Two questions

Last time I saw the doc, he asked me a question (no, not that one, a new one), and of course I answered yes, but I am not sure that my affirmative response was completely based on empirical knowledge of the validity of the affirmation being made. That’s one question. The other question is one I have been asking myself a little lately, it is connected and again, I have no real idea what the answer is, but at the same time no real wish to find out.

Which is odd. Because you would expect people to want to know, if there were a real need, for example, whether they are capable of running or not. That was question one. The doc asked me, “Can you run?”, presumably as a test of how things are with balance and coordination. I said yes without thinking. And then when I did think, I thought, well, can I? Can I, really? And the answer is, “I don’t actually know”. I haven’t tried, really tried, for a while and I think this is because although I have had reason to do so, I have not wanted to find out what the real answer is.

Perhaps I should try. Just to clear things up.

But then, what if, in trying I realise I cannot? What does that mean for the future?

So that’s question one. Question two is a very similar question and one which I have been asking myself before the doc asked me his own question. I am pretty sure that the answer to this second question would be “no”, but for the same reasons as given above I have not really tried (and the opportunity has not really presented itself). Question two is, do I reckon that I could ride a bike today? Just the idea makes me a little cautious. I’d love to try, but somewhere safe and soft. Because I am really not sure I’ll be able to stay on.

It’s not going to be something I will miss, if I cannot, although it would have been nice to go out cycling all together, with the girls (if we could afford bikes). I think I have moved on from the bunnyhops and no hands cycling in the early nineties, but I know I have at some point been a mean cyclist. So checkbox checked.

Anyway – there’s my two questions which have been in my mind since June or earlier. And while I know that coming down is much harder, I know that in August, I could still climb up to LO1 (600m altitude difference in 3km horizontal, albeit with a ‘light’ pack) without too much trouble, these two questions are there in my mind, every time I trip over my feet or lose my balance momentarily on flat ground. I ask myself. And life goes on.

EOT, Don't call me stupid!

OK - so let me get this straight...

The creator of the digital media says it is being used without permission, and the guy who cut it with a cleaver and inserted it into a video presenting it as his own work says that EOT has the rights to everything he gave them...

Let's put this in perspective. Let's say I film some footage and put PSY's "Gangham Style" on top, without asking the curiously dressed Korean or his recording company if I may do so, and then I sell the result to EOT, telling them they have the full rights. Then when the DMCA compaint (or whatever) comes, is it right for EOT to hide behind their contract with the production company and continue to claim that they have the rights to the quirky song?

I don't think so... I think EOT is a stupid stupid stupid tentacle of the bloated state that serves to give bloated salaries to imbecillic nepotistically-placed slackers. They should man-up and admit that they are fucking wrong and pay someone serious to make a serious spot.

Oh and they should stop insulting our intelligence already. Idiots.

From today's article in the Kathimerini:

ΜΥΘΟΣ ΔΕΥΤΕΡΟΣ: «ΥΠΑΡΧΟΥΝ ΣΤΟ ΦΙΛΜ ΚΛΕΜΜΕΝΑ ΠΛΑΝΑ.»

Ανακρίβεια. Ο ΕΟΤ κατά την πάγια πρακτική και εμπειρία ετών, έχει προμηθευτεί όλα τα πλάνα που βρίσκονται στην διάθεση του, επί της βάσεως συμβάσεων με τους προμηθευτές του, και με την ρητή προϋπόθεση ότι είναι ελεύθερα δικαιωμάτων για κάθε χρήση.

Αυτό ισχύει και για τα συγκεκριμένα πλάνα από το επετειακό video, δημιουργίας του κ. Stian Redkal, όπου ο σκηνοθέτης του video κ. Αντώνης Κιούκας έχει διαβεβαιώσει εγγράφως τον ΕΟΤ ότι τα πλάνα αυτά "είναι ελεύθερα δικαιωμάτων προβολής για τον ΕΟΤ".

Το ίδιο ισχύει και το πλάνο με το «Μεσαιωνικό Πατητήρι». Η πηγή των πλάνων αυτών, αναφέρεται και στα credits του video στο κανάλι του ΕΟΤ στο YOUTUBE.

Σε κάθε περίπτωση, στον ΕΟΤ, βάσει συμβάσεως, παραχωρείται από κάθε εταιρεία παραγωγής το σύνολο των πνευματικών και συγγενικών δικαιωμάτων του υλικού (οπτικού–εικαστικού μέρους του μοντάζ, πλάνα δηλαδή μαζί με τον φυσικό τους ήχο, τόσο μεμονωμένα όσο και σε μονταρισμένες ενότητες) για απεριόριστες χρήσεις, σε κάθε μέσο, και απεριόριστη χρονική διάρκεια, με την άδεια να τροποποιηθεί το μοντάζ στη συνέχεια από άλλον δημιουργό.

SORBET Note

Not really a blog post - Just want somewhere to park this that is easily accessible:

SORBET Note

Orange     1000:75:75 by vol
Strawberry  11:2:2 by weight
Watermelon  10:1:1 by vol
Lemon         3:1:1 by vol
lemonade 25:3:3 by vol
melon         40:3:3 by vol

How many are there?

While researching something last weekend (I was looking to find how many museums there are in Greece, about 140, it turns out), I had a rather fine Google search autocomplete experience.

From this, we can ascertain that the most pressing question in Greece in recent times (concerning counting things) is how many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles there are. You and I know there to be four, we may even know their names, but more Greek internet users feel a need to Google this query than any other query involving numbers.

Second place goes to how much road tax will be levied. Obviously, this is a great concern, given the spiralling costs of legally owning and running a car in Greece, even if you are the former transport minister and like to run your car without plates and uninsured.

Third place, goes to the church: How many gospels are there? We may conclude that while the ninja turtles are a significant part of our culture, we should allow some space to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Is it a coincidence that both the gospels and the turtles are four in number? C’mon, hands up who else would love to see Raf, Leo, Don and Mike take their proper places in the lunettes under the domes of churches? Should I be taking more care given that another blogger recently received ten months for making fun of an Athonite monk? I don’t know, I don’t care, but in a country more interested in the progeny of Eastman and Laird than in the evangelists, ten months for a humorous blog sounds steep.

Fourth place, back to our cars… how much will road tax be in 2014? Intriguing insight into the Google algorithm: are we being denied glimpses of road tax in 2013, 2012, etc.?

And in the fifth place spot, we have an amazingly topical question: how many bad loans are there? or what is the value of bad loans? By extension from the remaining searches, perhaps the Greek users of Google Search are secretly hoping to receive the answer “four” – one for each of the gospels, or one for each of the Teenage Mutant Turtles, who presumably are the ones who have created this mess to start with.