[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Mergeam Luni, 18 Februarie, seara, in jur 21:15, retras cu gandurile in universul meu spre statia de metrou Lujerului - in fata intrarii 2 agenti de Politie (am mai vazut si altadata agenti stand pe acolo, si au fost multi candva cand a fost inchis seara tronsonul Lujerului - Preciziei, nu stiu de ce?) - anyway, ma uit la ei, ei la mine, unul zambeste si ma intercepteaza:
Imi cere sa prezint buletinul - din reflex il dau, evident. Politia are dreptul sa te legitimeze. Isi noteaza datele mele in agenda lor etc.
Ma intreaba de unde vin - de acasa, le arat adresa din buletin. “A, da!” - abia atunci isi dau seama ca locuiesc in zona - au notat adresa, dar nu au recunoscut-o?!
Inteleg scopul intrebarii, sa afle o informatie noua (poate veneam din alta parte?), DAR din comportamentul lor clar nu si-au dat seama ca adresa e in Militari. Am citit surprindere pe fata lor cand au facut conexiunea...
Revin incet din universul meu si intreb care e scopul?
Aflu ca s-a comis o talharie in zona si am semnalmentele dupa care opresc si legitimeaza lumea: caciula si fular...
Wtf?! Mi-a venit sa rad, dar mi-am dat seama ca nu e cazul. Sa le spun ca e o tampenie aceasta descriere sumara? S-ar putea sa primesc amenda - judec eu institutia de mentinere a ordinii publice?!
Deci faptul ca am caciula si fular - cand afara e frig, mie imi e frig - si cand istericii din mass media tipa ca e epidemie de gripa (vai, cati morti de gripa!)... ma face sa par _infractor_?!
Evident ca au vrut sa vada ce am si in ghiozdan - poate aveam vreo sabiuta de 30 cm, nu de 1 metru cum au smecherii in BMW luat la mana a doua din Germania. 30 e mai mare decat 1, deci sabiuta de 30 cm e mai mare decat de cea de 1 metru, right? Stiu, nu aveti logica de “caciula si fular”.
Cand ai niste cutii & borcane goale de mancare in ghiozdan, niste hartii, o sacosa... dezamagire...
A trebuit sa pun ghiozdanul pe marginea aceea mizerabila de marmura pe care altii lasa pahare de cafea sau sticle de suc, se varsa pahare de cafea sau sticle de suc, se lasa tigari, sunt enshpe scuipati etc.
Well, daca nu deschizi ghiozdanul, se cheama ca obstructionezi legea, right?
So, il deschizi in locul infect - te gandesti ca poti sa stergi lucrurile ulterior!
Ca paranteza, cand am fost demult la Parada Militara de 1 Decembrie era un filtru pe Bd. Constantin Prezan in zona Arcului de Triumf - aveau o masuta pe care puneai lucrurile, frumos, civilizat - din pacate, atunci am nimerit o viitoare agenta (avea ecuson cu "student" or something) si a insistat ca ea sa deschida/inchida fermoarele si mi-a stricat un fermoar! L-a fortat, s-a stricat, asta e! Mda, you cannot have it all! :))
Stiu ca legea permite Politiei sa te legitimeze daca au suspiciuni rezonabile, e ok, s-ar aplica in cazul de fata...
...DAR m-as astepta ca _filtrul_ sa fie un pic mai _restrictiv_...
...iar daca tot avem un filtru _larg_ “caciula + fular” atunci _sa vad_ _mai multe_ _echipaje pe strada_, pentru ca e de lucru! sau oprim oamenii din 10 in 10 si ne facem ca muncim?!
Cu mine au pierdut 4-5 minute - cati au mai trecut cu fular si caciula intre timp?
Cam ciudat, nu?
Daca in timp ce ma conversam cu ei, m-as fi gandit la asta... si m-as fi uitat stanga-dreapta in continuu sa vad altii cu “fular + caciula”... ar fi fost semne clare de comportament dubios, clar individ nelinistit, right? Are semnalmente, e nelinistit ca se uita stanga-dreapta, clar suspect!
Cand aveam ghiozdanul pe marginea de marmura, am vazut prin geam trecand 1 ceva cu "fular + caciula" - l-am vazut accidental, ca nu ma uitam activ. Eu l-am vazut. Ei nu, intrucat erau ocupati sa evalueze ce am scos din ghiozdan - normal.
Deci, in cele 4-5 minute - cati au mai trecut cu fular si caciula?
=> Deci, cine a organizat toata plasarea in teren a organizat-o prost. Foarte prost! Ar trebui avansat, ca sa nu mai organizeze si alte lucruri la fel de prost.
In metrou mi-am dat seama ca despre nici unul eu _nu stiu_ nici _grad_, nici _nume_, nu am vazut nici _legitimatia_...
In mod clar, _verbal_ _nu_ s-au prezentat. - ar fi trebuit, cred ca invata la Scoala de Agenti asta?
Era intuneric, nu stiu daca aveau insigna in piept, nu am vazut niciun ecuson cu numele lor, iar epoleti cu grade nu retin sa fi vazut pe geaca.
Data viitoare sa scot lanterna de la telefon sa le luminez pieptul ca sa vad ecusonul si insigna? si umerii ca sa vad daca au epoleti sau nu?
Oricum, _verbal_ _nu_ s-a prezentat nici unul.
Teoretic, trebuiau sa se prezinte, apoi sa-mi spuna scopul opririi si apoi sa ma legtimeze - well, nu s-au prezentat, iar pentru scop am intrebat eu explicit.
Deci, Tudorel Toader cu toata nebunia cu amnistia & gratierea le-a dat curaj infractorilor (era de asteptat!) si le-a dat de lucru celor de la Politie, iar Carmen Dan i-a zapacit complet. Iar logica & mentalitatea de Gadea (pastor cu discurs religios adaptat la orice e nevoie) Antena 3 ne cam tampeste pe toti.
Ca fapt divers, bunicului meu i-a fost furat buletinul (prin toamna, cred) in Piata Sudului (inainte sa se apuce Primaria s-o demoleze) - la sectia de Politie din zona nu i-au dat niciun numar de inregistrare, apoi l-au convins sa declare buletinul pierdut, ca sa-l primeasca mai repede pe cel nou - uite asa scade criminalitatea!
Iar eu acum am semnalmente de infractor?! - caciula si fular?! - really?
La vara port pantaloni scurti. Daca si astea sunt semnalmente de infractor?
Showing posts with label analyzing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label analyzing. Show all posts
Tuesday, 19 February 2019
Sunday, 14 January 2018
Movie review: Molly's Game (2017)
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.
The first 2/3 of the movie is funny, fast paced, daring, very entertaining...
... but then, although still entertaining, the movie
Coherent storyline.
Very good acting.
Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba do a great job.
Out of the other actors with little screen time, I'd mention:
Follows the Hollywood pattern of a movie targeting the Academy Awards. I'd predict it gets nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Jessica Chastain), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Idris Elba), Best picture, Best Adapted Screenplay.
Nota bene: I bet Idris Elba gets nominated at the Academy Awards, also given his performance in The Mountain Between Us (2017) [IMDB], which I haven't seen, but, given the trailer and the story etc., I speculate it provides excellent performance from both Elba and Winslet and targets the Academy Awards...
Worth watching. Entertaining.
I wish the last 1/3 of the movie were as good as the first 2/3.
Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.
Molly's Game (2017)
[IMDB; en.wikipedia; Molly Bloom (author)]The first 2/3 of the movie is funny, fast paced, daring, very entertaining...
... but then, although still entertaining, the movie
- starts dragging a bit at times and
- focuses on clearing Molly's name:
- she's an angel,
- she's so innocent,
- she's got a good soul,
- she's a champion,
- she's not greedy,
- she has made little money and has declared all of them to the IRS because she wanted everything to be legit,
- she protects her clients' privacy with the price of her own freedom (why? oh, because she doesn't want to see their families ruined when their dirty secrets get exposed!),
- she had no idea what she has got into and with whom when organizing high stakes poker games etc.
The only thing I'm buying is she has not offered sex for money, because it's obvious it would have been bad for business.
Coherent storyline.
Very good acting.
Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba do a great job.
Out of the other actors with little screen time, I'd mention:
- Kevin Costner, who uses his screen time to the full - excellent play! Best of all.
- Michael Cera - strong impact on the story - I think he portrays Tobey Maguire
- Chris O'Dowd and Brian d'Arcy James, who are so funny...
Follows the Hollywood pattern of a movie targeting the Academy Awards. I'd predict it gets nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Jessica Chastain), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Idris Elba), Best picture, Best Adapted Screenplay.
Nota bene: I bet Idris Elba gets nominated at the Academy Awards, also given his performance in The Mountain Between Us (2017) [IMDB], which I haven't seen, but, given the trailer and the story etc., I speculate it provides excellent performance from both Elba and Winslet and targets the Academy Awards...
Conclusions
Worth watching. Entertaining.
I wish the last 1/3 of the movie were as good as the first 2/3.
Monday, 3 April 2017
Movie review: Life (2017)
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.
Sweet.
Told you in the Rings review I'm starting to like horror movies :)
A combination of:
The alien life form depiction is very interesting for about 70% of the movie: a single cell, all brain and muscle, which develops into a very smart and flexible entity - basically a distributed system (computer science), but organic :)
However, they screw up afterward by growing it an "ugly face" resembling the Alien franchise...
Since this alien life form is an organic distributed system :), then it is scalable on 2 levels:
Given the great number of interconnected neurons the alien life form possesses, it should have proven even smarter than depicted.
Worth watching.
Cool.
Who knows? You might even enjoy horror movies after this one! :)
Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.
Life (2017)
[IMDB]Sweet.
Told you in the Rings review I'm starting to like horror movies :)
A combination of:
- Gravity (2013) [IMDB] - the overall feeling of zero gravity, characters' very professional (i.e. like real astronauts :D) behavior, scenery
- Alien franchise/series [en.wikipedia] - the bad & smart alien hunting down all humans
- Interstellar (2014) [IMDB] - just a little bit, can't quite put my finger on which parts it influences...
The alien life form depiction is very interesting for about 70% of the movie: a single cell, all brain and muscle, which develops into a very smart and flexible entity - basically a distributed system (computer science), but organic :)
However, they screw up afterward by growing it an "ugly face" resembling the Alien franchise...
What would have I done differently regarding the script?
Since this alien life form is an organic distributed system :), then it is scalable on 2 levels:
- cell level - they've done that already in the movie (it is smart, flexible, learns to use tools etc.), but they screwed up by growing it a face! => They should have kept it without a face, that's sure!
- entity level - it should have divided into multiple similar entities, cooperating with each other in order to achieve whatever goals the scriptwriter would have imagined (e.g. most likely the ultimate goal of reaching Earth)
Given the great number of interconnected neurons the alien life form possesses, it should have proven even smarter than depicted.
Conclusions
Worth watching.
Cool.
Who knows? You might even enjoy horror movies after this one! :)
Thursday, 23 March 2017
Review de carte: Flash-uri din sens opus, de Marian Godină
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Prin Iunie 2016 citeam cam 2/3 din carte, apoi m-am luat cu alte chestii. Acum am [re]citit-o integral.
ISBN: 978-606-588-860-9
Editura Curtea Veche
Carte frumos scrisa, sincera.
Te binedispune.
Te pune pe ganduri cateodata.
De multe ori, povestea are o morala.
Intr-adevar, contine limbaj licentios/vulgar pe alocuri - asta-i realitatea in teren, n-ai ce sa faci...
Devine cam prea intima/personala pe 2 teme:
Merita citita. Clar.
Niste observatii ale mele, cu ocazia asta:
Ne trebuie mai multi oameni cu o astfel de mentalitate, care sa-si spuna parerea, sa ia decizii corecte etc. Ei tot apar si vor aparea si la un moment dat vom atinge masa critica incat sa apara schimbari mai mari.
