Happy 2015!
Here we go again. Not complaining, as there is nothing to complain about. Just another year. It seems 2014 flew by quite fast, will you agree? Nevertheless, happy 2015 everyone! ⌘ Read more

NixOS 14.04 released
NixOS 14.04 “Baboon” has been released, the second stable
release branch. It brings Linux 3.12, systemd 212, GCC 4.8,
Glibc 2.19, KDE 4.12, light-weight NixOS containers, and much
more. See the release\
 notes for details. You can get NixOS 14.04 ISOs and
VirtualBox appliances from the download page. For information on
how to upgrade a 13.10 system to 14.04, check out the [manual\
 section on upgrading](/manual/nixos/stable/#sec … ⌘ Read more

The 12 principles of animation, animated http://t.co/ooNnZlwjJs

It is all around us
Love. It really is.

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there — fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Tow … ⌘ Read more

The joy of reading Hemingway
Recently, Kent had the misfortune of picking “ A Moveable Feast”, by Ernest Hemingway, for a school assignment. I know I am not the right person1 to judge anyone’s writing style, I am simply recollecting the comments Kent has made while reading the book.

So far, other than finding the book boring — mind it, he is barely 13 — he is puzzled at the use of French terms that he … ⌘ Read more

It is Christmas day
One of the many things to look forward to each year is, of course, the end of year holidays. Christmas, Festivus, or whatever you call it, the end of December is always a special time. My only complain, and that might be yours too, is that it comes and goes so fast! Kent has finished opening his presents, and somehow it feels “it is all over.” But we waited the whole year for this! We stayed up late wrapping gifts, gifts that are now open, and the “magic” gone. It should not be.

I … ⌘ Read more

Films to watch during Christmas
Christmas is not the same without watching certain films. The ones that are always a must for me are “ National Lampoon’s European Vacation” and “ National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”. As I type this I am getting ready to watch them both. Those are the ones to laugh to tears and have fun. The other favourite one – … ⌘ Read more

T-Mobile and the iPad
I am not sure about the other mobile telephony providers, but this morning I went to T-Mobile with the intention of buying an iPad mini. They had only the dark colour in stock, and on 32GB capacity—I was wanting a 16GB. The transaction was almost finished, when I was asked for a telephone number. After stating that I just wanted the iPad, no connection, I was told they could only sell it, if it was with a mobile data plan. Bus … ⌘ Read more

A Christmas tree small story
Last year we had a plastic Christmas tree. Wife was not happy. This year she wanted a real one, so this morning the child and I went on the quest of getting it. Most families in the States will get a Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving, but I am used to get it the day before Christmas. Of course, if I wait for that day there will be none left. So it is today, or never1.

We purchased one, which is already soaking … ⌘ Read more

Chuck Lorre Productions, 373
At the end of each episode of “ The Big Bang Theory” there is always something witty printed, that passes by so fast you can not read it. Today I saw, and remembered, “ … the prophet did not answer right away ….” I looked it up, and this came up.

A young woman stepped forward from the throng and asked, “0’ great prophet, tell us how we might find love that is unconditional, unwavering and unending.” The prophet d … ⌘ Read more

Hello world, or hello again!
This is the first post. It seems I have started writing occasionally again. I still conserve the old posts, from the previous weblog. Not sure many of them were worth of keeping, but I might browse through them and pick one or two to bring back here.

This time I will keep this simple. Well, as simple as a person with slight OCD can keep it. I promise, I think. This little site is generated by [Jekyll](http://jekyllrb.c … ⌘ Read more

Create files on GitHub
There is a new feautre on GitHub, and this one allows you to create files directly from the web interface. This is very handy, for those of us running Jekyll.

This is my first test of the feature, I had to try it right away. Only wishing now to have a friendlier Markdown/kramdown editor. But it’s a start. I like it! ⌘ Read more

Mi vieja

Image

She created me, all my flaws and gifts unintended. She nurtured and guided me through life the best she could, suffering for my mistakes—but always hopeful—and rejoicing on my victories. Always supportive she gave herself to me (and my siblings), selflessly.

