The Near-Sighted, Albeit Democratic, Mr. Magoo

In conceptualizing the evolution of democracy, it is just as important to look to the past as to the future.  Nonetheless, most individuals tend to have a myopic view of democracy that regards this form of governance as static, rather like an image fixed on photographic paper.  The prevailing perspective is that democracy, as it exists today, is  basically what it has always been in the past.    However, when one adopts the farsighted view of history, nothing could be further from the truth.   Also, this near-sighted view fails to perceive that democracy has, and historically has had, many forms.

Ben Wilson, in reviewing Professor John Keane’s recently published book, The Life and Death of Democracy, for the Literary Review  has written about the historical myopia.

‘NEW, NEW, NEW,’ Tony Blair marvelled early in his premiership; ‘everything is new.’  He personified a willing amnesia that is so much part of our age. The temptation to dwell in the present, with its bewildering newness and illusion of liberation, outweighs an interest in history as a vital part of our political life. This is an age ruled by restricted definitions of what is relevant. The decline of history and the languishing state of our democratic institutions and liberty are not unrelated.

The myopic perspective prevents our seeing the forest, because our collective noses are plastered to one gigantic, vision-obscuring tree, viz., the rapidly changing NOW of the Information Age.  This NOW is compelling and distorting, simply because it prevents an apprehension of the NOW in a broader, more encompassing perspective that integrates the Past and the Future with the Present in something approaching the Eastern notion of the “Eternal NOW.”  To the modern individual caught up in the bombarding influx of information, the NOW is incredibly short, flashing by so quickly that it disallows a broader view of his/her personal involvement in the larger context of existence.  Our present moments, our NOWs become like a snap of the fingers played out in “real time,” as opposed to the same snap played out in exceedingly slow motion.

Toward a Farsighted, Historical View of Democracy

Wikipedia elaborates the compelling, myopic perspective that has been exacerbated by the Information Age.

At the core of Keane’s book is the author’s belief that history is a necessary key for understanding democracy in the present time. Keane’s worldwide perspective is an important corrective to the (mainly Western) idea that democracy has one and only distinctive form; one type of model that can be brought as a gift to peoples with different attitudes and histories. There is no such a thing as a singular form of democracy. Following the line of thinking that history is the only way we can make sense of what democracy means, The Life and Death of Democracy provides fresh details of the obscure origins of old institutions and ideals like government by public assembly, female enfranchisement; the secret ballot, trial by jury, and parliamentary representation.

Keane observes that even…

In the Greek world, democracy was not a single or fixed form: although the assembly was its core institution, it resembled an odyssey, in which different mental imaginings and various practical experiments were par for the course.

But, as Keane also points out, democracy did not originate in the Athenian Assembly as commonly believed.  David Aaronovitch in a review in Times Online  observes:

Departing from the convention that locates the birth of democracy in late 6th-century BC Athens, he finds evidence of citizen assemblies in the ancient Middle East, epitomised by how the men of Nippur were called upon to decide the fate of those accused of killing one Lu-Inanna; four fellow Nippurians, including the dead man’s wife, the euphoniously named Nin-dada, were sentenced to death.

Wilson goes on to point out that Keane also noted how India revived and invigorated democracy after it was on the verge of dying out in Europe following World War II. 

In doing so it defied limited theories of democracy.  It showed how democracy was not confined to white men and women; it succeeded in a vast country with a diverse society; and it riveted the loyalty of illiterate millions with scant knowledge of Western traditions…. Later in its development, Indian democracy incorporated many innovations to keep itself in good order: power-checking mechanisms such as people’s courts (lok adalats), participatory budgets, water consultation schemes and other grass-roots manifestations of civil society. It resembles the banyan tree, whose vast size is supported by many entwined trunks and roots.

But, even this grand display of the evolution of democracy from the historian’s perspective, developed over the course of nearly 1,000 pages, cannot do justice to the origins of democracy when viewed from the viewpoint of the anthropologist or the evolutionary biologist.  Doron Shultziner, Ph.D., currently a Post-doctoral Fellow and Instructor at Emory University, presented a fascinating paper to the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, September 1-4, 2005 while still a doctoral student  in the Politics & International Relations Department of Lincoln College of the University of Oxford.  The paper was entitled “Evolution and Liberal Democracy,” which reviews evidence tracing the origin of democracy  to the egalitarian structure of small hunter-gatherer groups in the Paleolithic era dating back at least 10,000 years.  Shultziner’s thesis is that “the transitions to democracy in the 20th century cannot be fully understood without reference to the evolutionary forces that shaped the human mind and human societies.”