Perseverenta + Inteligenta castiga mereu.
Umorul e optional; ajuta.
Prin Iunie 2016 citeam cam 2/3 din carte, apoi m-am luat cu alte chestii. Acum am [re]citit-o integral.
Flash-uri din sens opus
Autor: Marian GodinăISBN: 978-606-588-860-9
Editura Curtea Veche
Carte frumos scrisa, sincera.
Te binedispune.
Te pune pe ganduri cateodata.
De multe ori, povestea are o morala.
Intr-adevar, contine limbaj licentios/vulgar pe alocuri - asta-i realitatea in teren, n-ai ce sa faci...
Devine cam prea intima/personala pe 2 teme:
- Lupta cu sistemul (te pisi contra curentului, cum ii zic sefii) si umilintele/stresul indurat pentru ca a luat deciziile corecte: aici sunt de acord sa fie publice informatiile, ca sa stiu si eu din exterior ce se intampla prin interior... plus ca am un vag sentiment ca a povestit numai o parte din ce a indurat...
- Esecurile sentimentale: ok, sunt chestii normale in realitate si e dreptul omului sa decida whether to share it or not, dar filozofia mea e ca viata privata sa ramana privata.
Merita citita. Clar.
Niste observatii ale mele, cu ocazia asta:
Ne trebuie mai multi oameni cu o astfel de mentalitate, care sa-si spuna parerea, sa ia decizii corecte etc. Ei tot apar si vor aparea si la un moment dat vom atinge masa critica incat sa apara schimbari mai mari.
Perseverenta + Inteligenta castiga mereu.
Umorul e optional; ajuta.
Monday, 23 January 2017
Movie review: Collateral Beauty (2016)
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.
Well done. Beautiful.
Simultaneously sad and funny, both in an intelligent way.
It manages to be deep, while using fewer words than common philosophy to reach the same depth.
Great writer, very inspired.
Great cast. They all do their part great.
If Will Smith had been more "selfish" and demanded more screen time and a more complex part, he might have secured himself a better position for the Academy Awards.
Interestingly, all 4 main characters have issues regarding family life:
Nota bene: You should be glad if you fail to understand it. (same set of feelings as in Me Before You [review])
Definitely worth watching. Deserves some Academy Awards nominations.
Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.
Collateral Beauty (2016)
[IMDB]Well done. Beautiful.
Simultaneously sad and funny, both in an intelligent way.
It manages to be deep, while using fewer words than common philosophy to reach the same depth.
Great writer, very inspired.
Great cast. They all do their part great.
If Will Smith had been more "selfish" and demanded more screen time and a more complex part, he might have secured himself a better position for the Academy Awards.
Interestingly, all 4 main characters have issues regarding family life:
- Howard (Will Smith) has lost his daughter some time ago and since then tries to reconnect with the world, including his former wife.
- Whit (Edward Norton) (1) has cheated on his wife some time ago, therefore his daughter rejects him now, although his desperate attempts to reconnect with her, and (2) he lives with his mentally ill mother.
- Claire (Kate Winslet) realizes she has dedicated her whole life to her job, has no family whatsoever, has no children etc.
- Simon (Michael Peña) - the only guy with a real family (wife + kid)!... receives the bad news that his cancer has kicked back in, therefore has little time left to live!
Nota bene: You should be glad if you fail to understand it. (same set of feelings as in Me Before You [review])
Conclusions
Definitely worth watching. Deserves some Academy Awards nominations.
Wednesday, 17 August 2016
Prin Pantelimon, Electronicii, Colentina, Tei
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Aveam chef sa mai trec prin zona dintre Soseaua Pantelimon si Soseaua Colentina... - nu stiu de ce, ma fascineaza Estul.
Notez numai cateva chestii interesante, nu descriu tot traseul.
Strada Ciocarliei: curat spatele blocurilor, civilizat, vedere frumoasa la Parcul Sf. Pantelimon.
Parcul Sf. Pantelimon: frumos aranjat, civilizat, oameni ok.
Strada Doamna Ghica: interesanta privelistea "pestrita"/eterogena peste salba de lacuri.
Parcul Tei: partial aranjat, partial dezorganizat, mereu algomerat; se mentine starea asta de cand il stiu...
Foarte tare: Primaria a montat o Roata Mare - totusi, mi se pare scump 20 RON/persoana/tura.
Traseul pitoresc cu tramvaiul pe Soseaua Petricani, pana la metrou Pipera.
View Romania and Bucharest, by Liviu in a larger map
Gara Obor: un mare jeg absolut fascinant. Asa era si Gara de Nord demult... dar intre timp s-a civilizat... :))
Strazile Costache Conachi - Fantanica - Carausilor: neinteresant, varza.
Strazile Baicului (pornind de la Gara Obor) - Paharnicul Turturea - Dumitru Slugeru - Heliade intre vii - Electronicii - Calimachi: imprejurimi demolabile; zona industriala in faliment + arhitectura varza + blocuri in stil comunist (ok, asa sunt 98% din blocurile din Bucuresti :D) + blocuri de 23 etaje nou construite. Probabil toata zona va fi reconstruita in urmatorii 20-30 de ani...
Doamna Ghica Plaza: inghesuit + ai sentimentul ca te afli la capatul lumii; sa fi fost curajosi sau disperati atat cei care au construit, cat si cei care au cumparat? :))
Rose garden: frumos, aerisit; imi place cum arata blocurile la exterior, vazute din curtea interioara... totusi, unde sunt trandafirii? ca eu am vazut 3-4 fire subtiri & subrede din niste plante dubioase, fara nicio floare etc. :))
Teiul Doamnei: strada clasica care se desprinde dintr-un bulevard mare, capteaza destul trafic, cu blocuri de 8-10 etaje pe ambele parti - vezi asa ceva frecvent in Bucuresti, o confunzi cu multe alte strazi, dar nici macar un nume nu iti vine in minte... :)
Tren: Bucuresti Obor (16:20) - Pantelimon Sud (16:29 + intarziere 3 minute)
De mult timp doream sa ma plimb cu acest tren; eram curios...
Cum a fost? Pai, situatia cu 10-20 de minute inainte de plecare:
Concluzia? Mi-a placut. Trebuie neaparat sa mai calatoresc (pe distante scurte :D) cu acest tren - reprezinta acea Romanie pe care toti o neaga (sau o injura cand se lovesc de ea), dar ea exista, pe mine ma fascineaza, o inteleg... si mi-as dori sa evolueze in bine, pentru ca are potential.
Privelistea din tren:
Dragonul Rosu era inchis la ora aceea.
Am iesit rapid in Soseaua Colentina, pe drumul oficial de acces al masinilor.
Traseu pe strazile Lanternei - Moroeni - Spinului - Sos. Colentina - Sandu Enache - Moroeni - Hotensiei: strazi normale, case normale.
Mi-a mai placut parculetul dintre Strada Fabrica de Gheata si lacuri, i.e. vis-a-vis (peste rau) de Parcul Plumbuita.
Pe Fabrica de Gheata se afla 2 blocuri ai caror dezvoltatori se afla in insolventa - Blue Tower (la fel de "aproape gata" ca in Septembrie 2014 cand am trecut prin Plumbuita) si Lakeland Residence (nu-mi dau seama daca s-a inceput ceva la el) - Lakeland ar avea priveliste foarte misto si i-ar cam taia privelistea lui Blue...
Manastirea Plumbuita: slujba la ora aceea la manastire, agitatie pe strazi inainte...
Parcul Plumbuita: 1/3 din oameni erau de origine din Asia (Est sau Sud-Est) - vezi mai jos.
Am observat ca in partea de Colentina aflata la Nord-Est de intersectia cu Doamna Ghica si mai ales la Nord-Est de intersectia cu Soseaua Fundeni au aparut straini de origine din 2 zone diferite: (1) Asia de Est si Sud-Est si (2) Orientul Mijlociu si Nordul Africii.
=> Stiam de mult timp ca in Colentina s-a relocat un procent destul de mare, dar acum chiar i-am vazut in parcurile prin care am trecut, pe strazi, conducand masini etc... Deci, chiar exista, nu mai e o barfa/statistica aruncata asa...
=> Colentina va fi probabil prima zona cu adevarat multi-etnica din Bucuresti...
View Romania and Bucharest, by Liviu in a larger map
Aveam chef sa mai trec prin zona dintre Soseaua Pantelimon si Soseaua Colentina... - nu stiu de ce, ma fascineaza Estul.
Notez numai cateva chestii interesante, nu descriu tot traseul.
Sambata, 16 Iulie 2016
Strada Ciocarliei: curat spatele blocurilor, civilizat, vedere frumoasa la Parcul Sf. Pantelimon.
Parcul Sf. Pantelimon: frumos aranjat, civilizat, oameni ok.
Strada Doamna Ghica: interesanta privelistea "pestrita"/eterogena peste salba de lacuri.
Parcul Tei: partial aranjat, partial dezorganizat, mereu algomerat; se mentine starea asta de cand il stiu...
Foarte tare: Primaria a montat o Roata Mare - totusi, mi se pare scump 20 RON/persoana/tura.
Traseul pitoresc cu tramvaiul pe Soseaua Petricani, pana la metrou Pipera.
View Romania and Bucharest, by Liviu in a larger map
Duminica, 17 Iulie 2016
Gara Obor: un mare jeg absolut fascinant. Asa era si Gara de Nord demult... dar intre timp s-a civilizat... :))
Strazile Costache Conachi - Fantanica - Carausilor: neinteresant, varza.
Strazile Baicului (pornind de la Gara Obor) - Paharnicul Turturea - Dumitru Slugeru - Heliade intre vii - Electronicii - Calimachi: imprejurimi demolabile; zona industriala in faliment + arhitectura varza + blocuri in stil comunist (ok, asa sunt 98% din blocurile din Bucuresti :D) + blocuri de 23 etaje nou construite. Probabil toata zona va fi reconstruita in urmatorii 20-30 de ani...
Doamna Ghica Plaza: inghesuit + ai sentimentul ca te afli la capatul lumii; sa fi fost curajosi sau disperati atat cei care au construit, cat si cei care au cumparat? :))
Rose garden: frumos, aerisit; imi place cum arata blocurile la exterior, vazute din curtea interioara... totusi, unde sunt trandafirii? ca eu am vazut 3-4 fire subtiri & subrede din niste plante dubioase, fara nicio floare etc. :))
Teiul Doamnei: strada clasica care se desprinde dintr-un bulevard mare, capteaza destul trafic, cu blocuri de 8-10 etaje pe ambele parti - vezi asa ceva frecvent in Bucuresti, o confunzi cu multe alte strazi, dar nici macar un nume nu iti vine in minte... :)
Sambata, 13 August 2016
Tren: Bucuresti Obor (16:20) - Pantelimon Sud (16:29 + intarziere 3 minute)
De mult timp doream sa ma plimb cu acest tren; eram curios...
Cum a fost? Pai, situatia cu 10-20 de minute inainte de plecare:
- plin 150%
- jeg poetic
- de la inceput exista deja un covor de coji de seminte pe jos, dar cel putin 1/3 din calatori ingrosau covorul cu perseverenta
- cel putin 1/3 din calatori se pregateau sa-si desfaca o bere, o sticla de vin sau sa fumeze... daca inca nu facusera asta
Concluzia? Mi-a placut. Trebuie neaparat sa mai calatoresc (pe distante scurte :D) cu acest tren - reprezinta acea Romanie pe care toti o neaga (sau o injura cand se lovesc de ea), dar ea exista, pe mine ma fascineaza, o inteleg... si mi-as dori sa evolueze in bine, pentru ca are potential.
