About me
I decided to write this short story, to give you an idea about who I am.
I always thought it was not of reason to leave personal information on the Internet, as well as any traces that could help someone figure out who I am. It is a network full of bad people (tm), so we should be careful with what we do, what we write, and where we write it.
For many years I've had an obscure Internet presence. As I expected, nothing bad happened to me. But then... what could have happened? If someone found my real name, would that be a big deal? If someone saw my picture, would that make a difference? There are hundreds of people who see me in the street on a daily basis; there are people with whom I interact on the phone, at the market, in public transport - does that make a problem?
I changed my views regarding this policy. I became someone who respects those who sign their work with their real names, instead of hiding behind avatars, nicknames, proxy-servers, and so on. Isn't it cool when you can be yourself?
Another incentive - knowing that others can 'see' them, one thinks twice before writing something on a public board, because they care more about their image (hence they have something to lose if they misbehave). It is really simple - would you enter a store and start shouting at people, calling everyone an asshole? I guess not... then why would you do that on the Internet? Right... because nobody can kick your ass for that.
Most people hide their identities because they are afraid to be criticized... We have to face it, if you can't deal with being criticized on some forum, then how the heck are you going to handle real world (tm) situations - debates at work, projects at school, meeting people in offices?
We should not be afraid to reveal who we are, otherwise we are nobody.
My name is Alex Railean, and I am %now-$var% years old ($var = the title of a book by George Orwell). I live in Chisinau, which is the capital city of Moldova.
Here are some things about me, in no particular order:
- Very friendly and supportive
- Totally not aggressive, unless the circumstances really force me to change my behaviour
- I have a well-developed sense of humour (which is most often set to "not aloud" mode). My jokes can be very cruel sometimes, so it is better if I leave them to myself, and only let the neutral ones out. This means that only a small deal of them make it to the surface, yet many people think I'm one of the funniest persons they've ever met
- I tend to be a lazy fellow, so I try to do things just once, but do them well. For example, I won't have to update my age on this page next year ;-)
- I have a technology-oriented mind, I like to think in charts, mathematical functions, numbers, logical expressions, programming languages, variables and universal constants. If you hear someone say "while tee less than maxint, delta plus plus" outside the context of computers, it could be me.
- I am pretty bad at mathematics
- My tech-friends and colleagues think I am a humanitarian
- My humanitarian friends think I am a cold and rational techie
- I enjoy watching movies and discussing them with my friends. I am especially a fan of movies with non-linear chronology, where the events are not shown in their normal order (ex: Memento, Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, The Jacket, etc)
- I play music in my head all the time. Most of the times I can't stop it
- I think the world can be a better place and I always try to make decisions that are better for humanity
- Sometimes I write poems
- I like to express myself in riddles
- I like making photographs, although I am not particularily good at it (at least not yet)
- I speak Russian, Romanian and English (I think that knowing Russian has a huge impact on one's sense of humour), I also know the basics of French and German
- Computers - that's what I study, that's what my job is about, they're the instrument I use in most of my activities... need I write more?
- The colour of my eyes never changes
- If you ask me to write this list again, I am sure that v2.0 will be different from this one... because there is so much more to say? because I don't like doing the same thing twice?
There you go, now you can use this information against me :-)
Purpose of this site
- Keep in touch with my friends. If I write a story here, there is no need to repeat myself in emails over and over (look up "keystroke conservation principle");
- Friends can keep in touch with each other, using this web-site as an intermediate link;
- Collisions between social groups. The site is a way to "unite" individuals who would never interact with each other in real life. Not all my friends are compatible with each other, and sometimes it is interesting to see how different people react to a story;
- Knowledge should be free. Perhaps many ideas are raw, perhaps some are not properly expressed in text, or maybe they have flaws; but still, they can be reviewed and used by other people, therefore the sum of global knowledge is increasing;
- Letters to the future. The site is a repository of thoughts, which I can use later to see how I changed with time, and how certain events influenced me. I think there can be no self-improvement if there is no way to look at "where I've been";
- Harvest statistics for my studies. Sometimes I'm researching various problems, or testing various hypotheses - and the site is an efficient way to collect data to support and extend such projects;
- Meeting new people. From time to time I get comments from unknown people, and that's how new social connections are established. Isn't that great?
I guess there are other reasons too, for example "find my one and only". Does that work online? I don't know :-)
Contact
I love reading emails, as well as responding to them, so feel free to write - gr8dude at BLUEgmx dot net (remove the colour to obtain the actual address);
You can also leave a comment here, but then it will be a public message.
Cheers! and thanks for stopping by to read this.
Pavel Ciorici — 2007-02-25 07:56
:) Iaka te-am gasit si pe tine..
te cunosc de pe ournet../~area51 :)) era super acel site.. tzin minte si acum descrierile pe care le-ai facut pt baieti si fete… :)
Succese!
