human rights

Have you ever heard about human rights? What are they?  How many are there?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations in December 1948 and declares that every human being owns a list of thirty rights just for belonging to the human race. These rights are inherent to every individual and were created after the WW II so that such moral catastrophe would never happen again.

The list includes the right to education. Although I already knew this, I want to talk about it because in our society we often take education for guaranteed and forget that we are extraordinarily privileged to have quality public education. The following video reminds us that not everyone has access to education, and that, unfortunately, thousands of children in the world aren't attending classes but working in factories while you're reading this...

cyber security

The Cyber Security Challenge takes place in the UK every year in order to recruit "cyber defenders".

The final stage of the challenge took place onboard the HMS Belfast, where computer terror simulation threatened London's City Hall by targeting it with the cruise's guns. According to the instructions, the participants had 48 hours to determine whether the threat was real, recognize the attack and stop it. 

21-year-old Adam Tonks won the final stage this morning, receiving a recognition plus industry training and £100,000 worthing university courses. As he declared, to win this contest you need a lot of knowledge, but also the ability of responding quickly to challenges, team collaboration skills and communication skills.

From my point of view, this is a very effective way of finding the cream of the cream in that area, as well as a very good initiative to create an interest amongst people for national security and also to make citizens realize how important is to keep safe cyber data and personal information... if a hacker is able to hack into the army, what could he do with our personal computer?

100 posts!

This is my 101st post on this blog!

After three years of posting on this blog, my last news article was the 100th post. To celebrate this kind of "anniversary", I'd like to tell you what does this blog mean to me.

It started just as a school task. Actually it is still something I do for school, but I've reached a point where I do like writing on this blog. As you may know thanks to some older posts, I'm not very fond of writing online and posting my thoughts on the web. Neither do I like to use social networks such as Facebook or twitter, however, I've started to enjoy writing here. At first I thought that no one would ever care about what I would write, but I realized that there's someone out there who reads my posts and that I even get visits from the US or Russia. This motivates me to keep on posting and sharing my ideas and interests with these anonymous people, because who knows if I could make a little change on their lives? Perhaps someone will decide to study architecture too, or to start sailing!

Although I may eventually stop writing on "sailing through life", it will always be my first blog, the place where I can check that during these three years I've improved my English a lot, somewhere where I can talk about myself and get to know other net users...  

21st century school

High schools are often recognized for their massive and prison-like looking (specially mine). The Sandy high school, in Oregon, is now a highlight from the 21st century schools.

The 310,000-square-foot building is perfectly integrated with the forestal area and provides students an approach to nature through architecture, as well as plenty of facilities. Finished in August 2012, Sandy high school is inspired in the old roman constructions, with a central piece that joins three axis in the part where most social activity takes place. In every axis there are classrooms, laboratories, etc. And the building even includes an atrium, gym and an auditorium.

Regarding that my school has a considerably prison-looking, with huge grey concrete walls and grilles in every window, Sandy high school seems to me a perfect place to get inspired and work harder more motivated. A school well integrated in nature, with wooden walls, enhances people's creativity and creates a more comfortable atmosphere.

feeling fat

Facebook responds to a Change.org petition asking to remove the "feeling fat" emoji from the status list.

After more than 17.000 people signed for the petition, the social network has removed the face with double-chin related with the status feeling fat. The petition, started by Catherine Weingarten and the group against negative body image "endangered bodies", has rapidly spread in the net and reached its objective.

The group "endangered bodies" claims that emojis and status like that, which may seem absolutely innocent, are extremely dangerous to those with eating disorders. Catherine Weingarten adds that feeling fat is not only something you feel in front of the mirror and makes you feel uncomfortable with yourself, it is the constant thought that others are judging you for your image and making fun of your body.

It is amazing how movements like that can change the world. In my opinion, emojis that can offend individuals or even communities should be removed in order to achieve a society where being fat or religious is not a fault but something absolutely natural.

Check "The guardian" for more info.

new headquarters for apple

The technology monster Apple is building a new and massive future-like headquarters in Cupertino.

"Campus 2" is set to be finished in 2016 and will house almost 13.000 employees. This building will include offices, innovation centers and development departments, an amphitheater, parks, parking lots, canteen and an infinite list of facilities that will leave few reasons for the employees to leave the campus.

This insule-like structure has been criticized for its spaceship looking and for creating a parallel society inside cupertino city. The company's spokesmen state that this structure has no further purpose than enhancing collaboration among employees and creating an innovation center that will take technology to unknown limits.

As a fan of apple's technology and architecture, I can't really state against this new headquarters because I'll probably admire the building for its functionality and innovations, as well as the products that might be created there inside... Though I also see that this insule-like center is likely to separate Cupertino's community from "apple community" instead of integrating a new social meeting point in the middle of the city. From my point of view, it would be nice chance to renovate Cupertino's downtown and integrate the citizens into the development process.

hello barbie

Talking toys?

Some years ago we met a few toys that were able to pronounce a limited collection of sentences, such as "Hi! how are you?" or "nice to meet you!". But when I was a child I could have never imagined that my talking-whinnie the poo would answer back to my question and would be able to hold a conversation!

Now, the world famous Barbie doll is able to to recognize voices, answer questions, propose games and even chat with a kid! It was first introduced in NY's toy festival and first fears are already appearing. It seems like this barbie records conversations, sends them via internet to a Talktoys center which analyzes them and then uses a program similar to those integrated in smartphones to answer back and learn from its owner.

