Month: June 2012

Спокойной ночи

Сегодня, как обычно, общался с батей в Скайпе.  Сначало было всё о том, о сём, а потом как-то, по-тихоньку, разговор сместился в сторону музыки.  То про одно вспомним, то про другое – и каждый раз, как имя чьё-нибудь проскакивает, сразу ссылочку в YouTube, на ролик. Ну, чтобы не на пустом месте.  Вот например так:

[12:10:44 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: мне еще одна барышня нравилась очень…
[12:10:52 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: ненси синатра? :)
[12:10:54 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: сюзи кватро
[12:11:18 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk6kvVGPURA
[12:11:26 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: мы же с ней коллегами были-басгитара!
[12:11:32 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: :))))))
[12:11:43 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: не помню такую … но да, ничего вроде :)
[12:12:01 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: у нее есть что послушать
[12:12:18 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: надо будет mp3-шку скачать :)
[12:12:50 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: послушай
[12:12:50 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: рекомендую
[12:13:04 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: а я из раритетной всякой музыки в фильмах Тарантины много чего нашёл .. он большой в этом деле оказалось специалист
[12:13:22 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: да конечно!
[12:13:25 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbyAZQ45uww
[12:13:40 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: он регулярно использут
[12:13:53 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: ненси синатра мне понравилась песнями … тоже заводная

Слова за слово, да дело к ночи. Плюс – разница во времени имеет место быть.  В общем, начал папаня сдаваться по-тихоньку.

[12:18:05 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: наверное спать пойду…
[12:18:22 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: спокойной ночи и еще раз спасибо!
[12:18:32 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: нивапрос :)
[12:19:00 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: мне вот тут подвернулась подборка всяких хитов из 50-ых с названиями .. можно легко найти по названиям
[12:19:01 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kAfI1y8t6c
[12:19:15 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: 65 вещей в однмо видео :)
[12:19:25 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: круто!

И тут, не поверите, совершенно случайно, без всякого умыслу, нарочно не придумаешь, получается вот такое:

[12:19:55 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: а я пожалуй переключусь в другой век .. дяденьк Мерлин Менсон вот мне очень нравится … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tm-1yRZtQg
[12:19:57 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: :)
[12:20:18 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: он конечно страшноватый, но песни у него хорошие
[12:21:19 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: это ты мне чтоб лучше спалось?))))
[12:21:27 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: бугагагагага :)
[12:21:35 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: проснулся? :)
[12:21:42 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: гыггы
[12:21:44 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: сразу!
[12:21:49 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: аааааааааа
[12:21:54 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: ржунимагу
[12:22:03 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: извини, не подумал :)
[12:22:07 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: я тоже!
[12:23:04 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: этот кусочек диалога можно пожалуй и в фейсбук :)))))))
[12:23:11 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: гыгыгы
[12:23:21 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: куда хочешь!)))
[12:23:26 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: я не против))))
[12:23:32 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: еще песня, как назло называется “Sweets dreams” …. типа “Спокойной ночи” :)
[12:23:45 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: я ж не специально, получилось круто :)
[12:24:01 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: блин .. ржу, ща все домашние проснутся :)
[12:24:07 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: гыгыгы
[12:24:20 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: соава богу у меня еще не спят))))
[12:24:36 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: а то бы уже точно проснулись)))
[12:24:45 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: гыгыгы … ну вот, а то всё 60-ые, 60-ые :)
[12:24:53 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: гыгыгыгы
[12:25:00 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: хорош уже))
[12:25:09 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: а то точно не уснем!)))
[12:25:21 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: вышел бы менсон на улицу в 60-ые … а там патруль ДНД :)
[12:25:25 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: вот это было бы шоу :)
[12:25:31 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: ъз е0грбйъзещу йъ ъ ь бю\
[12:25:40 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: вот именно! :)
[12:25:42 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: не могу больше)))))
[12:25:51 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: :))))))))))))))
[12:25:55 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: аааааа
[12:26:08 AM EEST] Sergey Mamchenkov: давай спокойной ночи))))
[12:26:15 AM EEST] Leonid Mamchenkov: спокойной ночи :)

 

Прикольная, короче, штука, этот ваш интернет.

Judge.me – Internet arbitration

For years now I’ve heard (and said) that the legal system is lagging behind, that it needs to catch up and provide answers to some of those questions raised by the recent technological advances.  Given how complex and large our current legal system is, that’s not an easy task.  But the need is there.  And, as always, where there is a need, there is a business.

I’ve actually been wondering when we’ll see more and more lawyer start-ups, figuring out problems and providing solutions.  Today I’ve learned about one such start-up via this Slashdot post. It’s called Judge.me and it provides arbitration services over the Internet:

It’s not unusual for a freelance Web designer or developer to be burnt when a client refuses to pay up, citing one excuse or another. And what can you do about it? If a contract only amounts to a few thousand dollars, litigation to recover your fee can be far too expensive, and an increasingly vituperative exchange of emails is often not enough for client and contractor to come to agreement over who owes whom what. Into this gap steps judge.me: A start-up founded by Peter-Jan Celis that aims to provide internet-based, legally binding arbitration services — a ‘small claims court’ for the internet — with a particular eye on settling the conflicts that arise over freelance development and Web design.

The start-up is utilizing the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards that is recognized by 146 countries (yes, including US, most of European Union, Cyprus, and Russian Federation).  Read more on how it works.

