Digital Clock (Tempus Fugit)

This clock is not part of an exercise on English. But I happened to find it in a website which has lots of different clocks and I decided to paste it in my blog. The website offers for free all kind of clocks including many fancy ones.

Special (and instructive) exercise.

I wanted to challenge myself by trying to write a story with one condition (constraint?). The condition was that I should write the story using no other English than the English I know. That means I should not use English from anywhere else than my head. Also my PC word spelling would be not in use.

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So here is the story. A few months ago I was driving on the side road of the AP7 Motorway. Traffic was very few and I was driving just slowing down because I was about to leave that road. Suddenly I heard a strong noise. It was like if my car had crashed a truck part, a stone or anything hard enough. After the crash I waited a few seconds for any unusual vibration or noise. Since everyhting was fine I didn't stop and carry on driving.

Just after those seconds a car passed by my side, slowed down and one of the two men in that car opened his window and started strongly gesticulating to me. Helpful people, weren’t they? The man was pointing at below my car and making undoubtful gests meaning my car was having something wrong and serious somewhere in its lower part. And more important, he was also making clear indications which meant I should immediately stop my car at the road’s side.

Have you got any idea what was all about? I was very fortunate. I did know what was all about! A friend of mine had had the same situation a few months before an he told me.

I guess there’s no need for me to tell you what actually was happening. But I’ll tell you what I did right when the fellow was asking me to stop. Do you rmember when Felicity opened her paper notes block and the two images shown?. One was a bird and the other was basically a gest, weren’t they? OK, I did two simultaneous things. I clearly made a gest, image no.2 like to them and I kept driving relaxed an absolutely convinced that my car had no break down at all.

When ‘my friends’ soon realized I had not bitten their bait they make themselves disappear among the other cars on the road. And when I reach the place I was driving to I inspected the back of the body of my car and close to the booth’s lid it was (and still is!) a clear impact produced by a hard object thrown by someone.

I think some time later the police cought a gang which was doing quite professionally rubberies of cars in main Motorways in the Vallès area.

If you wiil the moral might be:: if your car makes a noise when driving get ready to be scared either by your garage invoice or by thieves willing to sell the car somewhere out of the EU.

Happy end (Part one)

This is the happy end story of Francesc, Pilar, Luciano and Daniella. (Part one)

Here is another story about colleagues that fortunately end up nicely. Let me tell you right away. This is a happy end story. And most of it is real and true. For privacy respect names of the main characters have been changed as well as some other details for the same reason.

The story began in 1974. At that time my brother Francesc worked as freelance. He was a draftsman and he had very good skills in other arts related fields like painting and modelling. Most of his work was to make projects on the scenery involved in large housing developments.

Just by accident, he had a new work opportunity and he became part of a huge project. Catalana de Gas was merging with an Italian gas company which was rather back in technology and social awareness. They planned to build near Milano brand new premises which should include an industrial plant, head office buildings and a sports and recreational area for their employees and visitors. However there was a big issue about that plan. The company had already acquired the land for the project but it was right in a huge agricultural region with no precedent of industrial plants.

The company organized a team of specialists in order to make a project that would please all stakeholders (writers note: don’t mistake with ‘stockholders’) and eventually obtain the authorities approval. Here came in to play Francesc. It was felt that how it would look the gas complex would be essential in being accepted or rejected. And therefore the company hired Francesc to do this part of the project. It was expected from him to lead the project on what was called ‘respectful & scenery environmental plant’. This concept turned out quickly as RSEP, as it would be expected from any trying-to-be multinational company.

Once explained the frame of this story we move on my brother Francesc. In 1974, by early winter he was about to fly to Italy for the first time. He agreed with his managers that he was going to be in the place of construction one week out of two during a year roughly. The lands were close to the little town Moscazzano (Mzzo) which is some 50 kilometers south from Milano. One Monday Francesc took the plane in Barcelona and he asked himself who would be at Milano’s airport to pick him to the nearest hotel in Mzzo.

(To be continued)

Do Blogs Make Feel Something Else?

