+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | You don't seem to be using Firefox! Quick, get it now! | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | ::rss:: quotes :: gngs :: a terra prometida :: arandos :: ervas :: random | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | __ __ __ | Miss Wormwood : Calvin where was the | | |__|| |_.-----.---.-.----.|__| | Byzantine empire? | | | || _|__ --| _ | _|| | | | | |__||____|_____|___._|__| |__| | Calvin : I'll take "outer planets" for | | | $100. | | Estab. 1999 | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | [ ] news [×] about [ ] junk [ ] images [ ] journal [ ] guestbook | | +->> me | | |--- site | | `--- stats | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Updated: 2008-09-26 03:28PM | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Who the fsck are you? | | | | | | Well, there's more to that than it meets the eye, really... Strangely | | enough, I still haven't figured myself out entirely (neither has my | | therapist, for that matter), which probably means no one ever will. | | Anyways, and on with the show, my name's Nuno and I was born many moons | | ago, on a sunny and strangely warm afternoon of february, back in the late | | seventies. That means I'm in my late twenties, and yes, I'm roughly one | | year older than I was last year, if that makes any sense at all (it | | doesnt, honestly). And that's it, that's pretty much everything you'll | | ever need or want to know about me. But, if you're the curious type, then | | read on - I'll spew all sorts of dull and unintersting facts about me and | | my life in a minute. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | So, do you live off of charity or something? | | | | | | Humm, not quite. I'm still studying, at least whenever I find the time to | | actually attend classes, and working in the remaining 90% of the time. | | | | March 2004: Right now this isn't absolutely true as I'm between jobs, | | which naturally means that I now have time to attend classes on a regular | | basis. | | | | 2005: No more attending classes. And I have a new full time job. | | | | Up until now I've been fortunate enough to be able to work in something I | | actually enjoy doing -- futzing with computers, devices, assorted gadgets & | | technology. My last employment was as a software/project engineer for a | | large networking company, doing lots of interesting stuff with a vast array | | of gadgets. I eventually left, in march of 2004. All in all, two and half | | years of jolly good fun. | | | | These days my employer is one of europe's largest telcos, where I work my | | arse off, developing security systems. | | | | In the past I've done all sorts of other computer related jobs -- | | especially (unix) systems administration -- at various ISP's and/or | | Telco's, ranging from the "one-tiny-room-in-the-basement" type to large, | | nationwide ones. | | | | Yeah, in case you're wondering, I'm a geek. And a proud one at that, too. | | And I love perl, so sue me. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Ehh, I know your type. Computer nerd, ha ha! | | | | | | Don't hold on to that thought, I'm not your average computer geek - milky | | white skin, rarely ever sees the sun, outrageously thick glasses (although | | yes, I do wear glasses), anti-social, no friends - no siree. I happen to | | _like_ outdoors and I even indulge myself in some skydiving, every once in | | a while. So there. And while you ponder on that, I'll throw in another | | blow, just for good mesure -- beggining next year, I'll be taking flying | | lessons. Yes sir, your's truly will be flying about in the near future. | | Watch your heads! [2005: Still no flying lessons, for manifest lack of | | time. *sigh*] [2008: YEAH BABY! Watch your heads and wave if you see me | | fly by!] | | | | I also happen to like motorcycles - the safest and most enjoyable way to | | move around; And I do ride around in one, vintage style -- a 1979 Kawasaki | | Z1300 which I restored (mostly) myself, after salvaging from a scrap yard | | three and half years ago. I also ride a Kawasaki ZZR1100 and a Yamaha | | XJR1300. Update: Some maniacally desperate (not to mention rich) bloke | | from the UK dumped a huge amoung of money on my lap for the Z1300. Since | | I'm, at heart, a shameless and soulless money-worshipping whore, I let her | | go. Now I'm shopping around for a 1976 Kawasaki Z1000-A4. Somewhere in | | this old Europe of ours there must be one, waiting for me. I'm a hopeless | | sucker for vintage Kawasakis. | | | | [Update, May 2005] The newest addition to the stable is not a Kawasaki, | | but a Yamaha FJR1300. I'm planning on touring through Europe this summer, | | all the way up to Denmark at least, and then all the way down to Italy | | before heading home. A great summer ensues! | | | | [Update, Oct 2005] Crashed the XJR (rather