Blogged on March 7, 2008 at 00:07
I spent the last few minutes optimizing my blog’s code! Should be a *lot* faster now! When I updated to WP 2.3.3 a few weeks ago, I took the chance to remove some plugins that weren’t relevant and optimize my code a little to integrate better with WP’s “new” code.
Yesterday I dumped Google Analytics, switching (at last) to Mint! I ran them both during the day today, finally removing GA tonight! I can already tell you that Mint is substantially faster, not to mention that it gives the ability to view my stats, LIVE, on my iPhone anytime! 
(major advantage point from Google’s solution which resorts to Flash a lot). Thanks Shaun! 
On a side note, I’ve been working on a design update… But I think I’ll make the mockups I created into a WP theme and freely distribute it instead! I’ve struck by some awesome, clean designs lately and have been gathering some inspiration for my next design. On the other hand, the current design is growing on me… :/ lol
Anyway, thought I’d share so you can give some thoughts on your user experience on this blog! Thanks in advance.
Blogged on March 4, 2008 at 09:34
So my Twitter friends followed the whole adventure pretty closely but I need to share it with all of you! I know I haven’t been updating my blog as frequently as I’d want to but the current stress/workload as kept me from sitting down to actually right something. But this is too good to not stop for a few minutes and share!
As you probably all know by now, Apple updated their laptop line(s): new Macbook and Macbook Pro. Many of you know that I have been waiting for this update since last November and had the needed funds ready since January (around the Macworld). I was getting really frustrated but finally, on February 26th (yes, the best month of the year - not because of Apple, don’t worry :p) I ordered my own Macbook Pro. I uploaded the order details to my Flickr but here it is:
(click for full size)
It’s coming!! =) Expected shipment is between the 6th and 11th of this month (March). It’ll arrive 4-5 days later!!!
In other news, my 2×2GB Kingston (from newegg.com) will arrive later today, and the rest of that order (VMware, the backpack and .Mac) have all arrived 2 days after the order (the backpack got here the next day actually).
I’m REALLY looking forward to it! I’m currently working on a PowerMac G4 867Mhz Dual with 1GB of RAM! No matter how good these machines perform considering they are 6-7 years old, they don’t have enough “juice” for all the work I need to get out of them! Adobe CS3 apps are heavy and I’m a “multitasker”, which requires me to have several apps open at the same time! Now if you consider web development only, I need Firefox+Safari and Textmate, CSSedit (at times), Transmit and Fireworks! Just the browsers take quite a bit, and if you add all the “normal” applications (Adium, iChat, Transmission, iCal, Mail, Things, iTunes, iPhoto, Linkinus, Twitterific, Pownce, Terminal, etc…) you understand why I’m *suffering* at this time and in desperate need of a new machine! And I’m not even going to mention not being able to run VMware/Parallels/Bootcamp with Win/Linux or playing games or… argh (mental note: “relax… it’s almost over!”)
It’s coming but… WHY IS IT NOT HERE YET???
Blogged on January 8, 2008 at 19:35
So 2008 is here and I haven’t even posted! Oh boy…
Since I last posted, I have been aggregated to my favorite blog aggregator: Prt.Sc (Print Screen). I’ve been following this aggregator’s feed for a while now, and have made some friends through it! I’ve asked to join quite a bit ago but just now got aggregated (understandable!). Among other things, this will allow me to have a wider target audience. I hope that motivates me to post a bit more often!
I spent the end of 2007 and first days of 2008 with friends in a (actually 2) ski resort. I skiied for the first time in my life and something horrible took place: I now absolutely love it! Why is it horrible, you might ask… Well, lets be honest folks: it’s not an affordable activity! :p I got the clothing. I don’t even know the prices back home at Serra da Estrela or the ones in Spain/Andorra, but I doubt they’ll be any cheaper. I had a great time with some great friends, and met some new ones!
As to this blog, I’ve designed the new look & feel for it! It’s verrryyyy different from this one and I might even build a customized CMS for it, to make it the way I want it! I’ll, of course use snippets of code that are already available but I’ll customize them to meet my objectives. Oh, I can tell you already one thing about the new design: it’s… “Very niiceeee”! (and I don’t want to spoil the surprise because I don’t know yet when I’ll be able to finish it!)
