« December 2010 | Main | February 2011 »
January 30, 2011
new
The crisis in Egypt has made me thinking of another Egyptian leader, Anwar Sadat. This man died for his beliefs and left such a rich testament.
Ladies and gentlemen, there are moments in the lives of nations and peoples when it is incumbent upon those known for their wisdom and clarity of vision to survey the problem, with all its complexities and vain memories, in a bold drive towards new horizons.
Those who like us are shouldering the same responsibilities entrusted to us are the first who should have the courage to make determining decisions that are consonant with the magnitude of the circumstances. We must all rise above all forms of obsolete theories of superiority, and the most important thing is never to forget that infallibility is the prerogative of God alone. - Anwar Sadat's Historic Address to the Knesset
Posted by azileretsis at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2011
privacy
Check out Spokeo.com. I'm not linking to it since I object to its existence. It parses many websites to gather personal information about you. However, concerning my pseudonym, azileretsis can be either 38 or 107 and I look like a turkey. It also helps to see what is out there for me. The outrage is palpable. If you are interested in removing your information, there is some paranoia about how to do that exactly. My suggestion is to go to the source. I think they are also pulling from public records because I was surprised about some of the information that exists on the site.
Posted by azileretsis at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)
January 27, 2011
social
Saw The Social Network last night and loved it! Most of it probably wasn't true but you wonder what parts were true.
I still don't understand FB's valuation since they don't have a very good product as compared to Google and Amazon. Just because something is addictive does not mean it produces sustainable revenue. Their privacy manipulations are tied to them figuring out a monetization structure.
Though Facebook for some users have become an attempt to have the most friends. Ultimately, Facebook is a technology that helps social interactions. For geeks, it was an attempt to push the borders of a technology and that is what drives geeks, not the lack of friends (girls in particular), the money, or the fame.
I love Aaron Sorkin but I hate to be on his radar. At the beginning, I had to check the setting several times to make sure the video was set on normal play instead of fast forwarded 1.5X. I had forgotten his dialogue pace.
Posted by azileretsis at 11:46 AM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2011
revolution
“All this is happening because we are not afraid,” said Shaimaa Morsy Awad, a young woman who held aloft an Egyptian flag during the protest. “Every day more people will join us. We are still weak, and there’s a lot of work we have to do. But there’s a revolution coming.” - Christian Science Monitor
In case you haven't heard about the demonstrations in Egypt. It is a delicate time since some of the revolutionaries are Islam extremists as well as democracy activists.
Posted by azileretsis at 06:38 PM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2011
help
I'm not sure what happened in Arizona concerning immigration law. However, being a gateway to Mexico did not help their case. However, the story in Mississippi is different. It is not a border state. The number of Hispanics has been slowly growing but not at a rate like GA. More importantly, the politics here are still dominated by the past.
First, this state doesn't have numbers of naturalized citizens as in other states. Instead, they have a growing population of legal immigrants that do not understand completely their rights or understand some of the historical issues at stake here.
Second, I still am surprised at the fracture lines I see between the Hispanic community and African American community here as evident in some of the comments made in the local papers. The Hispanic community should realize African Americans have had the same battles for continuing civil liberties that they currently fight for. The African American community must acknowledge that the Hispanic community has the largest minority group in the United States and growing. Instead, it becomes a battle for the crummiest jobs and communities.
This legislation is coming to you. My fears are that the outsiders are pushing for this legislation. The language is exactly like the Arizona legislation except for a change in a precondition. They will make this a test case for the rest of the states. See how Mississippi is managing their population of immigrants and how the legislation is played out. Their denizens are for this legislation and see how it easily passed.
I didn't give much thought to this legislation since you don't think something like this will actually pass. If nothing else, it goes against Christian values that many in this state verbally affirm. This state is if not the heart the major circulation of Southern Baptists and Presbyterians. Yet, here we are. The legislation has passed the Senate and is going to the House.
Things you can do:
Talk - Many people in Mississippi or elsewhere still are not aware of this legislation. Many of the Senate voters say they have received calls and emails from people who are for this law. Make sure people of Mississippi know about this legislation and get them to call or write their state representatives.
Call and Write - Here is the member list of Mississippi Legislature. Call and email them quickly. People here still are open to listening someone else's opinion especially from its' denizens. Governor Barbour strongly believes in hearing the voice of the community. Make your voice heard to him.
Donate - If you want use your finances instead of your words or both combined, MIRA would gladly accept donations.
Posted by azileretsis at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2011
lying
LOL Don't mess with people who know how to search and why bother at all with Google staff.
Posted by azileretsis at 03:08 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2011
jobs
A friend and I were recently talking about the job situation. She pointed out that unemployment benefits were sometimes better than low paying jobs out there especially for the educated or experienced since your benefits could actually be reduced. However, I still resist the idea that a person who could be working is nevertheless on government support. I think unemployment benefits should be the last resort as the 99ers understand better now.
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly to 445,000 from 410,000 in the prior week, a Labor Department report showed. It was the biggest one-week jump in about six months and confounded analyst forecasts for a small drop to 405,000. - Reuters
I wonder if some of those are people who really are not able to find jobs for basic sustenance.
Posted by azileretsis at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)
example
Tim Pawlenty on The Daily Show. Can I have the option of choosing leaders that can talk with intelligence and respect to the other side? Leaders (not only the President) that work together to address the major problems of the country while living as example leaders that we vote them to be. Jon Stewart represents not an extreme but definitely leaning toward one side. Yet, Tim Pawlenty was still able to hold his own.
Posted by azileretsis at 02:17 AM | Comments (0)
January 12, 2011
news
Glock 19's only purpose is to increase mass casualty.
21 drugs were approved by the FDA in 2010.
So, I needed a copy of an old software. Fortunately, the company posted the software online. Someone else posted the serial number online. I have to love life sciences and their outdated software.
Posted by azileretsis at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)
January 08, 2011
pray
Prayer for Arizona. Let's keep in mind that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was a moderate who did believe in political dialogue so much that she would stand in front of a Safeway to meet her constituents and did not hide behind her power or media consultants. Violence was done on her and others by an extremist who probably was not mentally stable. I'm wondering how do you explain that to a parent, child or a sibling of those who were harmed today.
Posted by azileretsis at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)
January 06, 2011
odd
One of the strangest stories out there has to be rats smelling out TB. Hopefully, the test is done somewhere else where the patient cannot observe. My first thought was did they test other Mycobacterium species.
Back to Python for a second, this article (pdf) is insightful on how nonCS people approach programming in their work and a suggestion on how to make it easier for them.
In a recent conversation about career goals, someone mentioned this organization, Boardnet since one of mine is to be on the board of a nonprofit organization. My other is for-profit if anyone is looking.
Posted by azileretsis at 02:14 PM | Comments (1)
January 04, 2011
airports
So, my first time flying on Christmas turned out to be a great experience. People were very nice and I managed to make it to my destination with the flight I wanted and the airline even upgraded me for the long portion of my flight. However, I flew before the storm. The main topic the last couple of days has been how 6 in. in Philadelphia and 18 in. in NYC constituted a blizzard in the Northeast but it did manage to stop both cities in their tracks. I found I do not like EWR because the only Asian place to eat is hidden behind security line in Terminal C (Continental). I loved yet again to race through ATL to catch a flight that is always ten minutes from takeoff two terminals away at the end of the terminal.
Posted by azileretsis at 03:32 PM | Comments (0)