badly, might I add, I walked | | away unscathed fortunately), insurance wrote it off. Bugger. I have the | | hots for the MV Agusta Brutale, altough it's bloody expensive. Maybe there | | is one in my future? ;-) | | | | [Update Feb 2006] I'm selling the FJR. The reason is twofold: first, I | | want to get a MV Agusta Brutale, and second is I no longer trust this | | bike. My copy was, unfortuntaley, what is known as a "ticker" among Yamaha | | circles. For reasons yet to be fully understood, there's an issue with | | some FJR1300 engines that lead to premature exhaust valve guide wear (most | | likely due to oil starvation, the 2006 engines got new valve guides to | | correct the symptom, but nothing was done to correct the underlying cause, | | to the best of my knowledge) that cause a ticking, or knocking sound | | mainly from the left side of the engine. This condition also causes | | gradual power loss to occur over time, as the valve guides wear down and | | the valves themselves develop play. My bike was eventually repaired under | | warranty (full head rebuild) after battleing with Yamaha for months. I | | even went to the Netherlands (riding the bike, tick and all), at one | | point, to pay a visit to the friendly chaps at the Yahamha european h.q., | | to have this matter sorted. | | | | [Update Mar 2006] The FJR was sold yesterday. It had nigh on 20k on the | | clock. I had some last minute doubts and, all in all, I was a bit saddened | | to let her go. Let's see what Yamaha will come up with next year, maybe | | I'll get a new one :-) | | | | [Update, Jun 2006] I'm now the proud owner of a MV Agusta Brutale 910R. I | | sold the FJR partly to get it, as you know, but it was *so* worth it. I | | keep this shit-eating grin hours and hours after riding it :-) Like Fry so | | aptly put it "It's like sex, except I'm having it!". | | | | [Update, Dec 2006] The ZZR passed away a few days ago, due to severe | | engine faillure. Repairing at this point is impracticable because it | | would, essencially, require the whole bottom end of the engine to be | | replaced. I'm still considering options, as I love this bike so much. I | | could stash it away and find a good 1200 engine to retrofit, as they go in | | with a little persuasion; or I could strip her and sell the parts on eBay. | | I really love the Big Zed, but maybe it's time to let her go. | | | | [Update, Apr 2007] The Big Zed has been replaced by her granddaughter, the | | ZZR1400. My god. That's all I can say. It's just mental. I find myself | | laughing out loud manically inside the helmet. | | | | I have a fatal attraction to electric guitars, too. Unfortunately, my | | tastes rarely ever match my bank account, which really sucks. Despite | | that, I do own a couple of them and yes, I do know how to play them, thank | | you very much :) I've been playing guitars for over sixteen years now, and | | bass guitars for over twelve. I can also play double bass (electric and | | acoustic), drums and a few piano chords - music was my bread and butter | | all throughout my teenage years. I played in quite a few garage bands in | | the early/mid 90's, and I still enjoy immensely jamming with my friends | | every so often. | | | | Besides everything else I also love to take purty pictures. I'm an old | | school kind of guy when it comes to photography, I favour old analog | | cameras over digitals any day, as well as b&w over colour -- truth be told, | | I shoot very little in colour, probably only 10 in every 100 rolls or | | thereabout. I also love larger film, so it isn't a big surprise these days | | I mostly shoot medium format cameras -- essentially a Mamiya 7II (a real | | bargain, found on a pawn shop in Atlanta) and a really old but lovely | | Pentacon Six TL (another bargain, in Prague - ¤250 for the body plus a | | tasty 80 f/2.8 Zeiss Biometar plus 2 metering prisms). But my love for | | large film isn't exhausted by 6x7 or 6x4.5, I also love larger format in | | 35mm film, so I've recently gone mad and bought a Hasselblad X-Pan II, | | right before they stopped producing them because lead solder is now | | forbidden. Damn you EU, and damn your RoHS legislation. | | | | My other love is street photography, street candids if you will, and my | | weapon of choice is of course a Leica -- couldn't be any other way! I used | | to shoot a M4-P, now I've graduated to a M6. I shoot mostly with a | | Summicron-M 28 f/2 ASPH, a Summicron-M 50mm f/2 and a 12mm f/5.6 | | Voigtländer Heliar. I usually also carry a new Voigtländer Bessa-T | | (manufactured in 2003), a cheaper, sensible little camera which I use | | almost exclusively with the 12mm lens. I do admit to be partial to | | Rangefinder-type cameras (even in medium format!) but I'm not one of those | | snobs that despises SLR's -- I also own and shoot regularly on a Minolta XM | | which is about my age, as well as a Nikon