After a lifetime mission, her time around here has expired. We knew it would come, but never fully prepared for it. And so we wept, sadness seeping throu … ⌘ Read more

What I thought when my plane crashed
From CNN Opinion, this\
article, written by Ric Elias I liked. I liked it
so much, I decided to keep it here, for when it is not longer available
at CNN. As I did with a previous\
article I kept from the WSJ, if CNN
does not likes what I have done, let me know and I will remove it, or
adapt it to a compromise. Please do not sue … ⌘ Read more

St. Augustine

Image

Yesterday I went with Kent and classmates to St. Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied European established city and port in the continental United States.

It was a great trip, we learned a lot, we saw a lot, it was cold, we came home tired. We will return… one day. The end. ⌘ Read more

Ricky Gervais - Why I’m an atheist
This is an article
written by Ricky Gervais, for The Wall Street Journal back in 2010.

Reproduced entirely here, as SpeakEasy seems not to be keep articles
around long enough. If WSJ does not like what I have done, let me know
and I will remove it, or adapt it to a co … ⌘ Read more

Unknown Unknowns
It is all about the unknown unknowns, of course!

“There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”

— Donald Rumsfeld, DoD News briefing. ⌘ Read more

The Brotherhood
Recently I got the PS3 game “ Assassin Creed Brotherhood” for my birthday and it has being very fun. My dad got me the Harlequin code, and playing him is very fun as well. I have already gotten the armor of Brutus, the very best on the game. Needless is to say, I already finished the game, but am still “renovating” things.

� … ⌘ Read more

A Christmas tree
After a small, but heated battle, on whether or not to buy a real tree for Christmas (Kent and I said no, Kim said yes), Kent and Alyssa are now decorating a Fraser pine tree. I am sure you guessed who won. ⌘ Read more

Glad I am not in North Korea
From the Wall Street Journal:

North Korea said on Monday it would issue new won currency this week that would in effect lop two zeros off the old —requiring 1,000-won bills, for example, to be exchanged for 10-won notes with, theoretically, the same buying power.

It said it would limit the amount of old currency it would accept in exchange, to the equivalent of about $40 worth at unofficial exchange rates.

— [Wall Street Journal](http://online.wsj.c … ⌘ Read more

Nixpkgs 0.12 released
Nixpkgs\
 0.12 has been released. See the release\
 notes for details. Meanwhile, the Nixpkgs trunk has been
updated
to GCC 4.3.3, Glibc 2.9 and X.org 7.4. ⌘ Read more

Nix 0.12 released
Nix\
 0.12 has been released. The most important change is that
Nix no longer needs Berkeley DB to store metadata, but there are
many other improvements. See the release\
 notes for details. ⌘ Read more

NETBROS.COM for sale
Yes, I am selling this domain, which I have have since, well, I already lost count. If you are interested on buying this domain, please contact me. I would rather sell it directly than going through a broker. ⌘ Read more

Yet another
Yet another long downtime on World of Warcraft, just in the verge of the release of the second major expansion for the game. What a royal mess! You would think Blizzard has it figured out by now, down to a science, but…

I can’t imagine how tomorrow, with the expansion release, will be. Not going to “tune in.” Instead will let others have the “fun.” ⌘ Read more

The day Santa died
Kim and I have always told Kent Santa exists. Almost every kid is told the same, and get presents delivered by the fat, white bearded guy each year. He gets all the credits, but kids are happy.

With Kent getting into first grade, he has been hearing things from his peers. Things like, “Santa doesn’t exist”, “Santa isn’t real”, so he began asking about it. About a month ago I told him his pee … ⌘ Read more

Happy 2008!
Hello everyone out there! Please, love one another. Be safe. Happy New Year! ⌘ Read more

SCO Receives Nasdaq Notice Letter
This doesn’t surprise me. What surprises me is that they are still on business.

SCO Receives Nasdaq Notice Letter — Yahoo! Finance

The SCO Group, Inc. (“SCO”) (Nasdaq: SCOX - News), a leading provider of UNIX™ software technology and mobile services, today announced that it received a Nasdaq Staff Determination letter on December 21, 2007 indicating that as a result of having filed for … ⌘ Read more

Lets us make sure
Comes v. Microsoft – Plaintiff’s Exhibit 2991 – (PDF)

From:     Bill Gates
Sent:     Saturday, December 05, 1998 9:44 AM
To:       Bob Muglia; Jon DeVaan; Steven Sinofsky
Cc:       Paul Maritz
Subject:  Office rendering