P.S. sper sa ma recunoscut.. iti scriam des in guestbook cu nickul KoNieK
gr8dude — 2007-02-25 18:36
Desigur ca te tin minte. Acel site inca mai exista, pur si simplu nu este actualizat, tot contentul nou vine aici deoarece aici am spatiu mai mult, banda mai multa, si alte facilitati (PHP, Python, Perl).
Vezi sus, link la ‘the beginning’; si apoi vezi primul-primul post de pe acest site, acolo vei afla unde a fost site’ul in perioada dintre ournet.md si nytka.org
Ma bucur ca ai ajuns sa faci site’uri mai hitech decit acela pe care l-ai facut cindva, se vede ca ai investit eforturi in aceasta activitate.
Hmm, am devenit RSS subscriber pe site’ul tau.
Succes!
Adrian Cucinschi — 2007-03-06 21:20
Mail me . O sa merite .
————————-
webmaster@area51.ro
Vultoor — 2007-04-03 05:54
Suberb Blog. Bvo. ;)
Andy — 2007-04-06 04:11
Hello Alex!
Nice blog!!….Though, I’m quite surprised you are writing in English( pleasently suprised I must say; I’m from Herts, England). Why is that? Have you been living in an English speaking country?Anyway, how did you get speaking English so well?
Bye!Till next time
Andy
gr8dude — 2007-04-08 03:55
Hi Andy, thanks for the feedback, I am glad you find the site interesting.
I have never visited an English speaking country, so I guess that means that my English is my sister’s fault :-) (she was my first teacher) I also had great teachers in school; then there are friends, computers, networks, movies, books and music – these had a significant impact as well.
The site has many stories in Romanian, and some of them are in Russian; but you’re correct – English dominates. It is understood by many, therefore the stories have a greater number of potential readers.
Lena — 2007-04-09 07:24
foarte original blogul tau!
Iti place sa-l citesti pe Orwell? eu mor dupa “1984″! tu ai citit-o? ce altceva ti-a placut la el?
Pa!
gr8dude — 2007-04-09 17:20
Da, am citit “1984″, cartea a lasat o urma adinca in mine; am decis s-o citesc deoarece in mai multe discutii pe un site am intilnit referinte la ea. Deseori apelez la ideile acestei istorii (spre exemplu, vezi eseul “Reverse engineering corruption", acolo am dedicat ceva spatiu pentru aceste idei); am mai scris si o poezie a carei incheiere a fost modelata dupa
sigur ca s-a primit altceva, dar anume la acest fragment ma gindeam cind compuneam.
Stii ce e interesant? Persoana care a scris un mesaj inaintea ta, e din Herts, care teoretic e versiunea scurta a “Hertfordshire", care e o localitate in care a trait o vreme George Orwell :-)
Nu am citit alte carti scrise de dinsul, pentru ca la momentul lecturii deja aveam un todo-list alcatuit din carti pe care mi le-am propus sa le citesc. Dupa ce termin cu lista ceea (sper sa fie in viata asta), probabil ca voi citi si altceva scris de dinsul.
Lena — 2007-04-10 00:01
OK :)
then, if ever you have time and interest, you can try The animal farm, you might find it very interesting too.
Mai ales ca-n engleza e si mai interesant, nu?
Tu stii unde a mai trait Orwell inafara de Hertfordshire?
Response:
Stiu ca a trait intr-un stat din Asia; am verificat acum - s-a nascut in India, tatal sau isi facea acolo serviciul militar (cred ca e un scenariu raspindit).
Lena — 2007-04-10 22:38
Ok :) India.
Sa citesti cartea( cartile) cu placere atunci!
Bye!
Andrei — 2007-05-31 15:29
Dle gr8dude, va respect mult pentru posturile Dvs. deosebit de logice si frumoase. Va rog sa ma ajutati cu ceva: ati spus undeva pe moldova.net ca aveti prieteni care fac cumparaturi pe net. Am si eu nevoie sa cumpar citeceva din Canada, am card VISA compatibil, dar habar nu am ce sa fac dupa ce fac comanda on-line, adica de unde si cind ridic marfa. Daca ma puteti ajuta cumva cu ceva info v-as fi foarte recunoscator. Multumesc.
Antimatter — 2007-07-09 16:04
norok gr8dude!
user de treaba si blogu imi place!
keep it up!
Crono @ Torrents.MD — 2007-08-13 20:12
Intr-adevar ai un blog interesant. Poti sa afli multe lucruri interesante. Judeci logic, asta imi place :) Succes in continuare.
