Oct 26th, 2009 | culture | No Comments
Apparently today everyone who goes by Dimitar or some derivative has a name day. I had totally forgotten about it. So when my boss saw me in the morning and headed toward my desk smiling I thought, “Damn, I must be really good at this job if I’d accomplished something praiseworthy even before fully waking up.” Alas, my parents had done the laudable deed by following the naming convention of the day. A bit of a downer.
Here is what wikipedia has on Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki:
During the Middle Ages, he came to be revered as one of the most important Orthodox military saints, often paired with Saint George. His feast day is 26 October for Christians following the Gregorian calendar and 8 November for Christians following the Julian calendar.
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The earliest written accounts of his life were compiled in the 9th century, although there are earlier images of him, and accounts from the 7th century of his miracles. The biographies have Demetrius as a young man of senatorial family who was run through with spears in around 306 AD in Thessaloniki, during the Christian persecutions of the emperor Diocletian or Galerius, which matches his depiction in the 7th century mosaics.
That is right - I have not one but two name days. But if I remember correctly, as a kid I would have much preferred to have two birthdays instead.
Oct 23rd, 2009 | media | No Comments
Yana Buhrer Tavanier is one of the best journalists I know. She has just completed a four-month long undercover investigation of institutions for people with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities located in Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania. Yana finds out that the people in our society who need most care get least. This also holds on a micro level in the institutions responsible for those men and women - the patients in direst states are the most neglected. Here are the first few paragraphs.
Reform is coming too slowly to institutions for adults with intellectual and mental health disabilities in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, where chronic neglect, filthy conditions, and the use of physical restraints and high-dosage drugs to control behaviour remain routine.
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By Yana Buhrer Tavanier in Sofia, Goren Chiflik, Svilengrad, Radovets, Oborishte, Belgrade, Kulina, Churug, Bucharest, Mocrea and Gura Vaii
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Someone is screaming.
Someone is screaming her head off in what seems a desolate part of the yard. There is a fence surrounding some shacks and, with each step taken towards it, the shrieks get louder. Ten more steps and there’s a gate in the fence. Another ten and all hell is let loose.
There is the screaming woman – barefoot, skinny and dressed in rags.
There is another woman, unable to walk, rolling on the ground outside. She is literally covered in flies – fifty, perhaps a hundred flies on her face, filthy clothes, bare feet, hands and the two chunks of bread she’s holding.
The story is available in English and Bulgarian. You can find more by browsing the site.
Great job Yana.
Oct 20th, 2009 | tongue-in-cheek | No Comments
Over the weekend I played a few chess games with Nick and Eric. At one point, the former (pictured) claimed there were too many things distracting him. Soon after that, Eric posted the above photo on facebook with the following comment.
Eric Fitz nick playing mitko in online chess. he will be crushed like bug!
When I saw it the first thing I thought was that Nick was supervising a shuttle launch. However, a careful inspection of his screen reveals nothing but a chess board. Dear Nick, this is an invitation to have your revenge this weekend. Are you up for it?
Oct 12th, 2009 | assorted links | 1 Comment
1. The Man Who Found Quarks and Made Sense of the Universe
2. Why capitalism fails - yet another look
3. The 50 best things to eat in the world, and where to eat them. Drool on!
4. Here is how to free yourself from Google. It is by Google. They have too much of your data but also provide a way out. Evil or not? I get confused. You make the call.
5. Nine Workspaces Where Famous Folks Get Stuff Done
6. They called him “Mr. Bubble.” And it is a bubbly world…
Oct 9th, 2009 | politics, prizes | No Comments
for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples
I had thought he might eventually get it but this came much sooner than I expected. Anyway, good for him!
Oct 5th, 2009 | no-brainer, tongue-in-cheek | 1 Comment
A cup has approximately 98.75 percent water, the rest is soluble plant matter. Wired Magazine has the complete list. Here are a few ingredients that bring back memories of my chemistry classes as well as help rationalize occasional excessive coffee drinking on my part.
3,5 Dicaffeoylquinic acid
When scientists pretreat neurons with this acid in the lab, the cells are significantly (though not completely) protected from free-radical damage. Yup: Coffee is a good source of antioxidants.
Trigonelline
Chemically, it’s a molecule of niacin with a methyl group attached. It breaks down into pyridines, which give coffee its sweet, earthy taste and also prevent the tooth-eating bacterium Streptococcus mutans from attaching to your teeth. Coffee fights the Cavity Creeps.
On a somewhat relevant note, if you need a favor from me it is generally a good idea to ask for it over a cup of joe.
