Even if I could hear what you said:.

Ok, today I want to ramble about a simple subject that has bothered me my entire life: why should we greet women different from the way we greet men?, it's so silly!. Let me explain, here in Mexico when you greet a guy you usually shake hands, but when greeting a woman you're also supposed to fake a kiss in the cheek, well, to be honest some people, specially the old ones, actually perform the kiss...

I've never understood why we have to do this, I mean, why make distinctions?, aren't women supposed to be our equals?. Well, I do believe we are, and so I almost always greet everyone the same way: a little 'Hi' and a handshake, and if the handshake can be avoided, perfect!, to me it doesn't matter if you're a child, a man, a woman or whatever.

Of course, most women are used to the traditional convention, this sort of special treatment, and so when I don't do it, it kind of feels strange. I've seen all kinds of reactions, there are those who get offended, those who laugh, those who force the tradition, and my favorite, those who don't care. I specially like this last group, they are truly acting like equals =):.

I'll make you laugh by acting like the guy who sings,
and you'll make me smile by really getting into the swing.

Quiero verte yo:.

I've made my mind, this will be my last month of rest!. 

I've spent the last three months learning French, and though it's been interesting, now I need another motivation in my life. Historically, the only thing that has really mattered to me, besides my family, is programming, so that would be the natural choice. The plan of studying a PhD abroad is also open, but I hate just staying still, waiting for things to happen. I've already started looking for some positions in the industry, we'll see how that goes. 

I'm in no rush, I value my time =):.

No importa lo que digas,
no importa lo que vea,
yo creeré en mi sueño!

I don't think straight with nothing to prove:.

It's been a while since my last post. Let's see, I just attended to an international conference in Puebla. I mainly came here because a few months ago some colleagues and I got a paper accepted in this conference, and though it was not my turn to talk about it, I thought I could be here as moral support, or something like that. This was also a great excuse to travel and visit both Puebla and Cholula. All in all, this was a great experience, I had a good time with one of my colleagues (vivan la pasita y los molotes!!) and I really enjoyed the architecture of both cities =):.

I really needed this time off, because for the last month I've done nothing but study french, and I came to a point where I felt I wasn't really learning, I was just forcing my brain. If we're to believe the HF guys, this is something really, really, bad.

Continuing with academic matters, during these months I got another paper on MDSD accepted in an international conference, held in Aguascalientes. I wrote another version of the paper based on my thesis work, and this time we'll try and submit it to a big conference in the US, let us hope it all goes as planned. To be honest, I've also started to reconsider pursuing the PhD right now. Will it really be my best option for the next 3-4 years?.

Every single night ends up the same,
I don't say much at all,
but I bring up your name.

No tratemos de correr antes de andar:.

I've always had a passion for languages, it's amazing how they shape your thoughts and, to some extent, who you think you are. Right now there's a possibility I'll go study abroad, specifically to a french speaking country, which is why I've been studying French on my spare time for the last couple of weeks.

I'm using the Rosetta Stone approach, and if you haven't heard of it before, let me tell you it's great!!. They try and teach you not by translating words or sentences from your native language, but by letting you associate images, colors and sounds to concepts, just the way you learned your first language =). It's an interesting approach, if you ever find yourself trying to learn a new language, I would recommend you give this software a shot!!:.

Esta noche estamos vivos,
sólo este momento es realidad.

You could leave or live with it:.

Some say life is just a little bit of history repeating, and to be honest, the more I grow old the more I think they are right. Anyway, though I've done nothing but rest for the last couple of weeks, now I should really start thinking about what I want to do for the next few years.

Well, I guess there's no rush, this cycle is not over yet =):.

I was never much of a romantic,
I could never take the intimacy.

Don't act like I never told you:.

Last Thursday I finished my master's degree =). I passed the thesis defense, and I think it went pretty good. One of the best teachers I've ever had even said mine was one of the best studies he had evaluated so far, and coming from him, it really means a lot.

Now I'll finally take sometime for myself and think about my future in the short and medium term. For instance, one of the advisors talked to me about the possibility of pursuing a PhD abroad, and it certainly sounds interesting. On the other hand, it would also be nice to be back in the industry and deal with real world software engineering. I guess I could also do both =):.

Anyway, I'm enjoying what's left of this year, hoping next one will be even better =):.

Work it harder, make it better,
do it faster, makes us stronger,
more than ever, never over,
our work is never over.

For reasons unknown:.

The year is coming to an end, which is great because it also means I'm about to finish my master's degree. To be honest, I enjoyed most of this year and a half at school, though there are many things I'd change. Anyway, I think this is an excellent opportunity to stop for a moment and make some comments about things that have been in my mind for sometime now.

When I graduated from college five years ago, most of my generation was interested in software engineering and solving problems at a high abstraction level. Yesterday I went to a small conference at school, where the best projects of the computer department courses where presented, and you know what?, 80% of these projects were games!. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but I kind of disagree in giving such an emphasis in these kind of topics, and not so much on server side technologies and stuff like that.

Another thing, maybe related, we really need better programmers!. People who can dig into problems, manage the abstractions and come up with innovative solutions. Sadly, most of the programmers I've come across don't do that. And what's more, when you point out that their work is not good enough, instead of trying to improve it, they resent it and take it as a personal matter. The truth is I've also done that, maybe it's the huge ego inside every programmer =). The lesson here is to accept you're not always right, even if it takes you sometime to realize that.

I pack my case, I check my face
I look a little bit older,
I look a little bit colder.