PS: Rar gasesc vre-un om sa-si faca To-Do-uri, ca si mine :) Personal daca nu-mi organizez timpul si activitatile nu prea reusesc sa fac multe lucruri.
ira — 2007-09-14 07:13
si eu a privit filmul The Jacket, e ceva super, foarte mult mia placut :)
Dumitru — 2008-01-05 07:46
Sincer sa fiu, am ramas placut surprins de posturile tale. O faci cu stil :) Bravo & keep up good work !
Dumitru — 2008-01-05 09:36
+ Alex, Yahoo! ai ? minorthought at yahoo dot com :) Vreau sa discutam putin …
Dumitru — 2008-01-07 16:50
Tracing fericit si la multi ani !!!
Dumitru — 2008-01-07 16:50
Craciun fericit si la multi ani !!!
Ion Socolenco — 2008-01-10 09:31
Pune mai Alex o poza k lumea si lasa suspiciunile ca nimeni nu te urmareste, lasa complexele.
gr8dude — 2008-01-10 15:38
Ion, sus este un link pe care scrie ‘Photo’, cred ca vei gasi acolo ceea ce cautai.
V. — 2008-01-22 17:55
Salut Alex,
Din pozele afisate am inteles ca ai fost in Olanda. Cred ca as avea nevoie de ajutorul tau. Ti-as explica printr-un message privat. Daca ai ceva timp, scrie-mi pe email si revin eu cu o explicatie.
Numai bine,
V
ceziceu — 2008-07-12 21:23
You deleted your photoes? They are missing :-S
Dumitru Ciorba — 2009-01-21 05:48
Salut, Alexandru!
Nu cred ca trebuie sa ma prezint tie, dar la baietii care iti citesc blogul posibil.
Sunt unul din profesorii acestui baiat de aur: a invatat superb, este foarte modest si fara toane pe care le au multi tineri de virsta lui. Daca el nu are dreptate niciodata nu va ezita sa recunoasca, dar daca nu ai dreptate tu, niciodata nu va ezita sa-ti spuna. I-am fost conducator la teza de licentza, dar sa fiu sincer, munca mea s-a redus doar la faptul ca sa pronuntz: e superb! La disciplina TPC (Tehnici si protocoale de comunicatie), a fost cel mai bun, iar un raport al acestui baiat eu si acum il prezint la studentii mei ca si un model. Iaka asa baiat este Alex.
Succese frate!
Dumitru Ciorba
Dan — 2009-02-21 00:29
Salut.
Cred ca te-am vazut de cateva ori afara, si imi pare ca predai ceva si la facultate.
Daca nu puneai aceasta informatie despre tine, nu te recunosteam, asta e diferenta. :)
gr8dude — 2009-02-23 18:27
Da, din februarie poti sa ma vezi din cind in cind la UTM.FCIM; daca iti este intresant, poti sa vii joi in 502 la o lucrare de laborator (vei invata cite ceva despre aplicatiile de retea).
Informatia de aici a fost plasata special pentru acei care vor sa ma recunoasca. ;-)
ceziceu — 2009-07-03 00:17
scrii poezii in ultimul timp. love period? :) eu tot astept sa scrii ce impresii ai despre predare la umiversitate ;)
Alex — 2009-07-11 23:09
ceziceu, ce anume ai vrea sa afli despre activitatea la universitate? Am publicat ceva timp in urma un articol despre asta (cauta “inforail"). Daca dupa asta mai sunt intrebari - spune.
irka)) — 2009-08-05 14:12
în sfârşit am dat şi eu de pagina aceasta ;))
unicul lucru nou pe care l-am aflat despre tine citind aici a fost că îţi plac filmele “Memento, Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, The Jacket". ESSM e unul din preferatele mele, pe când la restul nu m-am uitat ;) dar sunt sigură că le voi vedea ;) :P
Well, mi-a plăcut tare ce-a spus domnul Dumitru Ciorbă şi subscriu sub comentariul său ;)
Ah, da, “Meeting new people. From time to time I get comments from unknown people, and that’s how new social connections are established. Isn’t that great?” EXACTLY, special thanks to http://accidentalbaby.wordpress.com/ ! ;)
Vlada — 2009-09-26 20:33
It might actually sound crazy, but I have realized today that there are people way more twisted than I am :) in a very good sense of it, obviously…
Promise to check out the rest of the blog as soon as I’ll have some time :)
I’ll be anxiously waiting for the links you promised, that really got my attention :) thanks in advance
I guess lucky me for running into you like that.
Have a great day :)
Mitzura — 2009-09-28 05:18
nice presentation…one of the most honest I’ve read lately :)
P.S.
