tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91156446058333841382024-03-13T21:16:17.380+01:00X de XavierUnos y ceros. A veces, en el orden adecuado.-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-57639476899839015572009-11-12T09:36:00.004+01:002009-11-12T10:02:24.499+01:00"because" vs "in order to"<a href="http://www.thinkers50.com/biographies/43/2009">Charles Handy</a>, in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Age-Unreason-Charles-Handy/dp/0875843018"><span style="font-style:italic;">The Age Of Unreason</span></a><br /><i><blockquote>Continuous change is comfortable change. The past is then the guide to the future. An American friend, visiting Britain and Europe for the first time, wondered, "Why is it that over here <b>whenever I ask the reason for anything</b>, any institution or ceremony or set of rules, they always give me <b>an historical answer, 'because'</b>; whereas in my country we always want <b>a functional answer, 'in order to'</b>. Europeans, I suggested, look backward to the best of their history and change as little as they can; Americans look forward and want to change as much as they may.</blockquote></i><br />I'll keep an eye opened to see what answers I give to myself, and what answers I hear from other people. Being an in-order-to person looks to me like a very nice goal.-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-12317470931025167362009-10-05T09:22:00.006+01:002009-10-05T09:37:07.496+01:00Once things have happened once<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Frankel">Charles Frankel</a>, in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/High-Foggy-Bottom-Charles-Frankel/dp/0060113383/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=english-books&qid=1254730365&sr=8-1">High on Foggy Bottom; an Outsider's Inside View of the Government</a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">Once things have happened, no matter how accidentally, they will be regarded as manifestations of an unchangeable Higher Reason. For every argument inside government that some jerry-built bureaucratic arrangement should be changed, there are usually twenty arguments to show that it rest's on God's own Logic, an that tampering with it will bring down the heavens.</span></blockquote><br />Likely to be a valid statement also for individuals-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-17432009706251968372009-09-16T06:27:00.002+01:002009-09-16T06:34:27.793+01:00Smarter Work: Why Social Networks Matter<a href="http://sachachua.com/wp/2009/09/15/brainstorming-around-smart-work/">Sacha Chua rocks, as usual</a><br /><br /><div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_2004030"><a style="font:14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;display:block;margin:12px 0 3px 0;text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/sachac/smarter-work-why-social-networks-matter" title="Smarter Work: Why Social Networks Matter">Smarter Work: Why Social Networks Matter</a><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=20090915-smartwork-090915222031-phpapp01&stripped_title=smarter-work-why-social-networks-matter"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=20090915-smartwork-090915222031-phpapp01&stripped_title=smarter-work-why-social-networks-matter" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;">View more <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/">documents</a> from <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/sachac">Sacha Chua</a>.</div></div>-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-19679239847187400102009-06-02T13:19:00.002+01:002009-06-02T14:41:44.257+01:00EnergyOne can view the constant interaction with people in terms of energy.<br /><ul><li>How do you tend to feel after dealing with a given person? More energized? Drained?<br /></li><li>How do you think other people feel after interacting with you?</li></ul>This idea can go far beyond fluffy self-helpy introspection. By asking this sort of questions in an organization, one can map enthusiasm and get a good indication of where energy is high, and creativity and innovation likely to occur.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0470392495">Driving Results Through Social Networks: How Top Organizations Leverage Networks for Performance and Growth</a></span> talks about enthusiasm networks.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Nothing gets done here without someone somewhere getting enthused about an idea and then enthusing others</span>.