O meio/The middle

Me on the Radio (Antena 1 in PT)

2012-01-11T01:11:00.001Z

A few weeks ago Fernando Pires, a friend of mine from my Faculty, asked me if I would be interested in participate in a small Radio Show called "Portuguese in the World" (Portugueses no Mundo). I said yes and he sent my contact details to the journalist.Last week the journalist contact me asking for some more information and after a short talk (3-5minutes) on the phone we scheduled it for the past Friday, 6th of January at 7h25 in the morning... Quite early, no, but the talk was going to be live so it had to be at the time of the show.It was a really nice experience and I'm happy that I did it. I was a bit nervous at first, but I think I didn't do too bad. =)The only "bad" thing was that this happened at 7h25 in the morning, so not many people that I know listened to it live, still there were a few people that were surprised to listen to my voice in the radio. And it was in Antena 1, a national Radio Station which has a market share of 5% (that's around 400k listeners :-o).If you didn't have the chance to listen to my participation you can do it through this link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3436237/simaocastro.mp3 =) (you might not understand anything if you don't understand Portuguese... =P)You can also check the show's webpage and the podcast, if you want to listen to other editions. =)Hope you enjoy it! =)

St. Johns College 5-a-side tournament

2011-10-11T00:12:00.000+01:00

On Sunday the 9th of October 2011 I took part in a 5-a-side tournament organised by St Johns College's 11-a-side post-graduates football team, actually it was all organised by its captain, Russel. I normally play in St. Johns team but for this tournament I talked with some friends and we registered a team of Portuguese Speakers. The team was formed by 5 Portuguese (myself, João, Bruno, Filipe, and Zé Pedro) and 2 East Timorese (Diamantino and Zé).


Standing up from left to right: Diamantino, Simão, Zé, Bruno; On one knee from left to right: Zé Pedro, Filipe, João

The tournament had 11 teams registered that were divided in two groups. The best two teams of each group would go on to the semi-finals and then the winners of the semi-finals would face each other in the final.

My team did really well in the tournament, having won! =D \o/

We played 6 games: won 5 and drew 1. We scored 26 goals, and conceded 4 (or maybe 5, not entirely sure). I scored two of the 26 goals and conceded 3 (or 4). It was a really good tournament and I'm very happy with the outcome!

Our results were as follows:

8-0 against Abacus;
4-0 against Cambridge Assessment
6-0 against Robinson College Team 2
2-2 against Wolfson College
4-0 against Robinson College Team 1 ( Semi-final)
6-2/3 against Queens College (Final)

Hurrah! =)

Collecting the "award" and having a fruit to recover my energy...

The following text was written by João and I believe that it is real football poetry, unfortunately for my non-Portuguese speaking readers it might be hard to follow. Maybe Google Translator can help you... =)

CUPORTSS 5-a-side Futebol Team vence Torneio de Futebol St. Johns College

Foi sob um ameaçador céu cinzento que no dia 9 de Outubro sedeu início ao torneio de 5-a-side do St. Johns College. 11 equipas unidas peloamor à redondinha aqueciam os joelhos sem ainda saber o que os esperava.
5 jogadores dos quatro cantos de Portugal e 2 jogadores deTimor Leste acordaram cedo essa manhã de domingo para formar a equipaCUPORTSS. Pólos opóstos do globo terrestre encontraram-se sobre um relvadofrondoso onde imediatamente se trocaram piadas: uma língua que viajou emcaravelas muitos séculos antes da Jabulani ou da “mano de dio” tornou estegrupo de pessoas, sem esforço, numa equipa pronta a actuar!
A equipa da Cambridge University Portuguese Speakers Societyentrou com calma mas com muita fome de bola. O primeiro golo na primeira jogadaexprimiu claramente a superioridade futebolistica que se driblava.
Uma enxurrada de golos não tardou a surgir. O Bruno, oDiamantino, o Filipe, o João, o Simão, os Zés; bolas pela esquerda, bolas peladireita, remates longos e tiros colocados, apenas detidos pela rede da balizaadversária.
8-0, 4-0, 6-0. 20 golos nos primeiros 3 jogos sem qualquergolo sofrido marcavam já nas tabelas da estatística o monstro de futebol que secriara!
Uma equipa de perna leve e olho rápido, detentora de um estado de espírito avassalador, umafrescura psicolóica intimidante e uma organisação tanto plástica quanto férrea. A polivalência dos jogadores permitiu uma plasticidade organisacional que tanto serviu para explorar cada metro dentro das quatro linhas como para baralhar o olho adversário. Quase instintivamente foi-se criando um futebol-espetáculo que se podia respirar!
Não tardaram os atentados á integridade física dosjogadores, conforme a brutalidade e a inferioridade técnica obriga a uma sedeque não se pode saciar. Mas a língua do futebol, que neste domingo se falou sempre em português,falou mais alto!
A fenomenal vitória da equipa CUPORTSS foi inevitável!
A equipa levantou o prémio por volta das três datarde. Enquanto recebia o galhardete – ou a pancadinha nas costas, maispropriamente - Simão, o capitão,agarrado a uma peça de fruta, pensava já no próximo desafio!
3 vivas à equipa 5-a-side CUPORTSS! Viva! Viva! Viva!

I just hope that the 11-a-side season goes as well as this tournament did!

6 days, 6 films

2011-09-19T13:59:00.000+01:00

From the 15th to the 25th of September is taking place in Cambridge the 31st Cambridge Film Festival.

As soon as we saw the advertisement for the Festival, Mariana and I decided that this year we wouldn't miss it as we did last year. So we grabbed hold of the festival programme and we chose a few films to watch. I don't know much about films and didn't knew much about what was going to be on screen, but based on some hints from friends and in some curiosity we came up with the following list:

Mysteries of Lisbon - A four and a half hours film by Raúl Ruiz, based on a novel by the XIX century Portuguese author Camilo Castelo Branco
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - A film about which I don't know much, only that it's about espionage during or around the days of the Cold War
Pearl Jam Twenty - Documentary about the band Pearl Jam, marking their 20th anniversary
El bulli - A documentary about the now closed Michelin 3-start restaurant, El Bulli.
Dimensions: A Line, A Loop, A Tangle of Threads - A film about the theory of bending time, which was filmed here in Cambridge
Midnight in Paris - A romantic comedy by Woody Allen

To be honest not all of the films are passing in the Festival, but it looked like a great opportunity to have a cinematographic week. ;)

Yesterday was the first day of this small marathon and it started with Mysteries of Lisbon. I was a bit unsure about this film as it is so long, but after the first half I was really pleased to have decided to see it. It was really worth it. The story is very well written and very well filmed. You barely feel the time passing and I got really curious about every new piece of this well thought social puzzle. I got really immersed in the film and I found it a very interesting portrait of that season.

I think I've never read anything by Camilo Castelo Branco, but now I think I should, and I will.

Today I'll be watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, I hope it is as good as I've been told it is.

London to Cambridge Bike Ride 2011

2011-08-24T00:22:00.000+01:00

On the 24th of July I have taken part on the London to Cambridge Bike Ride an event that aimed at raising awareness and funds for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

This was by far my longest bike ride ever with a total of 96km(60mi)!

I went with two friends of mine, João Afonso and Bruno Frederico. We woke up early in that Sunday morning and went by train to the start point in London (in the North of London if I remember correctly), and after registering ourselves we just rode... for ninety six kilometres. OK we also stopped a few times, but just to have some quick snacks.

Stopping for a snack.... *nom nom*

The course was really nice with nice landscapes and some challenging hills, specially one that was really, really steep. I was really surprised by this as I thought that this area, between London and Cambridge, was fairly flat.

We finished the 96km in 5hours, but I believe I could have done a few more meters if I had to!

It was definitely an amazing experience which next year I hope to repeat, I might even get a proper road bike. :)

Finished, and I look fresh, no?

Another thing that I really enjoyed was seeing so many different people riding with us. There were people in disguises, people in suits, people in roller blades, a guy that was picking garbage from the road as he rode, and people with very different ages.

The three riders (João, Bruno and me)

I was also able to raise 60pounds! Thanks to all that contributed: Mariana, Alice, Edward, James, and Sérgio.

Surprisingly enough on the following day I didn't feel sore muscles... if it wasn't for the fact that I couldn't move my left knee properly I would have played football on that following Monday. =p

PS: my previous longest bike ride was of about 10km. =)

My Tech Blog

2011-06-17T12:39:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago I created a new blog (yes, another blog...). The idea came from my boss who said that he thought it was important for a developer to have a blog where he can write about his work and techy stuff.
I agree with him and so after surpassing my laziness I created my new blog and named it (Don't) Debug in Production.
It might not be very interesting to some of you, but I thought it was worth sharing here.

This will continue being my personal blog. Don't think that much will change in terms of frequency of writing... Which doesn't mean much as it varies a lot. :)
Let me know what you think of my it!

25th of April Forever

2011-04-25T12:07:00.002+01:00

Because I appreciate the liberty to speak my mind and heart I will not forget nor cease to celebrate!

