Well, I decided it's been long since I learned something new. So I took on rollerblading.
Actually, the proper name is inline skating. Rollerblade is a trademark for a company that makes inline skates. The term has however come to be used to refer to inline skates in general, just like Kleenex is to tissue and hoover is to vacuum cleaners.
Anyway, I got a pair of those, some elbow, knee, and wrist pads for protection and went with my friend George to give it a go at Alki beach.
Alki avenue in Seattle is a really nice place, specially for summer activities. I'd been there before on a couple sunny days and the place is always full of people when the weather is good enough. You see beach volley, people biking and rollerblading, flying kites, or just having a walk enjoying the weather.
Back to the skating, having put on the skates I realized that even standing in them is a challenge which is not really surprising. If moving around on wheels was a good idea we would have been born with them in our feet.
Surprisingly it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I'd thought for my first time I'd get 15 or 20 minutes max of falling down and getting back up till I call it quits. I'm glad I was wrong, for my first time ever in rollerblades I skated (well in my own way of course) for around 4 miles. Took a little more than an hour and was so much fun.
And not only did George help me how to do it but he also shooted a video and a few pictures to go with it. So there goes my very first steps in a rollerblade (divx 3.6MB, right click and save target as). Don't laugh I was doing good to still be on my feet!
I was hooked and today we had a sunny day so I went for a quick run around one of the parking lots on MS campus with Steve (another friend who learned how to skate when he was 5). I dunno if I'll ever get to be as good as him (divx 2.36MB) but you can judge for yourselves and see if I'm getting better (divx 3.93MB).
It's a lot of fun, and I'm hoping that learning inline skating is gonna help later when I tackle ice skating. Wish me luck!
Cheers
Friday, March 31, 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Photography Reloaded
It's been some time since I've put my camera to good use. There sure was a multitude of reasons for that but that's not important. What's important is that I wanna practise more. So over the last few days I've been trying to get back in the game and this post is to immortalize some of the photos that came out better than my usual mediocrity as well as motivate me to go out and shoot more photos more often.
Click on any of the photos for a slightly larger version.
A shopping area at Whistler, BC, Canada
On top of one mountain at Whistler, BC, you've guessed it, Canada
Some random spot on the way from here to Canada.
Bon jovi concert, Seattle.
Alki beach, Seattle.
Alki beach, Seattle.
Again Alki beach, one of my first pan shots. Not the best, but at least I'm trying :)
Click on any of the photos for a slightly larger version.
A shopping area at Whistler, BC, Canada
On top of one mountain at Whistler, BC, you've guessed it, Canada
Some random spot on the way from here to Canada.
Bon jovi concert, Seattle.
Alki beach, Seattle.
Alki beach, Seattle.
Again Alki beach, one of my first pan shots. Not the best, but at least I'm trying :)
Thursday, March 23, 2006
News Flash
Great (geek) news!
It just came to my attention that I am now the numero uno result for web searches on the term "v0od0o". And not just on google but all major search engines, MSN Search, Live Search Beta, yahoo, and altavista
Definitely a nice surprise.
It just came to my attention that I am now the numero uno result for web searches on the term "v0od0o". And not just on google but all major search engines, MSN Search, Live Search Beta, yahoo, and altavista
Definitely a nice surprise.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Blind Dreams
Been thinking about this for a few days. It's nothing as profound as the title would suggest though.
Are the blind (born blind) able to dream during sleep in the same manner those with eyesight do? We seem to perceive and recall dreams in a visual manner, even though it has nothing to do with the eyes. So how about the blind?
Thoughts anyone?
Are the blind (born blind) able to dream during sleep in the same manner those with eyesight do? We seem to perceive and recall dreams in a visual manner, even though it has nothing to do with the eyes. So how about the blind?
Thoughts anyone?
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Languages, beyond expression
It happened kinda gradually, but the more I've been exposed to different languages (in a context other than a classroom) the more my fascination grew with the concept.
Being around so many people speaking so many differnt languages is an experience. Everytime I hear someone speaking Chinese or one of the 22 languages that are ripe in India, I wonder how what appears like merely weird sounds conveys thoughts and ideas to people who know the key to decipher those sounds. The sounds feel so foreign to the untrained ear that they are not even reproducible. And everytime I speak in Arabic around non Arabic people I know I'm reciprocating.
And I came to know that reproducing phonetics from a foreign language is hard not only because of vocal restrictions or lack of (vocal) training. I would try with English speaking people to pronounce the h (7ah) in Ahmed and when they fail I just used to assume that they can't because of lack of training to their vocal cords.
The day then came when I tried to learn a chinese word. My chinese friend would pronounce the word, and I say what I think is a faithful reproduction of it. He answers "No, that's not it. Say chinese_word_here". I could swear I was pronouncing exactly what I heard, but he can hear a difference. Turns out it has to do with training the ear too (or maybe the auditory part of the brain to be exact). It's as if the brain gets the signals from the ear but tries to approximate them to the nearest known pattern and that's what you actually end up "hearing". These are all my totally made up assumptions and ideas, no significant research on my part have gone into the matter. So take my "conclusions" with a grain or two of salt.
The other thing that I noted about the subject is how most bilingual people would mix and match both languages in everyday usage. I do it a lot with Arabic and English. Sometimes what I have to say just flows in one language or the other. Trials to translate are usually either time and effort consuming or altogether futile.
