So, you think that only the "cool" kids could make pranks in April Fool's Day? And the nerds and geeks have to be in the aim for the pranks??? Think again my friend... Wired magazine came up with an article about nerds pranks for April Fool's Day. This is not some kind of intern joke that only nerds will grasp. It's real pranks that use technology to be made. The two that I liked best, is to make the BSOD someones screensaver and put a screenshot of the desktop as a wallpaper, without the icons... I have to say, I putted the BSOD as my screensaver and it feels real. Two times now, I had to get out of the PC and when I returned I almost freaked out with the BSOD. Scary... The second one I'm planning to make with both my brother and my mother... I'm sure going to get some good laughs... 'Till next time
30.3.07
The death of the Riot Grrrl
It's over... The Canadian girl who come to the mainstream trying to be in the opposite side of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera is no more... In the video from her single "Girlfriend" she stills try to keep the Riot Grrrl look , but you can see that it's not what it used to be. She is very hot, but she has always been hot. Now she tries to use it to sell cds like all teen singers. It's her career, she has the liberty to choose the way that she thinks is better for her, but for me it's hypocrisy. The music is really cool, has a good rhythm and it sticks in your head in the second listening, but it's no more the Avril Lavigne that we saw in her first video "Sk8er Boy" and that's a shame. Her you could see the video and make your own opinions. 'Till next time...
20 Million
Man this is some huge numbers. In just one month the new OS by Microsoft has reached this awesome number. 20 million copies sold. I can't even imagine the amount of money the people in Redmond are making. The unique problem (aham, besides it's been Microsoft, of course) is that the main advertising of Vista is selling the OS as a gaming platform, but it's not. Or not yet. Who play games in PCs likes good performance, some good titles,.a stable system and support from the hardwares manufacturers. All things that Vista doesn't show yet. It has just two months man, cut it some slack... I wish I could do this, but making a OS, isn't like making a blog like this. That take time, a lot of people burning heads trying to figure out the best ways to do stuff and they had a lot of time to work too... So, no. I won't cut it some slack. If they choose to put that thing in the market, they had to make sure that everything works. Seems that the first Visa Security Patch is about to appear... But even with problems, 20 million is a fucking great mark. Congratulations to Microsoft, but my next computer will be a Mac, no doubt in that. "Till next time...
Blogger X Housekeeping
Damn... I hate when our housemaid don't come to work. I hate even more when she stop coming and disappear. The last housemaid did exactly this. Some given day she stop coming and that's it. She didn't call, sent a letter, nothing. It's like she dropped from the side of the world. Simply vanished. My mother work in the City Hall in the morning and in the afternoon she have her own business to run, my father work off-shore (he is off-shore right now) and my brother studies all day long. So, who have to be act housekeeping??? Yes, your friendly blogger... I have to wake up early, clean the house, cook the lunch and do the dishes after the lunch. I never thought I would say that someday, but I wanna go back to college. Just because I got my degree and return to my mom's house, they think they can exploit me... Hellooooo... Slavery is over... Just kidding, I'm not forced to do anything in here, but I have the free time, that no one else has, so it's common sense to me that I have to help... But thank God a new maid is coming tomorrow (or today)... "Till next time.
24.3.07
Got Wet?
No, bunch of psychos. Nothing that you thought. I'm speaking about water here. Two days ago was the International Water Day. A day created so the human being could be think about the "water problem" that we'll have to face in the future. Like oil nowadays, with wars being fought over it (no silly boy, it wasn't 'cause Iraq have WMDs), we'll have the water. According to the latest researches two thirds of the global population won't have water in 2025. Do you understand how big is the problem. We have around 6 billion people in this mud ball that we call Earth, can you realize 4 billion dying because you take long baths??? Yes, yes. I know that this is not your fault only, but it's your fault, your neighborhood's fault, it's the big corporation's fault. It's EVERYONE'S fault. The sooner we understand that each action that we have repercutes in the planet, the better for all people involved. You don't have to take a bath twice a week (someones like it that way, but...), but you could turn off the water while you soap up. You could not wash your driveway every single day. This could be your therapy, the moment that you get away from your problems, but you're causing a greater one with that. To save water and help the quality of life of 4 billion person you don't need to undertake no harsh actions, you just have to think about how you could save everything. You'll see that even your own life will get better. 'Till next time...
18.3.07
And God made the dinosaurs...