The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese: Revolução dos Cravos), also referred to as the 25 de Abril (the 25th of April), was a left-leaning military coup[1] started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance. These events effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy, and produced enormous changes in social, economic and political structures of Portugal, after two years of a transitional period known as PREC (Processo Revolucionário Em Curso, or On-Going Revolutionary Process), characterized by social turmoil and power disputes between left-and right-wing political forces.
Source: Wikipedia

And here is one of the songs I remember waking up to on every 25th of April of my life...

Short tale of a busy period!

2011-04-04T22:21:00.004+01:00

Starting in the end of February and finishing in the end of March, it has been a really busy period here in Cambridge. All in all Mariana and I had 13 visitors, divided in multiple visits with varying lengths!

First was Mariana's sister, Margarida, and her boyfriend, João. Then six friends of ours, Cláudio, Patrícia, Ana, Pedro, Cláudia e Ricardo. Just one or two days later Hélder stopped by on his way to Bucharest. On the following Weekend we had two visitors from Poland, Maro and Kuba, who I had met in Denmark during my Erasmus. Then we rested for a weekend and on the last week of March João Pedro and Kiko spent an evening and a few hours of a night here in Cambridge, before flying with me to Dublin to visit Manel.

It was really, really, nice to have had you all here in Cambridge!! Thank you for coming! I know that it might be a bit rude of me to write only one post about all of your visits, but you know that I'm a bit lazy about writing in my blog, so no hard feelings... =)

With so many visits I think that Mariana and I are becoming quite the experts in showing Cambridge to visitors. Sometimes it even seems that we are following a script, but we assure you that we are not... we've simply been having a lot of practice! =)

For instance during one of the visits we were doing a punting tour in the river Cam and I even managed to correct the punter (the guy that pushes the punt)...

A punter, punting the punt in the River Cam

Funny enough these visits have showed me that Cambridge is bigger and has more stuff to see than what I had thought before! Which I find great, and which make my legs hurt a bit with every visit. ;)

So, who's next? =)

Hello Spring

2011-03-20T20:57:00.000Z

Long time no see!

Welcome back!

Vinicius de Moraes @ Graduate Union in Cambridge 24th of March

2011-03-18T10:23:00.005Z

As a member of the Cambridge University Portuguese Speakers Society here is our invitation for our next event, a Film Night:

For the next film night, we invite you to come with us to the other side of the Atlantic with a documentary about the Brazilian artist: Vinicius de Moraes (October 19, 1913 – July 9, 1980). Tenderly nicknamed as “O Poetinha” (“The little poet”), Vinicius wrote more than 400 poems and around 400 lyrics. He was a poet, a composer, a playwright, a diplomat and an interpreter of his own songs. Together with Tom Jobim he is one of the fathers of Bossa Nova, a Brazilian music style which combines a bit of samba with jazz. In this documentary we will have a chance to get to know Vinicius a little bit more (his life, his friends, his loves..) and also Rio de Janeiro, through archive pictures, interviews and the interpretation of his classics.

* Which film?* Documentary about “Vinicius de Moraes”
* When?* Thursday – 24th of March – 7.30 pm
* Where?* Graduate Union University of Cambridge; 17 Mill Lane, Cambridge CB2 1RX
* Why? * Because Vinicius de Moraes is a singular artist in the Portuguese speaking world with a charming life story.

We hope to see you there!

If you are in Cambridge on the 24th, join us! =)

The News!

2011-03-01T23:31:00.003Z

For some days now I have been thinking about posting something here, but I had no clue what to post about and today someone* brought to my attention that I had something very important to post. Mariana was on the News of her Department here in the University of Cambridge!!

She had her PhD's second year presentation in February and was awarded the best presentation award of her session. Which I personally think it's awesome, and makes me very proud! =)

For those of you who have no idea what she's working on you can find a short description on that page, which I copy here:

"Mariana Domingos presented her work on Turbulent plumes with heterogeneous chemical reaction on the surface of buoyant bubbles. She said, "In this project we aim to understand how chemical reaction, dissolution and phase change affect the motion of turbulent plumes. This may help mitigate problems caused by plumes, such as the Icelandic volcanic cloud and the Gulf of Mexico oil plume.""

Congratulations to her!! =D

* No, it was not Mariana. =)

Happy 2011!

2011-01-18T23:36:00.004Z

Hi there!

I hope you had an amazing holidays or end of 2010 days, I know I did. I've been in Portugal for three amazing weeks and returned to Cambridge just a few days after the New Year started.

I must say that this was one of the best Christmas I've had, maybe because I received an amazing gift from my sister Alice and her boyfriend Filipe, I'm gonna be a godfather! I'm really, really happy about it! =D

But that wasn't the only amazing gift, I've also received a PS3! It's fantastic, and I'm trying my best to avoid addiction, which can be really hard. And now my house is even cosier than it was before. :P

I also received other really nice gifts, but I really had to speak about these two...

Before I finish here is my 2010's end of the year postcard!

Happy 2011!

Time to clean my camera's memory card #3

2010-12-22T18:47:00.001Z

"Let us work!" - taken in Wrocław, Poland

Time to clean my camera's memory card #2

2010-12-22T18:46:00.001Z

Just another relax dude in the wall...

Time to clean my camera's memory card #1

2010-12-22T18:45:00.003Z

You've probably heard of the double chin, I present you the double moustache

Christmas break!

2010-12-22T18:28:00.004Z

After the amount of posts I wrote in Movember I thought I should give you a rest... or maybe I just got lazy afterwards. Anyway here is a new one.

I'm now in Porto for my Christmas break and I'm very happy to be here. Although it's only 13ºC outside it feels really warm, specially because I still have the subzero temperatures quite fresh in my mind... Last Monday the maximum temperature in Cambridge was -5ºC!! That's quite cold... =P

I'm glad I managed to come to Porto because I know of a few people who haven't managed to leave England because their flights were cancelled due to the snow... Fortunately in Stansted it doesn't snow as bad as in other airports so it all went well for me. If it hadn't I think I would've rented a car and drove to Portugal... Fortunately I didn't need that.

Talking about snow last Saturday it snowed the whole afternoon in Cambridge! It was enough to make this huge snow man, named Pep, credit should go to my neighbours Dago, João and Raoul, I only added some accessories.

As it was so freaking cold all the places where cars and people don't pass too much were still covered in snow yesterday... I must say that it made the trip by train to the airport really beautiful. =) Amazing landscapes... other than that snow can be really annoying..

This was taken in Trinity College.

Since I'm not sure if I'll post anything else before Christmas I take this chance to wish you a Merry Christmas! And hope to see you around Porto during my stay! =)

Movember: One day at a time

2010-12-01T00:50:00.004Z

Movember 2010 is over and so the moustache is soon to be gone. I've raised 111£! =D Thanks to everyone who donated! =) ( the list is here-> http://omeio.blogspot.com/2010/10/movember-donations-required.html ).

Not sure if the Movember website donation system will stay up, but I'll leave the links around for a few more days in case anyone else feels generous and wants to give it a try. =) Here it is-> http://uk.movember.com/mospace/823716/

PS: I wish my facial hair would grow faster... it could have made it even funnier. =)

30th of Movember

2010-11-30T00:49:00.003Z

The month is almost over and my moustache is almost gone. I did my best to grow it and this is the end result minus a few hours:

From Movember 2010

It has been a fun activity to let the moustache grow, unfortunately it doesn't grow enough to allow me to go wilder and to crazy stuff with it, but at least I made an effort to help this good cause.

I have raised 64£! For that I have to thank everyone who has donated to my page but I would also like to thank everyone who have donated to anyone's page. I hope the end result is good and that the money is well invested in necessary research.

You can see a list of people who have donated in one of my previous posts. Thank you very much again! =)

If you haven't donated and are feeling like doing it, just do it! =) You don't need to give a lot, and you don't even have to tell me your name... any pound counts! =)

You can donate through my page: http://uk.movember.com/mospace/823716/ and I've even written some guidelines to help you out: http://omeio.blogspot.com/2010/11/movember-how-to-donate.html.

I hope you have enjoyed my pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them! =p

#UPDATE
I have now raised 111£! =D Thank you all!! =)

Movember: How to donate!

2010-11-26T00:28:00.003Z

Before Movember ends I thought I should do a quick tutorial on how to donate, you will see that it is very simple and I assure you that I don't even smell the money! ;)

Anyway here it goes:

1- Go to my page (or other Mo-brother or Mo-sister page)
2- Press "Donate to me" or "Donate to my team"
3- Choose the amount: for example: 5.00 (don't forget to add the '.00' otherwise you will get an error)
4- Enter your card details.
5- Enter your billing address.
6- Press continue
7- Press Process payment. And confirm by pressing "OK".
8- Add a message or select the box that will make your donation and message private.
9- And then choose "Submit Message and Collect Receipt" or "Skip And Collect Receipt".

And that's all! =)

Try it!;)

Movember 12th - Back to the Seventies

2010-11-13T19:23:00.003Z

Today I had a football match with St Johns and I thought this would give an amazing picture. Too bad my shorts are a bit longer than they would be on the seventies... but the thought is there.

