What is finesse?

Aug 252011

What is finesse?

Finesse is all about getting the things fine.
It is about making a very discrete and canny move to do what you intend.
It is about making accurate decision based on little facts.
It is about making enough with just one step.
It is about getting a sharp move in a very hard situation.
It is about avoiding damage when hit.
It is about saving your own time. Your days in this world are limited.
It is about a lot of things.

But basically it is doing just ENOUGH to do what is needed. Not a step further, not a second later and not a watt power more than needed.

A guest in Darren Rowse’s Pro blog put a very cute explanation on what “enough” is. Do you know what boiling water is? It is boiling water. It can’t boil more. And if it is not boiling – than it is not boiling water.

So …

How to obtain finesse?

Sport. Cat’s grace. It is what finesse is! Sell your car and buy a bike. Exit the subway 1 station before your work and walk. WALK! Even if you are a bit overweight, soon you will start moving like a graceful big cat.
Try to learn something new every day. Finesse is not just moving smooth. It’s also being sharp.
Read an interesting book. Every morning. In the toilet. One page is enough.
Shower. Trim. Shave. Body smell is not finesse, neither is excess hair.
Sell your TV. You don’t need a pre-made stream of information. Everything you need and love in a TV is uploaded in the network. The only thing that a TV has more … is a waste of time. You don’t need to be told, when you can choose.
Cook your own food. Make yourself a rule, to eat no less than 300 and no more than 500 grams of food. If it is not enough – eat not 3 but 6 meals per day.
Abandon all sorts of beer. If you are alcohol junkie (like me) – drink wine. One-two glasses with the dinner will make you content without giving you huge belly. Bellies and finesse do not cope well together.
Get a dishwasher! You are NOT a house wife! It takes 20 minutes to wash your dinner plate and all utensils. Dishwasher costs around $300-$500 and will serve you for years. $18-$36 per week. Your time is more important and more expensive. (Ask your boss what do you cost him per hour if you don’t believe me.)
Stop being clumsy. Be aware of your surroundings. Have a look at Discovery and NatGeo films about big cats. They are aware of everything. They don’t make noise and don’t break stuff while they move. Adapt! Or you may lose something important.
Always use shortcuts. Why do you think they are created in the first place? They conserve time and energy. Not just pressing Ctrl+c and Ctrl+v instead of using mouse. Use all shortcuts that life provides.
Always bulk buy and never buy anything that you will not use at least to 70%. Mere possession is mental sickness. If you don’t need it – don’t buy it. If you know you will eat 10 steaks and drink 3 bottles of wine this week – go and get them @ weekend and put them in the fridge. Don’t go every evening. It’s pointless.

What to do with this excess 1 hour every day you just won?

Invest it in yourself. It’s your own time.
Go dance with your GF/BF.
Ride a bike. Feel free.
Walk in the park. Meet new people.
Embrace yourself. If you don’t like yourself, no one will.

Motorola mobility & Google.

General Comments Off

Aug 162011

Motorola

Looks like, there are talks in Google Inc. for acquiring Motorola mobility for $12.5 billions.

With Motorola, Google will get the needed licenses and Patent rights to stand and fight against the competition’s lawsuits. Looks like again Microsoft, Nokia and the others want piece of the big cake.

source: boston.com

I can’t say I am not happy. I am dedicated Motorola mobile fan since Y2k. I had Talkabout, Timeport, C350, SLVR, ROKR, ROKR2 and DROID/Milestone. All my phones never broke a single part, only the first ROKR had some issues with the power socket.

I am confident that if that merge to Google actually happens, there will be benefits for all Motorola fans. Not just me. And I hope, while there are talks about/against iPhone and building a strong competitive product does not mean that my next set will be an expensive High end MotoRoid/MotoROKR as much as one iPhone costs. GoogleMoto should stick with the present company principles.

Accessibility.
Acceptable price.
Open source when/where possible.
Modding of almost everything.
Intuitive and Easy to use.
Motorola specific design tweaks.
Music!