F2 that is actually older than | | me. I don't own a digital camera and I guess I won't own one in the | | foreseeable future, at least not until the Leica M8 doesn't cost an arm and | | a leg. | | | | (In case you're wondering, no, I'm not a bloody millionaire. My old man | | just happened to work for Leica up until a few years ago, that's why I | | have all that (expensive) kit, I got it for mostly peanuts) | | | | Ah, yes, I'm also a 2nd dan (Nidan) Kendoca. Yes, that means I'm a 2nd | | level black belt. And I'll be eligible for Sandan, 3rd dan, in a year. | | Fear ;-) I have swords and know how to use them, so watch out! For a few | | months after moving out on my own for the first time, and since I lived in | | a not so respectable neighbourhood, I actually slept with a sword by my | | bed. Just in case! | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | So, how's your typical day? | | | | | | Well, nothing fancy, really. Mostly at the office, and sometimes attending | | classes, usually in the afternoon/night. The only unusual thing about it | | is that I rarely sit at my desk - I prefer sitting on the floor with the | | laptop or whatever on my knees. Oh yeah, and I tend to listen to classical | | music and opera (and yes, I do love opera, and so should you -- it's | | beautiful.) while I'm working. Yes, I'm a freak, kill me! And if its a | | really good day, I even get to see a beautiful setting sun over the ocean, | | on the way home ;) (well, if it's summer time anyway, and if I decide not | | to go graveyward shift again...) [UPDATE: Since I'm now currently | | landlocked hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest beach, the ocean | | scenery bit is no longer relevant, of course] | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Ok. So you're an intelectual wanker! | | | | | | Hardly so. But if enjoying a little bit of culture every now and then is | | being an 'intelectual wanker', then yes, guilty as charged! | | | | I do, however, have a very strong bias towards literature -- thats a given | | fact: geeks love books, I'm a geek, thefore I love books. And I own books, | | too, for that matter -- thousands of them. I'm also known for carrying | | books with me, at least one, on all occasions. It just wouldnt feel right | | otherwise, I'd feel naked! Right now I'm re-reading Tolstoi's War and | | Peace, previously I went through the original Spanish text of Cervantes' | | masterpiece, D. Quijote de La Mancha, as I had only read it in Portuguese. | | Lately (well, not that lately, really, for the last three years or so), | | I've been finding myself enjoying book crossing more and more. It's a | | brilliant idea, in my opinion, and not only on the purely literary sense | | but also sociologically, as it gives you a window into someone else's | | world. Books can give away a lot about its owner -- the obvious being its | | literary inclinations, of course, but other, more subtle things like how | | its been treated, what kind of edition it is, where it was bought, etc. | | Often you stumble onto real treasures and find annotations, highlighted or | | underlined passages, comments, thoughts and whatnot. I find all this | | absolutely fascinating. | | | | Besides books, I also enjoy going to the opera and theatre whenever I can | | -- that's why I simply love London, nothing like a quick getaway weekend | | there every now and then -- as well as visiting museums and exhibits. The | | interesting ones, anyway. | | | | And, above all else, I love cartoons. And I mean _LOVE_! But, then again, | | who doesnt? If you've never seen any of the old classics by the likes of | | Chuck Jones, Fred Quimby, Joseph Hanna and William Barbera, well, I'm | | sorry, but you haven't lived at all! Is there anything better than | | watching sunday morning cartoons? I dont think so ;) | | | | And, if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm also a _HUGE_ Calvin & | | Hobbes fan. Calvin is such an endless source of inspiration (and sometimes | | of gruesome truth) that I find myself quoting him often - its just somewhat | | troublesome that 90% of the time people have no idea what I'm talking | | about. Oh well! :) | | | | Last, but not least, I also love travelling. I also happen to travel a | | lot, mostly for professional reasons. Not so fortunately I can only vouch | | for airports, hotel rooms and offices, for most of the places I've been | | to. Nonetheless, these last two years sufficed to overflow my passport | | with visa's, which is always a great way to impress women! Also, last year | | I decided to get a little crazy and went from Portugal to Germany by train | | and not only lived to tell the tale, but also loved it. