One million meters for Rafael Vidal

I slept about 12 hours. That is the result of the complicated week that I had. Today, however, was a day dedicated to commemorate one of the greatest athletes born in Venezuela: Rafael Vidal.

Vidal was the first Venezuelan swimmer to win an Olympic medal in the 1984 Olympic Games (Los Ángeles). Since then, he became a public figure and a reference of a positive and possible Venezuela. In fact, curiously, the main Olympics Venezuelan achievement belongs to fight sports or disciplines based on team performance. Vidal showed us that Venezuelans as individuals could complete our goals. Tragically, Vidal died on 2005 because of a car accident. A high speed Hummer crashed against his vehicle.

Today, with the purpose to honor his figure, it was celebrated the event “El millón de metros por Rafael Vidal” (One million meters for Rafael Vidal). An activity in which worldwide swimmers swim –at least- the cipher mentioned above. 

Despite I couldn’t swim this year because of my fatigue, I’m really glad to share that the initial goal of the million meters was widely overcome. At the time that I’m writing this post, the count surpasses 10,804,355 meters.

Congratulations to all the people involved!

The day of the toasted cable

How you can deal in a reasonably way with an unwisely measure? Yesterday, I told you how I managed my encounter with darkness. Today, a new experience at the office showed up. Close to midday when all the employees go outside for lunch, the administration of the law firm decided to shut down the air conditioner of the office in order to “save energy”.

Terrible decision. Only fifteen minutes after, the cables that connect the computer server started to melt. The result: the system crashed during the afternoon. How you turn off the air conditioner with 32 °C outside? Tropical weather. You can imagine the consequences: an unproductive day under a destroyed economy.

Can we live our life with the sign of other light?

Late at the office

Yes. Everyone left, almost 10 o’clock in the night. It seems very estrange. Then you realize that the places that surround your office are very different when they’re filled with people. It gets really scary once you’re alone in front of your desktop. The air conditioners and ventilation turned off because of the energy saving policy. Strange… steps? Then you look around and everything seems normal. I’ had to exit the final hall towards the elevator with my cell phone light.

I’m alive, I’m home. But something strange emerges from the dark.

Polls for me polls for you

Today I had the opportunity to share a little meeting with the political analyst and polls specialist Luis Vicente Leon at the Centro Monteávila. The guest star brightly exposed the current political situation of my country.

Facing anxiety, Leon taught us how to deal with a hard true. There are no absolutes in politics and socialism in Venezuela goes further than the simple hate-love Chávez proclamation. There are both, negative and positives elements of the Bolivarian leadership that must be analyzed towards the parliament elections and the future Venezuelan political process. Just one final affirmation: follow Luis Vicente León. This guy seems pretty smart and accurate.

Bye bye carnival

Carnival it’s gone. Once again. Calmly the citizens return to Caracas. I spent these days reading several liberal works. I just have finished one called “La economía venezolana y la cultura de izquierda” (The Venezuelan economy and the leftist culture), a brief essay written by the Venezuelan economist and philosopher Emeterio Gómez.

The main argument of the work consists in the sadly affirmation that the current Venezuelan political leaders neglect the virtues of capitalism. Instead, they believe in a social misleading program (or “plan”, a word well appreciated in our nation) for the compliance of the mob. A big trap that will only lead to a pad known by all of us: failure.

The Fatal Conceit

I’m reading The Fatal Conceit written by F.A. Hayek. Hayek is perhaps one the most influential authors of my life. The Fatal Conceit teaches us that the human being isn’t perfect. Therefore, based on this sense of imperfection, how we can pretend that  the decisions made by the “planned” government will lead to a successful society?

The more you plan, the more you'll fail. This is the exercise made by the Venezuelan government and it’s sad to witness how my country get lost as the time goes by.