Taking in consideration that Motorola already has experience with Linux based smartphones I can’t resist but speculate “Guys! Why don’t you build one mixed Droid/Linux set with dual boot?” I really want to have a real Linux sidekick in my pocket for important quick fixes in the lab. The [microUSB/bluetooth]-to-serial cable is not expensive, but I still need native terminal, not Java based one. It sucks to launch 60mb JRRE for one simple xTerm.

Add good native support for scripting languages such as Python, TCL, Perl, Ruby and others. A whole lot of useful light programs for Android can be run this way. Even if it is not native, It can be modular. But never the less – the support is needed.

Expand the docking stations to media centers that connect to the TV set, the network and the audio receiver. One phone to communicate with everything (one phone to rule them all 😉 ). You are really one step short of doing it. It is a matter of time. (and some money)

Do not just make two-in-one company. Make a difference!

And one last sentence: Motorola. THANK YOU GUYS! Thank you for making good decision again.

“The eyes of God” (a.k.a. “Prohodna” cave)

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Jun 232011

I’ve been willing to see this cave since the last year, but the things were not going well with the weather and other boring stuff had risen against It, so I’ve postponed this travel for later. I’ve finaly got few days of vacation from work and jumped on the train.
This cave is actually very easy to reach, if you know where it is. There is no long walks in the mountain and the cave itself is 250 meters long between the 2 entrances. There are no huge stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The only interesting part of the cave are the 2 natural holes in the ceiling that make you stare in them for minutes, breathing very slow, while the only sounds around are the birds nesting inside the cave. Slowly all their squeaking stops, until they stop seeing you as a threat.

I’ve been lurking inside the cave for about 2 hours, taking pictures of everyithing that catch my eye. Tried to have a look at the second cave named “Tevnata dupka” *(the dark hole). But there was heavy iron grid in the entrance, not allowing entrance.

For some reason, the Wikipedia article about “Prohodna” is not big enough to explain everything. I’ve taken the liberty to make some research on local Bulgarian pages and translate in English.

“Prohodna” is part of a complex of above 280 caves, holes and 3 stone monasteries in the Karlukovo’s canyon. It’s exact length is 262 meters and at late 1962, the cave is announced as nature’s landmark. The name “Prohodna” (Вход, проход – meaning entrance) comes from the 2 connected cave mouths, the little one high 35 meters and the big one – 45 meters. They are connected with an easy to walk path.

“Prohodna” has been inhabited long ago there was actual human civilization and the nearby cave holds rock pictures from Eneolithic humans, but it is closed for visitors.

In the middle of the cave are the 2 karst holes named “the eyes” from which hundreds of swallows get in the cave and build nests. On the ground below the eyes some small bushes and herbs have found their way to grow in the suprisingly lightened cave. This area has been used to shoot some movies in the past.

In the Equinox day (21 march) through the eyes, the sun rays are falling over an alcove filled with water. The thracians were using this cave for a ritual about the beginning of the spring and the sawing of the new plants for this year.

The eyes are really magnetic and can make you hold your breath and stare for a very long time. I’ve invested some time to sit on a stone and just watch the eyes above me. It was a very soothing and calming half hour.

There are some enthusiast making bungee jumps but they were not there this year and I am a bit scared to try anyway. Seen some guys making climbing and it occured, that they are a team of mountain rescuers just training.

Behind the large cave entrance is a path leading to the “Peter Tranteev” guest house but it was closed and I had to search for food and rest elsewhere. The guest house is partly built in the rock itself and I was curious to see the rooms. Part of the rooms walls are the rock itself.

For that reason, I walked the few miles to the village and bought some beer and sausage to feed my empty stomach. I always try not to eat at least one supper and one breakfast before such exploring. The senses get more sharp and your mind is more aware.

Because of the still raving Economic crisis, both pubs in the village were closed, so I had to drink beer with sausage just sitting on the side walk. But anyway …

If you are interested -> You can reach the train station of Karlukovo from Sofia in about 2 hours. Here is how to reach the cave entrance by walking 3 kilometers (about 2 miles), just zoom in:

View “The eyes of god” in the cave “Prohodna” in a larger map