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Strobe life

Strobe life

(pub)
(party) (music) (party-music)
(people) (flashing ligts) (screens)
(drinks) (drink) (cigarettes)
(words) (stobe conversations)
(friends?)
(party or die)
(another pub)
(more partymusic) (partypeople)
(intercourse of disconnected realities)
(would you like to be a celebrity on a box of margarine?)

What if i don't like it? What if it means nothing?
Stay home, rest, wait.
Find reality within others or myself, but not at this party.

"Go to another party
and hang myself
gently on the shelf"

Poland vs. Iraq

"Poland occupies Iraq, because it won the war against it. Everybody knows that Iraq had been Poland’s primary enemy for centuries. Iraq had coveted Poland’s freedom, its enormous wealth, and its fair-haired women, whose beauty is famous throughout the world. Iraq’s biggest dream—as every child knows—was to destroy our 1,000-year-old culture and civilization, to conquer our fertile lands and elegant cars, and to sterilize the every Polish male so they could be eunuchs in Baghdad harems."

The quotes come from one of the best articles I read recently.
It was written by Andrzej Stasiuk and published in Allgemeine Zeitung, Forum and the World Press Review.
You can find it here and you should read it if you want a good laugh.

"I wanted to get into a better mood, so I switched on the radio. A government minister said that 'our presence in Iraq is very important, since we have an extensive experience in transformation'."

Yes, we Poles know all about transformation. If we were to decide the way forward for Iraq, it would first sell everyting it could and then join the European Union :)

The Power...

I have not been watching television for over 4 months now. What helped me most, was the fact that I don't have a TV here in Bradford, but I wanted to try living without TV anyway. There are TV rooms available for me and most of my friends own receivers, so it would not be a problem to watch 'the telly' had I chosen to do so. But I chose not to.

"The power of trust"

I must say that after four months, you look at television differently. If you see it everyday, you get used to it and accept it as it is. However, if you see it for the first time after a long break, what you see is horrifying.

"The power of experience"

I visited a friend yesterday, and his kids were watching TV. When I came into the room I saw two (otherwise very active and talkative) children staring silently at the screen. A commercial was on, showing scenes from movies and shows. Each picture lasted less then a second. Less then the blink of an eye, almost subliminal and the colours were brighter and more attractive than any you could see in the world. The children were sitting there hypnotised, while a soft voice was explaining that they can buy a new packed of cable TV, to get even more shows!

"The power of reporting"

Today I went to buy some food from a restaurant. While waiting for my order, I noticed that CNN was on. First some business news was on. The formula was similar to that of the commercial: pictures were shown (none of the pictures lasted more than a few seconds), while a voice speaking very, very quickly was explaining the rise and fall of certain stock options on the market.
After a few 'spots' like that, a commercial came and advertised CNN itself. Formula again the same: sub-second images from various news reports, shown in full colour and a soft seductive voice saying:

"The power of CNN"

A lot has been said about TV making people stupid, so much so, that hardly anyone listens anymore. But not enough has been said about how much you can gain if you just stop watching it.

Why does TV make us stupid?
This is fairly simple and most people know it, yet they choose to ignore it... If you have a screen which displays constant movement, your attention is drawn to it. The images which you see don't last long, you don't have enough time to consider what you're looking at, before the next one arrives. Thus you must resign to sit there mindlessly as your brain is bombarded by superfluous information.

The images we see are meant to be very attractive: colourful, sexy, funny and/or 'important'. We are taught to enjoy this activity and many people consider it to be a rest! But it is not a rest, it is one of the most draining activities. After watching TV for some time, your brain gets tired because it cannot keep up with all this information.
Many people say that in that situation their brain just 'switches off', thus allowing it to rest. I agree that it switches off, but it isn't resting. How many times after watching tv for hours did you get up with this great feeling of rest? If you stop watching TV do you feel fresh and awake like after you wake up?

