Month: September 2017

2017-09-29 (Friday)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

In the current edition of the Science show from Radio National in Australia, I heard a word that I cannot recall having heard for more than 40 years. It was maybe the most common word that our teacher “Vektor-Pelle” used during the lectures in calculus.

The word is INFINITESIMAL, and in case you have never heard of it, it is exactly the opposite of infinity. While infinity is so big that we cannot even imagine it, infinitesimal is the smallest positive number possible, and still not 0. More of this interesting phenomenon can be found in reference # 1 below.

And while we are discussing words, for a person like me, utterly interested in words in different languages, tomorrow is the International Translation Day, see reference #2 below. Congratulations to my fellow colleagues of translation!

Finally, today’s header photo shows what the beginning of spring looks like in Paranavaí, PR, Brazil. The majestic tree sibipuruna, caesalpina peltophoroides, with all its yellow flowers colours both the treetops and the sidewalks. More information can be found in reference # 3 below.

That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Infinitesimal

2: International Translation Day

3: Sibipirunas colorem a cidade e anunciam chegada da primavera

*: What did you learn in school today ?

2017-09-23 (Primavera)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

Since yesterday was the day of the equinox, when day and night have the same duration all over the world, today on the Southern hemisphere is the first day of Primavera, a word used in e.g. the Portuguese language to denote the season of Spring. It originated in ancient Rome, where it meant the beginning of Summer. Nowadays, it is Spring, but nevertheless I think the word is so graceful!

The photo below shows Rio Tietê, a very important waterway in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. It starts in the east, only 22 km from the South Atlantic ocean, but instead of taking the easiest route, it crosses all of the state to finally merge with Rio Paraná 1 150 km to the West. Se reference #1 below for more interesting information.

Tiete

A photo taken on 2017-07-23 of Rio Tietê, a very important river in the North of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. It starts in the East, only 22 km from the South Atlantic ocean, but does not flow there. Instead it continues 1 100 km to the West, where it finally ends up merging with Rio Paraná. This bridge of highway SP-333 over the river is more than 2 km long.

In my latest post I invited you to a technical seminar in São Paulo on 2017-09-12. I was fortunate enough to start the seminar with my presentation of “A walk down the memory lane of electronics”. The seminar was a huge success, thanks everyone who showed up! In case you could not make it, do not worry, here are three photos from my presentation:

Tech Seminar foto 1

A photo, taken by Jonas Lindström, at the very beginning of the speech, where I detail the contents.

Swedcham 20170912

A photo from my speech. My daughter Karina shows the actual phone while I present it on the screen.

Tech Seminar foto 2

Photo taken by Jonas Lindström. During the Questions & Answers section, I express my views on the future of gadgets, on my shirt is written ” I’m not always right – but I’m never wrong!”. Behind me are also two of the other speakers at the event, Guilherme Maciel and Johan Åhlund.

In reference # 2 below is the complete presentation and reference #3 is how Nordic Light reported the event. Enjoy!

That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Rio Tietê

2: A walk down the memory lane of electronics

3: Swedcham news, from the past into the future

*: What did you learn in school today ?

2017-09-03 (Sunday)

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned that:

Exactly 50 years ago today, on 1967-09-03, Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side to the right-hand side of the road. In my post of 2016-09-03 I gave an extensive report about the whole procedure. Today, I will complement with some interesting facts.

Did you know that:

  • Mainly island nations still drive on the left-hand side, such as United Kingdom and its former colonies (Ireland, Malta, East Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand), but also Japan. Reference # 1 has a complete list.
London1994-08-08

A photo from a country that insists on driving on the left-hand side, taken in London on 1984-08-08.

  • On 2009-09-07, the Pacific nation Samoa changed from driving on the right-hand to the left-hand side of the road, thus permitting import of cars with the steering wheel located on the right-hand side from its neighbours Australia and New Zealand, cheaper than long transports from Europe or USA. And then in 2011, the Samoan people lost December 30 when the country moved from the eastern to the western side of the International Date Line. They are now 3 hours ahead of New Zealand, instead of the former 21 hours behind. See also reference # 2 below.
  • There is nothing that says that driving on any of the sides is less dangerous than on the other side. Radio Sweden told us that last Friday in a science program (in Swedish). See reference #3.
Petropolis

Even in countries using right-hand traffic, there are examples of local exceptions. This photo was taken in the city of Petrópolis, RJ, Brazil. The road sign here alerts the drivers to use ‘MÃO INGLESA’ (“ENGLISH HAND”), i.e. to drive on the left-hand side.

Where will you be on September 12? In case you have not got a ticket to Apple’s launch of their new iPhone, then I have a suggestion for you:

Come to São Paulo, SP, Brazil, and listen to me and my colleagues present technology in the past, present and future! If that sounds interesting, then you can find an invitation in reference #4 below. See you there!

That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Right- and left-hand traffic

2: Samoa

3: Höger eller vänster – vägvalet som splittrar världen

4: Tech seminar- Walking along memory lane into the future – Sept 12

*: What did you learn in school today ?