Leaving Cables Everywhere I Look

Well, I thought it was time to write in english once again. It has been quite a long time since I wrote a short text for the blog in the language of Shakespeare, and although I still practice it regularly, I don't actually write anything. So here goes.

As you should be able to discern from the title, this entry deals once again with the Damned Board. I've been working on it nearly every day, cutting cables, fixing the resistors in place, deciding wether to use the 74HC244 as a buffer, or better instead the 74HC04 which also inverts the output from the 74HC139... and yet I get the impression that my partner and myself are making too little progress.
I would like to hand in the finished board on the 1st of December, so that we can avoid the February exam. But to achieve that we should be finishing the work of two weeks (well, one and three quarters to be slightly more precise) in just one. And up to now, that hasn't been happening.

I've been told that I should stop concentrating so much on the board, that finishing early isn't worth the effort involved if you fail some other subject because of it. And I must say that I have to agree, but I also believe that failing this subject is simply not an option.
I just cannot see myself doing this one more time, and I already know I'll have to repeat this ordeal next semester...

Post-Vacational Depression

I know most people have heard about what is usually termed Post-Vacational Stress. Which, as far as I understand, means that you get stressed out by the sheer amount of things you have to do once you return to the daily routine.

My case is different. I believe I suffer from what can only be termed as Post-Vacational Depression, because it is the only way I can describe it. When I return from a really enjoyable holiday, or simply from a short vacation, I find myself with no motivation to do anything. I don't feel like reading, nor like playing anything, and surely not like studying. I have less apetite and usually spend some time thinking what I would be doing right then were I too be still on my holidays.
Perhaps depression is too strong a word for these feelings, but it is the only one I can think of.

Of course, it never lasts more than two, three days at the most. And if I have something else to do which cannot wait, my mind is easily strayed from such gray thoughts and I find myself back on my feet, so to speak. And simply remembering the trip and the fun had allows me to forget soon enough any troubles I may encounter during those first days, and get back to my way of life.

This text might be difficult to understand. It was written during an extremely sleepy moment after having been teaching my cousin for 5 hours non-stop (except for supper), so that the post I intended to write trying to explain this could have degenerated in something chaotic and weird. My apologies if that was the case.

Once more in English, once more Go

Yes, I'm back, and writing once more in English. I guess that much was fairly obvious. I must say that I'm sorry for the random updates I have been posting, but smallish issues (the main one being I wasn't at home) have prevented me from having a continuous access to the internet. That has, in turn, prevented me from posting as often as I would have liked.

And now, after the apologies have been given, I shall inform whoever might be concerned that I have once more gone to play that fabulous game known as Go. I think it is fairly obvious that I enjoyed it a lot, even though from the two games I played I won only one of them, and by only half a point.
But I'm happy, and the fact that I won't be able to play until next week again means nothing... well, maybe a teeny weeny bit, but not more.

And now, I guess I shall go have dinner (which I still haven't had) and afterwards enjoy the adventures of Grissom and company.
Enjoy your summer!

Speaking in Silver

I've wondered several times why I happen to suffer so much from shyness when I'm in front of people. I've been thinking about this lately, as I've noticed that I'm able to write and say things here on the internet that I would never dare to speak out loud.
For example, the fiction stories that I've been publishing here (and which I hope to continue publishing in the future). I'm quite certain that I would never be able to show them to anyone face to face, even less if I were to tell them to someone. Nevertheless, I find myself quite capable of putting them on display here on my blog, and I am able to remain cool about it.

It wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for my incredible ability (or inability) to try to conceal my akwardness by starting to speak nonsense, sometimes achieving weird looks from my friends and sometimes being completely misunderstood. When I get home, I start pondering on what I've said, what I've done, and what could have been misinterpreted and what I should have said or done instead. Not for long though, as I have already come somewhat to terms with my issues, and am able to leave them behind and stop worrying about them shortly afterwards.

But a few times I find myself haunted by those decisions, and I must reflect on the choices I made and why I didn't act according to my honest desires. Wondering how to prevent myself from making the same mistakes I've done before.
I wish and hope that someday I'll be able to speak out.

So much to do in so little time

I won't be long today, as I find myself swamped with things to do.