The fact is that your brain does switch off, and it stays off.
Watching TV drains you intellectually. How do I know? Well try not watching TV for a couple of months and you'll see.
I am now more active and creative then ever. After "I quit TV" I suddenly had much more time for myself. More time to read, more time to rest, more time to party.
Suddenly I have all these ideas, all these thoughts come to me, I don't even have time to write them down, but I enjoy them immensely. You should really try it!

I wonder... Maybe someday people will realize how healthy quitting TV is and we'll shake this habit like we're trying to get rid of smoking now.

Do we have to have proof that TV causes stupidity like we have proof that smoking causes cancer? Do we need a 'Psychiatrist General Warning'? I hope not, because we will have to wait very ling for that...


Nowa Europa

Stary York
Z mojej ulubionej serii pt. Nowa Europa, dzis mialem bardzo przyjemne doswiadczenie...

Odwiedzilem historyczne miasto York (ten stary) w polnocnej Anglii. Miasto stare i piekne, chociaz po tym co o nim wczesniej slyszalem bylem troche zawiedziony. Glowna atrakcja miasta jest York Minster -- wielka anglikanska katedra i mur obronny, po ktorym mozna sie przejsc na przyjemny spacer.
Galerie sztuki odwiedzilem dwie. W Impressions Gallery byla dosc ciekawa, choc moze troche zbyt doslowna (jak na gusty moich wspoltowarzyszy) wystawa fotografii Max'a Kandhola zatytulowana 'Illustrations of Life'. Przedstawiajala ona zdjecia starego czlowieka w szpitalu. Niektore zdjecia byly piekne, ale ostatnie dwie serie zatytulowane 'Final transfusion' i 'Ash' byly dosc... zreszta interpretacja zawsze 'in the eye of the beholder'.
Reflektujac nad smiercia i ulotna natura zycia przeszlismy do York Art Gallery, w ktorej odkrylismy kilka ciekawych prac wspolczesnych i cala mase staroci, za realizmem ktorych niestety nie przepadam.

No dobrze, ale o co chodzi z Nowa Europa? No wiec, na wycieczce tej bylem nie sam, ale w piecioosobowej grupie. Grupa ta laczyla w sobie wiecej niz Europe (Dania, Anglia, Polska), bo rowniez Azje (Chiny i Japonia). Jedzadz lunch (oczywiscie Fish and Chips) i pijac herbatke (w pretensjonalnej Betty's) mielismy szanse omowic wiele zagadnien miedzynarodowej polityki... Oczywiscie przedewszystkim obgadywalismy pana Busha :)
Towazyszyla nam przepiekna Japonka, ktora przyjechala na kilka dni z Kirgizstanu, wiec mielismy rowniez szanse porozmawiac troche o tym malym, biednym, post-sowieckim kraju.

Gdzie poza Europa, no gdzie?

cure for pain

leze sobie
slucham morphine
'cure for pain'
samotny samotnik

na scianie, na czerwonych pierdolonych drzwiach codziennych
codzienny czerwony napis
'in case of fire'
instrukcja nie przeczytana
gdzie instrukcja 'in case of none'?

248 magiczna liczba logiki
nawet zabawa szklanymi paciorkami dzis nie ciagnie
nawet imprezy

co za zmora, uczucie bez nazwy
nie samotnosc nie nuda
apatia

apathy
a surrogate name
for a surrogate emotion

"Hold both hands against the door and dig your feet into the floor
Tell ya there's no map and there's no clue
Of where to go and what to do
Who to dog and who to ride and who to hold
Forever by your side
Mary won't you call my name"

Pogoda w Bradford

O pogodzie tutaj moglbym napisac wiele, ale bardzo duzo bym sie powtarzal, bo prawie sie ona nie zmienia.
To znaczy, czasem pada np. 5 razy dziennie, albo w poziomie, zamiast w pionie, ale poza tym jest tak samo kazdego dnia.
Slonce kazdy w zyciu widzial, choc jest to raczej niecodzienny widok i kiedy sie pokazuje ludzie wychodza na trawniki, zeby sie mu przygladac.
Slyszalem opowiesc, ze w zeszlym roku w czerwcu bylo tak bardzo cieplo, ze ludzie... zdjeli kurtki...