It is also sad that we lost the match today... but we're getting better, today was just 1-0. But I would really love for us to win a match for a change...

Hope you enjoy the picture... and better yet I hope that it gives you an urge to donate! I've already raised 40£! =)

"Senhor do adeus" RIP

2010-11-12T00:22:00.006Z

"O senhor do adeus" or Mr Goodbye (in my own translation) was a man that lived in Lisbon and that for who knows how many years went most, if not every night, to Saldanha (a place in the city of Lisbon) and stood in the side walk waving to the people that passed by. He did this for so long that he became part of the city and was quite well know.

There was a blog about him created by a Portuguese jazz musician, Filipe Melo, who was his friend and used to go to the cinema every Sunday with him and with another guy called Tiago Carvalho. Filipe and Tiago used the blog to write the "senhor do adeus" views on life and reviews of the films they used to watch. "O senhor do adeus" was also invited to a quite famous radio show called "Prova Oral"(this link doesn't seem to be working...will try to find the correct one later), from Antena 3 a youth focused radio station.

This week "o senhor do adeus" has died and many blogs and newspapers have reported it. In one of the news articles I learned that something really touching happened. A group of more than 100 people got together tonight in Saldanha to wave at the passers by in memory of "o senhor do adeus". Rui Zink (a Portuguese writer, that was there tonight) said this was probably the best "funeral" he has ever seen, and I must agree with him.

The only time I saw "o senhor do adeus" I had already heard of him. At first I had thought that he was kind of weird, and maybe he was, but then I came to believe that he was just one of those characters that make a city unique. Today when I heard that he had passed away I read a bit more about him and got the idea that probably a bit of Lisbon is now gone with him. Later when I saw this news article I felt that if I was in Lisbon at this moment I would have been there tonight. I felt that someone like him who has been there for so many nights trying to help people in a very simple way, waving goodbye at them after each day of work, probably making them smile, deserves a goodbye like this.

Goodbye "senhor do adeus", Rest in Peace.

Movember 2010 - Evolution

2010-11-01T13:57:00.002Z

As you might have noticed I've added a Movember dedicated space to my sidebar. There I'll put pictures of the evolution of my facial hair. =) Also there's a nice button to donate! ;)

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T19:20:00.003Z

Today is Halloween here in the UK and yesterday I went to a party at Darwin College. As always I didn't prepare anything in advance to dress for the party, but in the afternoon I went shopping with Mariana and came across an immitation of a Freddy Krueger claw, and so I decided to dress up as Freddy Krueger.

With a hat, some skin make up and the claw I was ready to party! =)

I should add that the make up was quite a challenge to do, first I painted my face red, then cleaned it a bit, then added black and gray, then cleaned a bit more, and in the end I added fake skin make-up. Now I know that I should've started with the fake skin, and then paint a bit with red, or something like that. But I think the end result was quite scary...

Movember - Request for donations!

2010-10-31T19:11:00.009Z

It starts tomorrow! =)

Please donate to Movember through this link: http://uk.movember.com/mospace/823716/
.

I'll post my first day picture tomorrow! =)

#UPDATE#
Here I'll list the donations that I receive, sorted by donation date.

1- João Silva, 10£
2- Luís de Castro, 10£

3- Mariana Domingos, 20£
4- Chris Endres, 10£
5- James Cox, 4£
6- Maria Lourdes Domingos, 10£
7- Carlos Fernandes, 4£
8- João Oliveira, 33£
9- Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, 10£

Total: 111£!! =D

Thank you for donating! =)

Chang's Extreme Makeover

2010-10-26T22:03:00.006+01:00

Imagine being away from your bedroom for a week and returning to see everything covered in foil... but in a stylish way.

I'm too lazy to tell the story, so please read it here.

Movember is almost here!

2010-10-25T23:56:00.005+01:00

Have you heard of Movember before, if so move a paragraph down, if not you should go to this website and read all about it (or just check the end of the post...). Now that you know, you can also go to the next paragraph!

Are you taking part on it this year? You should... it's a very easy way to help, and it's not that difficult to do. It's not like you have to feed it, for it to grow. You just need to style it! I'm going to participate! Join the Movember and bring your friends along! =) Girls can also participate with support and by not laughing... =)

A short explanation: Movember is a portmanteau of the words 'moustache' and 'November' (in Wikipedia). It is also an event run by a charity named Movember Foundation, that aims to raise awareness and funds for fighting against prostate cancer and other men's health issues. The event takes place in different countries, and although it doesn't take place in Portugal it is never too late to bring more countries into this fight. It's very easy to participate just shave your face clean on the 1st of Movember and then let your moustache grow during the whole month. Take pictures and have fun while you help! And don't mind the mockery... I know I won't mind it. =)

I'll let you know how my participation goes!

Protected Planet . Net

2010-10-24T22:45:00.006+01:00

Last week on one of the many side events of the Convention on Biological Diversity's tenth Conference of Parties (COP 10) was launched the website Protected Planet.

This website has information about a huge number of protected areas around the world and hopes to inform and alert people to the importance of having these protected areas and of biodiversity. It also wishes to involve people in the improvement and development of the existing information on the different protected areas.

In the Protected Planet website you can edit the geometry of a protected area to match its real form, you can share the pictures that you took there, share your experiences and comment on the information provided by others. But maybe the video on this page will explain it better than me. The same for this page.

This is a new place where people can contribute to the Conservation of Biodiversity and to expand the knowledge on our Planet. And they will be collaborating directly with different experts and scientists that will make sure that the data introduced is correct and accurate.

I think the website is amazing and you should really give it a look. I am also proud to say that this website was developed at UNEP-WCMC, the place where I work, here in Cambridge. =) But you need not worry, because I didn't take part in the project... ;) but James did... and that might not be good =P (joking).

This project has been around the news both in the UK and in Portugal on the last week. Unfortunately most, if not all of them, seem to forget where was the tool built... so I thought that I should let all the 17 of you know, so that you can spread the word. ;) eheheh

Don't forget to visit it!

PS: Another thing I forgot to mention, the website was built in Ruby on Rails.

The Fall is here

2010-10-14T23:27:00.007+01:00

I still haven't finished tiding up my bedroom, so still no pictures of my house... sorry about that!

But this post is just about a picture that I've been wanting to take for a while. The trees that surround the road that leads to my work are are covered in the colours of Fall. And it fills me with such a good feeling when I leave work everyday that I really wanted to share with you. I almost forget that the dark Winter is approaching and that it won't be long until I leave work in the middle of the night...

Hope you like it!

PS: It would be much better if the sun was shinning, but when it was... I didn't have my camera...

10

2010-09-27T00:46:00.005+01:00

10 months have passed since I moved to Cambridge, 10 months have passed since I started working. And this last week I have been missing Portugal, my family and my friends a lot. And even Mariana is in Portugal this week... so "as saudades" are in huge values.

So to celebrate 'as saudades' of my loved ones (Mariana, Family and Friends) I felt like posting these pictures that I took at the "Praia do Navio" in Santa Cruz, this Summer. In a pseudo-poetic way... =P

Intra-roads: Alcácer do Sal

2010-09-26T13:14:00.003+01:00

Alcácer do Sal

New house \o/

2010-09-22T23:36:00.008+01:00

I've just moved to a new place here in Cambridge and after one week and a half without Internet I'm back here!

Moving houses was quite the task, it's amazing the amounts of things that one is able to collect in 9 months in a house. But, even so, the biggest challenge has been to find furniture, buy furniture, assemble furniture and even disassemble furniture to assemble it again. Yes, because I've moved to an unfurnished house. But now it's almost perfect! Still lots of boxes to send to recycle and some things left to buy, but it's looking good! =)

I've moved to this house with two Portuguese guys who I met here in Cambridge, and things are running smooth so far, I must say that I'm really enjoying this, even with a back pain.

With the moving I ended up having to drive two vans, which is very cool. I could own one of those... it's the closest I've been to driving a lorry.
I drove an Opel (Vauxhall here in the UK) Vivaro:

And a LDV (I didn't even know this brand):

(The smallest one, I think).

Besides driving these lovely vans I also spent 8hours in IKEA... and I must say that it is too much... way too much! But we got some nice things. =)

We managed to fill 7 trolleys in total, but 3 of them were with big pieces of furniture... but still it was a challenge to move them around.

In this week and a half my bedroom has gone from a perfectly balanced pile of clothes, bags and papers, to an almost 80% tidy bedroom. But there's still some work to do! =)

Now our next challenge is to handle our garbage... here in the UK each house has two bins 'assigned' to them. A blue one for recycling (everything from cardboard, and plastic to glass) and a black one for general waste. Each of those bins is collected every other week, and the collection dates are different from street to street and zone to zone. On my previous house they collected at Wednesdays at 9am, so last week I put the blue bin outside on Wednesday, 'cos I thought I saw some blue bins from neighbours outside... but that wasn't our day. On Wednesday night I saw and confirmed that the bins were outside to be collected in the morning, and I went to my neighbours bins and checked the colour... it was the general waste one... So I thought 'tomorrow morning I wake up at 8h and put the bin outside... and so I did, but the collection truck had passed... at 7h! So now we are stuck with the general waste bin for another week without collection... and the previous tenants left it full... no fun in that.