<br /></blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/xverges/3573322910/" title="Energizers by -Xv, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3649/3573322910_1a81a8165d.jpg" alt="Energizers" width="400" /></a><br /><br />And, without stopping talking about business, we can get back into self-helpy stuff... The book identifies some behaviours that are perceived as generating positive energy:<br /><ol><li>Do you do what you say are going to do and address tough issues with integrity?</li><li>Do you see realistic possibilities in conversations and avoid focusing too early or heavily on potential obstacles?</li><li>Are you mentally and physically engaged in meetings and conversations?</li><li>Are you flexible in your thinking and do you use your expertise appropriately?</li><li>When you disagree, do you focus on the issue at hand rather than on the individual?<br /></li></ol><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/xverges/3572517519/" title="Energy vampires by -Xv, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3302/3572517519_3e7fba8d24.jpg" alt="Energy vampires" width="400" /></a>-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-38826602874179568072009-01-14T17:32:00.003+01:002009-01-20T07:13:17.839+01:00Change we mustProfessionally, I'm always advocating for change and innovation.<br />Politically, I never vote for the party that is ruling in a given administration.<br /><br />Then, why oh why do I get so annoyed when I'm unable to shop the exact same model of running shorts that I bough five years ago? Or was it ten years ago?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Update</span>:</span><br />Luis, in a comment to my original post, tries to make me feel better and invites me to put the blame on the usual suspects: politicians, executives and managers.<br /><br />I started to feel better until, what started as a joke became an interesting lesson for myself: am I not showing the exact same attitude that I often and loudly complain about? The <span style="font-style: italic;">we-have-always-done-things-like-this-here</span> automatic response? The <span style="font-style: italic;">who-cares-if-the-alternative is-better</span> mindset? Check Ferran Rodena's <a href="http://www.rodenas.org/blog/2009/01/18/eliminating-waste-lessons-from-the-trenches/">Eliminating Waste: Lessons From The Trenches</a> for an example of this attitude from a group that does not belong to the usual suspects<br /><br />I was offered some more technologically advanced shorts and I did not even consider its possible advantages! I must remember this the next time that I want to push some change!-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-19679646295793728682008-09-24T14:12:00.004+01:002008-09-24T14:31:27.651+01:00Happy Stop Software Patents Day!<a href="http://stopsoftwarepatents.org/"><img src="http://stopsoftwarepatents.wdfiles.com/local--files/banners/banner-x60.png" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The problems with software patents go <a href="http://stopsoftwarepatents.org/petition">far beyond those trivial patents</a> that get linked from time to time.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />Usual disclaimer </span><span style="font-size:78%;">(stolen from <a href="http://readthisblog.net/">Read This Blog!</a>) </span><span style="font-size:78%;">applies here specially: IBM has its opinions and plans; I have mine. Any resemblance between the two is coincidental</span>-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-72502087932607268072008-06-11T20:07:00.002+01:002008-06-11T20:20:56.094+01:00SuperHappyDevHouseBarcelona pollsBaby steps towards having <span style="font-style: italic;">a hackathon event that combines serious and not-so-serious productivity with a fun and exciting party atmosphere</span>: <a href="http://xdexavier.blogspot.com/2008/06/superhappydevhousebarcelona-why-not.html">SuperHappyDevHouseBarcelona</a>... two polls:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.doodle.ch/participation.html?pollId=7y9mm94ssvxdq6ix">Would you be interested in an event of this kind?</a></li><li><a href="http://www.doodle.ch/participation.html?pollId=zppb7iybqpvm7kxm">How about a beer/coffee next week to get things started?</a><br /></li></ul>-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-10861103648480963462008-06-01T02:27:00.002+01:002008-06-02T22:41:35.298+01:00SuperHappyDevHouseBarcelona? Why not?<b></b><blockquote><a href="http://superhappydevhouse.org/"><b>SuperHappyDevHouse</b></a> is a non-exclusive event <b>intended for creative and curious people</b> interested in technology. We're about knowledge sharing, technology exploration, and ad-hoc collaboration. Come to have fun, build things, learn things, and meet new people. It's called <b>hacker culture</b>, and we're here to encourage it.