Revolution vs. evolution

I won't talk about politics but about digital photography. As many of you know, I'm a amateur photographer with permanent aspirations to improve. I will go some day over the topic of why I changed to Canon after all my life shooting with Nikon, not today.

Today is a great day. Today Canon has changed again the landscape of photography. Over the years, we've been used to see it:

• They launched the first digital SLR
• They launched the first full frame, affordable SLR (5D ... what a great camera!)

and today they launched the definitive non-full frame SLR: The canon 7D. Why am I so excited about this particular camera? There are too many reasons to fill this post, but let me highlight the key ones:

1. It brings a new AutoFocus system to the EOS family that looks amazing on paper
2. It includes a remote control for Canon Flashes so you can fire your flash without connecting it to the camera - key for portraits among other things
3. It promises amazing levels of iso sensitivity without too much noise - pictures at 1600 seem usable, not bad for an ASP-C camera with 18 Mpixels
4. It includes (not new as Nikon already have it) flexible focussing screens without changing physical parts - by interpolating a LED layer
5. It provides 100% viewfinder - on a cropped SLR
6. It records HD video at 24, 25, 30 fps and HD 720 video at 60 fps
7. 8 fps
8. ...

It is a great camera. In a lot of aspects it is even better than the 5D Mark II - in particular auto focus and ergonomics. I was thinking about moving to FF at some point, now it is not that clear that I should do it. This camera looks like the perfect companion for a father with twins that don't stop providing perfect moments to capture. Time will tell...

What an amazing race! Best race so far this year. Great Fisichella and good Kimmi. What the hell are we doing with Badoer? Fisico to the other Ferrari now. It will be amazing to see him in monza driving a red car.

Congrats to Fisico. What an amazing performance in the most challenging and demanding circuit. P1 ;-)

starts to be tired of the rain.

is wondering "is Valencia the borest GP ever". For two years in a row it's been paintful to watch the race ;-( what a missed opportunity!

is wondering "is Valencia the borest GP ever". For two years in a row it's been paintful to watch the race ;-( what a miss opportunity!

Taking Emma for her first haircut.

is back from Barneys warehouse sale. Huge disappointment this time

Hands-on: Canon S90

As you know, I'm really into photography. I won't be leaving home my loved SLR soon, but this looks like the best possible alternative when/if you don't want to have all your gear with you.

What I do like about this:

a) Canon uses (as Leica & Panasonic with the LX3) a very large sensor for a point and shoot
b) Canon has reduced the number of pixels to 10 Megapixels (from 14)
c) Canon provides a f2.0 lens
d) Canon provides full manual settings (Aperture, Speed, ...)
e) Canon provides several rings to control the camera, one of them in the lens

All this together screams to me: "amazing image quality, great control and incredible low light performance". This could be the perfect companion for weddings, parties, ... where I don't want to carry my SLR given it's weight.

Well done! Let's wait for some real reviews! I may be getting one of these soon :-D

Hands-on: Canon S90: "

The Canon S90 is a new tempting point-and-shoot even for a pro shooter like myself (as well as other journalists.) The camera was announced today by Canon during a press event at the Museum of Natural History today in NYC. This camera is targeted towards professionals and enthusiasts that want a compact camera of some sort that can deliver better image quality than most of the other point-and-shoots out there. Granted, the camera seems to be able to deliver so far on the promise.

This camera is gorgeous and the layout of the button system can be a bit confusing at first but the camera has a very easy learning curve. It has the dial wheel which seems to be a standard feature on all of the more advanced point-and-shoots on top of all of the other controls like ISO, shutter delay, display, menu, etc. What really makes it different is the programmable wheel around the lens. Canon has done this with their camcorders before and now it seems to have come to the revamped “S” series of cameras. It can control my favorite aspect of this camera- a wide aperture of F2.0! For all the normal folks out there, F2.0 means that all your low-light events and parties will be captured much easier and prettier without the need of a flash.

Besides the wide aperture the S90 has (according to the release):

• A 10.0-Megapixel High Sensitivity System with a 3.8x Optical Zoom and Optical Image Stabilization.


• A customizable control ring for easy access and operation of manual or other creative shooting settings.


• A large 3.0-inch PureColor System LCD for even greater true life color reproduction.


• Full range of shooting and recording modes, including RAW + JPEG, for the ultimate in creative control when editing.

Because Canon is using less megapixels on the sensor, it should deliver cleaner images. Add onto that the post-production potential presented when shooting RAW and you’ve got yourself a camera that you may want to get your hands on. Be warned though that even with a DIGIC 4 processor it slows down more than I’d like it to while shooting RAW images. Further note that the camera does not shoot HD video at all. I wasn’t allowed to snag sample shots as the display units were pre-production models.

One of the reps told me that the screen is around 230k resolution, which isn’t extremely high but is more than good enough for a point-and-shoot. You only really need higher resolution than that if you’ve got a touchscreen or a DSLR like my 5D Mk II.

We should be seeing it in stores this October for an estimated price of $429.99. Personally, I’m tempted to go out and get one myself. One of the Gizmodo guys told me that the S50 was his favorite camera a while back and he’s excited to see the return of this line of cameras. It would be very interesting to see how this stacks up against the Micro 4/3rds line of cameras like the Panasonic GH-1 and the Olympus EP-1. A review will be coming sooner or later so stay tuned for that.

Don’t get scammed by a deal that sounds too good to be true. Photography Bay recommends purchasing your photography equipment from Amazon, B&H Photo and Adorama.

"

is on his way back home. What a long day

is ready for the weekend. I will have to work though

Manhattan Population By Day, Manhattan By Night [Data Visualization]

Manhattan Population By Day, Manhattan By Night [Data Visualization]: "

Heading to the office.

left his apt 5 min ago and already misses his three girls.

Great week for Ferrari!

It's been a great week for Ferrari. First, Massa seems to be recovering at an amazing pace. Well done Massa! Let's show them. All of you know that I really like him and I feel that he is not just an amazing driver but the clear underdog in the circus.

Second, Michael will be back. I'm just hoping he can get back in shape in time. It will be amazing to have him back.

Third, the company has announced the new sport model: Ferrari 458 Italia. Amazing, look to the pictures!

What can I say? I'm in love again. My only problem is that I will never have one of these. If any, I will have to buy the "ugly and underpowered" California. You will understand why when you see the pictures. Have a great week!

Do you guess why?

Talking about crazy cars ...

I can't miss the opportunity to bring here the one and only. Canyonero!!!!!!!

Cambiar

Vivir en USA representa un cambio enorme como os podeis imaginar. Las diferencias entre los dos extremos del atlántico son mayores de lo que nos gusta creer. Respecto a automóviles, mis gustos han cambiado también en los últimos años. Hace un par de días me descubrí disfrutando de la vista de un coche que nunca antes hubiese supuesto podía atraerme.

