CBS 4 - South Florida's Source for Breaking News, Weather, and Sports: Police Station Intimidation-Parts 1 and 2
This is crazy.
It makes me mad, cops are supposed to serve the community, not intimidate them.
J.V.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Seed Magazine: Science is Culture
Really interesting site, this may even make it to my links column, I don't know, what do you, my dear reader, think?
I know that most of you think about science, and that's the problem, people these days would be more embarrased to admit that they can't name 5 Shakespeare plays than to admit that they don't know the difference between a gene and a chromosome, I think the latter is more important.
In the words of Lawrence H. Summers:
J.V.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Jury Duty!
"Your name has been drawn for service as a trial juror. The court realizes that jury service imposes a hardship on citizens. However, the right to trial by jury is one of the fundamental American principles guaranteed by the Constitution. It is the duty of every citizen to serve when called upon to do so"
So, I've got jury duty, what to do, what to do. Should I tell them that I am extremely busy? Or should I serve my country and take a break from school and work. Decisions, decisions.
I wonder what kind of trial it is, Murder trial? I'm voting guilty. I think the last sentence probably disqualified me. That will suck. I will let you know how it goes.
Other News
I just added a Gigabyte of Memory to my Thinkpad laptop. I now have 1.25 GB of RAM.
Woohoo!!!
I can now browse google earth with ease. I wonder how can I take the new RAM to the limit.
STOCHASTIC MODELS
I have been studying statistics and probability all day Thusday, Saturday and Today.
The Midterm is next Friday. I see stats everywhere. The whole world is a collection of probabilities to me. I have formulast spinning in my head. What is the probability that someone cares?
The Senior Project
So we are showing the project on Thursday, we are supposed to show how it works. We are having issues. I don't want to write about it. Ok, fine, the servo motor is having problems, it is too late to change the design, so we got to go with what we have. I still think we will be successful I will post all the result in the other Blog.
That is all for now
I think my attention span is getting smaller. I rented a movie Friday night, and I could not finish watching it because I was bored, and it wasn't a terrible movie, it was SAW II, which while it is not a great cinematic classic, it is not bad, the thing is, I think my attention span is getting shorter. What was I talking about?
Oh well
Take Care, be good to each other.
Love
J.V.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Dr. Oge Marques’ Blog
I just added Dr. Marques blog to my list of good blogs, I didn't do it earlier because when I found the blog he had not updated in a long time, which is understandable given the fact that he has stuff to do. He's posting again, hence the link.
It takes a lot to get a link here, I don't endorse just anyone, this blog is prime real state as far a blogs go, all 9 of you who read this blog really do make a difference. Hey, it's quality not quantity that counts.
Love
J.V.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Looking back on time
I was thinking about what makes me be the way I am, and I must thank/blame the great brain-washing I got at a little place called MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) at Parris Island, SC. No other experience in my life compares, I know that it sounds corny to a civilian, and to a marine I sound like a boot. But is true, I can pinpoint the exact moment when I think I became a man, the 53rd hour of the crucible, the last stretch of the last leg of the road march, behind me lay about 50 some miles of rucking, two meals and about 4 hours of sleep in the last 2 and a half days, underneath me were two blistered slabs of meat that used to be my feet, ahead of me lay three more miles, one more hour, I decided to grow some balls and keep moving, I had twisted my ankle two weeks before, and it hurt more than my feet, all I could feel is pain and hunger, but quiting was not an option, I was going to either finish this or die, and I wasn't going to die, even though it seemed tempting at the time. The thing is, I keep moving, and I finished.
The Marine Corps didn't promise to be nice to me, they showed me that life is a bitch and then you die. emphasis on the bitching part, but the worse the conditions got, the more we found humor in all of that. We laugh in the face of danger, that's how we deal with things. It is not sensical or logical but that's how we do it.
Different people react different to what they experience. I, learned to fight the good fight, I learned to push myself, others learn how to lead men, yet others learn how to milk the system to their advantage.
Some guys in the marines are completely insane, some are losers that can't hack it anywhere else, there aren't many of those, but there are some.
Some of the infantry man I served with were incredibly sharp, smart, idealist, loyal and strong.
Most are kids, kids with no clue about what they got into, (i fell in that category) but most marines I know are always moving forward, always in that 53rd hour, no matter what. I am proud of the marines today, proud to have met all of you, the good ones and the bad ones. I love you all. You tought me a lot.
