tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48046130032522779682024-03-13T13:27:13.143+02:00Booming times aheadMihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-19373587388867508562008-12-31T19:00:00.006+02:002009-02-05T22:00:02.299+02:002008 (after)Well, 2008 is done now. It’s been a very complicated year, with lots of things to learn, many to endure and more to build upon. But all the worst for the better! I am confident that with enough work the new year will be excellent.
Personally
The new job I went to last spring proved to be much of a bluff. The way the job was presented to me proved to be very different from what I was Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-82379192565876923302008-11-19T22:45:00.007+02:002008-11-20T00:26:36.025+02:00Away for the weekend: Grapefruit's 9th Anniversary Party
I'll be away this weekend—a.k.a. nowhere near my home town—to attend Grapefruit's ninth anniversary party. I'm expecting a wacky weekend, generally marked by surprises, fun, games and booze. We, in Grapefruit, call that team building. I don't know how the concept rolls out in the real world, but this is Grapefruit.
I'll give you a short overview of what happened in the past two years.
Seven
Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-44853964628044809352008-10-21T18:46:00.008+03:002008-10-30T15:34:37.587+02:00We have new—collectible!—business cards
We have new business cards that just came in! And as hot as they came from the printers, as hot as they became around the office: tradeable and collectible goodies. Here's mine:
Gotta' catch'em all!Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-39917814056544589032008-10-18T23:19:00.005+03:002008-10-19T00:09:48.199+03:00One-week vacation over (personal recap)I haven't had a vacation since the beginning of the year, so this short week was heavenly, even though I crave for more. But it's what I get for being MIA for three months this spring. And I'm thankful, because it could have been a lot worse: I could have been unemployed.
But now that my batteries have, at least partially, recharged I can do a short and uncomprehensive recap.
Nobody keeps countMihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-34996526239510157022008-09-28T15:35:00.030+03:002009-01-14T15:52:34.958+02:00Magic: The Gathering in Iasi: September 2008 recap<!--a class="cover">
Packaging Art of From The Vault: Dragons, copyright by Wizards of the Coast, used fairly.
Notice: Looking for the Magic: The Gathering community in Iasi? Be sure to check the dedicated blog and forum: www.planeswalkers.ro.
It’s been a while since I last blogged on the happenings of our starting Magic: The Gathering community, so here’s a recap.
Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-78791770446345637592008-09-16T07:09:00.013+03:002008-09-28T17:56:44.757+03:00Grapefruit Menger Sponge
Even find yourself with too many business cards? Maybe a big pile of them came with defects from the print shop and you’ve no use for them. Or you might have just moved like we did at Grapefruit and all of a sudden hundreds of business cards have just become unusable.
You can find a few more photos of this Menger Sponge on Flickr
The Menger Sponge
The Menger Sponge hasMihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-44370269460506929022008-09-12T16:41:00.006+03:002009-01-14T15:58:22.312+02:00We want to teach you MagicNotice: Looking for the Magic: The Gathering community in Iasi? Be sure to check the dedicated blog and forum: www.planeswalkers.ro.
Tomorrow we’re gathering in the usual location for free Magic play. Also, some of us will bring decks to teach others how to play. (There’s no tournament/competition tomorrow, just free play.)
New player? Come and learn to play Magic
We’ll Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-74781565612322651312008-09-06T15:35:00.022+03:002009-01-21T10:56:16.403+02:00Magic: The Gathering Constructed results (Iaşi, September 6)Notice: Looking for the Magic: The Gathering community in Iasi? Be sure to check the dedicated blog and forum: www.planeswalkers.ro.
Last weekend we played a standard constructed tournament in the same setting as the draft. Performing my duty for the community, here are the results and some information about upcoming events.
