Bye Bye Firefox

Being a Microsoft-centric person, I have had a hard time using Firefox while trying to shush the nagging voice inside my head telling me to dump the browser. So I am more than happy to announce that I have switched today to IE7 Beta 2 Preview, which has been running smoothly so far on my machine.

My enemy's enemy is my friend

I remember watching Cindy Sheehan on CNN when she camped outside President Bush's ranch in an anti-war protest, and actually feeling sorry for her. At the time I could not understand President Bush 's refusal to meet with the grieving mother. Last week Sheehan was visiting Caracas for the World Social Forum meeting, met with President Chavez and ended the meeting by branding President Bush a terrorist.
This is the kind of flawed logic that AntiBushites use to their own detriment:
I hate Bush AND Chavez hates Bush EQUALS I must love Chavez.
My enemy's enemy is my friend.
Never mind that Chavez is the least democratic head of state in Latin America nor that he has declared his intentions to remain in power until 2031.
I have my own logic to apply in this case:
Cindy Sheehan loves Chavez EQUALS Cindy Sheehan Zero credibility.

Currency ConverterX

USD > CAD

First They Came...

After living through seven years of Bolivarian Revolution, I cannot help but be reminded of the famous poem by Rev. Martin Niemoller:

When they came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Boxer + Doberman = Boxerman ?

I love dogs, specially Boxers. I have owned quite a few over the years, was a breeder for a while, until lack of time forced me to give up this hobby. But I have never seen a smarter dog than this one. His name is "Sparky" and is half Boxer, half Doberman.

Chicken Little, Venezuelan Style

In the magical kingdom of Venezuela, there was once a bridge of crucial importance, because it linked the village with the kingdom's main port and airport. The bridge had been built a long time ago and everyone in the village agreed that losing the bridge would bring doom to the villagers, since it would cut off the main source of food. The villagers did not know how to farm. They were exporting oil, and with that money, buying necessary food and goods.
One day Chicken Little was bored as he sat below the bridge seeking shade. Suddenly, a piece of the bridge fell over his head."Oh my goodness!" said Chicken Little. "The bridge is falling! I must go and tell the king."
On his way to the king's palace, Chicken Little met the King's Minister of Infrastructure. "Where are you going ?", asked the Minister. "I am going to see the King, because the bridge is falling, I saw it with my own eyes, heard it with my own ears and part of it fell on my head."
"Do not bother the king with this nonsense", replied the Minister of Infrastructure ,"as the King is too busy liberating the Country from years of neo-imperialist domination by the great evil warlord from the north known as Mr. Danger."
Chicken Little did not listen to the Minister. He knew he had to reach the King as soon as possible. So he ran away as fast as he could. Soon, he met the Minister of the Interior. "Where are you going ?", asked the Minister. Chicken Little replied "The bridge is falling, the bridge is falling, I have to tell the King."
"Saving this bridge is not a priority for this Bolivarian Revolutionary government. The King is busy selling cheap oil to Brooklyn and Boston, in order to make Mr. Danger look bad in the eyes of his own people" said the Minister.
Chicken Little did not stop to argue with the Minister. He knew that only the King wielded real power, so he was not going to waste his time with the hired help. He kept running down the road as fast as he could until he reached the royal palace. He entered the royal chambers only to see the King having dinner with his main advisor, the all powerful Darth Castro. "the bridge is falling, I saw it with my own eyes, heard it with my own ears and part of it fell on my head", shouted Chicken Little with a desperate voice.
The King slowly turned his head towards Chicken Little and murmured " I condemn you to spend time in jail for spreading false rumors about this government, only to disseminate panic among the villagers and scare foreign investors."
So Chicken Little was led to jail by the King's Praetorian Guard. The bridge fell the next day. The villagers starved to death and the King tagged the whole incident as a conspiracy led by the State Department and executed by the CIA.

New Year's Hangover

No, that is not me, by the way.
Who said that the eyes are the windows to the soul ?

Frazzled, Frustrated, and Forlorn

Will the last person to leave the Country please turn off the light...

Venezuela used to be a favored destination for European immigrants, specially those from Spain, Italy and Portugal. Following the Spanish civil war and WWII, thousands chose to settle in this magical spot, and by doing so, prospered and contributed to the development of this backward Country. Times have changed, and drastically so. The first wave of returnees occurred in the early eighties, when the local currency took a nosedive following government corruption so widespread that even the gargantuan inflow of petrodollars could not mask. Later in the decade, in 1989, following another megadevaluation, riots sprung in Caracas and other major provincial cities that resulted in grand scale looting of commercial properties. This unprecedented cataclysm and the following government crackdown on the rioters scared the middle class out of its wits. Although not part of the conflict, it suffered the consequences of government mismanagement by bearing the brunt of the populace's ire. This event led to the second wave of European returnees, who saw a chance of leading a calmer life in a rapidly unifying Europe. Finally, the third wave of immigrants began leaving the country after the current leader was elected in late 1998. First it was a trickle, now the dam has broken and almost eveybody below the age of forty is making plans or trying to leave their birthplace one way or another. Many do so unprepared, settling illegally in developed nations. Many have no recourse besides moving to neighboring islands, like Aruba and Curacao, for a meager subsistence. The Cubans, at least had Miami for safe haven. Soon all the human capital of this generation will be lost. The Government will have to outsource all major projects to foreign companies from Brazil to Cuba.
So please, will the last Venezuelan to leave the Country, turn off the light...

Koan

Zen teaching riddle.
One day Akbar drew a line with his royal hand on the floor of the open court and told his wise men that if they wanted to keep heir jobs they must make the line shorter without touching any part of it.
Wise man after wise man approached and stood staring at the puzzle, but they were unable to solve the problem.
Finally Birbal stepped forward and drew a longer line next to the first one, without touching the first line.
Everyone in the court look at it and agreed. The first line was definitely shorter.
nozen.com