No, it's not a bad plot line for a Jurassic Park movie. It's shouted like the real truth by some people in the internet. Some conservatives catholics and protestants put online the Conservapedia. As they say Conservapedia is "a religious answer for the mundane questions" or some other crap like that... I have a chilling coming down my neck when I see this kind of thing happening. In the 21st century, they deny scientific truths to use their own vision of the world. They say out loud that "Evolution Of The Species" was a bold fat lie. And Darwin was sacrilegious when compared humans with monkeys. Man, this is totally insane for me. I have my religious beliefs, but
I don't let it get in the way of analytic thinking... In some USA states, the public schools don't teach the children the Darwinian theory. They say that God created everything. And everything is the same since the beginning of the time. Here in Rio de Janeiro, thanks to our ex-governor and hers crazy religious beliefs the public schools have to teach the religious version of creation too. Thank God (no pun intended), here they teach the darwinian theory at the same time. I think that this is the best way. You teach the children both, they pick the one that make them most comfortable. Nothing could be imposed... Pay a visit to the Conservapedia site. You will get some good laughs reading their "truths", it's really funny. 'Till next time.
13.3.07
Battle of Giants...
So Viacom sued YouTube (consequently Google) for U$ 1 billion. Are they really thinking that will win this lawsuit? YouTube is not responsible for the content posted in the web page. Each user could post the movie that one thinks is good. What YouTube could do and really do is receive complaints about copyrighted materials and take out those items. They claim they are doing this with Viacom owned content, but Viacom complains that this is not fast enough. Man, the users everyday send to YouTube thousands of movie clips and it's humanly impossible to someone watch every movie and say if it is copyrighted or not. They make the searches based on the tags chosen by the users. If someone send a video with a tag that don't relate with the content, the YouTube engine won't be able to tell what it really is. Another thing that Viacom fails to grasp is that YouTube is a great way to promote their products. A new show, a new band with the right treatment could be a YouTube star. They have to think YouTube as a ally not a enemy. And I don't think that YouTube will loose this. They are getting a lot of experience with lawsuits... A couple months ago, YouTube was blocked here in Brazil. But it wasn't a corporation complaining. A Brazilian model and TV host was gotten in tape having sex in a Spanish beach in broad daylight. A lot of users after getting the video put it in YouTube. Even after YouTube agreed in taking the content out of the site, Daniela Cicarelli choose to sue the site and tried to put it offline. Helped by a judge that hasn't the minimum internet education she win in first instance and YouTube was blocked. But a week or two after that, noting that this wasn't the best solution, the sentence was revogued and YouTube was free again. And I think that this is what will happens in the worst case scenario. The best case, YouTube'll win and Viacom will loose a big business opportunity. 'Till next time...
11.3.07
Hostages Of Violence...
Hello, anyone out there listening??? The situation here is getting (getting?? already is) overwhelming. We, citizens of Rio de Janeiro, are living in a situation of urban warfare. We are in the middle of a open battle between three forces. The trafficants, the police and the militias. The trafficants literally own certain parts of this place. And this happens since no one seems to remember, without the police giving a shit about this. But now a bunch of cops, firefighters, army people and ex-cops are trying to take those areas back. And they are trying to do this trough the only way they and the trafficants would understand. By force. They are putting the trafficants out, but charging the population of these areas a monthly fee to guarantee their safety. In my opinion, this is not the best solution, but it is not the worst also. Think with me, they get the drugs, the robbery, the murders out of their areas. It's a good thing for the common folk. I would say: OK, I pay this money to you. You've made my neighborhood safer. After a time, the proper order has to be restored in those places. But it's a start. And what the government do? They send the cops to get the militias out of their neighborhoods, but they do not stay there. They put the militias out and go home leaving the place unguarded for the return of the trafficants. And in the other hand, to don't seems that they have a understanding with the crime world, they have to put out a fight with the crime scum in other locations. So, the police that don't have a very large effectiveness, get divided in two fronts, making this effectiveness even worse. 'Cause of that, I think that the militias could be used as a part of the solution. They liberate small areas, that one time would be large areas. And restoring the feeling that the city belongs to the good citizens and not to those that live to break the law. Let's put aside forever this feeling that we are hostages of the violence. This has to stop. After that the police could find a way to take they away, but after crushing the trafficants. Remember, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. After take one out of the scene think of taking another or you won't do nothing... 'Till next time... P.S.: Yes, the picture above was taken in Rio de Janeiro
8.3.07
To the women
Today is the international Women Day. And as tribute to all the women and especially to those whom read me, I picked this poem for you... You could found this and others poems right here. So, 'till next time people...
A Woman's Tale
From the day that we are born
Newly innocent,without scorn
With the first airs on our skin
Fickle fortune does begin
Cradled as the fairer sex
So genteel and uncomplex
Society's labels firmly pressed
On our psyche's like a crest
Does it matter, what you know?
As you reach a high plateau?
Accomplish feats beyond the norm?
To change the world where you were born?