Until Wednesday I must print out the source code for all the practicals that I handed in, as well as the most important transparencies we were shown in class and of course I still have to study for the subject. Programming Techniques, if you were wondering.
That requires a certain amount of time, as I have to go through all the slides we were shown during the semester, check them and try to learn what I'm being told there, select the most important ones and put them together in a PDF archive to print them on Tuesday at college. Plus of course go over the handwritten theory that I photocopied from my partner.
Apart from that, until Thursday I must study the theory for Mathematical Methods in Telecommunication, as well as do a fair amount of problems in order to regain the wits and speed necessary for passing the exam. Even though I've already studied twice this exam, I still need time to practice and gain some confidence before the actual examination arrives.

To do all this I have exactly 72 hours. It doesn't seem to be enough because, needless to say, it isn't enough time. I guess I'll have to stay at home and forget about TECM...

Electromagnetic Fields - Preparation

Less than ten hours until my first telecommunication's exam. Electromagnetic Fields 1 to be more precise. And I'm hating each and every second of those hours.
And why is that, you may wonder? Well, mostly because it has to do mainly with Physics. And for some weird reason I'm unable to pinpoint, I happen to be lousy with Physics, so that I tend to fail all those exams that have to do with it.

It's not that I don't study, because I actually do. However, when I get to the exam and start reading the questions that are right there, on the paper, I suddenly find my mind going blank; a soft, caressing mist gently descends in between my consciousness and the learnt topics, so that I find myself groping around trying to remember anything.
I usually end up remembering all the theory concerning the question, while the formulae remain hidden within the wisps of fog.

As a result, I end up failing an exam that I was quite confident on passing, which may give me a further motive to study harder, but that actually makes me feel kind of depressed about it.
I still haven't found a trick to study these subjects, so I can just hope like hell that I remain calm during the exam and remember all what should have been learnt during these days.

The Storm

The weather was getting worse, but we decided to go anyway. We hadn't much of a choice though. We could have waited until the storm was over, but unless we were extremely lucky we wouldn't be able to get out.
I still remember how Clash, the youngest member of our group, looked amazed at the sky, with that violet-green colour that always appeared during a glass rain. All the other members had already experienced the horrible phenomena which was a glass storm. The constant tinkle of broken crystal hitting against the floor; the pain when a shard went through the protective padding, slightly cutting the flesh beneath and, worst of all, the constant thought you couldn't keep away from your mind...
What happened to those who weren't able to protect themselves?
Some of our members have gone crazy after a three-day long storm. It's not easy working here. Believe me, never become a Country Ranger. You'll end up hating it. Long hours, little pay, and of course the danger of being caught under a glass storm without shelter nearby. But someone has to do the job. Someone has to check the Oxygen Recolectors periodically, to make sure they haven't been pierced by a particularly nasty storm.
And now, here we are. Clash, PR-536, John and myself, cruising through the countryside praying for the wheels not to burst, hoping like hell the Spacejeep's ceiling won't be punctured. John had insisted on staying inside the bunker, but if we had, the car would have been surely wrecked by the storm. And we wouldn't have made it to the city then.
At least now we had a chance.

-----
This was a story I wrote several years ago while preparing for the First Certificate. I had lost track of it until a few weeks ago, and so I decided to publish it here. It has been considerably abridged, as the original introduced too much information which ended up being irrelevant.
Nevertheless, I hope you like the new version.

Once more, with feeling...

It seems that I keep on skipping days as exams approach, which is something I shouldn't be doing. However, I find myself quite overwhelmed with all the studies and work I have to do, so that I actually have been forced to push the Blog back into the background.
At least, until I feel I must scream, shout and destroy something.

Yes, you've probably guessed already. Even though I tried to leave that topic to rot in hell, it seems it wishes to come back, and prevent me from being a happy computer user. That's right, my computer is dead once again.

And when I say dead I mean that it doesn't work. I try to load Windows and it crashes during the Logo screen, resetting the computer and once again beginning the whole cycle. Start, crash, reset. Ain't that pretty. Of course, if I try to use the Windows Installer CD to retrieve the System, the information I get is... that the hard drive is devoid of information. Unknown Format is what the Installer knows about the partitions in the disk. And of course Used Space: 0% or however they print that info on the screen.
Vexing seems to be the precise word.