Shultziner’s intriguing work will be discussed in the next part of this essay.

While seeking the beneficial for the pocket and efficient way heatings of the house, persons interested in solutions available on the market lean towards what is popular well-tried and causes as least trouble. Of option it is a lot of, one certainly there are, letting among others for saving the considerable cash per annum and providing to occupants of the house with the comfort all along the way pumps of the warmth. Using pumps of the warmth is possible practically in every building, for putting the device of course a boiler room will be the most appropriate room, but in the case of the lack such just as well it is possible to start the pump in the garage etc. the heavy expenditure is bound with the assembly of the main device and additional – it is necessary for example to build the chimney on if there is no it, as well as next channel for the ventilation; will also be necessary, to the example, the fire-proof door. Incurred expenses at the beginning quickly will turn because the real work causes pumps of the warmth, that in comparing to different ways of heating rooms the very turns out to be

surprisingly effective and cheap. Elements of the heating arrangement are long-lasting and they are enough for a while, however while calculating the cost it is necessary also to take into consideration the need to make regular exchanges parts in order to keep the high productivity of the arrangement. on average such an exchange takes place what ten or more necessary, so it is enough considerable period, during which calmly it is possible to collect funds of the devices appropriate for the change. An issue of the real conservation, without which action of the pump of the warmth can not be so efficient still exists and in the process less economical. The conservation consists on examining the state of devices, cleaning flues, with using pumps of the warmth willingly numerous special companies which often as part of provided services offer the also term service and the exchange will deal with etc. making the installation parts.

Just a quick post to remind you that this week (23rd-29th Nov) is Road Safety Week .

 Even if you haven’t the time to look at this in great detail in your classroom, it’s something that could be tackled in an assembly.
All you  need as a starting point is the KnowledgeBox Road Safety Week Question path. From this resource you can find out all about Road Safety Week, why it’s an important week, and how to keep safe on the roads. 

Road Safety Week Question path

In a week where it seems to be dark as early as 4 pm and the roads are covered in wet leaves, the importance of Road Safety becomes even more obvious.

If you do a have a bit more time to work with this theme, then you could use it as an opportunity to do some really interesting science work about forces and friction. Discuss the effect that wet leaves have on friction, experiment with different lubricants when trying to move objects down a slope, look at ways in which we try to increase friction ( e.g. car tyre treads) and situations where we want and don’t want friction.

Just type ‘Friction’ into KnowledgeBox Quick find and you’ll find plenty of resources to help you explain this force.

Have a safe week,

Catharine
Producer

Recently some of my friends have had an Assembly assignment due in. I don’t study the module that teaches LC-3 (Dumbed down version of Assembly) but decided I would try and learn it myself.

Going well so far and it seems quite intresting. Once I’ve wet my feet with LC-3 I can move on to the full glory of Assembly.

LC-3 tutorials can be found here: www.LC-3Help.com

[Warning:  the following applies to non-pastor-driven churches, which is a model that receives my thoroughgoing support.]

Visions of song leaders flipping the pages of hymnals at 9:56 a.m. before the assembly begins at 10:00 may haunt me for years to come.  God deserves better, and the saints deserve better, too.

Historically speaking, far, far too little time and energy has been spent on selecting worthy material for worship in the assembly.  This is a key, if not the prime, task for the leader!  More people than song/worship leaders, too, should be involved in selection of material and planning the sequence of activities.

It is often advisable to include in the worship planning those who will be leading prayers and reading scriptures.  Not that every activity has to line up perfectly in terms of theme and sub-theme, but it is helpful, if I am leading thoughts and praying before distributing bread for communion, to know the general plan before and after the activity for which I am responsible.  Phone calls and e‑mails may represent a step in the right direction, and praying together in advance can also be helpful in unifying the various leaders, yet these types of preparations may also be ritualized rather than serving as connecting, spiritually concentrating activities.

That said, it is my feeling that each assembly activity—whether song, spoken thought, scripture reading, prayer, sermon, or other—should be able to stand on its own.  Each scripture may be a word from God; it does not have to tie in with the sermon or with the next song.  Each song can be a worshipful expression of the human heart to its Creator, or a yearning for holiness, or a wish for the Body of Christ; the songs do not have to subscribe to a theme.  Themes and tie-ins can be very inspirational, and I use them myself more often than not, but they are not the end-all.