At least we were able to get rid of most cardboard tonight and the bin is already outside waiting to be collected.

And that's it!

PS: I know I said that there would be some pictures from my vacations, but without Internet it would be a very cumbersome task... ;) Maybe now I'll be able to do it!

Vacations

2010-08-28T00:05:00.005+01:00

My first vacations as an employed person are over. I was in Portugal for two weeks and returned yesterday to Cambridge.

During those two weeks I did more than two thousand kilometers by car in Portugal... this map shows the places where I've been.

So my itinerary was:

Porto -> Lisboa (stayed overnight) -> Alcácer do Sal (lunch) -> Sines (shopping and a swim in the ocean) -> Beach of "Ilha do Pessegueiro" (to remember my vacations as a kid) -> Vila Nova de Mil Fontes (for a swim and almost staying overnight) -> Sagres (to watch the lighthouse) -> Lagos (stayed overnight) -> Carvoeiro (lunch) -> Aljustrel (for almost 5 minutes) -> Beja (for shopping and wandering around) -> Évora (stayed overnight) -> Sesimbra (lunch) -> Lisboa (stayed overnight) -> Porto (to change luggage) -> Viana do Castelo (popular party - stayed for two nights) -> Braga (pick up my cousin) -> Porto (to change luggage again) -> Tomar (Music Festival "Bons Sons") -> Santa Cruz (stayed for three nights, beach, family, cards games, and general fun) -> Porto.

It was really nice to wander around without no specific destination, being able to change course whenever I wanted to. I shall do this again, maybe for a longer period. =)

Future posts might contain pictures! =)

There are things that never change...

2010-08-01T19:52:00.002+01:00

In my last post here I wrote that I would finish changing my blog's template. But I haven't got back to it yet... and am feeling so lazy lately that I don't think I'll get back to it before September. Hope it doesn't hurt your eyes too much.

Life is going pretty well here in Cambridge. Until last week the weather was amazingly good, which made this city feel even better than it did before. The only downside of it were the colours of the city. The gardens and park didn't get enough water in July and are now a bit more yellow than they were. This made me realise how complicated it would be to have so many parks and gardens in Portugal. Here they don't have watering systems, the rain does the trick... Still I would love that Portugal had have a tenth of the green spaces that we have here. Maybe when I return. ;)

In the Summer the colour of the grass is not only that changes, but also the city crowd. The undergraduate students have returned to their home towns, but the city isn't empty at all. An uncountable number of tourists and "English courses" students have invaded the city and clutter all the streets and roads, specially in the centre. And in the evenings they fill up the parks... and make me think how nice it was to be a teenager. =)

Well now I have to go have dinner at the Jamie's Italian restaurant.... so maybe I'll write some more some other day.

Yes you're in the middle (right place)!

2010-06-21T23:44:00.007+01:00

Sorry for the change. I'm just messing around with the new Blogger template designer. I was a bit tired of my old template so I decided to change. But now I feel more like sleeping than trying things out, so I'll leave it as it is, and will back to it later. =)

And this is an amazing chance to put this image in my blog:

A good old "under construction" image! How lovely is that? Taken from here. Oh the 90's! =)

PS: Obviously if you're using a feed reader you probably won't even notice any change. =) Good for you!

Taste of London

2010-06-21T23:06:00.003+01:00

Last saturday I went with Mariana and Edward, a friend of ours to a food festival in London, called "Taste of London".

The event took place in Regent's Park and consisted of different stands from some of the best restaurants in London, where they sold or, in some cases, offered their specialities.

There were different types of food, from japanese to argentinian and everything that I tasted (and that I can remember) was very good. =)

Unfortunately there wasn't any portuguese restaurant in the event. But there ware Portuguese wines in a wine testing stand, unfortunately that was on Friday, and we went on Saturday.

The best things I had was some japanese noodles, a lamb hamburger and an amazing beef steak from an argentinian restaurant called "Gaucho". I have to go to this last restaurant to have a complete steak. Some friends' of mine have told me that is one of the best steaks they ever ate. So I need to check it. =)

It was a really nice and yummy saturday evening. Thanks Edward for the idea. =)

And now I'm hungry!

Go Portugal!

2010-06-21T22:54:00.006+01:00

The FIFA World Cup 2010 has started in the 11th of June and it has been full of emotion and surprises.

Portugal played their first match today and they got an amazing victory by 7-0 against North Korea. It was an amazing match and very different from our first match against Ivory Coast which finished with a 0-0 draw.

The only sad thing about today's match was the place where I watched it. Since it was at 12.30h I ended up watching it in my computer at work, unlike the first match which I watched in the pub with a bunch of portuguese people that live here in Cambridge. And so you might imagine how annoying it is to see your team scoring for 7 times and you not being able to scream even once. I've all these goal screams packed for the next opportunity now. Hopefully Portugal will have score more goals for me to unleash them.

Anyway it was cool enough to bug my co-workers everytime Portugal scored a goal. =)

And mind you I know the match was against North Korea, but at least until Friday no one can stop me from celebrating this amazing victory! =)

And next Friday I hope to be in the pub to watch Portugal against Brasil!=)

Enjoy the World Cup! And if by any chance you feel like buying me a world cup official ball (the real thing) just do it, because I'd be more than glad to have one! =D

Go Portugal!! =D

British spirit

2010-05-30T21:30:00.000+01:00

Doing a barbecue even if it's raining! Because this is the English Spring/Summer!

This was a fine weekend. Thanks to João for welcoming me in Coventry and to Matt to rescuing us from Coventry and inviting us to a barbecue in Oxford! :)

Nice city Oxford, but I still like Cambridge more! :p

Cambridge by bike

2010-05-22T11:09:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago a friend of Mariana gave me a bicycle that had been stopped at his door for one year. After a lot of oil and some new pieces the bike is almost as good as new! :) And now I arrive faster everywhere! Still when I'm not in a hurry or feeling lazy I like to walk. :)

Powerful songs

2010-05-16T23:01:00.002+01:00

Just read a blog post about this song. I think I've heard it for the first time in some TV Series and it always touched me. First the tone and Jeff Buckley's voice and then the lyrics, and finally everything together.

Everytime I hear or see something as beatufil as this music I'm amazed how Man with all its faults is capable of creating something so beatiful.

Benfica Champion of the Portuguese League 2009/2010

2010-05-12T09:15:00.001+01:00

YAY! \o/ =D

Thank you

2010-05-12T09:13:00.001+01:00

Um cantinho, um violão,
Esse amor numa canção,
P'ra fazer feliz a quem se ama,
Muita calma p'ra pensar e ter tempo p'ra sonhar,
Da janela vê-se o Corcovado,
O Redentor que lindo.

Quero a vida sempre assim,
Com você perto de mim,
Até o apagar da velha chama,
E eu que era triste,
Descrente de cinismo,
Ao encontrar você eu conheci,
O que é Felicidade, Meu Amor.

O que é Felicidade, Meu Amor

de Tom Jobim

Ageing

2010-04-22T19:04:00.003+01:00

Today for the first time in my life I went to a Doctor, in this case a Dentist, that is younger than me... one or two years younger.

You know what this means, don't you? Yes, time hasn't stopped for me...

At least the Dentist told me that my teeth are awesome! \o/ And I believe that he didn't say it because he's my friend, but maybe that helped. ;)

PS: At least it was cheap... (you see... there's the sign of ageing again... =P)

Spring

2010-04-09T09:12:00.000+01:00

I think that today is the second consecutive day of Spring here in Cambridge! And this is now the view from my bedroom window! :)

Hope it lasts!

Easter gifts!

2010-04-03T11:13:00.002+01:00

First of all Mariana and I just want to thank Carlos and Mara for their visit last week! :) It was really good to have them! I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did, and that they've liked Cambridge enough to come back! Even though I'm not the most organised tourist guide I think we managed to see most interesting things here in Cambridge!! Thank you very much :D!

This Easter we are staying in Cambridge enjoying the Holidays, resting and doing nothing. Putting into practice what the Italians define as the 'dolce fare niente' (not entirely sure about the spelling).

Since staying at home is cheaper than going anywhere else Mariana and I thought about buying something for ourselves. And so we went to HMV, which always has nice promotions, and bought a bunch of DVD's. We bought some classics that we had never watched and some others we felt like watching again, and which we thought it is nice to have. And we also bought some new ones!

What do you think about these movies?

This is turning to be a very cultural long weekend!

Happy Easter to you all! :)

Upgrade

2010-03-25T13:37:00.000Z

Today my keyboard at work has been upgraded!

Actually it was upgraded last week with a similar to this one, but whose keys weren't working properly. But now I got a new one and it works!

So I thought this was worth posting, specially because I haven't wrote anything in a while. And I do have things to write about, but I've been lazy!

Maybe I'll write about those things, maybe not!