So now I wonder... What the bloody hell is going on with my goddamned computer!?

Double Post - Doble Post

As I was busy yesterday with other issues, including studying and preparing my cousin for the Advanced Speaking Paper, I was unable to write anything. However, to make up for that, I've decided to write about two different topics. That's what you get, wether you like it or not.

First is the programming practical. Most of the troublesome issues we had during the first stages have been corrected, and I belive that we can consider it finished. It is a nifty example of a Graphical User Interface, even though the user of the program doesn't actually get to do anything. But it serves its purpose, and that's what matters.

Y ahora en español, que pretendo recuperar dos días.
El segundo asunto son las casualidades de la vida. Hoy me he ido en Metro a Colombia, una estación a la que no suelo ir por ninguna razón, y a la que he ido para comprar unos bombones para un cumpleaños. Y resulta que en el metro me he encontrado con una compañera de mi hermano (que se planteó estudiar Teleco) que también iba en la misma línea para devolver un regalo.
Puede parecer una tontería, pero es curioso que dos personas se encuentren en un lugar al que no suelen ir nunca, a unas horas en las que suelen tener clases y para resolver unos asuntos que no requieren que se haga en ese horario.
No se, quizás divago un poco...

Once upon a time...

Yes, of course, how could you even doubt it? If you go and tell me that you don't read the entries in english, then I'll make sure that the next one has to do with precisely the topic that you wish to learn more about. So read on...

I've continued writing a bit of the tale on the internet. Considering that one of the backups I had is lost, I am risking most of the work right now, but I guess Google Docs is safe enough for this matter. So I write a bit today, decide to count words and voilá, I suddenly realize I've written more than four thousand words, slightly a thousand more than the words written in my previous work of fiction (The Scribe, available in this very same blog), which means this is the longest I've ever written. And I haven't finished yet, so that it will end up being even more.

Now, I happen to find myself with a small conundrum. How should I divide the story to send it to Milady, if I'm the Jester? I could easily send a hundred words each time, which would enable me to keep up to date with the story. I can write one hundred words without problem every day. However, a hundred words are read extremely quickly, as these posts are usually over 200 words. So should I send a 500 word fragment? But that leaves me with only a backup for eight days, which could be a bit tight...
I wonder what I should do...

XI Madrid Tournament - Day 2

Last day of the tournament and the final balance is one win against four losses. I wasn't able to protect my points correctly, and my oponents invaded as far as they wanted, taking nearly all of my very own points away.
I guess that means that I wasn't actually a 13 kyu as I was appointed, but a 14 kyu instead. Either that or I'm absolutely terrible at handling the pressure and nerves that I feel during a match. Or both, as during my last match I had to leave the table twice (during my own time at least) because I couldn't keep myself on the chair. But I still had loads of fun, and I even learnt how to keep record of a game on paper (called kifu) so that I'm able to replay my games and examine the mistakes I made in my game.
and I also learnt from the games I played, but I was taking that for granted.

Not much to say, except inform the world that my computer keeps playing up and doing weird things. Today I got a Blue Screen of Death, telling me that my newly installed hardware was causing trouble... except that no hardware was installed since last week, so I'm not sure what's up with this machine.

Discworld Novels

This is, undoubtedly, my favourite book series. It's witty, intelligent, has several science-related jokes and, best of all, it's fantasy.

However, I find myself with a problem when I try to explain what these books are about, or why I find them so great. One of the main issues is that the humour is british, in english, so all those who read the translations lose a lot of information. That's why I'm writing in english, so if you want to read one of the Discworld Novels, read it in english.
The remaining problem, once language is set aside, is that the books cannot be described, at least in my humble opinion. They are a mirror of sorts to our world, with similar problems and themes, but told in such a way that I find myself laughing out loud.

And now I find myself stumped for words. I don't know how to describe the series further. So all I can tell you is to read some of the books, for there is no other place in the multiverse which is flat, carried on the backs of four elephants which are standing on the back of a Space Turtle; where gods are known to strike down atheists with lightning and where magic is present in multiple ways. So, read on.