He pensado un poco en ello (tampoco es que merezca una reflexión sesusa) y me he dado cuenta de que el tamaño importa - aquí no ha necesidad por los anoréxicos coches

europeos donde sentarse es un ejercicio entre acrobático y tetris-ishy. Estos son algunos de los coches que nunca jamás habría mirado allá en el viejo mundo y que sin embargo ahora me fascinan.

Range Rover 5.0 V8 Supercharged

BMW X6 M

Porsche Panamera

is drinking a Edna Valley's Chardonnay. Too fruity on the nose but just flat on the palate. What a shame!

Just saw Blade Runner, The Final Cut. I love that movie.

Best restaurants in the world

For first time, the list of best restaurants in the world includes 4 in Spain in the Top 10. That's quite an achievement and confirms the leadership position that Spanish cuisine is holding now.

The world best 50 restaurants!

Witch-hunts

I have to recognize that I'm partially surprised that this term is not showing more frequently on the press right now to talk about what is happening against Wall Street and other highly paid workers. Wikipedia says that McCarthyism is the "politically motivated practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence". Isn't that what is happening now?

Let's take AIG example, for example. After all the problems that came with the credit swaps mess, AIG asked their best employees to stay to work harder to save the company. These people, not responsible at all for previous mistakes, are working 14 or more hours a day to generate revenue that: 1) will save the company, 2) therefore, will help the taxpayers to get their money back quickly.

Furthermore, these people have lost already more of their lifetime savings that were locked into AIG stocks, so they have been extremely penalized without any fault on their side.

Now, elected officials have started this witch-hunt to crucifize them for getting fairly paid. They want to apply 90% taxes on their bonuses. Is this madness?

If we don't give incentives to the good people to stay and work hard, who will turn around the situation? Who will take the economy out of the current situation?

You could read this "Resignation letter from an AIG employee" to get a more detailed picture of the situation.

Fun enough, or sad enough, the government has realized that there is no way of getting out of this mess without Wall Street, so the new program is begging for private investments to take the economy out of the hole. At the end, as usual, only capitalism and free markets will be able to get us out of the well.

Did You Know?

I know, I know, I already posted this video two years ago but ... this is an updated version with much better visual effects :- ) and some new information.

Let me highlight just two pieces that I find particularly insightful:

1) We live in exponential times
2) By the time a tech student has graduated, half what he learned is already outdated

Lo que se nos viene encima

A pesar de las negativas a aceptar la gravísima situación económica de España de nuestro querido ZP, presidente por accidente. Y no, gravísima, no es una hipérbole literaria que uso sin mesura. La situación está fuera de control y tristemente el lenguaje no alcanza para encontrar descriptivos adecuados.

Hagamos una pequeña reflexión inicial, simple, llana y veamos a dónde nos lleva:

1) El sector bancario/financiero representa un mayor porcentaje del PIB español que en US o UK.

2) El sector bancario español (y europeo) no está obligado a declarar cada trimestre las pérdidas en valor de sus inversions, como si lo está el americano

3) El sector bancario español ha sustentado su crecimiento en productos hipotecarios y en el crecimiento en latinoámerica

Si a estos datos unimos que el hecho de que más del 50% de los toxic assets están en manos de entidades europeas (que no están obligadas a decontarlos trimestralmente según pierden valor). Y que las entidades americanas ya han descontado más de un $1 trillion en perdidas. No hace falta hacer una matemática muy complicada para saber que en 2009 las entidades financieras del viejo mundo van a empezar a sufrir las consecuencias.

Da igual que no declaren las pérdidas, la subida de la morosidad y la falta de liquidez que origina el bloqueo de los mercados de capital las ha llevado a una situación donde pronto no podrán hacer frente a ... nada.

Pero esto no es todo, hay que añadir que el mercado español está plagado de hipotecas basura (pensabais que la idea la habían tenido solo en US?) con lo cual la gravedad de la situación se complica todavía más.

Lo más indignante del tema es que ahí nadie puede usar el argumento de que no sabían lo que se les venía encima. Diversas instituciones internacionales llevan más de un año avisando de que la situación es gravísima y mientras tanto nuestro querido ZP sostiene que todo estará bien a final de 2009.

Yo no sé que será peor: "creer que es simplemente inútil y no sabe lo que se nos viene encima?", o "pensar que simplemente no le importa porque siempre podrá culpar a la derecha, el capitalismo, lo que se le pase por la cabeza...."

Left & Right

Aturuxando made two interesting comments on my previous post and I would love to build up on the second one now. He brought to my attention a comment from Paul Krugman (sorry, I don't have the original so this must do it):

"...Éste es uno de esos momentos en los que toda una filosofía ha sido desacreditada. Los que defendían que la avaricia era buena y que los mercados debían autoregularse sufren ahora la catástrofe. Son los mismos que decían que si se subían los impuestos a los ricos pasarían cosas terribles. Pues Clinton subió los impuestos a las rentas más altas y la economía funcionó muy bien durante ocho años, mientras que Bush los bajó y mira lo que ha pasado. Creo que ese cambio se va a imponer."

I'm sure Mr. Krugman is very smart man, but this is probably one the most stupid arguments I've read in the last weeks. Let's see, using his rationale, we could also infer that having sex with White House's interns helps the economy. I mean, Clinton had sex with Monica and nobody knows anything Bush sex life, so that must be it ... the President's lack of sex has caused the crisis.

Bush & Clinton policies on taxes were different. We could discuss which one is better, but there is no single element that links the current crisis with current or past tax policies.

Taxes & rich people

I really liked this except that I found today. I'm a supporter of President Obama, but there is a strong point behind this argument. Gov't spending is never the answer.

Lisa Schiffren:

Who Are the "Working Affluent"?... who earn the $250,000 per year or more that makes them "rich," and subject to new high rates of taxation? And why is a president who needs them to keep on producing at the prodigious rates both society and the economy require, treating them as if they -- not the slackers, the entitled, and the net tax consumers -- were the problem?... Corner readers.... The doctors, lawyers, engineers, executives, serious small-business owners, top salespeople, and other professionals and entrepreneurs who make this country run work considerably harder than pretty much anyone else (including... all politicians).... They pushed through grueling hours and unpleasant "up or out" policies in their twenties and thirties at top law firms, banks, hospitals, and businesses to earn salaries in the solid six figures (or low seven) today....

So, what happens when the heart surgeons, dentists, litigators, and people who employ 10 or 20 other people in their mid-size businesses decide that they don't want to pay for the excessive, pointless spending that the president finds so compelling? Instapundit [Glenn Reynolds] speculates on people "going John Galt." I think golf -- a time-intensive sport that the hard-working have eschewed for the past decade or two because it took too long -- will make a comeback...

Amazon Kindle

All you that have been following me on Twitter know that I've got a Amazon Kindle 2 one week ago. It's time for getting my thoughts out there. I don't need to say that I'm a strong believer on electronic books. I don't think there is any future for traditional books anymore. Who wants to carry around heavy, no-environmental-friendly, paper-based books?

