Subzero Blue

Four Years Of Subzero Blue

Last Friday marked the 4th anniversary for my blog “Subzero Blue”.

For four years this blog has been a great space for me to throw my ideas, thoughts, rambles online and share whatever I find important or interesting with the world. It has been a great ride, and I’ve loved every minute of it.

It’s incredible how much that previous paragraph makes it sound like I’m about to announce that I’m going to quit blogging, but well even though I have to admit that the thought has crossed my mind a few times, I think I’ll be hanging on for a while longer.

The past year wasn’t as active as the three years before it, mainly because of the big changes in my life, from taking on more responsabilities in my new job to having a child to so many other things.
But well, I’m hoping that the year ahead will be a better one and that I’ll have more time to devote to the blog and to other internet projects I have in mind.

A big thanks to everybody who has taken the time to come visit, read and comment on Subzero Blue; You guys rock. Thank you for everything.
I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy writing it.

The 6 Myths Of Creativity

I just came across an interesting article on Fast Company about the 6 myths of creativity. Their list goes as follows:

1. Creativity Comes From Creative Types
2. Money Is a Creativity Motivator
3. Time Pressure Fuels Creativity
4. Fear Forces Breakthroughs
5. Competition Beats Collaboration
6. A Streamlined Organization Is a Creative Organization

I totally agree; these beliefs that many people in management positions hold about creativity and what triggers it are simply wrong and have nothing to do with reality.
Even if they hold in one case or another, it’s obvious they are not the rule, and that there most probably were some other factors in the background that helped.

Check out the full article: The 6 Myths Of Creativity

Alternative Energy: Is The Price Justified?

A couple of days ago I was flipping through tv channels when I came across this show that was just beginning; the show was about biofuel, and the presenter listing the different points of the show went on about how they would talk about how cost-effective biofuel is and whether the outcome justifies the cost.

This is an approach that I’ve been seeing in a number of places by a number of people, and I’m totally against it, because we don’t really have an option anymore; this is not a business issue where you evaluate what you’re going to get out of doing something, compare it to what you’re putting in and then decide what to do; this is a totally different ball game, whatever the cost, we have to act!

Through years of ignoring nature and scientific facts we’ve driven our planet to the brink of chaos and disaster, and if we don’t act fast to come up with and use alternative sources of energy, it won’t be long before we lose the most precious thing we can leave for our children and future generations: a habitable planet to live on.

So instead of asking whether the price is justified, we should ask how we can make it affordable and accessible for more people, because the justification is stronger than any there could ever be, and there is no need to even think of discussing it.

A Couple Of Office Space Quotes

Last night, I popped in one of my favourite comedy movies “Office Space” into the DVD player and laid back to enjoy.

I just thought I’d share with you a couple of quotes from the movie that I think a lot of people in the IT field will relate to.

Peter Gibbons: Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements.

and…

Joanna: So, where do you work, Peter?
Peter Gibbons: Initech.
Joanna: In… yeah, what do you do there?
Peter Gibbons: I sit in a cubicle and I update bank software for the 2000 switch.
Joanna: What’s that?
Peter Gibbons: Well see, they wrote all this bank software, and, uh, to save space, they used two digits for the date instead of four. So, like, 98 instead of 1998? Uh, so I go through these thousands of lines of code and, uh… it doesn’t really matter. I uh, I don’t like my job, and, uh, I don’t think I’m gonna go anymore.
Joanna: You’re just not gonna go?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Joanna: Won’t you get fired?
Peter Gibbons: I don’t know, but I really don’t like it, and, uh, I’m not gonna go.
Joanna: So you’re gonna quit?
Peter Gibbons: Nuh-uh. Not really. Uh… I’m just gonna stop going.
Joanna: When did you decide all that?
Peter Gibbons: About an hour ago.
Joanna: Oh, really? About an hour ago… so you’re gonna get another job?
Peter Gibbons: I don’t think I’d like another job.
Joanna: Well, what are you going to do about money and bills and…
Peter Gibbons: You know, I’ve never really liked paying bills. I don’t think I’m gonna do that, either.

If you haven’t already seen this movie, you just have to, it’s so so funny…

Check it out: “Office Space”