Results
Although somewhat similar in design to the “Elvish Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-54843005163432145432008-08-30T17:02:00.013+03:002009-01-14T16:00:30.101+02:00Magic: The Gathering Draft results (Iaşi, August 30)Notice: Looking for the Magic: The Gathering community in Iasi? Be sure to check the dedicated blog and forum: www.planeswalkers.ro.
The draft was a success! We’ve had fun playing and we’re definitely iterating this event. We’re thinking about a constructed next week.
Results
We haven’t been playing for any prize this time, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn&#Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-81224886219848992862008-08-29T09:56:00.015+03:002009-01-14T16:00:21.555+02:00First Magic: The Gathering draft event in IaşiNotice: Looking for the Magic: The Gathering community in Iasi? Be sure to check the dedicated blog and forum: www.planeswalkers.ro.
Yes, we’re drafting! It is the first public Magic: The Gathering event in Iaşi and we hope it’s the jump start for our local community of players.
August 30, 2008 update: Posted results and photos from the event.
What’s Magic: The Gathering?Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-25730091809038531802008-08-15T11:59:00.018+03:002008-08-23T09:48:53.404+03:00"Hacking" Basecamp: Greasing Those Time ReportsIn a previous post I was talking about how we can use HTML tricks through Textile to better organize and document things in basecamp. Some things just can’t be done as simple, though.
Time reports
The default time report view in Basecamp is useful especially when you want to review how the past time was spent. However, the view is sorted by clients instead of being sorted by day. That&#Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-48840862874483365742008-08-04T21:59:00.002+03:002008-08-04T23:22:18.791+03:00One for All, and All in OneNote for the faint-hearted: The tone is for artistic purposes only.
Let’s take a look at some Lorwyn/Shadowmoor pairs who’s metafore I don’t get very well.
The Shadowmoor set brings 5 cards each definitely having the metafore of a crowd. The name’s the first thing to give them away: Kithkin Rabble, Faerie Swarm, Crowd of Cinders, Horde of Boggarts and Drove of Elves.Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-51876036245243071252008-07-16T16:21:00.005+03:002008-08-04T23:22:18.792+03:00I Can Haz Eventide Prerelease CardAnother big day tomorrow! I'm going to Bucharest with Wky to participate in the prerelease event of Eventide. Still looking forward to such events taking place in Iasi, but I guess we've got a long way coming until that. Maybe if we work hard we'll have a prerelease and a release for Shards of Alara.
Overbeing of Myth, the Eventide Prerelease Card as announced on July 7 by WotC.
I don&#Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-17779426036654150162008-07-05T17:22:00.012+03:002008-07-05T20:56:06.356+03:00Magic as we know it is about to changeThe Lorwyn-Shadowmoor block in itself has changed the world of Magic for the established players. But it seems Magic has yet to have been completely changed.
Shards of Alara, the new expansion set, is going to bring in more than just a new plane we’re going to explore, but and entire train of changes with it. These changes aren’t necessarily bad though: some of them are actually Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-4130743908332842972008-07-04T23:45:00.000+03:002008-07-06T01:05:11.493+03:00Turning Eventide
Eventide flavor art, © Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Magic: The Gathering logo and related artwork © Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Something, something, something… Lorwyn-Shadowmoor Block, something, something, something… complete!
I’m playing Magic: The Gathering for quite a while now and I’m glad to have played enough to get to see a complete block. (Well, actually, I&#Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-21150677801176055472008-06-12T22:52:00.009+03:002008-06-12T23:08:51.991+03:00DS vs. iPod Touch
Although this spring’s changes drove me into recession, now that my life is coming back to normal, I think I’ll be able to afford a gadget gift for myself this summer. For one thing there’s going to be a some traveling this summer. For the second, I’ve decided to use public transportation more often. Both of these would go nicely with a toy on the side.
Right now it&#Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-38592796782209625502008-06-09T04:20:00.007+03:002008-06-09T05:18:20.535+03:00A Show About Karma
One of my friends made a really big push for this TV Show, and by the initial impression I got for it I thought I'd never watch it. But there came a time in my life when watching this show was necessary. I had finished all the House M.D. episodes out there, LOST was done by summer and with writer's guild strike last autumn there's not much left of this season.