One thing we have got to change in our strategy - allowing Office documents to be rendered very well by other peoples browsers is one of the most de … ⌘ Read more

Christmas is gone, or is it?
The long whole year wait, for many, comes to an end quite fast. It seems it takes a long time until Christmas arrives, but when it does, it goes away very quickly. “It’s not fair”, Kim says. Well, I am that type of crazy individual that sings Christmas Carols, listen to Christmas music and lives the “Christmas spirit” pretty much all year round. I have my ups and downs like everyone else, but I refuse to let Christmas be a one day celebration. Give it a try! ⌘ Read more

You are a prisoner, keep quiet!
U.S. Seeks Silence on CIA Prisons

The Bush administration has told a federal judge that terrorism suspects held in secret CIA prisons should not be allowed to reveal details of the “alternative interrogation methods” that their captors used to get them to talk.

The government says in new court filings that those interrogation methods are now among the nation’s most … ⌘ Read more

Santa gets the extra love
KM believes in Santa. It is that childish fantasy we do not want to spoil quite yet. But the fat guy, with red cheeks, who pilots a sleigh pulled by reindeers, gets all the extra love –and credits– for the job we, as parents, do during Christmas time. I challenge Santa to come up with a Wii! ⌘ Read more

Want the darn thing?
Beta of XP update made public, A blog by Ina Fried, CNET News.com

Microsoft issued a release candidate version of XP SP3 in November and expanded its testing earlier this month, promising the public test version would come at some later date.

For anyone who still wants to try the darn thing, Microsoft says, the beta should be up on Microsoft’s Web site later Tuesday and ready in final for … ⌘ Read more

Ron Paul on War and Foreign Policy
Ron Paul: War and Foreign Policy

We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing America and bring the troops home. No war should ever be fought without a declaration of war voted upon by the Congress, as required by the Constitution.

Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from … ⌘ Read more

Honeymoon’s are over, honey
FL woman has 10 husbands, charges say - Yahoo News

Eunice Lopez has been charged with bigamy, accused of marrying 10 men between 2002 and 2006 without divorcing any of them, federal immigration authorities say. The Miami Herald reported Saturday that a records search by the newspaper found seven additional marriages under the bride’s name and birth date.

Lopez arrived in South Florida from Cuba … ⌘ Read more

Programmers != Antisocials
BBC NEWS: Business: Bill Gates: The skills you need to succeed

A lot of people assume that creating software is purely a solitary activity where you sit in an office with the door closed all day and write lots of code.

This isn’t true at all.

Software innovation, like almost every other kind of innovation, requires the ability to collaborate and share ideas with other people, and to sit down and talk with cu … ⌘ Read more

I had to have them
I found this weblog, via
Kottke, and in it, this post
I like: So long\
Flight of the Conchords. And I loved it. I had to have the list of
videos on that log here1, to show wife, to play them at a later time.
Simply awesome. And here they come (links go to Youtube):

• The most\
 beautiful girl in the room - “you could be a par … ⌘ Read more

Another Dell
Almost four years ago I bought our first Dell machine. And almost four year after, that machine died. Not a really long life.

Since we need a computer, we acquired another Dell… again. This time it is a refurbished Precision 390. For the first time ever, I haven’t rebuilt that machine yet. I am using Dell’s factory install, … ⌘ Read more

Primary elections
It is my desire that the U.S. primary elections were available to everyone, to vote for anyone, regardless of the political part affiliation 1. In fact, I would not make a requirement to affiliate to a specific party at all.

Why? If I am registered, for example, democrat, but I see that the choices of the Democratic Party are not “presidential” material, then I would like to be able to vote (even at the primaries) for the best of the other party. Am I making any sense?

The u … ⌘ Read more

I hate school
When your, almost seven years old, son tells you he hates going to school you worry. It is not the first time that KM tells me he doesn’t like going to school. He goes to a private, Christian school, and his main complain has always being that he doesn’t like to memorize the weekly versicle. I have noticed that this “disliking” normally comes after a weekend, holiday, or similar ‘time off school’ occasion.

I have talked to him, trying to find out if there are other reasons, but haven’t … ⌘ Read more

SuperGenPass update
SuperGenPass: A Free Bookmarklet Password Generator

Chris Zarate has updated his SuperGenPass bookmarlet, which now has it’s own dedicated domain. Version 1.1 comes with (from the website):

• Moveable window: The SuperGenPass window can be moved by dragging the title bar.
  
