The David Returns to Italy

Posted by Raul on June 2, 2011

The other day I received this joke in an email. I thought it was funny, but also makes you think of what’s happening in the US, and how people around the world see Americans. (The email was in Spanish).

—

The David returns to Italy

After two years loaned to the US, the David of Michelangelo is returned to Italy

Its proud sponsors were:

—

Crazy, Isn’t it?

—

Movies and Time

Posted by Raul on March 17, 2011

Going to the movies used to be something very special; the anticipation for an activity that wasn’t common but just a couple of times a year. The feeling of going to that magical, enclosed big room with what seemed hundred of seats, high wall decorated with old, dark red curtains and some dusty wooden decorations. The long, worn carpet that led us to the seats facing the white screen where some magical world will appear, and would let us live some different life and travel to a distant place for about two hours.

But there was also the other part of the trip; the possibility of stopping by a coffee shop after the movie and have a glass of soda and maybe a piece of cake, pineapple by preference. The small, rectangular, metallic table with a plastic tablecloth in red and white squares; the view thru the windows, watching passers by in their unknown activities for us; looking at their grey faces and dark clothing; their fast paced walk and their anonymity to each other, always dancing with sudden movements to avoid physical contact with each other in their travels by the crowded streets.

There was no need for words…there was so much to see!

The whole world and life became silent and slow moving, so it was easy to stop for a moment and watch the surroundings, the people, the physical things that conformed and created the city, society and of being part of life in itself.

Going to the movies was a moment when daily life stopped for a moment and magic became reality. It was the opportunity to step aside of my own life and self; to have the chance to see the world around with different eyes and what was always there, but never seen from that perspective. It was the opportunity to stop participating of society to become a spectator of life.

Then the trip back home, just like the one at the beginning, waiting for the bus at the stop in a dirty street. Watching the people around, up to their faces marked with worries of daily life and infinite activities; perhaps the ghosts of their future that had to be crafted day by day, and I was apart, traveling in time at the moment, aside of life, even my own.

Seating and holding the metallic rail in front at the worn out bus seat, listening to the infinite sounds made by a tired machine that spent an entire life running and still haven’t got the chance to retire and rest. The wind coming through the window that couldn’t be closed, making the noise that combined with the singer at the end of the corridor of the bus, playing an acoustic guitar with a colored cloth tied to it and some strange sticker close to the cords, with a meaning that probably only he would know and understand.

Houses, stores and empty, dirty lots went by behind other cars, competing in speed with the wooden and concrete poles that remained standing by the side of the street, providing the hold of the electric net of the city. Some graffiti in the walls, sharing space with the posters of some candidate to some political group…adult stuff!

Perhaps the best home work I ever got!

There’ll be days and weeks to remember the trip, the bus, the movie theater, the people seen from a different perspective, as a spectator of life instead of a participant. And the movie itself, whatever the story; the places and time where the story told by the white screen seemed to happen…so much to remember and analyze!   

Sometimes living life doesn’t seem to be part of life, but when being a child and taken to the movies, I had the chance to step aside of it all for a brief moment and enjoy the magic of the movie, together with the magic of life and people, by watching from a distance to compare both, at the same time of taking a break of being alive.

Raul

We Are Cars!

Posted by Raul on January 24, 2011

If you decide to diagnose your vehicle why it doesn’t start, check first the Crankshaft Position Sensor instead of the Ignition Pack and harness…it’ll save you a lot of time!

Last week I’ve been spending a lot of time with a vehicle that simply refuses to show what the problem is and why it doesn’t want to run. I’ve checked the ignition; timing; wiring; fuel delivery system; vacuum controls for leaks; etc, and it shows everything fine, yet it refuses to run!

For many years I’ve considered cars as a reflection of people; not only because we all tend to choose a car for a shape and characteristics that suppose to reflect us in many ways, but mostly because vehicles tend to “behave” in the same way we people do.

Take for instance this vehicle I’ve been working on (and still not finished); doesn’t it look like those situations where we are asking a loved one “What’s the matter?” and the only response we get is “Nothing”.

So we quietly think and analyze every memory we have from the past couple of days, trying to find a reason why our loved one is “functioning” in a completely different way than normal. We ask questions, but the answers don’t give any information of what the problem could be.

With the vehicle I’m working on, if the problem showed clearly, it’ll be really easy to apply a solution and the necessary corrections to make the car run smoothly again. The whole process would be quick and painless, and would avoid any unnecessary frustrations and loss of time.

With an honest answer to the question of “What’s the matter”, a change in common actions, or corrections of results about past ones, could mean the solution to the affecting problem, so the situation would be corrected, the problem solved, and friends again, without any misunderstandings and bad moments to everyone involved in the situation.