I've got rid of my Sony eBook 3 months ago. Mostly, because I was waiting to get my hands around a Kindle 2 at some point this year - I didn't think it was going to be so early though. The Kindle 2 solves two of the my top three complains with the Sony:

1) It has wireless access, so I can buy books on the go (e.g., compulsive buy on the airport before getting into the plane). At the same time, the wireless access ensures that every morning I'm getting the WSJ on my device without me doing anything - other newspapers are available (e.g., New York Times)

2) It has a small keyboard that let you take notes. You can also clip articles that you like or highlight portions of a book, article and bookmark it. That's great as a substitute of the side note the I loved making on traditional books. It's not perfect, but it does the job.

I'm still missing a color screen, but that's not big deal for most of the books. For magazines is important, but for now, I can keep reading magazines on my computer. That's ok with me.

I don't need to say how impress I am with the device. It's responsive, works great, is light, ... However, it doesn't matter how good it was, because today it has became better. Amazon has launched the Amazon Kindle app for the iPhone. That means that all the books that I'm buying are available to be read also on my iPhone.

For me that's a big plus. Now, my library is available for me 24x7 on multiple devices. I have to say that this is the factor that helped the most in order to eliminate something that all of us, early adopters of ebooks, are facing: the fear of obsolescence.

I'm talking about the fact of investing $$$$ into buying books that after 5 years no platform supports anymore. I lost 10 books when I sold my Sony eBook, but I'm confident that the Kindle is a keeper. They are taking the right steps. Let's hope it doesn't take them 7 years to drop DRM, as took iTunes.

Anyway, in short, this is a great device, not perfect, but as good as it can get now.

Politics in Spain

This past weekend, Galicia and el Pais Vasco have held elections for their local parliaments. For several reasons, I wasn't able to submit my vote in time. Usually, I would be rather disappointed for having missed the single most important moment of influencing my government, but not this time.

It is not that I've stopped feeling part of Galicia, even from the distance; it is not that I don't care. Simply, it does not matter. It is that simple.

It seems that there is going to be a change in the government after all, and still who cares? Spain is getting into the deepest recession than anyone alive has seen, and little difference is going to make who is enjoying the power in some of the local governments.

What mechanisms can the president of Galicia put in place to unlock the capital markets? to restart the lending? to create jobs? ... If you think that there is anything they can do, think again.

It seems that I have the pessimistic hat right now. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there is something that can be done. Sadly, I don't know what. Any ideas?

Formation of the Earth

Seed magazine has prepared this video where 4,600 millions years of Earth history had been accelerated to 60 seconds. It's amazing to see how quickly life has evolved in relative terms.

Membrillo, queso y .... menta

It's been long overdue, but I've finally found the time to talk about something that my good friend Tal put together back during our last thanksgiving. In order to honor all the spaniards attending, he had this idea of creating something based on quince (membrillo) and spanish cheese.

1) Cut the quince & cheese in small cubes

2) Smash almonds on a bowl

3) Dip the quince in the almonds so it gets completely cover

4) Use a toothpick to get together: cheese + mint leave + quince covered with almond

You can see the end product on the picture of the right. Believe me, it's fantastic. The combination of all the flavors is great. Like a party in your mouth :-)

Blogs about economy

These are some of the blogs that I read everyday on economy. If there were a time to start worrying about the whereabouts of the world economy, it would be now. These blogs help me to keep a grip on new events. Maybe it is the complexity of the issue, but the image that mass media presents of the situation is so far away from reality that it is completely useless. Hope you all find these interesting:

Mother Jones, Kevin Drum

Marginal Revolution

Baseline scenario

Grasping reality with both hands

Asymmetrical information

Talking of multitasking

I always felt that I was really good at doing several things at the same time. However, starting now, I finally master the art. I've just finished 30 minutes where I was having a work-related audio conference while my other hand was consoling one of my girls. At the same time, I was checking (don't ask me how) files on my computer to answer mails.

Being a father clearly helps to develop new skills :-) Have to run now, one of the girls wants attention.

It's been a while!

As you can imagine, life has been quite busy lately. Let's summarize it quickly: risk of pre-labor, Christmas in the hospital, back home, pre-labor, c-section, girls are born, both girls in the NICU, back to work, back to the hospital, ..., one girl goes home, the other stays, work-hospital-home, ...

and now both girls are home! :-)

Let me tell you. Taking care of one baby is really easy! At the end, everything goes back to Evolution. If the human race has survived for the last 2 million years, it's because taking care of babies is really simple.

Taking care of twins is a different matter. It's not impossible - if you are planning on having twins, don't let anybody scare you. However, it is much harder than having two kids of different ages. Just think about it. Sad enough, the synergies does not work in the early years. You need to feed both, put both to sleep, etc. every 3 hours. Every change will take 45 min per baby, what it means that you need 1h30 min to take care of both babies every 3 hours.

In addition to that you still need to eat, rest, watch TV :-) - Battlestar Galactica is in its last season - and so on.

Being a person that doesn't need to much sleep, I'm holding quite well. But I can undestand why other parents freak out!

Anyway, let me tell you, when you see one of my princess' smile, everything else goes away :-)

I know it's just a joke, but

don't you think there is truth behind it?

I love eBooks

As most of you may know, I'm a strong supporter of electronic books. It's been two years since I bought my last paper book. Since then I've read tens of books none of then in paper.

My ebook reader is the Sony PS500, an old model that I'm trying to sell to get the new kindle - due sometime in the near future.

I have to say that after seeing this video, I'm not sure anymore if I will buy the Amazon reader. This ebook looks amazing. Who needs paper anymore?

I'm happy to know that another professor from Columbia is getting a Nobel Price

It was announced in Stockholm that Dr. Martin Chalfie, Chair of Biological Sciences, is sharing this
year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Dr. Chalfie joins an impressive list of Nobel laureates on Columbia's faculty in a diversity of fields, from literature and economics to physics and medicine.

He is being honored for discovering the use of the green fluorescent protein to tag individual proteins inside a living cell -- a discovery first published some 14 years ago. Scientists have since used the green fluorescent protein in the study of damaged cells in the process of diseases such as Alzheimer's, genetic disorders and cancers.

I cann't help it. I have to scream it: ARE WE IDIOTS?

I've just read on El Mundo: "Los promotores: 'Antes de bajar los pisos un 30 o 40% los regalo al banco'". The genius that makes such a statement also ask for collaboration from "Comunidades autonomas" to free up terrain to increase construction.

As I said, are we idiots? Let's take 5 seconds to analyze this:

- We have too many houses on the market and nobody can afford them (at least 800,000 new houses are unsold according to last year figures)
-House trading has fallen more than 60% (in the US, the house market is at a 60 year low in terms of trading)
- House prices have fallen for second year in a row in Spain (7% in 2007, > 15% in 2008)
- The real estate bubble is behind the financial crisis

THEREFORE

- We need to build more houses!

Simply brilliant!

I have to clarify all those comments

I never said that all PSOE/Republican voters where uneducated. I said that "they have a strong support in the uneducated base of voters". Let me said it again with different words: among uneducated voters PSOE represents a favored political option. Is that incorrect? I must be wrong but PSOE stand for Partido Socialista Obrero Español. Am I wrong?