In selection of worship material, be intentional.  Be thoughtful.  And be aware that through that reading, through that song, or through those prayed thoughts, you will be leading the saints in worship of the Almighty.

Si attende che l’Assembly si pronunci sui recentissimi attacchi dissidenti nel Fermanagh e a Belfast

La Northern Ireland Assembly è attesa a pronunciarsi in condanna degli attacchi dissidenti che hanno caratterizzato il week end scorso.
Una bomba di 400 libre è parzialmente esplosa quando una vettura ha infranto la barriera nei pressi del quartier generale del Policing Board a Belfast. Nessun ferito, ma sembra siano stati avvistati due fuggitivi dall’area di Clarendon Dock.
Rinvenuta anche un’auto bruciata nell’area repubblicana di New Lodge; la polizia sta investigando se il veicolo sia o meno collegato al precedente attentato.
Differente l’attacco avvenuto poche ore prima a Garrison, sulla frontiera del Fermanagh con la Repubblica.
Cinque gli arresti dopo lo scontro a fuoco tra un gruppo di dissidenti e agenti della PSNI.
Probabilmente l’attacco è stato attuato nell’intento di uccidere un poliziotto residente nel paese, che in quel momento non si trovava presso il suo domicilio.
Quattro dei fermati, di età compresa tra i 22 e i 41 anni. Un altro sospettato di 27 anni, è stato arrestato dalla polizia nella Repubblica.

Le reazioni (tratto da BBC News Northern Ireland in lingua inglese)

Traduci l’articolo…

Assembly set to condemn dissident attacks (U TV)
The Northern Ireland Assembly is expected to condemn the latest attempts to derail the peace process after a car bomb attack and gun battle involving suspected dissident republicans.
The 400lb bomb partially exploded after a vehicle broke through a barrier outside the headquarters of the Northern Ireland Policing Board in Belfast.
Nobody was hurt but two men were seen escaping from the area at Clarendon Dock on Saturday night.
In a separate incident, five men were arrested after police exchanged fire with suspected dissident republicans close to the border with the Irish Republic in Co Fermanagh.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland detained four in the area and Irish police the other in Dooard, Co Leitrim.
Chief Constable Matt Baggott said Saturday’s attacks were designed to derail political progress.
“We have said from day one that the terrorist situation is severe. We have substantial resources being put into investigating and thwarting these attacks,” he said.
“This attack is an attack on the well-being of everybody in Northern Ireland, this is not about an attack on policing or the Policing Board, this is an attack on young people and young people’s future.”
A car was found burned out nearby in the staunchly republican New Lodge area of the city and police are investigating whether there was any link with the earlier attack at around 7pm on Sunday night.
A bomb disposal robot examines a burnt out car in North Belfast which is believed to be involved in the partial explosion of a car outside Policing Board headquarters in Belfast.
The chief constable said that in Fermanagh his officers fired two warning shots, which are being investigated by Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson. He said his officers had been fired at once during the exchange.
It is understood the attack in Garrison was an attempt to kill a police officer who lived in the village but it believed the officer was not at home.
The ages of the detained men are 22, 26, 32, and 41.
A suspect arrested by police in the Irish Republic is aged 27.
Earlier this month the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) reported that the dissident republican threat in Northern Ireland was at its highest level for almost six years.
The IMC said the two main dissident republican groups, the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA, were working more closely together to increase the threat posed to security forces.
On March 7 the Real IRA killed sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, at Massereene Army base in Antrim.
Two days later the Continuity IRA shot PSNI Constable Stephen Paul Carroll in Craigavon, County Armagh.
In the period covered by the report, March 1 until August 31, there have been 11 attempts to kill other PSNI officers in Northern Ireland.