Having opened a blog is proving an excellent method to write in English providing you have time, indeed. I don’t think I would have written all I wrote these weeks if I had only my computer or even worse, an old-fashioned paper notebook. I wonder why is this. What makes a blog different in inducing to writers some sort of stimulation? In short I think the answer is just one word: PUBLICATION. When we write in a blog we know that text is going to be ‘published’. So what? you may say. Well, let’s be honest and try to find out an explanation. Did you see someone who just by chance appeared on TV for a fraction of a second on the far background? Or perhaps his/her name was incidentally mentioned in a newspaper? How his/her face looked like? His/her face looked with an ear to ear smile or with a not well dissimulated satisfaction. Why is this? Because getting notorious is rewarding for many people even in cases which notoriety might be very small and ephemeral.

If my reasoning makes sense, when you write in your blog you know intellectually your text is going to be read only by a very few number of readers. BUT emotionally (should I say ‘psychologically’?) you get the feeling that your text is on ‘the net’, which means everywhere and therefore it is ‘published’. Some little part of yourself moved from being private (anonymity) to being public (notoriety).

Of course, some people will agree, some will disagree. Don’t take my speculation seriously. It is just an excuse that enabled me to write in English. I wanted to make some practice in a let’s say formal style.

Oh!, I forgot saying that in case you decided to vote my ‘thesis’ I will count first votes favourable. Regarding the ‘others’ (like in the TV series, LOST) they will be qualified as dangerous, nasty and not deserving to be taken into consideration. The thing I love most is… justice, isn't it?

Translation of Thoughts

A long time ago I decided to collect certain sentences. In my computer I started a list which I called ‘Thoughts’ because I was interested in sentences expressing thoughts. Not thoughts from myself but thoughts said or written by no matter who. I decided to put in the list all kind of thoughts providing I just liked them. I took no specific theme or subject for selecting 'my’ thoughts. Some of them have well known authors. Others have not. Even a few are anonymous.

I never intended to gather those thoughts according to a consistent political, philosophical or just vital line. There’s one and only one common denominator in my ‘Thoughts’ collection. I like them all. I currently have some 350 thoughts.

I ‘thought’ it would be an interesting English exercise for me to translate a few of them. That might be not so easy since some of the Thoughts use language related to abstract concepts and/or short sentences with deep complex meaning. Here is a sample of my collection after my English translation (My original list is written only in Castillian or Catalan). I would highly appreciate your comments on how the following translations 'sound'.

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Creativity is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. (Thomas A. Edison)

Our big mistake is trying to get from every individual the virtues he/she hasn’t got. However we neglect developing the virtues individuals have got. (Margerite Yourcenar)


Some men fight one day. They are good men. Some fight one year. They are better men. Some fight many years. They are much better men. But some fight all their lives: those are essential men. (Bertold Brecht)


The difference between what we do and what we could do would be enough to overcome most world’s problems. (Gahdhi)


Every language is a source of culture and the extinction of one language –which is a mankind’s heritage- is the failure of all societies. (Isabel-Clara Simó)


Some loves in life just can’t be forgotten,
undeletable times our heart keeps forever,
cause something that made us shiver of joy
can’t be replaced at present by a new love. (Julio Gutierrez)


The world has changed much more in the last one-hundred years than in any previous century. The reasons for that have not been the politics or economics new ideas but the fundamental developments fostered by the progress of the basic sciences. (Stephen Hawking)


Imposing is nonsense. Convincing is glorious. (Victor Hugo)


Forget Gods, Religions and Death. You are living in this life: be happy by administering its pleasures. (Epicure, IV BC)


Mediocrity is always a thread to us. We should beat it. If we don’t like our life we should improve it or give it a new dimension. (Kenzaburo Oé)

I can’t believe I’m getting a decoration. I thought one should be driving tanks or wining wars to get such a thing. (John Lenon)


The word ‘progress’ has no meaning while there might be unhappy children. (Albert Einstein)

If you don’t want to get replaced by a machine do not behave like one of them. . (Arno Penzias)
[Penzias is a physicist who together with his colleague, Wilson, hey detected a faint low radiation in the Universe that proved the Big-Bang hypothesis. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1978]


A weak mind is like a microscope: it enlarges trivial things but can’t see the big ones. (Lord Chesterfield)

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Two Greeks (in Parthenon’s times) are discussing. It’s good we don’t know their names. Their discussion is on an abstract subject. Sometimes they refer to myths which they don’t believe. They don’t argue. And they don’t either want to persuade each other nor to be persuaded by the other. To win or lose is out of their scope.

