last.fm

Only of yesterday I have discovered last.fm

the social music revolution

Here is just a practical example of how you can use tags to give semantics to your data - this time .mp3s with ID3 tags:

Blue October - Hate Me

Sunset

Scorpion Vs. Tarantula

Akon - I wanna love you

Akon - I wanna fuck you

Giselle Bundchen and Jennifer Esposito

Well, here is something that you don't see everyday: Supermodel Giselle Bundchen and Jennifer Esposito in a scene from the movie Taxi.

Laughing all the way...

Well, did you get your good mood back? :D

flickr... again!

...OK, I know, my 2^nd post on blogger was also about flickr, but this time I really have some photos there!
Hope you will take a sneek peek and also leave a comment: I always like to know what do you think about things I put here and there.

Un chien andalou [1929]

Luis Buñuel, one of the best cineasts of the 20^th century. Salvador Dalí, one of the best painters of the 20^th century. What can you get from mixing the dreams of two geniuslike artists where the folly is scattered everywhere? The answer: Un chien andalou.

Even those who do not like Buñuel's Un chien andalou will probably never forget it once they see it.

Describing Un chien andalou is difficult because the film has no "plot" in the strict sense of the word. American film critic Roger Ebert called Un chien andalou:

the most famous short film ever made, and anyone halfway interested in the cinema sees it sooner or later, usually several times.

The birth of the original idea took place in December 1928, in Cadaquès. Buñuel remembers the conversation between him and Dalí:

Dalí me dit: Moi, cette nuit, j’ai rêvé que des fourmis pullulaient dans ma main.
Et moi: Eh bien! Moi, j’ai rêvé qu’on tranchait l’oeil de quelqu’un.

Un chien andalou Is a film that you can either love or hate; there is no other way:

Bitza - Armele Pregatite

Bitza - Armele Pregatite / Pierdut intr-o lume mare

O idee buna; macar mai aminteste cineva de Rosia Montana...

The Lion King

Lets see who's the boss...


The Lion King - video powered by Metacafe

How about that?

Brother, you can believe in stones... as long as you don't throw them at me!

After I saw that, I was just speachless... Interesting point of view, a new perspective from what I was used to...

Working to calm the techno-fearful

Working to calm the techno-fearful
Originally uploaded by dogwelder.

All I can say is that when I saw this image I've remembered all of the sudden of a fresh teacher I had in my 1^st faculty year. One day she obviously couldn’t make her laptop and the projector work together…

Her solution was to give us the presentation by mail…

Just wish I had this image then... I'm sure it would have been very, very helpful!

Wong Kar Wai

It seems that I'm starting to be a Wong Kar Wai fan!

Was it worth it to
lose a finger for a
basket of eggs?

Last week I saw Dung che sai duk (Ashes of Time, 1994). It took me a while to get the meaning of this movie. Still, in the end, I realised that this movie has taught me something! I suggest you take your time with it; all I'm going to say is that it has a nice perspective on the fear of rejection...

If my memory of her
has an expiration date,
let it be 10,000 years...

The thing is that I couldn't stop only for one movie... This week I've also tried Chung hing sam lam (Chungking Express, 1994). I can say that I could feel Wong Kar Wai's fingerprint: his non-linear style of story-telling, intricate action plus a great recipe for a movie: two love-struck cops with their differeces and similarities.
Wong Kar Wai was also writer and director for both movies. His style made me both realise things I allready knew and learn new emotions. Now, there are at least ten new movies added to my "to watch" list...

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.
I've been for a walk on a winter's day.
I'd be safe and warm if I was in L.A.;
California dreamin' on such a winter's day.

Stopped in to a church I passed along the way.
Well I got down on my knees and I pretend to pray.
You know the preacher liked the cold;
He knows I'm gonna stay.
California dreamin' on such a winter's day.

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.
I've been for a walk on a winter's day.
If I didn't tell her I could leave today;
California dreamin' on such a winter's day.
[...]