Here are some more things leaders can do to heighten the sense of flow in the assembly:

1. Consider carefully the placement of announcements of a purely businesslike nature. I am no purist when it comes to what we do in the assembly; I certainly think there is a time and place for such things as announcing potlucks, committee meetings about parking lots, people’s new jobs, and such. These things are family business, and families need to stay in touch by considering even mundane items. But perhaps the more significant items—newly discovered cancer, and even milestone wedding anniversaries and birthdays of the old and the young—can be augmented by isolating them . . . giving them extra attention, comments by shepherds, or focused prayer instead of mere mentions in list form.
2. In your efforts to heighten the sense of “flow,” do not let songs become functional accompaniments, rather than meaningful activities in and of themselves. In other words, no song should be used purely to accompany another activity, e.g., for the children to go out for “children’s church,” or to “sing ‘em in” at the beginning of the assembly, or to get ‘em pepped up for the sermon. Songs used this way are cheapened, and their impact is lessened.
3. One ice-breaking “good morning” is more than sufficient. By the time the greeter or “caller-to-worship,” the worship leader, the first prayer leader, the scripture reader, the sermonizer, and each of three communion prayer leaders have said “good morning” to the gathered saints before they perform (ahem . . .) their assigned duties, doesn’t it seem a little ridiculous to break the ice yet again when you’re making announcements after the sermon at 11:52 a.m. with another “good morning”? Rather, why not begin with a statement that shows you are conscious of what has just occurred? You have presumably worshipped the Lord of Hosts together; you have communed in mutual re-experience of the Christ’s sacrificial death; you have likely been instructed in the ways of holy living, or enlightened about some deep Christian truth. You have reflected personally and might have shared in the immersion of a newly committed believer. You have perhaps even agonized together over egregious sin that has surfaced among you. Why, after all that, is the next guy that gets up to do something in front of the church going to say, “Good morning!” before he says what he is really there to say? Show your awareness of “flow” into announcements after a baptism, for instance, by saying something like this:

God has just brought another to new life in our family here. Wonderful! Our family is certainly a living organism, and I have a lot of “family business” items here to prove it!

Or perhaps you could recognize an expectant mother and relate the coming of a new baby into the world to the new spiritual birth. Something other than the insipid “Good morning” that shows very little, other than the lack of anything better to say. (End of sermonizing on this particular pet peeve!)

4. Show that you understand the significance of the song “Jesus Is Lord” (as sung after a lesson on Philippians 2:5-11) by suggesting that the entire congregation now consider ways to show Jesus’ lordship in their lives this week.

One last sermonette … such a large segment of the population seems to be engaged in football that public mentions of Super Bowls, and of local teams’ failures and successes, are inevitable. Take care, though, not to destroy the flow of spiritual activities. Imagine singing the lines “Light the fire in my heart again” or “even “Revive us again,” and then having some guy stand up to make announcements (probably misplaced to begin with), starting off with a battle cry of “Hey, I see a lot of blue and gold out there! No gridiron fans today, are there? Heh, heh, heh.” And may I dare to suggest that die-hard football (or other sports) fans rarely need encouragement by public leaders in churches. There is probably enough momentum in the fans’ souls without giving attention to games in church meetings. If sports are mentioned, at least refer to Paul’s “running the race” or “buffeting the body” imagery, in order to try to bring some spiritual thoughts into your guys’ heads, alongside thoughts of football or other sports!

In our last survey of the membership, there was definite interest in IPC market research and data trends. Our market research department publishes a comprehensive quarterly report that used to be called the Supply Chain Tracker. It’s a collection of as much monthly and quarterly data for the electronics industry worldwide as we can pull together and it’s absolutely free for members. Perhaps because of the name, it hasn’t achieved wide usage. It’s been renamed the Electronics Industries Market Data Update.

I wasn’t asked to make this post, but I used the Update on Friday to pull together some information for an interview for Denny and it was invaluable. If you’re a member, definitely look it up under www.ipc.org/Update (members only log in required). If you’re not a member, talk to IPC Director of Market Research Sharon Starr about getting a few pages to look at. I think you’ll be hooked.

Here’s the table of contents. The report is 34 pages.

Section 1: The World Economy

Section 2: Overview of the North American Electronics Industry: Results and Leading Indicators

Section 3: Electronics Supply Chain Performance Overview

Section 4: Business Performance Tracking Tools for IPC Members and Subscribers

Section 5: Results from the EMS Industry

Section 6: Results from the PCB Industry

Section 7: Results from the Solder Industry

Section 8: Results from the Process Consumables Industry

Section 9: Results from the Assembly Equipment Industry

Section 10: Results from the Laminate Industry

Section 11: Metal Prices Appendix: IPC Market Research and Statistical Programs

204221     การจัดองค์ประกอบคอมพิวเตอร์และภาษาแอสเซมบลี     Computer Organization and Assembly Language

การจัดองค์ประกอบคอมพิวเตอร์เบื้องต้น เรจิสเตอร์ หน่วยคํ านวณและตรรกะและหน่วยควบคุม การแทนข้อมูลและคํ าสั่งในเครื่อง ภาษาเครื่องและการโปรแกรมภาษาแอสเซมบลี แบบการอ้างเลขที่อยู่ การขัดจังหวะ และการโปรแกรมรับเข้าส่งออก

(Basic computer organization; registers, arithmetic-logic unit, and control unit; machine representation of data and instructions; machine language and assembly language programming; addressing modes; interrupts and input output programming.)

