Law

It makes me sad how some people demonstrate in Mexico.

The do things in way that they hurt other people rights, and they expect that everyone else to take their side. Also if the government does something about it they call it repression.

But, if their rights are hurt by some other people demonstrating they call foul and expect the government to use the same measures that when used against them are repression.

It seems that many people have come to expect the law to apply everyone, but themselves. Which is not how it's supposed to be, the law is to be applied to everyone in the same way with the same force. If you don't agree to play by those rules, then go somewhere else or don't play at all.

As a society, we need to be more participative in not just living according to the law. But also, we need to participate in making the law to be fair, and changing or eliminating the laws that are not fair. At the end, no law is perfect.

Ubuntu

I must admit that I've become a fan of Ubuntu. I've found it to be user friendly, and I like it's user interface and ease of use.

Besides, it comes with all the software I use on regular basis. And what's best, all my favorite programs run on it. Specially Firefox and Open Office, which are the ones I use the most often.

Also, Skype runs well. Which is important for me, since is the tool I use to keep in touch with family. Also, the fact that all the IM protocols I use to keep in contact with friends are supported makes it easy to keep in touch with them too.

One of the things I like the most of Ubuntu, is how easy is to configure the user interface to suit my tastes. And the fact the are a lot of options to choose from. I've found support for users to be more than adequate, and easy to use and find.

I don't think I'll go back to Windows unless I've to.

Down town

More than ever I'm convinced that one of the places I enjoy the most of Cuernavaca is it's down town.

I like the ambient that you feel, it's not to hot most of the time and you can enjoy walking, or just hang with your friends, and there is something to do for everyone. The weekends is when I enjoy down town the most, since there are a lot of cultural events, which most are for free, that I enjoy attending to.

Mainly, the concerts and the used books market. There is a lot more to do, one just need to poke around to find something to suit your personal tastes. And it really helps that it's easy to find a way to get here.

I really invite everyone to come and visit Cuernavaca.

Tablet

Yesterday I found the tablet I want. I saw it at the Plaza de la Tecnología, and it's ideal for what I want from it.

It runs Android 2.2, it has 512MB of RAM, and has a 1Ghz processor. The has a 10.2 inches display. I tried it out for several minutes and I fell in love with it. It's not that expensive, at $2807.00 pesos is quite accessible.

I really feel that it's the right complement for my needs, when I want to browse around the Internet and watch some videos, with out having to turn on my computer.

What I like the most, is that it runs on Android. Personally it's important because I prefer that my gadgets, and computer related stuff, to run on open source software. That's the main reason why I wouldn't get my self an iPad, even tough it's a great product.

So, for now I know what I want for my birthday this year.

Conspicuous silence

I don't see as much upheaval about the continuation of the repairs at the Morelos avenue as I thought there would be.

Mainly, there have been treats from some sectors of the public transportation system, but not much else. I don't really know why, but it seems that attention has focused on some other things. I just hope that it's all for the best.

I feel a bit disappointed about it, mainly because it seems that the attention span of the people it's not long enough. Or that there is a certain inability to pay attention to various events at the time.

What I find more conspicuous is that the ones that work at Morelos avenue are not as vocal as before, but I don't really want to see more to it that what there is.

I still believe that what's being done it's needed to long term needs of the city, and there is far more to be done. There are many things that need to be restructured, or completely reworked. I just hope there is enough will to do what's needed to be done.

Anger

Yesterday some workers of the water system made a mistake, and left with out electricity for a couple of hours.

To be honest, they were trying to be nice and tried to fix something that wasn't broken. But, they shouldn't have done it mainly because legally they shouldn't be messing with property of the electric company. And besides, they didn't really know if there was something wrong.

What irk me most of the whole situation, was that instead of taking this with relative calm and talk about it to reach a solution, it quickly became a shouting contest. I mean, instead of actually try to calm down things, there were things said and done that weren't helping at all.

We need that by being aggressive we don't prevent anyone abusing our rights. Or gain any advantage at all, instead it makes it harder to come to an agreement. A cool head it's one of the most important things to have when trying to come to a solution, since it makes us to be able to listen to what the other side is saying to us.

Acting out in anger rarely will do anything to bring a solution, usually bring out more problems than the ones it solve.

Freedom

For more than a decade, Mexicans have seen their liberties greatly expanded. We know have, and enjoy, much more freedom than for much of the 20th century.

I'm really happy about it, but also distressed about some of the things that have come along with it. For starters, since we have a lot more freedom of speech it seems that the society at large doesn't really know what to do with it; and more often than not abuse this freedom.