Semper Fidelis
J.V.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Life is good
This has been one of those crazy weeks. Oh Man, I need to vent, and, what better place than my blog? If you don't like to read other people's problems, stop reading, I won't mind. Ok, don't say I didn't warn you, here it comes.
In the past ten days I have had to deal with the following: My wife's car broke down, my car broke down, the baby got sick and taken to the hospital (he's ok now) My work laptop broke, three surprise quizes at school, had to attend 3 meeting for three different organizations and had to do my usual work routine and do all of my homework. I have a big Midterm coming up, the Engineering Design project presentation are all coming next week, and work does not seem to get easy.
Yet, this is nothing. I care about school, I care about my family, but, dammit, I am not in the freaking Sunny triangle doing a foot patrol, so life is excellent, life is beautiful. Seeing my son sick sucks though, but he is a tough little fellow, he had a high fever yesterday, today he was almost back to his normal self. All the other things, are minor league problems. But it feels overwhelming when it all happens at the same time. Right now both cars are fixed, my son is doing better and I took a day off of work to catch up with school. I am also learning from my mistakes, but I still make them though.
There are so many things that I want to do when I finally graduate. But I will keep on taking it one day at a time.
Ok, that's all I had, I feel better now.
Take Care, be good to each other.
Love
J.V.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
A question NOT to ask a veteran
So this weekend I hung out with folks that I went to Iraq with. It is crazy to think that is going to be two years since I came back. In some ways it feels like yesterday, in others it feels like those events are a lifetime away.
One of the topics that were brought up was a question that many people ask, a question that is inapropiate and uncomfortable, I don't blame the person asking the question, but I hate the question. The conversation usually goes something like:
stranger: "So, my friend told me you were in Iraq"
me: "Yeah, I was there"
stranger: "So, how was it?" (this is ok, what else can you ask?)
me: "It was crazy" (what else can I say? this is the most accurate answer I know)
here it comes, the worst question
stranger: "So, did you ever kill anyone?"
Ok, let me break this down, asking a vet if they ever killed somebody, is like asking a woman if she ever had an abortion, I'm sure if that person trusts you enough to talk about something very personal and controversial, they will tell you, if you don't know the person. Don't ask them that.
Seeing people getting shot and blown up is sick. Having to take someone's life is not an easy thing, in fact, it is freaking horrible if you asked me. If someone you know wants to talk about that, let them talk. If they don't, don't press them. Understand that once you experience something like that in real life, some people will have scars that will take a lifetime to heal.
That healing process is different for all of us.
If you meet somebody that went to war, don't ask them that question please.
Jose
Monday, February 20, 2006
Omnio » Blog Archive » Military’s Very Real RTS - Reads Minds
Interesting. But can it make me reelinst?
Interesting. But can it make me reelinst?
Walking Backwards: Orwell's "Politics and the English Language"
The longest Blog post ever published in the internet. I will try to read it tonight after I am done with homework.
Jose
The longest Blog post ever published in the internet. I will try to read it tonight after I am done with homework.
Jose
Friday, February 17, 2006
That time of the month again
For my weekend drill with the All Mighty Florida National Guard, what else?
Is time to sharpen my "soldiering skills" as they like to call it. I prefer to think of it as my paid camping trip with a bunch of friends. So much fun! Pass me my Tent! Whoohooo!!
I already miss reality.
J.V.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
You heard it here first
Well, first of all, I must clarify one thing, This is my personal point of view not my employer's or anyone else's.
This is my reaction to a Press conference that was given, so don't think I am sitting here giving away company secrets. I am just giving you the info hot-off-the oven, because I doubt that the sentinel or the palmbeach post can beat me to it.
Anyway, on to the good stuff.
IBM and Scripps announced project Checkmate. In which they plan on merging Biological and Chemical Research with the latest and greatest of Computing Technology, The Blue Gene Supercomputer.
A quick thing about The Blue Gene. It runs at 200 Teraflops wich is 200 times 10 to the 12th power. To match that number of operations per second, every human being on earth must do about 30,000 ops per second. Or put in another way, if one person could do one op per second, it would take about 20 million years* to do what the Blue Gene can do in one second. Ok on about project Checkmate.