Anybody who speaks another language fluently other than his mother tongue knows that the key to mastering a language is learning how to "think" in that language. Translation almost never works word for word with the obvious, and famous, proof of the statement "Open God wrote his book on in-in in a night egg"
Is language just a way of expression? A tool for communication? Or does it have to do with how our brains think? Is mastering multiple languages likely to give your mind a tool or a way for exploring more ideas or constructs? If we always think in a language will more languages translate to more creativity?
Being around so many people speaking so many differnt languages is an experience. Everytime I hear someone speaking Chinese or one of the 22 languages that are ripe in India, I wonder how what appears like merely weird sounds conveys thoughts and ideas to people who know the key to decipher those sounds. The sounds feel so foreign to the untrained ear that they are not even reproducible. And everytime I speak in Arabic around non Arabic people I know I'm reciprocating.
And I came to know that reproducing phonetics from a foreign language is hard not only because of vocal restrictions or lack of (vocal) training. I would try with English speaking people to pronounce the h (7ah) in Ahmed and when they fail I just used to assume that they can't because of lack of training to their vocal cords.
The day then came when I tried to learn a chinese word. My chinese friend would pronounce the word, and I say what I think is a faithful reproduction of it. He answers "No, that's not it. Say chinese_word_here". I could swear I was pronouncing exactly what I heard, but he can hear a difference. Turns out it has to do with training the ear too (or maybe the auditory part of the brain to be exact). It's as if the brain gets the signals from the ear but tries to approximate them to the nearest known pattern and that's what you actually end up "hearing". These are all my totally made up assumptions and ideas, no significant research on my part have gone into the matter. So take my "conclusions" with a grain or two of salt.
The other thing that I noted about the subject is how most bilingual people would mix and match both languages in everyday usage. I do it a lot with Arabic and English. Sometimes what I have to say just flows in one language or the other. Trials to translate are usually either time and effort consuming or altogether futile.
Anybody who speaks another language fluently other than his mother tongue knows that the key to mastering a language is learning how to "think" in that language. Translation almost never works word for word with the obvious, and famous, proof of the statement "Open God wrote his book on in-in in a night egg"
Is language just a way of expression? A tool for communication? Or does it have to do with how our brains think? Is mastering multiple languages likely to give your mind a tool or a way for exploring more ideas or constructs? If we always think in a language will more languages translate to more creativity?
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Logic And Mystery
"I find fish mysterious, especially their ability to breathe underwater. It has something to do with water passing through their gills, I know, but beyond that it gets rather hazy.
My finding fish mysterious tells you nothing much about fish and nothing good about me. You will conclude, rightly, that I have failed to look into the matter with any dedication. You will not conclude, I trust, that fish are intrinsically mysterious -- that my ignorance is no such thing but, rather, the proper appreciation of the mystery of the fish."
Probably many will instantly tell that this is a paragraph written by a British author. They have this distinctively dark sense of humour that I just adore. Many people like the British for their accent, they probably think it's "inherently funny" (to borrow a term first brought to my attention by karembu). I personally like them more for this sort of unparalleled sarcasm.
The paragraph is written by Jamie Whyte in his book Crimes Against Logic, in which he takes a stab at some of the severe logical flaws one encounters in everday arguments and debates. The book is a fascinating read both for its subject and the witty writing style of the author. This is the opening paragraph to the section dedicated to how people like to use the mystery fallacy to try and lend some credibility to concepts that are otherwise either not supported by evidence or just plain false.
Interestingly, when I tried to look up the biography of the author, Jamie Whyte, turns out he was born in New Zealand but left for Cambridge to read philosophy. He seems to divide his time now between New Zealand and London. That would either mean that something is broken with my british sarcasm detector, or else that he acquired the British sense of humour during his stay in London.
I, of course, like to believe the latter. Although I have never witnessed an incident whereby somebody "acquired" a sense of humour.
Adiós
My finding fish mysterious tells you nothing much about fish and nothing good about me. You will conclude, rightly, that I have failed to look into the matter with any dedication. You will not conclude, I trust, that fish are intrinsically mysterious -- that my ignorance is no such thing but, rather, the proper appreciation of the mystery of the fish."
Probably many will instantly tell that this is a paragraph written by a British author. They have this distinctively dark sense of humour that I just adore. Many people like the British for their accent, they probably think it's "inherently funny" (to borrow a term first brought to my attention by karembu). I personally like them more for this sort of unparalleled sarcasm.
The paragraph is written by Jamie Whyte in his book Crimes Against Logic, in which he takes a stab at some of the severe logical flaws one encounters in everday arguments and debates. The book is a fascinating read both for its subject and the witty writing style of the author. This is the opening paragraph to the section dedicated to how people like to use the mystery fallacy to try and lend some credibility to concepts that are otherwise either not supported by evidence or just plain false.
Interestingly, when I tried to look up the biography of the author, Jamie Whyte, turns out he was born in New Zealand but left for Cambridge to read philosophy. He seems to divide his time now between New Zealand and London. That would either mean that something is broken with my british sarcasm detector, or else that he acquired the British sense of humour during his stay in London.
I, of course, like to believe the latter. Although I have never witnessed an incident whereby somebody "acquired" a sense of humour.
Adiós
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