traianbasescu.ro hacked

The website of Traian Basescu, current president of Romania was hacked (marketing strategy?! :D):

Sardegna travel

Itinerary: Luxembourg - Hahn - oush! with RyanAir - Alghero, Sardegna.
Learned lessons: don't rent cars from local companies, go open-hearted to a new place. Have no expectations.
Places seen: Alghero, Sassari, Bosa, north-west coast
Things liked: food (octopus, clams, fish, pizza and pasta in all flavors of the olive oil and chorizo, mozarella, ricotta), drinks (great house wines), preserved history (old town squares, narrow cobbled streets, old churches, the nuraghe), views (cliffs diving into the open sea, Capo Caccia with its 654 steps, sunset from the historical town in Alghero, the colorful old city of Bosa, the beaches). And last, but not the least, the ICECREAM!! Delicious! And the warm people.
Not-so nice things: the traffic (yes, still Italian driving and parking), some places looked really creepy and dirty, especially on the outskirts of Alghero, the siesta (almost everything is closed between 13 and 17).

Great trip!

Prague, Czech Me Out!

Two days after the Prague trip is over and I am still archiving all the memories and people. Prague is a special city. The blend between the east and the west seems almost right. You meet the usual rude people from the Eastern Europe who think their job sucks and it is a privilege that they do talk to you.
To forget about this rather familiar experience you drown yourself in the amazingly good local beer. My experience in Prague taught me 2 local words: Pivo cerny Kozel. It is actually 2 words, since Kozel is the name of the wonderful dark beer from around the place. The beer would come after a hefty lunch or dinner, invariably containing a garlic based food.
And who could forget the Pub Crawl, the beer on the terrace facing Vltava, the obsession of all the buildings with religion and knights, the feeling of Catholic empowerement given by all the somptous cathedrals, the sausage with mustard at 3 AM, the night tram full of drunken or high people, the standing train trip to Kutna Hora, walking through blossomed cherry trees in the Royal Palace Gardens, feeling the pain of the past when visiting the Museum of Communism, sensing the kitch and the Amsterdam look-a-like desire with the Sex Museum or sex related items. All in all, 5 days and nights of living life.

And in the beginning there was beer. And God said: Enjoy your Czech beer! The end.

P.S.: Oh, yeah, almost forgot. If you feel offended by lousy service at a bar, never go where Jean Claude Van Damme has gone before: U Medvidku. And don't trust exchange bureaus. Just use a bank or ATM!

Barcelona pics

All the pics from Barcelona can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/Barcelona#
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/Montjuic#
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/Montserrat#
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/CampNou#
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/AirplaneView#

Barcelona trip

Just came back from Barcelona for a Christmas trip. Amazing city! I had the sun, the rain and some snow. The sea and the mountains. A complete landscape. When you get bored you can just walk on La Ramblas. It is always something happening there. The city looks like it was built for the pleasure of the eyes. All the buildings have something different and the hand of Gaudi is everywhere. I really liked the Gothic neighborhood with its narrow streets. It almost felt like I could see the carts with donkeys walking around with people screaming and selling stuff. And nothing is better than a walk on the beach, even if it's December. Now I will wait for the Sagrada Familia to be finished in 2026, to visit it. Great city!

Picasa pics and fails

New hobby: Tagging failed face recognition made by Picasa. :) New pics from Freiburg:
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/Freiburg#

Just a thought

Could it be that the only place where you might find what the people around us think about you is in a court of law? Is there anyone truly honest with the others without being pressured? Just a thought inspired by Camus...

Our times

In these times of recession I happily remember the lyrics of a song dear to me called "Back to the primitive" by Soulfly. I think it describes quite exactly my thought about the consumer society. Here are some bit and pieces:

Back to the primitive
Fuck all your politics (we all agree with this)
We got our life to live (we should not be governed by our commercials, but by our true needs)
The way we want to be (do we really need all this artificial BS around?)