A significant amount of Republican voters are well educated, highly sophisticated people; however noboby denies that a significant portion of the supporting base is uneducated americans. Same there back in Spain. Despite the fact that the PSOE has improved their presence in some wealthy regions of Spain, it still has his supporting base rooted in the working class - what is neither bad or good. It's just a fact.

Given this circumstance, political leaders within this party use all kind of word-games to avoid talking about real issues. Relying in topics, stereotypes ... is easier than working and solving problems.

Let's google declarations from ZP & Solbes in the last year: Spain will grow at 2.9%, Spain will grow at 2.5%, Spain will not face any economic downturn, Spain will grow more than 2%, Spain will grow more than 1.1%, Spain will have positive growth, ....

Who cares? Back then, when they started lying about the economy instead of thinking about how they must get ready, the IMF had already explained everybody that the forecast for Spain was at best ~1%. Once again, who cares? This is the political game!

To be clear, I don't think the alternative party has a good answer either, but they are not in charge now.

I've been watching "Spain, on the road again"

http://www.spainontheroadagain.com/

Mario Batali and Gwyneth P. have been traveling around Spain on a gastronomic route. During the last episodes, they have spent some time in Galicia and you can find in the webpage things like the recipe for "Caldo Gallego" or some references to the amazing qualities of the Albarinho or the Tarta de Santiago.

For first time, I have to recognize that I'm feeling a little home sick :-) I'm not an integrist of anything. I'm absolutely open to the beauty, the flavors, the quality of things from other places of the world. That doesn't mean that I do not appreciate the amazing things that Spain can offer. Those are some of my favorites:

1) White wine: it's hard to find a better young white wine than the ones that Galicia produces from Albarinho grape. The closest alternative will be a good Pinot Grigio but it's not quite there in terms of acidity and fruity flavor.

2) Red wine: Ribera del Duero extracts such amazing flavors from the tempranillo grape. It competes with the best Cabs from France and Chiantis from Italy. Great choice if you are looking for full body wines with sophisticades flavors: black fruit, ... They age quite well.

3) Seafood: where can you get better shellfish than in Galicia? I do not know. I have to recognize that San Francisco has a decent offering in terms of fresh shellfish, but it is not the same.

What we lack is the sophistication, the art of presentation and clearly the international marketing. We will get there someday. Maybe, I will help ...

I have to talk about tonight's debate

Today we saw the second debate between Obama and McCain and I can not let pass the opportunity to write something about it.

Once again, seeing both candidates answering questions, I have the feeling that something is clearly wrong with the democratic system.

Obama is not the perfect candidate but he has the ability to answer the questions that were asked. You may like them or not, but he knows what he wants to do.

McCain, on the other side, has no answer for most of the questions. I remember at least two occasions where McCain simply repeated Obama's answer including a couple of stupid comments for the show.

His biggest ideas for this debate were: 1) Using the phrase "my friends" all the time to look as somebody that is close; 2) Talking about his big idea to solve the economic problem - to buy the bad debt from people; 3) Transforming what Obama said into something that doesn't make sense and sound ridiculous.

I have a clear preference to support anybody that thinks about keeping the government role at minimum. However, this time, the republican ticket is simply a joke. McCain has no idea about how to solve the real issue that this country is facing: the economic downturn. Palin is an uneducated vicepresident which only credential is the fact that looks good on TV. Where is the party that Reagan reshaped during the 80s?

I just care about three things during those elections:

1) Who is going to take a reasonable action to solve the economic crisis?
2) Who is going to ensure that every single kid on this country has health insurance?
3) Who is going to guarantee that US will act as a force for good in the world in coordination with other countries and UN (e.g., avoiding catastrophes like Darfour, helping to bring democracy to Afghanistan, controling the access that Iran or North Korea have to nuclear power)?

Obama presents a more adecuate candidate now. Let's hope his advantage keep building.

Off topic note: I found fascinating to observe the similarities between McCain and Zapatero in my home country. Both candidates have a strong support in the uneducated base of voters, therefore they do not build real answers to the real problems of the country. They just go with popular answers and catchy slogans. Zapatero's response to the economic problem that Spain faces is giving money back to the people (400 euros if I recall correctly). McCain's solution to the health care idea is to give people $5000 back every year on tax deductions. Neither of them explained that those initiatives have no real impact on the problem and just aggraveate them by creating a distraction. ZP may be extreme left, McCain may be extreme right, but they are closer than you may believe.

NY Times talking about Galicia

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/travel/14explorer.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin

NY Times talking about Galicia

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/travel/14explorer.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin

Emily

Even if you don't believe it, my dear Emily has been created by a computer. She is nicer, does not gain weight, does not have stupid super-star caprices, does not age, etc.

Welcome to a new world!

Spain or how we think that we know everything

Recently there has been a lot of "babbling" around the infamous picture of the National Basketball Spanish team mocking the Chinese. As Spaniard, I know that there was no bad intention behind this picture. However, it surprises me how insensitive we are to any other culture.

As someone that is living and working on a highly international place, I'm fully aware of the challenges that cross-cultural interactions have. As soon as I saw the picture, I was shocked. How can we do something like that? For a moment I even forgot that 4 years ago, I could perfectly be doing the same thing. Mocking the eyes of Asian people is considered extremely rude. It's something that shouldn't we done under any circumstances.

I can understand the mistake. What I can not understand is how the Spanish press keeps talking about the issue as a "British campaign to discredit Spain". We screwed it, let's recognize it and move on. Do not blame others for our own faults.

Pi Day

Today is Pi Day, July 22. Pi day is a tradition that started back in 1988 in San Francisco. It is a day to celebrate the number Pi that fascinates to so many people. There are several days accepted as Pi Day:

• March 14 at 1h59 am is the most popular one for being 3.14159
• July 22 is the second one as 22/7 = 3.142

What can I say, if people are willing to celebrate Saint Valentine, Pi Day sounds even more appealing to me.

Manhattanhenge

Known too as the Manhattan Solstice is a semi annual occurrence where the sun perfectly aligned with the streets of New York. The proliferation of glass buildings make the show breath taking with the sun rays reflecting in uncountable windows while following their path from east to west.

It happens twice a year usually in May 28th and July 13th (evenly spaced dates around the Summer Solstice).

iPhone 3G, the hype is back

On September 2007, I wrote this article talking about what was missing on the iPhone. There were three things: 3G vs. EDGE; capacity; GPS; and applications. Clearly I wasn't the only one complaining about it because those exactly are the elements that Apple has change in the second version of the phone. Let's see what is new:

• 3G connection provides 2 - 4x faster page downloads
• aGPS combines phone-tower information with GPS data to give your exact position
• 16 GB of capacity increases the usability of the phone as unique computing platform
• App Store gives the iPhone more than ~500 applications to download including categories that go from games to productivity

I don't like the new plastic back but improves signal reception. More than 4 antennas are included in the device (i.e., EDGE, 3G, GPS, WiFI) what makes having a metal cover hard to justify.