Privelistea din tren:
- "pestrita"/eterogena pe partea dreapta, in zona salbei de lacuri - practic similar cu ce am scris mai sus despre cand trecut pe Strada Doamna Ghica, dar acum vazut din alt unghi
- inspre Dragonul Rosu, pe dreapta au aparut multe blocuri noi, iar pe stanga (deci in spatele Sos. Colentina) case renovate/reconstruite si/sau spatii de joaca noi - interesant...
Dragonul Rosu era inchis la ora aceea.
Am iesit rapid in Soseaua Colentina, pe drumul oficial de acces al masinilor.
Traseu pe strazile Lanternei - Moroeni - Spinului - Sos. Colentina - Sandu Enache - Moroeni - Hotensiei: strazi normale, case normale.
Mi-a mai placut parculetul dintre Strada Fabrica de Gheata si lacuri, i.e. vis-a-vis (peste rau) de Parcul Plumbuita.
Pe Fabrica de Gheata se afla 2 blocuri ai caror dezvoltatori se afla in insolventa - Blue Tower (la fel de "aproape gata" ca in Septembrie 2014 cand am trecut prin Plumbuita) si Lakeland Residence (nu-mi dau seama daca s-a inceput ceva la el) - Lakeland ar avea priveliste foarte misto si i-ar cam taia privelistea lui Blue...
Manastirea Plumbuita: slujba la ora aceea la manastire, agitatie pe strazi inainte...
Parcul Plumbuita: 1/3 din oameni erau de origine din Asia (Est sau Sud-Est) - vezi mai jos.
Am observat ca in partea de Colentina aflata la Nord-Est de intersectia cu Doamna Ghica si mai ales la Nord-Est de intersectia cu Soseaua Fundeni au aparut straini de origine din 2 zone diferite: (1) Asia de Est si Sud-Est si (2) Orientul Mijlociu si Nordul Africii.
=> Stiam de mult timp ca in Colentina s-a relocat un procent destul de mare, dar acum chiar i-am vazut in parcurile prin care am trecut, pe strazi, conducand masini etc... Deci, chiar exista, nu mai e o barfa/statistica aruncata asa...
=> Colentina va fi probabil prima zona cu adevarat multi-etnica din Bucuresti...
View Romania and Bucharest, by Liviu in a larger map
Monday, 1 February 2016
Movie review: The Big Short
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.
Well, it's different from what you've watched until now, because it intertwines 2 types of video content:
Or one might imagine it as the regular movie with documentary insertions from now and then.
Anyway, we need to review each of them, right?
It’s basically a combination of several movies, borrowing the best from each of them:
I totally love Christian Bale's Dr. Burry character and Ryan Gosling's Jared Vennett. They feel right. Strong attitude, strong desire to win and make money.
5 Oscar nominations [en.wikipedia]:
If you ask me, The Wolf of Wall Street is better / more entertaining than The Big Short, so The Wolf deserves an Oscar more, but The Wolf hails the bad / greedy guy, while The Big Short takes on Wall Street and defends the poor-and-fooled-by-the-big-bad-Wall-Street people... so the Academy is kind of forced to award it something...
Nota bene: do not even think it has anything in common with the failed Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) [IMDB], ok?
They try explaining the financial concepts... must emphasize: they _try_ :)) But it's only an incomplete bullshit, which does not make sense at all! Really! Just like they state in the movie that Wall Street invents all these terms to make one feel stupid... well, they do the same to make the audience think they are smart :))
Financial concepts roadmap, my opinion:
But that's a lot of explaining to do, mate! - Indeed it is, but do you really want to understand it, mate? or just pretend you get it? Oh, don't worry, during those 25-35 years that it takes to pay the mortgage, you'll definitely find the time to learn it! :D
Indeed, the derivatives market is so big... The part starring Selena Gomez is the only one I agree with since it is almost accurate regarding explaining a financial concept.
=> Let me explain to you why/how the derivatives market is so big: several players actually play a football game on the field, BUT there may be [hundreds of] thousands of entities betting on that result (through bet agencies, online bets, casinos, private bets etc.) + have you noticed how many types of bets there are? Now you get it? Now compute the money paid to all on the field for playing that game vs. the money all those entities are betting. Now you get it?
Nota bene: for several months starting at the end of August 2013 I have learned a tiny bit about how financial markets work in general, and basic derivatives (futures, options, swaps) in particular, so my knowledge & understanding is very-very limited on this and I know enough to understand the complexity and how stupid I am with respect to financial-everything :) But it's so beautiful, really! Financial markets are like distributed systems + a lot of randomness :))
As a side note, I have this feeling that the documentary parts resemble Adam Ruins Everything [en.wikipedia], of which I have become a youtube fan in the past months.
Great regular movie, worth watching, time well spent.
Please do watch the other movies I've referenced in the review!
Incomplete & Bullshit documentary parts.
Thanks for reading.
Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.
The Big Short (2015)
[official site; IMDB]Well, it's different from what you've watched until now, because it intertwines 2 types of video content:
- the regular movie that one watches at the cinema
- (some sort of) a documentary explaining financial concepts
Or one might imagine it as the regular movie with documentary insertions from now and then.
Anyway, we need to review each of them, right?
The Big Short: the regular movie
It’s basically a combination of several movies, borrowing the best from each of them:
- Margin Call (2011) [IMDB] - for the feelings & attitude the characters in the heart of the system experience: “panic”, situation analysis & seriousness, whistle blowing desire
- Wall Street (1987) [IMDB] - for the desire of making money, for the leadership & winning against everyone else playing the same game
- The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) [IMDB] - for the humour, for the “screw you, I wanna get rich!” attitude, for the style of narrating the story directly to the audience from now and then
I totally love Christian Bale's Dr. Burry character and Ryan Gosling's Jared Vennett. They feel right. Strong attitude, strong desire to win and make money.
5 Oscar nominations [en.wikipedia]:
- I'd like Christian Bale to win Best Supporting Actor, although Ryan Gosling deserves it as much.
- Best Picture vs. Best Adapted Screenplay? Well, the story unravels and is presented somewhat differently from what we've been used with so far (e.g. some of the actors turn to the camera and talk directly to the audience), so it might win one of these...
If you ask me, The Wolf of Wall Street is better / more entertaining than The Big Short, so The Wolf deserves an Oscar more, but The Wolf hails the bad / greedy guy, while The Big Short takes on Wall Street and defends the poor-and-fooled-by-the-big-bad-Wall-Street people... so the Academy is kind of forced to award it something...
Nota bene: do not even think it has anything in common with the failed Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) [IMDB], ok?
The Big Short: the documentary parts
They try explaining the financial concepts... must emphasize: they _try_ :)) But it's only an incomplete bullshit, which does not make sense at all! Really! Just like they state in the movie that Wall Street invents all these terms to make one feel stupid... well, they do the same to make the audience think they are smart :))
Financial concepts roadmap, my opinion:
- At first, they should have explained why & how the derivatives market [en.wikipedia] has originally been designed, e.g. to mitigate risks, to make the market more stable etc.
- Then get into the basic concepts: futures contracts [en.wikipedia], options [en.wikipedia], swaps [en.wikipedia].
- Optional: explain why & how derivatives can be exchanged through the Exchange vs. Over-the-counter.
- Then get into CDS [en.wikipedia], which have been used since 1994 (according to wikipedia).
- Then how various tradable financial assets (derivatives, stocks, currencies, debt etc.) may be packed together...
- Then CDO [en.wikipedia].
- Then how derivatives can become toxic when turned into "bets" by speculators... but that's a different story.
But that's a lot of explaining to do, mate! - Indeed it is, but do you really want to understand it, mate? or just pretend you get it? Oh, don't worry, during those 25-35 years that it takes to pay the mortgage, you'll definitely find the time to learn it! :D
Indeed, the derivatives market is so big... The part starring Selena Gomez is the only one I agree with since it is almost accurate regarding explaining a financial concept.
=> Let me explain to you why/how the derivatives market is so big: several players actually play a football game on the field, BUT there may be [hundreds of] thousands of entities betting on that result (through bet agencies, online bets, casinos, private bets etc.) + have you noticed how many types of bets there are? Now you get it? Now compute the money paid to all on the field for playing that game vs. the money all those entities are betting. Now you get it?
Nota bene: for several months starting at the end of August 2013 I have learned a tiny bit about how financial markets work in general, and basic derivatives (futures, options, swaps) in particular, so my knowledge & understanding is very-very limited on this and I know enough to understand the complexity and how stupid I am with respect to financial-everything :) But it's so beautiful, really! Financial markets are like distributed systems + a lot of randomness :))
As a side note, I have this feeling that the documentary parts resemble Adam Ruins Everything [en.wikipedia], of which I have become a youtube fan in the past months.
Conclusions
Great regular movie, worth watching, time well spent.
Please do watch the other movies I've referenced in the review!
Incomplete & Bullshit documentary parts.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, 12 October 2015
Anim'Est: The Prophet, Extraordinary Tales, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Am vizionat 3 filme din programul Anim'Est 2015 [link program vs. program PDF]
Bazat pe cartea The Prophet [en.wikipedia], de Kahlil Gibran [en.wikipedia]
E cu substrat politico-religios.
Dpdv meu, animatia e buna ca introducere in diverse teme/discutii/polemici despre - si voi cita tot ce au indexat pe wikipedia - "love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death."
Fiecare domeniu are scrierile proprii mai profunde, mai detaliate, polemici & dezbateri etc. de aceea spun ca animatia e buna ca introducere.
De exemplu, pentru libertate merg pe mana lui John Sturat Mill - On Liberty [en.wikipedia], altii au alte preferinte, iar dezbaterile & polemicile pot fi "fara numar" (imi place expresia, nah!).
Concluzii
Frumos.
Greu de descris.
Cunosc numai la nivel teoretic si la modul general stilul lui Edgar Alan Peo.
Nota bene: consider ca am pe lista alte lucruri mai de valoare de citit, de aceea nu am citit nimic de el si nu e planificat nimic pentru viitorul planificabil.
Anyway, animatia e misto. Totul a fost pe linia pe care mi-am imaginat-o.
Un fel de Miorita sau literatura romana pentru Bacalaureat in general, care se poate rezuma in oricare dintre urmatoarele moduri:
You know what? Gi'me a break!
Anyway, eu sunt multumit ca astfel de cultura exista (inidiferent cine o produce), pentru ca imi e mai clar unde ma pozitionez, ce & cum trebuie sa caut etc.
M-am deprogramat de mult timp de o astfel de filozofie toxica & tampita, bine ca nu trebuie sa mai dau Bac-ul! :))
Pe cazul general e posibil sa nu inteleg filozofia japoneza si/sau sa o interpretez din perpsectiva "european-invingatoare / americana".
Am mai vazut si alte productii japoneze la Anim'Est in alti ani, am vazut piese de teatru (dar jucate de actori romani, in limba romana) etc. - cu putine am rezonat, multe m-au enervat.
Ca gluma: Sa traduca cineva Miorita in japoneza, va fi un super hit! Mai ales ca le plac si poeziile scurte...
Am vizionat 3 filme din programul Anim'Est 2015 [link program vs. program PDF]
The Prophet
[IMDB]Bazat pe cartea The Prophet [en.wikipedia], de Kahlil Gibran [en.wikipedia]
E cu substrat politico-religios.
Dpdv meu, animatia e buna ca introducere in diverse teme/discutii/polemici despre - si voi cita tot ce au indexat pe wikipedia - "love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death."
Fiecare domeniu are scrierile proprii mai profunde, mai detaliate, polemici & dezbateri etc. de aceea spun ca animatia e buna ca introducere.
De exemplu, pentru libertate merg pe mana lui John Sturat Mill - On Liberty [en.wikipedia], altii au alte preferinte, iar dezbaterile & polemicile pot fi "fara numar" (imi place expresia, nah!).
Concluzii
- Animatie foarte buna, merita vazuta.
- Un adult ar trebui sa o inteleaga.
- Un copil nu o va intelege, dar isi va pune intrebari. E un inceput bun.
Extraordinary Tales
[IMDB]Frumos.
Greu de descris.
Cunosc numai la nivel teoretic si la modul general stilul lui Edgar Alan Peo.
Nota bene: consider ca am pe lista alte lucruri mai de valoare de citit, de aceea nu am citit nimic de el si nu e planificat nimic pentru viitorul planificabil.
Anyway, animatia e misto. Totul a fost pe linia pe care mi-am imaginat-o.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
[IMDB]Un fel de Miorita sau literatura romana pentru Bacalaureat in general, care se poate rezuma in oricare dintre urmatoarele moduri:
- nu-ti poti schimba soarta, get used with it
- toata lumea e impotriva ta, hai sa plangem!
- esecul e ceva normal
- hai sa ne zbatem ca pestele pe uscat...
You know what? Gi'me a break!
Anyway, eu sunt multumit ca astfel de cultura exista (inidiferent cine o produce), pentru ca imi e mai clar unde ma pozitionez, ce & cum trebuie sa caut etc.
M-am deprogramat de mult timp de o astfel de filozofie toxica & tampita, bine ca nu trebuie sa mai dau Bac-ul! :))
Pe cazul general e posibil sa nu inteleg filozofia japoneza si/sau sa o interpretez din perpsectiva "european-invingatoare / americana".
Am mai vazut si alte productii japoneze la Anim'Est in alti ani, am vazut piese de teatru (dar jucate de actori romani, in limba romana) etc. - cu putine am rezonat, multe m-au enervat.
Ca gluma: Sa traduca cineva Miorita in japoneza, va fi un super hit! Mai ales ca le plac si poeziile scurte...
Monday, 27 April 2015
Faza tare la karaoke: Scotian (60 ani) vs. Romanca (25 ani)
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Faza tare la karaoke: Scotian (60 ani) vs. Romanca (25 ani) - merita citit cap-coada...
Eram la karaoke. S-a intamplat sa aterizam pe acolo.
Oblic fata de noi, la o masa la vreo 2 m departare, avem cei 4 protagonisti:
Buuun, deci era karaoke... asa ca lui SS ii vine randul sa cante la un moment dat... si se duce pe scena sa cante, scena fiind la veo 15 m de masa lor, aproape in capatul celalalt al salii...
SJ ramasese la masa cu RoSS si RoSJ, evident.
Imediat cum se urca SS pe scena, RoSS se ridica in picioare, cheering inca de la inceput, entuziasmata - parca tocmai castigase la Loteria Bonurilor! - ma gandesc ca isi facuse socoteala ca SJ, care o vede entuziasmata acum, ii va povesti ulterior lui SS comportamentul ei, pentru ca SS sa deduca ca RoSS e moarta dupa el, ceea ce ar fi implicat si niste calcule financiare pentru prestarii servicii daca asta era intre ei, you know...
SS incepe sa cante, voce buna, puternica, n-as fi crezut.
Dupa ce canta SS maxim 1 minut, coboara cu microfonul de pe scena si se duce la cativa metri in fata, la o alta masa cu tipi si tipe (cred ca acolo era o tipa care cantase super bine putin inainte) si indreapta mana spre aia sau masa lor la versurile "You're the one!"...
Lui RoSS ii pica fata la propriu aici. De la cheering en-gross, amuteste complet... instant... bine ca era zgomot si puteam sa rad :))...
Maxim 1 minut, RoSS ramane blocata in picioare... - faza a meritat toti bani din taxa de intrare la karaoke :))
Apoi, SS se intoarce evident pe scena, iar RoSS aterizeaza instant in fata scenei, cu aparatul in mana, ii face cateva poze si sta acolo pana la final, practic marcandu-si teritoriul en-gross si blocandu-i orice coborare :)) - practic transmitea 2 mesaje:
Anyway, in final se intorc amandoi la masa, toata lumea devine din nou happy etc.
Maxim 15 minute mai tarziu, aterizeaza RoSS + SS pe scena si canta amandoi nu-stiu-ce cantecel, evident RoSS a fost varza, iar SS si-a facut treaba bine. Clar, RoSS si-a dat seama ca trebuie sa iasa puternic la vanatoare, intrucat SS nu e chiar atat de varza cum il evaluase initial... si sa nu-i scape "prada" sau "dragostea vietii", in functie de relatia (contractuala? :D) dintre ei...
Experienta / Viclenia acumulata in timp de un animal batran, e.g. SS in cazul nostru, bate de multe ori fumurile/figurile din capul unui animal tanar, e.g. RoSS.
As fi vrut sa-i zic omului "Respect, dude, you ruled!" pentru ca intr-adevar omul a preluat controlul si a dictat trendul, dar ar fi fost nepotrivit.
Nota bene: Stiu, sunt old fashioned, imi plac controlul & contra atacurile & mutarile de sah... desi traim intr-o lume in care poza & aratatul bine & hipsterismul e primul criteriu... but you know what? Actiunea bate Poza, cand stii sa actionezi, cand ai rabdare etc. A gentleman is a patient & skilled wolf, ca sa completez citatul din Lana Turner.
Faza tare la karaoke: Scotian (60 ani) vs. Romanca (25 ani) - merita citit cap-coada...
Intro: descrierea locatiei si a personajelor
Eram la karaoke. S-a intamplat sa aterizam pe acolo.
Oblic fata de noi, la o masa la vreo 2 m departare, avem cei 4 protagonisti:
- Seniorul senior (SS): Scotian de vreo 60 de ani, se vedea pe fata lui varsta, fara verigheta
- Seniorul junior (SJ): mai degraba Englez decat Scotian, la vreo 55 de ani, la prima vedere mult mai in forma si mai dinamic decat SS, tot fara verigheta
- 2 romance, friends intre ele, la vreo 25 de ani fiecare, ii insoteau: RoSS cu SS, respectiv RoSJ cu SJ. Din comportament as zice ca ele tocmai isi gasisera dragostea vietii lor in persoanele SS si SJ... Ratiunea imi spune ca poate stateau cu cei 2 seniori pentru bani, sa-i zicem "contract de prestari servicii pe perioada determinta :)", dar totusi sa nu speculam daca nu avem destule informatii, right? Sa fim impartiali!
Intriga: scanteia care declanseaza totul
Buuun, deci era karaoke... asa ca lui SS ii vine randul sa cante la un moment dat... si se duce pe scena sa cante, scena fiind la veo 15 m de masa lor, aproape in capatul celalalt al salii...
SJ ramasese la masa cu RoSS si RoSJ, evident.
Imediat cum se urca SS pe scena, RoSS se ridica in picioare, cheering inca de la inceput, entuziasmata - parca tocmai castigase la Loteria Bonurilor! - ma gandesc ca isi facuse socoteala ca SJ, care o vede entuziasmata acum, ii va povesti ulterior lui SS comportamentul ei, pentru ca SS sa deduca ca RoSS e moarta dupa el, ceea ce ar fi implicat si niste calcule financiare pentru prestarii servicii daca asta era intre ei, you know...
Si acum incepe faza tare...
SS incepe sa cante, voce buna, puternica, n-as fi crezut.
Dupa ce canta SS maxim 1 minut, coboara cu microfonul de pe scena si se duce la cativa metri in fata, la o alta masa cu tipi si tipe (cred ca acolo era o tipa care cantase super bine putin inainte) si indreapta mana spre aia sau masa lor la versurile "You're the one!"...
Lui RoSS ii pica fata la propriu aici. De la cheering en-gross, amuteste complet... instant... bine ca era zgomot si puteam sa rad :))...
Maxim 1 minut, RoSS ramane blocata in picioare... - faza a meritat toti bani din taxa de intrare la karaoke :))
Apoi, SS se intoarce evident pe scena, iar RoSS aterizeaza instant in fata scenei, cu aparatul in mana, ii face cateva poze si sta acolo pana la final, practic marcandu-si teritoriul en-gross si blocandu-i orice coborare :)) - practic transmitea 2 mesaje:
- catre public: "hey, he's with me, including financially, so back off!"
- catre SS: "bah, ai amnezie? tu uiti cu cine ai venit si cine detine monopolul de prestari servicii?"
Anyway, in final se intorc amandoi la masa, toata lumea devine din nou happy etc.
Maxim 15 minute mai tarziu, aterizeaza RoSS + SS pe scena si canta amandoi nu-stiu-ce cantecel, evident RoSS a fost varza, iar SS si-a facut treaba bine. Clar, RoSS si-a dat seama ca trebuie sa iasa puternic la vanatoare, intrucat SS nu e chiar atat de varza cum il evaluase initial... si sa nu-i scape "prada" sau "dragostea vietii", in functie de relatia (contractuala? :D) dintre ei...
Morala
Experienta / Viclenia acumulata in timp de un animal batran, e.g. SS in cazul nostru, bate de multe ori fumurile/figurile din capul unui animal tanar, e.g. RoSS.
As fi vrut sa-i zic omului "Respect, dude, you ruled!" pentru ca intr-adevar omul a preluat controlul si a dictat trendul, dar ar fi fost nepotrivit.
Nota bene: Stiu, sunt old fashioned, imi plac controlul & contra atacurile & mutarile de sah... desi traim intr-o lume in care poza & aratatul bine & hipsterismul e primul criteriu... but you know what? Actiunea bate Poza, cand stii sa actionezi, cand ai rabdare etc. A gentleman is a patient & skilled wolf, ca sa completez citatul din Lana Turner.
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
The "new" & "fresh" & "creative" world we live in
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
You probably have heard of and/or have used by now some very popular English phrases.
What do you think? Are they new?
Are they the product of recent human history, of recent human advances and/or knowledge, the result of understanding life better and/or us becoming wiser as a species?
Oh, wait, some of them have been used by the Romans (who spoke Latin, btw!)... like 2000+ years ago!... and some of the phrases are themselves translations of Greek phrases, as Greek rhetoric and literature reached its peak centuries before that of ancient Rome.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_(full)
Oh my God, I can't believe it!
(Nota bene: for the sake of irony and as a dedication to those who appreciate ironies, some of these Latin phrases have been in use even before humans inventing the concept of God in the sense we use now! :D)
"Sequere pecuniam" = "Follow the money" [en.wikipedia]
"Modus Vivendi" [en.wikipedia] = "Agree to disagree" [en.wikipedia]
"Quid pro quo" [en.wikipedia] = "something for something", "a favour for a favour", "give and take", "tit for tat", "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours"
"imperium in imperio" = "state within state" / "fifth column"
"versus" (vs) or (v.) [en.wikipedia] = "towards" / "facing"
"veto" = "I forbid"
All this reminds me of Mihai Eminescu's "Toate-s vechi și nouă toate" - English: "All is old, yet all is new"
The full wikipedia list is very interesting, so feel free to check it... if you're done "liking"/"sharing" useless fb content for today, of course! :)
You probably have heard of and/or have used by now some very popular English phrases.
What do you think? Are they new?
Are they the product of recent human history, of recent human advances and/or knowledge, the result of understanding life better and/or us becoming wiser as a species?
Oh, wait, some of them have been used by the Romans (who spoke Latin, btw!)... like 2000+ years ago!... and some of the phrases are themselves translations of Greek phrases, as Greek rhetoric and literature reached its peak centuries before that of ancient Rome.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_(full)
Oh my God, I can't believe it!
(Nota bene: for the sake of irony and as a dedication to those who appreciate ironies, some of these Latin phrases have been in use even before humans inventing the concept of God in the sense we use now! :D)
"Sequere pecuniam" = "Follow the money" [en.wikipedia]
"Modus Vivendi" [en.wikipedia] = "Agree to disagree" [en.wikipedia]
"Quid pro quo" [en.wikipedia] = "something for something", "a favour for a favour", "give and take", "tit for tat", "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours"
"imperium in imperio" = "state within state" / "fifth column"
"versus" (vs) or (v.) [en.wikipedia] = "towards" / "facing"
"veto" = "I forbid"
All this reminds me of Mihai Eminescu's "Toate-s vechi și nouă toate" - English: "All is old, yet all is new"
The full wikipedia list is very interesting, so feel free to check it... if you're done "liking"/"sharing" useless fb content for today, of course! :)
Friday, 23 May 2014
Novella review: Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
This is a novella review of Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, which I've read at the end of March and start of April 2011.
