through your fingers.

(I know, some physicists will now start grumbling and protesting. But I'm not writing a college text here. I'm trying to explain the whole thing in less than 400 words....)

The previous is called the wave-particle duality. Physicists tend to describe a particle as a wave packet.
The rest is higher mathematics, witch I'm not totally familiar with, and interested persons should start a degree in physics to understand this.

The biggest consequence is that it is like a particle can be at the two places at the same time, or have different 'appearances at the same time. And this stays, until the moment someone comes in and takes a look at it. and suddenly, PING!!!! its just in one place, one state, behaving like we know it.

De concept of being in many places and/or states at the same time is important, as long as there is no observer. It means nothing is definite until somebody takes a better look at it.

The consequences are enormous, also on philosophical terrain. Does nothing exist (in one definite state, that is) if there's nobody around?

Mind-blowing.

But as up to today, nothing really challenged the theory, and observations have been made that suggest the thruthworthiness of the hypothesis.

More tomorrow.

200 followers!

2011-01-31T00:53:00.002+01:00

I couldn't imagine this happening so soon.. Thank you all.

Some laught. After all, it's sunday.

2011-01-30T11:09:00.000+01:00

There are so many funny pics circulating the internet.

It makes my day when I stumble upon on of these:

See you tomorrow.

Islamic states toppling???

2011-01-28T13:28:00.000+01:00

It seems that there is something of truth in the domino effect (Remember the doctrine that caused the USA to assist south Vietnam in the war against communism - that communism would spread through the far east if it was not stopped somewhere).

Is this what is happening in North Africa and Jemen? All Islamic states, all with governments of doubtable reputations (corruption, oppression, discriminative, high unemployment,...) Will more states follow?

One thing is not so positive.
If people demand more security, they might make the move to the right, to a fascist totalitarian regime, because it provides security. That would mean more radical Islamic states, and not democratic at all. Which is a contradiction: These people on the street fighting for their rights use an ultimate democratic right, and they might agree to trade their voice, their freedom for security.

That would be the worst outcome.
We can surely miss more hate in the world.

The new power. Internet.

2011-01-27T11:45:00.000+01:00

If the following assumptions are true, a new power has stood up. And not a feeble one. It can cause revolutions. It's democratic from the base. It uses the latest technology, wired and wireless, and connects almost instantly around the world. It can move from one place to another in a few minutes.

It's potentially dangerous, when controlled by the wrong people. Following an extract from an article:

It's been a month since protests erupted in Tunisia. President Zine El Abidine has fled, the government's collapsed and clashes between protesters and police are sweeping the country. Of course, the requisite cries of "Twitter revolution!" are sweeping the blogosphere.

There is certainly a lot of Twitter chatter about the protests, under the hashtag #sidibouzid, and it's been a valuable source of information for Tunisians, who live in a country with highly oppressive government censorship.
Added to this is new speculation that maybe Wikileaks caused the revolution, too? Some protestors have cited a Wikileaks cable that featured criticism of Tunisia's corrupt leadership.
Or maybe it was the loose-knit hacking collective Anonymous? They attacked Tunisia's government in retaliation for censoring said Wikileaks cable.
Don't forget about rappers who make viral videos and bloggers. The government arrested a bunch of them in retaliation for Anonymous' retaliation.
Then again, it could be a big moment social bookmarking site Posterous. The blogging collective Nawaat has been frenetically updating their Posterous with excellent videos and images of the protests.
Nobody's citing Foursquare yet, but it's only a matter of time before some journalist finds a few protestors checking into a riot.

Can the world handle this power? It's extremely distributed, anonymous, and so easily infiltrated. It makes a huge call on the common sense of ordinary people. Governments don't like it, so most certainly a kind of cyber control attempt will take place in the next months or years.

These are exciting times. I hope common sense does prevail.