</blockquote>I've been wanting to attend to something similar to <a href="http://superhappydevhouse.org/">SuperHappyDevHouse</a> since I first heard about it years ago, thanks to an intranet post by <a href="http://tlau.org/">Tessa Lau</a> telling how much she enjoyed <a href="http://superhappydevhouse.org/SuperHappyDevHouse11">one</a>.<br /><br />It shouldn't be too hard to find a handfull of people in Barcelona interested in <span style="font-style: italic;">a hackathon event that combines serious and not-so-serious productivity with a fun and exciting party atmosphere</span>. Summer nights are nice, and probably there are higher chances to find available venues. <a href="http://termie.pbwiki.com/HowToDevHouse">Mmm...</a><br /><br />Next actions:<br /><ul><li>get first reactions from fellow hackers (and hopefully draft co-organizers)<br /></li><li>explore some venue candidates. I don't have high hopes of finding one that allows a dusk-dawn event (the format of the first editions), but a shorter/earlier hackaton would also be cool.</li></ul><br /><object height="335" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SYLekr6fsiY&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SYLekr6fsiY&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="335" width="400"></embed></object>-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-52998532998684628032008-05-01T19:39:00.003+01:002008-05-01T23:58:31.161+01:00Back in the U.S.S.R.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Soviet_man"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Kolkhoznitsa.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">East Germany may no longer exist, but now we have companies featuring central planning by Troikas, mission statements crafted by apparatchiks, quinquennial planning, no right to choose leaders in companies, no democracy in the workplace, a clear distinction between intelligentsia and peasants (top CEOs make 512 times the median salary and enjoy company 'dachas', jets and limos), and 'state' monitoring (time clocks, dress codes, drug-screening, 'employee assistance' plans, e-mail monitoring, smoking and personal conduct rules, as family-life audits).</span> <span style="font-size:78%;">[1]</span></blockquote>This is not a quote from a labor union leader, an anti-globalization essay or a witty comedian. It's from a proponent of democracy and transparency in the workplace that happens to be <span style="font-style: italic;">a business owner putting his money where his unconventional mouth is</span> <span style="font-size:78%;">[2]</span>: Ricardo Semler, in <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_N4CAAAACAAJ&dq=inauthor:Ricardo+inauthor:Semler&ei=5JaLR9XAJJrUswOrpKHQBQ">The Seven-Day Weekend</a> <span style="font-size:78%;">[3]</span>.<br /><br />I loved this book, even if its writing style is not that great. Its main point is showing how Semco, Semler's company is run. When Semler and Clovis Bojikian started changing the traditional command and control ways,<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>"We wanted to demonstrate that the workplace could be a place of satisfaction, not of suffering. Work should be a pleasure, not an obligation. But this wasn’t just some humanitarian thesis. We believed that people working with pleasure could be much more productive.”</blockquote></span>To Semler, <span style="font-style: italic;">it's not about values: it's about competitive advantage</span>.<br /><br />Hurry up and read his book, or take a peek into <a href="http://semco.locaweb.com.br/en/content.asp?content=3">The Semco Way</a> by reading a <a href="http://www.cantanchorus.com/doco/semler3.pdf">1989 article by Semler in the Harvard Business Review</a> or a <a href="http://semco.locaweb.com.br/en/artigos/docs/76.pdf">2006 article about him in Strategy+Business</a>. I'm sure that it will give you lots of food for thought.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />[1] Soviet/Corpororate parallels quote: It's a funny coincidence that I read this during <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day">International Workers' Day</a><br />[2] <span style="font-style: italic;">Unconventional mouth</span> quote: by Geoffrey Colvin in a <a href="http://semco.locaweb.com.br/en/artigos/docs/77.pdf">Fortune article</a><br />[3] Even if Semler is a best selling author, I never heard about him until I recently read <a href="http://jaybyjayfresh.com/2008/01/14/governing-the-twitterfolk-shel-israel-disappears-up-own-asshole/">a post by Jon Lister</a>. Thanks so much, Jon!