In spite of not giving it much Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-50838718396706702362008-05-29T00:37:00.005+03:002008-05-29T01:18:47.780+03:00One Planet, One Station: Music One
After one year off-air, they’re back just in time for Summer!
When Music One held last show before going off-air last year many people felt sad. The best dance radio station on the Internet was going offline for who knew how much time. This spring the website started announcing a 2008 come-back, and near the end of May I know many fans were getting the chills. “Will it be back Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-34253640931661885582008-05-08T12:15:00.011+03:002008-10-18T23:23:44.067+03:00"Hacking" Basecamp: Useful markup tricksProject badges, quicklinks and notes
The Overview section of a project is usually the first page you’d visit when visiting a project. Of all the uses for the “announcement” field a project manager can fill in the Project Settings page, I best like the status banner:
p{margin:-20px -28px 0pt -23px;padding:5px 10px;background:#FF8;color:black;}. *Project status:* Testing
OfMihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-47497974575267031492008-05-02T02:33:00.006+03:002008-10-18T23:24:24.924+03:00More ChangesGet new toys
I have tons of thing to write about, but I just feel that this isn’t the right place to put them. I don’t want to just throw content in, without any way of filtering it. More than that, I have very little control over this blogging system.
So what’s most likely to happen, I’ll get a hosting service up and running and start writing code for my own blog. I&#Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-5536475836806217252008-04-22T11:38:00.001+03:002008-05-02T02:53:27.643+03:00ChangesLike I said, the beginning of this year was marked by changes. Many changes, some smaller, some bigger, but undoubtedly all changes have happened due to a choice I made.
Bad choice
One of the bad things with my system is that when some plan is in place I usually stick to it. However, if premises change, I usually reconsider my choice, except if I’m way too tired to do that. In January I Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-64916014148690224352008-04-18T22:08:00.003+03:002008-05-02T02:53:27.643+03:00Breaking Radio SilenceIt sure has been a long while since I've last had time to write. There has been a lot happening, I've had tons of ideas of stuff to write about, but there's just been... well, no time for me. Not that my blog is got a lot of readers now, but I feel worm and fuzzy inside knowing I've posted something some might digg. Isn't that what drives all bloggers?
Since the whole beginning of the year has Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-90766087698501741122008-03-12T23:12:00.008+02:002008-03-22T00:01:42.847+02:00Simon's Cat<!--a class="cover" href="http://www.youtube.com/simonscat">
Here's a nasty little kitten that would do anything for a little bit of food!
Reminds me a bit of Garfield, but even though the idea is not genuine innovation, the scenarios and the animation are great! These two little videos made my day. Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-74273734416482746872008-03-04T17:56:00.006+02:002008-06-08T23:48:05.456+03:00New Challenges, New Responsabilities
Last Friday was my last day as Grapefruit, and to me it was sad as hell. I had planned leaving six months ago, and I knew March was the month I'm off... But even so, leaving friends behind is tough. I'm not a faint-heart, and I didn't expect this to get to me, but it seems it did. I just know I won't be able to help paying them visits often.
Now I work at Educatus, and professionally, the Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804613003252277968.post-33950811587719871262008-02-20T21:57:00.009+02:002008-03-22T17:33:02.500+02:00A Long Trip, To Visit Mom
See this map on Google Maps! Credit embeded with the file.
Bags are almost packed, plans are made, credit id ready: I'm leaving on a complicated trip to visit my mom in Corsica. To be honest, this trip couldn't have been planned at a worse time. I'm in a transitional phase at the moment, which means I'm very vulnerable in most ways. On top of that, this trip looks like a wild goose hunt.
A Mihai Alexandru Bîrsanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06376673471640389146noreply@blogger.com0