Lofting Movement...

I really want to build a house.., but I want it to be just of seel and glass.., so I was searching the web and found this interesting article about the "lofting movement", it talks about how it began and became what it is today..

"....My first hint of a better, more efficient, way of housing came with the discovery of the Lofting Movement. In the 1970s the wave of urban decay that spread across the industrialized countries resulted in an interesting phenomenon. Artists, always compelled to live efficiently by virtue of an alternately feast-or-famine self-employment income, began to explore abandoned urban industrial/commercial structures in search of low cost live/work space within the urban cultural centers they have always tended to congregate in. Pooling their resources, groups of artists purchased some of these obsolete buildings and turned them into mini-communities, partitioning them into private residence spaces and shared studios and galleries. The novel environments these creative people made for themselves from these spartan structures attracted the attention of architectural and interior designers who came to appreciate the freedom of creative expression afforded by large simple clear-span spaces. Once publicized in the media, this concept went mainstream and became the basis of a kind of ad-hoc urban renewal driven by the needs of a new generation of young urban professionals migrating to the cities in response to a resurgence in corporate growth and white collar work opportunity. Thus was born the Lofting Movement and today we see the seemingly peculiar phenomenon of new industrial style buildings created specifically to serve as residential loft housing...."

Extracted from: http://radio.weblogs.com/0119080/stories/2003/02/08/gallerysimplicityAndPavili.html

invincible ????

I bought a new laptop a couple of weeks ago...., I was pretty happy with it and I have had used it for only 2 weeks... Then I invited my work pals to my house for a working session..., after finishing work we took a beer or two and I misplaced mine just to the right of my laptop..., then when I finished using my mouse I spilled it over the keyboard and the screen.., I was like in shock or something.., but after a couple of seconds.., I realized that nothing wrong happened to it, except the smell that it was going to have for a couple of weeks..., no big deal anyway.... AND, AND the spill proof keyboard that the computer comes bundled with helped to avoid a greater damage..., peace of mind !!
I worked flawlessly for a couple of days (maybe 3 or 4, can't remember though)..., and I remember that it was a Monday morning...., I was thirsty so I asked my sister to bring me a glass with water.., she did it and I did put it exactly in the same place where the beer was placed a couple of days ago...., I did the same movement and for my surprise I spilled not a few drops but the hole glass over it.., the computer turned off immediately and this time I was scared like hell, I didn't know what to do because the water came from the side and entered inside my thinkpad by every single side you can imagine.., it was full f water everywhere..., "This is the END" I thought.... In that very moment I loose all the hopes to get it back..., and what really bothered me that day is that I already had a warning a couple of days before.., I was really mad at me for doing that... I unplugged it, disassembled it and started to dry it with a hair dryer (just air, not hot air....) until no water remained on it.., then I tried to turn it on.., no luck at all !! I tried to start but a weird sound came in, so I turned it off....., I lost it !! I lost it !! that was the only thing that was in my head...., and what really kept me sad is that it was a brand new computer..., because honestly if it had like 1 year or 1 year and a half that would be like more acceptable, but NOOOO, it just had 2 weeks of use !!!!!!!! ARRRGHHHHHH !!!!
I dissasembled it again and placed a heather by its side for 2 hours.., then I tried again and no luck !! So I tried calling to lenovo without any kind of hope because I knew that that kind of accidents are not covered by the warranty.., they gave me an appointment in town, so I went, and the tech guy told me that there was maybe a chance of saving it..., some hope came to me. He asked me to call him the next day in the morning. Next morning I called and the guy told me that they dried it, they did everything they could and that the thinkpad wasn't turning on.., and that the replacement of the damaged part (mainborad) could cost like US 900..., I said to him never mind.., I prefer to buy a new one than just getting the replacement part..
However he asked me to call him again a couple of hours later... I was hopeless this time.., but for my surprise when I called him he told me that the mainboard didn't have any burned part, so maybe they could claim warranty for it.., also he told me that the board inside it had some fungus..., weird !! having in mind that it was a brand new computer..... He asked me to call a few hours later, which I did and he told me that the warranty manager approved the change of the mainboard as warranty !! I couldn't believe until today that I picked it up and now I'm writing this post from it.
So from now on.., I think that thinkpads are like Phoenix.., they just reborn from dust.
So far, I can say that my experience with Lenovo has been the best of the best.

The meaning of the word "Expert"

This is just a part of the definition:
"....Experts use better tools and care deeply about their craft. They aren't assembling bits on an assembly line, they are crafting a unique product to solve a unique problem. Experts are lazy, they work smarter rather than harder. Experts prefer the easiest solution that gets the job done. Experts aren't interested in creating complex solutions simply to have the complexity, that misguided egoism is the territory of more junior developers. They often get it right the first try and almost always on the second one...."

Extracted from: http://blog.revsys.com/2007/08/a-guide-to-hiri.html

Long time without posting...

I know.., it's been a long time since my last post..., reasons ?? A lot and none at the same time..., weird, isn't it ? ANyway.., today I read a very short article about meetings..., yes..., meetings..., some of us have a love/hate relationship with them...., and this are a few tips that the following page (http://www.behance.com/Featured/Articles/Tip-Measure-Meetings-With-Action/5593) suggests:

• Beware of "Posting Meetings." A meeting to “share updates” should actually be a voice-mail or an e-mail. Rule of thumb: if you leave a meeting without action steps, then questions to value of the meeting (especially if it is recurring).

• Abolish Monday Meetings. Gathering people for no other reason than "it’s Monday!" makes little-to-know sense, especially when trying to filter through the bloated post-weekend inbox. Automatic meetings end up becoming “posting” meetings.

• End With A Review of Actions Captured. At the end of a meeting, go around and review the action steps each person has captured. The exercise takes less than 30 seconds per person, and it almost always reveals a few action steps that were missed. The exercise also breeds a sense of accountability. If you state YOUR action steps in front of YOUR colleagues, then YOU are likely to follow through.