Author: Terry Pratchett
Genre : Fantasy and Humour

Skipping English

I completely forgot to write in english yesterday. I was just tired and distracted by the things that have been happening during the weekend, and I simply wrote what I wanted, without thinking. But, to make up for it, I'll write today in english, even though it's Monday.

And because of that, I guess I'll have to write about desesperation. Not the extreme feeling you have when everything goes wrong, but the one you get when somebody simply doesn't do what he is supposed to do.
I'm helping out a kid at my old school with a project he has, a kind of experiment. Something to do with robots, and that's why a friend and I help this kid. Or at least try to help. It has been a month and a half since we last saw the boy in question, and his task was to bring a first version of the robot, so that we could check mistakes and help him erase them. Instead, he had nearly nothing. Not even the wheels on the robot had been put together, and his explanation was that he hadn't had any ideas on how to do it...
That's supposed to be his task, for God's sake!

Well, I can only say that it really got me worked up. I mean, it's not as if I don't have other things to do. I have exams, I have work to hand in, and college isn't particularly easy. If I also have to do his robot from scratch...
Oh well. Sorry for using this as a means to letting off steam. I just needed to bitch a bit about it, and get it over with.

A Bit of Fry and Laurie

Once again, English comes forth within these sacred grounds, and thus we find no better ocasion for mentioning one of my recent discoveries in British humour: A Bit of Fry and Laurie, also known as ABoFaL.

It's not a modern program, of recent release, but one of the oldies such as the Monty Python (although probably not as oldie...). Short, humourous sketches performed by Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, with the ocassional help of other actors, show an incredible sense of what causes laughter.

For those of you who wondered, yes. Hugh Laurie is Doctor Gregory House, while Stephen Fry was the psichoanalist that helped Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) in the series Bones.

And for those who wish to see a bit of ABoFaL, I personally recommend YouTube. Search simply for Fry and Laurie, and try to watch one called Barman. I found that absolutelly hilarious.

An uneventful day.

It was one of those days. The days when simply nothing happens, and you find yourself wondering why you even bothered getting out of bed. Of course, in my case, getting out of bed was the only thing to do.

I've been here, in this damp cell, for more than twenty years. With no light, no fresh air, and for the last five, no fresh food. I can only guess what has happened outside my stone prison, and from what I've been able to gather it isn't good.
I might be the last person alive on this forsaken planet.

I was imprisoned here 7500 days ago. Political reasons, was what the world was told. And they accepted that reason, and let me here to rot. The first few weeks I was in a normal cell, until someone decided that my ideas were to dangerous for the public to listen to, and I was brought to the innermost cellar, and locked in one of the remaining medieval cells. Since then I was given food through a small hatch in the door, while I remained in the dark. Around five years ago, the food suddenly stopped arriving.

I would have died, were it not for what can only be labelled as sheer luck. In one corner of my cell, a small trickle of water falls from the ceiling into a hole in the floor, providing me with fresh water, and allowing me to clean myself when necessary. Rats and bugs still come through the hatch, so I've been able to have some food. But I know this won't keep on for long.

I can hear no noise, apart from the water and the animals. The sound of humanity, the vibrations I felt in the walls caused by heavy machinery, ceased the same day my jailer stopped coming.

I can only suppose, that everyone else is dead.

Sunday once again

It's been some time since I wrote directly in english, without translating from spanish. And I must say that I kind of missed it, even though I now find myself with little to say. For those of you that might be wondering, I still haven't turned my own computer on. I have to find a bootable CD to erase the data on one of the hard drives, in order to install the new motherboard drivers I need. And until I find that famed CD, I don't actually want to turn my own computer on.
Yes, I know, I'm a weird guy when it comes to computers and fixing things.

On another, unrelated issue. I still haven't finished updating the Blog, as you probably can see (if you can't, then you're reading this way long after it was written). Nevertheless, I should already warn you that there is no update for the 20th of March. I was busy that day screwing my new motherboard (does that really sound as bad as I think it does?) and fixing the rest of the hardware, and simply found myself the next day thinking:
Have I really forgotten to write something in the Blog? Hell, yes!

