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27 maggio 2006

Gretchen's quotes collection

Stumbled upon Gretchen's Blog.
She's probably a little too euphoric, but I think she's ok. And in
her website there are some interesting quotes.

Besides, according to Guy, I think joy, not happiness, has to be
pursued.

Did I mentioned quotes?
- Great powers cannot be exerted, but when great exigencies make them
necessary (Samuel Johnson)
- Eminence without merit earns deference without esteem. (Chamfort)
- Prosperity fosters bad tempers. (Seneca)
- Ask yourself whether you're happy, and you cease to be so. (John
Stuart Mill)
- Men despise great projects when they do not feel capable of great
successes (Vauvenargues)
- Intellectual passion drives our sensuality. (Leonardo da Vinci)
- Perhaps the best test of a man's intelligence is his capacity for
making a summary. (Lytton Strachey)
- Men who are well off forget their grievances; in adversity they
have nothing else to think of. (A.J.P. Taylor)
- The sharpest scrutiny is the condition of enduring fame. (James
Froude)
- Nature has made two sort of excellent intellects; one kind to
produce beautiful thougths or actions, the other to admire them.
(Joubert)
- Providence seldom sends any into the world with an inclination to
attempt great things, who have not abilities, likewise, to perform
them. (Samuel Johnson)
- Let no man be called happy before his death. Till then, he is no
happy, only lucky. (Solon)
- There is no virtue which appears small when enacted on a large
stage. (Joubert)
- Of all things that wisdom provides to help one live one's entire
life in happiness, the greatest by far is the possession of
friendship. (Epicurus)
- Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important
thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage. (Benjamin
Disraeli)
- Great men are two a penny in wartime. It is not that there are more
of them about: just the public is in the mood for the grand epithet.
(Lord Moran)



Su questo post ho ricevuto il mio primo (e unico) commento. Mi sembra rispettoso e giusto onorare la richiesta, per cui ecco le traduzioni (perdonatemi).

- Poteri straordinari non devono essere utilizzati se non quando esigenze estreme li rendono necessari (Samuel Johnson)
- L'eccellenza senza meriti porta alla riverenza senza stima (Chamfort)
- La prosperità alberga cattive disposizioni. (Seneca)
- Chiediti se sei felice, e cesserai di esserlo (John Stuart Mill)
- Gli uomini biasimano le grandi imprese quando non si sentono capaci di grandi successi (Vauvenargues)
- Le passioni dell'intelletto guidano i nostri sensi (Leonardo da Vinci)
- Probabilmente il miglior test per misurare l'intelligenza di un uomo è la sua capacità di riassumere (Lytton Strachey)
- Gli uomini che sono al lumicino dimenticano le loro pene; nelle difficoltà non si ha altro a cui pensare. (A.J.P. Taylor)
- L'esame più difficile è mantenere la propria fama. (James Froude)
La Natura ha creato due tipi di intelletti eccellenti; il primo per produrre pensieri o azioni mirabili, il secondo per ammirarli. (Joubert)
- La provvidenza raramente manda qualcuno per il mondo con l'attitudine a tentare grandi cose senza l'abilità, parimenti, di portarle a termine. (Samuel Johnson)
- Prima della morte non venga chiamato felice nessun uomo. Fino ad allora, egli non è felice, solo fortunato. (Solone)
- Non c'è virtù che appaia piccola in un grande palcoscenico. (Joubert)
- Di tutte le cose che la saggezza fornisce per cercare di vivere felicemente un'intera vita, la più grande in assoluto è l'amicizia. (Epicurus)
- Subito dopo a sapere quando sfruttare un'opportunità, la cosa più importante nella vita è saper prevedere un vantaggio. (Benjamin Disraeli)
- I grandi uomini in tempo di guerra vanno via tre al soldo. Non è che ce ne siano di più in giro: semplicemente la gente è dell'umore giusto per i grandi epiteti. (Lord Moran)

26 maggio 2006

Positive Sharing � How NOT to lead geeks

Positive Sharing � How NOT to lead geeks

Leading geek is a very difficult task. Here some precious recommendations.
Put geeks under pressure doesn't make them work harder, just does make them work worst.
See also: Joel Spolsky
See also: Paul Graham
See also: Guy Kawasaki

Why I care? Simply I turn out to be a super-geek (an intermediate grade of geek).

super geek

17 maggio 2006

Night time/weekend editor

Engadget, currently 2nd in the Technorati top 100, is hiring.