All in all, I feel 2008 to be a very promising year. It’s going to be the first year I spend in its entirety living in the US. I’ll be home (Portugal) for just a few weeks in the summer, for vacation and my best friend’s wedding. I’ve been enjoying my time here so far. Of course I miss some things (that sounds sooo materialistic! lol) from Portugal, but overall I feel completely integrated with the lifestyle and life flow here in Iowa.
I’ll post again soon. I have some ideas about how I’ve been feeling about the current state of the interwebs and information media world.
To everyone, a great 2008! May it be full of of accomplishments and life achievements!
Blogged on September 18, 2007 at 18:23
Well… To avoid having a whole month go by without updates, I’ll try to summarize the main reasons why this happened:
- Switched ISPs (Clix > Meo) and that left me sometime without internet.
- When I had internet again, I had to pack stuff… (read on)
- On September, 6th I officially moved to the US: Porto > Frankfurt > Chicago > Des Moines on plane and Des Moines > Ames by car. Yes, I now officially live in Ames, Iowa, US. (check the Google Maps links ;))
- I couldn’t bring my PC tower (my hand-picked one… FOR SALE as of now… contact me for details!), so besides my work computer (Apple iMac G5) I’m somewhat offline.
- I’m not in the US with a work visa as I’m not getting my paycheck from here. I’ll be in training and will do some work, but I’ll be paid from Portugal. This situation my change in the future depending on… might happen. (updates on this later on, along with details of my current… errr… “job description”)
- I won’t buy my next computer, a Macbook Pro, until OS X Leopard comes out… And I hope no rumors of MBP updates come out by then… or I might just have to wait!! :/
- To ease my wait until then, I will buy an Apple iPhone… There, I’ve said it!
- I will now try to update this a LOT more often (3 times a week is my personal minimum goal average).
- Even though I haven’t been updating here, I have been trying to keep my Twitter somewhat updated… And oh, I did upload some pictures of where I’m staying to my Flickr!
- Thank for reading this. I know it’s personal stuff, but after all that’s what makes blogging such a social part of life.
PS: Yes, I always wanted to make a “10-item-list” blog post…
PS2: I’m getting the iPhone tomorrow 
YEY (had it sent on next day shipping! ;))
PS3: I just (09/23 2am) edited this post to get the links working again… Safari 3 beta is acting very weird with the wordpress editor… And FF had some issues aswell… Edited on Camino 1.5.1 with no problems (I’m loving it so far… If I can only get some of my FF extensions here… ;))
Blogged on August 19, 2007 at 21:09
Screenshot of Google Analytics for the domain levifig.net
(my blog analytics are on a different report)
Can someone please shed a light on how the f… in the world, did those searches directly hit my levifig.net domain??? (that has absolutely no content aside from a link to the blog!).
I believe those searches are pretty self explanatory even if you’re an english speaking visitor. I mean… I get the first few of them: “einztein” being my nickname for some years now all over forums, social networks, irc, msn, gmail, etc…; “levi figueira” being my first and last name; the “dan balan” and the “sugar tunes” being from a couple of recent posts in my blog; and “levifig” being my “more personal” nickname and username that I use, and the obvious: it’s the domain name!
But the rest of them… come on Google… how in the world…????
Blogged on July 30, 2007 at 17:11
Well… This post will come out in English as it refers to a new phase in my life where English will have a prominent part of it!
As I’m getting ready to move on with my life, moving abroad gets in the way! (in a good way!) For that reason, I’m considering selling my current desktop PC (a close to 2-year old high-end machine) and buying a new computer in my new location. Now, a big dilemma pops in: being a long-last Apple fan and a computer enthusiast at the same time generates this mixed feelings on what to pick as my next workstation (that includes personal stuff too: entertainment, leisure, etc…):
1. Having fallen in love with Macs by using them for Audio/Music production a while ago (basically, OS9 - and then OSX - with ProTools LE on a Digi001, running on a dual 450Mhz G4), I have since then used them in various usages, choosing OSX to be my OS of preference, as to interface and stability.
