Dictionary

Author: Gabriel Torres Date: January 13, 2006 - 10:41 AM PST Who never wanted to kill these guys in the technology industry that don’t stop creating acronyms and more acronyms? Even nerds can’t remember what all of them stand for. Thinking of that, we are officially launching our Dictionary today, starting with 360 common hardware-related acronyms explained. And if you don’t find what you are looking for there, drop us a line and we will be more than happy to include it for you! Check it out! Feedbacks are more than welcome! http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/dictionary Print Version | Send to Friend | Bookmark This Entry | Permalink | Comments (0) top

Anand's New Website

Author: Gabriel Torres Date: January 8, 2006 - 6:32 AM PST I've just learned that Anand Shimpi, from AnandTech, has released a new website this week, called DailyTech (http://www.dailytech.com), which is dedicated to daily technology-related news. The editor-in-chip is Kristopher Kubicki, who is also a buddy of mine and was working at AnandTech for a very long time. It seems that the idea was to split the News section of AnandTech to a new website, as from now on all news posted on AnandTech will be pulled from DailyTech. Since AnandTech is the biggest website about PC hardware in the world (some folks claim that Tom's Hardware has greater traffic, but I think that's not true) it may be very possible that DailyTech will be one of the largest technology news website in the very near future. Congratulations Anand and Kris, way to go! It is always great to see someone doing something new. Print Version | Send to Friend | Bookmark This Entry | Permalink | Comments (0) top

THX 1138

Author: Gabriel Torres Date: December 31, 2005 - 6:47 AM PST That's how I called my new "haircut" for the new year evening today. For those who are wondering what the hell is THX 1138: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066434/ click to enlarge click to enlarge BTW: Once again I will spend my new year's eve at Copacabana beach, where around 2 million people are expected for the Earth's biggest New Year's party. This year there will be a rave at Ipanema beach with two sound stages, one playing house and another playing trance. I think I'll go there as well. Print Version | Send to Friend | Bookmark This Entry | Permalink | Comments (0) top

Black Belt

Author: Gabriel Torres Date: December 24, 2005 - 6:35 AM PST My Tae Kwon Do black belt exam was yesterday. I have already written about everything that is asked in this exam. I have to fight several times (there were several matches, if I'm not mistaken I had to fight three times against one opponent and three times against two opponents), besides all techniques from all colored belts. And, of course, the most exciting part for the audience, the breaking techniques. Believe me, the breaking is the less complicated part of the black belt exam. Below you can see some pictures from this very important moment of my life. click to enlarge Figure 1: Exam starting. click to enlarge Figure 2: One of the forms I had to perform. Here you see a movement from Te Guk Pal Jang (the name of this position is Orun Bum Sagui Sonal Montong Maki and this picture was taken on the exact moment I started the next movement, Orun Bal Ap Tchagui). The pictures from the fights and step-sparrings weren't good because the movements are too dynamic. So let's go to the breaking techniques. The masters asked for two breakings with kicks: to break a 0.78" (2 cm) thick wooden board with a jumping side kick, jumping over three colleagues and to break to break a 0.78" (2 cm) thick wooden board posted more or less 7.5-feet (2.3 meters) high with a jumping front kick. The masters also asked for a hand breaking technique, and this kind of technique is far harder, since it is necessary to break in a single movement a pile of seven French red clay roof tiles. I broke the boards and tiles at my first attempt! Some pictures below aren't so good because I have to take them out from a MPEG movie a friend of mine made and was already dark.  click to enlarge Figure 3: Preparation for breaking the tiles. click to enlarge Figure 4: Breaking seven tiles with the palm of my hand. click to enlarge Figure 5: Broken tiles. click to enlarge Figure 6: Breaking a 0.78"-thick wooden board with a side kick jumping over three colleagues. click to enlarge Figure 7: Breaking a 0.78"-thick wooden board posted more or less 7.5-feet high with a jumping front kick. click to enlarge Figure 8: My master, Renato Ribeiro, 5th dan black belt, and me at the end of the examination. Print Version | Send to Friend | Bookmark This Entry | Permalink | Comments (0) top

Still Training...

