Give me freedom:.

Back in college I met this guy that claimed you could get to know someone just by looking at their code. Back then I thought this was nonsense, but with time I've come to realize he wasn't so wrong after all. You obviously can't learn everything worth knowing about someone just by the quality of their code, but you can certainly watch out for patterns that can give you a better idea of the maturity and programming level that person is in right now. You can always brag about how many design patterns you know, your popularity in dzone.com, maybe even about the TV series and movies you've watched, but the truth is that when you show your code to someone else, there's no way to hide the real programmer in you!

I'm telling all this because today I came across some code programmed by a so-called leader of the Java community in Mexico, needless to say I was really disappointed:.

You define us,
Make us feel proud.

Try, wait:.

It's no secret that being in a small town like Texcoco has its rewards. For instance, I can go for a walk every morning and breathe fresh air while looking at an amazing sight!!. I can do this because I live next to some irrigated fields where the University of Chapingo conducts agricultural research, which is pretty good for me, because they have all sorts of fruits and vegetables in there, and the truth is that nowadays it's not that easy to find places like this, where you can see where your food is coming from.

I'm telling this because I recently saw some excellent documentaries, Food Inc, and The Cove. The idea behind them is really simple, do you know where food is coming from?. Most of us don't, and what's more, we don't even care. I truly recommend you give these movies a try, as with most documentaries they are biased towards one side, nonetheless they do have some interesting information that you deserve to know:.

I'm like the only one
You tried to save when you fell out.

My ship of hopes:.

Truth be told, for the last couple of weeks I've been doing nothing but rest. I really needed it, but now it's time to go back to work, that is, start programming!!. I said in my thesis proposal that I would spent summer developing the methodology for the topic I chose, maintainability verification, and well, that's what I'll be doing for the foreseeable future!!.

I also said that I'd like to travel this summer, so next month I'll spend one week traveling across Chiapas. There are some other places in my agenda, I'm really looking forward to visit all of them!!:.

And I can't fall asleep
Without a little help.

Get up, get up!!:.

Descubrí que mi obsesión de que cada cosa estuviera en su puesto, cada asunto en su tiempo, cada palabra en su estilo, no era el premio merecido de una mente en orden, sino al contrario, todo un sistema de simulación inventado por mí para ocultar el desorden de mi naturaleza. Descubrí que no soy disciplinado por virtud, sino como reacción contra mi negligencia; que parezco generoso por encubrir mi mezquindad, que me paso de prudente por mal pensado, que soy conciliador para no sucumbir a mis cóleras reprimidas, que sólo soy puntual para que no se sepa cuán poco me importa el tiempo ajeno.

García Márquez


Each secret you keep,
keeps me a bit far.

With the lights turned on:.

Every now and then I receive emails from my school regarding academic and life guidance. To be honest, I don't usually read them, but today one of these emails got my attention because it had a link to check your current academic status. Out of curiosity I clicked on the link and instead of giving me personalized information it redirected me to the general academic regulations, needless to say I was disappointed.

Anyway, I'm telling this because I took the time to read the academic regulations, both of bachelor and postgraduate courses. It wasn't the first time I did this, back when I was studying my bachelor degree I had a little disagreement with some faculty members about some morale issues, and had to read very carefully those regulations to make sure I wasn't gonna have any serious trouble after all. Morale issues?, I know, it's not like we're living in the 18th century or something like that, but the problem is that in some aspects my schools is old-fashioned, mainly because it comes from a very conservative state here in Mexico. In the end, I didn't have any trouble, because truth be told, I did nothing wrong!!.

And I'll cross oceans,
Like never before,
So you can feel the way I feel it too.

Don’t let fear of feeling fool you:.

Languages are one of the things that have always amazed me. Ever since I realized that once you write something you are kind of saving a part of yourself, an image of your thoughts, something better than a picture because all those who read it will do it with their own inner voice!!, I just found myself dreaming with the possibilities of this kind of power.

This is one of the reasons why I like programming a lot, it gives you freedom to express yourself without the burden of natural languages. I mean, you tell the computer what to do without mundane information, just the facts!!. And when you read someone else's code, you get to see into his mind, his true intentions, just like Dumbledore's Pensieve!!:.

As for natural languages, I like the expressiveness they represent. The way I see it, they're not meant to be precise or concise, which helps you think and express yourself in a variety of ways. It's precisely this point what amazes me the most, different languages shape your thoughts in different ways!!. Think about that for a moment, this means that they way you see and understand your world depends, to some extent, on the language you use!!.

This different language-different perspective idea is what's been motivating me for years to learn some languages besides Spanish. I haven't always succeeded, but even if I learn just the very (very) basics of a new language, I like to think it will help me see the world from another perspective =):.

Do you know how to kill loneliness at last?
Oh there’s so much there to heal dear,
And make tear stains of the past.

To do each and every little thing:.

This week I started to read 'Cien años de soledad'. I know it's a classic book, and that I probably should've read it a long time ago, but it's never too late to redeem ourselves!:.

One of my hobbies has always been watching movies, and now I have plenty of free time to revisit classics and find new jewels. For instance, the other day I watched 'Wasting Away', totally amazing, one of the best zombie-movies ever!!. I truly recommend you give it a try. Today I watched 'Y tu mamá también', it just gave me more reasons to want to go to Oaxaca this summer!!:.

There's a light,
a certain kind of light,
that never shone on me.