(Complete book title: The Complete Novels, by George Orwell; ISBN 0-14-118515-5; the last novel, i.e. the 6th, is Nineteen Eighty-Four)
It's been quite a long time, I know, but only now have I had the time to move the review from draft to published state.
The author somehow has something against women. He portrays them as easier to get manipulated, i.e. they seem the most obedient.
There's also the stereotype of "dumpy men, growing stout very early in life" as the most obedient male followers of the Party's doctrine.
The words of Newspeak are simply amazing: thoughtcrime, crimethink, facecrime, doublethink, speakwrite, ownlife, cold - pluscold - doublepluscold, good - ungood etc. Just read the Appendix at the end of the book, since it's incredibly fun (given you have grown a strong sense of humor) and amazing at explaining he Newspeak.
Orwell has a fixation on using the word "orthodoxy".
The constant surveillance of people is quite cool: the telescreens... cool idea, I'd say! :) - I bet Orwell imagined the tablets (i.e. iPad-like devices) of today, but couldn't give them the proper marketing name :)
Although it seemed so SF for its day, i.e. the technology presented in the novel was beyond anyone would even dream at that time, the telescreens are quite possible by present day standards. Of course, we still have to improve the networks and so on, but just think of tablets we buy today: if they
- become larger (and that's possible in the future)
- get better audio output
- get really better cameras built in
- connect to faster networks, in order to allow high quality real-time video to and from the cloud
- access software in the cloud for speech recognition & conversion into text (and that is possible today quite accurately) in order to have it then automatically processed/filtered for whatever you feel like - heck, we can even translate it today from one language to another...
- access software in the cloud for face recognition, so we know who every person is and where they're located (we can do pretty accurate face recognition in pictures at the current time, so face recognition for video should be there in the future, shouldn't it?) - heck, with everyone carrying mobile/communication devices we kind of already know where everyone is
... well, in that case, people, the telescreens are just around the corner... and the whole telescreen-like phenomenon is quite more powerful than Mr. Orwell imagined...
So, am I the only imagining the telescreens as larger tablets with really good cameras? I mean, they should be iPad-like devices, shouldn't they? :D
I wonder what Mr. Orwell would think of present day tablet-like technology - I'd just want to see his face, you know, that face saying "omg, it's real, it's more than I thought possible although at that time it felt even to me that I was exaggerating (is there a term like "exaggerate too much" I wonder? :D) and had doubts about it..."
Nota bene - just to make a bitter joke:
The telescreens would be
... with your permission of course, if they were deployed by Google
... or directly without your permission, if they were deployed by Facebook - Hey, we thought you'd enjoy it :p No? Oh, there's in the privacy settings a complicated pay to turn it off, just in case you want to, but better not, just share everything, you know...
... delivering only 140 characters messages at a time if operated by Twitter and popping all the time references (whenever you pass by a telescreen) to your activities like @John The Thought Police is following you! or @John Your kid has just told Thought Police you're a traitor and not loyal to the Party!
To put it short, the purpose of war is to produce more war, to keep people in dirt, subjugated, always afraid and obedient to the Party.
As mentioned in _the book_ of the Brotherhood (quoted in the novel, in Part 2, Chapter 9), the 3 states at war (Oceania, EuraAsia, EastAsia) constantly fight each other only for a large piece of densily populated land (containig the Equator area in Africa, the Middle East and India) and the North Pole, by never have their main territory conquered since it would be impossible even for 2 of them to conquer the third, since they have natural geographical advantages to protect each of them. So, their borders float around predefined area, in order to use the people from those areas for some time, in order to produce more, in order to have a better position in the next war and so on. Basically, war has become a way to keep natural balance both inside each super-state and outside (i.e. between super-states). Actually, no state doesn't need those areas, but they must fight for something, you know... what's important is that a state of war continues forever...
War enforces the objective of keeping people in misery - using machines to produces everything means creating a surplus of goods, everyone would get more stuff, better quality, therefore wealth would increase, therefore the standard of living would raise, right?... but the leaders don't want that, therefore the war is a way (or at least a pretext) to consume / not giving that surplus of wealth to the people, but making it disappear by being consumed for the war ("war effort" you know?), therefore the population remains in misery and is easily manipulable.
Why would wealth bad from the the standpoint of the Party leaders of that society? Simple: when everyone lives a good / comfortable life, the hierarchical structure of society fades and eventually _disappears_, therefore _privilliges_ disappear, therefore power can no longer be held by a small group of people (because everyone else would become literate and would be living a good / comfortable life, thinking for themselves, making their own decisions, questioning the current leaders and so on, in the end making the current leaders obsolete and changing them with new & better ones). So, through poverty and ignorance is the only way that the Party leaders can preserve their power...
Part 2, Chapter 9 - brilliant.
Therefore, overall, Part 1 and Part 2 combined explain the _how_.
Well, basically, the interrogatory and torture of Winston is a pretext for Orwell to talk/discuss/philosophize about power, using O'Brien's words to describe the society they live in, of course.
Main idea: power is concentrated in the hands of the few Party leaders for the sake of power itself - O'Brien is aware of that, he is not a hypocrite claiming he is saving the society and/or doing good to anyone by the way the Party rules, but simply admits the Party itself keeps power for itself, therefore Party members keep power for themselves, for the sake of having that power. And they enforce and enjoy it through torture on everyone else:
"[...] How does one man assert his power over another, Winston? [...] Exactly. By making him suffer. Obedience is not enough. Unless he is suffering how can you be sure that he is obeying your will and not his own? Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. [...] A world of fear, and treachery and torment a world of trampling and being trampled upon [...] Progress in our world will be progress towards more pain. [...] In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. [...] If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - for ever.".
And yes, part of the (or maybe the whole of?) _the book_ (from Part 2, Chapter 9) is bullshit and O'Brien helped writing it in part.
In the last pages of the novel, when sitting in the Chestnut Tree cafe, Winston wonders if there even is a war - I think this may be critical, since there might be no war whatsoever, i.e. not even a fake war. It might all be smoke and mirrors. - Ok, it seems pretty obvious to me that the party is the one launching the rockets over its own cities, but the idea that they're not even fighting a fake war... for all we know, the 3 powers might be at peace and each doing it's thing and manipulating information in order to seem as "fighting", or there may be no 3 powers, but actually only one power...
Therefore, Part 3 finally explains the _why_, the long searched _why_ until then.
Well, I must say WW2 has let a deep scar in the memory of the generations from that time...
I've been reading John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" long time ago, while in highschool, and couldn't understand how given that those ideas first came to light in 1859 the humankind went through all the shit afterwards for more than a century.
Now, things went pretty bad in 1940s and people's morale had fell: 1984 technically shows this loss of hope, the paranoid & schizophrenic & torture-centered world that people were afraid of, doesn't it?
Mr. Charrington actually is an undercover Thought Police member/officer, therefore betrays Winston and Julia.
Of course, O'Brien works for the Party, too, and tortures & humiliates & brainwashes Winston throughout Part 3 of the novel.
Both Winston and Julia betray each other when each of them reaches room 101, i.e. the final stage of their torture & brainwashing.
Winston eventually dies, shot in the neck from behind, of course, as has long been expected & anticipated throughout Part 3. Of course, he has to go through all the steps of torture, humiliation, brainwashing, i.e. everything that crushes his soul / identity / believes etc. Well, that's how we write quality novels here in Europe: we kill the main character(s) in the end, squeeze all life from them in the meantime, we give no hope for the better, we present & foresee only the bad side of life and so on, 'cause art means feeling miserable, you know! - Just couldn't help not making fun of European literature :p Ok, it may be deep/profound, but too pessimistic...
This is a novella review of Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, which I've read at the end of March and start of April 2011.
(Complete book title: The Complete Novels, by George Orwell; ISBN 0-14-118515-5; the last novel, i.e. the 6th, is Nineteen Eighty-Four)
It's been quite a long time, I know, but only now have I had the time to move the review from draft to published state.
General considerations
The author somehow has something against women. He portrays them as easier to get manipulated, i.e. they seem the most obedient.
There's also the stereotype of "dumpy men, growing stout very early in life" as the most obedient male followers of the Party's doctrine.
The words of Newspeak are simply amazing: thoughtcrime, crimethink, facecrime, doublethink, speakwrite, ownlife, cold - pluscold - doublepluscold, good - ungood etc. Just read the Appendix at the end of the book, since it's incredibly fun (given you have grown a strong sense of humor) and amazing at explaining he Newspeak.
Orwell has a fixation on using the word "orthodoxy".
My take on the telescreens
The constant surveillance of people is quite cool: the telescreens... cool idea, I'd say! :) - I bet Orwell imagined the tablets (i.e. iPad-like devices) of today, but couldn't give them the proper marketing name :)
Although it seemed so SF for its day, i.e. the technology presented in the novel was beyond anyone would even dream at that time, the telescreens are quite possible by present day standards. Of course, we still have to improve the networks and so on, but just think of tablets we buy today: if they
- become larger (and that's possible in the future)
- get better audio output
- get really better cameras built in
- connect to faster networks, in order to allow high quality real-time video to and from the cloud
- access software in the cloud for speech recognition & conversion into text (and that is possible today quite accurately) in order to have it then automatically processed/filtered for whatever you feel like - heck, we can even translate it today from one language to another...
- access software in the cloud for face recognition, so we know who every person is and where they're located (we can do pretty accurate face recognition in pictures at the current time, so face recognition for video should be there in the future, shouldn't it?) - heck, with everyone carrying mobile/communication devices we kind of already know where everyone is
... well, in that case, people, the telescreens are just around the corner... and the whole telescreen-like phenomenon is quite more powerful than Mr. Orwell imagined...
So, am I the only imagining the telescreens as larger tablets with really good cameras? I mean, they should be iPad-like devices, shouldn't they? :D
I wonder what Mr. Orwell would think of present day tablet-like technology - I'd just want to see his face, you know, that face saying "omg, it's real, it's more than I thought possible although at that time it felt even to me that I was exaggerating (is there a term like "exaggerate too much" I wonder? :D) and had doubts about it..."
Nota bene - just to make a bitter joke:
The telescreens would be
... with your permission of course, if they were deployed by Google
... or directly without your permission, if they were deployed by Facebook - Hey, we thought you'd enjoy it :p No? Oh, there's in the privacy settings a complicated pay to turn it off, just in case you want to, but better not, just share everything, you know...
... delivering only 140 characters messages at a time if operated by Twitter and popping all the time references (whenever you pass by a telescreen) to your activities like @John The Thought Police is following you! or @John Your kid has just told Thought Police you're a traitor and not loyal to the Party!
War and the society? (according to the last chapter in Part 2)
To put it short, the purpose of war is to produce more war, to keep people in dirt, subjugated, always afraid and obedient to the Party.
As mentioned in _the book_ of the Brotherhood (quoted in the novel, in Part 2, Chapter 9), the 3 states at war (Oceania, EuraAsia, EastAsia) constantly fight each other only for a large piece of densily populated land (containig the Equator area in Africa, the Middle East and India) and the North Pole, by never have their main territory conquered since it would be impossible even for 2 of them to conquer the third, since they have natural geographical advantages to protect each of them. So, their borders float around predefined area, in order to use the people from those areas for some time, in order to produce more, in order to have a better position in the next war and so on. Basically, war has become a way to keep natural balance both inside each super-state and outside (i.e. between super-states). Actually, no state doesn't need those areas, but they must fight for something, you know... what's important is that a state of war continues forever...
War enforces the objective of keeping people in misery - using machines to produces everything means creating a surplus of goods, everyone would get more stuff, better quality, therefore wealth would increase, therefore the standard of living would raise, right?... but the leaders don't want that, therefore the war is a way (or at least a pretext) to consume / not giving that surplus of wealth to the people, but making it disappear by being consumed for the war ("war effort" you know?), therefore the population remains in misery and is easily manipulable.
Why would wealth bad from the the standpoint of the Party leaders of that society? Simple: when everyone lives a good / comfortable life, the hierarchical structure of society fades and eventually _disappears_, therefore _privilliges_ disappear, therefore power can no longer be held by a small group of people (because everyone else would become literate and would be living a good / comfortable life, thinking for themselves, making their own decisions, questioning the current leaders and so on, in the end making the current leaders obsolete and changing them with new & better ones). So, through poverty and ignorance is the only way that the Party leaders can preserve their power...
Part 2, Chapter 9 - brilliant.
Therefore, overall, Part 1 and Part 2 combined explain the _how_.
The society from the 1984 novel, as explained in part 3?
Well, basically, the interrogatory and torture of Winston is a pretext for Orwell to talk/discuss/philosophize about power, using O'Brien's words to describe the society they live in, of course.
Main idea: power is concentrated in the hands of the few Party leaders for the sake of power itself - O'Brien is aware of that, he is not a hypocrite claiming he is saving the society and/or doing good to anyone by the way the Party rules, but simply admits the Party itself keeps power for itself, therefore Party members keep power for themselves, for the sake of having that power. And they enforce and enjoy it through torture on everyone else:
"[...] How does one man assert his power over another, Winston? [...] Exactly. By making him suffer. Obedience is not enough. Unless he is suffering how can you be sure that he is obeying your will and not his own? Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. [...] A world of fear, and treachery and torment a world of trampling and being trampled upon [...] Progress in our world will be progress towards more pain. [...] In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. [...] If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - for ever.".
And yes, part of the (or maybe the whole of?) _the book_ (from Part 2, Chapter 9) is bullshit and O'Brien helped writing it in part.
In the last pages of the novel, when sitting in the Chestnut Tree cafe, Winston wonders if there even is a war - I think this may be critical, since there might be no war whatsoever, i.e. not even a fake war. It might all be smoke and mirrors. - Ok, it seems pretty obvious to me that the party is the one launching the rockets over its own cities, but the idea that they're not even fighting a fake war... for all we know, the 3 powers might be at peace and each doing it's thing and manipulating information in order to seem as "fighting", or there may be no 3 powers, but actually only one power...
Therefore, Part 3 finally explains the _why_, the long searched _why_ until then.
On WW2, which influences the novel, and John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty"
Well, I must say WW2 has let a deep scar in the memory of the generations from that time...
I've been reading John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" long time ago, while in highschool, and couldn't understand how given that those ideas first came to light in 1859 the humankind went through all the shit afterwards for more than a century.
Now, things went pretty bad in 1940s and people's morale had fell: 1984 technically shows this loss of hope, the paranoid & schizophrenic & torture-centered world that people were afraid of, doesn't it?
Spoilers (if you haven't guessed yet)
Mr. Charrington actually is an undercover Thought Police member/officer, therefore betrays Winston and Julia.
Of course, O'Brien works for the Party, too, and tortures & humiliates & brainwashes Winston throughout Part 3 of the novel.
Both Winston and Julia betray each other when each of them reaches room 101, i.e. the final stage of their torture & brainwashing.
Winston eventually dies, shot in the neck from behind, of course, as has long been expected & anticipated throughout Part 3. Of course, he has to go through all the steps of torture, humiliation, brainwashing, i.e. everything that crushes his soul / identity / believes etc. Well, that's how we write quality novels here in Europe: we kill the main character(s) in the end, squeeze all life from them in the meantime, we give no hope for the better, we present & foresee only the bad side of life and so on, 'cause art means feeling miserable, you know! - Just couldn't help not making fun of European literature :p Ok, it may be deep/profound, but too pessimistic...
Thursday, 1 May 2014
Numere telefon Top Shop
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Daca ati comandat de la Top Shop vreodata, e.g. saltele, atunci va vor suna insistent si/sau vor trimite SMS, again and again, de la diverse numere de telefon:
Daca ati comandat de la Top Shop vreodata, e.g. saltele, atunci va vor suna insistent si/sau vor trimite SMS, again and again, de la diverse numere de telefon:
- 0750101401
- 0374101400
- 0374101500
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Ce am mai mesterit prin casa in vara: Engineering for the win!
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
N-am scris cam de mult timp ce am mai mesterit prin casa. Sorry, been busy. DAR asta vara am facut o chestie misto - am vrut sa public demult, dar abia acum i-a venit randul.
Engineering for the win!
_Inainte_ foloseam staniol alimentar, care e mai subtire si mai ingust. Ok, _ingust_ inseamna doar ca te chinui mai mult. DAR smecheria e la _subtire_, pentru ca subtire inseamna ca reflecta mai putine raze, ceea ce determina un randament mai mic.
_Vara asta_ am folosit staniol pentru aragaz, adica folie de-aia de aluminiu pe care o iei ca sa protejezi aragazul de murdarie, precum marii bucatari sau bucatarii amatori-amatori care n-au chef sa mai curete aragazul - sa zicem ca eu intru la categria a doua.
Staniolul pentru aragaz e mai _gros_, deci reflecta mai multe raze ale soarelui, deci trece mai putina caldura in interior fata de solutia cu staniolul alimentar, deci avem randament mai mare! :)
Plus, ca e si mai lat, deci te chinui mai putin cu lipitul pe geamuri.
Cand lipeam pe geamuri, ma tot chinuia intrebarea daca ma va ajuta cumva ca e mai gros - zilele urmatoare creierul ingineresc s-a prins de avantaj :D
Comparand cu ceilalti ani, as zice ca vara asta (lunile Iulie-August) am gasit cea mai buna solutie si va recomand sa lipiti pe geamuri staniol cat mai gros ;)
N-am scris cam de mult timp ce am mai mesterit prin casa. Sorry, been busy. DAR asta vara am facut o chestie misto - am vrut sa public demult, dar abia acum i-a venit randul.
Problema
O parte din apartament are expunere spre Est si nu exista copaci la nivelul meu (ca sa tina umbra), ceea ce inseamna ca in prima jumate a zilei (cand e soare puternic) se afla in bataia directa a razelor soarelui (vorbim de lunile de vara, remember?), deci se incinge ca naiba bucata aia.Solutie generala
Se pune folie de aluminiu (i.e. staniol :D) in geamuri. Adica pur si simplu iei ditamai folia si o lipesti frumos cu scotch pe rama geamului si acoperi toata suprafata geamului. Astfel, ai construit ca un fel de oglinda, care reflecta razele soarelui.Engineering for the win!
Solutie si mai tare, pe care am descoperit-o in vara
_Inainte_ foloseam staniol alimentar, care e mai subtire si mai ingust. Ok, _ingust_ inseamna doar ca te chinui mai mult. DAR smecheria e la _subtire_, pentru ca subtire inseamna ca reflecta mai putine raze, ceea ce determina un randament mai mic.
_Vara asta_ am folosit staniol pentru aragaz, adica folie de-aia de aluminiu pe care o iei ca sa protejezi aragazul de murdarie, precum marii bucatari sau bucatarii amatori-amatori care n-au chef sa mai curete aragazul - sa zicem ca eu intru la categria a doua.
Staniolul pentru aragaz e mai _gros_, deci reflecta mai multe raze ale soarelui, deci trece mai putina caldura in interior fata de solutia cu staniolul alimentar, deci avem randament mai mare! :)
Plus, ca e si mai lat, deci te chinui mai putin cu lipitul pe geamuri.
Cand lipeam pe geamuri, ma tot chinuia intrebarea daca ma va ajuta cumva ca e mai gros - zilele urmatoare creierul ingineresc s-a prins de avantaj :D
Comparand cu ceilalti ani, as zice ca vara asta (lunile Iulie-August) am gasit cea mai buna solutie si va recomand sa lipiti pe geamuri staniol cat mai gros ;)
Friday, 3 May 2013
Cata lume s-a dus la munca pe 2-3 Mai 2013? [statistica empirica Liviu]
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Cata lume s-a dus la munca pe 2-3 Mai 2013? [statistica empirica Liviu]
Well, I did, that's for sure! :)
Anyway, daca mai tineti mine statistica empirica Liviu Cata lume s-a dus la munca pe 24, 27, 28 si 31 Decembrie 2012, respectiv 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 Ianuarie 2013? si v-a placut, atunci va aduc o noua statistica legata de zilele de 2-3 Mai 2013.
Vom folosi aceeasi motivatie si acelasi mod de calcul precum in statistica anterioara...
Rezultatele sunt asa:
2 Mai 2013, Joi: 40%
3 Mai 2013, Vineri: 30%
Dunno, dar as fi vrut sa vad mai multa lume ducandu-se la munca... Cu bucuria asta de vacante si pauze, nivelul de trai va ramane in continuare la fel de prost, zic.
Cata lume s-a dus la munca pe 2-3 Mai 2013? [statistica empirica Liviu]
Well, I did, that's for sure! :)
Anyway, daca mai tineti mine statistica empirica Liviu Cata lume s-a dus la munca pe 24, 27, 28 si 31 Decembrie 2012, respectiv 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 Ianuarie 2013? si v-a placut, atunci va aduc o noua statistica legata de zilele de 2-3 Mai 2013.
Vom folosi aceeasi motivatie si acelasi mod de calcul precum in statistica anterioara...
Rezultatele sunt asa:
2 Mai 2013, Joi: 40%
3 Mai 2013, Vineri: 30%
Analiza: Ipoteze/Idei/Observatii/Speculatii
Dunno, dar as fi vrut sa vad mai multa lume ducandu-se la munca... Cu bucuria asta de vacante si pauze, nivelul de trai va ramane in continuare la fel de prost, zic.
Friday, 18 January 2013
Cata lume s-a dus la munca pe 24, 27, 28 si 31 Decembrie 2012, respectiv 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 Ianuarie 2013? [statistica empirica Liviu]
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Disclaimer: ceea ce urmeaza este o statistica empirica Liviu, in sensul ca se bazeaza pe observatiile mele. Avand in vedere ca ma pricep la detalii, as zice ca e o statistica destul de buna.
Intrucat m-am dus la job pe 24, 27, 28 si 31 Decembrie 2012, respectiv 3, 4 Ianuarie 2013, adica toata zilele in care se putea munci si nu era liber, am putut compara aglomeratia din zilele de vacanta (pentru unii) cu aglomeratia dintr-o zi obisnuita de mers la job, deci am zis eu ulterior ca as putea deduce cam cata lume s-a dus efectiv la munca in aceste zile.
Am observat gradul de ocupare pentru:
As zice ca s-au dus la munca, raportat in procente fata de o zi obsinuita, astfel:
24 Decembrie 2012, Luni: 45%
27 Decembrie 2012, Joi: 35%
28 Decembrie 2012, Vineri: 35%
31 Decembrie 2012, Luni: 30% - Nota bene: puteam sa stau si pe scaun in tramvai sau metrou, daca as fi vrut.
3 Ianuarie 2013, Joi: 35%
4 Ianuarie 2013, Vineri: 45%
7 & 8 Ianuarie 2013: cam 90%, tindea asimptotic spre 100%. Mi s-a parut putin mai lejer decat de obicei, dar oricum a fost zi obisnuita: aglomeratie, soseaua plina de masini si claxoane, comercianti in tramvai... - eh, daca au aparut comerciantii e clar, right?
9 Ianuarie 2013, Miercuri: peste 100% (oare e posibil?) - Nota bene: ori m-am dezobisnuit eu de aglomeratie, ori au venit cu capsa pusa sa munceasca, but trust me it feelt super crowded! Bah, deci n-am mai prins o asa coada la scara rulanta de nu-stiu-cand...
