The Farm

So… finally updated the blog with some pictures.
Went to the farm this weekend in Parana – more specifically in São Pedro do Ivaí.
Went to see the Alcohol and Sugar plant – always expanding and interesting to observe.

Took many pictures of the farm, the forest reserve, flowers, geese, and the Bonsmara cattle – a South African breed my grandfather started to raise.

Here are the pictures – all mixed up – the farm, the Bonsmara and the sugar and ethao plant.

Now back in Sao Paulo… back to the concrete jungle.

Brazil

After an uneventful flight down to Sao Paulo I found the city just as it was before… some new buildings, new shops – the usual. Met with Kim and then went to dinner with the Lyra’s, Vi and Dad at Nagayama – great food!

A little more travelling

Going to Brazil today to see my family and friends after a great but short week in NY.
Mark and Yaucha were here and we went for a stroll on the Hudson River Park and then ate some great food at Employees Only on Hudson and Christopher.
Feeling a little guilty about not taking pictures every day (and blogging for that matter) since I got back but I guess I needed a break – it was an intense schedule of roaming around finding interesting places to go to and photos to take. I guess since I am living here I take the scenery for granted and forget to look at NY with a tourist’s eye.

Idea for Google Maps Street View

Wouldn’t be too hard to do a Google Maps driving directions with Street View sequences for mobile.
Lower end cell phones would page through images of major landmarks or intersections.
Higher end phones (3G & GPS) would have an animated gif (sequence of images).
Google Maps on the iPhone does a step by step that looks very good and similar to what I am suggesting…

Ineresting article – Google bidding for airwaves

Google wants to built an open wireless network that would accept any device, cell phone or service.
AT&T and Verizon try to protect their interests by lobbying against Google’s proposals.
But I think it is a logical step based on the internet model… they want customers to access all they have on the web, but on a wireless network.
Cell phones already have full web browsers and broadband speeds , just wireless…
Why shouldn’t that be “open source” as well?
Much cheaper than laying down fiber…

FCC to Rule on Wireless Auction – washingtonpost.com

iPhone Review

So… I couldn’t resist and got an iPhone – well, got it for a friend of mine in Brazil but obviously I’m testing it already before I take it to him 🙂
The interface itself, as everyone knows, is just the slickest phone interface out there… and it is fast… no waiting to go from one application or menu to the other… sure, the EDGE/GSM network is a lot slower than EVDO/CDMA data network but really, it’s good enough.
The beauty of it I think is that the improvements that can (and will be done I am sure) are all software tweaks. These are my 2 cents:

  • Copy/Paste functionality
  • External iPod controls (ability to change songs without taking phone out of pocket)
  • Be able to change the order of the main menu items
  • Phone links on web pages and emails should ask to call or SMS – now only calls
  • Mail – be able to create folders and rules
  • Rotate screen on all apps – only iPod, Photo and Web have it – would be nice to have it on mail as well
  • Week view on callendar
  • Auto text completion/suggestion not only wrong keyboard input correction
  • Scientific and unit conversion calculator
  • Foreign language support – basic accents
  • Select all, mark as read, and delete all in mail

Otherwise it is fantastic!!

Notes on Chinese Tea

Was looking through some stuff left from the trip and found this very interesting list of teas and their effects that I got while I was in Beijing (had to “translate” a little from the strange English)
1. Litchi Tea (Black Tea) – stimulates the appetite. Add rose bud tea to reduce age spots.
2. Green Tea – enhances memory, reduces alcohol and cigarette hangovers, postpones aging and resists cancer
3. Imperial Oolong Tea – warms up the stomach, improves blood circulation, reduces inflammations, add red dates to improve your blood quality.
4. Jasmine Tea – cools you down, improves live functions, improves the eyesight and makes you resistant to radiation(!!??)
5. Pu-erh Tea – lowers blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. Burns fat and makes you sleep. Add fresh ginger slices to treat arthritis.
Enjoy you teas!