They agree in just one thing. They know that discussion is the impossible path to reach truth. Since they are free from the myth or the metaphor, they do think or they do try to think.

That discussion between two unknown men somewhere in Greece is an essential fact of our history. They forgot the prayer and the magic. (Jorge Luís Borges)
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How old am I? Age doesn’t exist: everyone decides what age is willing to have. (Giovanni Reale)


Raise your son/daughter with a bit of hunger and a bit of cold. (Chinese proverb)


If you’re able to measure what you’re talking about, if you can say that by means of a number, then you may think you know something. . (William Thompson, known as Lord Kelvin)


God helps those who help themselves. (Charles Chaplin)


I got the feeling of living in a stupid world where it is only expected from you to buy many things and have grandchildren who will buy many things too. (Mario Camus)


Beauty depend one half on the scenery and one half on who contemplates it. (Lin Yutang)

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Translation #1

The worst thing some people ignore
is they are ignorants.

Translation #2 (more straight forward from original)

The worst thing some people do not know
is they do not know.

(Adolfo Bioy Casares -terrible statement-)
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Happiness is made of little things. A little mansion, a little yatch, a little fortune… (Grouxo Marx) [Do you, Felicity, own the same sort of ‘littles’?]


What makes a true intelligence is the ability to deal with contradictory facts. (Scott Fitzgerald)


I adore Mankind though people make me feel bursting. (Susanita, Mafalda’s friend)

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Yes, Minister (nuclear weapons concern)

I watched a couple of chapters of the TV series, Yes, Minister.

Here is a short cut of a discussion between the Minister and his adviser Sir. Humphrey. They are discussing the issue of nuclear weapons and the Soviet Union threat.

Minister (says): They probably certainly know (referring to the Soviet Union)


Sir Humphrey (replies): Yes, Minister, but they probably certainly know that you probably wouldn’t, they don’t certainly know that although you probably wouldn’t there’s no probability that you certainly would.


I find Humphrey's repply very funny just from a language perspective and regardless its actual meaning. The way English is allows Humphrey to say a quite long sentence using only two times one single verb (know) and building up the sentence just by fulfilling it with a brilliant play of 'would', 'certainly' and 'probably'. Sometimes I believe English is a Lego-like language and I love it!

I took deliberatly that sentence as an obviuos example of what I liked to bring to debate. A language like English is what I call a 'powerful' language. A language using few words and little declinations and conjugations, say little grammar, but able to accurately communicate both sophisticated technology and conceptual abstraction.

But on top of that, isn’t Humphrey’s talk very funny, anyway?

(Note: From what I've heard about chinese language it may be extremely powerful. Is it going to be another threat to the English-using Western powers?)

The Story of Mr. Bird

I intended to write a short story. I realized it was going to be hard for me. My imagination is strictly limited to topics which I’m very enthusiastic (birds and dicks are not among those). When I write something out of them I get lost and I don’t know how to end my story. I’m asking you your understanding because my story deals little about birds, is too long and it is little fun in it.

The story is ninety-five percent fiction and five percent real. I actually had an Englishman friend whose name was K.J.H. Bird. He was an Engineer and he spoke good French and some Spanish. For many years he was Research & Development Mgr. of acompany producing feeder equipment. Right from when we met we got along very well. It’s ten years since I don’t hear from him and he doesn’t from me. I feel sad for that.

