2011-12-31

Tweets of the month

14 Dec
RT 46 Fabulous Photos of Endeavour's Last Ever Spacewalk su.pr/19iQIY

14 Dec
font based on the style of lettering seen on cassandre posters designed by atipo. download it for free: cassannet.net

13 Dec
Last call for "flight" IR12, last call for "flight" IR12... this is one "plane" I have to catch!

13 Dec
Advent Calendar xt3.com/advent/

12 Dec
Twist of fate...?

12 Dec
I did lose a battle but hopefully not the war...

11 Dec
It's the Latency http://t.co/yjgEGj5N

9 Dec
Cold and foggy work morning. Let's hope great things come out of it...

3 Dec
Informação interessante e útil sobre o trânsito, apesar do sítio ser um pouco lento... estradas.pt

2 Dec
Listening to Quadrilha... Nice :) Thanks Ricardo H

2011-12-30

The Ladder of Abstraction

Up and Down the Ladder of Abstraction by Bret Victor

A great article about the use of abstraction when dealing with complex problems.

2011-12-16

How to convert Excel tables to LaTeX

Ernest 10.22.09 at 09:38

I just installed excel2latex to Excel 2007. Just put the ‘.xla’ file in any folder preferably the add-in folder under “C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Microsoft\AddIns\” then open up Excel > Office Button > Excel Options > Add-ins > Go and select it from the menu that appears, or browse to the folder where you put it. That should give you a button under Add-ins in Excel which works fine. At least it works for me. I am running Win XP.

Reference: http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/09/16/four-ways-to-convert-excel-tables-to-latex/

7 things highly productive people do

7 things highly productive people do
By Ilya Pozin

1 - Work backwards from goals to milestones to tasks.

2 - Stop multi-tasking

3 - Be militant about eliminating distractions.

4 - Schedule your email.

5 - Use the phone.

6 - Work on your own agenda.

7 - Work in 60 to 90 minute intervals.

2011-12-14

Nano technology joins the battle against counterfeiting

Imagine a bill covered with microscopic holes that make it glow slightly in the light. It's tech borrowed from a butterfly, and it may soon be foiling counterfeiters around the world.

(...)

The technology was inspired by the Blue Morpho butterfly, whose brilliant blue coloration comes not from pigment but the way that tiny holes in its scales reflect light. But the tech, called Nano-Optic Technology for Enhanced Security (NOtES), is different from the Morpho butterfly's wings, and pretty much all other bio-inspired reflective optical technologies, in that it is both extraordinarily thin and functions even in dim light.

NOtES exploits an obscure area of physics to accomplish its bright and sharp display, known as plasmonics. Light waves interact with the array of nano-scale holes on a NOtES display--which are typically 100-200 nanometers in diameter--in a way that creates what are called "surface plasmons." In the words of the company, this means light "[collects] on the films surface and creates higher than expected optical outputs by creating an electromagnetic field, called surface plasmonic resonance."



Full story: Fast Company

End Users Want an "iPod"

According to Moore, before a new technology, such as RFID, can go mainstream, there must be a problem that no other technology can solve, as well as a global standard, a whole product, a critical mass of users and a gorilla that the rest of the market feels safe to embrace.

Read the full article at RFID Journal.

2011-12-11

What is it that you value most in Christianity

Now, in a grieved voice, the Emperor addressed them [the Christians]: "(...) What is it that you value most in Christianity?"
At this, Elder John rose up like a white candle and answered quietly: "Great sovereign! What we value most in Christianity is Christ himself -- in his person. All comes from him, for we know that in him dwells all fullness of the Godhead bodily. (...)"

-- "Tale of the Anti-Christ" by Vladimir Soloviev

2011-12-07

Duns Scotus

Duns Scotus


Part of Ciclo de Cinema Católico 2011
What the trailer

Heretics by G. K. Chesterton

Heretics by G. K. Chesterton


Some of the discussions in this book are outdated, but other ones are still very current.
The final chapter is the best, if you endure through the book.

The writing style of Chesterton is impressive in the entire piece. How can someone transmit such intelligence and intensity with just written words? :)

Project Gutenberg ebook
Also available for Kindle and Nook.

2011-12-04

North by Northwestern

North by Northwestern


[Thornhill is wearing sunglasses to hide his identity]
Ticket Seller: Something wrong with your eyes?
Roger Thornhill: Yes, they're sensitive to questions.

(watched it on RTP Memória)

2011-12-03

Bakhita

Bakhita


A TV movie adaptation by RAI of the life story of Sister Josephine Bakhita.
The movie is not exactly a classic but it's nice to watch and I liked the songs too.