Also perhaps worth a quick perusal: Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human rights on the Situation of Persons Deprived of Liberty in Honduras (70-page OAS publication on the unhappy state of Honduran prisons - overcrowded, violent...)
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Random picture - San Fermin
Source: The Big Picture: San Fermin festival 2013: Running of the Bulls Yay for the bull!
Les Toros - Jacques Brel
Les toros s'ennuient le dimanche
Quand il s'agit de courir pour nous
Un peu de sable du soleil et des planches
Un peu de sang pour faire un peu de boue
C'est l'heure où les épiciers se prennent pour Don Juan
C'est l'heure où les Anglaises se prennent pour Montherlant
Ah! Qui nous dira à quoi ça pense
Un toro qui tourne et danse
Et s'aperçoit soudain qu'il est tout nu
Ah!Qui nous dira à quoi ça rêve
Un toro dont l'oeil se lève
Et qui découvre les cornes des cocus
Les toros s'ennuient le dimanche
Quand il s'agit de souffrir pour nous
Voici les picadors et la foule se venge
Voici les toreros et la foule est à genoux
C'est l'heure où les épiciers se prennent pour Garcia Lorca
C'est l'heure où les Anglaises se prennent pour la Carmencita
Les toros s'ennuient le dimanche
Quand il s'agit de mourir pour nous
Mais l'épée va plonger et la foule se penche
Mais l'épée a plongé et la foule est debout
C'est l'instant de triomphe où les épiciers se prennent pour Néron
C'est l'instant de triomphe où les Anglaises se prennent pour Wellington
Ah! Est-ce qu'en tombant à terre
Les toros rêvent d'un enfer
Où brûleraient hommes et toreros défunts
Ah! Ou bien à l'heure du trépas
Ne nous pardonneraient-ils pas
En pensant à Carthage Waterloo et Verdun
Verdun
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Five years on...
It's coming up on the fifth anniversary of the 2008 South Ossetia War (a.k.a. the Russia-Georgia War, the Five-Day War, etc.). Here is one remembrance. An interview with then-President Dimitri Medvedev. And a few other relevant links from a variety of sources:
Georgian attitudes towards Russia:
Source: Public Attitudes in Georgia (June 2013)
Some previous blog entries on Georgia:
Misc update - Georgia - Jun 1st, 2013
Misc update (Georgia) - May 18th, 2012
Misc update (Georgia) - Dec 28th, 2011
Misc update (Georgia) - May 15th, 2011
Misc update (Georgia) - Mar 26th, 2011
A little war II - Apr 22nd, 2010
A little war I - Mar 17th, 2010
An inconvenient truth - Nov 26th, 2008
Georgia update... - Nov 22nd, 2008
Georgia - Sept 7th, 2008
Immediate Response?!? - Aug 25th, 2008
Georgia (updated) - Aug 15th, 2008
Two-edged sword (South Ossetia) - Aug 11th, 2008
Even more Galaxy S4 - keyboard
In search of other keyboard possibilities I checked out the Cellulon Epic laser projection keyboard. Nice and small (70mm x 20mm x 35mm, weighing 60gm), it uses a red laser diode to project a QWERTY keyboard (width 240mm x height 100mm; pitch 19mm) onto a flat surface. After pairing the device with your S4 (or any other device that has Android v4.0 or later; Windows XP or later; iOs 4.0 or later; or Blabckberry v10) you can start typing. As your fingers reflect the infrared light it is detected by a sensor that calculates the appropriate keyboard key...
The Epic has a 650 mAh lithium-ion battery rated at approximately two hours of use. It has 5 sound feedback levels, 5 brightness levels, sensitivity adjustment, and power saving modes.
And some specifications:
It worked very well for me and was very accurate (unlike in the Gizmag review)... Of course I am a "hunt and peck" typist and do not 'touch type,' it is very possible that it is less accurate at higher rates although it is rated at a recognition rate of 350 characters per minute! Is it realistic for frequent use? I'm not so sure, but it is an epic gadget!
Other Cellulon keyboard reviews:
Review: Cellulon Epic projection keyboard (Gizmag)
Cellulon's Epic is a Mobile Projection Keyboard with Multi-touch Mouse Functions
Cellulon Epic Mobile Projection Keyboard (YouTube video)
Cellulon Epic Projection Laser Keyboard (YouTube video)
Previous S4 blog entries:
Yet more Galaxy S4
More Galaxy S4
Galaxy S4 second look
Galaxy S4 first look
The following show the lowest and highest brightness levels, with and without the lights on respectively:
Great quotes - hubris
“Every interaction in every area related to health is just so sh*tty. The
software is crap, the services are crap, the people are crap. So there
is a lot of value that people like us can add because you have a very
different perspective on how the system should work.”
- Chamath Palihapitiya, former Facebook executive and founder of Social+Capital Partnership, a VC fund. The interview. "I’m rich, so I don’t give a shit" and other gems... Not exactly sure that multiple, individual, narrowly-focused apps (his cited ventures) are a good answer, what about the Alzheimer's patient that has diabetes and asthma? Ten, twenty, or more separate apps for different healthcare-related issues sounds more like "crap" to this blogger! Co-morbidity is the name of the game if he wants to have a major effect...
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Yet more Galaxy S4
Being a keyboard person I looked for a solution for my S4... A number of keyboard cases appear to exist, but upon further inspection they all look exactly to be exactly the same regardless of the seller... So I tried one from MegaGear. It comes in two parts - you slip your S4 into a detachable case that then clips in place to the keyboard assembly. The keyboard, which is backlit, pairs with your S4 via Bluetooth, and has its own lithium battery...
See below for pictures:
The verdict? This does add some heft to the phone, but the ensemble works reasonably well, and is easy to put together and take apart. Unfortunately, the kiss of death is the keyboard, which while "thumb friendly" is very noisy. It's now "OTS" ("on the shelf"). Here is a YouTube review.
OK, so the integrated keyboard didn't work out, how about using the S4 with an external keyboard? Get the MicroUSB 3-port Hub with Smart Phone Stand from Brando for just $10, which gives you connectivity to 3 full USB ports, which would allow the S4 to be used with a keyboard and mouse....
Ended up only using one USB port by using a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse... I haven't used it long enough to get a feel for what this will do for battery life (since the hub has no battery of its own and is powered by the S4), but this setup works perfectly. The Gadgeteer has an in-depth review of this item.
Previous S4 blog entries:
More Galaxy S4
Galaxy S4 second look
Galaxy S4 first look
Great quotes - ASSK
"I'm not sure they are Burmese."
Suu Kyi received the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. In 1992 she was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding by the government of India and the International Simón Bolívar Prize from the government of Venezuela. In 2007, the Government of Canada made her an honorary citizen of that country, the fourth person ever to receive the honour. In 2011, she was awarded the Wallenberg Medal. On 19 September 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi was also presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, which is, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States."
What a humanitarian! Except for keeping silent on Rohingya persecution, but apparently they may not be Burmese... so persecution and discrimination is OK...
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