Mr. K.J.H. Bird and his site www.bird.uk

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My English friend Ken, who is sixty-four was living in Watford which is a town North of London rather close to it. His full name is Kenneth J. K. Bird. He is very friendly and he speaks very good French and some Spanish as well. When he was a boy his parents realized he was very clever and his mind was surprisingly what we would call multidisciplinary. He showed interest for many different matters. By the time he was ready to go to the university he had made a strong determination. He would study two careers simultaneously. So he did. He choose English philology and believe it or not he also choose Automotive engineering.

After a couple of years in the university he proved to be right in his decision since he had excellent marks in most subjects of both studies. So he went on and he finished achieving Master degrees both in Philology and Engineering.

After graduation Ken started looking for a job and he got married with Charlize. Since engineering offered by far more job possibilities Ken forgot philology and joined a company producing chemical feeder equipment. He was brilliant and effective in his job and soon got a promotion to the position of Research & Development Manager.

By that time I was working in a company which was a ‘sister’ of Ken’s company. Right from when we first met we got along very well and professionally we shared most views. We used to meet several times every year. We saw each other in meetings and in a fewer occasions when he and his family came to Mallorca and stopped a day or two in Barcelona. Ken looked to me like the perfect paradigm of an Englishman. I got no idea how I looked to him. I strongly hope I didn’t look to him like the perfect paradigm of the Spanish torero. But we understood each other like if we were from the same nationality and our relation and esteem was very profound.

More than twenty years went on and unexpectedly Ken’s company was sold to the Unilever Anglo-Dutch group. After some months of uncertainty he secured his position and succeed in getting a further promotion.

His new job made him to travel on business throughout Europe. He had to get used to different, sometimes odd English accents and syntax of his colleagues from most countries in the continent. Complete sentences, comments and even jokes were said using English words but they had little if any sense when listened by an English native listener. Reversing those observations and retrieving some of his philology knowledge Ken slowly began feeling much interest in all that rich and complex world of languages. Humour talking was the more exciting part to him.

Six years later Unilever was in financial trouble and they set up a program of costs reductions and personnel dismissal. Ken was asked to go on an early retirement and a very good compensation package was offered to him. He felt sad and disappointed the first twenty-four hours. However next day he saw the sun shining as never before. He run to the company’s HHRR office and signed his resignation trying to hide his exultant mood. He felt free for the first time since he was at the university and in addition he could not foresee anymore personal economy worries for the rest of his live.

When Ken left his job our contact got less and less frequent. I have to say sadly that it is more than four years I have not seen him. That’s the way life is. This reminds me a short poem written by a Far Eastern poet, ‘Live is a succession of encounters and goodbyes’. From then up until now I only know brushstrokes of Ken’s story. I guess I will be able to summarize it in a consistent explanation.

Ken and his wife moved from Watford to Alfreton in the North of Nottingham. Once retired he had a lot of free time. Ken knew a lot about computers, and all internet tools and tricks. He went back to his humour hobby and thought it will be interesting to work out some internet layout dealing with European humour. He first made some tests in a limited scale among his former colleagues. When he saw the preliminary outcome of the tests he went on developing his idea of establishing a huge humour cross linked database. He set up an internet application. Currently Ken’s web has 370,000 visitors and some 7,000 regular participants. End of my story.

If you feel interested you may visit Ken’s site. His site’s address is:

www. bird.uk

The good memory readers will likely notice that Ken’s humour site’s name is just his straight own name. Although it looks like this, the name (bird) of the site is owed to his sense of humour and his predisposition to playing words.

He asked me not to disclose the actual origin of that name but I’ll do an exception for you. The Ken’s site name BIRD is an acronym. It stands for a list of four humoristic European trends.

Burlesque (France)
Ironic (England)
Rigid (Northern Europe)
Dilettante (Italy)

More on rivalry

I just saw a film called ‘Promises’. It deals with the Palestinians and Israelis conflict. The film focuses on children of both sides. It shows realistically (children are not actors but real children) their hopes and fears at different times of their life.

Even if you didn’t see it you may imagine how touching and depressing is that film.