(204221 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

What does the future hold for Mike Hennessy?

Okay, I’ve been a little rough on Tony Picente lately.  Now, let’s discuss outgoing Minority Leader Mike Hennessy.  Hennessy was easily re-elected earlier this month to his third term on the legislature.  He has run for just about every office there is, from County Executive to County Comptroller to County Legislature.  Talks now are that he is contimplating a run for Griffo’s 47th Senate District seat. 

Last year it was the 111th Assembly District, now held by Bill Mcgee.  The talk is that Pat Brennan, former Agriculture Director and Ray Mier staffer who was just elected to the legislature by besting 10 year incumbent Ed Stephenson, is also setting his sights on Mcgee’s Assembly seat.  Brennan had a huge showing in his first run for office, garnering 66% of the vote against a longtime incumbent.  So, is he putting fear into Hennessy?  I think so.  But that would be a mistake for Hennessy. 

Bottom line, he can’t beat Griffo.  Hennessy is a one issue legislator.  He’s also a love him or hate him kind of charachter.  There’s no room for winning the swing voters.  Going into a race for the 47th, he has his base of support but lacks the money or ability to build on that.  The district runs from the Canadian border in Massena to sountern Oneida County.  It’s large and most of the vote does not come from his stronghold in Western Oneida County and Madison County. 

My two cents would be to stay quiet for two years, pick your issues carefully and look at taking on Picente in 2011.  If he decides not to take on Picente, he should stick with the 111th.  Brennan may get some old establishment support, but Hennessy has the proven track record and grassroots support that it will take to win that race.  If anything, Brennan helps Hennessy.  Why?  Because backstabbing Democrats like Roann Destito will think Brennan is strong enough to beat him and stay away from finding a primary opponent, which would be the only way to beat Mike in that district.  By the time it’s too late, Hennessy will have run all over Brennan.

Billy Leonard, consigliere di Coleraine, è stato eletto come rappresentante del Sinn Fein all’Assembly, per la circoscrizione di East Derry

Billy Leonard, ex orangista, ex riservista del Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) e ex membro del SDLP, è stato scelto come successore di Francie Brolly.
Il neo parlamentare ha ringraziato Brolly per l’onore concessogli, soprattutto nel poter rappresentare ‘la gente di East Derry’, una delle aree maggiormente depresse dell’isola per la quale si intende lavorare duramente nell’intento di assicurargli maggiore equità.
‘E’ la testimonianza della crescita del Sinn Fein in questa circoscrizione se siamo in grado di tenere questa convention stasera e vorrei ringraziare  tutti i membri del partito che sono arrivati ed hanno contribuito ad essa in tal modo cameratesco”, ha concluso Leonard.

Traduci l’articolo…

Ex RUC man becomes Sinn Fein MLA (BBC News Northern Ireland)
Coleraine councillor Billy Leonard has been selected by Sinn Fein colleagues to become an assembly member in East Londonderry.
He is succeeding the party’s Francie Brolly who is to retire.
Mr Leonard is a former Orangeman, RUC reservist and member of the SDLP.
Following his selection he said it was an honour to be chosen to replace Mr Brolly “and to represent the people of East Derry”.
“It is testament to the growth of Sinn Fein in this constituency that we are able to hold this convention tonight and I would thank all the party members who came along and contributed to this convention in such a comradely fashion.
“The north west region is one of the most deprived areas on this island and it is important that we have strong leadership to ensure East Derry is given its fair share,” he said.

For My Sweet P now offering holiday card assembly and decor! Garnish your holiday cards with festive calligraphy and holiday stamps! Add an extra special touch with a personalized embosser or holiday themed return address stamp…yours to keep of course!

Why not have one less thing on your already packed holiday plate? For My Sweet P will joyfully assemble, address, stamp, emboss and seal your holiday love  :)

The assembly line at the Volkswagen plant in Clayton, Melbourne – 1969.

