Rodrigo Moya

I guess lots of people have the same problem I had, which is that, due to the extensive use of computers, I had always pain in my hands. Not enough to think that I had RSI, but I had been feeling that for so long, that I guess I would get RSI sooner or later. So, since Davyd just mentioned it on IRC, here’s a tip on how us (hackers) can prevent any injury. I was advised to use the Chinese health balls while watching TV or just sitting on the couch, to massage the muscles in the hands, and after almost 2 months using them, I have to say I don’t feel pain anymore, and when I’ve felt some (just in the first few days), using the balls for a little bit calmed it down.

So, if you use computers too many hours and feel some pain in your hands, I advise you to try, it has worked for me.

That famous book (“From lost to the river”, a literal translation of the Spanish saying “de perdidos al río”), introduced a new mechanism for learning to speak English, by just translating literally from Spanish. Lots of people seem to have taken the lesson and start using it (only to speak, the method doesn’t provide you with the means for making English speakers understand , as I listened on the radio the other day, from a restaurant, in Galicia I think it was, where they have an international menu with the following items:

• Pretty to the iron, bonito a la plancha
• Wines from the river Ja (Rioja), and from the valley of the rocks (Valdepeñas)
• Courageous potatoes, patatas bravas
• Octopus to the party, pulpo “a feira”
• Little Joseph of beef, pepito de ternera
• Huge air spray with grelos, lacón con grelos
• Thin Uncle Joseph, fino tío Pepe
• They will pass from Navarra, patxarán de Navarra

Sorry to non-Spanish speakers, who won’t get the joke, but for Spanish speakers, I laughed so much with this that I thought I’d better share it.

“Please pay the penalty so that I can get out of jail”

For those not understanding Spanish: Allen Snyder, a guy from Morgantown, in West Virginia, had one of his garden gnomes stolen, and days after that he received this photo and a letter asking him to pay the penalty to get the gnome out of jail.

I went last week to London, on vacation, to visit my sister and nieces, quite happy to leave the terrible heat that we had been suffering, like all summers, in Spain. But when we got there, we were surprised to see very high temperatures (+30ºC), quite a rare thing in those latitudes. And yeah, it’s so rare that things are not prepared for those high temperatures, like the buses and tube/trains, with more than 40ºC inside them, and no air conditioning at all In fact, it was terrible seeing my two lovely nieces still going to school at this time of the year (in Spain, because of the summer temperatures, schools end at the end of June, and don’t start back until September), although it was worst to see Jessica, the little one, on her sports day at school, running and jumping in a field, at noon, with no shadows at all, and with more than 35ºC. Of course, all children were melting down, and asking for water every minute.

This made me think about a lot of new businesses that could have success over there if those high temperatures continue, like selling swimming pools, sun protectors for the cars, air conditioning for houses, “abanicos” … things that are normal in Spain (and other countries with similar weathers) but not in the UK.

I’m now, for a week, in Boston, where the temperatures are lower, and, so far, more bearable. Let’s see when I come back to Spain, I might melt down.

Tomorrow the big San Fermín festival starts in Pamplona, and, as you all know already, lots of Americans (and English and Australians, etc) come to run with the bulls (even though, in some cases, they have never seen a Spanish bull). But this year, if I fail in convincing him, there will an American gnomie! Yeah, this afternoon I got a call, as planned, from Alex, came to Pamplona to help him and his girlfriend find a place to sleep (we finally found one, although as expensive as the Ritz), and, while showing him the city (and the path used for the running of the bulls), I mentioned all the dangers he would find, and while I didn’t succeed in convincing him for not running, at least he’s going to watch the first running of the bulls (next Friday) on TV, so that he takes a glance of what it looks like. Let’s hope the images of the bulls running over people convince him better than I could

Anyway, good to have him in Pamplona, so tomorrow we’ll party a little bit and, hopefully, finish convincing him for not running.