The Grey Shadow

Reading several Internet news media, it is apparent that KDE has gotten a lot of heat recently from several quarters. The main issue seems to be the KDE 4 release and its buggy-incomplete quality, and the fact that several distributions rushed to place KDE 4.0.x as a replacement of KDE 3.5.10, something which clearly was never intended to be.

To get the facts clear, Groklaw put a page explaining several myths about KDE. This is recommended reading, and helps a lot to dispel several criticisms made to KDE in general.

But the best thing is that today KDE 4.1 was released With this release, several concerns were addressed, and in general it looks like a promising desktop. For starters, Kontact (the PIM Suite) and the printer applet are back! However, there are several apps regarded by many people as essential, such as amaroK, Koffice, and Krusader, that are in alpha status yet. Yet, with PIM and printing working, it will be an usable desktop again.

Once again, I had the privilege of helping with the Spanish translation of this release. I plan to download the tarballs and start compiling ASAP. Let’s see if KDE lives up to the hype this time.

I already said once that in Paraguay there’s a saying that goes like, “In Paraguay there are just two seasons: summer, and fishing…”, meaning that besides the scorching heat of summer, all other seasons are just practical jokes of Nature.

Yesterday I was thinking precisely about that. We were in the midst of winter (remember, I am in the Southern Hemisphere), but we had a heat wave that was lasting over a month. Last night was especially warm; at 20.00 (8pm), the temperature was 29.6 C, or 85.3 F. The air was dry, but it was hot nonetheless.

However, there is a trait of our “wintertime hot days” that is completely different from summer: these days are dry. Yes, dry. Weeks, and weeks, and weeks, without any hint of rain or humidity. Sometimes is convenient (like when you hang your clothes to dry them off, and they are dry in a matter of mere hours), and sometimes isn’t (like when you see dust clogging every pore of your skin).

But you also see something else: dried Lapacho flowers and leaves everywhere. Walk around the streets of Asunción, and you will be treated to a beautiful scene: tall, imposing trees, covered in nothing but pink flowers. It is truly a sight to behold; I am never tired of seeing those beautiful Lapacho trees showing their colors. And below, there is the bed of dried leaves and fallen flowers, crackling under your steps…

Lapacho is a tree that does not flower in spring; it shows its flowers in middle or late winter. Common wisdom is that for Lapachos to flower, they must undergo a period of cold climate followed by a short period of warm weather. This is exactly what happened in June, so they began to flower, and amaze us with their splendor.

Last night we had a thunderstom followed by heavy rain and a drastic decrease in temperature, which now is around 14.5 C/58 F; a sorely needed relief. But Lapachos are still in the height of their splendor and beauty.

So, come with me; let’s have a walk on some quiet street of my city, and watch how some Lapacho flowers crumble on the floor, and some others bloom near the eternal blue sky, while we talk and drink tereré…

Photo: Lapacho Tree across from my house, by Webshots.com user cuddley3. Click on the photo to see a larger image.

I need a hammer. A Really Big Big Big Bad Hammer(TM), and also Some Things to Crush In a Fit of Anger. While moderating my ever-increasing spam comments, some perfectly good and legitimate comments (especially those from Tom Di Giovanni) went down the drain, mistakenly classified as spam. My mistake, and my apologies to those affected.

This makes me think again about how uncomfortable the moderation system became since WordPress 2.5. I upgraded to 2.6 yesterday, but the “improvements” (?) in the comment system are still there. Arghhh…!!! where’s my hammer???

Some days ago my boss, Rev. S., had a serious talk with me. He gave me some not so good news. Those were expected, but they were difficult news nonetheless.

Rev. S. told me that he would not seek another term as a high-ranking elected official in the denominational organization he is currently serving. That was expected; he is feeling tired, and his age is pressing him towards his retirement. And I agree; he really should retire. The problem for me, obviously, is that with Rev. S. in retirement, I will be left without a job; and Rev. S. broke the news to me that my job would end in December.

Therefore, I began to dust off my resumé, and I will start to actively seek a new job real soon now. Please pray that I could get a new, better job soon.

From the original Latin, a timely advice for rulers everywhere, from one of them that once ruled over the whole civilized world:

Deo auctore nostrum gubernantes imperium, quod nobis a caelesti maiestate traditum est, et bella feliciter peragimus et pacem decoramus et statum rei publicae sustentamus: et ita nostros animos ad dei omnipotentis erigimus adiutorium, ut neque armie confidamus neque nostris militibus neque bellorum ducibus uel nostro ingenio, sed omnem spem ad solam referamus summae providentiam Trinitatis: unde et mundi totius elementa processerunt et eorum dispositio in orbem terrarum producta est.

Ruling with the protection of God the Creator the empire that was entrusted to us by the Heavenly Majesty, we have happily finished the war, glorified the peace, and sustained the Republic; and in such a way we uplift our spirit to ask the help of the Almighty God, that we do not put our trust in arms, nor in our soldiers, nor in generals, nor in our own mind; but only in the Most Highest Trinity do we place all our hope, from where all elements of the world came, and the whole orb of the earth had its disposition born.

Emperor Justinian I, constitution “Deo Auctore”

I am 37 years old now, and way beyond my childhood; but I remember clearly how much I wanted a brother. Being the eldest son and the only boy really had its challenges back then; because Dad was always away at the office, my only companions were all women, and it sucked worse than a vacuum pump. Little did I know that life had such a surprise for me.

Warp to 2008. Dad left the family home to move in with another lady, Ms. G., and created a small crisis within my family (especially with Mom and my sisters). When I visited him this Father’s Day, he really looked much better, and happier. But the biggest surprise was meeting Jesús, a 9-year old that Ms. G. bore to him. Yikes! Now I finally have a brother!! Somehow I felt very happy, even though my kid brother is only half-brother, and born in less than desirable circumstances. He is a nice boy, extremely smart and well-behaved (like his senior brother, of course ). He is even a fan of the same soccer team than yours truly…

Going back home that day, I thanked God for my kid brother, and for unexpected joys in life. Somehow He also told me that I could be surprised even in matters where I lost all previous hope. Nice, isn’t it?