Other than that, the device is basically the same. Minor tweaks were implemented: improved battery, a must requirement for a 3G device; warmer screen (~ 7000 vs ~ 8000 kelvin on the 1st generation); flush headphones jack.

Overall, the iPhone has redefined the concept of mobile computing - maybe it has created the concept and brought it to the mass market. For once, you can have on your pocket a complete computer that does what is supposed to do. Last weekend, we found the closest theater to watch a movie in the middle of the street. It was quick, reliable, on the go.

This is just the beginning, but I'm expecting more things to come. With more than 6 million users around the world now and 4 million more expected before the end of the year, developers will be jumping on the iPhone wagon to get a piece of the cake. Soon we will get a full GPS application (e.g., Tom Tom), maybe a presentation tool, VoIP calls (e.g., Fring, Skype), ....

Post edit:
I've just read that the App Store has received more than 10 million application downloads in the first 3 days with the number of applications rising from 500 to 800 during the same period.

Manifiesto por el castellano

Esto merece el uso de mi lengua nativa. Desde aquí me gustaría pedir a todos que firmaseis el Manifiesto en defensa de nuestra lengua. Olvidemos temas políticos y pongamos todos un poco para defender esta lengua que ha dado al mundo un sinfín de obras únicas de la literatura. Obras que por mérito propio son reconocidas sin comparación a nivel internacional.

No dejemos que el barbarismo localista que asola España, y confunde cultura con política, siga desterrando esta lengua de escuelas, calles, bares, cafés, ...

Estamos en pleno siglo XXI y cada vez más regiones de España viven bajo sistemas políticos que cortan la libertad de expresión. Increible? No por ello menos cierto.

Enlace para adherirse al manifiesto.

Defining innovation

As most of you probably know, Innovation is my true passion. It's great to see what can be done when conventional wisdom is challenged.

The tailor of Singapore

When traveling to Asia, one of the first things I always do is to find a good tailor. Savile Row is still years away, so it's hard to resist the opportunity of getting hand-made, tailor-made suits.

My recent trip to Singapore was a great surprise on this topic. A former partner of my firm was kind enough to suggest some places where he used to get his suits made. Joe Tailoring was my choice and I wasn't disappointed at all.

For some, tailor-made is about getting a copy of a famous suit/dress/shirt/... In my case, it's all about personalization. I want a specific size of the pockets, a specific number of buttons (btw, the ones on the sleeve have to be functional), a particular size of the sleeves, extremely fitted for American standards, etc. The list goes on and on.

Singapore set a new bar in terms of quality and customer satisfaction. If you ever go there, remember to visit Joe Tailoring. They are not a cheap alternative, but the result will completely shock you.

OE OE OE OE OE OE!!!!!

Hoy toca español! Qué alegría!

Comenzaba la tarde mal! El bar al que fuimos estaba lleno de alemanes, no tenía comida y estaba hasta la bandera.

Fieles al estilo Spanish! la mayor parte de la banda llegó tarde y desde allí decidimos tratar de crear ambiente en otro lado.

Acabamos en un restaurante con una gran pantalla. Faltaba algo asi que Caro y Maria se decidaron con una bandera a reclutar espa~noles en la calle. En breve teniamos mas de 30 personas.

Empezo el partido, llego Torres y .... el resto es historia!

Ferrari California - No explanation required!

NY Times: A Goya Tour of Madrid

One of my favorite readings is NY Times travel section on weekends. Today, they are covering a Tour of Madrid center on the figure of Goya. It's really worthy.

One of my passions

Since I was a kid, I always loved photography. It gives you the opportunity to freeze a memory forever; the opportunity of capturing that fraction of a second where everything happens; the opportunity of bringing your own creativity to the world changing the way it appears to the eye; the opportunity ... You know, unlimited opportunities.

I still remember the time where I took just one or two shoots trying to guess what is going to be result; where I needed to remember that each "click" was going to cost me more than 50 cents. Those times are gone, are gone forever.

I bought my first digital camera, point an shoot camera, and I kept since then as a precious memory the words of everyone telling me what a short future that new trend had: "digital pictures, who cares? people love to see paper". I still laugh remembering that :-)

A long time has passed and one month ago I started to update all my gear and the process is not over. This is my gear, I'm more than happy with all the elements, so I strongly recommend them to anybody trying to jump to more serious photography.

• Body: I replaced my Canon 400D XTi for the Canon 40D (semi-pro). I was thinking about the 5D Full Frame but price, weight and knowing that the 5D-II is coming stopped me.

• Walk through lenses: Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5. It's a fast glass that brings together a zoom and good aperture range

• Telezoom: Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. The image stabilization plays along with this great lenses. Some people call this a L lenses hidden on a EF price.

• Must have: Canon 50mm, f/1.8 II. It's a fixed lens that has an amazing quality for just $89. Who can resist it? It's a shame that 50mm with an APC camera is not so usable, but still it's worth any penny. Great for portraits

• Backpack: Canon EG200, great offeering for the money: a lot of space, good compartments, protected, ... It lacks some protection against water, but it cost less than $30

Now, I'm just longing for opportunities to use it.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia. Today is considered a day of bad luck in all English, French and Portuguese speaking countries in addition to tons of other countries (e.g., Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, ...)

Spanish speaking countries have their thing with Tuesday 13 and Italians, as usual, have decided to honor a complete different number, Friday 17th.

It seems that the idea of bad luck came on the 19th century from joining two different concepts:

1. Thirteen is in general associated with bad lack as it's the first number that come after the magic 12 - 12 months, 12 zodiac signs, 12 Jesus' apostoles, ...
2. Friday is, in Christian societies, a dark day. The day when Jesus Christ was crucified.

One plus one equals two. My question is, what the hell happen on Tuesday?

My first HDR picture

HDR is a new photographic technique that allows to capture higher ranges when taking pictures (High Dynamic Range). This is my first one. It was taking with a Canon XTi, 17-70 mm Sigma Lens from the River Cafe on Brooklyn.

Singapore sling

The Singapore Sling is a cocktail that was invented in the Raffles Hotel in Singapore in 1915. The drink made by Ngiam Tong Boon was intended to be a ladies drink and became extremely popular over time.

The original recipe includes gin, cherry brandy and Benedictine (equal parts). The drink will be served on a glass after being shaken. On the glass club soda will be added to finalize it.

The picture shows the one that I drunk today on the Raffles Hotel. I know it's a ladies drink, but I really like it.

Note: do not order a Singapore Sling other than here. Every time I tried one, it's been awful.