Mi se pare putin ciudat ca minimul a fost pe 31 Decembrie.
Speculatie: e mai important pentru oameni party-ul de Revelion decat sa faca mancare/pregatiri pe 24 Decembrie?
Tot ciudat mi se pare ca am observat mai putini oameni pe 27-28 Decembrie decat pe 24.
Speculatie: oamenii si-au pregatit terenul sa intre in mahmureala incepand cu 25 Decembrie si sa o tina asa pana la Revelion?
Ma asteptam ca pe 3-4 Ianuarie, lumea sa revina in plin la munca, dar nu prea... As zice ca poporul s-a aflat inca in mahmureala (pardon, vacanta).
Deci abia de pe 9 Ianuarie, Miercuri, s-a simtit cum poporul si-a revenit din mahmureala/vacanta, s-a dus la munca cu capsa pusa la maxim... Mare imbulzeala am prins pe 9 Ianuarie...
Multumesc. Bravo! Keep up the good work!
Disclaimer: ceea ce urmeaza este o statistica empirica Liviu, in sensul ca se bazeaza pe observatiile mele. Avand in vedere ca ma pricep la detalii, as zice ca e o statistica destul de buna.
Statistica empirica Liviu: motivatie, mod de calcul, rezultate
Intrucat m-am dus la job pe 24, 27, 28 si 31 Decembrie 2012, respectiv 3, 4 Ianuarie 2013, adica toata zilele in care se putea munci si nu era liber, am putut compara aglomeratia din zilele de vacanta (pentru unii) cu aglomeratia dintr-o zi obisnuita de mers la job, deci am zis eu ulterior ca as putea deduce cam cata lume s-a dus efectiv la munca in aceste zile.
Am observat gradul de ocupare pentru:
- sosele: cate masini circula, lungimea cozii la semafor, cate claxoane isi dau disperatii in trafic :)
- tramvai: cata lume este in statie, cate lume este efectiv in interior, cate locuri pe scaune sunt libere
- metrou: cata lume asteapta in statie, cate lume este in tren efectiv, cate locuri pe scaune sunt libere, lungimea cozii la scara rulanta (sau in limbaj normal am putea-o numi direct imbulzeala/imbranceala)
As zice ca s-au dus la munca, raportat in procente fata de o zi obsinuita, astfel:
24 Decembrie 2012, Luni: 45%
27 Decembrie 2012, Joi: 35%
28 Decembrie 2012, Vineri: 35%
31 Decembrie 2012, Luni: 30% - Nota bene: puteam sa stau si pe scaun in tramvai sau metrou, daca as fi vrut.
3 Ianuarie 2013, Joi: 35%
4 Ianuarie 2013, Vineri: 45%
7 & 8 Ianuarie 2013: cam 90%, tindea asimptotic spre 100%. Mi s-a parut putin mai lejer decat de obicei, dar oricum a fost zi obisnuita: aglomeratie, soseaua plina de masini si claxoane, comercianti in tramvai... - eh, daca au aparut comerciantii e clar, right?
9 Ianuarie 2013, Miercuri: peste 100% (oare e posibil?) - Nota bene: ori m-am dezobisnuit eu de aglomeratie, ori au venit cu capsa pusa sa munceasca, but trust me it feelt super crowded! Bah, deci n-am mai prins o asa coada la scara rulanta de nu-stiu-cand...
Analiza: Ipoteze/Idei/Observatii/Speculatii
Mi se pare putin ciudat ca minimul a fost pe 31 Decembrie.
Speculatie: e mai important pentru oameni party-ul de Revelion decat sa faca mancare/pregatiri pe 24 Decembrie?
Tot ciudat mi se pare ca am observat mai putini oameni pe 27-28 Decembrie decat pe 24.
Speculatie: oamenii si-au pregatit terenul sa intre in mahmureala incepand cu 25 Decembrie si sa o tina asa pana la Revelion?
Ma asteptam ca pe 3-4 Ianuarie, lumea sa revina in plin la munca, dar nu prea... As zice ca poporul s-a aflat inca in mahmureala (pardon, vacanta).
Deci abia de pe 9 Ianuarie, Miercuri, s-a simtit cum poporul si-a revenit din mahmureala/vacanta, s-a dus la munca cu capsa pusa la maxim... Mare imbulzeala am prins pe 9 Ianuarie...
Precizari finale:
RATB si Metrorex si-au facut treaba bine: au circulat la fel ca de obicei, aceeasi frecventa a tramvaielor, respectiv a trenurilor.Multumesc. Bravo! Keep up the good work!
Thursday, 8 July 2010
The fridge problem men have
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
After reading the Doghouse comic on the fridge-problem as I call it (ok, he calls it making a sandwich), I realized that:
Men have always had the fridge-problem... (*1)
... but because they have let women arrange everything inside! Bad move!
Since I have arrived in the Netherlands and started arranging it all by myself, guess what? Nothing's been missing! Everything has always been in place! Also the query response time has improved :)
So, guys, we don't need an automatic fridge [yet], but we need to arrange the fridge according to our standards! That's it! Now go home, get all contents out, design a scalable framework for everything and put it all back inside according to the framework! And do not permit any exceptions from the framework! (*2)
(*1) Most books talking about the absence of some skills in men treat the case when men cannot find specific items inside the fridge, just like women are bad at parking cars etc. These are classic examples.
(*2) Finding the courage and/or resources to design and then impose your framework would be great. Supporting it 24/7 for at least 1 month would be really heroic.
Adopting the framework for good would be the right solution. Good luck!
After reading the Doghouse comic on the fridge-problem as I call it (ok, he calls it making a sandwich), I realized that:
Men have always had the fridge-problem... (*1)
... but because they have let women arrange everything inside! Bad move!
Since I have arrived in the Netherlands and started arranging it all by myself, guess what? Nothing's been missing! Everything has always been in place! Also the query response time has improved :)
So, guys, we don't need an automatic fridge [yet], but we need to arrange the fridge according to our standards! That's it! Now go home, get all contents out, design a scalable framework for everything and put it all back inside according to the framework! And do not permit any exceptions from the framework! (*2)
(*1) Most books talking about the absence of some skills in men treat the case when men cannot find specific items inside the fridge, just like women are bad at parking cars etc. These are classic examples.
(*2) Finding the courage and/or resources to design and then impose your framework would be great. Supporting it 24/7 for at least 1 month would be really heroic.
Adopting the framework for good would be the right solution. Good luck!
Monday, 31 May 2010
Eurovision: Romania: locul 3. Super!
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Breaking news: Ok, deci a fost Eurovision 2010 (Oslo) si Romania a luat locul 3.
Super!
Ultra!
Foarte tare!
Consideratii generale asupra concursului dpdv meu, pe baza melodiilor de pe primele 3 locuri (Germania, Turcia, Romania) intrucat nu am urmarit tot concursul:
Rezultatele finalei, dupa cum a dat fiecare tara puncte - no comment.
Germania [Offical video; Live]
Ce accent are tipa!
Imi place cantecul - chiar pot sa-l ascult de mai multe ori, pot sa-l cant in baie/masina whatever etc.
Beat-ul e evident, iar pentru urechea mea muzicala (inexistenta) e foarte bun.
Turcia [Offical]
Varza. Nu-i inteleg scopul.
Cum au luat atatea puncte? Hint: vedeti rezultatele finalei de sus ;) Wow, Germania a dat numai 10 puncte Turciei :)) - a scazut mica-mare minoritate de 1.7 M turci din Germania? Olanda le-a dat numai / doar / incredibilul minim 8 puncte? - wow, extrem de putin...
Romania - Paula Seling & Ovi
[Offical video; Live; Multe video-uri pe site la TVR - sectiunea dedicata Eurovision] - long story:
Putin despre trecut:
Cat costa oare sa ne faca Timbaland un cantec sa rupem gura targului si putin miscare scenica? :D
Si pe urma ne scoatem banii lansand tot albumul produs de el, continand si piesa resectiva...
Eu zic sa facem asa in viitor, ca e o idee buna...
Concluzii
Mi se pare fair Germania pe locul 1 din toate cele 3 piese.
Mi se parea mai fair Romania pe locul 2, iar Turcia pe locul 3.
Oricum, mi-au placut Paula Seling & Ovi. Felicitari!
Breaking news: Ok, deci a fost Eurovision 2010 (Oslo) si Romania a luat locul 3.
Super!
Ultra!
Foarte tare!
Consideratii generale asupra concursului dpdv meu, pe baza melodiilor de pe primele 3 locuri (Germania, Turcia, Romania) intrucat nu am urmarit tot concursul:
- In general: cat de european se canta!
- Cantec, miscarea scenica: scolareste, pacifist etc.
- Toate cantecele par gandite intai in limba materna, apoi bagata cat mai multa informatie / semnificatie / mesaj in ele... si nu mai ramane nimic... de cantat.
- Per total, linia melodica parca a ramas in zona anilor '80.
Rezultatele finalei, dupa cum a dat fiecare tara puncte - no comment.
Germania [Offical video; Live]
Ce accent are tipa!
Imi place cantecul - chiar pot sa-l ascult de mai multe ori, pot sa-l cant in baie/masina whatever etc.
Beat-ul e evident, iar pentru urechea mea muzicala (inexistenta) e foarte bun.
Turcia [Offical]
Varza. Nu-i inteleg scopul.
Cum au luat atatea puncte? Hint: vedeti rezultatele finalei de sus ;) Wow, Germania a dat numai 10 puncte Turciei :)) - a scazut mica-mare minoritate de 1.7 M turci din Germania? Olanda le-a dat numai / doar / incredibilul minim 8 puncte? - wow, extrem de putin...
Romania - Paula Seling & Ovi
[Offical video; Live; Multe video-uri pe site la TVR - sectiunea dedicata Eurovision] - long story:
- Cantecul: bun, dar imi cam sparge timpanul stilul Paulei Seling. (Nu prea-mi place stilul romanesc țipat de cantat - ma zgarie la urechea muzicala pe care oricum n-o am - ok, stiu ca e performanta sa ai coarde vocale asa bune si sa canti asa, dar pe mine ma zgarie...)
- Ideea: misto.
- Prezenta scenica: frumos, bun.
- Gandit in romana, dar merge. Chiar e bun. Hai, inainte!
- Costume: Paula Seling - frumos. Ovi - nu puteau sa-l imbrace si pe el mai de Doamne-Ajuta sau cum se spune? Ovi pare imbracat cam prost, dpdv meu.
Putin despre trecut:
- Slava Domnului ca am evoluat de la Balkan Girls, i.e. sa ne dezbracam cat se poate ca poate merge, catre un costum de piele, mulat si cu rost. Phew! E mai bine. Asa da.
- Todomondo - mi-au placut enorm in 2007 - super cantec, super idee cu multiculturalitatea - a fost cantecul ideal de Eurovision! Peste multi ani vor realiza ceilalti! - Punctul slab: mi s-a parut putin cam rusesc ;) ritmul per total - pacat, cred ca asta au observat si spectatorii/votantii si cam de-aici ni s-a tras locul slab final 13. Inca mai cred ca trebuia alt ritm acolo.
Cat costa oare sa ne faca Timbaland un cantec sa rupem gura targului si putin miscare scenica? :D
Si pe urma ne scoatem banii lansand tot albumul produs de el, continand si piesa resectiva...
Eu zic sa facem asa in viitor, ca e o idee buna...
Concluzii
Mi se pare fair Germania pe locul 1 din toate cele 3 piese.
Mi se parea mai fair Romania pe locul 2, iar Turcia pe locul 3.
Oricum, mi-au placut Paula Seling & Ovi. Felicitari!
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Super articol cu Elena Udrea pe Gandul
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Pornind de la un super articol cu Elena Udrea pe Gandul, am decis sa comentez putin. E destul de tare articolul, dar cam in sens negativ.
