Month: February 2019

Momo izazov, ili zašto roditelji ne bi trebali djeci dozvoljavati da bez nadzora gledaju crtiće online

On 27th February 2019

Da na on-line svijetu postoji zbilja svašta već odavno znamo, kao što već dugo znamo da je Internet pravi e-divlji zapad. Svašta se tamo nađe, mnoštvo pametnih i dobrih stvari, ali i boleština svakakvih. Uostalom, svatko tko je ikad čitao komentare ispod vijesti na domaćim portalima zna da to nije mjesto za osjetljive (ili normalne).

No, jedna je stvar kad se odrasle(?) osobe igraju virtualnog puškaranja između partizana i ustaša, kozojeba i leftarda, vjernika i ateista… posve je druga stvar kad se na udaru neprimjerenih stvari nađu djeca.

Djeca su znatiželjna, sve ih zanima, ali mnogo što ne razumiju i nisu zrela; njihov je dječji svijet, veseo i šaren, pun cvjetića i pčelica, ali isto tako i strahova od stvari koje ne razumiju, strahova koje nisu u stanju kontrolirati i odagnati, stvari koje ne mogu razložiti i koje na njih mogu itekako negativno utjecati.

“Momo izazov” je još jedna od malicioznih, opasnih gluposti u koje se klinci znaju upustiti iz znatiželje, ili zbog izazova. Izvorno, riječ je o kontaktu na WhatsApp aplikaciji: spojite se sa tom osobom i onda vas ona praktički mentalno zlostavlja. Eto, to. Ništa više, niti manje od toga. Beskonačna glupost bilo kojoj zreloj osobi, no u svijetu tinejdžera stvari su postavljene drugačije.

Zatim imamo poseban krug pakla za bolesne umove koji u crtiće namijenjene najmanjima ubacuju odvratne stvari, poput Peppe Pig koja si kopa oči:

Ovo je drastičan, ali nažalost ne i jedini primjer kontaminacije inače primjerenog dječjeg programa tvorevinama poremećenog uma. Ovakvih primjera ima dosta i nije ih jednostavno naći, ali uz malo truda moguće je. Jednako tako je moguće da dijete u svom lutanju on-line svijetom slučajno naleti na ovako nešto.

Momo je trenutno popularna varijacija na temu: negdje u videu ubačena je slika glave sa izbuljenim očima, a dječji glasić pjevuši u ritmu dječje brojalice pjesmicu o tome kako će Momo doći i ubiti dijete koje gleda video. Sve je napravljeno tako da sliči tipičnim B horrorima, jeftine produkcije (nije potrebno ništa više od fotografije i nekoga voljnog snimiti pjesmicu) ali opasnog efekta.

Kakvo je to zlo biće koje nam gleda djecu i želi ih pobiti? Slika, priznajem, izgleda vrlo efektno i poprilično je creepy i odraslim osobama, a kako tek ne bi djeci.

No, tek kad vidimo cijelu fotografiju stvari malo sjednu na svoje mjesto:

Riječ je o skulpturi! Očekivano, japanske produkcije, ali ipak samo skulpturi. Naziv joj je “Majka ptica” i uistinu je onako, malo… nije za pokazivati maloj djeci. Autorica vjerojatno nikad nije ni sanjala da će njen umjetnički rad biti iskorišten za ventiliranje nečijeg duševnog poremećaja na Internetu.

I eto, dovoljna je jedna fotografija, jedan poremećen um i puno zle volje, pa da se umjetnost pretvori u primjer koliko duboko ljudska bića mogu pasti.

Nažalost, iako je YouTube nedavno izdao Kids verziju svojeg softvera koji bi trebao dozvoljavati prikazivanje samo provjerenog materijala koji je siguran za mališane, vrlo brzo našao se na udaru kritika zbog nemogućnosti da filtrira upravo ovakve sadržaje. Ruku na srce, u ogromnoj količini materijala teško je napraviti algoritam koji će bez pogreške prepoznavati umetanja video materijala, a posebice je teško automatizmom prepoznati puno suptilnije mentalne manipulacije slikom ili zvukom. Ručno pregledavanje nema puno smisla, jer kako sam rekao – količina on-line materijala je ogromna.

