Πάει ο παλιός ο χρόνος...
Ας γιορτάσουμε παιδιά ...

Για κάτσε, το 2009 δεν έφυγε ακόμα . Κοιτάζοντας πίσω στο 2009 βλέπω πως το 2009 ήταν πραγματικά το έτος της νέα ελληνικής τηλεόρασης για μέν. Όχι την κρατικής ΝΕΤ, αλλά προγραμμάτων που διμιουργίθηκαν μετά το 1994.

Οτάν μετακόμισα στην Αμερική το '94 δεν είχα πρόσβαση στην ελληνική τηλεόραση. Όποτε ερχόμουν στην Ελλάδα έβλεπα στις επαναλήψεις τις σειρές που έβλεπα τότε. Αν και έπιασα μια ή δυο σειρές (όπως «και οι παντρεμένοι έχουν ψυχή») αλλά δεν είδα και πολλά επεισόδια.

Τέλος πάντων, φέτος άρχισα πάλι να ασχολούμαι με την Ελληνική τηλεόραση, σαν την πολυκατοικία, λίτσα.com, και LAPD. Αν κάποιος κοιτάξει θα βρει αρκετές σειρές στο διαδύκτιο. Το μόνο κακό για εμάς τους ξενιτεμενους είναι το να αποφασίσουνε ποιες σειρές μας αρέσουν για τον λίγο χρόνο που έχουμε. Πάντως ένα Hulu για ελληνικές σειρές το χρειζόμασται!

Από όλες τις σειρές που είδα φέτος, μόνο μια απορία έχω, στο litsa.com βλέπεις αρκετά άτομα με λάπτοπ σε εξωτερικούς χώρους να αφήνουν σχόλια στο μπλόγκ τις λίτσας: σε δάσει, σε πάρκα, στα αυτοκινητά τους...λίγο τραβηγμένο δεν είναι; Τόσο πολύ wifi έχει η Ελλάδα; Ή μίπος έχουν όλοι data cards με 3G;

Άντε πάει και το 2009... Σε λίγο. Εσείς από Ελληνικές σειρές τι βλέπετε; Τι προτίνεται;


-- Post From My iPhone

Some xkcd comics I don't get - but this one is epic!

Happy week-between-xmas-and-new-years everyone! I hope all is well, at work and at home (and for those of you awaiting your fall semester grades - good luck there as well!). OK, so here is is a comment I've been wanting to make on this story on the Brazen Careerist Network: 10 ways to get fired for building your personal brand. Now I've harped on and on about how I believe that this term (Personal Brand) is just another meaningless bullshit term that people are using to obfuscate what they mean and get people jazzed and excited about things that we already do and possibly to get you to hire a brand coach to get you through this difficult phrase of creating your "brand" (a good book on the subject of business bull, by the way, is Why Business People Speak Like Idiots).

Anyway, here are Dan's 10 ways of getting fired for building your personal brand:

1. Friending your manager on Facebook and then complaining about your job


2. Putting your personal brand in front of your company’s brand


3. Complaining that your company blocks social networking sites


4. Attracting the wrong attention to your company’s brand because of your own


5. Announcing your new job on Twitter when you’re still employed


6. Thinking you’re superior to older workers because you’re tech literate


7. Wearing rags to work because it’s part of your brand


8. Posting inappropriate photos on Facebook, forgetting that your profile is public


9. Spending more time on yourself than being productive during work hours


10. Calling in sick, when you’re not, so that you can focus on your brand.

Now I know that there is a certain naïveté that comes with youth - we've all been there, some of us are still there, but all of these reasons seem like "well, d'uh!". If you complain about your work in a public forum, you will get some blow back because this type of public negativity looks bad for the company and tends to bring down company morale. Announcing that you've already got another job (or looking) in public forums - again, same category about complaining. You wouldn't be looking unless things were not to your liking, right?

Ditto on wasting company time (d'uh!) and calling in sick when you are not (d'uh!) and not wearing clothes that are not appropriate. Now you don't have to wear rags to be like a fly in milk, it depends on the job. If you are working in construction, coming in with a suit would not be advisable. Working in a bookstore where you have to wear khakis and a green shirt (polo, long sleeve or t-shirt), and you come in with jeans and a printed t-shirt...well you'll get a warning and if you don't comply to fit in with the company's image, well then you're a goner.

