Ο πανίσχυρος μεγιστάνας των Ninja

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Casino Royale

Definitely the first Bond movie I really liked. Ok, I also liked "You Only Live Twice".

Great action movie.

No, really!

Amateur action

Do we really need to KNOW an instrument?

Too much choice, maybe?

Is having too many options a good thing?

I have recently tried to figure out what I want to do with my life after the PhD. First comes the big question: Go back to Greece or stay to the UK or even go to Japan?

It is difficult, really. Of course, I'm not the one facing the same problem. Almost everyone I know is kind of thinking in a similar manner. Then, the second option pops up. Stay in academia? Work in an engineering firm? Work in a financial firm?

The decision of the first question negates some (if not most) of the options in the second one.

So, which one? I'm telling you; it's not easy to decide. All options have their own charm.

I went to a McKinsey & Company presentation the other day and I really liked it. But I'm not sure if I can do this line of work.

I shouldn't be ungrateful though. I am really lucky to have done the things I've done and there are so many people that are not given a choice at all. It kind of reminds me of a recent debate in UK politics on the subject of "too much choice"...

I don't know, honestly. And I have to decide. Soon.

Norwegian Wood

There are times when something comes, a film, a record, a book that just changes one's landscape. Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood is such a book.

It might be a love story, but an amazingly written one and so moving that I cannot really describe this bittersweet feeling right now. I can't remember the last time I finished a book at 5am in the morning. I don't read nearly as many books I would have liked to, but I am truly moved by this one. A shockingly honest look to human relationships and possibly one of the sexiest books I will ever read.

I really would like spending some time thinking about this masterpiece.

But it's late, and I have to go to sleep. And I don't want to...

What an honour...

Apparently, I'm in the 9th best university in the world...

hooray... :P

Σεπτέμβρης 2006

Στο δρόμο του γυρισμού, ανάμεσα στους μεθυσμένους του βρώμικου λεωφορείου, άκουγα την ανυπέρβλητη μελοποίηση του Σωκράτη Μάλαμα του ποιήματος του Κωνσταντίνου Καβάφη, Δεκέμβρης 1903:


"Κι αν για τον έρωτα μου δε μπορώ να πω
αν δε μιλώ για τα μαλλιά σου, για τα χείλη, για τα μάτια
όμως το πρόσωπό σου που κρατάω μες την ψυχή μου
ο ήχος της φωνής σου που κρατάω μες στο μυαλό μου
ημέρες του Σεπτέμβρη που ανατέλλουν στα όνειρά μου

Τις σκέψεις και τις πράξεις μου πλάθουν και ζωγραφίζουν
σ' όποιο θέμα κι αν περνώ, όποια ιδέα κι αν λέγω..."


Κρίμα που ο συγχρονισμός είναι τόσο κακός κάποιες φορές... Ή μήπως όχι;

Playing with technology

My friend Christos got one of those and we were experimenting





and of course, my all-time favourite



Ain't life great...

The greek enterpreuners at their best

It's reaaaaaly difficult not to like these cigars

For pure pleasure...



Domenico...



From Potamia*.



Just in case you wanted to know, this guy is probably the company's owner.



(*) In Larissa.




Not that people in the UK have better taste, even when they have a lot of money :P

The Digital Rights Management (DRM) plague

Many people have asked me why I sold my Mp3 player. And it is difficult to explain why, since it was definitely a great piece of engineering. It was small, light with a high capacity and really good looking. So, since it had all of the above, why did I change it?

Because I was sick and tired of large corporations dictating me on how I use and listen to my music. The plague called DRM is a menace and has to be stopped. Sony, Apple and Microsoft have no right to tell me how I can use something that I've paid for. When I buy a CD, I pay at least £10, or 15E or $20. And I pay ALOT of money for the service provided. Still, I want to buy the CD instead of stealing it since it's only fair and people live through my and others' purchase of this product.

BUT, when a multi-billion industry comes and treats me automatically as a thief then I get pissed off. Imposing restrictions on me will only move me to the other side of the spectrum where I won't care if a steal a CD or not. I mean, who hasn't written a cassette to a friend? Isn't this helping the spreading of the music's popularity? Why should Sony make my life difficult when I just want to listen to the things I bought? I don't see the point any more, especially from one of the most ruthless cartel in the world.

All of you, please; stop buying the iPod, stop buying Sonys, stop buying music from iTunes. Buy something that is not infested. And think about it. What will happen when the iPod is not the trendiest player out there as the signs already show? What will you do with all the music that you've bought from iTunes? Well, you'll just be another victim of customer lock-in.

Buy something like this that sounds great and gives you the freedom you need. No iTunes, no SonicStage. Just drag'n drop.

By the way, the Sony sold for a good 160 quid :P