Author: Gabriel Torres Date: December 9, 2005 - 12:03 PM PST I train Tae Kwon Do for 13 years now and I am finally moving to the black belt. My exam is within 15 days and I am pretty nervous, because I will have to break a stack of seven tiles with a punch, a wooden board with a jumping side kick (jumping over three colleagues bending over) and another wooden board with a jumping front kick (the board will be around 7.5 feet / 2.3 meters high). I will have also to perform all forms (poom sae) from all belts, two-step sparring (16 drills), three-step sparring (25 drills), knell sparring (9 drills), demonstrate advanced hand and leg techniques and also several matches, including at least one 1x2 match (i.e. I’ll have to fight against two other guys) and one 2x2 match (i.e. me and a colleague fighting against two other guys). The whole exam will take 2 hours or more. This week my master gave me the picture below, the quality isn’t so good because it was taken with one of these cheap analog cameras. But the technique is really awesome. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. This kick is called kawi tchagui (“flying scissor”) and I am performing a front punch at the same time. click to enlarge I’ll try to take some pictures during my training and also of my exam, of course, with my digital camera and post here. By the way, I destroyed my lousy DVD player using Tae Kwon Do kicks and punches. Print Version | Send to Friend | Bookmark This Entry | Permalink | Comments (0) top

Rio: Yesterday and Today

Author: Gabriel Torres Date: December 8, 2005 - 5:48 AM PST One friend of mine, knowing that I am crazy about Joatinga, sent me a link to an article about Rio slums published on Brazil’s largest magazine (Veja, which is Time-like) with two pictures, one of São Conrado neighboorhood back in the 1960’s and today. It is really impressive, see below. Not only because of the buildings, but also because of the size of Rocinha slum. The contrast is amazing. That’s the exact place I portrayed here and here. Print Version | Send to Friend | Bookmark This Entry | Permalink | Comments (0) top

A Sunny Sunday in Rio

Author: Gabriel Torres Date: November 27, 2005 - 1:52 PM PST Well, by now you already know that one of my favorite places in Rio is Joatinga Beach. So, today the sun was out again after two days raining and I decided to take some pictures in my way from home to Joatinga Beach to show you a little bit more of my beautiful city. The one below was taken on Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, and is a nice picture of the Redeemer Christ statue on top of Corcovado Mountain. click to enlarge Below you see the Gávea Stone Mountain. On the mountain located its right side (not shown on the picture), called Beautiful Stone (Pedra Bonita) is where people fly using hand gliders and paragliders. If you click on the picture below you will actually see two hand gliders flying. I took this picture from inside my car, so there is some reflex because of the glass. The buildings on the left are the buildings I already mentioned that are in front of Cucumber Beach (Praia do Pepino) and are some of the most expensive ones in Rio. On the left side you can see part of the big golf course (or, at least, some of its trees) I mentioned the other day (Gávea Golf Club). click to enlarge Well, and finally the breathtaking picture below was taken on Joatinga Beach, it was really beautiful to see the boat sailing in front of this small island (on Rio coast there are several small islands, so don’t ask me the name of this one because I don’t know!) click to enlarge Print Version | Send to Friend | Bookmark This Entry | Permalink | Comments (0) top

A Typical Spring Night in Rio

Author: Gabriel Torres Date: November 16, 2005 - 6:09 PM PST Tonight I decided to take a walk on one of Rio’s postcards to take some pictures for you: Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. The pictures are great, even though I was not carrying a tripod and digital cameras are known for not taking good pictures in the dark. The moon was amazingly beautiful tonight! click to enlarge From the Lagoon we can see the Corcovado Mountain, where Redeemer Christ statue is located. click to enlarge Also, another attraction on the Lagoon is the big Christmas tree. They finished its assembling on Monday. It is 270 feet (82 m) high, the equivalent of a 27-story building. It is still turned off and it will be turned on next November 26th. It is usually a party here, as everybody goes to the Lagoon to clap their hands in the minute the tree is turned on. One funny thing about this tree is that it floats on the Lagoon and moves, so everyday it can be in a different location. click to enlarge Print Version | Send to Friend | Bookmark This Entry | Permalink | Comments (0) top