The reason for that name is bacuase they are going to study the way viruses act and behave and predict their future mutations. This will prepare scientist with information about a new strain of a virus before it appears. This, of course is easier said than done, but in theory they are going to transform chemical equations into mathematical models that will help fight viruses.
I think that is pretty damn neat. To think that they will be doing that here in South Florida is pretty good for us. We need a project like checkmate to encourage people to study these fields. Maybe it will help the overall IQ of South Floridians which, as we all know, can use a little boost.
So, come, scientist from all over! Join me and thousands others at I-95 where every hour is rush hour!
Welcome indeed, to paradise on Earth. Bring your wallet. Se habla Español
*Aproximately, I know you don't want me to break out my calculator.
Palm Beach Post
The sun sentinel
Something Big about to be Announced, IBM, Scripps and South Florida
I am minutes away from
This Scripps research Institute has made a lot of news in South Florida. FAU and the city of Boca Raton are fighting about it. And tree-huggers are against it. I can't wait to see what happens. Stay tuned.
J.V.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
FAU and Drugs
PROBLEM
Yesterday a guy I know from a couple of classes came to school smelling like he was smoking um, "herbs"(The Colombian type). I totally lost all respect for him, but my attitude is bothering me.
I hate to be a self-rightious condecending SOB, but I couldn't help it. I hate the fact that I didn't confront the guy, instead I acted like I din't notice.
I should have said something to him. Either that or I shouldn't let that bother me so much, after all the past two presidents have admitted to using ilegal drugs. People in college experiment right? And who am I to judge people? Also it's no like he would listen to me anyway, right? RIGHT?
Wrong.
I think that for certain things one cannot be wishy-washy. It is impossible to ignore this problem. But what is the right way to deal with this? Can you wage a war on your own friends? What if this was a family member? What is causing this problem? Is it our culture? Is it parents not doing their job? Lack of Jesus in their hearts?
Don't want to THINK about this anymore, I must get to work.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Valentine's Day
This morning I found a HUGE balloon inside my car, with a card and everything, which was very sweet of her, but later when I was in the highway the darn balloon suddenly started singing and I nearly crashed the car in my surprise, I did not see that one coming. How pathetic would it be to get killed by a Valentine's Day Balloon?
ICE
This morning South Florida woke up covered in some weird water-like substance that Meteorologist are referring to as "ice", as in what they put in soft drinks. People would be on the streets panicking if it weren't for Channel 7 News who in their professionalism are keeping the public informed on the ongoing event "FREEZE WATCH" they are treating this with the same level of urgency as if all the 2004 Hurricanes were aproaching us at the same time.
I am enjoying it. This freezing stuff does not happen often down here. I decided to conform and came to school wearing a scarf. Hey! it is cold in here after all.
Russian Car Wreck
Now this is Social injustice.
I could not stand to live in a society that allows that. Yet in many parts of the world this is common ocurrence. I love the fact that something like that would never fly here in the US.
J.V
Monday, February 13, 2006
Those funny Floridians
The temperature in Ft. Lauderdale was 48 degrees Farenheit this morning.
Everyone in FAU has come to school dressed as if the Second Ice Age just arrived.
Now it's really easy to tell who is from the North, they are the only people walking around in white shorts and wearing sunglasses. You can probably find them right now at the Beach "sun-bathing".
You gotta love it down here.
What the TUT?
People at museums say the darnest things. The Boy King would roll over in his tomb if he heard some of the things being said at his exhibit.
Welcome to South Florida your Majesty.
"Tut. We're at the Tut thing. Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Yeah … No. Tut. King Tut. The mummy. I don't know. I guess it's an art museum. The building with the stairs out front. Right across from the fountain. No, we'll eat after. Meet us here. Everybody's here."
These comments are almost as priceless as the treasures being shown:
Reactions to the treasures
Entranceway approaching Temple of Amun
"This is where Britney Spears got her ideas for her outfits."
Cosmetic container in the form of a duck
"So, makeup goes way back."
Statuette of a leonine goddess
"It looks like something I saw on eBay."
"That's a bear."
Staff depicting a Nubian captive
Sidney: "Look at how long that cane is. He had to be over 6 feet tall."
Cheryl: "But they said he was a tiny man."
Sidney: "Not if he used that cane he wasn't."
Cheryl [to her friend]: "Pat, Sidney says he had to be over 6 feet tall to use that cane."
