Symmetry

Snapshot of one of the walls of my home office where I’m beginning to hang my education diplomas. They were lost in folders for more than five years. I had forgotten where they were, until my wife found them. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Modern Art in Campus

Snapshot of modern art inside the premises of the University Santa María La Antigua in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Colorful Balls in Suspension

Photographs of colorful spheres outside the University of Panama - Curundu Branch. They look like tiny planets suspended in space. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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A View from the Hill

The administrative operation center for the University of Panama is located on the top of a hill known as La Colina. It’s a magnificent seven-story tower surrounded by a couple of dancing water fountains, lush palm trees, sculptures and bright tropical flowers.  From this building you can see the entire campus below.  The view is fabulous.

The morning I was there, the weather was cool and I enjoyed how the tall palm trees swayed gracefully with the wind.

Below are several pictures of the Administration Building of the Panama University for your enjoyment.  Here we go.

Photograph of the Administration Building of the Panama University. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Take notice of the tropical vegetation surrounding the building. I liked it. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

These are the palm trees swaying gracefully in the wind. The sky was clear and blue; a typical bright summer day in Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

You can find all sorts of brightly colored flowers scattered within the campus. This is one example. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

With a tropical scenario like this, it's not too difficult to get an A in one of your exams. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Tomorrow I will post several pictures of a gorgeous statue that stands near the entrance of this building.  I know you’ll love it.  Remember to return tomorrow; please don’t forget.  Good Day.

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A Coffee Mug

I graduated from high school in 1965 at age nineteen.   My next step was to obtain a college degree at the University of Costa Rica, since the one in Panama was closed because of persistent student’s riots.

I lived in Costa Rica from 1966 to 1972 striving to finish my education, but I was not prepared.  There was an inner distraction that kept me away from the classrooms.  So instead of studying, I decided to work as an accountant at a banana exporting company.  We exported Del Monte bananas to Galveston and New York.

After getting nostalgic for my country, I came back and got a job as a financial analyst at a Texaco affiliate under the name of Refinería Panama, S.A. (Refpan).  It was a wonderful job where I played with numbers all day long.  I put long hours in that company preparing financial reports for our headquarters office in White Plains, New York.  Numbers were my friends, many times I boasted that they  “talked to me.”

While working as Chief Auditor for the Ministry of Economics and Planning, out of the blue, an inner voice told me I had to go back to college.  The time was ripe and my mind longed for structured knowledge.  One morning, I drove my car to ULACIT University,  then located at El Cangrejo, and enrolled.  It was like breaking a spell.  That was in 1993 or 1994, I can’t remember exactly.

In 1999 at age 53, I finished my college education.  Received a BS in Business Administration with a  Summa Cum Laude honorary degree.  My final grade was 96.4 out of a 100.  It was a wonderful ride through the avenues of knowledge accompanied with a passion to learn.  I still have that rage to find out new things for no special reason at all.  Maybe it was because my mind had been frozen for such a long time while I was busy working.   Lingua Franca is my excuse to keep busy searching for more information to share.  This brings me great joy.

We didn’t take photographs of my graduation with my funny square hat and black toga.  The most important moment in my life was not captured.  A college diploma is the only evidence of this event—and a coffee mug.  ULACIT gave it to me when I paid the graduation expenses.

I still have it and drink coffee every morning while the day is young.  I’m an early riser.  Can’t sleep well like most people do.  Suffered from insomnia for a long time.   That gives me plenty of time to read and research my writing topics—while the city sleeps and the roosters crow.

This is the coffee mug that reminds me of college—a place I eluded for a long time due to an inner fear of learning.  Here we go.

Photograph of my graduation coffee mug, a gift from ULACIT University. (©Omar Upegui R.)

Life is strange.  This innocent coffee mug represents 34 years of intellectual drought.  I’m glad it’s finally over.  Sometimes I think about finishing my Master’s Degree, but that inner fear still resides within me.  Time will tell if I go back to the classroom or not.  Good Day.

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Faces of ULACIT

While I was visiting my former Alma Mater, Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología (ULACIT) Saturday early morning, about 6:30 a.m., I noticed several students were already there.  Some were having breakfast, while others were busy studying for an exam.

I asked for their authorization to take them a few shots and they accepted immediately and politely posed for the camera.  Below are the faces of some students at my ex-Alma Mater.  Here we go.

These two girls were very excited about several problems of computer science that would be addressed by their professor later on during the day. It was Japanese Kanji for me. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

This kid was busy finishing his homework before the bell rang for his next class. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

I think it was a real long homework, because this kid wrote, wrote and wrote some more. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

These students were putting something inside their stomachs before starting their academic activities of the day. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Looks like this student found something inside her "tortilla". (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

And now you know how Panamanian students look like.  Just like any student anywhere in the world.  Good Day.

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Joke: What Chair?

Legend has it that a certain college Philosophy professor asked one question on his final exam.

He picked up a chair, put it on his desk and wrote on the board, “Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist.”

The students dug deep and wrote like crazy for the whole exam period, some of them churning out thirty pages of heady philosophical debate and logic.

But only one student earned an A and he wrote for only a few seconds.

His paper read in full, “What chair?”

Yep, you can’t beat that philosophical answer.  Good Day.

Source:  Bits & Pieces

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Speed Reading

Please read the following items carefully, just as you would take an exam at school or college.  Remember, don’t rush.

1. It takes your food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.
2. One human hair can support 6 lbs.
3. The average man’s penis is three times the length of his thumb.
4. Human thighbones are stronger than concrete.
5. A woman’s heart beats faster than a man’s.
6. The average person’s skin weighs twice as much as the brain.

At this point, most women reading this will be finished. Most men are probably still staring at their thumbs.  Good Day.

Source:  Old Horsetail Snake

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Amazon is Crushing the 2G Kindle Rumor

Photograph of Amazon's e-Book reader known as The Kindle

We recently wrote that there are persistent rumors on the Internet that Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, is ready to launch a revamped Kindle sometime between September or October of this year.

Well the rumors were crushed by Amazon. According to a story covered by the New York Times, Amazon has publicly confirmed there will be no new Kindle this year.

Craig Berman, Amazon’s chief spokesman, told the New York Times:

“Don’t believe everything you read. There’s a lot of rumor and speculation about the Kindle. One thing I can tell you for sure is that there will be no new version of the Kindle this year. A new version is possible sometime next year at the earliest.”

I’m afraid I have to disagree with Amazon’s position. The end of the year holidays are advancing rapidly, and people have said over and over again, they don’t like the appearance nor the functionality of The Kindle. It just doesn’t feel and look right. In today’s gadget world, products not only have to function properly, but they also have to look “cool”.

Price is also an issue. Paying $359 for an electronic book reader is a rip-off. There’s no way the Kindle will be a mainstream gadget at this price. I would say a price tag of $200-$250 sounds a lot more reasonable.

If Amazon wants to grab the $5.5 billion textbook market, and all those heavy student backpacks, please take heed to a sleeker looking Kindle at a cheaper price. Mr. Bezos, the ball is in your court. Good Day!

Related reading: A Revamped Kindle is in the Pipeline – Lingua Franca

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