No coz... Dzis prawie wybuchlem gromkim smiechem, choc raczej smiechem czlowieka doporowadzanego do szalenstwa. Stalo sie to dlatego, ze w Bradford nareszcie zaczelo robic sie w miare cieplo. Temperatura 20-25C, 3 dni sloneczne pod rzad!!! "Wreszcie", pomyslalem, "przeciez juz koniec maja."
Gdy spotkalem znajomych (i to wlasnie doprowadzilo mnie do panicznego, tlumionego smiechu) oswiadczyli ze stoickim spokojem, ze jest to 'heat wave' i ze nalezy sie tym cieszyc, bo bedzie trwalo gora kilka dni...

< hi hi hi hi >

Na szczescie niedlugo uderzam do Madrytu. Dwa miesiace w temp 35-45C beda mila odmiana :)

Jest sesja, wiec kazdy student

Jest sesja, wiec kazdy student bedzie wiedzial dokladnie o czym mowie... Znacie to uczucie, kiedy siedzi sie przed materialami z wylkadow, podrecznikami i notatkami pieknie ulozonymi na biurku i za nic nie mozena zmusic sie do nauki?

Po kilku sesjach czlowiek juz po prostu nie potrafi sie uczyc, poniewaz wczesniej uczyl sie zbyt duzo, zbyt intensywnie i w zbyt duzym stresie. To smutny stan, ktory mozna okreslic mianem 'wypalenia sie'.
Sesja jednak nie jest taka zla, poniewaz wczesniej czy pozniej musi sie skonczyc. Niezaleznie od tego, czy udalo nam sie zmusic do uczenia sie przez kilka godzin czy kilka dni, egzamin w koncu przyjdzie i pojdzie. Zakladajac odrobine szczescia, nie oblejemy go i mamy caly ambaras z glowy.

Co innego, jesli projekt, ktorego sie podjelismy nie skonczy sie sam, dopuki go nie wykonczymy osobiscie. W zeszlym roku podjalem sie takiego projektu (stworzenie content-management systemu na potrzeby swojego wydzialu). Siedzialem nad nim dniami i nocami, az wreszcie udalo mi sie go skonczyc w styczniu, przed wyjazdem do Wielkiej Brytanii.

Problem polega na tym, ze udalo mi sie go skonczyc w srodowisku Windows, a teraz musze go przeniesc na serwer unixowy. Zadanie niby niezbyt zlozone, ale ciagnie sie za mna od kilku dobrych miesiecy, z tego powodu, ze za kazdym razem gdy usiade spowrotem do tego kodu...

Wiecie jak jest z ta nauka... po prostu nie idzie... a do tego nie mam uprawnien admina na serwerze, a sam admin jest zbyt zajety, zeby mi pomagac... straszna sprawa.

No nic, ogolnie jest to lekcja na cale zycie moje; a nawet kilka lekcji:
- nigdy nie pracuj tak ciezko, zeby (za przeproszeniem) rzygac tym co robisz
- nie podejmuj sie projektow, ktore normalnie realizowalaby brygada 10 osob
- jesli juz czyms (za przeproszeniem) rzygasz, to podziel to na male porcje i wykonuj je pojedynczo, zeby nie zwariowac...

No nic, koncze marudzenie i ide cos zrobic...

The Open Spirit

We're living in a brave new world, which is trying to go beyond the modes of industrial times
and transgress the corporate rules of conduct. We're living in a world in which millions of people are defiant of the multinational super-companies' reign. This world is not clearly visible yet, but it is slowly emerging, maturing... It is now a rebelious teenager, but it may become beautiful and wise... truly post-modern.