Well, I guess that's everything for today. I'll have to start thinking something else to write about, or I'll keep on scaring readers away as fast as they arrive.

Break II - Let's play cards!

Today, however, has been a day of cards. Without a doubt. Since we woke up (quite late, by the way) until we went to sleep, a deck of cards has always been present. A bit of Mus here, let's play a game of Tute, while everybody else sleep I'll play Solitaire, how about a game of Pocha between six players...
It's just that, in my family, playing cards is something to do while we have a talk, even if we end up talking about the game itself.
Apart from that, today was very relaxing, very calmed. Pretty much as in Cancun, only without the college friends and the paradisiac beaches.

P.S.
Once again, I find myself translating the Sunday Post into english. I was so tired when I originally wrote this that I completely forgot that it was Sunday. So please forgive the weird sentences, if there are any.


Written: 17 March 2008 - 02:58
Published: 21 March 2008 - 16:33

Hiatus VIII - Sorrow in my Heart

Strange feelings twist within my chest, somewhere:
Sorrow in my Heart for those lost moments,
Joy for those memories eternally engraved there,
Sadness when I think that perhaps, just perhaps,
I will be the only one to care.

It isn't only a feeling, an impression, a sensation,
It is the fact that it meant something special
that few will even consider, in short, a conviction.
And for those that worry for my mental health,
take it easy, it's just a small depression.


Now I've never been someone to actually write poetry. I have always thought I would make a lousy poet. And I'm certain that most of you (when not all of you) will agree with that opinion. I probably agree with that too, even if I've just written a short thingy that should rhyme. It's just that, after returning from this fantastic week at the beach with so many friends, I feel slightly depressed at finding myself alone at home, with noone to talk to, play cards, or simply listen to.
I expect that it will take a bit to adjust again to normal life, so I'll be better off if I stop thinking so much about everything. Better just to stop pondering on life, and start to enjoy what I've got right now.

P.S:
Again, these last posts haven't been updated daily. Leaving, preparing our departure and everything was simply too much to try and do everything that same day.


Written: 10 March 2008 - 23:41
Published: 10 March 2008 - 23:41

Hiatus I - Exhaustion

That's how you could define my state right now. Completely exhausted. And that's because today contained aproximately 31 hours, due to the change in time zones. I'm writing this at 23:45 on March 2nd, while in Spain right now the time is 06:45 of March 3rd. You could say I haven't written anything on the 2nd (if we only consider the time in Spain), but a 10 hour flight, plus three hours waiting at the airport, makes it a nigh impossible task to write something interesting. And actually, due to the aforesaid exhaustion it is also difficult to write, unless I only explain a bit of what has happened today, and remind you that this article is being written with pen and paper before it is published on the web.
Apart from that, good night to you all.

P.S.
Due to the change in time zones, the original post was written in spanish. The one published is the corresponding english translation, so there might be some sentences with an akward word order.


Written: 2 March 2008 - 23:45
Published: 14 March 2008 - 14:10

A small introduction

As I previously mentioned, on Sundays the entry shall be written in english. And as this happens to be the first post actually written in Shakespeare's language, I'd rather give a small introduction as to why I write in english.

I must say that I like the english language. I've been learning it since I was young (a small fry, so to speak) and have thus developed a kind of fondness for it. The fact that most books and films, when translated into any other language, lose the nuances that make them witty, has also been a major reason as to why I've kept studying english up until now. Actually, right now I'm preparing for the Certificate of Proficiency in English, so I guess studying is undoubtedly the correct word to use in this situation.

However, I must say that I don't use the language for academic reasons. Most of the time I have to make use of english is for pure entertainment. I read in english, I watch movies and TV series in english, and when surfing the internet an english webpage doesn't pose a problem. Nevertheless, without practice the skills get rusty, and as everyone knows it's not the same to read or to listen than to write or speak. So I decided to dedicate a small part of my weblog efforts to practising the art of writing... and I must say I do notice some doubts while writing these sentences. Not being sure if what is being written will be correct or if it will cause an outbreak of laughter is something that I must get used to.

Well, I guess that's it for now. For some reason I feel quite sleepy, and I can't concentrate as much as I would like on the text. So, so long, and thanks for all the fish.