Many attack anything that comes against their interest or believes, and much of the time without really understanding, or investigating, what is that they are attacking. And even when proven wrong, or being defeated by what the majority wants, they don't stop the attacks.

Other right that is not used as often as it should be, is to bring our officials to do the will of the people. Or, in some cases, to stop using their posts for personal gains, or to benefit special interests.

What irks me most about this, is that when I point out that the status quo won't change unless we make it change, the answer I most often get is what for.

Many people want a better place to live in, but are not willing to do their part to make it better. It seems that they want somebody else to make the change happen, but the sad part is that this way the change they are craving for won't come.

Or if change comes, it won't be the change they want.

There is a long way to go, and to learn, before the changes that came with the arrival of democracy to fruition. But, we are well on our way.

Mayor failings

I've been thinking about how things are being managed by the city government of Cuernavaca, and even though over all it's doing rather well, there are areas where it's failing badly.

And the reason why it's failing are mainly because it's refusing to negotiate with society at large.

It seems that the mayor of Cuernavaca doesn't understand that he has to talk and negotiate with society even when he believes, or in some cases, he's right. At the end, his power comes from society and not the other way around.

And negotiations are not to be conducted only with sectors that are supportive of his policies.

There is also the fact that the municipality isn't handing out all the information that it has, when it's asked for. Specially when the information is requested by individuals, or groups, that are openly opposed to him. Which only fuel distrust on him and his aids, not to mention the party he represents.

Many politicians should take note and learn from the mistakes that the mayor has made so far to avoid making them.

Hope they do, since we deserve much better.

Sad state of public transportation

The conditions of several buses of the public transportation system of Cuernavaca is to cry for. Some of them shouldn't even be allowed to be used as private transport, much less public.

I find it sad that such an important component mode of transportation is in such state, specially because Cuernavaca it's the state capital. Also it prides itself of being a tourist friendly city, and should be a lot more careful of the image given by it's public transportation system.

For the 10 years I've been living at Cuernavaca, the system has been in desperate need of an update and an overhaul. Both buses and taxis need to be renewed for newer, and more efficient, units.

The markings of the buses need to be standardized, as the lighting used at night with it. Each operator of every route seems that can use whatever font he fancies to mark his bus, even though it can be almost unreadable. And there doesn't seem to be any rule about what it's permitted as decoration.

What is becoming a prime factor for the many traffic jams and congestions on the main city streets, is that most of the lines routes over lap each other for much of the time, while some other parts of the city are left without public transportation service. This makes the system really inefficient.

By overhauling the routes of the system many of the city transportation problems would be solved. Pollution could be greatly mitigated, by reducing congestion and traffic jams. Also, time of travel would be brought down and more people could be moved by the same amount of buses.

Also, people could save both time and money. As it stands now, some people have to take more buses that needed mainly because they have no other option to get where they have to go, since there is no direct way other to use a taxi or a private car.

The government and public system operatives need to understand that the update of the units and system is urgent. There is no time left, if we want to keep attracting tourism. And a better quality of life for those who live at Cuernavaca.

Information

It's hard to believe how fast information flows, events happening anywhere can be known around in a matter of minutes. Not only that, just about anyone can be source of what's going on.

We can share just about anything we want, when we want, from where we are with relative ease.

Now more than ever, is easier to access information about what fancies your interests. The information is there, just need to know how to look for it and how to discriminate good sources from bad ones.

To be honest, is easy to get information overload or get distorted information if one is not careful from where one is getting it. Because of this, the research that is done to get information needs to be done carefully.

The truth is out there, just need to know where to get it.

Thoughts

Recently I have been thinking about how things are going in my life. Mainly how things have been changing and how I view what it's happening.

One of the things I've come to realize, is how I prefer to move on the public transportation system rather that in a car. I find the former to be far more convenient way for move around the city, specially since most of the time I'm by myself. And when I do go with someone else, the places where we go have easy access to public transport.

Not only it's easier, it's also considerable cheaper than a car. There is a $150 pesos average difference per week, which is pretty much for me.

Also, I've found myself downtown Cuernavaca or at Tepoztlán most of my time. To be honest, I'd move to Tepoztlán if I could. There a few things I enjoy about living where I'm currently living at, but I don't feel as comfortable as I used to be.

There are a lot of things I've got to think about. I want to change a lot of things I want to change in my life, but at the same time there are a lot to consider. Life it's not easy, but I really don't expect it to be.

Challenges are part of life, and I do enjoy facing them; even though sometimes I get frustrated by them. But at the end, who I am is the result of the challenges I've faced so far.