But I can share that today I'm going to a musical in London. This will be my second musical in London, and my third in the last three weeks! Today I'm gonna watch "We Will Rock You", about the band Queen (I guess:p)

Gotta go now!

The end of probation

2010-03-07T22:13:00.004Z

Last week I finished my three months of probation at UNEP -WCMC, I'm happy to announce that I've passed my probation and that now I have a permanent contract with them! =) \o/ (me enjoying the moment!)

This means that I didn't do too bad there at my job and that they are willing to bare with me for a while. And it also means that I'll be staying in Cambridge for that while, so buy your tickets and come and visit me! =)

Today Carlos, a friend of mine, told me that he and his girlfriend will be coming here on the end of the month! It is an awesome feeling to know that! =) And I'm even starting to know the city better now! =P

It's all so white...

2010-02-22T09:48:00.001Z

Even though this is not the first time it snow this heavily since I'm in Cambridge, it is much faster and easier to post pictures from my mobile phone.

And so I felt like sharing a bit of snow with you! :)

Pictures from my bedroom window, view to my backyard, my work and my workplace window!

It is a shame that in loco the scenario is not as pleasant as it might look in the pictures. In fact it makes it a bit of a pain to walk.. And it will be worst when the snow is replaced by ice. But oh well it is better to enjoy it while it is white and looks fluffy. :p

Sunday Muddy Sunday

2010-02-21T16:47:00.000Z

Having plenty of parks where one can play football is one of the great things that Cambridge has to offer. This is also something that I saw in Denmark and The Netherlands and that, sadly, is missing in Portugal.

Another nice thing is to see people playing all sort of sports, like lacrosse, frisbee and even cricket. And this is Cambridge that I'm talking about, not a big city of England.

Sunny days

2010-02-20T15:03:00.001Z

Sunny day in Cambridge is still a cold day, as one can see by the people in the punts wearing coats and chequered throws.

I am still waiting for warmer days to go punting. Nevertheless it is still a wonderful day!

Walking home

2010-02-15T21:08:00.000Z

Note to self: don't go shopping after the gymn and before dinner.

Second note to self: keep writing and the resist the urge to stuff your face with chocolates and cookies.

Walking Home

2010-02-09T18:28:00.000Z

When Bentleys and Jaguars pass by, I think and hope that their owners have started as Web Developers.

Visits

2010-02-07T22:28:00.001Z

One of the best things about being abroad is to have the opportunity to have visits.

If I was in Portugal I would be with my family and friends more often, and I could even have some people that did not live in Porto to pop in and say hello. But I would hardly have people coming just solely to meet me (and Mariana, and London, and Cambridge, and England, and everything else.. But this is my post, so let's pretend that it is solely to meet me). And having visitors is really awesome!

I've already had two visits in Cambridge, since I've moved here.

The first was João a friend from my Faculty in Porto who is doing is internship in Coventry. And the second was Miguel, also a friend from my Faculty, who lives in Porto, or maybe in Lisbon he was not sure yet.

It was really cool to show them around the city and show them where I live. I can imagine that since they were here they know as much about Cambridge as they did before they came. But the truth is that I haven't had the chance to get to know everything or memorise much. But I tried to make their stay pleasant. And this way they have still much to see here, and a purpose to come back here.

Nevertheless it was a real pleasure to have them here! :) I hope they also enjoyed their stay!

PS: this post is also a call for new guinea pigs, I mean visitors, to come to Cambridge. I need to perfect my tourist guide skills! And I'd love to have you test them!

A new way

2010-02-07T17:36:00.002Z

In an effort to make more posts I am now using a feature from blogspot that allows me to easily make posts from my mobile phone.

Probably not big posts, but it some activity is better than no activity. :)

Até à Próxima | See you next time!

2010-01-25T18:23:00.002Z

Estou agora a fazer a mala para voltar para Cambridge. É sempre bom vir a Portugal. =) Mas fico sempre com aquele "sentimento de Domingo". Sentimento que me faz voltar aos tempos de infância, quando ia passar o fim-de-semana a casa dos meus primos e depois regressava a casa para me preparar para mais um dia de aulas. Num e noutro caso não me assusta nem me desgosta o que vem a seguir, apenas pontapeia dentro de mim a saudade do que passou. Aliviada pela certeza da futura repetição. =)

Obrigado a todos por estes dias! Um até breve! :)

############

I am now packing to go back to Cambridge. It is always great to come to Portugal. =) But I always get this "Sunday like feeling". A feeling that makes me go back in time to my childhood. When I used to go to my cousin's house for the weekend and then I'd return home to prepare for one more day of school. Now, as in the past, I'm not scared nor sadden for what is coming ahead. It's only that the "saudade" (a strong word for "missing" something or someone, in Portuguese) kicks inside of me. But softened by the assurance that there will be a next time. =)

Thank you all for these days. See you soon! :)

I had a gun in my pocket...

2010-01-05T22:39:00.003Z

This time my New Year's Eve was a thematic one. The theme of it was "The 50's" (even though it could be extended to the 60th's and the 70th's... And so I decided to dress up in such a way that I could resemble some kind of mobster (or some kind of lunatic). To complete my disguise I took a plastic pistol that I have bought some years ago for some Carnival party. I must admit that the disguise was not perfect, but I think it its job.

And then the "funniest" thing happened on the next day. I had my flight at 9.50h and I took the jacket that I had taken in the previous night to the party... and yes, I forgot to leave the plastic pistol at home...

Strangely (and luckily I guess) enough I only realised this after I passed the security zone. I was already in the duty free shops' area having my breakfast when I remembered that I had the pistol with me! I almost panicked, but then thought that I better not take the pistol with me to London. I thought that if they somehow found that I had a pistol (even if a plastic one) in my pocket they would fire first and ask questions later.

So I went to the security staff and quietly explained that I had a party on the previous day, that I took a plastic pistol with me, and that the pistol was in my pocket... Fortunately they didn't make a fuss of it and just asked me if I had someone with me in the airport. My mother was still there, so I called her and the security guy went to give it to her.

I know that it ended up not being a dangerous at all. But I can only imagine what would happen to me if I was in the US. If I was there I would probably just ditch the pistol in some trash bin or in the toilet, before I got into troubles!

I also don't know how did the pistol passed on the security screening, but maybe it did because it was purely plastic. I hope that it was that. Because the shape was of a real pistol...

PS: When I found out that I had the pistol in my pocket I thought... .oO(what if I just take it out and go into a security guy yelling "I have a plastic pistol, where can I put my plastic PISTOL!!"....)... But I thought I shouldn't be so stupid in the first day of the year.

2009 -> 2010

2010-01-03T19:06:00.006Z

2009 is over and it is quite strange how hard it is for me to classify it.

Even though it was a year with some deep downs it also had good ups, which, I believe, ended up overcoming the downs.

At this moment I feel that I am a happy person. I have a good job, great family and friends, an awesome girlfriend, and I feel OK. =)

So I think it would be wrong to classify 2009 as a bad year, if I did that I would be looking at it from the negative side, overlooking the positive things it gave me. So I think that it was an even year with a shade of positivism, because in the end it presented me with the tools that I need to build my life and future.

For sure it was a year that changed me, but I hope it changed me into a better person, a stronger person.

Regarding 2010 I don't ask for many ups, I just would love not to have any more downs! And if they end up showing their faces, I hope to have the strength to face them! =)

So I want to wish a Happy New Year to all of you that read me! And I would also like to thank my girlfriend and all my family and friends for their help and support during the downs of 2009. Seriously thank you very very much! =) <3

I would like to say "see you in 2011", but the truth is that I hope to see you sooner than that! =)

In my Home (Bedroom) at last!!

2009-12-15T23:01:00.003Z

Just wanted to share, before going to sleep, that I've finally moved to my bedroom! =) I have been staying in the place of a cousin of a friend of mine and his room mate. So before anything else I would like to thank João Afonso and Dago Galan for being so nice and giving me a shelter for the last two weeks! =)

My new bedroom is in a shared house. I will be living for (at least) the next six months with two girls and one boy. Actually the boy will move out in the end of December, but he will be replaced by a friend of him. Nevertheless it will still be two girls and a boy.

I've only met two of them, but they seem really nice.

The house is also really cool! It has a big garden in the back, which will look even cooler in the Spring/Summer. It has a big kitchen and a cosy living room. My bedroom is large enough and has a small office attached to it, which is great to host any visitors that might come to Cambridge! =)

I think I will enjoy living here! =) Hope you find the time to visit me!

PS: I almost forgot to mention that from my house to my work is a 12 minutes walk! Which means... more time to sleep! =D And that is a really nice feature!=)

PPS: I also forgot to mention how good it is to move to the place where I will live. Where I will build my space. I came to The UK on the 11th or 13th of October and since then I have basically camped in different places. In my friends Manel's (and his really nice house mates) house, in a small hotel in London, and then in João and Dago's place. I also spent some nights in a B&B in London and some other nights in my girlfriend's college in Cambridge. I must thank very much to everyone that helped me. If you need a place to stay, now I have one to give! =)

One week has passed! =)

2009-12-06T16:24:00.002Z

After one week working at UNEP-WCMC I must say that I'm really enjoying it! =) I spent the first week doing some tutorials and watching screencasts to get to know better the framework with which I will be working, which is ASP .NET MVC 2.