Are you a teacher of English?
gr8dude — 2009-09-28 15:28
Vlada, you know what they say - what doesn’t kill you makes you “twisteder” :-)
Mitzura, I’m glad to know that honesty is still a valued feature these days. No, I am not a teacher of English but I do teach in English (stuff about software, computers, networks and security). I’m going to publish a video of one of my lectures in the near future - I think you’ll like it (it is not about technology, it is about learning in general).
frodotim — 2010-02-06 07:04
Greetings and salutations from an old friend. Some things never change, some things do… but the world continues spinning and whirling and while much water may pass under a bridge… when two friends are reunited on that bridge it is a merry (and oft times bitter sweet) thing.
Hoping you are well
and somewhere smiling in the sunshine.
signed
an old friend
Tim
aka frodo
aka guy with a camera and TONS of batteries
George Presura — 2010-02-23 06:08
Tot ce pot spune este … oau !
Am citit cateva articole si am ramas foarte impresionat de profunzimea lor si de simtul umorului, de cele mai multe ori critic.
Felicitari pentru site si mult succes in continuare.
gr8dude — 2010-02-24 17:24
Hi Tim! Thanks for stopping by. I have an email in my outbox with your name on it :-) A lot needs to be written, so it will take a while.
George, îmi pare bine că ți s-a părut interesantă informația de aici. În curând vor mai apărea câteva articole care ar putea să-ți placă (dacă e corectă presupunerea mea, că ai ajuns aici cumva via Slashdot :-)
frodotim — 2010-02-25 07:19
Hullo Gandalf,
No rush on the email. I certainly know how busy life can get. My life is a whirlwind too when all I want is peace and quiet and good tilled earth but, alas, I get little of that. It is a marvel, with all of our modern conveniences, computers, cars, cell phones… that we have less and less time to get things done (and yet more ways TO get them done). To get the computer to do your work for you, you must program it. Then they come out with a new programming language and so you have to rewrite the program… and the world goes on spinning faster and faster and the stream beneath the bridge goes from a slow moving pool to a torrent while we are gone.
I look forward to our renewed friendship.
from your friend
Tim
“over the sea and far away, waiting like an iceberg, waiting to change.”
Vera — 2012-03-28 22:19
Приветик!
С удовольствием посмотрела видео про пайтон! Молодец!!!
gr8dude — 2012-03-28 23:10
Спасибо, я рад что тебе это было полезно. Ты - первый человек, который сказал что-то по этому поводу :-)
Если тебя интересуют другие темы - принимаются заказы. Я думаю сделать еще кое-что, но нужно решить что делать.
Victor Nițu — 2012-12-30 17:52
Hi, I’m following your posts since hmmm… about 3-4 hours ago, and I *must* congratulate you for the interesting articles and nice descriptions I have read so far.
I also have some negative feedback. The RSS feed shouldn’t send me to the website to read the full story. That’s what RSS readers are for, right? They let you browse your favorite sites from within a unified interface, thus enhancing one’s productivity. I hate to read the first N paragraphs, then spawn a web browser just to read the whole stuff. Maybe you’ll want to consider this ;-)
I discovered we share some habits, even the infamous Tinnitus (though mine is not that bad), so I’ll hang around and most probably offer some feedback further on to your stories. Hey, I’m subject to your last purpose listed for this website!
Greetings, and hope to see you around :-)
gr8dude — 2012-12-31 01:48
Victor, thank you for the feedback. I changed the RSS settings. This was a legacy from the old dial-up days, I always looked for ways to reduce the amount of info that had to be transferred - so I would only read an article if I was sure I wanted that.
But that is is not relevant anymore, and you’re the first person to point it out (-:
I am sorry to hear about your Tinnitus, take it easy with the headphones and always wear ear-plugs if you go to concerts.
Thank you for taking your time to leave a comment, I will try to produce more interesting stories for you in the future (-:
DE_ff — 2013-01-15 15:40
отличное видео про питон!
сделай еще один подобный выпуск, например, как сделать свой вебсервер, или написать краулер
gr8dude — 2013-01-15 16:09
Привет, спасибо :-)
Про crawling, посмотри
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzTRq7YDLFw
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdXX8Rr5JM8
Про web-server, есть видео про то как работать с сокетами, открывать соединения, отвечать клиентам:
- How to create a TCP server with BSD sockets
Eсли тебе интересно, можешь посмотреть и “обычные” уроки, но там темы другие:
- application layer attacks
- human-computer interaction, usable security
GT — 2014-09-18 22:50
Hi, I have come across your profile while I was watching your HCI lectures on YT. They’re quite good and I have enjoyed them a lot. Well done.
gr8dude — 2014-09-19 21:48
Hey GT, I appreciate that you spent some time to find this page and share your feedback.
A new semester started recently and more recordings are being made, they will soon be published on Youtube. For now they can be seen here, at least partially: https://www.privesc.eu/Cursuri
One course is focused on computer security, the other one - on software design, and we’ve started with HCI concepts; you might like that series too (-: