My map

Graffiti

I've always been amazed by graffiti. But of course, it's not right to paint on a public wall. So I still stick to pen and paper.

Most of society consider graffiti an act of vandalism. People like me consider it art.

Graffiti paintings started in the 60s in the US. It's since formed part of the hip-hop and break dance culture.

The name graffiti actually comes from the word used by ancient Romans to describe a scratching or carving on a wall. In modern days it's spray paint that substitutes the carvings.

This is a very different way of writing messages. In most occasions It's not even a message, maybe a name or just an image.

There are many different types and stiles of graffiti. Most artists sign their work with a tag, which is the name given to the signature that marks their names.

I've been drawing lots of graffiti lately (practicing), and I'm planing to paint one in my room. If you read this post, and you're interested or you know about the subject, please comment. I could do with a tip or two.

Bermuda Triangle

There is patch of sea between Bermuda island, Florida, and Puerto Rico that brings a bit of mischief to our world.

The Bermuda triangle has been one of the mysteries of the Pacific for a long time. It's said that a large number of aircraft.s and vessels have disappeared in this area in the last hundred years.

Popular society has attributed this kind of disappearances to paranormal factors such as extraterrestrial activity.

However, there are many possible scientific explanations for this. Some say gasses at the bottom of the sea flow up making turbulence that can cause ships and aircrafts to sink. Others believe these gasses make massive whirls that swallow up ships and create wind currents that bring planes down.

Many specialists say that the events aren't so conclusive. The records of disappearances in that area aren't specially high compared to those in the rest of the world.

The most reasonable answer I've found for now attributes the disappearances to the largeamount of traffic in the area. Accidents are bound to happen.

Hundreds saved from sinking ferry

An enormous ferry just off the coast of the Philippines started sinking with 965 people on board.

The navy, air force and private boats have been helping people out of the ship alive. Reports say that 900 of the passengers have already been saved, 5 of them have died and 60 are still missing.

According to specialists the weather was good, which is strange.

The air force's helicopters are still searching the sea for missing people.

This catastrophic event took place last Monday morning just 530 miles south of the Philippine capital, Manila.

This news is a bit old by now. But I'm sure you can find updated news if you're interested in other news websites.

I hope the rescue helicopters have found most of the missing passengers by now. And I'm very interested to know about the cause of the sinking.
These unknown causes really get me foxed. In fact I'll probably write a post about the Bermuda triangle as soon as I know a bit more about it.

A morning fishing

I got up a bit later than usual this morning. I had a day off kayak training.

As soon as I finished my breakfast I hopped onto my bike and went to look for my friends.

They'd just woken up when I found them, so they weren't fully awake. I proposed to go fishing, as we were a bit short on ideas. Fishing never fails, we always have fun even if we don't catch anything.

Last afternoon we'd been fishing catfish and the idea of repeating the activity was quite appealing. The routine was easy.

We all rode back to my house and took the gear out.
When we had our rucksacks ready, we rode downhill with my beloved dog Uma until we reached the reservoir.

For some strange reason I'm the only one that carries a safety lock on my bike so I tied all the bikes including mine to a lamp-post.

When we reached the shore we quickly unpacked our stuff and started setting up the fishing lines.

There was a strong wind so we had to keep resetting our fishing rods.
We waited for about an hour and still nothing.
So I changed the bait on one of the fishing rods and put on a rubber lure instead. This way we'd be able to fish black bass as well as catfish and carps.

I had a bit of trouble my knots. Every time I cast the fishing rod, the weight and bait came off the line.

I finally managed to tie a proper knot, and after a few throws something took the bait. It was pulling and jumping and swirling all the way as I reeled it in. When I took it out of the water I immediately identified it as a Black bass. And then it was gone.
I didn't even have time to grab it. I had unhooked itself, and jumped back into the murky water.

That was all the luck we had this morning. The wind factor was probably not helping, but the morning worked. We had a fun time.Uma did too.

Black Holes

A friend came yesterday to visit me. He's lately developed a liking for stars, so he asked if he could use our ''sky scout'' and telescope.

We where star gazing for a while, saw the moon up close, Andromeda's galaxy, Altair and other stars.
When we finished that, he started talking to me about Black Holes, but it sounded so complicated that he was doing my head in. So I did a bit of internet research and learned something new.

A Black Hole is an area in space with a gravitational force so strong that even light can't escape from it. It's called black because it absorbs all the light from the stars and galaxies it engulfs.

All the heat and gasses from the stars spirals inwards towards the center of the hole creating powerful emissions that can be sensed from earth.

There are seven different types of Black Holes. From the ones created by the gravitational collapse of a star, which are the least powerful ones. To those formed by the gravitational force of a galaxy containing several billion stars, which are the strongest ones.

When they concentrate too much energy, they emit X-ray radiations that can clearly be seen by astronomers on earth. These radiations are named micro quasars.

Rovio

I was reading the ''Objects of desire'' section in the Focus magazine the other day and I found an interesting website on robot toys called Red5.

Red5 has a whole selection of robotic toys to entertain you with. One that specially caught my eye was Rovio.

Rovio is a remote control Wi-fi robot that moves around your house at will. The idea is that you can spy or interact with your house and family at any time you want. This toy will act under your commands from anywhere in the world, all you need is access to internet connection.

Rovio is supplied with the following accessories so it can be used successfully:

-Charging dock with ''true track'' beacon.
-Rovio setup software.
-Rechargeable battery pack.
-User manual.
-Quick start guide.
-AC adapter.
-USB cable.

You can talk, see and hear trough your Rovio, just as if you where there. It's equipped with three wheels with ten mini wheels each to enable complete maneuverability. Our friend can also take photos which it immediately sends to your e-mail. When it's running out of battery it guides itself back to it's charger.

I hope Rovio has caught your attention as it caught mine. For further information on this toy click here.

Mend a puncture

Get a bike. Puncture it with a nail.

Done that? Excellent!

Now buy a puncture kit at the closest supermarket. Take your punctured wheel out of the bike and separate the inner tube from the rim.

When you've done that, fill the inner tube up with air and put it inside a bucket of water, this will help you locate the puncture (look for the bubbles). As soon as you've found it circle it with some chalk so you don't loose the spot. Rub the spot with some sandpaper to wear out the edges that are sticking out.
If you don't, there will be a space under the patch and it'll come off.

Now stick a blob of glue over the punctured are, spread it with your finger and wait for about 10 minutes. Stick the patch on the exact place where you've spread the glue, press the patch against the glue for five minutes so it sticks properly.

If you had the patience to do all that, you're nearly finished. All that's left now is put the tube back inside the wheel, jam it into place and pump it up again.

This is a nice easy way of writing two hundred words without thinking a lot. In fact I was just going through the steps because as it happens I've got to mend my own bike right now.

Tuenti

Most young people around the world use Facebook to keep in touch with friends. Tuenti is an online Spanish social network that works just like Facebook, but isn't international.

I found out about it not long ago and joined in. This network includes lots of useful applications to communicate with your friends and family. Stuff like sending messages, sharing photos and events and viewing videos you can do for free on this website.

The name Tueti actually comes from "tu entidad" (in Spanish), which means your identity. It's quite easy to join the community, but you need an invitation from someone who's already joined.

The first thing you need when you join in is a profile. It's a good idea not to give too much information about yourself or use your complete name for safety reasons. After that uploading photos is easy, you just have to browse them and mark everyone on them. Soon people will start conversations starting from the photographs you've uploaded and you can either join in or chuck people out, it's all part of the fun. One of the important goals in this community is knowing new people and making new friends.

The hunt for the Unicycle

I first considered the subject 2 years ago when I saw a unicycle in a toy shop in Gerona. Ever since the idea grabbed me. I've always loved to try new stuff, specially activities that are different or difficult, the sort only wacky people like.

After that I researched and found out about a Spanish website that sold trials unicycles, the sort used for jumps and tricks. My only inconvenience at the moment was the price. These toys aren't sold as much as bicycles and their cost are high. So I decided to wait for a better opportunity. Last year I visited the city of Cartagena (south east Spain) where I found a kid unicycling round a bench. He was using a Monty trials one just like the one I'd been looking for. I asked him where he'd bought it and how long he'd taken to learn. Fortunately the shop where he'd bought it wasn't far away, so I went to have a look. I instantly recognized the very one I was looking for and bought it. After that it took me a few months to learn, but it was worth it.