<br /></span>-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-91590327549755154002008-02-24T15:35:00.003+01:002008-02-24T15:47:05.117+01:00Innovation, productivity, learning<p>The concept of innovation means very different things to different people. It may be useful to set some common ground by summarizing some of the definitions and research findings in the classical book <i>Diffusion of Innovations</i>, by Everett M. Rogers.</p> <blockquote> <p>An innovation is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual. It matters little, so far as human behavior is concerned, whether or not an idea is "objectively" new as measured by the lapse of time since its first use or discovery. The perceived newness of the idea for the individual determines his or her reaction to it. <u>If an idea seems new to the individual, it is an innovation</u>.</p> <p>It should not be assumed that the diffusion and adoption of all innovations are necessarily desirable. Some harmful and uneconomical innovations are not desirable for either an individual or a social system. Further, the same innovation may be desirable for one adopter in one situation but undesirable for other potential adopter whose situation differs.</p> <p>Five characteristics of an innovation, as perceived by individuals, are specially important in explaining its rate of adoption:</p> <ol><li> <u>Relative advantge</u> (the degree to which an innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supersedes. It may be measured in economic terms, but social prestige, convenience and satisfaction are also important factors).</li><li> <u>Compatibility</u> (the degree to which an innovation is perceived as being consistent with the existing values, past experiences and needs of potential adopters).</li><li> <u>Complexity</u> (the degree to which an innovation is perceived as difficult to understand and use).</li><li> <u>Trialability</u> (the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis).</li><li> <u>Observability</u> (the degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others).</li></ol> <p>The <u>innovation-decission process</u> consists of a series of choices and actions over time through which an individual or social system evaluates a new idea an decides whether or not to incorporate the innovation into ongoing practice. During this process, different information-seeking and information-processing activities take place This process can be conceptualized in five steps:</p> <ol><li> <u>Knowledge</u> occurs when an individual is exposed to an innovation's existence and gains understanding of how it functions.</li><li> <u>Persuasion</u> occurs when an individual forms a favorable or unfavorable attitude towards the innovation.</li><li> <u>Decision</u> takes place when an individual engages in activities that lead to a choice to adopt or reject the innovation.</li><li> <u>Implementation</u> occurs when an individual puts a new idea into use.</li><li> <u>Comfirmation</u> takes place when an individual seek reinforcement of an innovation-decision already made, but he may reverse this previous decision.</li></ol> </blockquote> <p>The previous summary contains some points that are relevant to any organization that wants to achieve higher productivity through innovation:</p> <ul><li> <u>innovation is not necesarilly good</u>. The choice of a new technology because of its coolness or the implemenation of a redundant bureaucratic control are samples of the kind of innovation that an organization does not want. In the rest of this post, I'll use the term innovation only to refer to those new ideas that can lead to higher productivity, either directly (e.g. automating manual tasks) or indirectly (e.g. better organizational climate).</li><li> <u>perceived newness</u> is a key component in the definition of innovation, although often overlooked: your obvious working pattern may be my innovation. We must understand that innovations that can lead to higher productivity are very diverse: from the latest Rational tool or a break through idea from a Research Lab, to a 30 year old programming principle or some simple recipe to manage effectively the email in-box. <u>While few important innovations may lead to radical productivity improvements, we must not neglect the cumulative effect of dozens of smaller innovations that can lead to small increments in productivity</u>.</li><li> adoption of a new idea requires time and effort. <u>Expecting the adoption of innovations without allocating time for the innovation-decision process is closer to wishful thinking than to a viable strategy</u>.</li></ul> <p>Beyond the buzzword, innovation is about learning, setting the learning targets in those technologies, ideas and practices that can lead to a productivity improvement, and actively looking for opportunities to apply this learning and find new learning targets.