Ben: "That's not a cane. It's a staff. It's used as a sign of power, not to … "
Cheryl: "But Sidney says … "
Ben: "Well, Sidney's an idiot."
Bust of a cow goddess
"Their god was a cow?"
Colossal statue of Amenhotep IV
"That'd make a great waterfall at our complex."
Gilded funerary mask of Tjuya
"They should melt it down for teeth."
Ceremonial dagger
"I'd like to take that knife fishing with me and git-r-done."
Wall inscription reading, "He was the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye and probably the father of Tutankhamun"
" 'Probably.' Everything's 'probably this' and 'probably that.' I'm sick of that. Are they just making it up as they go? Probably. I probably should have stayed home."
Part of a balustrade depicting Akhenaten and his family under the sun god
"Is that a basketball?"
Photos depicting how items in Tut's tomb were found
"It looks just like my garage."
"I'd hate to be stuck for all eternity with everything in my apartment."
Face from a composite statue of Nefertiti
"She looks like one of the Coneheads from Saturday Night Live."
From their mouths to the sun god's ears
In the ticket line
"Twenty-five dollars! I thought you said it was $8. Forget it; I'm not going to have any money left for Quiznos."
In the souvenir shop
"Chocolate Tut!"
Best searching-for-a-place-to-sit-down quote
"I'm going into the next period to see if there's a bench."
The past meets the present
A grade-school chaperone: "The valley of the kings was used from approximately 1550 B.C. to 1070 and contains some 80 tombs. If you have to go to the bathroom, go now!"
Requisite religious comment
"This guy was here before Jesus? [Then] who cares?"
What's the big deal?
"He wasn't famous for anything, right? I mean, he didn't do anything special. He was just a 13-year-old who died, and they found his bones, right?"
Revelation upon spotting photo of mustachioed excavator entering Tut's tomb
"See the guy in the picture? It is Geraldo. I told you."
Best exchange beside video projection of Tut's mummy onto slab
"He has such skinny ankles."
"That's just bone, you moron."
Simply astounding quotes
"Boy, they really did a nice job re-creating all this stuff."
"This is pretty, whatever it is."
"These are real?"
Keeping up with the Tutankhamuns
"I don't give a fuck what King Tut had. He still didn't have more jewelry than me."
Most romantic remark in front of a statue of the serpent goddess
"The serpent goddess wants to give you a hug."
As they were leaving
"I've seen better in Vegas."
"I guess I'm a very shallow museumgoer, but I wanted to see some dead people."
"I left my Xbox for this?"
"I'm going to the restroom. I've been holding it in since 1330."
Thanks to
Joanie Cox and T.M. Shine from City Link Magazine,
they were kind enough to write down this and other quotes in their article.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
ME? Procrastinate? No Way!
I have been a terrible procrastinator this week. I only worked 30 Hours. I did almost no Homework. I got some things done. But a few things happened that distracted me from my usual routine. That must have been it.
Griping and Whining about work
Also, I have found out that working from home is not so great. I love that my company is allowing me to this, because I honestly would not want to work anywhere else. But I really need to do work at an office, Working from home sucks, I do have a place in Delray Beach to work at but I must say that the temptation of going home is too great. But, starting this week, I will only work from there. I hate the fact that I cannot relax at home because everytime I see my laptop I think that I should be working. This is no good. I truly believe that a person must have a clear and distinct separtation from a "workplace" and a "home". And a set schedule. At least this is what seems to work for me. Having this flexibility is awesome but I end up abusing it. So, I have decided that starting right now, no more work from home, I will only work at the office, and study either at FAU or home. Preferably FAU, that means I won't be home that much, but at least I can completely relax when I am there. We'll see how that one flies with my wife. But the other thing, the house is full of too many distractions, her, my son, the cats, the TV, the internet, the fridge, at the office I only have the option to work. At school I can either do some work or blog.
I believe that it's time for some change.
J.V.
KING TUT
We got tickets! We are going today. Updates when we get back.
Read about the King Tut Exhibition at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale here.
************UPDATE****************
I was a tad dissapointed. I was expecting to see the Mummy which did not happen. It was very crowded which sucks when you are trying to get through with a baby in a stroller.
There were only like 70 objects, but I must say they were pretty darn neat. I even learned how to recognise King Tut's name in Egyptian heiroglyphics, which goes something like this:
But I could have learned all of that watching National Geographic. However, I got to spend a nice evening with my lovely wife and my little fat Monkey. So it's all good.
