Magic moments

  During my high school education I had several teachers changed for the subject Language and Literature. It seemed to me that whenever we got assignment to write an essay, I was getting poor grades. Regardless of the effort I put, regardless of the teacher involved I was getting poor grades. Nearing graduation I confronted my current teacher, and asked her, rather boldly: Why did you give me a bad grade? She replied:  I don't like your style.  I was furious, I continued asking: Did, I miss the topic? Does the essay have errors, is something incorrect? Her answer was:  NO, I just don't like it! What I instantly realized was that in order to get a good grade, I was required to match her style. I was suppose to make the essay likable for one person specifically and morph my style to match hers. OK, I thought to myself, Literature is a subject of criticism, so likability matters. I can live with that. On the other hand, the same teacher would often glorify authors that ...

  Most people consider mountain biking an extreme sport. I strongly disagree. Let me explain, just bear with me 🐻 Something being extreme is a subjective matter, and depends on the point of view. Consider bringing a man from 1903 and taking him for a ride in your minivan on the highway at 120km/h. Would he consider that extreme? It is pretty common for me, not extreme for us at all, but for him it will be terrifying, borderline insane! Same applies for mountain biking. Given an average man of this day and age, riding a bike for a 5km on a mellow hill should be a common thing. Especially if kids are included, taking breaks along the way and having a snack at the top.   I would agree though, that making double flips on a downhill trail is a bit extreme, but that's just me, I'm sure its no big deal for Danny Macaskill. So I proved my point, OK ? 😎 Now, I have flown over the bars, had some serious injuries, but that's just part of the game. Its not a question of if you take a...

 I have talked about this phenomena with several people, and mostly they share my view.  Rock climbing bonds friends. There is something magical that happens when you are tied to someone at the other side of the rope. A strange chemistry is brewing in your brain when your life is in the hands of someone else. It creates trust, it makes you humble and most importantly, it makes you feel strangely peaceful. It also trains you to be patient. You can't rush climbing, you can take any route, short or long, but never muscle it, gravity always wins, all it takes is patience and a lot of practice. I never competed in rock climbing, nor went in extreme conditions or trails, but climbing always felt appealing to me for its simplicity and gracefulness. Its a freestyle sport, you can climb wherever, whenever, however, as long as you enjoy and you take well established safety precautions .  The health benefits are many, you gain upper body strength, yet your body tends not to gain w...

  Since I was a kid, I had an inclination towards sports. Not a passion, more like a thing. I was never the best at any, but I liked most sports and anything that had to do with running. I was a kid so I did not comprehended nor considered the health benefits of it, it was just fun. The place where I grew up was not very famous for any sport, and the common mentality was that you can not build a career in sports . So I took that advice and always considered sports as a past time, a side thing one should do for fun.  At grade school I played most sports as a part of PE, but Volleyball was the one that felt most natural. It was kind of an individual sport (contactless), yet very much a  team sport at the same time. So I liked it, and I played it through high school. I played and competed with my high school team. Even though we never won any significant competition, I still loved it.  After migrating for college I realized that in my country, cities are "one spo...

 No, this is not an OOP programming lesson. Its merely just my observation and rationalization of the phenomena of computer development. I always considered myself lucky to be in the right place at the right time to become a software developer. Besides my talent, I was lucky to be the optimal age when computers started becoming personal and also affordable for my parents to get me one. These enablers and several persons that altered my path were the biggest contributors to my carrier. But I always wondered what made our profession so important, why I always here the same phrase: "Oh, you are a programmer, you are needed profile, you can get a job anywhere". Even though this is cliché, it is true non the less. Looking back on all the life segments I have touched with my software development, I think I finally have the answer. We are Shape Shifters of the business world , we are setting and maintaining the infrastructure and tools the business world uses to make money, we are b...

  I often times find myself determining whether I should take my car for a repair in a mechanic's shop or should I try to repair it myself. I am regular car owner (who has access to YouTube, thank you ChrisFix ), besides being a little mechanically inclined, I do not own any specialty tools, heck I don't even have a vise. I do however tend to collect general purpose tools mostly out of necessity throughout the years.  So often times I take the challenge and the calculated risk to fix some issue on the car. I know in advance that it will be labor intensive , time inefficient  and will require tool improvisation , regardless I still do it.  Besides the immense disappointment I have from bad mechanics in my past, one of the pros is that feeling of control when you know the quality of the work done, you know what I mean? And then there is that sense of accomplishment that I fixed something, I'm sure this is not unique to me, can I get an Amin from all the DIYers out th...

  I was around 14 when I discovered that there is an organization called MENSA. By the way it was explained to me, I got the impression that resembled one of the Free Masons Order (secrets and all that). I was all hyped. After clarifying though, I realized that the only benefit from being in this exclusive club was: You get to hang out with very smart people .  My immediate response was: MEH... Is that all ? I already have the coolest friends, no thanks, I'll pass (typical teenage reasoning, and this was before the internet).  I was wrong. I came to regret that decision. I should have joined there and then, besides I already knew some guys "on the inside". I since have taken several tests online and it seems I would have entered the club.  These days I miss hanging out with smart people. People in my surrounding are focused on shallow matters, poor values and basically have no virtues, so yes I crave for smart people around. I also noticed that smartness rubs off, s...