Cleopatra Stratan - Ghiţă

Just... watch:

Do the Dew...

I must say that I've allways liked MD and that I'm a commercials lover... So, this ad is definitely a must see!

Enjoy!

...and the extended version!

Zippo

"Build your product with integrity.. Stay behind it 100% and success will follow."

George G. Blaisdell

Well, I have to admit that I was a bit of a collector since I was a child: steel soldiers, coins, badges, stamp and many more. Once, I've even started collecting lighters... even if I'm not smoking anymore, I'm still proud of my Zippo classic lighter, with a brushed chrome finnish.

The Zippo lighter was invented by George G. Blaisdell in 1932 in Pennsylvania. He decided to create a lighter that would look good and be easy to use, so he optained the rights for an Austrian windproof lighter with removable top and redesigned it to his own requirements. He chose this name because he liked the sound of the name of another new product, the zipper.

Here are some other interesting facts:

• The original price for a Zippo lighter was $1.95. Current Zippos carry a MSRP between $12.95 up to more than $3,500 USD, depending on the rarity and materials used in the given item.
• Zippo started engraving initials and attaching meratl insignias on lighters in 1935.
• On March 3, 1936, patent no. 2032695 was granted for the Zippo lighter.
• Since 1932, over 425,000,000 Zippo lighters have been produced. Zippo celebrated the production of the 400^th million lighter on september 3, 2003.
• Zippo now produces ~12 million lighters a year.
• 21% of the people who own Zippo lighters are collectors.

Zippo lighters gained popularity as "windproof" lighters: able to stay lit in harsh weather. They became popular in the US military, especially during World War II (when all Zippo lighters produced went to the Allied war effort) and during the Vietnam War. Additionally, Zippo lighters are known for the "forever" guarantee they carry: if a Zippo lighter breaks, no matter how old or how many different owners, the company will replace or fix the lighter for free. The only part of a Zippo lighter that carries no warranty is the finish on the outside of the outer case and lid.

With all of this said, I think that if I were to buy a new Zippo, it would have to be one of those:

The Scorpion Sleeps

Can you see it?
If you feel it,
The Scorpion Sleeps right in my hand,
A poison dealer,
An evil wheeler,
How can I make you understand?

Rob Zombie - The Scorpion Sleeps
[Educated Horses - 2006]

Tattoo

Yesterday, the 2^nd of July, I have celebrated 2 weeks of somehing so beautiful, I can even call it happiness.
So, as a tribute, there will be a new tattoo, even if it is a temporary one! Untill the day it will be replaced by a permanent one (or not), this will just have to do for now...
For a sneak peek, feel free to click on the white scorpion...

Whisky PC

Now this one has to be the most interesting PC case I've ever saw! Imagine having all the components inside one 1.5 l. Ballantine's bottle...

I bought an Intel P3 733EB processor, a 256MB notebook RAM, a 40GB notebook HDD and finaly a 60W mini-ITX PSU. The RAM module is placed at the back side of the mobo. A compact flash card slot also situated there, so I could use it instead of IDE HDD.
Motherboard is JREX-786LCD.

Janos Marton, 03.02.2006

That is ideed a nice piece of work!

DBA

Right... so, for about 5 weeks, I'll be one of the 2 Database Administrators in this project...

Sounds great, hope it will be so... Much to learn, much to do, just hope I'll be up to the challenge.

Cu participarea Microsoft Romania si Facultatea de Informatica Iasi, Code40 lanseaza Summer School. Summer School propune un exercitiu practic de software development in care o echipa de 19 studenti impreuna cu dezvoltatori de la Code40 vor planifica, dezvolta si livra un proiect comercial din verticala financiar bancara.

http://summerschool.code40.ro/

Just a worm...

Un viermisor mic traia cu mamica lui intr-un rahat. Intr-o zi el o intreaba:
- Mamico, noi putem trai intr-un mar?
- Da fiule!
- Dar intr-o pruna?
- Da fiule!
- Atunci de ce traim intr-un rahat?
- Pentru ca asta-i tara noastra fiule!