Taxi fact pack and other things

I call TFP (Taxi Fact Pack) to the set of data that the first taxi driver tells you when you get into a new country. On Singapore I've got:

• Cleanest city in the world
• 0.05% unemployment rate
• 2.5 Million citizens (~70% Chinese, ~20 Malaysian, ~10% Indies & other)
• The city has pieces of New York (the skyline), London (the Eye), Las Vegas (they are building two amazing casinos)
• The harbor can move thousands of cargoes per hour competing with Hong Kong to become the biggest harbor on this part of the world

Cab drivers and shoe shiners are probably the two professions with more access to what people thinks. They deal with dozens of clients every day, and given the loneliness of their profession they tend to spend a lot of time listening. Great sources of information!

First thoughts (Singapore, day 1)

After 20 hours on the plane, here I am finally. The flight was quite pleasant, surprisingly. Singapore airlines provides great seats also on coach: space, great screens, a lot of movies, ...

How do you get ready for a 20 hours flight? There are some things that you need to pack:

1. Noise canceling headphones, my choice is Sony MDR-NC60. They are cheaper than other options and provide the highest noise cancellation available (87%).
2. iPod Video full of movies/TV shows. I used this trip to catch up with Battlestar Gallactica. I'm almost done with the first season. Note: after July, it will be a iPod Touch or iPhone with a bigger screen. I can't wait!!!
   
3. Extra battery for the iPod so you can play movies for more than 2-3 hours.

Singapore is so far one of the nicest cities I've seen. It's so clean that you can't believe it. It makes Tokyo seem dirty. It makes NY look like a latrine :-( People is nice and everyone speaks perfect English, with an accent but great.

The picture was taken this morning on the hotel. I love how flowers on the water look on picture. My first stop will be Orchard Road for two reasons: 1) it's the main shopping area of Singapore and I need a couple of things; 2) the shuttle from the hotel takes you there, so it will be the easiest thing to do now that I'm completely groggy.

Second stop, find a great tailor. Remember my advise, never visit Asia without taking the chance to increase your wardrobe.

Black swan

In Nassim N. Taleb's definittion, a black swan is a hard to predict, large impact event beyond the realm of normal expectations. There are multiple examples of Black Swans just in the recent history (e.g., black Monday 1987 - largest one day stock decline in history).

The term Black Swam was selected by Taleb after the conception that all swans where white. Conception that was based on empirical evidence, before the discovery of Australia, there were no black swans in the known world.

The book is easy to read, so I strongly recommend everybody to give it a try. No so long ago, I heard a lot of people say "real estate prices will never go down". Black swans are all over the place.

Money makes you happier

Against popular culture or traditional sayings, money makes you happier. There is clear correlation and causality between income level and happiness. There is no other single factor that can increase levels of happiness as sharply as money can.

Freakonomics, one of my favorite blogs, has a interesting series on "The Economics of Happiness" where you can find data supporting this argument. The effect is observed in all the countries with a similar ratio.

I shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody. Having a higher income carries as a consequence better health care, education, possibilities for enjoyment and relax, ...

Ready to flight

In 4 days, I will be traveling to Singapore. Close to Malaysia, Singapore is one of the few city-nation that still exists. During the late 80s and early 90s, Singapore became the prosperous city that linked business across cultures and continents. Fusion of old Asian tradition and old world style, Singapore has grown to be a amazing place where everything is possible.

I will be there two weeks on a training program. During this time, I will find the time to get to know the city, the culture and the food. The opportunity for this trip just came one week ago when an open spot appeared. As always, surprises come with trade-offs. In this case, I'm talking about the longest flight in the world. In just one shot, we will be covering all the ground between New York and Singapore- 19 hours in a plane. It may seem better than taking two planes, but I'm no so sure how things will work out on a plane for so long.

My only concern is the amount of fuel they are going to put on the plane!

The Onion: 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Made Into Feature Film

El metro en Japón

Las estaciones de tren y metro en Japón tienen personal asignado que facilita la tarea de cerrar las puertas. Increible pero cierto.

Por qué hay tan pocos solteros interesantes?

No puedo contenerme a copiar este análisis de la típica queja femenina: "los buenos están casados o son gays" desde una perspective de "game theory" (artículo original en Marginal Revolution):

...game theory predicts, and empirical studies of auctions bear out, that auctions will often be won by "weak" bidders, who know that they can be outbid and so bid more aggressively, while the "strong" bidders will hold out for a really great deal. You can find a technical discussion of this here. (Be warned: "Bidding Behavior in Asymmetric Auctions" is not for everyone, and I certainly won't claim to have a handle on all the math.) But you can also see how this works intuitively if you just consider that with a lot at stake in getting it right in one shot, it's the women who are confident that they are holding a strong hand who are likely to hold out and wait for the perfect prospect.

This is how you come to the Eligible-Bachelor Paradox, which is no longer so paradoxical. The pool of appealing men shrinks as many are married off and taken out of the game, leaving a disproportionate number of men who are notably imperfect (perhaps they are short, socially awkward, underemployed). And at the same time, you get a pool of women weighted toward the attractive, desirable "strong bidders."

Where have all the most appealing men gone? Married young, most of them—and sometimes to women whose most salient characteristic was not their beauty, or passion, or intellect, but their decisiveness.

Pro-bono work

"Six US companies and nonprofits are to receive Pro Bono Awards from the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation for their leadership in engaging business professionals in pro bono service to meet community needs.

McKinsey & Company is receiving the "Innovator" award for its decentralized approach to pro bono service which allows McKinsey leaders to select the projects that will have the greatest impact on their communities. McKinsey has a long tradition of pro bono service to local communities, and through its global Social Sector Office is working with leading nonprofit and public sector institutions to address challenges in economic development, education, and global public health."

From Consultants News

Eutanasia

Leo hoy que Francia se replantea su ley sobre Eutanasia después de lo acontecido con Chantal Sebire. Este tema realmente me interesa. Cuál es el problema? Por qué un individuo no puede elegir cuando morirse? Parece una cuestión de lo más sencillo.

Me temo que la solución sin embargo será complicada. Pensando en ello he recordado la frase de Les Luthiers: "El intento de suicidio está castigado en muchos países. En algunos incluso con la pena de muerte."

Inflacción

Mi gran amiga MD me manda esta foto de un hombre camino del supermercado para hacer la compra en Harare (Zimbawe). La inflacción del país roza el 100% lo que hace imposible la vida.

Zimbawe, siendo el país con mayor inflacción del mundo actualmente, se queda en una mera anécdota cuando se analiza la historia de Argentina (>1400% de inflacción durante varios años entre los 70 y los 90). Tal vez sea por eso que la hiperinflacción me ha fascinado desde siempre. Nunca he dejado de preguntarme cómo uno consigue sobrevivir en un entorno tal. La respuesta no es sencilla y tiene muchos matices.

La hiperinflacción conlleva una pérdida absoluta de valor de la moneda - la imagen lo dice todo. En dicho entorno la sociedad vuelve a un modelo de trueque para establecer relaciones económicas, por ejemplo cambiar unos zapatos por la cesta de la compra.

Sin embargo el trueque, solución temporal para el día a día, no aplica en el mundo de los negocios. Las empresas asumen una moneda fuerte internacional como referencia y se cancelan las operaciones en divisa nacional. Tradicionalmente el dollar ha sido el referente para este tipo de transacciones.