A Sunny Holiday in Rio

Author: Gabriel Torres Date: November 15, 2005 - 12:58 PM PST Yes, today was sunny here in Rio again, and I went to the same place - Joá Road. By this time you have already figured out that this is one of my favorite places in Rio, heh? So, I took another picture from a different angle today. Everything I described on the picture I posted yesterday is still valid, so I won't say everything here all over again. The only exception is that on this picture you can take a glimpse of two Rio postcards. On the far right you can see a strip with some buildings. That's Ipanema, one of the most famous Rio neighborhoods (the other most famous being Copacabana). That's is the place of The Girl From Ipanema song. On the center, you can see a tringle-shaped mountain far away in the background. That is the Corcovado Mountain, where the Redeemer Christ Statue is located. click to enlarge So, why am I so fanatic about Joá Road? Besides the breathtaking view of the sea and the mountain, this road goes to one of the best beaches in Rio, called Joatinga Beach. It is very small, but since it is a little bit hard go get there (you must have a car to go there – keep in mind that the majority of Rio inhabitants go to the beach by walk or by bus), so it is not so crowded like Copacabana, Ipanema or Leblon, especially in a big holiday like today. I am not joking, in a sunny spring holiday like today there must be over 1 million people on Rio beaches (Rio has 6 million inhabitants, not counting its vicinity – yes, it is a city bigger than LA). The sand strip on the picture below is Joatinga Beach. Oh, yes. These houses are simply awesome. In my opinion is the best place to live in Rio, if you want to live in a house (which is not common here), want to have a breathtaking view, and are a millionaire.  click to enlarge Print Version | Send to Friend | Bookmark This Entry | Permalink | Comments (0) top

A Sunny Day in Rio

Author: Gabriel Torres Date: November 14, 2005 - 12:05 PM PST After several days raining, yesterday the sun finally showed up. Today was a typical spring day: 32.5º C (90.5º F), sunny, not so hot. Yes, that is considered a "not so hot" temperature here. In the summer, which starts on December 21st, the typical temperature is 41º C (105º C), easily peaking 45º C (113º F) at noon during January and February. You should remember two things. First, Brazil is located in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons are reversed compared to countries located on the northern hemisphere. Second, we don't have four seasons like northern hemisphere countries, as we cannot see so much difference between the seasons. Winter in Rio is a joke: one week at 19º C (66º F). click to enlarge The picture above is not a very common picture from Rio, as you won't find it on post cards. It was taken on Joá Road this afternoon (today is a slow day because tomorrow is a big holiday here, which celebrates the day Brazil changed from an empire to a republic, back in 1889). On the center you see the Two Brothers Mountain (Morro Dois Irmãos), with the two slums on top of it (in Rio we have over 600 slums). The slum on the left is Rocinha ("Very Little Farm"), the largest in Latin America. They have even bank agencies inside of it. The small one on the right is Vidigal. It is not so small, since its major part is located on the other side of the mountain, so you can't see it from here. Amazingly usually from the slums located on the Rio south zone you get the best views from the beach. On this picture you see the contrast of very high luxury buildings in front of the beach (Rio Mayor, César Maia, and several Brazilian pop stars live on those buildings) with the largest slum in Latin America. There is a huge golf course (the only one in Rio) to the left of those buildings, not portrayed on the picture. This contrast is exactly what puts Brazil as a third-world country. The sand strip is Cucumber Beach (Praia do Pepino), usually heavily polluted because of the sewage coming from Rocinha. So I don’t advice you to swim there.   Print Version | Send to Friend | Bookmark This Entry | Permalink | Comments (0) top