The people there are very friendly and the overall environment is great! =) They even have a team that plays football every Wednesday at lunch time which I will be sure to join ASAP! =)

But it won't be this week, because from Monday to Wednesday I will be in London to attend to some training in ASP .NET! =) Which I think it will be really cool! =)

I must add that I'm really enjoying Cambridge and that I found the city to be really nice. The weather is not as bad as I thought that it would be, it doesn't rain TOOOO much, but it is quite cold... But the thing that bothers me the most is the sunset time, at 16h the sun is almost gone! But could be worst. =)

I'll try to write some more stuff later! =)

The dawn of a new phase

2009-11-29T23:47:00.002Z

In around 9 hours and forty minutes a new phase of my life is going to start. I will give the first step in what I hope to be a long (but not over 45years long=P) and prosperous journey. I will give my best to be so!

Yes I'm talking of my first day of work at the United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) as a Web Applications Developer. I'm quite excited about it!! =)

I found it!

2009-11-15T23:12:00.002Z

I can now say that I found a job! =) More details after signing the contract... I hope nothing goes wrong =P =).

Applications Forms!

2009-11-02T14:28:00.003Z

I just want to say that I am a bit tired of filling application forms. Why the hell every single company has their unique application form?! I spent already enough time doing my CV, why do I have to fill everything up again! ... this is so boring :s

But I'll keep on with it. =P

Still in London

2009-10-28T23:53:00.003Z

Everything is going well here in London. I'm enjoying myself a lot and it has been a great experience so far. I haven't found a permanent job yet, but I'm doing a project as a freelancer. This project allows me to develop my skills and gives me some money to stay around searching for a permanent job. =)

Summing up I think that I can say that at the moment I have at least three jobs... 1- searching for a job, 2- searching for a place to stay, 3- and my freelancer job. So I'm quite busy, which is very good.

I'm so busy that I haven't had the chance to visit London properly. I think I've visited Cambridge more than London, which is not bad, because Cambridge is a very nice city! =) And I know that I'll have the chance to visit London, bit by bit. =) But I think that first I'll need to settle down.

PS: One thing that has surprised me here in London is the weather. I was expecting more rainy days than I got... so I can't even complain about the weather. =) I've even add the chance of seeing the sun a couple of times. Can you imagine that? =P

PPS: I must also share with all of you the joy that I feel about Benfica's latest matches. I hope they can keep up with this great games! =)

Geekness Alert

2009-10-16T11:12:00.004+01:00

Context: Java Conference in Krakow.

Note for non developers or geek visitors: Java is a programming language and Ruby is another programming language... =) I hope this makes it clear.

PS: billboard made by: coderack.org

Change

2009-10-13T12:23:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone. =)

First of all I want to thank all the readers of the blog who have replied to my last post. Most of you said that there was no real point in creating a new blog, and I agree. Regarding the language I decided to switch to English, as you might have noticed. I think that most of my readers understand English and I know that some potential readers won't follow this because they lack the knowledge of Portuguese. So I decided to make this change.

As someone said in the commentary box I am too lazy to both in Portuguese and in English, but if you think that I should do that, please let me know. And I will think about it.

Someone also said that I would need to change some other things around the blog, but I am feeling a bit too lazy. Nevertheless I will try to do that soon or later. =)

And so this is the post of change. From Portuguese to English and, hopefully, from lack of writing to plenty of writing. But I make no promises, sorry!=) So if you grow tired of coming here every week to look for new posts, just start using some Feed Reader (like google.com/reader, or some other)! =) That way you won't need to come here, the news will meet you there! If you have questions on Feed readers, or on feeds alone, please just ask and I'll try to explain what are they! =)

Before finishing this post I would like to make a small disclaimer:

Ladies and Gentlemen this is a personal blog from a Portuguese dude who thinks he knows how to write in English. He knows that his English could be worse, but it surely could be better. So he would like to ask you to bare in mind that he is not native speaker (or writer for that matter) of English, but he will try to do his best. But please try to understand if you find huge mistypes and strange phrases and statements... sorry! =) If you want to correct my English, feel free, I will thank you!=)

And that's all for now Folks!=)

Dúvida

2009-10-13T10:32:00.001+01:00

Por favor ajudem-me...

Devo criar um novo blog para esta minha vinda para Londres ou uso este?

Escrevo em Inglês ou em Português?

Agradeço comentários!

Próxima Etapa

2009-10-03T15:22:00.003+01:00

Depois de ter concluído o curso e de ter tirado umas férias mais ou menos planeadas, mas não exactamente como eu queria, chegou a hora de começar a próxima etapa da minha vida.

Como grande parte de vocês já deve saber o meu objectivo passa por sair outra vez de Portugal, mas desta vez por um período um pouco mais longo do que das duas últimas vezes.

Desta vez irei para o país que talvez me tenha visto nascer, se tiver estado atento. Vou ver se encontro um emprego na área de desenvolvimento web ou engenharia de software. Espero encontrar algo que seja do meu agrado!

Para a semana há uma feira de emprego em Londres para recém-licenciados/mestrados, etcetera. Espero que me ajude a encontrar o que procuro! Vamos a ver!

Desejem-me sorte! =)

Descobri o óbvio

2009-10-03T15:17:00.001+01:00

O ser humano não é imortal.

Carpe diem.

Vida

2009-09-22T23:28:00.007+01:00

Soube há pouco mais de uma hora que um colega meu de Erasmus, do período em que estive na Dinamarca, faleceu. Não sei foi hoje, ontem ou há um par de dias, mas a verdade é que isso também pouco interessa. Eu não era muito próximo do Franz, mas ainda assim se o visse em qualquer lugar do mundo atravessaria a estrada para lhe dar um abraço. E por isso foi com tristeza que recebi esta notícia.

Recebi a notícia por e-mail pouco antes de sair de Braga, aonde fui jantar. Enquanto conduzia vinha a pensar no assunto, a mastigar a notícia, a analisá-la e a tentar pensar no que pensar sobre isto. Acabei por me ver a mastigar um monte de chavões e coisas mais-ou-menos óbvias sobre o ser humano e a morte...

Que a vida não é justa, que a vida é curta demais, que é preciso aproveitar enquanto cá estamos, que o Franz era novo demais, que pode acontecer a qualquer um...

De facto não é novidade para ninguém que para morrer só há uma condição sine qua non... estar vivo. Ainda assim não posso de deixar de me sentir triste por este acontecimento específico. Acho que toda a gente também já sabe que mesmo tendo por certa a inevitabilidade da morte não a podemos deixar de sentir como algo que nos faz sofrer.

No meio de todos os pensamentos houve um conjunto deles nos quais me detive por mais tempo. O ser humano é um ser egocêntrico, será assim a sua natureza? Será isto fruto da racionalidade ou uma medida de sobrevivência? Passo a explicar...

Todos os dias lemos nos jornais notícias de diferentes mortes em diferentes pontos do globo, quando nos deparamos com isso lamentamos... e - não sei se acontece com todos e caso não aconteça, faço aqui o mea culpa - com o desenrolar dos dias, dos anos e das próprias notícias, vamos habituando-nos a lê-las e a lamentar quase mecânicamente. Quando sabemos da morte de alguém próximo de alguém que nos é próximo, já lamentamos com mais sentimento e (se calhar por, felizmente, não ser tão comum como as dos jornais) quase sempre com sentimento. E quando alguém próximo de nós morre lamentamos mais profundamente e sofremos com a perda. Será que sou eu que sou egocêntrico ou somos de facto todos mais-ou-menos assim. Quero acreditar que isto é relativamente óbvio e que eu não sou uma aberração. Mas daqui quero partir para o que realmente me incomoda nisto.

Parece-me relativamente aceitável que existam estes, ou outros, graus de sofrimento associados à morte. Seria por certo incomportável se todas as infelizes mortes que nos trazem as notícias, fossem lamentadas por todos nós com a mesma dor e sofrimento da morte de alguém que nos é próximo. A morte é uma inevitabilidade e de outro modo o mundo seria um lugar (ainda) mais negro. Fico curioso se o mesmo se passará com os animais irracionais, ou se isto é fruto da nossa racionalidade. Mas se for fruto da racionalidade quase que me apetece pô-la em causa. Porque depois disto, me ponho a pensar como é que as pessoas se podem tratar tão mal no dia-a-dia, como é que é possível que as pessoas não se respeitem mais. Sabendo nós da inevitabilidade da morte e do sofrimento que nos atinge quando alguém que nos é próximo falece, não conseguimos perceber o que outros poderão sofrer quando falece alguém que lhes é próximo e por aí adiante? Não poderíamos todos ter isso em conta no dia-a-dia e perceber que se a morte é de facto inevitável e que, ao que tudo indica, só se vive uma vez não deveríamos todos aproveitar para viver esta vez o melhor possível? What goes around comes around! Ou seja, já basta a morte para nos dar tristezas, não deveríamos aproveitar para viver a vida a sorrir e na galhofa. Felizes e contentes. Claro que podem argumentar que assim a vida seria um tédio, mas eu contra-argumento que dias de chuva, vento, trovoada ou calor abrasador são mais que suficientes para fazer variações de humor que tragam animação ao dia-a-dia.

