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Thursday, December 02, 2010

Desiderata

 

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak you truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

 

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Rust is Red

more photos from trafal

Roses could be blue.

Exception test. 

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Copyright: The Elephant in the Middle of the Glee Club

Copyright: The Elephant in the Middle of the Glee Club: "The absence of any mention of copyright law in Glee illustrates a painful tension in American culture. While copyright holders assert that copyright violators are ‘stealing’ their ‘property,’ people everywhere are remixing and recreating artistic works for the very same reasons the Glee kids do — to learn about themselves, to become better musicians, to build relationships with friends, and to pay homage to the artists who came before them. Glee’s protagonists — and the writers who created them — see so little wrong with this behavior that the word ‘copyright’ is never even uttered."

(Via feed/http://yaleisp.org/feed/.)

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Nachmittagsflug von Bern nach München findet statt

Die Vulkanaschewolke aus Island beeinträchtigt auch den regionalen Flugverkehr. Der Flughafen Bern-Belp hat am Freitag beide Flüge nach Paris annulliert. Die Flüge nach München verkehren planmässig. [From Nachmittagsflug von Bern nach München findet statt]

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Email, Privacy and Buzz

I am trying to understand the buzz about Google's BUZZ. People are complaining about its alleged violation of privacy. Me is thinking. Google email, gmail, is free. Gmail is not a package deal that comes with a subscription that you pay for. To use it you agree to the Terms of Service, usually referred to collectively as the Terms. Have you read the Terms?

Along the line there is one little paragraph that reads as follows:

"8.4 You understand that by using the Services you may be exposed to Content that you may find offensive, indecent or objectionable and that, in this respect, you use the Services at your own risk."

By the way, your content is also Content. You do get what you pay for. Now, Google does take your privacy seriously, they have to. Quite simply, their whole business model rests on their ability to guarantee your privacy. That said, when they introduce a new service, it often is far from being optimized and perfected, so as the rule of development goes, shit happens.

The thing is, when you get all excited about Google's latest gadget and you can not wait to use it, you are taking a risk, and it is a risk that you agreed to take. Google is being google, it is developing and experimenting with a general purpose technology in the field of communications.

Personally, I would be a blundering idiot if I did use only Gmail. I use Gmail, and I like the features in Gmail, however some clients have their spam filters so tuned that all gmail ends up in spam. Guess what, both for private and professional reasons, I have other email accounts. Does this remind you of something from the past? Remember hotmail? Remember yahoo mail? They are still all around... let somebody else explain that one.

Calm down, google's buzz is brand new and it is up to you to decide what risks you want to take. If buzz is not for you, do not use it, there is a nice convenient little "turn off buzz" at the bottom of your inbox. It is that simple. But... hey, curiosity killed the cat. It still does.