Tyson Williams

I miss Buenos Aires

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:45:37 -0500

Lately I have been thinking how much I miss Buenos Aires. In a way I have been comparing it to Barcelona, trying to see which of the two cities is a winner. The fact of the matter is that you cannot do that, since each one of them is so very much different its nature. Sure there some similarities between them, but there are both as unique as they could be. From my own perspective I guess miss Buenos Aires a little more, it is a bigger city therefore it has a lot more to offer. Depending in which barrio you are, you are almost visiting another town, yet they are all interconnected and very much co-dependent on each other. And this formula is the essence of it and I miss that specific essence. I have been to many cities all over this planet and Buenos Aires feels right to me.

Dropbox

Sun, 11 May 2008 13:00:21 -0500

Fellow Twitter shared with me an invitation to the beta of the new application called Dropbox yesterday. What is Dropbox? Dropbox is a desktop application (for both Windows and Mac OS X) and storage service that just works. It's the easiest way to share and store files online and keep files in sync across your computers. They have aput together a simple video explaining the concept (video demo here). It is very fast to install across all your computers no matter which OS you are using and it works like charm. I have been looking for something like that for a while, I used my home network to transfer files before as well as USB key, but this process took time and effort. With Dropbox you simply drop the file you want to share between your computers and it is automatically synchronized so you can access it on another machine. Changes to your files are instantly synced across your computers as well, all of your stuff is available via the web, so you can get it no matter where you are. Plus you may also upload a file remotely through a web browser anywhere in the world and the file will show up on your computers. You can undelete files or restore old versions in a snap, so you never lose anything. You may also share folders and its content with your friends or family. The service is in beta right now so it is free at the moment. I don't know what the plans for the future, but I hope they will offer some kind free accounts once they roll it out to the public. I have got 10 invites in the mean time, so if anyone is interested in this product, please leave a comment with your e-mail address and I will be happy to share them with those who want to check it out.

The possibilities

Sun, 11 May 2008 12:30:33 -0500

This is cool music video done on a Mac to a catchy song:

(via squandrous.com)

Today's Photo - El Barri Gotic, Barcelona, Spain

Sun, 11 May 2008 09:00:36 -0500

Title: "El Barri Gotic, Barcelona, Spain"

For all of my digital photography and to view each photo in larger format, please visit my Flickr. I post one photo a day on this web site. Technical details of each photo are listed blow, you can also click on the photo to view it on Flickr. Your comments are much appreciated. If you are interested in purchasing of large prints, or for any other inquires please e-mail me for more information.

Camera:	Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Exposure:	0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture:	f/4.5
Focal Length:	18 mm
ISO Speed:	200

Everything can be used as an invitation to meditation

Sun, 11 May 2008 08:45:33 -0500

Everything can be used as an invitation to meditation. A smile, a face in the subway, the sight of a small flower growing in the crack of cement pavement, a fall of rich cloth in a shop window, the way the sun lights up flower pots on a windowsill. Be alert for any sign of beauty or grace. Offer up every joy, be awake at all moments, to "the news that is always arriving out of silence." Slowly, you will become a master of your own bliss, a chemist of your own joy, with all sorts of remedies always at hand to elevate, cheer, illuminate, and inspire your every breath and movement.

- Sogyal Rinpoche

9th annual Doors Open Toronto

Sat, 10 May 2008 17:00:06 -0500

Doors Open Toronto is back on May 24th and May 25th this year with free admission to all events as always. What is it? Well here is a little more about it:

Toronto Culture is proud to present the 9th annual Doors Open Toronto - one weekend, once a year - when up to 150 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural and social significance open their doors to the public for a city-wide celebration. The program allows visitors free access to properties that are either not usually open to the public, or would normally charge an entrance fee. Many locations have organized guided tours, displays and activities to enrich the visitor experience. New the 2008 event is a special focus on music. There will be special performances at a dozen of these venues organized in collaboration with Tafelmusik Orchestra and the Toronto Consort.

For more details and program guides visit their website. I am looking forward to it as I have been each and every year.

Madonna and Justin

Sat, 10 May 2008 13:00:39 -0500

The master at work, continues to amaze me with her abilities to stay on top of her games decade after a decade:

Today's Photo - El Barri Gotic, Barcelona, Spain

Sat, 10 May 2008 10:15:18 -0500

Title: "El Barri Gotic, Barcelona, Spain"

Camera:	Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Exposure:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture:	f/5.6
Focal Length:	55 mm
ISO Speed:	200

The principle of egolessness

Sat, 10 May 2008 08:45:11 -0500

It is important to remember always that the principle of egolessness does not mean that there was an ego in the first place but the Buddhists did away with it. On the contrary, it means there was never any ego at all to begin with. To realize this is called "egolessness. "

- Sogyal Rinpoche

What's your walk score?