Now, I know that the Brazen Careerist is geared toward millennials (i.e. my generation), but I find it hard to believe that millennials are (a) falling for this jargon, and (b) that this logic of dos and don't of work politics is beyond them.

Just to recap - there is no such thing as personal brand. As human beings we are made up of many social circles, each circle requiring a separate code of conduct and has a separate set of rules. Sometimes these circles intersect, sometimes they don't This jargon we see called Personal Brand is an attempt to try and encapsulate all of these circles into one global image (aka "brand") - the "brand to rule them all" I guess, and this just isn't possible. Wisdom comes from knowing which circles can and should intersect (and at which times they should intersect), and which ones should not.

Χρόνια πολλά και καλά Χριστούγεννα! Ευτυχία, υγεία και ειρήνη παντού στον κόσμο!

Merry Christmas and best wishes to all. Health, Happiness and Peace to the world!

The other day I saw that a local community college had sent us a catalogue of courses for the upcoming semester. We decided to flip through it just to see what they are offering, after all you never know what you are going to find.

When we get to the computer science area we see the description seen in this screenshot. OK, it's a class where one learns about ISPs, the Internet, online services like email and RSS readers, and you get to learn some website design. Thus far all is cool, not something that pertains to me, but it's what you'd expect from this type of class. Then you look at the method of instruction: online seriously? Online? but the class is about learning about this online stuff, why is the class only offered online and not in person in a computer lab?

I am all for online learning, however a topic like this needs to be offered face to face, as far as I am concerned anyway. Prereq fail!








-- Post From My iPhone

I gotta say, Facebook's relationship's algorithms have failed twice this week. First, earlier this week I was told that Is should send my wife a message on facebook to say "hi" to her...errmmm... OK...I ignored the suggestion given that we speak at home, and on the phone...and via SMS. Facebook really doesn't need to intermediate in this communication.

Second, since I obviously ignored the first recommendation made by facebook, I was advised that I should catch up with my own wife (on facebook of course). I found this even more humorous than the first note. I do wonder if facebook has any checks and balances in their algorithms to prevent such hilarious (and ridiculous) recommendations from occurring. Either that, or facebook really believes that communication off facebook isn't quality communication among spouses.

Facebook - FAIL.

I saw this trailer on Joystiq recently - a trailer of the new Megaman 10 for PSP.

When I saw the headline in my RSS reader I jumped for joy! I really wanted to play a new Megaman game (even though I have yet to complete Maveric Hunter X), but seeing the trailer I am less than enthusiastic. I guess it will depend on the price. While I do enjoy the retro look of this megaman game, I have to say that I am not eager to plop down $20 (or more!) for the privilege of playing a retro-looking game on my crisp and clear PSP.

Ψςςςςς! Να τος και ο χειμώνας!

Εδώ και αρκετές εβδομάδες, αν και έκανε σχετικό κρύο μπορούσες να βγεις μερικές μέρες έξω στο μπαλκόνι με κοντομάνικο μπλουζάκι και να μην ξυλιάσεις. Σήμερα όμως ήρθε ο πραγματικός χειμώνας! Κρύο! -10 βαθμούς (Κελσίου), αρκετός αέρας, και τα γάντια, το κασκόλ και το σκουφάκι απαραίτητα! Σήμερα το πρωί περπατώντας στον σταθμό του τραίνου αισθανόμουν σαν κάποιος να έβαζε καρφίτσες στα μάτια μου - τόσο κρύο κάνει!

Το μόνο περίεργο της υπόθεσης είναι πως ακόμα βλέπω κοπέλες με μίνι φούστες...καλά δεν κρυώνουν;

Σήμερα έχω Γενεθλία!
Hodie est meus natalis!
Heut ist mein Geburtstag!
Aujourd'hui est mon anniversaire!
Today is my Birthday!
当前日期是我的生日!
Hôm nay là sinh nhật tôi!
Οggi è il mio compleanno!
Днес е my рождение!
¡Hoy es mi cumpleaños!
Hoje é meu aniversário!
今日は私の誕生日である!
Vandaag is mijn Verjaardag!
bugün bkz. be benim doğum!
Сегодня будет мой день рождения!
Astăzi meu ziua de naştere!
I dag er min fødselsdag
오늘은 나의 생일 이다!
Ma van születésnapom!
Dziś jest mój urodziny!
Danas je moj rođendan!
ang araw na ito ay akin kapanganakan!
Í dag er minn fæðingardagur!
Nykyisin on minun alku!
Heddiw ydy 'm ben-blwydd!