Se calhar isto é simplesmente parvo e utópico. Eu sei que ninguém é perfeito e, como tal, o mundo também nunca poderá ser perfeito. Mas gostava de ver as pessoas a abraçar a ideia de que a nossa felicidade depende dos outros e que a felicidade dos outros contribui para a nossa. E já que temos que aturar a morte de vez em quando ao menos que consigamos viver felizes no entretanto e que façamos a vida feliz a quem nos rodeia, pois nunca saberemos à porta de quem ela irá bater. (*3 pancadas na madeira*).

Espero que isto se entenda e tenho dito.

Descansa em paz Franz. =(

Voltei!

2009-08-11T00:49:00.003+01:00

Voltei da Holanda, já terminei o curso e estou aqui rijo para o que der e vier. O último mês teve das semanas mais duras da minha vida mas também alguns momentos de alegria. Venham as próximas! Ando à procura de emprego, se tiverem algum para me dar digam. Dou preferência a Londres ou a Cambridge. =)

Ah e sim, já sou Engenheiro! =)

Já dizia o Aleixo... ca bu...

2009-06-07T22:51:00.003+01:00

CDS PP vai apresentar moção de censura ao Governo por causa do resultado das Eleições EUROPEIAS. Claramente que o CDS-PP tem alguma dificuldade com isto das eleições EUROPEIAS... depois claro que há abstenção, a fazerem das eleições EUROPEIAS umas pré LEGISLATIVAS... É só mais um motivo para as pessoas se estarem a cagar.

Será que estas pessoas não vêem a diferença ente EUROPEIAS e LEGISLATIVAS ... não sei se repararam, mas nem sequer começam pela mesma letra.

E preocuparem-se com a abstenção e com medidas para a combater? E não só o CDS, todos os partidos e o Governo deviam quase apresentar-se de luto e começar a ver aonde falharam.

Nem que fosse tentar antecipar a data das eleições em Portugal (na Holanda foram na quinta-feira por exemplo) de modo a tentar evitar a abstenção associada aos feriados... pelo menos essa. Porque a outra já começa a ser crónica e requer medidas mais profundas!

Com notícias destas fico a pensar, mais ainda, que estes gajos do CDS só querem é aparecer... pode ser que ganhem mais 0.01% nas próximas eleições.

PS: Infelizmente eu faço parte da abstenção, estou na Holanda de Erasmus e era impraticável ir a Portugal votar e aqui também não era possível... já agora também já tentavam agilizar esta cena, para que os estudantes de Erasmus não sejam abstencionistas à força.

Registos da Holanda

2009-03-10T08:30:00.003Z

Finalmente criei o meu novo blog de Erasmus, relativo ao meu período de estágio em Delft, na Holanda.

Desta vez o blog será escrito em inglês, mas espero que isso não seja impedimento para que me acompanhem!

Como trabalho todos os dias ele tenderá a ser mais actualizado durante o fim-de-semana. =P

Já cá estou!

2009-03-04T10:40:00.001Z

Cheguei há pouco mais de uma semana a Delft. Em breve criarei um blog dedicado a esta viagem! =)

Acabou-se

2009-02-18T17:17:00.002Z

Tive hoje o meu último exame na Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto. Foi uma melhoria, mas não deixa de ser o último (tendo em conta que no outro exame desta cadeira tinha tido 7...).

Se para o ano houver necessidade, devido à média, poderei fazer algumas melhorias.

Apraz-me então declarar que...

"Chairs are no more"!

Venha o estágio!

PS: "Chair" is a term used in Portugal to refer to disciplines... that sentence is a joke. A poor one I might add.

Viagem Adquirida

2009-02-14T17:18:00.002Z

Finalmente comprei a minha viagem para a Holanda. Como estava à espera da nota de um exame para saber se iria dia 19 ou dia 23, só ontem é que comprei. Por isso e pela lei da oferta e da procura o preço foi substancialmente superior ao que poderia ter sido... Enfim, vidas.

De qualquer modo o que importa é que já tenho a viagem e data de partida. Dia 23 de Fevereiro lá estarei no aeroporto para mais esta etapa. Que me levará à conclusão do curso.

Viva!

Dieta

2009-02-07T22:26:00.002Z

Como estou a ficar um bocado mais roliço do que devia decidi fazer uma dieta radical. Comecei ontem à tarde com a remoção de um dente do siso. Infelizmente não devo ter perdido mais do que umas gramas.

O Drama

2009-01-26T15:27:00.001Z

Há já três dias que estou mais próximo de ter 30 do que de ter 20 anos. E não vejo forma de este cenário se alterar...

25 - OGIO!

2009-01-23T00:00:00.002Z

The number of years of marriage marked in a silver wedding anniversary.

The minimum age of candidates for election to the United States House of Representatives. "Under 25" provides a common cut-off point for designating youth.
The number of cents in a quarter.
The usual TCP port for SMTP.
The designation of United States Interstate 25, a freeway that runs from New Mexico to Wyoming
The designation of the M25 London Orbital motorway
Municipal Okrug 25, a municipal okrug of Kirovsky District of Saint Petersburg, Russia
The (critical) number of Florida electoral votes for the 2000 U.S. presidential election
The name of the national card game of Ireland and India (Pachisi — Hindi for 25)
"25", a song by Veruca Salt from their 1994 album American Thighs
"25th Floor", a song by Patti Smith Group from their 1978 album Easter
Twenty Five is the name of a 2006 George Michael compilation celebrating 25 years in the music business (1981-2006)
"25 boy", in Cantonese Chinese, is a slang term meaning "traitor" as used in the Chinese movie Over the Edge.
The per-second frame rate of the PAL video standard
The number of the French department Doubs

Fonte.

É também a minha idade a partir de hoje e até daqui a um ano. Curiosamente é também um quarto de século. Oh God I'm Old!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2009-01-21T00:49:00.005Z

Não costumo fazer críticas a filmes no meu blog pois não vou ao cinema tanto como gostaria e acho que me falta muito conhecimento nesse campo para me por a opinar.

Apesar disso, sei do que gosto. E hoje fui ver o "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" e gostei. Mais, adorei. E por isso venho por este meio recomendá-lo a todos vocês (sim vocês os três que lêem este folhetim), vejam-no!

Achei a história muito boa, as representações também, os cenários, o guarda-roupa, os adereços, a forma como a história é contada, a forma como se lida com a morte e se fala da vida, a forma como tempo passa. Achei simplesmente brilhante. Fiquei chateado quando o intervalo interrompeu o filme a meio, mas fiquei contente por ainda faltar outro tanto. Fiquei triste por ter acabado, mas contente por ter visto este filme. Só achei uma coisa meia deslocada, mas até dá para perceber o papel dessa coisa.

Não vou revelar o que é nem vou entrar em detalhes sobre a história, para quem quiser ir ver poder apreciar ao máximo a história.

Eu acho que volto lá.

GEEK NOTE: Este é o meu post 1024. Say YAY!

Outra vez...

2009-01-16T17:52:00.004Z

No segundo semestre deste ano lectivo vou estagiar em Delft, na Holanda! =) Mais precisamente na Tam Tam (não confundir com Tom Tom. Será também o meu último semestre como aluno da FEUP, se tudo correr bem.

Neste momento estou em época de exames e já fiz 2 de 5, portanto se tudo correr nos conformes só me faltam 3!

Lá para o fim de Fevereiro me vou... apareçam!:P

Cenas do Médio Oriente

2009-01-15T18:07:00.006Z

Eu também acho que os Palestinianos não são os "novos Judeus" (pelo menos, ainda não). Mas daí até achar que a culpa desta guerra é única e exclusivamente do Hamas, e que os Israelitas estão apenas a defender a sua terra, vai um grande passo. E parece-me bastante absurdo dizer isso quando se olha para este mapa:

Mapa retirado do Arrastão.

A culpa é de ambas as partes, mas acho que se nota bastante bem que, pelo menos neste momento, quem anda a sofrer mais na pele são os Palestinianos. Digo eu, que até nem vejo muita televisão.

E ganharem juízo, fazerem as pazes e deixarem-se de extremismos parvos.

Quote of Now

2009-01-13T00:11:00.002Z

"Solutions nearly always come from the direction you least expect. Which means there's no point in trying to look in that direction because it won't be coming from there."
Douglas Adams

Neve em Braga

2009-01-09T12:36:00.005Z

Enviaram-me por mail esta foto tirada hoje em Braga. Já não nevava em Braga há mais de 20 anos.

A neve no Porto comparada com isto não é nada.

PS: De notar que estão dois sujeitos em tronco nu na foto.