If you, my dear reader, are not romanian, you wouldn't get the feeling even if I would have written it in english...

NBA 2 RPG

So the story continues...
The most concerning problem I found there was this: (young) people don't play outside as much as they used to.
Do we find it easier to stay indoors and click our way through skeletons and robots? Have we forgotten the way grass feels between our toes, the way we should smile towards the sun in the morning?
I know that as a child I wasn't too sporty, but still... nowadays everything tends to be overprotective. Yesterday, the Copou park was filled with kids; many racing around on their roller skates, but all of them had their knees, elbows, heads protected...

80's

It all started when a friend of mine gave me a link (RO) that made me remember my childhood... Yes, I am a product of the 80's too! I don't think this makes me better, just a bit different.

I have encountered this "romanian early 80's" nostalgia in many different places, like:

• Cum am supravietuit copilariei comuniste?
• latrecut
• Nascuti la inceputul anilor 80

There has always been a generation gap like this one. The single problem that comes to my attention is that nowadays kids are not as likely to play outside as we were...

But... that is another story...

Morgui

Morgui (mandarin Chinese for Magic (Mor) Ghost (Gui)) is the creation of Kevin Warwick, a University of Reading cybernetics professor with a long record in attention-seeking robots.

"We want to investigate how people react when they first encounter Mo, as we lovingly like to call the robot. Through one of Mo's eyes, he can watch people's responses to him following them around. It appears this is not deemed acceptable for under 18-year-olds without prior consent from their legal guardian. This presents us with a big problem as we cannot demonstrate Mo in action either to visitors or potential students." said Prof Warwick.

Morgui's five senses include visual and audio, as well as a further three that are extra-sensory, as far as humans are concerned: radar, infrared, and ultrasonic.

In Europe, Japan and the US, researchers have been looking for robots that will respond "naturally" to humans. It therefore follows that the robots must also study how humans respond to them, but Morgui was deemed so frightening it has been banned from interacting with under 18s.

Unfortunately, Reading University's ethics and research committee banned the "scary" robot.

For more info:

• X-rated robots: Professor Kevin Warwick & Morgui
• University robot ruled too scary (The Guardian)
• University Deems Robot Adult-Only

And to think I was only able to make a hamster-lovig chat bot...

PURL

A PURL is a Persistent Uniform Resource Locator.
Functionally, a PURL is a URL. However, instead of pointing directly to the location of an Internet resource, a PURL points to an intermediate resolution service. The PURL resolution service associates the PURL with the actual URL and returns that URL to the client. The client can then complete the URL transaction in the normal fashion. In Web parlance, this is a standard HTTP redirect.

A Project of OCLC Research

Since I needed a (free) static alias for my homepage URL, I did some searching and this came as the best choice. Does anyone have a better solution? :D

Licenţă

Iepurasul statea pe o buturuga si scria de zor ceva. Trece vulpea prin zona si il intreaba:
- Ce scrii acolo, iepurasule?
- O lucrare stiintifica despre cum iepurasii mananca vulpi.
- Ceeee?
La care iepurasul impasibil:
- Vino sa-ti arat...
............................................
Vine lupul pe langa butucul iepurasului.
- Ce scrii acolo, iepurasule?
- O lucrare stiintifica despre cum iepurasii mananca lupi.
- Ceeee, ai inebunit?
La care iepurasul impasibil:
- Vino sa-ti arat...
.............................................
Trece prin apropiere ursul:
- Ce scrii acolo, iepurasule?
- O lucrare stiintifica despre cum iepurasii mananca ursi.
- Ceeee, nu le mai ai pe toate?
La care iepurasul impasibil:
- Vino sa-ti arat...
..............................................
La doua sute de metrii mai departe o pestera in care zac ciolane de vulpe si lup. Langa, leul roade o laba proaspata de urs.

Morala: "Nu tema lucrarii tale stiintifice e importanta ci cine e indrumatorul tau de proiect..."

