About truths on evils

It may take many iterations of error-making to realize some truths*.
Truth: Premature optimization is the root of all evil.
Rule #1: Do not optimize!
Rule #2: If you are an expert, see rule #1.
* it does not mean one should stop seeking...

2010 vs. 2011

I have discovered a funny thing: At the time this post is being written, on 11:55 (central European time), Dec 31, 2010, the Wikipedia says:
2010 (MMX) is a common year that started on a Friday and is the current year.
2011 (MMXI) is a common year starting on Saturday and is the current year.
Well, the Wikipedia seems to be one step ahead of its time. I suppose that's good.


Anyway, happy new year to everyone!!!!!!

Wikihate

Wikileaks has once again published secret American documents. And they promise to go on doing so.

Am I the only one to start wondering: Do wikileaks really mean what they say? That information wants to be free? Or is it just another let's-hate-USA-movement? Why don't they publish secret stuff from China, Palestine, Ivory Coast? Am I the only one to see some inconsequence here? Or is it just the slanted media coverage that makes me believe it?

Bible reading

 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
   Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Today, I finished reading the New Testament more that one month ahead of the schedule. Hereby I have fulfilled my new year resolution of 2010 to make it through NT twice. I made this resolution in an effort to put my bible reading back on track.It turned out to be quite easy. Two chapters a day was enough. It took usually less that15 minutes.

Now, with yet one month to go until the end of the year and the next resolution, I may still have time for the psalms. 

Riga

I have been to the Latvian capital of Riga this weekend. I found the city rather nice. It could not be otherwise.

Landing in Latvia

I knew the Swedish are not allowed to construct skyscrapers in Stockholm. Now I see they do not mind. They build them in the Baltic instead. To talk about money: I have now added the whole Latvian set of lats and santimas to my coin collection. I have also bought three old Latvian pre-soviet coins.

The Swedbank skyscraper in Riga

Until now I always thought the Swedes were really hard against parking violation. We have really bad fines here. I have recently obtained one, so I know. But in Riga, the violators get a parking shoe. Then they can't leave the spot until they pay the bill.

The pink curse of Riga

Fitness

The Hagatoppen hill north of Stockholm is a place I like to visit. Beside its wonderful view on the city, where one can see the Globe right behind the City Hall, and its vicinity to the Haga palace where the new royal couple it about to live, it is a place I have many nice personal memories of.

I have a tradition since the second grade of high school. That year, our sport lessons stopped and the responsibility of keeping ourselves fit was laid upon our own shoulders. Then, I defined myself as fit if I was able to make it to the top of the Hagatoppen by bike, about 100 m above the ground level. Later, I even made the test harder. Now, before climbing the hill, I need to make it around the Brunnsviken lake, the distance of about 10 km. I usually test myself that way several times a year.

Today, I have found myself fit again. Feels good. But I also start to think it is not a challenge for me anymore. The test needs to be hardened again.

Poverty

Moving is an eye-opener. Some people realize how much they have. I am about to figure out the opposite. These three boxes contain 90 % of all my possessions. Still, I don't need much more...

How to make fire

You need:

* Coal.
* Cigarette lighter.
* Body spray.

Instructions:

- Place the lighter between the spray and the coal.
- Light the lighter.
- Spray until the fire catch.
- Enjoy your BBQ.

Painting

I tried recently to do some wall painting. And I found out, I am good at physics. And I think I should be doing what I am good at.

Snail Mail

A few times per year, when the electronic mail fails, I still use the conventional mail services. And it works, though one sometimes needs to be creative in order to conceal the content.

Warmth?

We are now experiencing the second record cold winter in Europe in a raw. Does anyone still believe in the global warming?

The great hunger

Yesterday, on October 3, Germans celebrated the day of the national unity, honoring the 19th anniversary of the great reunification of FRG and GDR. On that day, the west Germans show solidarity with their brethren in the east by failing to go to work. All the shops are closed and there is now way to buy food. This story repeats every year, one can get used to it. The problem is, this time it was on Saturday. Today is Sunday and the shops are closed again. I think I am not the only one who was unprepared and did not stock food for three days on Friday. Hence I think I have the right to call this day the day of the great hunger. Well, let's see it positively. I assume the time has come to show solidarity with some other eastern countries by failing to eat.

Schwarz-Gelb

Ich bin stolz auf die Deutschen. Sie haben eine richtig gute Wahl getroffen. Es lebe Freiheit, Liberalismus und Atomkraft.

Buycott

Buycott Israel is a cool campaign started in Canada, aiming to encourage people to buy Israeli products that are being boycotted. They have already made some successful actions, resulting in complete sold out of the boycotted items. There should be more of this in the world. Not only the people who hate Israel should be given opportunity to express their opinion.

Никто так не желает перемен, как тот, кто наложил в штаны...

(c)

For money we don't really have we but things we don't really need to impress people we don't really like.

Norway

[1]

What is the thinnest book in the world? No, it's not the "Great Ideas of George W. Bush". Actually, it's the "Prominent Norwegians of all Times". Well, at least if you asked a Swede.

As I participated in mathematical contests in the beginning of the decade, Norway always made very good results. It was an issue of great envy of the Swedish team, of which I used to be a part. According to our common prejudice, Norwegians could be nothing else but dumb.

The name of their secret was David. This guy from Hungary has participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad seven times, which is a record, starting at the age of 12. In the later contests, he used to achieve better results than the five remaining team members together. In IMO 2002, he shared the 29th place with 11 other participants. The best Swede took place 191. I ended up with the place 233.[2]

Now, after the crushing victory of Alexander Rybak from Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest, I can't help thinking: Norwegians may have few prominent people of their own, at least when you ask a Swede. But one thing they do better then their cocky neighbor in the east. They let their immigrant evolve their talents.

[1] http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/24092961/Alexander+Rybak.jpg
[2] http://www.math.olympiaadid.ut.ee/eng/html/imo/imo02_t3.html

Today I am back from an easter conference made by the german fellowship of christian students. It was a great experience. 800 students from most universities in Germany were gathered together for four days in the city of Marburg, to celebrate easter, to enjoy the fellowship and to inspire each other for future missionary work.

Besides the perfect spring weather and some new acquaintances, I liked this inspiration part most of all. Ones more I was reminded of what's really important in my life. And once again I took the impulse to avoid things that dissatisfy me, destroy me and bring me in a wrong direction. But this time, I also seem to see the possibility of not failing this decision.

I hope the new semester, starting tomorrow, won't pass as useless in every sense as the previous one.

256

This is a post number 256 in my blog...

It took me 2,5 years to write the first 255.

That means about 100 posts a year.

Hence I'll need 8 more years to compose 1024 posts.

At that time, the very idea of blogging will probably be completely out of date.

eh?

They misunderestimated me.

-- George W. Bush