Fri, 09 May 2008 15:00:21 -0500

It is not a secret that I love walking, all my friends know and sometimes hate me for saying: "No worries it is within a walking distance from here". Five years ago I have moved back right downtown - in the heart of the city so I can sell my car and have everything within a walking distance. There is something liberating about the idea of being right in the middle of things, being able to take a short stroll to store, movie theater or a local bar/club. Even the shopping centre, hundreds and hundreds of other shops, parks, cafes is literally around the corner from where I live now. I walk to the post office and to the library, local pharmacy and the bank is a block away! I love it and I would not want to live anywhere else in the city.

How do you know if where you live or planning to move to is a walking friendly barrio? You can check it out now using a web site called Walk Score. I can proudly say that my neighbourhood is very walkable and my Walk Score is 90! Looking back right now, it makes a lot of sense to me that I made the right choice picking the place I am at moment. No matter if you are a renter or home buyer, before you move somewhere, you should truly take under serious consideration how walkable the area is for you and how much long term impact it will have on your lifestyle and overall costs. Especially in today's uncertain world of gas prices... As a added bonus - living in a walkable neighborhood is good for your health and good for the environment. What's your walk score?

Today's Photo - Impeach Bush

Fri, 09 May 2008 10:00:21 -0500

Title: "Impeach Bush, Barcelona, Spain"

Camera:	Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Exposure:	0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture:	f/4.5
Focal Length:	34 mm
ISO Speed:	200

Six realms of existence

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:15:28 -0500

Six realms of existence are identified in Buddhism: gods, demigods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hells. They are each the result of one of the six main negative emotions: pride, jealousy, desire, ignorance, greed, and anger. Looking at the world around us, and into our own minds, we can see that the six realms definitely do exist. They exist in the way we unconsciously allow our negative emotions to project and crystallize entire realms around us, and to define the style, form, flavor, and context of our life in those realms. And they exist also inwardly as the different seeds and tendencies of the various negative emotions within our psychophysical system, always ready to germinate and grow, depending on what influences them and how we choose to live.

- Sogyal Rinpoche

Learning more about life from others' biographies

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:35 -0500

Biographies are brilliant learning tool, I have always been a huge fun of them. Recently I have re-discovered The Biography Channel which I have always had an access to on my cable TV, but did not pay as much attention as I should have. It is amazing how much you can learn about life from other people mistakes, misconceptions, ideas, good and bad choices and often plain stupidity. And we all know that there is nothing better than learning from mistakes of others. This is why biographies and autobiographies serve me as role models now, illustrating how prominent or successful people experience triumphs, failures, and hardships throughout their lives. They are often full of fascinating details you would not normally know about or simply never heard of from media or other books. Each of the one hour shows enables you to get a good understanding of someone's choices they made in life and what impact and outcome it had on their journey through life, their career and their works and how you can apply this knowledge to your own situation, your own life. Biographies are also an amazing resources about the relationship between someone's life and times they lived in, so you get clear picture of history as well. Learn from others by reading or watching biographies, you will be amazed how many of them will have direct relationship to you in one way or the other. Yesterday was a great piece about Andy Warhol and tomorrow at 10pm there is a biography of Salvador Dali!

Today's Photo

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:00:23 -0500

Title: "Graffiti, Barcelona, Spain"

Camera:	Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Exposure:	0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture:	f/3.5
Focal Length:	18 mm
ISO Speed:	200

Ultimate reality

Thu, 08 May 2008 08:15:10 -0500

"Now let's look at ultimate reality," the Dalai Lama said, pointing a little finger to his mug. "What exactly is it? We're seeing color, shape. But if we take away shape, color, material, what is mug? Where is the mug? This mug is a combination of particles: atoms, electrons, quarks. But each particle is not 'mug.' The same can be said about the four elements, the world, everything. The Buddha. We cannot find the Buddha. So that's the ultimate reality. If we're not satisfied with conventional reality, if we go deep down and try to find the real thing, we ultimately won't find it."Thus, the Dalai Lama was saying, the mug is empty. The term "mug" is merely a label, something we use to describe everyday reality. But each mug comes into existence because of a complex web of causes and conditions. It does not exist independently. It cannot come into being by itself, of its own volition.For example: suppose I decide to make a black mug. To do this, I mix black clay and water, shape it to my liking, and fire the resulting mixture in an oven. Clay plus water turns into a mug because of my actions. But it exists because of the myriad different ways that atoms and molecules interact. And what about me, the creator of the black mug? If my parents had never met, the black mug might never have existed.Therefore the mug does not exist independently. It comes into being only through a complex web of relationships. In the Dalai Lama's own words, and this is the key concept in his worldview, the mug is "dependently originated." It came to be a mug because of a host of different factors, not under its own steam. It is empty. "Empty" is shorthand for "empty of intrinsic, inherent existence." Or to put it another way, empty is another word for interdependent.

- from "The Wisdom of Forgiveness: Intimate Conversations and Journeys" by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Victor Chan