2. I’ve been an Open Source/Linux geeks for a while. Since ‘99, when a Portuguese magazine distributed a RedHat 5.2 CD with it’s monthly issue, I’ve gone through tries and trials, learning ins and outs of the system. I have since then, become a huge fan of Gentoo, although I also enjoy Debian, and recommend Ubuntu for newcomers.
3. I’m a hardware/overclock enthusiast… And I love building, tweaking and juicing up my systems. At the same time, I hate burning DVDs/CDs with crap… I rather keep in my disks. So I have a big storage array… (I’ve done the math… it’s not that much more expensive to keep things on disks than on DVDs… I don’t use cheap DVDs as they tend to loose whatever I put on them, so, if buying some decent branded DVDs - I pick Memorex usually - it’s not that much cheaper than just buying internal SATA disks…). And I love the ability to just switch a video card if I can; add more disks; add more whatever…
4. I’m an internet/computer freak. I *LOOVE* the ability to read my feeds, check my mail, watch a TV episode, etc… when I’m in line waiting for something,when I’m on vacation, etc… While I do have 5g 80Gb video iPod, I’ve noticed I don’t watch video on it as I enjoy some HD-loving… So I could use a good, big laptop screen! And while I’ll buy a new cellphone and seek a decent internet plan, there are just things you can’t do, or feel good doing, on a cellphone…
SOOOOO… I’m here to humbly ask your opinions on one of these two options:
A. Switch… And get a Macbook Pro… And maybe a 22” screen later on, for desktop use. (still don’t know whether the 15” or the 17” high resolution MBP… :S) PS: I’d run OSX & WinXP (gaming) on it… maybe third-boot to Linux…
B. Stick to the desktop PC’s. And get a high-end PC… customized, custom built, blistering power, amazing graphics… and run Windows and Linux on it! But lose the mobility aspect…
PLEAASEEE help… :/
Blogged on July 23, 2007 at 01:36
Há filmes com categorias muito… próprias! Vou colocar no mesmo “saco” duas sagas: Die Hard e James Bond. Sinceramente, uma das coisas que mais me revolta em algumas análises cinematográficas, seja de leigos ou de supostos (e sublinho o “supostos”!!) comentadores, é falarem em “falta de realismo” na análise a filmes desse “saco”. Sim, porque numa saga como Star Wars o realismo é algo omnipresente… certo? Procurar realismo num filme destes é como procurar um político honesto na Assembleia da República: wrong room!
Fui ver ontem (sábado) à noite o Die Hard 4.0 (que nos EUA tem o curioso título “Live Free or Die Hard”). Gostei do filme! Não vou comentar o realismo da acção (esclarecimento: não o considero realista, okay?:)), mas salientar o facto que os efeitos especiais foram quase todos… reais! Confuso?? Eu explico: numa era digital, os efeitos especiais são quase todos tão reais como… um jogo de computador, onde tudo é digital. Ecrãs verdes, azuis ou às bolinhas, decoram os estúdios de gravação, e os actores já se habituaram a ter diálogos com personagens invísiveis que são depois acrescentadas digitalmente. Já no filme que comento, não há coisas dessas. Lembram-se da cena do túnel? Foram gravadas como estão ali… inclusivamente os carros a voar e o vôo bélico de um deles (”… I was out of bullets!”) é resultado de muitas tentativas, cálculos matemáticos e físicos, experimentação, estudo, etc… Claro que, e por causa disso, os actores recorrem bastante a duplos (espécie em extinção pelas razões que sublinhei acima, do novo processo de criação de efeitos especiais em sofás ou cadeiras relaxantes, com monitores e mesas digitalizadoras, e tudo durante a pós produção!), mas isso não é por “medo” (se bem que em alguns casos, até eu!) mas por intransigências das seguradoras e dos realizadores que preferem pagar a duplos do que arriscar lesionar/perder a estrela do filme.