The LINUX Seminar 2006

Between the 27th and the 28th of may, ASII and LUG Iasi are setting up the second edition of the LINUX Seminar.
Here is this year's programme!

OK, so it's over... All I can say is that it was great, better that I've expected!
Here you have some pictures, thanks to:

• Radu Mihailescu;
• Manuel Subredu.

Enjoy!

Heroes 5: The mini game

Heroes of Might and Magic 5
The Official Mini Game

If you're planning to start a quick battle, then prepare your strategy and let's get it on! You'll find me there, I'm SilverAsh...

coca-cola.ro Club

So... you are a Coke fan...

OK, your basic scenario: you make an account on www.coca-cola.ro (Club section) and you want to put a picture in your profile. What do they tell you?

"You can put here a picture with any geometric shape, with only one condition: it has to be square."

404

I have passed the transitional stage of internet geekhood
I was cashiering at work today, and was punching in the code for plums, which is 4040 and the 0 key doesn't work this well, so I punched it in wrong. The machine flashed up "Item Not Found: 404" and I actually laughed out loud!

by Ich

Summer < Web /> 2006

"Reality and tendency in developing Web 2.0";

the 6^th edition of the Web technologies workshop.

The 1^st day was great and the tutorials were very interesting: new information about plenty of up-to-date topics! Hope tomorrow's project contest will be better than last year's because the announced projects sound very interesting and the men behind them are good at what they do...

Loituma - Leva's polka

OK, all stareted when I got this link on YM (...spam, obviously) and I got it once, twice... many times, until I cracked and took a sneak peek! What can I say, it's fun and it made me smile.

Well, if anyone else thinks this melody to be so catchy, I can tell you that there is also a live video and you can also find the .mp3 version...

Sexism?

A man scanned the guests at a party and spotted an attractive woman standing alone. He approached her and asked her name.
- My name is Carmen, she told him.
- That's beautiful, he said. Is it a family name?
- No, she replied, I gave it to myself. It reflects the things I like most - cars and men. What's your name? she asked.
- Beerfuck, he replied.

Are all the (young) men sexists, or is it that they are expected to be that way?

Ronin... A masterless samurai. A rogue.

A ronin (Japanese: rōnin 浪人: literally, wave man - one who is tossed about, like a wave in the sea) was a masterless samurai (samurai means "one who serves") during the feudal period of Japan that lasted from 1185 to 1868.

A ronin is usually a samurai who has either lost his lord as a result of death or accident, or who has been dismissed from his overlord's service. This is a very disgraceful condition and rarely does a ronin find another lord who is willing to accept his fealty. Most ronin become bandits or other law breakers and thus, are greatly feared and assumed to be without honor.

During the Meiji Restoration era, the term ronin took on a new connotation, to include a samurai who had left his domain illegally (usually to fight in the Loyalist movement).

Studio B - I See Girls [Tom Neville Crazy Legs Mix]

I see girls,
here there and everywhere
short skirts long hair
love it when they walk yeah
I'm on cloud 9
you look so fine
can't wait to make you mine
I kinda like the way you walk past
gotta take a glance
body shaped like an hour glass
pulling up to my bumper so hot
you work so hard like the way you work it
I look first, you look back,
attracted to the way you shake that,
yo, I know you can't fake that,
so bring it over here, so near, I can touch that,
one night just isn't enough,
I wanna have you givin' it up,
So put ya number on the back of my hand,
you got a man, but i got other plans,
so baby girl, c'mon up oh..

[Chorus]
Ohhhh...
yknow i see you girl
you know i want you girl
cuz your driving me crazy
Ohhhh...
yknow i see you girl
you know i want you girl
cuz your driving me crazy

[...]

So... that's how it looks!

imatgeEGP1046
Originally uploaded by juanjaen.

An eclipse... just as a test... :)

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Everything has a beginning...

...so, along with the New Year came a new blog... My Blog!


Hopefully I'll fill it with interesting ideas, but for now I just need one more ingredient to do that: time...