Hace ya probablemente poco más de diez años que no lo había leído, y esta mañana, al oir por las noticias de su fallecimiento, sentí una pequeña punzada de tristeza por una persona a la que nunca conocí pero que al mismo tiempo me era muy familiar, que me contó historias de un mundo lejano y cercano a la vez, un mundo que nunca conocí de primera mano pero del que de alguna manera o de otra formé parte de la mano de un autor tan magistral como humilde. Con el tiempo, otros autores llenaron mi tiempo, y Delibes quedó en el recuerdo del olvido. Nunca pude llegar muy lejos con El Hereje, pero estoy seguro de que algunos de esos recuerdos volverán al presente cuando los encuentre y los desempolve.

[...] like spinach being good for you because it held the iron your red cells needed. After decades of the disgusting veggie inflicted upon young kids – I remember, a scientist went back to the bench and found out there was no digestible iron whatsoever in spinach. You don’t get calcium by ingesting chalk, you need a calcium compound that’ll get through the sophisticated filters in the digestive system. Eating spinach gives you as much digestible iron as sucking nails.

It’s the little things that make it all worthwhile. Seriously now, the article is a really good read as a whole.

The optimist thinks the glass is half full. The pessimist thinks the glass is half empty. The engineer knows the real truth: that the glass is twice as large as it should be for optimum utilization of resources.

Dale Andreatta, as quoted by Burkhard Bilger in the New Yorker December 21 issue’s essay Hearth Surgery .

Gizmodo: MacPro vs Hackingtosh

The fine folks at Gizmodo are running story titled The Best Alternatives to Every Apple Product. Curiosity killed the cat. And they nearly killed mine (the curiosity, not the cat). The comparisons are, in general, somewhat bland, but they leave the best for last: the “Mac Pro ($2,500) -> Hackintosh (far less $$$)”.

While the pictures accompanying each item are clearly not intended to be accurately representative (I suppose), the one for the MacPro item is somewhat misleading (or incorrect, depending on your take).

The MacPro on the left is placed opposite to a futuristic-looking system, which does look sassy. The case turns out to be Thermaltake’s Level 10 case. I almost want one. Newegg, always ready to provide some pricing guidance, breaks the news: the case itself sells for $849 (free shipping), but it’s only available as part of a DIY PC Combo. Ah, yes: $4,663.99. I haven’t compared CPU/memory/etc specs: that’s not the point.

Pictures (like, apparently, Gizmodo’s post) are filler, and no one is likely going to argue that they buy Apple products because they’re price sensitive, but pictures also offer context and visual clues (and are supposed to not be, at a minimum, fallacious).

And its [apparent] predecessor:

Simply awesome.

So the past and the present goals have been accomplished (obliterated one might say, given the landslide victory), and now comes the hardest part of it all: the future. But it is at least one driven by hope and a belief that change is as feasible as it is necessary. Yes, we can. We Have. We Will.

I found Mr McCain’s concession speech gracious and elegant, even as his supporters booed each and every mention of Mr Obama’s name (ironically, the same was not true on the other camp: Mr Obama’s mentions of Mr McCain and Mrs Palin’s names drew cheers and applause). Mr Obama’s speech was direct and gracious as well, fit of the leader that he is.

It’s only begun. Rock on.

Amusing quotes:

Somehow Ronald Reagan’s party of western individualism and limited government has ended up not just increasing the size of the state but turning it into a tool of southern-fried moralism.

Which feels like an understatement, but I digress. My two favorite quotes, however, are:

He seems a quick learner and has built up an impressive team of advisers, drawing in seasoned hands like Paul Volcker, Robert Rubin and Larry Summers. Of course, Mr Obama will make mistakes; but this is a man who listens, learns and manages well.

and

He has campaigned with more style, intelligence and discipline than his opponent. Whether he can fulfil his immense potential remains to be seen. But Mr Obama deserves the presidency.

And the presidency deserves Mr. Obama.

There are no earth shattering revelations in the video, but there are quite a few worthy elements to it, starting with Mr. Obama’s role as the chronicler (noted far more eloquently by Eve Fairbanks at The New Republic; James Fallows at The Atlantic also wrote a brief piece), which was the very first thing that caught my attention. Mr. Obama’s oratorial skills are well documented, but this role gave him the added benefit of reporting in the first person: he went, he saw, he’s reporting, he will act. If anything, Mr. Obama looks both approachable and, more importantly, engaged based on the input he has collected. There may or may not be a lot of approaching when he becomes president (he will have his hands full), but as long as he remains genuinely engaged, it is welcomed engaging change.