Ninja cats

2011-01-26T20:27:00.000+01:00

Do you have a cat? Cats are amazing. I'm a cat person, I like their independency, the way the can pretend to ignoree you, the raffinated body language they speak, their drive for hunting... And the kittens can be sooo cute. I can watch them for hours.

Nothing is impossible.

2011-01-25T13:25:00.000+01:00

If you ever think

"I can't do this, I'm too dumb, I will fail, I'm ignorant, I'm a looser,..."

You should watch this:

This man can play guitar, without hands.

Now, grab yourself together and DO IT, whatever you thought you couldn't do.

Anything can be achieved.

Two More ‘Matrix’ Films Are Coming In 3D?

2011-01-24T10:44:00.000+01:00

Here’s the email from a reader that was sent in to AICN.

[Keanu] says he met the Wachowski’s (no emphasis on the word brothers), for lunch over Christmas and stated that they had completed work on a two picture script treatment that would see him return to the world of the Matrix as Neo. Says the brothers have met with Jim Cameron to discuss the pro’s and con’s of 3D and are looking to deliver something which has never been seen again. Keanu stated that he still has an obligation to the fans to deliver a movie worthy of the title “The Matrix” and he swears this time that the treatment will truly revolutionize the action genre like the first movie. Wachowski’s are working on a movie called “Cloud Atlas” at the moment, once that concludes they will talk again.

Well, I loved the Matrix trilogy. I'm sure in for more.

Aggressive driving and road rage.

2011-01-23T20:28:00.000+01:00

A while ago, I found -again- people reacting to each other in a very aggressive way while on the road. I came to the idea to look up some more info on this - it seems to be something psychological, so: it's all in the mind. But it's not worth the violence or rage that sometimes follows from this.

Motorists have found themselves in unpleasant situations involving abusive gestures or language from another driver who takes issue with how they drive. Anxiety and frustration can quickly spark an aggressive or careless driver who tailgates, speeds, fails to yield the right of way among other behaviours.
Aggressive driving behaviour may lead to incidents of road rage where motorists have been threatened and/or subjected to retaliatory actions by angry motorists.
If people drive responsibly they will reduce the chances of conflict on the road and help make our roads safer. Experts recommend the following tips to help avoid road conflicts:

Plan your route in advance. Some of the most erratic and inconsiderate driving occurs when motorists are lost. Or use a gps.
Make a conscious decision not to take your problems with you when driving;
Combat the warning signs of stress by getting fresh air and breathing deeply and slowly. Listen to relaxing music;
Avoid long drives if you can. If you take a long trip, stop every few hours for a rest. Before and during a long drive, avoid heavy meals which tend to make a person lethargic;
Drive in a courteous and considerate manner. Give way at busy intersections and where traffic lanes merge;
Don't compete or retaliate. If someone's driving annoys you, don't try to “educate them”. Leave traffic enforcement to the police;
Don't take other driver's mistakes personally;
Avoid honking your horn unless absolutely necessary and, if you must, tap on it lightly;
Say, “Sorry” if you make a mistake. An apology can reduce the risk of conflict;
If you are being physically threatened, stay in your car and lock the doors. If you have a cell phone call the police. Use your horn and lights to attract attention;
If you think you are being followed, do not drive home. Go to a police station or a busy public place;
Don't carry a defensive weapon, it might provoke a potential assailant.

If you're lucky, you have a blonde angel with pepperspray in the neighborhood.

Car accidents

2011-01-23T00:07:00.000+01:00

I found this very useful list the other day - being busy with searching a car. I decided to share:

More than six million drivers get into auto accidents that injure three million people annually. Driver speeding, large SUV's, and inattention because of car and cell phones contribute to the problem. A serious injury can affect your work and your family’s lives for along time.