</p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">(This is a post from feb 2005 in my IBM internal blog; its leaving the firewall because </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I like it and it is relevant for an exchange I'm having with a non IBMer)</span></p>-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-7892907673614189982008-01-20T23:22:00.000+01:002008-01-20T23:37:36.424+01:00dreamer, coder, hacker<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2285/2197292703_306b403598_d.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2285/2197292703_306b403598_d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Diagram by <a href="http://blog.whatfettle.com/">Paul Downey</a> (of the <a href="http://blog.whatfettle.com/2007/10/31/the_web_is_agreement/">Web Is Agreement</a> fame), based on (I think) an <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/premshree/139060355/in/set-72057594128817548/">idea</a> by Y!'s <a href="http://disgruntle.net/">Spo0nman</a>/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/pankaj/">Pankaj</a>-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-67911990866238863872007-08-05T18:30:00.000+01:002007-08-05T17:36:01.182+01:00Menos es más<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avram_Hershko" title="Wikipedia">Avram Hershko</a>, <a href="http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2004/">Nobel de Química 2004</a>, en <a href="http://www.lavanguardia.es/free/edicionimpresa/20070802/53378925745.html">la Contra de La Vanguardia</a>:<br /><blockquote>No me gustan los grandes laboratorios ni los grandes presupuestos para investigar (...) Como yo no tengo que pagar a mucha gente, <span style="font-weight: bold;">puedo dedicar mi tiempo a investigar y no a buscar el dinero para retribuir a mi equipo</span>.<br /></blockquote><blockquote>Detesto a los <span style="font-style: italic;">sí señor</span>. Para darme la razón siempre, ya me tengo a mí mismo; lo que aprecio es que me lleven la contraria, pero con fundamento; que me hagan pensar... Ésa es la principal virtud de los buenos júniors, que no dan nada por aceptado y que plantean nuevas preguntas a las viejas certidumbres. (...) Que tengan iniciativa; que no esperen a que yo les dé órdenes, sino que me sorprendan con sus propias y nuevas ideas, y que tengan más ganas que yo todavía de investigar. (...) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Necesito preguntas, no que me den la razón</span>.</blockquote><br />Siempre me gusta ver que alguien progresa en algo técnico sin verse forzado a abandonarlo por la gestión. El <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principio_de_Peter" title="Wikipedia">Principio de Peter</a> no siempre se cumple.<br /><br />Equipos pequeños, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7693300/site/newsweek/" title="True Teamwork: Diversity is essential to the success of any endeavor, from scientific research to Broadway musicals.">diversos</a>, con redes sociales extendidas: buenas recetas no sólo para la investigación, sino para cualquier tipo de innovación.-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-7081833485600532292006-11-23T11:53:00.000+01:002006-11-23T12:16:53.921+01:00Més sobre els tallers del Dia de la RobòticaLa <a href="http://www.bcn.es/canalconeixement/">Regidoria de la Ciutat del Coneixement</a> em contesta què els tallers de robots <a href="http://mindstorms.lego.com/">Lego Mindstorms</a> del <a href="http://xdexavier.blogspot.com/2006/11/robots-que-no-vaig-veure.html">Dia de la Robòtica</a> els va muntar <a href="http://www.inveniorama.com/index_ca.html">invenio|learn.by.doing</a>, empresa de serveis de Barcelona. Tenen dos videos curts a <a href="http://www.inveniorama.com/servicios_robotica_ca.html">la seva pàgina sobre tallers de robòtica</a>, un d'un taller per a nens i un altre d'un taller per adults. Aquests darrer és d'un Telenotícies de TV3. I els tallers fan un goig.<br /><br />Continuarà...-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-25034088477139435802006-11-23T02:10:00.000+01:002006-11-23T02:12:07.938+01:00Alta tecnologia, estadístiques, premsa, Catalunya i MaltaLlegeixo a La Vanguardia una nota de l'agència EFE:<br /><blockquote style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Alta Tecnología: Catalunya está entre las cinco primeras de Europa</blockquote>"Guau! Potser som un pinxo del <a href="http://blogoehlert.typepad.com/eclippings/2006/05/spiky_world_ver.html">món pla i punxagut</a>!", penso. Segueixo llegint.