Now having procrastinated all weekend it's about time to do some homework.
Be good to each other.
Love,
J.V.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Engineering Desing, A class above
I like this class. The project is coming along nicely. Tuesday we have our first Team presentation. We are supposed to talk about our project without going into detail. We are doing good. I am lucky to be in a good team. I am curious about the ideas other teams have. I know there's a bunch of creative types in our class.
One thing I have noticed is that the simplest, most straight-forward plan always works best and gets the best results. It seems like professors like to see complex ideas implemented, but when you think about the big revolutionary inventions they are usually based on simple concepts. The beauty of a good design comes with its simplicity, Just think about the IPod versus any other MP3 player out there. Which one do you prefer?
We hope that the lil'giant we built follows the same guideline. We want to show a good design, My goal is to have everyone there going like, "Of Course that works, why didn't I think of that?"
I will let you all know how it went after March 2nd when we show it to the whole world. I think is good. We put a lot of effort into making the dammed thing.
J.V.
Psychology Today: Procrastination: Ten Things To Know
It turns out, Procrastinating is even bad for your health. Interesting. I will write more on this later.
J.V.
It turns out, Procrastinating is even bad for your health. Interesting. I will write more on this later.
J.V.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Best FAU Professors
I did an unofficial survey, but I don't have the results yet, however I have been in FAU since 2001, and I keep hearing the same names over and over, the top 2 Engineering professors are:
Dr Alhalabi
They say he can teach. That he is really good professor. I can tell because his classes fill up quickly, I tried to take Logic Design with him back in '02 but had a schedule conflict, then I tried the same thing with Microporcessors and had no luck. But everyone that has taken his class says he is the best.
Dr. Raviv
This Professor I know is an excellent Teacher, When I was a Bank Teller at the FAU branch he used to chat with me, very friendly fellow, of course he did not have a clue that I was an engineering student, why would anyone studying Engineering work at a bank?
Dr. Raviv is famous for his Problem-Solving course, which I have not taken.
So these are my predictions, but I won't know until my results come back
Finally another blogger from FAU!
Dr. Oge Marque's blog is the only blog I found on google that relates closely to this one. I happen to know Dr. Marques. He is a teacher in my department and the SHPE advisor, although I have never taken a class with him. Not because I did not want to, it just happened that way. Bad schedule luck I guess. I never have the luxury of choosing what professor to take, I just try to make my classes fit my schedule. But who cares about that? The thing is, finally another FAU blogger.
J.V.
TODAY
The Mission
To study for my Structured Computer Architecture test at 1100 hrs. AND,
To finish my Stochastic Models (stats) Homework that's due at 1000 hrs.
Intel
Time on deck is 0619 hrs, I have exactly 3 hrs and 41 minutes to accomplish these tasks. The Homework will take up most of my time. I should be ok for the test all I have to do is memorize the formulas and make sure I understand what the hell RAID is and what it stands for,etc etc.
Afterwards
Go back to work, and hopefully I can go on a date tonight with mi amor. Don't you love Firdays?
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Attention IPOD owners
Are you tired of using Itunes? or Windows media player? Well, there IS an alternative. It is called Songbird, brought to you thanks to the Open Source movement. It is free of charge and developed by some skilled coders. If you use it and love/hate it, let me know.
J.V.
Boycott Egypt
Very interesting. It turns out, an Egyptian newspaper published the Danish cartoons last year during Ramadan the Holy Month, and nobody cried outrage. Read the story here.
J.V.
Sundance Festival Today
If you're an FAU student, and don't plan on getting shot by 5:00pm, then come join us at the Sundance Festival. And visit SHPE's booth too. I will be bringing some Venezuelan food. See you there!
Happy Birthday Pili!
Today my little cousin turns 32! Wow, amazing how time flies.
J.V.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
FAU student at Boca campus shot by school police officer: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
This is what everyone has been talking about today, funny how the stories are all different. This and the homeless guy who got beat to death last month make FAU one of the most "interesting" places to go to school.
Why can't we just have Drunks like all the other colleges?
This is what everyone has been talking about today, funny how the stories are all different. This and the homeless guy who got beat to death last month make FAU one of the most "interesting" places to go to school.
Why can't we just have Drunks like all the other colleges?
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
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