Choices made and battles fought
Survival instincts......deep of thought
World kept on an even keel
While strutting on stiletto heels
Education............ politics,
Baby bottles won't conflict
Taken all straight to the heart
Resulting in a fresh new start
I am woman, hear me roar
Soft as petals, yet hard core
I am the earth, my tears the rain
My body choices...... public domain
Yet when all is seen and done
The progress made,the battles won
We see our faces with fine lines
And fear we're so far........ from...... divine
Anita
Bush In Rio
Brazil is thrilled with the upcoming arrival of George WC Bush, president of the US & A. You can see that every tiny little part of our society is preparing themselves in their bests to receive Mr. WC (sorry, Mr. Bush). Brazilian government, especially the exterior trade ministry and his co-workers has a series of issues to be addressed to Bush. The problem is: a big fat part of this issues are those accusing the USA of unfair trade relations. How do you tell the president of the most powerful nation in the globe, that has an historic of bombing first and asking later, that his country is unfair. For much less Afghanistan and Iraq were invaded... But not only t
he government are preparing themselves. The common folk in the big cities's streets are preparing too. They want to show Bush how much love, caring and respect he has among the Brazilian people... They want to show that even believing that he looks like an idiot sometimes (only sometimes???), we still love him. And we want him to be our next president... We have a Squid in the chair, for God's sake... The picture in the right show one of this people leaving a loving message for Mr. Bush in one of the streets that he will pass during his visit. Besides, we have extremists here too. The kind of people that disagree with a man who opened a shooting war with another country without approval of U.N., who accepted that common folks could picked off the streets and locked away only 'cause they looked like the ones that put a plane into a building five years ago, a man who let these people to be locked outside their country and being tortured to tell things that they don't know for more than two years now. These kind of people that couldn't look to their own belly and be happy, who couldn't be deaf 
for the suffering of the weaker, who cares for the poorer population are making really disgusting things to attack the persona (non grata) of the president. A bunch of theirs burned yesterday a representation of the US president in front of The House of Senate in Brasília. And another group of people are spreading this photo that you see left in the internet. It shows a total lack of respect to Bush. And after everything that happened, did he deserve something better??? 'Till next time...
6.3.07
Smelling no good
The president of USA is coming to Brazil anytime soon and one of the biggest issues in his discussions with our president will be the fuel alcohol. It is a great option in the field of reusable fuels. And Brazil is the world leader in the production of this kind of fuel. The USA are trying to produce ethanol too, but while we use sugarcane (pic above), they use corn. It is common knowledge that the production of alcohol from sugarcane is more efficient. We produced more ethanol than we need and could export, the USA are a big market for our fuel, but they put a lot of taxes in the price of our fuel, denying the consumer an option for a fuel that make a lot less
pollution than oil based fuels. But coming for a country that refuse to sign the Kyoto protocols we could expect everything. President Lula will try to talk George W. Bush out of those taxes, but all annalists say that is a lost cause. Besides the talks with USA, the Brazilian government are planning to have meetings with African and Caribbean governments to expand the technology to produce ethanol from sugarcane. They think that's an awful good way to encourage the development of poor countries and make them not too dependable of imported oil. I think that is one of the best decisions ever made by the Lula administration. This, if done the right way, has the scope to become one historic measure of help from one country to another. And let's hope that all the barriers that USA puts in the Brazilian ethanol could be extinguished after the encounter between the two presidents. 'Till next time...Order of The Stick
Dumbass funny. The best way that I could find to describe the webbased comics stories Order of The Stick. It tell the tale of a band of adventurer trying to take down the evil Lord Xykon. Obrigatory reading for anyone who plays RPG and especially for thos who play Dungeons & Dragons. You see the clash of classes and species normally depicted in the game, in the comic strips. And here it could go all the way to insanity. Great work of the creator Rich Burlew. Go ahead, click on the link above and enjoy lots of time having fun with this bunch of psychos... You'll like it.
And Brasília has something good...
Some time ago I discovered a great band, with a name corresponding. Móveis Coloniais de Acaju. They come from Brasília, Brazil's capital. Nope, it's not Buenos Aires... Sorry... The band formed by ten people mix together a bunch of different influences that is just amazing. They put together rock'n'roll, samba, samba-rock, maracatu and some other european ethnic musics. And the result is just great. With lyrics that ranges from non-sense to pure poetry the band has talent to be one of the greatest brazilian rock bands. They just have to be discovered by a big label. 'Cause you can say that Móveis is still a indie band. They have seven years of work, but are known only between those who likes differents mix of sound. But I hope everything is gonna change soon. If you don't know the band, go to their site, clicking in the link above. If you know the band, go anyway. They deserve your access. Until next time... Bring it on...
5.3.07
Bring It On!!!
And now it begins. After many months of thinking and preparations (yeah, sure!) I've finally been able to put a new blog online. And that time it´s in english. This'll actually function like a spin-off from De Cu É Rola!!!, my first and most knowed blog. We will discuss about life, universe and everything else here. I plan to have a mix of posts translated from my other blog and some original content produced specially for my new 13 readers. I hope u all enjoy this like I'm enjoying and let's get ready, 'cause this is the first post from the rest of my blogging carrer... Bring it on...