Άλλη μιά χρονιά πέρασε...και έγινα ένα χρόνο μεγαλήτερος.

Καλά, φέτος δεν λέω α'αγίς στο Ελληνικό Δημόσιο! Φέτος λέω «Φέτος λέω που σιχτίρ είναι η υπηκοότητα μου;;;»
Τα χαρτιά μου τα έκανα τον Ιούλιον! Μπας και χάθηκα με την νέα κυβέρνηση;

While I was focusing my free time on my studies these past couple of weeks, CNET found an opportunity to do another death match between two devices, this time the Apple Newton 2100 (the top of the line Newton, and the one that I happen to have), versus the iPhone 3GS (also a device that I have and use daily). The winner, according to CNET is the Newton. While I agree that the Newton is a great device, I can't really see it as a Winner.

Here are some breakdowns:

Design Category: CNET winner - Newton.
My take? It's a draw. I think that both from a UI design and from a hardware design, both devices have pros and cons. I couldn't pick a clear winner because each device was created with a certain audience in mind. The Newton was the UMPC of its day, while the iPhone is meant to be a smartphone. It's like trying to compare a mini-van with a pick-up truck.

Screen Category: CNET winner - iPhone.
OK, here I agree, the iPhone screen is great! Of course there is something nostalgic about that Green Newton Screen - however I don't think that newer generations share my nostalgia.

Apps Category: CNET winner - iPhone.
Here I am a bit conflicted. If you are looking for sheer number of applications available, then the iPhone is the winner. If you are looking for a more open environment, the Newton is the winner. I really don't care that there are a lot of apps available if there are many stupid fart apps or tip calculators. What matters is quality, not quantity. In addition, the fact that I can't use Google Voice on my iPhone is really annoying. On the other hand, I do get a lot of free games on my iPhone (freeappalert.com), and Newton development has really ceased to exist - so not so much going on on that front.


Reliability Category: CNET winner - Newton.
The newton wins this because it's taken a few tumbles and survived and it runs on AA batteries which you can replace, while the iPhone has a built-in battery. A number of years ago I would have been swayed by this argument, but at this point my iPod Touch has taken a tumble and still works great, I've seen iPhones abused and still working, and if my Newton takes a tumble and breaks I am sh*t outta luck. On the other hand my iPhone is completely backed up on my mac so if I destroy it I can get another one fairly cheap and just restore my data. Newtons are slowly disappearing off the face of the planet.
Reliability for me: iPhone.

Connectivity Category: CNET winner - Newton.
CNET gives this one to the Newton, but I have to disagree. Yes the Newton has two PCMCIA slots which you can add bluetooth and wifi (in addition to the IrDA port and the serial connector), however WiFi really sucks the battery dry, which would negate the reliability win above. In addition software is a bit of an issue. There is an RSS reader, and a web browser, and mail software, but the browser is really antiquated at this point. How much stuff can you really do online on the Newton when compared to the iPhone?
In addition, while some great Newton programmers have done wonders in adding new hardware to the Newton, the WiFi is limited to 802.11b, without WPA. No advanced drivers exist. You can add a GPS PCMCIA card, but there is no updated software. On the other hand, as crippled as some of the connections on the iPhone may be, it has 2G/3G connection everywhere I go, I can use the bluetooth (albeit in a limited fashion) and I can connect to FM tuners via cable to play audio over FM in my car.
The best connectivity is the connectivity that you can use, not the theoretical connectivity. Winner, as far as I am concerned - the iPhone.

Special Powers Category: CNET winner - Newton.
I guess if you look at the Newton in a historical context, yes it blew competitors out of the water with all of the great innovations it offered. The iPhone in contrast is quite tame and pedestrian. If you compare today's usage in both platforms...well I don't really care. Just give it to the Newton.


So who is the overall winner? Personally I would say the iPhone, if you are looking at day to day use. If you are comparing hardware and software within a historical context, I would say the Newton, but we're not doing that. Are we?