<blockquote style="font-style: italic;">Catalunya es una de las cinco regiones de la Unión Europea donde las empresas de alta tecnología emplean a más trabajadores, según datos correspondientes al 2004 publicados ayer por la oficina estadística comunitaria (Eurostat).</blockquote>Estic tan sorprès per la bona noticia que vull mirar-ho directament a <a href="http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/PGP_PRD_CAT_PREREL/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2006/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2006_MONTH_11/9-20112006-EN-AP.PDF">la nota de premsa l'Eurostat (pdf, 5 pàgines)</a>. Ups! Resulta que no és "alta tecnologia", sino "high- and medium high-tech manufacturing".<br /><br />I què es això? "<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">High- and medium high-tech manufacturing</span> includes the following industries: chemical and chemical products (including pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals and botanical products), office machinery and computers, radio, television and communication equipment and apparatus, medical, precision and optical instruments, watches and clocks, aircraft and spacecraft, machinery and equipment n.e.c., electrical machinery and apparatus n.e.c., motor vehicles, trailers and semitrailers and other transport equipment.</span>"<br /><br />Segueix tractant-se d'una bona noticia, però no és exactament la idea que m'havia fet: les cadenes de muntatge de la Nissan són part d'aquesta "alta tecnologia". La <a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=es&ned=es&amp;amp;ie=UTF-8&ncl=1152764191&filter=0">noticia al news.google.com</a>, on es veu que La Vanguardia/EFE no són els únics que fan la mateixa simplificació.<br /><br />Em sorprèn que <span style="font-weight: bold;">Malta</span> surti mencionat positivament uns quants cops, i m'adono que no en sé res d'aquest país. Una mica de wikipedia (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta">en.wikipedia.org</a> i <a href="http://mt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta">mt.wikipedia.org</a>) i moltes sorpreses:<br /><ul><li>són 400.000, en un país molt dens.</li><li>entrarà a l'Euro el 2008.</li><li>és de la Commonwealth.</li><li>són oficials l'anglès i el maltès (que és una llengua semítica, l'única a Europa i l'única que fa servir l'alfabet llatí, amb les lletres z, g, c i h que poden portar un barret), tot i què durant molt temps l'italià ha estat l'únic llenguatge escrit (i el preferit per l'elit educada). </li></ul>I com sé unes coses més, ja puc anar a dormir.-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9115644605833384138.post-54471570904758874092006-11-17T11:00:00.000+01:002006-11-17T11:58:11.677+01:00Robots que no vaig veureDiumenge passat va ser el <a href="http://www.lamalla.net/canal/digitalia/bitsel_lania/article?id=151954">Dia de la Robòtica a Barcelona</a>. Vaig assabentar-me'n tard i no vaig poder apuntar el meu fill a un taller de robots <a href="http://mindstorms.lego.com/">Lego Mindstorms</a>. Els tallers eren part de la <a href="http://www.setmanaciencia.org/">Setmana de la Ciència</a>. Espero estar més atent l'any vinent...<br /><br />Fa temps que li dono voltes a intentar muntar alguna cosa relacionada amb els <a href="http://www.lego.com/eng/education/mindstorms/default.asp">robots de Lego a l'escola</a> dels meus fills, però són massa cars com per liar-se sense estar segur de poder-hi dedicar prou temps. Potser hauria de mirar de posar-me en contacte amb la gent que va muntar aquests tallers. O potser hauria de deixar-m'ho estar i evitar el risc de què els meus fills i els seus companys acabin sent "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw">too white and nerdy</a>".<br /><br />I, ja que va de Mindstorms, reciclo un post antic del meu blog a la intranet d'ibm:<br /><br /><blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote"> <p>Very <a href="http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,69946-0.html?tw=wn_tophead_1">interesting story on Wired</a> about how Lego has developed their next version of their "programmable brick" taking advantage of their fans. Could well be a side bar in Eric Von Hippel's <a href="http://web.mit.edu/evhippel/www/democ.htm">Democratizing Innovation</a> (good -and free- book).</p> <p>February 5th is the last day to apply to purchase one of the 100 prerelease kits of NXT at a good price. I wish these beasts were not so expensive! I'd love to own one!</p> <p>(via <a href="http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/node/1215">Lambda the Ultimate</a>)</p> </blockquote>-Xvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12954073038736466058noreply@blogger.com0