Component suppliers are taking action to slow the rise in counterfeit parts. STMicroelectronics and Atmel just announced techniques that employ cryptography that makes it more easier to ensure that unauthorized parts don’t make it into end products.
Bogus parts continue to cause problems throughout the supply chain, forcing EMS providers, end users and others to worry about potential failures. Chipmakers also worry worry about lost revenue and the potential that failures will hurt their brand name.
Suppliers continue to advance technologies as they attempt to stay ahead of those who provide counterfeit components. Earlier this month, STMicro unveiled its AuKey technology, which provides significantly stronger security than existing techniques. Atmel made a similar upgrade in encryption strength when it rolled out its CryptoAuthentication Starter Kit late last month.
Chipmakers aren’t the only ones attempting to reduce the growing prevalence of fake parts. Verical, an online trading startup, recently penned a white paper that details the scope of the problem while offering some solutions. Underscoring the impact that this form of theft has on this industry, Verical cites a study that said a stunning 13% of components sold in the secondary market were counterfeit.
Raising awareness of the problem is a big help, as is the ongoing effort by chipmakers to stay a step ahead of increasingly sophisticated thieves. This sort of arms race isn’t going to stop as long as unscrupulous companies see a chance to make a profit.
When fake parts make their way into end products, the potential for damages of all types is high. The recent efforts to stem the use of counterfeit components is important, but they’re just steps in a race where the finish line is a long way off.

Next week is Healthy Hearts Week, when the whole school will be focusing on health and fitness.

Activities during the week will include: daily morning runs at 7.00am on the field; fitness circuits and mountain climbing at first break; aerobics and shuttle runs at second break.

Each child in Grades 1-5 will be completing an exercise diary during the week. Grades 2 students will spend a few minutes each day writing in their diaries to keep record of their activities. Students are encouraged to wear PE kit every day.

Thanks for your support and here’s to a happy healthy heart!

IST Elementary timetable of the extra activities that will be taking place during the week.

from the IST PE Department

While the bargaining goes on over who will become the new unelected President of the European Council, European governments are also putting forward their nominees for members of the new 27 strong European Commission. Before being approved by the European Parliament, each one who has been proposed has to appear before the relevant parliamentary committee to be questioned as to their suitability for the job.

The name of the new UK Commissioner will be put forward by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, but I believe that our Assembly members should have a say in the appointment. I wrote to Gordon Brown in September to ask him to agree to this but I’ve still not received a reply.

If the Members of the European Parliament can give their view on the new Commissioners then the National Assembly must have the right to give its view on the UK Commissioner. The Commission is a powerful body which can propose new laws. Those laws include issues which specifically affect Wales. The new Commissioner should have an understanding of that.

There has been a lot of discussion about the lack of democracy in the past few months. Labour denied us a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, going back on its promise to hold one. So the people of Wales never got the chance to make their views known. Names are being bandied about for the new European President who will be chosen by government leaders with not even the European Parliament having a say in the appointment.

This has to change. Politicians at all levels have to be open and accountable to the people they represent. Giving the Assembly the power to agree or not on the proposed European Commissioner would be a small step in the right direction. It would at least acknowledge the reality of devolution in the UK and would give the people of Wales a voice in a very important process.

I kinda have mixed feelings today when they had their promotion exercise. I was sad because I would be parting ways with them. They are such a joy to teach (exclude the horrible moments when I had to punish them) and they are so kind in their ways. Not all of the pupils I’ve taught were like that and somehow, I like it when they listened to the lifeskills and experiences that I kept sharing with them whenever I can….

Things like how to plan your timetable, the economic recession, parents cutting down on allowances because of that… we discussed about stealing, about learning to listen and not just to “hear”, learning to focus…

We talked about their future, that what they are doing now is in preparation for their future, that what they had read on paper is brought with them and stays with them even after the carbon copies were discarded…

We learnt how to be tolerant of their classmates’ differences because each of them are unique in the many ways… from the way we learn best, to what kind of intelligences we are more inclined to…

I am going to miss this class.

4/3 before the CDC talk

Unfading smiles

Hiding behind the ball

Neste 14/11/2009, o portal Embarcados e o grupo C & C++ Brasil com a produção da Tempo Real Eventos realizou, no Hotel Century Paulista em São Paulo, a edição 2009 do Seminário C & C++ para Sistemas Embarcados. Mais uma vez esta foi uma experiência extremamente gratificante,  principalmente pela satisfação que alguns colegas, amigos e o público em geral demonstraram durante o desenvolvimento do seminário e pós sua realização.

