Antonio Zugaldia

Look, I don’t really like using the blog to post a video and disappear, but I’m gonna need to do an exception with this one.

It’s a short (56’) documentary about my personal hero, Dr. Hans Rosling, aka “I’ve a semi-controlled attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”. They accompany him in a few gigs (including TED) and share interesting conversations about his crusade to bring data and statistics back into the decision-making process. It also includes anecdotes like how he met Larry Page and Sergey Brin and sold them the Gapminder software in order to start the foundation (and getting his son and girlfriend hired, by the way).

Oh, I almost forgot, it’s in Swedish. But worry not, you have English subtitles available:

Update: Ops, this picture made it here by mistake, it seems I clicked the wrong button when I was sending it to Flickr. But as no hay mal que por bien no venga, let me take the opportunity to share with you a few more pics from the beautiful crab-capital-of-the-world, Maryland.

Step 1: Wipe writing surface with a clean dry cloth to remove dust or moisture. Then chalk the entire writing surface with the side of a piece of chalk:

Step 2: Work chalk into surface by erasing thoroughly with a felt eraser:

Step 3: Clean the board with a chamois or soft cotton cloth:

Step 4: Have fun! Your board is ready to use:

Como os contaba el otro día no me perdí el partido del domingo. Lo que no sabía es que TVE y Cuatro iban a elegir el mismo bar que nosotros para hacer su cobertura de la final. ¿El resultado? Pues que cuando me pregunten qué estaba haciendo cuando Iniesta marcó el gol de la victoria no hará falta que cuente historias. Sólo tendré que enseñar el vídeo que preparó Carlos de la Vega (¡gracias!), corresponsal de Cuatro/CNN+ en Estados Unidos:

Observen mi decoro y moderación durante la celebración del gol.

Lorenzo Milá también hizo una pieza para TVE pero personalmente prefiero el vídeo que le grabó un servidor mientras lo manteábamos en la fuente de Dupont, en pleno centro de Washington. Al principio se hizo el remolón pero no costó convencerle:

Por lo demás, las fotos están convenientemente privadas en Facebook, que el Flickr lo carga el diablo y no quiero arruinar las carreras profesionales de mis ilustres compañeros de celebraciones.

Over the past years I’ve been dedicated to information management during disasters, especially those with a high impact on public health which require a response from the international community. During such an emergency the amount of information is orders of magnitude higher, resources become limited, time passes quickly, and every day needs significant progress.

For this reasons, it’s true when they say that the secret to provide an effective response is to do solid preparatory work before the disaster. The acute phase typically lasts a few weeks; given the scarcity of resources the occasions to innovate are limited. Most of the time you just follow procedures previously learned.

But every event is unique in some ways and each experience brings a new set of ideas that shape our response to the next emergency. The earthquake that took place in Haiti earlier this year is probably the best example I can find. Due to the terrible magnitude of the disaster, the need of information, and the large number of organizations involved, we had to wise up to better support the decision making process.

That’s why I find the following video so interesting. It interviews some of the folks I’ve been working with side by side recently, with their passionate work and vision they have emerged as a reference in their field. Hopefully, what they are building will allow us face the next disaster in the best conditions we’ve ever had. Check it out:

I know some of you aren’t very fond of watching soccer. I have to admit I really like it, I’ve been one of those loosing their voices in the bars while cheering for their team. I wouldn’t pay 3,000 euros out of the blue to travel to South Africa like I hear some people are doing, but I took the afternoon off to watch the Germany vs Spain match, and I won’t miss the final on Sunday.

This is the first time Spain has made it to a World Cup final and, as expected, this has generated large media coverage with predictable overreactions from both the pro- and anti- soccer folks with whom it’s easy to disagree. I don’t think this is the most important moment in Spanish history, and I don’t think either this will prevent our generation from getting Nobel prices. Germany who we played against have won both several World Cup titles and some more Nobel prices.

It’s just a simple fact these competitions have a great impact in a country. It’s not the first time we have observed this and won’t be last one. Clearly it won’t be enough to fix the country and its mentality, but I believe the image above has changed Spain in a way few things have before. This accomplishment has squelched some of those empty excuses we had heard before about our defeats and I believe you will notice this change in the years to come.

Update: Interesting article related to this topic by Pere Estupinya (Spanish): “Si las elecciones en España fueran dentro en una semana, Zapatero tendría más posibilidades de ser reelegido“.

“Before I was shot, I always thought that I was more half-there than all-there. I always suspected that I was watching TV instead of living life. People sometimes say that the way things happen in movies is unreal, but actually it’s the way things happen in life that’s unreal. The movies make emotions look so strong and real, whereas when things really do happen to you, it’s like watching television—you don’t feel anything.” — Andy Warhol.

Dear blog reader, I’m running a bit late with the posts.

This happened a couple of weeks ago, Corrie and I did the due pilgrimage to New York to watch Jon Stewart record The Daily Show. What a guy.

As we almost don’t make it because of the large crowd fighting for his short height and Jewish voice, let me give you a few tips in case you plan to attend the program:

• Tickets are free online but shows are sold out in a few hours, I recommend to visit the website often.
• They overbook all shows to ensure that all seats in the studio are full so, even if you got a ticket and a confirmation, there is no guaranty you’ll get in unless you arrive ahead of time.
• They suggest to be there before 3.30pm and 4.30pm. We arrived at 3.30pm and it was almost too late, my advice is to be there before 3pm.
• The studio is fairly small, once you get in you’ll have a good view from almost every seat.
• If for whatever reason you do the line but don’t get a spot, you’ll get a “VIP” ticket for another show (you don’t need to do the line again).
• Jon Stewart answers some questions before they start recording, so have ready a question for him! Do not try to be a smart ass, be clear and brief.
• It’s a pity, but you cannot take pictures in the studio.
• It is fun.

Otherwise, the perfect excuse to visit New York:

La Puce is inviting me to follow-up on a meme, the idea is to say what I’d do if I had a time machine.

Like her, I really enjoy the present. It’s the first time in human history we have reached global presence and communication (well, at the Earth level) together with an extended lifespan like never before which have brought us to an unprecedented pace of development.

But I’d get in that time machine and push the button.

I guess that I’d be tempted to travel to the future and check what the deal is in a few hundred years—assuming there’s still a place to travel. However, I’d definitely go back. It’s because I’m so enthusiastic about the possibilities of the future that I’d rather get a video camera with me and record selected moments from the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Then, I’d return to present time and put the raw footage in YouTube to end the discussion once and for all.

Please note this could accidentally change the present, and therefore the future (for the better), so please be careful if you use your time machine after me.

Finally, I’d retire and enjoy the money generated by the YouTube targeted ads.