Back to the primitive
Fuck all your bullshit
Were back to set it free
Confronting the negative (strong will guides strong men)

Back to the primitive
Fuck all you wannabes
You don't mean shit to me
Let it bleed (this is for all the banking systems and all of its leeches; may you die in peace)

Back to the primitive
Fuck all your politics
How it used to be
Check your reality (wake up!! think for yourself!)

Now, wasn't this quite refreshing? Guide your life according to some principles of your own, not according to the TV, banks or other fucked up institutions. Think!

Conditional love

It's like standing in front of the window and not being able to touch the object of your desire.

Romanian post - De ce?

De ce ai da acelasi loc la 2 oameni intr-un autobuz care nu e plin?
De ce ai cauta scuze puerile pentru a lungi cursa de taxi, in calitate de sofer (eg. E agomerat pe acolo!, Vai, am uitat sa fac stanga aici! etc.)?
De ce Romania e singura tara din lume unde se plateste taxa foto la muzee si cladiri istorice (care urac uneori la 30 de RON)?
De ce la poalele muntilor sunt mese si scaune pentru picnic, dar nu exista nici un cos de gunoi?
De ce site-urile de prezentare ale oraselor turistice nu sunt si in engleza?
De ce in gara Predeal exista scaune doar afara si nici un scaun in incinta garii?
De ce avem atatea statui dedicate soldatilor si razboiului intr-o tara care nu a castigat niciodata vreun razboi?
De ce trebuie sa ajungem cat mai repede peste tot?
De ce trebuie sa fii cel mai bun?
De ce nu se fumeaza in aceasta unitate?
De ce nu poti primi banii inapoi pe un serviciu care nu l-ai folosit (eg. daca pierzi un tren)?
De ce nu pot comanda savarine la ora 10 seara la cofetarie (in speta, la cofetaria Select in Iasi)?
De ce ai strica marcajele pe un traseu montan?
De ce cand oferi un loc unei mame cu copil ti se raspunde cu "DA", in loc de "Multumesc"?
De ce nimeni nu incetineste cand esti aproape sa treci pe trecerea de pietoni?
De ce ai face un centru de informare turistica DOAR in limba romana in Iasi? Pentru cine?
Mai revin cu alte intrebari cand ma intorc de la mare...

The little town

Today I played my first game as a goalkeeper for the USC Saar handball team. We had a friendly game in Rodalben, a really small city/village in Rheinland/Pfalz district. I said it before, it is one of the best things here in Germany that you can enjoy playing your favorite sport and get a good athletic practice. Even for this friendly there were around 20 people watching. And the game was between 2 teams that played way low in the leagues. But the feeling is good. Hopefully, I will still have the chance to play some other games when the season starts. And don't forget, kids, follow your dreams. :)

Frankfurt pictures

A new album of photos for Frankfurt:
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/FrankfurtAmMain

The most "American" city of Europe. I really had the same feeling as in North America. Only that the history stuff began in 1900s in Canada and in 900 in Germany. Just a "small" 1000 years gap. :)

Frankfurt people

I went for a quick touristic visit to Frankfurt. And among the nice places, like the sky-scrapers, the old houses and churches, right next to the train station there was a group of gipsies playing dice ("barbut"). Probably some honest people with a strong will to succeed in life through hard work and dedication. :D This encounter is a preview of going home, I guess. Anyway, not a very pleasant site seeing, especially after I heard Romanian talk. The good thing is that I won't meet them in Romania, at least. :)

Stuttgart and Mannheim view

New pics from

Mannheim: http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/MannheimPart2
and
Stuttgart, including Mercedes-Benz museum:
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/Stuttgart

Wallis and what???

We stumble upon very different things and places in life. But I am always amazed on how diverse, unknown and surprising the life in the small islands next to Australia is. I just discovered an island called "Wallis and Futuna". A very appropriate name, I might say. Here is some link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallis_and_futuna
It is, quite obvious, in the middle of nowhere. Here, the nowhere is described by the Pacific Ocean. a piece of dirt in a land of sea. Must be nice to live there, just owning a coconut field or something. Sounds like a peaceful life...

In Rainbows

I just love the new Radiohead album. It's like a disease. It is the only thing I am listening for the past week. Here is some preview:




Most relaxing music for long flights and late hours in trains...

