Romka's Bits and Bites

On Reviewing Scientific Papers

2012-01-10T15:32:00.002+01:00

A step-by-step review survival guide.

Open the review form.
Write the first sentence.
Write the second sentence.
Write the third sentence.
Write the fourth sentence.
Write the fifth sentence.
Submit the review.

On Superpowers

2011-09-22T19:06:00.004+02:00

Modern cartoons, films, and comic books spread the obsession with super powers. Captain america is super fast and strong, Magneto can lift and smash cars, Harry Potter can cast a plenty of magic spells... Our children (and not only) suck it all in and dream on of having one of these powers.

But what do we actually get from these fantasies? When in fact, the only super power that we can have is the ability to think consciously and to control our actions, the illusions wipe out these powers and we run mindlessly to watch another episode.

(Inspired by watching cartoons in the restaurant at lunch time.)

On Misanthropy, Ecology, and Vegetarianism

2011-08-16T16:36:00.004+02:00

As you might know, most of arable land (as well drinkable water) nowadays is used for producing nutriments for the livestock. This results in cutting rain forests, degradation of soils and biodiversity, huge waste of drinking water, etc.

Imagine, a time traveler comes from the future and tells us that if we don't reduce out consumption of meat, the world will come to its end in 200 years. Now, guess what most of us will do.

On Heaven and Hell

2011-06-15T16:59:00.002+02:00

Observing the luxury and poverty around the world I am getting more convinced that heaven and hell are on Earth and not for the dead, but for those who are living.

On Libya, Democracy, and Peacekeeping

2011-03-23T11:41:00.005+01:00

- Hm, they're having a civil war with a tyrant pledging no merci for the rabels? Hm, not good... No fly zone? Or may be let's just bomb them as usually, and then transfer the initiative to someone else?

- What about deploying UN peacekeeping troops in the conflict zones like in old times?

- No, no, our voters won't support risking lives of our soldiers!

On Democracy

2011-03-16T14:55:00.005+01:00

In recent years I've got a strong interest in political and economical systems and models (PESM). Research and practice in strengthening the role of computers in improving PESM seems a dream job to me. But as I am still far away from this target, I am left to criticize the existing PESM.

So, here it goes. The majority of democracies confirm to this definition:

Democracy is when there are good oligarchs and bad oligarchs and you can choose for whom to vote. In underdeveloped countries the oligarchs candidate themselves, in more developed countries they promote their deputies.

On RPGs Again

2011-02-27T14:54:00.002+01:00

From all character types they offer in Role-Playing Games I feel more like a Barbarian, just I am not big, not strong, and do not like orgies.

Da Best Strategy for Life Eva!

2011-02-25T08:26:00.004+01:00

Take all your dreams and ambitions, and wrap nicely in a plastic bag
Put this bag into a garbage container for plastic
Think of what you need to do today
Do it
When done, reward yourself with an ice-cream, movie, or anything else you like
Repeat until becomes a reflex

On Flaws

2011-02-11T16:54:00.002+01:00

"People who don't drink, smoke, or curse, always make me suspicious. I am sure, at night they chop corpses of little children or something like that."

-- Chuck Palahniuk

So, he's wrong, because at nights I am configuring my Linux.

Like in an Old Good RPG

2011-01-31T09:31:00.003+01:00

Moral(-2), luck(0), strenth(1), agility(0), knowledge(5), health(70%), mana points(0). Did I forget anything?

On New Employment Ambitions

2011-01-30T09:56:00.003+01:00

I don't have big employment ambitions, but I enjoy watching Dilbert.

Why I Hate Microsoft

2011-01-19T15:55:00.009+01:00

Microsoft is the most known software producer with its flagship product, Windows, operating around 90% personal computers. Is it because Windows is so good?

The success of Microsoft was based on the following:

they won the market of personal computers in 90-s (mainly used for typing documents)
- by buying 86-DOS and selling it to IBM,
- by producing Windows which required less resources than its competitor OS/2,
- and by giving the users nice-looking Word and Excel;
once owning the market, they are doing everything to kill any possible competitor.

I hate Microsoft because of the last point. Their tactics can be both legal and illegal (looking at the number of legal processes associated with them). Sometimes they buy the competitor, or buy their customers, or make some special deals with hardware vendors, etc.

Windows might be good for some users, but it does not fit all (e.g., it is not good for the job I am doing). The lack of competition is screwing the development of personal computers.

Dear Santa, please make so that Microsoft goes bankrupt till the next Christmas, otherwise there is no-one else to stop their greed.

Programming Style

2011-01-13T09:07:00.004+01:00

A computer program can be compared with a work-shop. If the master is good, a visitor of his workshop can only wonder how well everything is organized: the tools, the spare parts, and the entire space with machines and tables. He or she can see that the owner has careful thought about every little detail and every arrangement has a purpose.

Sometimes I get the same feeling while reading someone else's program. In such moments in my thoughts I'm sending my appreciation to the author. Now I am changing someone's code and cursing, cursing, cursing ...

