I launched the ComeAcross Photos section today. I’ve posted many of my photographs there, and more will be posted soon. You can also sign up for an account and post your own photos if you’d like. Have a look, and spread the word!
➡ Updated 1/1/08: The Photos section was done away with last year. I created a Photography category instead, where I post some of my photographs and talk about their context. You can also have a look at my portfolio site, Raoul Pop Photography.
Here’s another of my favorite snacks: croissants with butter, sour cream and cinnamon. The preparation is quite simple. Slice the croissant in half, spread butter inside, sour cream on top of the croissant, then sprinkle cinnamon. I prefer to use organic ingredients. Enjoy!
I’ve been meaning to post an entry about this for some time. There has got to be something in the air or in the environment here in the States that’s causing people to have problems with their breathing, and flaring up their allergies. Case in point, Ligia and myself. Let me explain.
Ligia came to the States in 2004. She had no problems whatsoever (no allergies, no breathing problems) in Romania. As soon as she came to the States, she started having problems with pollen, clothes fuzz, and dust. She gets itchy eyes and she sneezes when she goes outside. The skin on her fingers gets cracked and rough when she handles old books or cleans the dust in our home. It’s not fun at all.
Me, I came to the States in 1991. Like Ligia, I had no allergies in Romania, which is a fairly polluted country – or at least used to be when I lived there. While my problems aren’t as serious as Ligia’s, my nose seems to be continually stuffy, and I’ve noticed my problems getting gradually worse over the past few years. Now, I’ve started sneezing from little bits of dust as well. All I need to do is to shake some clothes (even if they’ve just been washed) or pick up an old book, and off I go, sneezing. My skin gets like Ligia’s, cracked and dry, when I clean around our home, and it doesn’t make sense to me.
In 1999, I visited Rome. Out of the 3 weeks I spent there, the first week was taken up with breathing problems. My throat and nose burned, and I could only take short breaths. I understand the pollution is fairly bad there, but it’s nothing special compared to some cities in Romania – cities where I spent plenty of time as I grew up. It’s as if my body had been stripped of any protection against allergens, and I was at their mercy.
Now that I get to compare notes with Ligia on this, both of us have observed that there are a lot more kids here with asthma inhalers than in Romania. As a matter of fact, I never saw any there, and Ligia only saw a single person using an inhaler. Allergies are practically non-existent there, at least not to the level that they’re present here. When our friends in Romania complain that they’re sick, it’s usually with a cold, or the flu, or a headache. Here, allergies flare up, people can’t get out of their house… What’s up with this?
I tell you, there’s got to be something in the air here in the States, something that strips one of any protection against allergens. I’d love to hear what others have to say about this.
The UK Home Office has decided to put through the 3rd part of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. Originally introduced in 2000, the first two parts have already been implemented. This particular part would introduce penalties of up to 2 years in jail for companies or individuals who wouldn’t disclose their encryption keys at the government’s request. The final language may be amended, since the Home Office is involved in a consultation process on this matter, and results have yet to be reached.
As usual, the Slashdot people are having a field day with this bit of news. Even the language used by reputable news organizations is sensationalistic. I have to admit I was concerned, but I had a look at the wording of the act, and it says, clearly, that organizations or individuals would only need to release their encryption keys at the specific request of Her Majesty’s forces, for a pending investigation. It’s not as if the government’s asking everyone to hand over their keys, en masse. They’re also going to reimburse them for their expenses of retrieving and reproducing that data.
To me, this is no different than the powers of search and seizure police have here in the States. They can obtain a warrant to search your property, and you can be sure they’ll go through with a fine tooth comb, looking for anything important. On top of that, they won’t reimburse you for the trouble.
Well, now they’ll be able to do the same to someone’s data in the UK. Until now, encrypted data was above the law, so to speak – if it was well encrypted. If RIPA-3 gets going, the police might have a chance to take a look at it. I say “might”, because encryption can use constantly changing keys, and if you forget or misplace the original key, good luck getting that data back…
Ligia and I attended the World Bank’s first Opera Gala today. The singers who participated in the program were an eclectic mix: previous and existing bank employees, students enrolled in opera programs at local universities, and professionals. The Gala Program and the Artist Bios can be accessed by clicking on each of their respective links.
The music selections were best hits (well known arias from well known operas). Since most in the audience were already familiar with the music, this gave us all a chance to see how each singer interpreted it. In other words, we were able to compare their performances with the standards we’ve come to expect. Overall, Ligia and I found the program good, with several standout performances.
By far, my favorite performance was that of Helen Toni, when she sang “Vedrai, carino” from Don Giovanni. She’s a retired Bank employee, and was a member of the WB-IMF Chorus for 20 years. She sang that aria just right. Her voice was soft and sweet, not loud, and right on the notes. Ligia and I were both smiling through her performance. It was very, very good.
Another standout performance was given by Cara and Patricia Rogers (daughter and mother, respectively) in “Sull’ aria”, from Le Nozze di Figaro. It was evident they did their homework by practicing it properly. The timing was right on, the voices matched – it was a joy to hear it! Cara then gave another great performance in “Quando men vo”, from La Boheme.
Kimiko Shimada has a great voice and showed its range in “Ebben?… Ne andro lontana” from La Wally. Her powerful voice has a pronounced tremolo.
Last but not least, Yoshinori Hosaka played exquisitely on those pieces where he accompanied the singers. Clearly he is a very good and dedicated piano player. He did not seek the public’s attention, but fulfilled his role as an accompanist perfectly by allowing the singers to shine.
In the end, we were happy to attend. Even though the auditorium where the gala took place wasn’t built for opera, and the voices couldn’t travel properly, it was still a promising start to what I hope will be a regular, annual event at the World Bank. Perhaps a new hall could be found for next year?
Raoul Pop 