The situation depicted by the film is hopeless. Boys and girls six or seven years are in both sides already fill up with hate and mistrust. And they’re hopeless. The paradox is that the reasons for rejecting each other are almost the same. Palestinians on one side and Israelis on the other, both are strongly convinced their God is the ‘one’, their land is theirs, justice is with them. In that non fiction film you get amazed when seing a six year boy (or girl) talking about land possession and history with more conviction than a professor would have on that subject. Why is this? Because we all live and think according to the information, education and vital experiences that we receive from our people and environment. In extreme situations this can produce tragic consequences.

In Western Europe situations tensions are much less stressed and as a consequence our thinking and attitudes may be much less dramatic. For example, in Germany someone told Lydia explicitly something about the superiority of Northern versus Southern Germans. And many Spaniards still believe wrong things (just the opposite to the reality) about Catalans. Tendentious information and political interests are beyond those topics. And, still further on, economy is, in my opinion, the very real and deepest factor that fuels (sometimes not in an obvious way) human history worldwide.

I like topics like this one but I like lighter, fresher and funnier topics too. Trying to balance the serious themes I’m looking for ‘Never mind the buzzcocks’ with Amy Winehouse. I think I will download it soon.

See you at E.O.I.

Quite simple learning, some irony and latin confusions.

When I was a young man I started to read and speak English. That was some one-hundred years ago.You know the Jurassic age? I was a young man in just the next era, believe me.

Sometimes I like saying that I learned English like children do. Word by word. From the very basic. No study but much practice. And I had a secret that I'd like to share with my nice classmates. The secret was never being 'shy' and never hesitating. Use the English you know. English/Americans natives will always (99.9%) welcome your English even if it is basic and wrong (I guess like English children's is).

I already wrote a note on Felicity’s blog about the topic of the English language origin versus Germanic and Romance languages. The document our teacher handed over is very very interesting. To me it’s even more than interesting it is fascinating. When reading that text I remembered a confusion in translation that may be made by student beginners.

In fact the point is that current Romance languages like French, Italian, Catalan, Portuguese and Spanish (Castilian) all come from relatively straight forward Latin. Therefore a substantial number of ‘our’ words are relatively similar in their writing or speaking to Latin English words. For instance, auxiliary (auxiliar), impression (impresión), ubiquitous (ubicuo), etc.

But every word is not that much easy. When Spanish people (the same as Italians, etc.) come across a Latin English word tend to believe that its meaning is the same as their own similar word. This is the case for many words. But there are many as well that changed their meaning with time passing.

What happens is that once a language is born its words start to evolve (a bit according to Darwin’s laws) and their meaning and spelling lose connection with their origins.

To explain the above let me make a hypothetical example. Let’s take the Latin adjective ‘minusculus’ (small, tiny). Suppose that at certain time (XIth. century I think) its use was introduced in England as part of the Latin used at that time. After several centuries the word was eventually part of modern English as ‘minuscule’ (the meaning kept unchanged: small, tiny).

Latin ‘minusculus’ survived also in some Mediterranean countries. Nowadays this word do exist in French (minuscule), Italian (minuscolo), Spanish (minúsculo), Catalan (minúscul), and probably in other Romance languages. But suppose now (it is not true) that in some or all of these countries the meaning changed with time. Suppose (it is not true) that ‘minúsculo’ in Spanish currently means ‘weak’. If this was the case a low experienced Spanish student of English could understand as ‘weak’ when facing English ‘minuscule’.

To end up with a more practical information I’m writing five cases that fit into my previous comment. In my opinion these are words commonly and continuously being used in English but I would say that beginners easily fall into the trap once produced by the long-lived Latin-English-Spanish-shake.

English...............Translation by ‘intuition’................Right translation


Actually..........................Actualmente............................................En realidad, realmente

Eventually.....................Eventualmente.........................................Al final, finalmente

Consistently.................Consistentemente...................................Coherentemente, consecuentemente

Comprehensive..........Comprensivo...........................................Global, de conjunto, exhaustivo

Current.........................Corriente..................................................Actual


I’m sorry my friends. I can’t help being long and tedious when writing (not to mention when talking!).
See you on Thursday!

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