• Smarter password capturing: When multiple master passwords are found, the conflict must be resolved by double-clicking the desired field.
  
• Smarter autopopulate: Autopopulate is o … ⌘ Read more

Yes, they sold it
A while ago, I wrote about the closing of the C3 School, previously known as Parkway Preparatory School. As many other parents and staff, I was sad to see the school my kid attended to disappearing. And there were rumors, so I asked a senior Pastor (do not remember his name now) about them. I was told the Church wasn’t going anywhere, that the rumors about selling the Church were unfounded. I told him I was going to be very disappo … ⌘ Read more

Canon PowerShot A640
Recently we decided to replace our old Sony little camera, since quite a few photos are going to be taken in the near future, and the poor Cyber-Shot we had really wasn’t up to the task. With an under $400 budget, I picked the Canon PowerShot A640, and the picture below is the first one I took, on total automatic mode.

More will come in the near future, as we will have our first real vacation in six years. ⌘ Read more

iPhone is near, Leopard not so
For many Apple fans (me included) that were anxiously waiting for both products, this is a good and slight bad news. Good news, iPhone is on track and it will be delivered as promised. Slight bad news, we will have to wait a bit longer for the Big Cat to come out.

Apple - Hot News – iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned. We can’t wait until custome … ⌘ Read more

Vista, don’t like it? Too bad!
It seems that for those individuals who do not build their own machines –that is, assemble them– there will be no choice when it comes to pick their OS.

Windows XP to be phased out by year’s end despite customer demand – Computer makers have been told they’ll no longer be able to get Windows XP OEM by the end of this year, despite consumer resistance to Vista and its compatibility problems.
�� … ⌘ Read more

It’s time to say goodbye
It’s almost time to say goodbye to 2006 and welcome 2007. This will be – I think – my last entry of the year. A few has happened to the Collantes’ family in 2006, but the most important thing is that we have kept together, and that we have being blessed in many ways. Kent Martin has brought joy to our lives, so much joy we did not know existed. He is the main reason I love life. He and my wife, Kim.

To all – those who might read and those passing by (including bots and al … ⌘ Read more

Gmail for Domains
Yesterday I received my invitation to move my Collantes.US domain over Google, to handle all mail by using the Gmail interface. That is Google new beta testing of hosted email for corporations or midsize companies. I don’t have a midsize company, but have a big family, so I qualified. Collantes.US, of course, is way too valuable for beta testing, but I have several more domains I can use, so I decided to resubmit my request. This morning a new message inviting the new domain was on my Gmail inbo … ⌘ Read more

Still playing
Yes guys and gals, still playing WoW and loving it. Tryggr on Argent Dawn is already at level 48 and things are getting harder. Lots of quests can’t no longer be done alone and it is hard to find good players to group.

Soon Blizzard will allow characters moving, from server to server as well as accounts merging. I might decide then to move to another server. I am not sure it is going to be a PvP one, Anthony :-)

I know, you are bored with my babbling about WoW. You will not know exactly what … ⌘ Read more

Service deployment paper accepted for SCM-12
The paper “Service Configuration Management” (accepted at the
12th\
 International Workshop on Software Configuration\
 Management) describes how we can rather easily deploy
“services” (e.g., complete webserver configurations such as our
Subversion server) through
Nix by treating the non-component parts (such as configur … ⌘ Read more

Chosen by God?
I have heard in several occasions, and read quite a few times, that President George W. Bush believes he was chosen (appointed) by God to be our President. God, supposedly, wants nothing but well being for us all, right? Then I would like to know what Mr. Bush is doing to end the killing, abuse and hunger (among other things) from places like Central, South America and Caribbean, Africa and great parts of Asia.

Some say God acts in mysterious ways. Boy, I am about to believe it! ⌘ Read more

Beware!
There is a flu strain going around. I am not sure of how vast its geographic coverage will be, I just know I caught a drop –or a bucket– of it here in Orlando, Central Florida.

Now this sucker is not like any other. At least for me it isn’t. This one blocks your nose and lungs and converts you into a phlegm dispenser machine. It gives you pain in all your joins (joins, not loins!), head and eyes. It will take your appetite away, it will give you flatulence. It will not let you sleep and it will bother you w … ⌘ Read more