Here are ten specific and immediate steps to take if you are in an auto accident.

remain calm and thoughtful.
If you are injured, stay in your car – unless it’s dangerous to do so.
Wait for the police and medical help.
Inform the police about the accident for the official report.
Record all witnesses’ names, addresses and phone numbers.
Confirm whether you were wearing a seat belt, which is the law in most jurisdictions.
If you are injured, insist on being transported to a hospital in an ambulance.
In all instances, obtain medial treatment immediately. Tell medical personnel about everything that you feel may be physically wrong.
Refrain from taking legal referrals at hospitals.
Do not talk to insurance reps until you contact a lawyer.

comparing and taking decisions.

2011-01-19T21:13:00.000+01:00

You can't believe how many insurance companies there are. I wrote a few weeks ago I am looking out for a new car - so, when checking out all conditions I came about the issue of insurance.

I had the habit to take a full coverage (Omnium) as long as the loan is not fully paid. Here, this takes about three years, four max. But the prices are about triple the normal prices, especially for me.

I'm a good driver, I'm driving since 1984 (now you can estimate my age) and never had to claim insurance. I had two accidents, though, both times just light damage to my car, and to the other car. Both times were women driving... I must have driven close to half a million km, (that's 300 000 miles for you Imperial people), had a few near misses that rushed adrenaline through my body, I've seen crashes at the roadside... So although I never had to claim anything from insurance, I believe I should be covered well.

But then, in the heat of the action, I started to look at all the others insurances, too.
We have a lot of them. I recently only reviewed the house-related insurances, like fire, disaster covering, but I never looked at third-party liability, medical, court assistance (which I discover we have in double. Yeay. Two lawyers when you need one.)

After a few hours, I became feeling depressed from reading all this small-print, put everything back in their files, and safely away. I took out the two lawyers. I will have to decide which on I will fire. Hard choice, since I never met them.

So many choices. So many prices. I didn't even really start looking for what I started this whole thing for. Car insurance. Loans.

I still have a lot of work to do. F*ck.

The truth according to Google.

2011-01-18T12:30:00.000+01:00

This is funny. Start a Google search and start with;

"religion is "
"christianity is "
"islam is "
"atheism is "

and you get the weirdest answers.

Now, Google seems to have blocked some of the answers for a while, so when you typed "Islam is " , nothing appeared. But it does so for Judaism, Buddhism, catholicism, atheism, agnosticism, ...

After discovering this, I had a great waste of time trying out a lot of these:

Obama is ...
Bush is ...

or also:

Kennedy is ...
Elvis is ...

and so on.

But, seriously, who decides what shows up in google search, and what not? Which person decides that a search like "islam is " should stay empty, while others should not? Is it too insulting to call Islam bullshit, but not to call Catholicism, Judaism, Christianism, Atheism,... evil, bullshit, bad, ... ?

Speaking about censorship.
I hate it when someone decides what I can see and what not

Mind control

2011-01-17T15:57:00.001+01:00

How critical can you think?

How independent are your thoughts, how original are they?
You might be surprised how much we are brainwashed without knowing. It's called mind control. It's used in psychology, in advertising, in political and religious opinions, in cults, the military, schools, at your work...

How independent can we think if everything around us is trying to influence us?

I consider myself a critical thinker, I try to raise my kids with a critical attitude towards the world, even if that leaves you alone and separated, outcasted sometimes. But this is better than blindly step into the traps that are set up around us by people who want control, power, obedience, mo,ey from you.

I'll post 2 vids, they are rather long, but shockingly real.

241543903

2011-01-15T18:10:00.000+01:00

Type in the number 241543903 in Google,
search for images and you get something special.
(Try it)

Nobody knew where this originated. The only known thing is that the oldest photo was found on Flickr, april 6th, 2009 and had the number as an only tag.

The whole thing became a hype in december 2010, and seemt to become a meme now, with FB, Tumblr, Flickr, and even a website devoted to it.

Later it has become clear that the whole action was set up by David Horvitz, a New York based artist known for his often eccentric DIY instructional projects, posted a picture with his head in the freezer on his Flickr account san pedro glue stick.

The whole thing seems to go viral these days, so expect to see it recur in the next few weeks.

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