Is this the kind of life you want?:.

In this age of programmers' underestimation and slavery it's good to see that some people are actually doing something to change this. Recently I've been in touch with some members of a little company named IluminaTI, TI standing for Technology Innovation, whose purpose is not to exploit it's members but rather acknowledge their value. Some might say that traditional companies state the same in their missions, but in reality for most of them we're just a thing, not a being. If I were not about to start a full-time master degree, I would definitely work with them!!:.

This new way of thinking has gained momentum thanks to companies like Google, and smaller ones like Fog Creek. It's great to see it can be successfully applied here in Mexico:.

Do we ever try?
We're keeping it automatic
I'll be listening until you fade.

Exsonvaldes

I got the green light:.

Lately I've been reading a book where you can really feel the author's passion for computer science. Every now and then he can't help praising for the solid, beautiful, and pervasive foundation of computer science, the elegant and useful models and abstractions that have been created over the years, and more like that. It's Elements of Computation Theory by Arindama Singh, and if you have some time to spare, I truly recommend you give it a look.

It’s funny how you just break down,
Waitin' on some sign.

Is all that you can't say:.

Last Wednesday I went with a couple of good friends to the Mexico-Trinidad y Tobago match and, as expected, I spent half the time cursing the damn players!!, but the night out was worth it if only for the tacos we ate before finally going home...tacos Charly!!:.

Sometimes I think school bureaucracy is evil. Even though I had the admission interview earlier this week, they won't let me continue with the admission process until someone formally notifies them the interview result!!...

Years gone by and still
Words don't come easily
Like sorry.

Sweep me off my feet:.

I had forgotten about this amazing song, till now!!...directly from The Girl Next Door's soundtrack:

Un agujero queda para mí:.

This week I finally had a meeting with the master's director. I have to admit that though 4 years ago I attended his Networking class as a bachelor student I didn't think he would remember me, but he kind of did. Anyway, he explained to me the master's specializations, the advantages of their new study plan and also the different alternatives to get a scholarship. It's very interesting that as a full-time student you get a 20% scholarship, and if you combine the additional 20% for being an exatec, you get an amazing discount that really encourages you to start right away.

There's also an interesting opportunity to apply for a 90% scholarship if you decide to become an investigator assistant in one of the campus' lines of investigation, but so far I'm not really attracted by any of the proposed thesis themes in these lines.

Allá donde se cruzan los caminos,
donde el mar no se puede concebir,
donde regresa siempre el fugitivo.

Joaquín Sabina

Soy insomnio cada noche:.

This weekend my family and I visited Tequisiquiapan, following a Mexico Desconocido's recommendation for the National fair of the cheese and wine. The city is truly amazing, but sadly there wasn't such thing as a fair, just a park where teenagers went to get drunk. Anyway, we really enjoyed visiting other parts of the city, for instance we went to a nearby aquapark where we spent the whole morning, visited the Freixenet cavas and ate a delicious pozole late afternoon:...pozole!!:.

I'm looking forward to see what the WWDC brings. Though I know the conference will be iPhone oriented, I'm more concerned about Snow Leopard, mainly because that's probably going to be my next machine's OS:.

Voy siguiéndote los pasos
Y aunque tú no lo has notado
Tal ves nunca me hagas caso, pero estoy aquí.

Aarón y Su Grupo Ilusión

Una lección de perspectiva:.

I must admit that living in Mexico City still stresses me to unexpected levels. I avoid using the car all that I can, but there are times when you simply need it, for instance, the other day I went shopping with my grandmother and we really needed the car to bring all the supplies back home. So we arrived to the mall and I told to her to get off the car and get into the mall while I found some free spot to park, the problem was that I spent almost an hour looking for that damn free spot!!, needless to say I was very stressed at the end, and if that wasn't enough, the car had almost no fuel left, so I feared we wouldn't have enough to go back home, meaning we would be stuck right in the middle of Periferico, causing more chaos and despair in this apocalyptic city!!:..

Y yo con melancólica visión
repaso ciencia y religión
señalo el sol por la ventana
allí vivía yo.