You've got to be constantly trying if you want to learn, and if you don't have anyone to help you, you can use a narrow corridor to practice your balance. The trick is the same in everything, always leave it while the going is good.

( this is a photograph of my unicycle)

Yeti

The existence of the Yeti has been questioned for hundreds of years. The idea of a 2 metre bipedal fury brown human-like creature is difficult to believe without scientific proof. And yet there are numerable cases of sightings, prints and tales told by mountaineers and locals. There are also numerous hoaxes, photographs and fake stories of people trying to make fun of the situation. I've personally always been thrilled by these cryptology creatures and myths, so I decided to do a little research on this specific tale. I found out the following facts:

-In the 19th century:
* Hodgson's guides claimed to have seen a bipedal creature with long brown hair which Hodgson said must of been an orangutan.
* Large human-like footprint sightings in 1889 where later disqualified as the ones a bear.

-In the 20th century:
* Four different people from four different expeditions said they'd seen a large animal walking through the snow on it's hind legs.
* More than 5 different sightings and some photographs of supposed yeti footprints have been found.
* A scalp and a hand where found in a Buddhist monastery and sent by Hillary for analysis.
* Expeditionists on their mission for finding yeti proof found a feces which contained a new parasite that had not yet been found and claimed it to belong to an animal also unclassified.

-In the 21st century:
* A group of Japanese expeditionists found footprints and the leader is said to have seen one in 2003 and is determined to capture one on film.
* Hair samples are found and analysed, the tests where inconclusive.
* In 2008 a footprints where found by the American TV presenter Joshua Gates, the prints measured 33 cm long and 25 cm across at it's widest.

That's about as much proof as I could find, but I'd probably like to go to the Himalayas some day and see what more I can discover.

Gomorra

Last night I saw a film called Gomorra about the Camorra: a mafia-like society that is involved in many illegal businesses. This film is based on a book written by the journalist Roberto Sabiano who uncovered most of the real Camorra activities to the public. Since the publication of his book he's been forced to change his identity and is escorted every day of his life to prevent any possible attack.
This film gives you a very good idea of the ways of living in a Camorra society.
It's location is in Naples (Italy), the biggest nucleus for Camorra clans. It's estimated around 111 clans are established and about 6.700 members are evolved.
It's said they're more successful than organized mafias because the range of businesses are very extensive,covered and protective.
Some of the businesses involved are: Drug dealing, drive-by shooting, illegal dumping of chemical wastes, trafficking prostitutes, control of food company products and others.
The film Gomorra also shows you the simple but crude ways of living in this poor and violent society. It makes you get a very good general idea and it's not so much of a story, it's more like a fact, a truth.

War Games

Good or bad?
Most adults don't agree with war games finding them aggressive, destructive, violent in general and most of them find them time wasting. People that think this way are generally adults that have forgotten the anxiety most teenagers have inside them. These games not only help let of steam but also require a lot of concentration and reflexes.
War games shouldn't be the only way out to liberate stress, other physical and mental activities are much more important and specially outdoor activities, but these are not quite the subject right now.
The point I want to make is that these games are not necessarily bad, but people who play too much time do tend to end up a little worse than they started. The trick is to control the time you devote to these screen games and always leave it while it's still good.
Some games that represent or that are based on real historical wars actually teach you stuff that happened, dates, the state of the country at the time, weapons, political facts and so on.
Some of my personal favorites are Medal of honor, Battlefield Vietnam, Battlefield 2, Brothers in arms and Call of duty.

Fuga de Cerebros

Fuga de cerebros is a Spanish comedy film. It's got a main character called Emilio and his mad but loving friends who help him find what he desires most. Natalia is a beautiful young lady of whom Emilio has been in love of since he was a boy.
Thanks to Natalia's good marks at the end of the school term she's been offered a scholarship to study in Oxford University. This frustrates Emilio and his friends a lot but they finally find a sneaky way into the university and lock themselves into a new world of constant problematic adventures.
Through the film there are many obstacles that make Emilio's position worse and worse including his clumsiness and lack of confidence.
I think it's a clever film and very fun to watch. The dialog is probably the best part of it, and the way it all comes together in the end.
The film was published early this year and it has won a few awards, it's no longer on cinemas and is recommendable to watch with friends.

Rating: 89% ->100%