Voi incerca o critica constructiva.
Voi cita si voi comenta:
Udrea: Sperăm ca turiştii străini să aleagă România pentru natura nealterată. Este şi o parte bună a faptului că nu ne-am dezvoltat foarte tare în ultimii 20 de ani. Putem găsi încă foarte multe oaze de natură nealterate.
Liviu:
WTF?
Nu merge sa ne laudam ca suntem rupti in fund, i.e. nu avem drumuri.
La fel se laudau comunistii cu originea sanatoasa.
E putin spus ca nu ne-am dezvoltat foarte tare în ultimii 20 de ani.
Ar fi trebuit sa ne fi dezvoltat si inca sa continuam sa dezvoltam super puternic infrastructura:
Daca nu ne-am dezvoltat infrastructura, cum ajungem la acele oaze de natură nealterate? Prin ce mijloace de transport?
Udrea: Nu ştiam ce este un brand. Lumea îmi spunea:. La început nu înţelegeam de ce trebuie să dureze şase luni şi nu se poate face în 30 de zile. Acum am înţeles că este o muncă dificilă, grea. Important este că am reuşit să atragem fonduri europene de 75 milioane de euro pentru următorii trei ani, tocmai pentru promovarea brandului turistic al României.
Liviu:
Well, toata lumea invata la un moment dat.
Cam prin clasa 9-10 (adica anii 1-2 de liceu) nici eu nu stiam, dar, descoperind domeniile de publicitate si marketing, am aflat. Si am aflat din nou incepand cu anul 1 de facultate, cand au fost un foarte bun refugiu - atunci mi se bagau pe gat greutati electronico-matematico-fizicesti.
Anyway, orice citesti minim de calitate medie din advertising & marketing & PR-comunicare & management, te vei lovi invariabil de termenii / filosofiile de baza. Evident, vei stii foarte putin, dar macar ai baza, poti duce o conversatie inteligenta etc.
Referitor la doamna Udrea: sa ajungi intr-o pozitie inalta si sa nu sti minimum minimorum (i.e. ce-i aia brand in acest caz) ... sa te si lauzi cu asta... e cam nepotrivit.
In final, care-i brandul turistic al României?
Presupun ca altceva decat infrastructura inexistenta, dar cum ajungem la acel altceva daca nu avem infrastructura?
Udrea: Ultimul lucru pe care vreau să-l fac este să am un cuvânt decisiv în alegerea brandului.
Liviu:
Ca sa intelegeti, trebuie sa urmartiti talk-ul Jonathan Rosenberg: Inside the Black Box, si/sau sa cititi transcriptul dupa acest talk al lui Jonathan Rosenberg si sa gasiti citatul: Avoid hippos. I went to Africa recently and I learned about hippos, Latin river horse, hippo kills more people than any other animal in the world. Hippos kill more projects in organizations than any other person. A hippo is the highest paid person’s opinion.
Daca s-ar implica, doamna Udrea ar juca rolul hipopotamului, i.e. ar crede ca trebuie si poate sa aiba un cuvânt decisiv...
Faptul ca declara ca nu se va implica mi se pare o decizie buna. Felicitari! Acum, chiar sper ca nu se va implica...
Precizare: Ok, stiu, asta-i filosofia poporului roman: Sefu' stie tot. Din pacate, dupa ce au murit Mircea cel Bătrân - Ştefan cel Mare - Mihai Viteazul rezolvarea aceasta a problemei nu a mai mers. Ca specie, am descoperit:
Concluzie
De ce ziarele o iau in serios in continuu pe doamna Udrea? Era evident ca era obosita in unele momente.
De ce nu-i atrage atentia nimeni direct ca spune lucruri nepotrivite cateodata?
Pornind de la un super articol cu Elena Udrea pe Gandul, am decis sa comentez putin. E destul de tare articolul, dar cam in sens negativ.
Voi incerca o critica constructiva.
Voi cita si voi comenta:
Udrea: Sperăm ca turiştii străini să aleagă România pentru natura nealterată. Este şi o parte bună a faptului că nu ne-am dezvoltat foarte tare în ultimii 20 de ani. Putem găsi încă foarte multe oaze de natură nealterate.
Liviu:
WTF?
Nu merge sa ne laudam ca suntem rupti in fund, i.e. nu avem drumuri.
La fel se laudau comunistii cu originea sanatoasa.
E putin spus ca nu ne-am dezvoltat foarte tare în ultimii 20 de ani.
Ar fi trebuit sa ne fi dezvoltat si inca sa continuam sa dezvoltam super puternic infrastructura:
- autostrazi si trenuri rapide care sa acopere uniform intreaga Romania
- aeroporturi distribuite uniform pe tot teritoriul etc.
Daca nu ne-am dezvoltat infrastructura, cum ajungem la acele oaze de natură nealterate? Prin ce mijloace de transport?
Udrea: Nu ştiam ce este un brand. Lumea îmi spunea:
Liviu:
Well, toata lumea invata la un moment dat.
Cam prin clasa 9-10 (adica anii 1-2 de liceu) nici eu nu stiam, dar, descoperind domeniile de publicitate si marketing, am aflat. Si am aflat din nou incepand cu anul 1 de facultate, cand au fost un foarte bun refugiu - atunci mi se bagau pe gat greutati electronico-matematico-fizicesti.
Anyway, orice citesti minim de calitate medie din advertising & marketing & PR-comunicare & management, te vei lovi invariabil de termenii / filosofiile de baza. Evident, vei stii foarte putin, dar macar ai baza, poti duce o conversatie inteligenta etc.
Referitor la doamna Udrea: sa ajungi intr-o pozitie inalta si sa nu sti minimum minimorum (i.e. ce-i aia brand in acest caz) ... sa te si lauzi cu asta... e cam nepotrivit.
In final, care-i brandul turistic al României?
Presupun ca altceva decat infrastructura inexistenta, dar cum ajungem la acel altceva daca nu avem infrastructura?
Udrea: Ultimul lucru pe care vreau să-l fac este să am un cuvânt decisiv în alegerea brandului.
Liviu:
Ca sa intelegeti, trebuie sa urmartiti talk-ul Jonathan Rosenberg: Inside the Black Box, si/sau sa cititi transcriptul dupa acest talk al lui Jonathan Rosenberg si sa gasiti citatul: Avoid hippos. I went to Africa recently and I learned about hippos, Latin river horse, hippo kills more people than any other animal in the world. Hippos kill more projects in organizations than any other person. A hippo is the highest paid person’s opinion.
Daca s-ar implica, doamna Udrea ar juca rolul hipopotamului, i.e. ar crede ca trebuie si poate sa aiba un cuvânt decisiv...
Faptul ca declara ca nu se va implica mi se pare o decizie buna. Felicitari! Acum, chiar sper ca nu se va implica...
Precizare: Ok, stiu, asta-i filosofia poporului roman: Sefu' stie tot. Din pacate, dupa ce au murit Mircea cel Bătrân - Ştefan cel Mare - Mihai Viteazul rezolvarea aceasta a problemei nu a mai mers. Ca specie, am descoperit:
- cooperarea / colaborarea
- delegarea responsabilitatii
- specializarea oamenilor pe diverse ramuri de actvitate etc.
Concluzie
De ce ziarele o iau in serios in continuu pe doamna Udrea? Era evident ca era obosita in unele momente.
De ce nu-i atrage atentia nimeni direct ca spune lucruri nepotrivite cateodata?
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Eruptia vulcanului din Islanda... vine sfarsitul lumii?... Sper sa scape Romania cu bine din chestia asta.
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
Despre cenusa de deasupra Romaniei
Este groasa treaba, naspa - aiurea - cam nasol, vine sfarsitul lumii...
Am citit articole pe EVZ si Gandul... am vazut pozele...
Dramatic, terifiant...
Bah, sper sa scape Romania din aceasta mare tragedie care se prefigureaza!!!
Initial, am vrut sa scriu pe nl.blog, dar am scris ceva neutru acolo, intrucat nu vreau sa stie tot vorbitorul de limba engleza despre cum a fost...
... relatata / anticipata tampit de ziaristii / jurnalistii / gazetarii prosti din mass media RO
Pe scurt: in Olanda nu s-a simtit absolut nimic, iar daca va uitati la harta BBC cu norul cu cenusa (sa dati click pentru evolutia in timp) veti vedea ca am avut acoperire cu cenusa non-stop.
Deci daca aici nu am vazut /simtit nimic, oare cat se va vedea / simti in RO?
Hint: Cine stie sa inmulteasca orice fractie cu zero?
Si o mica concluzie evidenta
Din pacate, mass media din RO a luat-o rau de tot in jos - in momentul in care EVZ si Gandul se alarmeaza aiurea si dezinformeaza, devine tragic.
Singurul fapt real este anularea zborurilor. Atat. Avioanele sunt singurele lovite. Punct.
... ca sa spun ce modificari mi-ar placea sa vad la mass media din RO
Despre cenusa de deasupra Romaniei
Este groasa treaba, naspa - aiurea - cam nasol, vine sfarsitul lumii...
Am citit articole pe EVZ si Gandul... am vazut pozele...
Dramatic, terifiant...
Bah, sper sa scape Romania din aceasta mare tragedie care se prefigureaza!!!
Initial, am vrut sa scriu pe nl.blog, dar am scris ceva neutru acolo, intrucat nu vreau sa stie tot vorbitorul de limba engleza despre cum a fost...
... relatata / anticipata tampit de ziaristii / jurnalistii / gazetarii prosti din mass media RO
Pe scurt: in Olanda nu s-a simtit absolut nimic, iar daca va uitati la harta BBC cu norul cu cenusa (sa dati click pentru evolutia in timp) veti vedea ca am avut acoperire cu cenusa non-stop.
Deci daca aici nu am vazut /simtit nimic, oare cat se va vedea / simti in RO?
Hint: Cine stie sa inmulteasca orice fractie cu zero?
Si o mica concluzie evidenta
Din pacate, mass media din RO a luat-o rau de tot in jos - in momentul in care EVZ si Gandul se alarmeaza aiurea si dezinformeaza, devine tragic.
Singurul fapt real este anularea zborurilor. Atat. Avioanele sunt singurele lovite. Punct.
... ca sa spun ce modificari mi-ar placea sa vad la mass media din RO
- Articole informative, cu real facts si anticipari/evaluari calculate/preluate de la cineva care stie sa calculeze.
- Analize serioase.
- Un ton 30% optimist, 60% neutru, 10% pesimist.
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Polish President Lech Kaczynski dies in plane crash
[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]
The title says it all: Polish President Lech Kaczynski dies in plane crash
The event is covered in all major world media: BBC, NYTimes, WSJ etc.
First, I fell sorry for Polish people. They experience a great loss now and I have a feeling they cannot replace all those dead people fast and effectively.
Second, This is really-really-really bad news, due to its implications - let's say for now that the politics scene in Europe shall behave very weird until the summer break in August, at least.
It does not matter what had happened there and who's fault is it, but what people think.
Let me tell you what shall happen next: most leaders/parties/groups will fall in one of 2 sides: either attackers or feeling attacked and showing a great desire to retaliate.
That's why all politics will be a bit chaotic in the next months.
The title says it all: Polish President Lech Kaczynski dies in plane crash
The event is covered in all major world media: BBC, NYTimes, WSJ etc.
First, I fell sorry for Polish people. They experience a great loss now and I have a feeling they cannot replace all those dead people fast and effectively.
Second, This is really-really-really bad news, due to its implications - let's say for now that the politics scene in Europe shall behave very weird until the summer break in August, at least.
It does not matter what had happened there and who's fault is it, but what people think.
Let me tell you what shall happen next: most leaders/parties/groups will fall in one of 2 sides: either attackers or feeling attacked and showing a great desire to retaliate.
That's why all politics will be a bit chaotic in the next months.