Las causas de la inflacción son múltiples y sus soluciones complicadas. Resulta fascinante entender los mecanismos de las políticas monetarias que están tantas veces en la raíz del problema. No conozco el caso de Zimbawe, pero nuestra querida Argentina es una ejemplo de libro.

Nuevo gobierno que promete estabilizar el país -->Para crear crecimiento incrementa la contratación pública --> Cuando las previsiones no se cumplen y no se genera suficiente para pagar la deuda se emite más dinero --> El dinero consecuentemente se devalúa --> La devaluación ocasiona inflacción de los productos --> El ente público emite más dinero para incrementar --> sueldos ...

Cuando te das cuenta estás en dos cifras de inflacción y es imparable. Como siempre en economía el problema es explicar las cosas al ciudadano de la calle. Hay una anécdota muy curiosa de la negociación en Argentina en los 90. El gobierno, tratando de controlar la inflacción, establece una mesa de negociación con los sindicatos más fuertes del país. La propuesta es congelar los sueldos del funcionariado para así parar la inflacción. Serán un par de años difíciles pero el país recuperará la senda del crecimiento.

La negociación fue un completo desastre y finalizó con subidas salariales astronómicas. El líder sindical, un hombre muy inteligente, lo explicó de manera muy sencilla: "si congelamos los sueldos, es evidente que la gente pierde con lo cual yo soy un fracaso y me despido del puesto aunque tenga un beneficio claro en todo el mundo al mejorar la economía"

"si incremento los sueldos un 50% soy un héroe, da igual que la inflacción se dispare un 200% y la gente pierda mucho más poder adquisitivo que con una congelación. Nadie va a culparme por eso"

Octopus, Galician Style

El bueno de JR me ha mandado este enlace al NY Times: Pulpo a la gallega!


La receta no está mal del todo. Para la próxima lo preparo en casa.

Manhattan (1979, Woody Allen)

"Chapter one.
He adored New York City. He idolised it all out of proportion."

Uh, no. Make that "He romanticised it all out of proportion. "

"To him, no matter what the season was, this was still a town
that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes
of George Gershwin. "

Uh... no. Let me start this over.

"Chapter one. "

"He was too romantic about Manhattan, as he was about everything else. "

"He thrived on the hustle, bustle
of the crowds and the traffic. "

"To him, New York meant beautiful women and street-smart guys
who seemed to know all the angles. "

Ah, corny. Too corny for a man of my taste.

Let me... try and make it more profound.

"Chapter one. He adored New York City. "

"To him, it was a metaphor for the decay of contemporary culture. "

"The same lack of integrity to cause so many people to take the easy way out...
... was rapidly turning the town
of his dreams..."

No, it's gonna be too preachy. I mean, face it, I wanna sell some books here.

"Chapter one. He adored New York City, although to him it was a metaphor for the decay of contemporary culture. "


"How hard it was to exist in a society desensitised by drugs, loud music, television, crime, garbage..."

Too angry. I don't wanna be angry.

"Chapter one. "

"He was as tough and romantic
as the city he loved. "

"Behind his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat. "

I love this.

"New York was his town and it always would be. "

HP 48GX

Pocas cosas se mantienen en el tiempo. Desde 1994 el mundo ha sufrido una de las mayores revoluciones de la historia: Internet, Móviles, más de 1,000 millones de personas han salido del grupo de pobreza, el terrorismo se ha convertido en una fuerza imparable que amenaza a todo el mundo, ...

Sin embargo, algunas cosas se mantienen igual. Si bien la fabada de la abuela ahora viene en lata, mi vieja calculadora HP 48 GX (más de 13 años la pobre) no solo sigue funcionando como el primer día, sino que todavía se puede conseguir en Amazon prácticamente al mismo precio que la compre en su momento: $240.

My new run

Qué vergüenza!

Hay muchas razones para sentirse orgullosos de ser españoles, pero todavía nos queda mucho por andar en decenas de frentes.

Es increible que seamos portada mundial en NY Times, The Times, The Guardian, ... por un problema de insultos racistas. Seguro que muchos tratan de restarle importancia con comentarios del tipo: "es cosa de unos pocos", "si siempre hay exaltados", etc. Sin embargo, la realidad es que acabamos de salir de nuestro rinconcito al mundo exterior y cada vez que vemos algo distinto lo insultamos.

Para los que vivimos fuera, es una pena que las noticias que veamos estén en dos grupos: bochorno o problemas económicos gravísimos. Vaya futuro le espera a los amigos que están allá! Suerte!

2 de febrero!

Hoy es el día de la marmota! Y Punxsutawney Phil ha visto su sombra hoy lo que conlleva a seis semanas más de invierno. Preparad el abrigo!

Super Bowl XLII: Giants vs Patriots

Muchos no sabéis de mi nueva pasión por el Football Americano. Hace unos meses decidí que era el momento de aceptar algún deporte americano como propio para ayudar en el proceso de integración y de paso disponer de un tema de conversación los lunes. Los Giants resultaron ser la opción perfecta – el equipo de NY.

Ha sido una temporada de lo más interesante. Ya en los Play Offs cada domingo escuchaba como mi querido equipo (nuevo, pero querido) carecía de ningún apoyo en el partido del domingo: “de aquí no pasan”, “si ya han tenido suerte llegando aquí”, “pero si tienen al peor quarterback de la NFL”, …

Contra todo pronóstico hace dos semanas los Giants vencieron a los Green Bay Packers por un puesto en el Super Bowl. Mañana es el gran día. Mi equipo se enfrenta al que puede ser el mejor equipo de la historia: los Patriots. Estos no han perdido un partido en toda la competición, algo único, y cuentan con el mejor quarterback: Tom Brady. Aun así confío en la victoria de los buenos J A ver que pasa.

Gomaspuminglish

Si es que así aprendí inglés yo!

Los mercados financieros y las sorpresas

Esta semana ha venido con los primeros golpes serios a los mercados financieros. No deja de asombrarme que mucha gente reaccione con sorpresa cuando estos ajustes vienen siendo esperados desde mediados del año pasado.

Existen ciertos estudios de neurología que demuestran que cuando se trata de la bolsa los seres humanos pierden la capacidad de racionalizar. Parece ser que la posibilidad de grandes beneficios activa reacciones nerviosas en el cerebro equivalentes a las que se desatan cuando se está hambriento y nos presentan comida. En otras palabras, nuestro yo más primitivo se activa dejando la voz de la razón de lado.

No es sencillo, incluso posible, predecir el comportamiento de los mercados en el corto plazo. No tengo ni la más remota idea de que va a suceder mañana y por tanto no me preocupa. Es por ello que de cara a inversiones recomiende siempre pensar en largo plazo y con dos dedos de frente.