At first sight, it could seem an amazing toy, it is, indeed, a revolutionary doll, however, privacy advocates defend that this product could misuse the information it records, which may, eventually, be sent to third parties and violate privacy rights. In addition, some consumer associations denunciate that to analyze this conversations has no further purpose than studying the market to develop more effective publicity.

As I see it, we have to consider both sides of the coin: this doll is a revolutionary toy that can help children make fun. However, I understand all this fears and worries, because this doll doesn't sound innocent to me at all... I mean that this product is attractive for children, of course, but from my point of view a toy capable of holding conversations with children could not only misuse the information it gathers (not the toy but the company) but also diminish children's imagination, because if the toy answers back... there's no space left for the kid to think! 

september '15

In my last post I expressed my feelings towards 2nd Bat, and I ended up saying that my lack of motivation was probably due to the fears of dramatically changing my life this new September.

I decided I wanted to study architecture about two or three years ago. Back then, I saw University as a long-term dream, as something that happened in films and that, even though was going to come, something far far away from my comfortable life in town.

Now, I'm just five months from it and and my excitement is boosting day by day, as well as my concerns about it. When last year I said I wanted to study architecture, it was "half a decision" because I was still able to change my mind without any compromise... now, in one month I'll have to apply for university and it'll be almost irrevocable. I'm eager to start this grade, though I have to admit that as it approaches I get more and more nervous. This nervousness makes me hesitate: will I enjoy it? is it the right choice?

 Luckily, this weekend I was able to talk to a cousin of mine who lives in Seville and that is in her last year of architecture. Her advise was really useful, and her point of view on the degree, as well as her experience and reflections helped me to see that all this doubts are, again, the result of seeing university everyday closer... Barcelona, here I come!

the final countdown

This school year is known for being a rush, however, I didn't really figure out how fast it goes until I realized there are less than two months left.

I started 2nd Batxillerat really motivated, ready to prepare myself for university and selectivitat, but I've reached a point where rather than enthusiastic for learning I'm just eager to finish this course. I do like what we're studying, some subjects more than others, yet I feel like I'm just working to pass this torture with good marks and be able to get into a good university. Some content just doesn't interest me and some other is just useless for what I want to study.

Sometimes I find myself in the middle of a class wondering how windy is it outside and if I'd be able to sail. It's not that I no longer want to study, it's just that I ask myself why am I doing it. The answer seems clear to me when I think of myself being an architect of success, enjoying a grade that despite being tough will lead me through a new world and will introduce me to a new view of life, a new circle of people, a new lifestyle... However, other occasions I feel pessimistic and I have the temptation of giving up, just finish this two months and then do something creative, something that doesn't require to study, something that just fills me...

All this reflection may suggest that I'm not really enjoying these days, in fact, I've had better times than two weeks with exams every day... I guess this disenchantment is nothing but the result of stress and tiredness mixed with the fears of leaving high school and moving to a new city, with a new community, the doubts of choosing a path in life... the fears to a dramatic change (to better I hope) in my life.

a soulmate

How should a soulmate be like?

Everyone talks about love and soulmates, everyone expects to find or become a prince charming... Do we all have somewhere out there our better half?

Whether it exists or not, we all think obout it and even have some ideas about how would it be... So do I. For this essay I've had to think about myself and someone who could complement me. After a long reflection, I think I may have found some characteristics someone must gather to be my soulmate.

The first thing that came to my mind was that she must love the sea: there's no way we could ever be together if my soulmate disliked the sea. Sea gives me energy, purifies my mind, sea makes me fly... The sea is my life. However, a soulmate is not only someone who shares your passion, a soulmate is someone who makes you feel safe, at home, someone reliable who looks after you and someone whom you want to look after to too. 

In addition to that, I guess my soulmate shoud be someone easy-going but critical at the same time, funny and ironic but thoughtful. Open-minded. I'd like someone down-to-earth but with its head far away: someone challenging for me, someone enthusiastic, and, why not, a bit childlike. This person must be passionate too, and even though I've had problems to admit my simplicity, attractive. My soulmate must be adventurous, someone non-conformist, someone who surprises me every day and someone able to see the little point of happines in the worst situations...

I reckon it won't be an easy task to try to find someone like this, but who knows if I might meet a person who'd change all my life within a glance? Who knows if I'll meet someone who'll redefine my idea of love? Time will tell!

  

google news

Google news has been removed from Spanish networks.

A recent change in the Spanish law has caused the closure of the Google news service in Spain. This new legislation obliges every publication to charge any website for sharing it, even if only a tiniest title is shown. Therefore, services like google news, which doesn't make money of its activity, have been forced to remove their portals. 

From my point of view, this new legislation, which theoretically tries to protect the authors and help them get money from their articles, is doing nothing but holding up the access to information. The lack of this wide used service is an obstacle when trying to find what's happening in the world... To sum up, a new maneuver from the Spanish government to control the information and keep us, the Spanish citizens, putting up with everything they say or do. 

In addition to that, the Spanish newspapers are now more difficult to find online, therefore, some of them (especially those read by a minority) are struggling to keep up with the global media and are now likely to disappear.

You can find the "boe" on that concern here. And the whole news on this link.