Nature

Yesterday was one of those days. Finishing a script, I started feeling the so well known sensation of having a hand squeezing my brain to then make it swell until pushing hard, really hard, inside my skull, outwards, as if trying to break the bone. It was 9 PM for me anyway, so I decided to do something I don't do that often, but really should: check out interesting sims to explore. And so I found this place.

In that world we call real, I love forests, rivers and mountains. I long for one of those times when I can wear my most comfortable clothes, sneakers, and walk at places where at times the Sun doesn't reach you, because the tree leaves are just so dense at that point.

I tried to post a few pictures, but the feed wasn't collaborating. Yes, it's a beautiful place to be with him, lost in his arms while the flowers tickle you and the breeze caresses your cheeks (Yes, I also realize none of that is real, but let's just continue as if it were, for a bit.)

There was more than I wanted to show, than the feed allowed for. For example, this stone lion, which looks like a proud guardian of the Quiet River (no idea if that's the actual name of the river):

I can't help giving names to... everything. Had I been Bastian in the Neverending Story, I sure could have helped too, when the Child Empress needed a new name. Some names I give may be, though, more irreverent than others... But... Back to The Guardian of the Quiet River... :-)

I wanted a closer shot with it, staring at the waters, and I couldn't help remembering, "when you gaze long into an abyss":

My favorite shot from yesterday is this one:

Quiet River, in Flickr

It brings back so many memories... Memories of my favorite forest in Earth, a place I hope I'll see again, some time. In the meantime, I enjoy what virtual nature can do for my mind.

Have a great day :-)

The Art of Translation

I think I have been lucky because of living in a bilingual region since I'm three years old. I was nine when English classes were added in school, so by that time, I was already used to speaking two languages. A third one meant to me "the more, the merrier". (Actually, I was quite eager to learn English, but the reasons do not belong here.)

Learning other languages may expand your world, even if you never get to travel. As a programmer, learning languages is part of my routine. But before I get too serious, I would like to say that learning English (or any other language) is also important because it allows you to appreciate the job of a good translator. It makes you value the care taken in the choice of words, the nuances expressed, the color, the lushness of that rich jungle that is a well constructed paragraph.

I have a list of favorite translations from English to Spanish. It is actually a short list, with just one entry. Today, the unexpected happened and a second entry has been added, to share the glory:

This translation really deserves a place in my heart, close to the previously unique entry: "El menú de la bota que carga" for "Loading boot menu".

Traduttore traditore? ¡Traduttore los cojones!

Driving

I love driving. When out of cities/villages, it's the only time I allow myself to raise the music's volume and sing for hundreds of km (I spare from that torture to possible passengers I could be carrying with me, though.) I love seeing the landscapes, and at times I can also see wonderful yet rare events like the red Moon yesterday.

When driving, I think a lot. Often I wish I carried something that recorded and typed my thoughts, to later develop on them. Particularly when I think of new things to create, since I've forgotten all of them by the time I'm back home.

At times, I can't help thinking of comparisons between driving and life itself. Yesterday was no different, and so my mind started, Life is like driving; everybody knows how to speed up in the straight long roads, but just so few know how to take curves. Then it went for Life is like driving; so many people paying attention to their cell phones while missing on the landscapes. Then I had an image in my mind of white bubbled-shaped sort of humans all carrying phones. Then the image continued with a flying bird over them, like the one that shows in some anime, right before everybody sweats that big drop, cracks struck by a lightning and falls to the floor.

And then is when I thought "and this is why you will never be taken seriously."

Ah well. Have a good day :-)