Community
I'm talking about a humble community, which consists of numerous people who rarely even speak to each other, and yet they work together on projects grander then the undertakings of the largest of companies. They sit in front of their computers and code. Anybody who has ever done any programming of their own accord, knows how rewarding and enjoyable coding is, addictively so. But it's quite a lonely enterprise, so people like to share their work with others. With the blossoming of the Internet, the small hobby-club groups of coders suddenly became global.

Open source
This introduced an incredible change in the potential of what these groups could achieve. The perfect illustration of this story is the operating system Linux. Started as a graduate project by one student (the now legendary Linus Torvalds) it was posted on a news group. Linus told others about his idea of developing a Unix-like system for the Intel PC architecture and gave them his source code! The source, or the actual code, that a programmer writes, was usually kept as the biggest secret of any software developer.

What followed was a spectacular, unprecedented development. People from all over the world started adding bits and pieces to the code of the Linux Kernel, making it more and more powerful, while maintaining the main feature of the system: stability. Soon afterwards the system developed into a fully functional OS, operating primarily low-end servers and PCs of geeks around the globe. It started to become more and more popular and is now the fastest growing system in terms of WWW server numbers. With new versions the most popular distributions are becoming as simple to install as Windows and it is projected that Linux will be installed in 38%(!) of all new computers in 2004.

And you have to realize -- this operating system, and the huge amount of work that went into it was done without money. It was developed without even the aim of making money, by people who decided to share their time and knowledge with others.


Open standards
In the Linux world, and more broadly in the Opens Source Community everything is free and open. The most popular progamming languages now (Java, Perl, PHP, to name a few) are all open source. You can download the source code at any time and learn from it, improve it, wallpaper your room with it, whatever...

Practically all the software available for Linux is free, usually available via the GNU General Public License, which states that you can use and even modify(!) the software in anyway you like as long as all the versions remain free.

Standards are the backbone of the computing game. Before you can exchange any data with anyone, you need to agree on the standard way in which this data will be endoded. The Open Source Community makes all standards publicly available in RCF(Request for Comments) documents. Everyone, who wishes may easily make their software compatible with any other, simply by complying with the requirements of the standards.

This is a far cry from the policies of other companies (especially Micro$oft), who keep their software source secret, their standards (even the omnipresent .doc Word format!!!) secret, and even go out of their way NOT to implement the popular standards in order to make them obsolete. I highly recommend this article, to anyone who wants to know why geeks hate M$. It talks about everything from bloatware to mutilation of standards.

Information is free
The spirit within the Community is much more hippie-like. Everything is shared, everyone helps everybody else (it's a pleasure reading mailing lists sometimes), everything is open and common.
People often say that that is no way to conduct any business and that the Community, even though it may be a beautiful idea, will have to succumb to the rules of the market. I disagree. What the community develops are tools, not products. These tools can and are, afterward used to produce services and inventions which become sold. There is no need to worry about a lack of things to sell. Thanks to the tools developed via opensource online services can function.

If the Community can be likened to anything else I would say that it would be the scientific community, where knowledge is shared and combined to aid ever further research. It isn't true that all scientists work for money-hungry corporations. In fact, most work in Universities, without a frantic longing for riches. Science is also open -- everyone shares their results with everybody else, that's the whole point.
And no-one is questioning the economic sense of science, are they? We know that science develops tools, which are later used to produce goods and services, which can be harvested.

Open spirit
In this post-modern fashion the world is trying to evolve beyond it's former form. And even if it sometimes seems otherwise, I believe we are aiming in the right direction. In accordance with the Open Spirit, we demand corporate transparency, the rule of public law (on scales both local and international), and general fairness.

Slogans of anti-globalization, even if misguided (or rather unguided, due to a lack of a program) hail developments and concepts accordant with this ideal: ecology, fair trade, "think globally -- act locally", etc.
We're slowly geting there, and hopefully, if there aren't too many bushes along the way, we shall one day see a truly post-modern, Open world.



RELATED:
What M$ is trying to do to fight OpenSource.

Spain all for Open software...