There are still questions and doubts on whether Judge.me is the solution or a milestone on the road to one.  Some people are skeptical, yet others seemed to have tried it and got the results. But regardless of how good this particular service is, I’m glad to see some activity in this area.

Touchscreen with morphing out buttons

Slashdot reports that the future is here, ladies and gentlemen:

Wouldn’t it be awesome if our tablets and smartphones could have buttons that morphed out of the touchscreen, and then went away again when we didn’t need them? It sounds like magic, but now it is reality. Created by Tactus Technology, a Fremont, California-based start-up, Tactus is a deformable layer that sits on top of a touchscreen sensor and display. ‘The layer is about 0.75mm to 1mm thick, and at its top sits a deformable, clear layer 200 nm thick. Beneath the clear layer a fluid travels through micro-channels and is pushed up through tiny holes, deforming the clear layer to create buttons or shapes. The buttons or patterns remain for however long they are needed, just for a few seconds or for hours when you’re using your iPad to write that novel. And because the fluid is trapped inside the buttons, they can remain for however long without additional power consumption. They come or go pretty quickly, taking only a second to form or disappear.

These might not look or feel the greatest right now, but we all know how quickly technology develops, once the prototype is available. Brilliant direction, I think.

Goodluck Jonathan

For years Google has been working hard to bring relevant information to the user faster and faster.  One of the many features they’ve implemented was a quick look-up of a country’s president.  Just search for “russia president” or “chine president” and you’ll get name right there, on the first page of the results.  While playing around with this feature, I realized that I had no idea what’s the name of the Nigerian president is, even though I’ve heard plenty about that country.  Apparently, the Nigerian president‘s name is Goodluck Jonathan.

26 years is a long time

Cyprus Mail reports:

AFTER spending 26 years in jail for killing two people, Andreas Aristodimou, aka Yiouroukkis, yesterday became the first lifer to be released on parole.

[…]

The board said the testimony before it had convinced them that Yiouroukkis was a changed man.

“The very serious offences committed by the applicant and generally his criminal record do not escape our attention,” the board said. “On the other hand, it is a real fact that the applicant has been in prison since January 16, 1987… ample time to punish all that he has done.”

That got me thinking on how long of a time 26 years actually are.

  • I was almost 9 years old when this guy went to prison.   That’s a second grade or so.
  • My brother was almost 2 years old.  And he just got married a couple of month ago.  Wow!
  • My parents were still married.
  • We all lived happily in the USSR.  Which, by the way, was still at war with Afghanistan.
  • Spyros Kyprianou was the President of Cyprus.  Until 1988.  Then there wer George Vasiliou, Glafcos Clerides, and Tassos Papadopoulos. Now Dimitris Christofias is almost done.
  • Cyprus was still using Cyprus Pouds, not Euros.
  • Cyprus wasn’t a member of European Union. In fact …
  • There was no such thing as European Union in 1987!  The European Union was established in 1993.
  • The Internet was in its infancy, and the Web wasn’t even invented yet.
  • The mobile phones weren’t mainstream by any means.  Cyprus Telecommunication Authority (CYTA) launched its mobile telephony services in 1988.
  • The biggest release in the movies was probably Oliver Stone’s “Platoon“.  James Cameron’s “Aliens” were about to hit the screens.  And people were definitely waiting for it after Cameron’s “The Terminator” a couple of years before that.
  • Kurt Cobain was still alive and Nirvana was just an idea.
  • The World Trade Center towers were still standing and we haven’t heard the term “war on terror” yet.

The list can go on forever, of course. But that’s not the point.  The point is in how drastically the world has changed in the last 26 years.  I know, that people in prison can communicate with others, have access to mass media, and do, sort of, know what’s going on on the outside.  But that’s not that same as living through all that.  Just image hearing about all these things for 26 years and then coming out and seeing it with your own eyes!

I remember going on a trip to Russia, visiting my home town back in 2006.  That was only about 9 years since I was there last, and I had weekly phone calls with some members of my family and friends, I had access to news and images online for all that time.  And still, when I went there, it blew my mind how much the place has changed.  People have grown up and started families.  Trees got older.  Buildings were raised and demolished.  A million of tiny little details changed.  Not to mention  that my own perception of that place has changed.  And that was only 9 years.  I can’t really image how it would have changed in 26 years.

Once in a while, I find myself in a conversation about prison time and isolation.  Something along the lines of “you’d rob a bank for a few million, hide the money, get caught, go to prison, come out in about ten years, get your life back and enjoy the money”.  Or something else like that.  Sounds simple, even almost makes sense.  Now that I look at the list above, I realize that it sounds so simple, because the talk is about a future.  As in you would know what you are missing.  Nobody knows what’s going to happen in the next ten years and if these years will be worthy of sticking around.  But if one would look back at the same amount of years, then it’s a totally different story.  At least for me, those years are full of fun and cherished memories that I wouldn’t miss for the world!

Now, back to the original story. Andreas Aristodimou missed the last 26 years of his life because he was in prison for murdering two people. He was sentenced to life in prison.  So not only he could have missed me more than 26 years, he could have stayed there forever.  And he is just around 50 now.  That sounds horrible.  On the other hand, he got out and he has his life back. Sort of.  Those two people that he murdered, they are gone for good.  They missed the last 26 years too.  But there is no way to bring them back.