El precio de una acción no es más que el valor presente de los posibles dividendos futuros que la empresa va a entregar; o lo que es lo mismo, los beneficios futuros de la empresa descontados al presente y divididos por el número de acciones. Si a uno le dicen que Google vale $700, dicha información no aporta nada. Si os digo que $700 significa que Google va a multiplicar por 4 sus beneficios durante varias decenas de años entendereis por que creo ese valor de acción es estúpido. Ahora vale $550 y todavía es cara, aún así espero pronto ver a gurús recomendando comprarla porque está barata a menos de $700. Personalmente, todo lo que sea más de $300 no me parece razonable, por ello nunca meteré un duro ahí.

Otro de mis ejemplos preferidos, Apple. Me encantan sus productos, tanto que debería ser cliente preference: iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, iMac. Creo que los tengo/he regalado todos. Sin embargo su precio en bolsa es cuando menos extraño. Una valoración sensata de su negocio estar'ia en el rango de los $90, por ello $200 parece un precio un tanto exagerado.

Mi ultimo ejemplo, el sector immobiliario en Espa~na, no hay teor'ia econ'omica que no haya sido empleada para justificar por que el precio de la vivienda nunca bajar'a. 2007 ha demostrado lo contrario y sin duda 2008 pondr'a las cosas mucho m'as en su sitio. Nada se libra de las leyes de la demanda y la oferta. Y en cuanto a casas la oferta es enorme y la demanda cada vez menor, mas en tiempos de recesi'on. En resumen, que ahora es cuando tenemos que empezar a pensar en comprar. Cuanto mas leamos que es mal momento, mejor sera para conseguir buenas gangas. Aprovechadlo, al fin y al cabo estas cosas solo pasan cada diez a~nos.

Monopoly! World Edition!

El famoso juego de mesa ha puesto en marcha una iniciativa para crear la primera edición mundial en la que cada casilla representará una ciudad del mundo. La elección de las ciudades será en base a votaciones a través de esta página web: http://www.monopolyworldvote.com/en_GB/world

Entre las candidatas está Madrid y en este momento con cierto riesgo de quedarse fuera de la lista (está de 31 de 20 posibles). Mis otras ciudades ya están en el top: NY, Londres, Tokyo. Venga, que no sea por falta de interés. Que Madrid, tercera ciudad de Europa, ocupe el sitio que le corresponde.

Hablando de Turismo

El pasado año NY recibió algo más de 53 millones de turistas, cifra que no parece del todo mala pero que sin embargo las autoridades han decidido aumentar.

Entre otras muchas iniciativas esta la de crear cataratas de 120 metros de altitud en puntos significativos de la ciudad, por ejemplo en el puente de brooklyn. Habrá cuatro de ellas y estarán montadas este verano. Su coste aproximado es $15 millones con unos ingresos esperados por incremento de turistas de $45 millones. Parece un buen negocio.

La importancia de la perspectiva

Uno de los grandes recursos de los medios de comunicación consiste en el manejo de datos como pilar fundamental de la noticia. Quién osará cuestionar cuando los números así lo indican? El problema radica en que los números son articifios creados por el ser humano que permiten la comparación y a través de ella el análisis y la racionalización.

Permitidme que utilice algún ejemplo para arrojar algo de luz sobre esta idea. Iraq, el gran presente en los medios de comunicación, presenta cifras de muertos/asesinatos que cada mañana nos aterrorizan en las noticias. Sin embargo, no oimos referencias a nuestro nuevo aliado internacional Venezuela que presenta una tasa de asesinatos que duplica (si x2) los datos de Iraq. Ambas situaciones son espantosas pero una nos la encontramos en la sopa y la otra pues no.

Otro de mis favoritos, el poderío de China como potencia económica. Sabíais que económicamente el GDP de China es menos del doble del de España y que es inferior al de Alemania. Así pensado ya no parece tan apabullante. Ah, por cierto, el GDP China es un sexto del de Estados Unidos, la economía de Canada es mayor que la de España y Rusia es menor no sólo que nosotros, sino también que Brasil.

Unico recurso disponible, preguntarse siempre, este dato que nos dan como se compara con …

Premios Darwin 2007

Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.

Vaya desde aquí mi más sincero agradecimiento a todos aquellos que año tras año ayudan a mejorar la raza humana. Se ha publicado la lista del 2007 y es pública en esta dirección.

Bill Gates' last day at Microsoft - CES 2008

Cada año Bill Gates presenta en CES las últimas tendencias en tecnología desde la perspectiva de Microsoft: Surface, UMPC, Tablet PCs, ...

Este año, sin embargo, ha tocado despedida (Bill abandona Microsoft para dedicarse a gestionar su fundación benéfica) y con ella un video en clave humor retratando el último día de Bill en su trabajo. De lo más divertido y con una estela de cameos de lo más impresionante: de Bono a Obama pasando por Hillary.

Feliz 2008!

Un nuevo año ha comenzado. Sin embargo, viendo los videos de la gente bailando en la fiesta me doy cuenta de que estamos muy cerca de nuestra querida Elaine!

Feliz anho a todos!

Family Guy Jesus Scenes

Mi parte preferida es el minuto 1:03

Disfrutad.

BTW, completely non PC

Este BMW se conduce solo. En serio!

Strategic Intuition -- William Duggan

William Duggan fue uno de mis profesores preferidos durante mi etapa en Columbia. Ha publicado la segunda parte de su libro "Napoleon's Glance" y como el primero es muy recomendable.

Disfrutad del video presentación.

Arbol Navidad en Madrid

No es el del Rockefeller Center, pero tiene su encanto.

Arbol Navidad PacMan en Madrid

Que pena que me lo esté perdiendo!

Leo en El Mundo: España 'suspende' en Educación

Este es el enlace al artículo en que se analiza el resultado del informe PISA 2006 donde se muestra el mal estado del sistema educativo español. Nuestro querido presi ZP explica el resultado con la siguiente frase: "el problema es que hemos tenido muchas generaciones en España con un bajo rendimiento educativo fruto del país que teníamos".

El estudio se ha realizado con alumnos de 15 años que si hago bien la matemática han empezado con un sistema educativo "diseñado" por el PSOE y "revisado" por el PP (entre comillas porque el dise~no se hizo con el $%#$%@, y la revisi'on no estuvo lejos del mismo punto). Sólo se me ocurren dos explicaciones para que ZP haga un comentario tan alejado de la realidad: a) simplemente es idiota, lo cual me parece poco probable para alguien que ha logrado llegar a presidente de un gobierno democratico; b) solo queda una explicacion posible, cree que todos los demas somos idiotas.

Que os parece?

Me ha parecido ocurrente

leer cómo una novia "desatendida" explica los códigos secretos del Halo 3. Aviso, es para geeks!

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2007/11/13kiraly.html

Otra tienda

Finalmente Apple se ha dado cuenta del tipo de cliente que represento, tanto es así que ha decidido abrir una nueva tienda a unas calles de nuestro apartamento aquí.

Aquí podeis ver las primeras fotos, la tienda Apple más grande del mundo. Entre esto y la recesión que se nos viene encima la cosa va a estar muy mal :-?