But just like some vehicles simply refuse to tell openly what the problem is, and somehow start a game of deceiving, with a loved one the same exact situation can happen, leaving us all like that car mechanic (me), who is trying to find the solution by just observation, testing and analysis of responses as the only way to get to the real reason for the change in operational mode.

I know in human situations many times the refusal to “talk” could be with the intention of not hurting feelings, but if both parts have love for the other, then the one with the problem could trust the other and be capable of openly telling what the problem is, and the other part should be able to accept a possible painful criticism that could mean the need of changing a personal behavior.

A car mechanic would want to know what the problem is in the vehicle because his intentions are to fix that problem, and is willing to accept the possibility to have to disassemble lots of components just to reach the part that is the reason of the failure; compared to the driver of the car that, normally, is not interested in fixing anything by him, but in only to have a good running car to use.

So, instead of being just drivers in our love relationship, we have to become mechanics ready to diagnose and repair any problem the relationship might incur in, no matter how much work might be involved from our part.

And like that stubborn car I’m working on, please, please, just tell what the problem is, instead of playing games that only make the mechanic think of the possibility of sending a still good working car to a junk yard! 

We already have too many “good working units” roaming the lands in despair after being “discarded”, just because too often in their relationships they refused to tell what the problem was.

Raul

Burning Fuel

Posted by Raul on January 13, 2011

    When you take a look at car manufacturer information about the fuel consumption (or economy) they claim, you’ll see that you live in an era of extremely efficient cars. If you make the calculations for yourself, you’ll see that is not so.

    The internal combustion engine (gas and diesel engines) have a design that is more that one hundred years old, and what is being improved throughout the time is the efficiency of operation, but the concept is still outdated. A gas or diesel engine uses about 30 percent of the fuel it consumes…the rest is lost mostly in heat.

    Looking at the information sheets in windows of new cars you’ll see mileages of 18 to 25; 25 to 31, etc. But a simple procedure will tell you how much fuel you are really burning in your daily errands.

    Next time you fill up the tank, do it until the nozzle jump off by itself, then set the partial odometer to zero and drive as you usually do. When the time comes to fill up the tank again, do it also until the nozzle jump off by itself, write down the mileage in the partial odometer and divide that number by the amount of gallons shown in the receipt. You’ll be surprised by the numbers.

    With this little test you’ll be able to discover several things:

    -The real mileage your vehicle is giving you

    -Which brands of fuel gives you the best mileage (there is difference!)

    -Which driving habits give you better mileage

    -Early detection of mechanical and electrical problems in your engine by the drop in mileage (if you keep doing this every time you fill up the tank)

    From what I’ve seen, sport utilities and pick up trucks usually give around 14-18 MPG, while a four cylinder car will be in the 20-27 MPG margin, which is a 50% more miles per gallon.

    If you drive an average of 1000 miles a month (which is normal for most people), and switch from a sport utility vehicle to a four cylinder car, you will save around 20 gallons of fuel a month, which in turns, could be a saving of 50 dollars a month, or 600 dollars a year!

    If we multiply this savings in gallons of fuel by the number of cars in the US, we could see that several tankers can get lost in their way here. The amount of pollution can be greatly reduced, and even the streets will become instantly “wider” by the use of smaller cars. All on top of personal savings for everyone driving a car 

    Raul

Self Treason

Posted by Raul on January 3, 2011

    Looking at a child immersed in playing at something; a child’s wonder with the world around; when they look intently at a flower or the clouds going by in the sky. How amazing it is that they can become so absorbed in the now, in the moment of observation; that they can become in their games whatever they want to be.

    Then as adults we tend to go by lists of activities and responsibilities that have to be fulfilled as proper adults.

    This is all fine and appropriate in a mechanical society fed on productivity and trade, yet we soon experience the lack of wonder and the magic of moments that, as responsible adults, tend to disregard as childish behavior.

    And the problems of attention and the sense of unhappiness settle in…

    So what if for a moment, while in a secured environment, like at home, we let ourselves to just become that lost child that still lives inside us?  What if we let ourselves to be that child and accept the possibility of becoming amazed by simple things like the clouds going by in the sky, maybe the strange flying path of a house fly, or perhaps the perseverant march of an ant in a day’s work? Or even for a moment to believe we can become whatever we want to be!

    Taking in the possibility of becoming a child again, even if it’s against society concepts of adulthood, we can experience for a brief moment the wonders of nature, the pleasures of life, the amazing elements of this planet all around, and with it, recover also the lost capability of intently attention based on the marvel of a moment.

    We trick ourselves not even knowing what we are doing, but just by following the established path by previous generations, and taking in the concept without questioning, we accept a condition as the proper way to behave, even if it is at our own demise.

    Let’s try for a moment the childish ways of complete, undivided attention to a simple situation, like observing the images of winter; the colors and the changing world around, and let ourselves enjoy a brief moment of living, rather than a big chunk of wasted life.

Raul