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Is there anything even more abnormal about you? | | | | | | It depends on your definition of normality, or lack thereof. But, since | | you asked: | | | | | | I'm a vegetarian, and I'm very happy living like this, thank you. But I'm | | not a vegetarian because its a fashion or trend, like its so common these | | days. I'm so tired of listening to 15-year-olds whining about "those | | bastard meat eaters, I wish they all die a painfull death", "MEAT IS | | MURDER" or "plants dont have blood, therefore they dont feel and suffer | | like the animals". Quite frankly, I dont give a rats bottom for all that | | crap, thats just sterile propaganda to brainwash the sheep-like acephalous | | masses with marketing intents. I'm a vegeterian (and please dont confound | | that with vegan or straight edge, I dont have anything to do with those | | zealots) simply because it feels right. The day it stops being so is the | | day I'll stop too. | | | | Also, I'm a atheist. I was born and raised in a catholic environment, but | | I soon began to think for myself instead of simply accepting some | | 20-century-old fables without questioning. The dont-ask-dont-tell thing | | never worked for me. Despite all that, I have a sympathy for oriental | | religions or philosophies or whatever you want to call them. They can | | teach us very valuable lessons in humanity, in humillity, in harmony. In | | the end, its all there is: nature. We're all trying to be in equilibrium | | with the world around us, with the universe, with all the other beings out | | there -- Its all a matter of energy flows. Usually, I do 5 or 10 minutes | | of meditation in the morning (or whenever I get out of bed) -- getting in | | tune with the universe, greeting the sun, and finding my own pace. Its | | very important that you listen to yourself every once in a while, you'd be | | surprised with the amount of things your body tells you. And thats my | | recipe for a better day :) | | | | And last, but not least, I'm also an anarchist. And if you think being | | anarchist means senseless random violence just because; absolutely no | | rules and no control; chaos and disorder; destroying and or blowing things | | up, then I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken, because anarchism is none of | | those. Google around for "Reflections on Anarchism" by Brian Morris, for | | starters. Simply put, anarchism is order, respect and co-operation, but | | without coercive authority. To quote Proudhon, "Liberty is the mother of | | order". | | | | And I have a couple of tattoos, too. Ok, "couple" is not really the word, | | they're currently eight, but I think the number will increase to nine by | | the end of the year. | | | | How about that for abnormality? | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Ok, so what now? | | | | | | Well, its pretty much all said and done about me, and I guess this is the | | part where I should talk about people. I'd rather not to, but | | nevertheless, there are these two persons at the very core of who I am, | | beyond all time and beyond all space. Sadly to say, one of them no longer | | walks this earth. But everyone should know how great a person my brother | | was. And how much I loved him, even though we werent true blood brothers, | | or related at all. I just want you to know, should you be listening, | | wherever you are, that I miss you like hell and that I think of you | | everyday. Peace on, brother :) And the other person, whom I usually call | | my guardian angel, my "dushenka moya", nothing I can ever say will even | | begin to describe how much she means to me. There isnt a single day that | | goes by that I dont thank the universe endlessly, for making our paths | | cross, and for making her a part of my life for the past years. The mere | | fact that I'm here tonight, writing this, is your entire fault :) | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | If ([insert deity] forbid!) I want to contact you... | | | | | | | | Well, dropping me a line is a safe bet, of course -- you can reach me at | | "nuno at itsari dot org" (just replace the words "at" and "dot" with the | | actual symbols). You can try to find me online, too -- I'm on google talk | | as "itsari at gmail.com" (again, replace "at" with the actual symbol). | | Alternatively, you can find me on irc, I usually hang at irc.oftc.net on | | channel #kernelnewbies . Typically, I'll be around at 23:30 CET with the | | handle 'itsari'. If I don't seem to be alive it's probably not night time | | in my part of the world (western europe), which means that I probably | | won't be home. Check your timezones and try later (or sooner!). And even | | if it is night time, I may not be active anyway, most notably on weekends. | | We geeks have lives too, you know. :-) | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | (c) 1999-2010 itsari dot org 01:04am | | page generated in 0.156s Setting Orange, Bureaucracy 31 YOLD 3176 | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+