This is the resumé I sent.

Dear Sirs@Engadget,

post #1:
Skype on (yawn) iPod.
Posted May 17th 2006 01:00 CET by Decio Biavati
Filed under: iPod, Skype

Every bunch of nanoseconds some dude squeeze some more juice out of iPod. This time it's Skype time, but beware of the limited re-write capability of flash memory. Choose instead a Mini w/ Hitachi microdrive, and in few easy steps you'll be able to run Skype directly from your iPod. "Skyppod" is a terribly awful noun, but gives indeed the idea.

So, go fill your tank before they'll bore us all to death finding a way to shoehorn a DCS (Distributed Control System) to run your neighborhood refinery directly from an iPod.


post #2:

HDDVD: You big disgrace, wavin' your banner all over the place.
Posted May 17th 2006 01:08 CET by Decio Biavati
Filed under: HDDVD

At least they aren't faking. But the review by Charlie White of the first HD DVD Player (Toshiba HD-A1) hitting the shelves isn't right encouraging ("Disgrace" is the term).

47 secs to boot up, "HDMI Error D" messages, forcing unplugging and replugging, no signal autosensing (yes, you guess it right: when you play a standard DVD you have to switch back *manually* to 720p or 1080i mode), it's enough to keep the money (500 $) and wait for the next generation. Maybe Toshiba engineers did forget about the difference between hardware and software: they released an alpha version equivalent, so let's kick it back to them. Amen.


post #3:
Posted May 17th 2006 01:15 CET by Decio Biavati
Filed under: security

Keylogger for everyone.

Unless you work for Sumitomo Bank, or unless you prefer a software version (although your anti-virus and anti-spyware may resent), thinkgeek offers for $ 89,99 - $ 99,99 a PS/2 keylogger which allows for and incredible variety of illegal activities (warning: misuse of this device could lead to jail), and I am pretty sure Chuck Palahniuk would find for this object at least 15 more illegal use than any other man alive.

Besides, it can be used as ultimate backup. Admit it, if you work with a computer, you are your keystrokes. The rest is just a lot of cut & paste, some click, and caffeine. Even if your job is mainly as typist, you could retrieve in a couple of minutes a month of work. Whether if you're in IT or another useless department, one day this may be your best bet.


Top five gadgets of all time:
1) iPod mini (for the ciclopic market share conquered in extremely competitive environment)
2) Sony walkman (music everywhere)
3) Sony CDP-101 (music was never the same as before)
4) HP 28-S (the forgotten first graphical calculator)
5) Nokia 7650 (the first camera phone)

Top 3 cellphones of all time:
1) Motorola 8700 (the first true cellphone: sleek, easy, almost flawless, good battery life)
2) Nokia 7650 (almost perfect, anticipates two years the mainstream, not expandible memory, therefore #2)
3) I-mate sp5m (in a world full of palmtop, is the most eyebrow lifter - definitely the future)

My CV in 23 words:
- PhD (chemical engineering)
- IT Professional for a furniture company
- Professional Opera Singer
- Languages skill and reading aptitude
- 35 years old, married, two children

Contact info:
Decio Biavati
(redacted)

Applying for:
Night time/weekend editor.

Location:
I am located in Forlì, northern Italy.

Scheduling:
Currently my full-time job takes from 8.00 to 19.00 of working days, I spend a couple (up to four) hours with my three computers (Mac, Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP) at home every night (starting at 10:00 PM). During weekends I can count on 8-16 hours to work. Otherwise it's quality time, and as such cannot be borrowed to do something else.

Thank you for your attention, sincerely
Decio


14 maggio 2006

Albatro

http://www.philagora.net/lettres/albatros.htm


Le Poète est semblable au prince des nuées
Qui hante la tempête et se rit de l'archer
Exilé sur le sol au milieu des huées,
Ses ailes de géant l'empêchent de marcher.



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11 maggio 2006

PDFLab

PDFlab to edit and compress PDF files. I think Adobe is not very concerned with the pdf standard (did you ever try editing pdf with Adobe Acrobat 5, 6 and 7: the 5 is pretty good, the 6 is unbelieveble clumsy and 7 is ever more royally messed up).

Sorry, no windows porting (*grin*).