On Communism

2010-12-15T17:55:00.003+01:00

- Where are you from?
- Latvia.
- I don't know such country!
- It is an ex-republic of the USSR. Do you know USSR?
- Yes, it was a communist country like North Korea. I hope you are not communist, are you?
- No-no!

Sad Truth

2010-12-15T17:53:00.001+01:00

If you want to know how I am doing, look at my eye-brows. If they are fine, I am fine.

News

2010-12-01T01:13:00.002+01:00

News is also a business, so they won't offer you anything you don't want to buy.

Reachmen's World

2010-10-21T06:19:00.003+02:00

It is a well-known fact that money makes politics and in some countries lobbying is a common practice. In Latvia it is still done behind the scene, but hopefully soon all these deal will become transparent for the public. At least now there are some articles like this one(in Latvian) which bring some of the deals into the light.

Some Like It Hot

2010-10-20T13:24:00.006+02:00

Some nations, like Mexicans, Thai, or Indians, prefer quite hot-spicy food, which is prepared using one of the chilli pepper species. I knew that some peppers are not hot-spicy at all, some are little hot, and some are very hot. I was wondering if all hot peppers are equally hot, and how dangerous are they for the health. Wikipedia again answered my questions. Apparently, there exists a hotness scale, called Scoville scale, according to which mediterranean peperoncino is among the least hot. One of the hottest chilli, called naga jolokia, is around 10 000 times hotter than peperoncino and 400 times hotter than tobasco.

The active components of chilli are called capsaicinoids. Opposed to what I thought before, capsaicinoids do not destroy our tissues similar to bases or acids, but trick our nerve receptors simulating the effects of the extreme heat. Despite that, the effects of capsaicinoids can be very severe and even lethal, because the reaction affects many processes starting from ion exchange to breathing. One more thing I was suspecting - the water can only cool down the affected area, but to remove capsaicin you are suggested to use soaps, detergents, and even oils and vinegars.

Escapology

2010-10-20T13:06:00.005+02:00

I still haven't found the ideal place for myself. So far I visited around 20 countries, but luckily, there are more than 200 countries left, and I am looking forward to the interplanetary travelling. Some home-grown psychologists may conclude I am escaping from something. It could be so, but I usually try to pay all the bills before I leave. I wouldn't call it escaping, I am rather looking for something.

Some People are Special

2010-10-10T11:15:00.003+02:00

Some people are better than others in cooking, wrestling, or memorizing numbers. There were and are plenties of gifted people possessing great abilities of excellent level. But among many abilities I value a lot the ability to risk your own life in order to save the life of another. I don't know if I could do that, but I've just read about a woman, who did it 2500 times, which is more than inspiring. Her name was Irena Sendler.

On Virtual Countries

2010-10-10T10:56:00.005+02:00

When I got upset by the nationalistic moods in discussions around the elections in Latvia, I started to think of a country that would appreciate their citizens despite their ethnic origins. Certainly, none of the existent countries would match, so I started to think of a virtual country that doesn't have any territory, but is recognized by others and has most of formal attributes, such as passports, government, (virtual) diplomatic missions, etc.

Of course, I asked the mighty internet if anyone had already had such idea, and, of course, they had. An article of the DaVinci Institute covers the possibility of creating new countries. It shows that it can be both good and bad. For example, international corporations, such as Microsoft, can declare themselves as independent countries to avoid the pressure from local governments.

On Nationalism and Politics in Latvia

2010-09-23T12:33:00.004+02:00

October 2, 2010 is the day when the new parliament is going to be elected in Latvia. As you might know, only 60% of Latvia's population are ethnic Latvians. The other part is composed of ethnic Russians (27%), Belorussians, Ukrainians, Poles, Lithuanians, Jewish, etc. I have very international ancestry that defines me as non-Latvian (even though my grandmother comes from Mitava/Jelgava), and I am very upset to see the internet full of nationalistic calls from ethnic Latvians.

Dear Latvian nationalists, please acknowledge that there are 40% of non-Latvians living in Latvia. If you really want "Latvia for Latvians", please do something about them, because trying to ignore them proved to be an ineffective approach. Yes, I know the history. Independent Latvia was forced to self-annex to the USSR under the threat of war in 1940, and most of these 40% of non-Latvians came from other USSR territories after 1940. Some of these 40% have now even the right to vote, and they vote for their "Russian" parties who promise them more rights, such as making Russian a 2nd state language.

Fairy Tales

2010-09-03T17:50:00.002+02:00

It could appear that life IS a fairy tale, just you are not one of its main characters.

Cyberihippie

2010-09-03T05:19:00.003+02:00

By analogy to cyberpunks, I think I am a cyberhippie.

Alfredo Sauce

2010-08-31T04:21:00.002+02:00

While living in Italy for 5 years I have never heard of Alfredo sauce. However, it is one of 5 most common pasta sauces you can find in Italo-American restaurants alongside with bolognese, pesto, aglio, and pomodoro. Also this time wikipedia has an answer.

It appears that the dish "fettuccine alfredo" became popular among American tourists after Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks tried it in Alfredo di Lelio's restaurant in Rome in 1927. In it's essence, "fetuccine alfredo" is di Lelio's version of "pasta al burro" which could be found in southern Italy.