Train stations

The train is the main mean of transportation across Germany. And this means that the trains and train stations look very nice and the system is almost similar to the one in airports. This means you can have optimal routes chosen, to change a train is like in an airport (just go to a different line) and everything is accessible through the Deutsche Bahn website. The website is (http://www.bahn.de) is very well organized and you can choose many options regarding your trip.
I noticed some things, though. In the train stations you have to pay for the toilets. And the money you pay ranges from 50 cents to 1,10 euro (in Koln train station). Even the McDonalds restaurants inside the train stations have a sign that you should use the train station toilet. They do not offer one. I think it is a mentality thing. You pay for everything, but in the end you get a decent service. I noticed this with the internet, also. There are many hotels where you have to pay a lot of money yo get Internet access. For example, in US or Canada it's almost impossible to not have free Internet access in a hotel. Different mentality.

Amsterdam

Last weekend I was in a trip to Amsterdam in Holland. Only there I could see the difference between the very touristic and friendly "Amsterdamers" and the pretty unfriendly Germans. It was a very nice trip. The best thing about Holland is that everybody speaks English. You gotta love this when you go t a new place. In my German home I can use my English only with foreigners. Never with local people. They usually refuse any attempt of English, even in the stores or public services.
Another nice thing about Amsterdam is that the city is really lively. You have the feeling that it never sleeps. The transportation is available all day and night. The stores and bars are open all the time. I do not think you can get bored. And the parks are really neat. You can find some green spots everywhere you go. But I think that comparing a small city in Germany with Amsterdam is like trying to fit circles in square places.
Anyway, I seem to find fascinating big cities. After Vancouver, I found Amsterdam as another city where I would like to live some day. Or, at least, to be there more often. And Amsterdam is not even big. Just 700 000 people. But it is attractive because it is open minded.
Can't wait to go there again!

Study system in Germany

It has been a month since I started the courses here. Looking at the system, it is somewhat like the one in Romania. But only when it comes to its calendar. Otherwise, there are differences. Biggest one is that you can choose your courses. This is something that I missed back home. And you can choose as many or as few as you want. If you feel you can do more, you can just pick another topic.
The first month is for course hunting. Meaning you don't need to decide what course to take. You go course-shopping and decide afterwards what you like or dislike. I did this with a course of Automata theory. I wanted to do it, but after only 3 lectures I gave up. It was something else than I wanted to study.
Another difference is the use of the Internet. All the courses or study related things are available online. The registration for exams is also online. And the teachers are much more helpful. They have office hours when you can ask anything related to assignments.
The seminars are more interactive. Every student gets a paper and prepares a presentation for that paper. This way, at least he will understand one thing very well and hear about the others.
And the best thing is that the teachers clean the blackboards. :)
Still, the things tend to get pretty chaotic especially in the practical courses. But I can live with that. At least school ends in July.
However, I have heard that not all universities have the same system. But I can only talk from my own experience.

Germany and sports

This Sunday I went to see a handball game at the University. I was invited by my colleagues in the handball practice, as it was their last game in the league. For all the people that don't know, handball is the second most popular sport in Germany, after football obviously. And since my homework could wait (me grinning...) I went to see the game. The game itself wasn't really attractive, more kicking than playing (just like in Romanian football), but what amazed me was that the place was almost full and people were actually enjoying the game and the atmosphere. And we are talking about a seventh league game.
After the game the teams went out together and had a beer and a wurz (national food aka sausage). This was even more surprising, to see the home team invite all the people to a beer and a grilled wurz after the game. I actually found out when discussing with the others (people notice me easily here because I am the only one that speaks English :D) that the trainer of the team went to Iasi and he liked it. I really felt like in a real sporting event. It was like going to a show, not for a beating with some other guys. :)
One thing I noticed a lot here is that people don't smoke packed cigarettes, but they tend to have their own equipment for rolling some joints. I guess they prefer smoking what they know. And, anyway, who cares about smoking when you have a white beer in front of you?! :D The ultimate joy: white beer and wurz.