O DQ, da Tamid, realizou em seu blog algumas notas e abaixo segue alguns comentário que não representa nem 1% do que foi o seminário:

- O evento iniciou com uma palestra sobre Interfaces de Periféricos com Microcontroladores em C do DQ, que mostrou-se um excelente conteúdo para um Hands On com o subtítulo de “21 formas de piscar um led com linguagem C em vários microcontroladores”!

- Na sequência foi a palestra do Luiz Barros, sobre Otimização de C++ para Sistemas Embarcados, que foi bem interessante e acabei em vários momentos dando meus pitacos, curiosamente mais uma vez confirmei que em aplicações com a plataforma SH4, C++ tem sido amplamente utilizado, durante o evento desenvolvedores de cinco empresas deram este feedback para mim.

- Durante o almoço, entre bits e bytes, conversamos de flamewares (e lembrei da lei do ricbit), assembly vs C++, surgiu a conversa de um projeto que me relataram muito inusitado de um sistema, onde… bom, deixa eu voltar para os relatos do seminário! :^p

- Após o almoço, o Alessandro Cunha, da TechTrainning, apresentou uma palestra que foi muito pontual tanto no assunto quanto no tempo consumido. Nos primeiros contatos com ele, fiz uma sugestão besta de tema e ele conseguiu extrair algo de bom da besteira que apresentei e formatou uma obra prima: Projetando Sistemas Embarcados com Baixo Consumo de Energia, com dicas preciosas que cativaram o público.

E encerrando o conteúdo técnico do seminário,  o Luiz Barros desmistificou o “Desenvolvimento de Device Driver para GNU/Linux”, derepente surgiram algumas pessoas no evento e quando fui conferir descobri que elas vieram apenas para ver esta palestra, alguns até começaram a dizer que perderam o medo do device drivers development. Particularmente nunca tive medo, porém device driver & kernel development é uma arte negra…

Anteriormente ajudei a enumerar 17 formas de acender um led e derepente, não mais que derepente, fez-se a teatralização da piada:

- “quantos engenheiros são necessários para acender um led”

do qual eu participei desta teatralização como coadjuvante, no qual entrei mudo e sai calado e depois me disseram que a resposta seria:

-  ”um de hardware, um de firmware e um de software” (tsc)…

Mas o Alessandro Cunha foi além e pensou em escrever o livro 2001 formas de acender um led, mas nem só de led foi o seminário! Houve CAN, RS232, SPI, microcontroladores, C, C++ e felizmente tive a oportunidade rever alguns amigos e realizar alguns contatos preciosos. Particularmente fiquei feliz que uma sugestão que eu dei a Microgênios foi levada a sério e hoje eles também estão produzindo e comercializando a plataforma Arduino no Brasil, assim como troquei figurinhas  sobre os bugs da BeagleBoard com o Luis Barros, conheci um pouco mais sobre a plataforma Tower com vários colegas, vi uma apresentação de uns alunos do Dado, numa EVDK Luminary,  de uns jogos desenvolvidos em eLua que poderiam seduzir muitos aficcionados em jogos; entre muitas outras conversas.

Finalizando oficialmente evento, realizamos um sorte de brindes oferecidos por Texas Instruments, Freescale, Atmel/Kobama, Editora Erica, Tempo Real Eventos, Agit Informática e Microgênios, onde as fotos dos ganhadores podem ser vistas aqui.

Mais uma vez, fui um dos primeiros a chegar no local e um dos últimos a sair do happy hour, que aliás, como sempre, foi uma extensão do evento e o início da organização dos próximos eventos.

Namastê!!!

On the eve of the  26/11 attacks, Maharashtra gets a state governement. The Democratic Front government finally gets sworn in. Most notable being that RR Patil gets back the Home Ministry portfolio, which he has lost the last time around, for making a foot-in-mouth remark.

I am wondering what he did to get it? Attend classes on “political correctness“??

Die Annenstraße als kreativer Schauplatz für heimische und internationale Künstler und Designer. Verwaiste Geschäftslokale werden für vier Tage zu temporären Showrooms, um Arbeiten, Ideen und Studien auszustellen. näheres zum Festival :  http://assembly-festival.at

hier ein paar persönliche Eindrücke:

im pixxellabor

Streetfashionshow im Volksgarten