Mas passando a um comentário mais objectivo, gostei do filme! Um filme é uma forma de entretenimento e isso é coisa que este transmite sem se fazer rogado: boa acção, excelente cumplicidade entre a parelha principal (surpresa esta boa actuação do Justin Long!), Bruce Willis melhor com a idade, e uma mulher muito bonita a embelezar o “palco”. Quem se lembra dos filmes anteriores da saga, lembra-se do tipo de humor de John Mcclane… e isso tá melhor que nunca. Não vou adiantar nada em relação à história, mas enquandrando o filme num ambiente técnico-geek, as saídas de Mcclane, alguém que em Portugal cairía na categoria info-excluído, são muito cómicas!
Bem… chega de comentar. Vão ver o filme, se gostarem do género… Se não gostarem e forem vê-lo, POR FAVOR, não desencoragem outros de ver o filme que eles até podem gostar do género!
Blogged on July 20, 2007 at 18:58
Goodbye Home
Originally uploaded by starrhi_night
Bem… Desde Janeiro que estou a residir em Almada, junto com o meu irmão. Vim para cá por motivos profissionais cuja falta deles neste momento me faz regressar ao Porto…
Não é com pena que volto, e muito menos com pena que relembro os meus tempos aqui: revi amigos de longa data, fiz novos amigos, aprofundei amizades, fiz muitos contactos profissionais, trabalhei numa empresa com muito futuro e pessoal altamente profissional, e acima de tudo, sinto que cresci como homem!
Daqui a 1h devo sair com carro cheio de volta ao Porto… Ainda deixo algumas coisas para *ter* que cá voltar antes de partir para a minha próxima aventura (prometo que vos porei a par muito em breve, okay?!)
Talvez por sentir o que descrevi, achei que esta fotografia que encontrei no Flickr resembla o que sinto: mudo, mas não deixo de ver beleza no que deixo…
UPDATE: Tirei algumas fotos aqui da casa e da zona com o telemóvel, e planeava pô-las no Flickr, mas não ficaram muito boas… Talvez as coloque… talvez não :S (nota mental: comprar uma câmera digital boa ASAP!)
Blogged on July 6, 2007 at 16:49
Bem…
Desde o início da Humanidade, de uma forma mais ou menos social, o Homem sempre teve uma necessidade de ter opinião… e acima de tudo: poder expressá-la e sentir que é ouvida por outrém! (independentemente da crítica que possa surgir)
Em 2001, estando eu a estudar nos EUA, tive uma certa atracção pela forma como a internet poderia permitir-me ser ouvido, aprender com experiências doutros e, acima de tudo, partilhar o que ia aprendendo com elas. Coincidiu com o facto de lá ter tido acesso a internet 24/7, muito rápida e acessível (em Portugal tinha net “dialup” desde ‘97… e com os preços de então, era normal que a usasse ao mínimo…). Sendo um procrastinador nato (mais que um desabafo é uma triste constatação!) cheguei a lançar um pseudo-blog na altura. “Pseudo” porque nunca chegou a sê-lo realmente. Não era comum alguém ter um blog naquela altura, e faltava-me o conhecimento na gestão de conteúdos, sendo que sabia o que queria, mas nunca me decidi a fazer eu aquilo que não encontrava. A ideia desvaneceu, fartei-me de ter o design online e de receber comentários como “Então pá? Quando metes lá mais qualquer coisa?”, “Quando usas aquilo?”, etc… Como estou arrependido, volvidos estes anos, de poder, com algum esforço, entrar na vanguarda da “so called” web2.0!
“Cutting it short”, passados estes anos, tenho a obrigação moral de ter um blog! Acima de tudo, porque sim. Depois porque leio e aprendo muito com blogs de outros e com fóruns e artigos que afincadamente leio, e sinto que tenho um dever para com outros, de partilhar o que sei…
Não é esse o principal propósito de um blog, ao fim ao cabo? Portanto… eu TENHO!
Hey! I‘m Levi Figueira, an ‘82 portuguese tech enthusiast a.k.a geek! My interests range from design, photography, multimedia, production and music to linux, networking and development! *Personal tastes are subject to change without prior notice* :p Enjoy! =)