A Neve no Porto

2009-01-09T12:02:00.004Z

Não é muita, mas é a que se arranja! :P

Cai Neve, Cai Neve

2009-01-09T10:43:00.002Z

Hoje dia 9 de Janeiro caiu neve no Porto, pelo menos na FEUP, onde eu me encontrava...

Não foi muita neve, mas não era granizo e continua a cair levemente! =)

Podem ver fotos aqui: http://picasaweb.google.com/simaobelchior/LetItSnow

Composições de Miúdo I

2009-01-08T12:30:00.005Z

No outro dia quando procurava pela minha cédula militar deparei-me com um dossier com registos do meu ensino primário. Desde fichas de avaliação, passando por borratados coloridos (dificilmente posso considerar aquilo desenhos, mesmo de miúdo) e até composições. Como o meu blog tem andado um bocado parado achei que poderia ter piada transcrever para aqui algumas composições que fiz durante o meu ensino primário.

A que se segue será a primeira, se achar que é ridículo em demasia, esta ideia pode morrer por aqui, a ver vamos.

De qualquer maneira espero que tenham noção que eu não sou, nem nunca fui, um génio literário, muito longe disso. Não vou publicar as composições pela qualidade mas sim porque recordar é viver.

O Golfinho Ferido
Eram 13h da tarde quando deu à praia do Carvalhido um golfinho com golpes bem profundos, devia ter ficado preso em alguma rede de pescador e ao tentar sobreviver tinha feito aqueles golpes.
Quatro amigos ao verem que ele estava ferido levaram-no para uma cabana de praia e trataram-lhe das feridas.
O golfinho entregou-se docilmente aos seus jovens doutores improvisados que o trataram com cuidados rudimentares.
Depois levaram num barco de recreio para o seu habitat natural para evitar que batesse em bóias, ferros e em barcos pois poderia magoar-se mais.
Quando o mandaram para o mar fez o festival de salamaleques que era um sincero muito obrigado.
Era meia noite quando os quatro amigos regressaram a casa felizes por terem salvo um golfinho e tristes por terem perdido um amigo.
Simão Belchior de Castro, 26/5/1994 (10 anos)

PS: Sim, eu estou consciente que não existe uma praia no Carvalhido... volto a relembrar que tinha 10 anos, a minha geografia não era a melhor e não costumava fazer praia no Porto.

Feliz 2009!

2008-12-31T10:25:00.002Z

Segue aqui o meu postal de Natal e Ano Novo, ainda que a parte natalícia esteja um pouco atrasada...

Reparem na bela árvore de Natal que eu desenhei, toda ela imponente. Uma verdadeira obra de arte...

Até para o ano!

Trabalhos da Faculdade

2008-12-22T06:01:00.001Z

Tirando o estágio que é um trabalho de outro nível, já só me falta terminar um trabalho para a Faculdade! (Isto se os que já entreguei não derem para o torto...)

No mesmo registo, na semana passada faltei à minha última aula teórica!

Gato Fedorento - Rap "Pino e Lino"

2008-12-15T14:43:00.002Z

Muito bom este rap feito pelos Gato Fedorento, no programa Zé Carlos. Com base numa intervenção de Hugo Chavez, falando sobre Mário Lino e Manuel Pinho.

Benfica 6-0 Maritimo

2008-12-08T21:39:00.002Z

Depois de uma derrota por 5-1 com o Olympiakos e de um empate 2-2 com o Vitória de Setúbal o Benfica foi despejar as frustrações na Madeira, no estádio dos Barreiros.

Tendo em conta que para passarmos à próxima fase da Taça Uefa precisamos de meter 8 golos contra o Metalist (uma equipa da Ucrânia), pode-se considerar o jogo de ontem como um bom treino.

Para que o Benfica passe, além de marcar 8 golos, no outro jogo do Grupo B o Olympiakos tem que empatar com o Hertha de Berlim. Para um verdadeiro benfiquista essa vai ser a parte mais complicada da qualificação!;)

Olympiakos vs Benfica

2008-11-28T02:17:00.003Z

Hoje vi o Olympiakos, só tive pena de não ter visto o Benfica.

É depois de resultados como estes que eu fico a pensar se não seria melhor para o Benfica ter ficado em casa. Perdia por falta de comparência (acho q o resultado para estes casos fica como 3-0), poupava o dinheiro das passagens de avião e poupava na humilhação e na má exibição. Era só vantagens...

Mas não há que desanimar, o campeonato é que importa! ;) E o projecto de criação da equipa parece-me estar a ser bem conduzido e com alguns resultados interessantes. Há que continuar, sem desanimar! Isto não se pode fazer da noite para o dia!

Por isso, para o que contar, venho por este meio demonstrar o meu apoio a esta equipa técnica e a estes jogadores! (Que poético, que bonito... ou não.)

Mudanças no Ensino

2008-11-17T22:14:00.003Z

Toda a gente sabe que o Mundo vai mal e que Portugal não é excepção, é em quase tudo e, por vezes, até em mais alguma coisa. E também o é na educação. Apesar das romarias de professores o problema não é só ao nível do Ensino Secundário, para baixo e para cima as coisas também não correm da melhor maneira.

Mas de vez em quando lá surgem as mudanças que realmente importam...

... ou não. Não sei o porquê de eu deixar de ser aluno para passar a ser apenas estudante e de deixar de ter disciplinas para passar a ter Unidades Curriculares, mas de certo que o Ministro da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior tem bons motivos para isso. Se calhar tão bons motivos como jogar computador é, quando eu não "tive tempo" para estudar.

É o (meu) domínio!

2008-11-16T17:47:00.003Z

Para que ficasse mais bonito no site da Usability Page, registei um domínio!

Não sabia muito bem que domínio registar, pois normalmente assino "Simão Belchior de Castro" e ficava exageradamente grande se utilizasse todos estes nomes no meu domínio. Depois de pensar um pouco acabei por me decidir por:

www.simaobelchior.com

acho que assim fica mais chamativo e mais simples de decorar.

World Usability Day - 13 Novembro na FEUP

2008-11-11T10:18:00.002Z

De há um ou dois meses para cá que me envolvi num projecto com uns colegas da FEUP sobre Usabilidade, denominado The Usability Page.

Durante este tempo fomos juntando ideias e avançando na sua implementação. Sendo dia 13 de Novembro o Dia Mundial da Usabilidade resolvemos comemora-lo na FEUP e aproveitar o mesmo dia para lançar o nosso projecto.

Por isso se estiverem interessados em Usabilidade ou simplesmente quiserem saber um pouco mais, ou ainda dizer-me olá, apareçam na FEUP dia 13, quinta-feira, pelas 17.30h. A Conferência vai realizar-se na sala B003 e vai contar com quatro apresentações sobre o tema.

Podem encontrar mais informação sobre o assunto no nosso site ou na página dedicada ao evento.

O Futuro é Agora

2008-11-04T17:27:00.003Z

Depois da chegada da comunicação por infra-vermelhos, por bluetooth, através de internet wireless, heis que chega a transferência de energia eléctrica sem fios.

Só fico um bocado receoso... será que a interposição de água entre um emissor e um receptor de energia eléctrica sem fios provocará um curto-circuito?

Será que vamos deixar de poder andar de cabeça molhada em casa? Será o fim de uma era?

Isto a funcionar bem é capaz de ajudar na arrumação de cabos em casa, mas será que não nos vai fritar ainda mais o cérebro?

É esperar para ver...

#EDIT: Pelos vistos o Futuro era em 2007... porque o post que refiro neste post é de 2007... =P E ainda não de uso corrente.. é a vida.

FEUP

2008-11-02T00:25:00.003Z

Recebida por mail, por sua vez encontrada algures no Google.

Calças Rasgadas 2

2008-10-29T22:59:00.002Z

Hoje à tarde fui ter com um amigo meu e a primeira coisa que ele me perguntou foi "caíste de mota?"... Felizmente não foi o caso, mas a verdade é que uns meses depois de ter escrito uma reflexão sobre calças rasgadas tenho andado nos últimos dias com umas calças rasgadas ao nível do joelho.

Na verdade tenho para aí dois ou três pares de calças rasgados nessa zona...

Como tenho andado com um bocado de preguiça e falta de vontade de ir às compras acho que é importante vir aqui, a público, dizer que não ando com calças rasgadas por uma questão de moda. É apenas consequência do uso e da preguiça de renovar o meu guarda-roupa...

Tenho que ver se trato disso, ou se compro uns remendos!

Devo também dizer que acho que com esta cena de se venderem calças gastas e já rasgadas a malta que compra calças completas sai a perder, porque estas vêm com muito pouca qualidade e estropiam-se todas em muito pouco tempo...

Sandeman?

2008-10-29T22:20:00.001Z

Ou então sou só eu com um chapéu do traje da Covilhã.

Vendo Scooter

2008-10-29T22:09:00.000Z

Agora (finalmente) com anúncio no Stand Virtual

Introducing Captain Obvious

2008-10-28T10:26:00.002Z

It's the Future!

2008-10-20T16:36:00.002+01:00

For a greener planet! =)