Postoji samo jedno kvalitetno rješenje: roditelji ne bi smjeli dozvoliti djeci da gledaju on-line stvari (pa ma kako nevino izgledale) bez njihovog nadzora. To je vjerojatno nemoguće postići bez apsolutne posvećenosti 24/7 samo vlastitom potomstvu (a vjerojatno bi bilo i kontraproduktivno i za roditelje i za djecu), no postoji i druga opcija: kupnja originalne kolekcije video zapisa o dječjem omiljenom liku, jer si izdavač neće dozvoliti ovakve stvari, dok besplatni on-line sadržaj na popularnim servisima uvijek može potencijalno skrivati ovakva i slična “iznenađenja”. Alternativno, postoje programi koji mogu “skinuti” video na lokalno računalo ili tablet. (neću ih imenovati jer je “skidanje” video zapisa problematično glede autorskih prava, pa guglajte sami) Roditelji koji su dovoljno jeftini da ne žele kupiti originalnu seriju od izdavača (i tako podržati autore koji stvaraju djela koja se njihovoj djeci sviđaju) mogu tako sami pregledati materijale i one koje smatraju prihvatljivim spremiti lokalno.

Što god odlučili, imajte na umu da je davanje apsolutne slobode djeci u pristupu on-line sadržajima vrlo riskantna stvar: nije upitno hoće li djeca naići na nešto što je za njihove godine neprimjereno ili čak opasno, već je to samo pitanje vremena. S druge strane, zabrane i odricanja mogu biti jednako tako loši, pa rješenje nije niti u zabrani korištenja on-line sadržaja. Softver za kontrolu pristupa je vrlo nepouzdan (vrlo, jer je jedina mjera pouzdanosti 100% zaštite, ništa manje od toga) i ne možete se osloniti na to da softver bude anđeo čuvar vašeg djeteta. To možete biti samo vi sami, i zato je vrlo važno da dobro znate što se sve u on-line okolini vašeg djeteta nalazi i reagirate kad se za tim ukaže potreba.

Visits: 1685

Tenerife 7

By rado

On 26th February 2019

In English, Travel

The inside of the market is full of small shops offering variety of goods. At the moment we were visiting the place, there weren’t too many people around, but it still felt busy. It isn’t that big; it is relatively small, well laid-out and colourful – and nicely clean. There are benches, a sunny middle part and stores in shade. There’s a lower level, too. Places to buy and consume food and drinks. Flowers. It surely does beat visiting a big grocery store any time! This is a place you simply have to visit, if not to buy something then to mingle among the locals and chat, why not?!?!

Visits: 178

Tenerife 6

By rado

On 21st February 2019

In English, Travel

La Recova de Tenerife is not an ancient market. It was opened in 1943. and was thriving for several decades, when the introduction of big merchants and, later on, big retailers significantly undermined the popularity of the place. After it was nearly abandoned by the city officials, it reinvented itself as a self-managing co-operative. The city gave the green light and ever since then the market is living its life, not nearly as bustling and important as in the beginnings, yet important to local population. To prove itself as more than a simple place for grocery shopping, La Recova is holding night markets every few months, with music and fun and partying and merry people all around.

Visits: 148

Tenerife 5

By rado

On 20th February 2019

In English, Travel

Barranco de Santos is a dry riverbed going straight through the urban centre of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It was dry at the time I took the picture, but you might have guessed that it is prone to flash flooding due to the hefty width of its channel. While the riverbed is usually dry, the hydrology and the geology of the area makes it susceptible to flash floods. Back in 2010. at the time of severe weather folowed by flash floods and land slides, Barranco de Santos was full to the brim. Tenerife might be the island of eternal spring, but it is still surrounded by an ocean: if you happen to visit it on a stormy day, you’d be in for a very interesting experience – unless you’re hiking somewhere in the open; I mean, you’ll likely survive that, and that, too, will be a lifetime experience. If you happen to avoid flash floods, land slides, rocks falling off of cliffs and sea waves that lick the roofs of the houses.

Jokes aside, it is always dangerous to brave the severe weather anywhere: listen to the local forecast and avoid travel in severe weather conditions. Let the Barranco de Santos riverbed stay dry and the sky sunny while you’re enjoying the island. 🙂

Visits: 178

Podcasts I like: The History of Egypt by Dominic Perry

By rado

On 6th February 2019

In English

Listening to podcasts is a great way to make your daily commute easier. I’ve been listening to podcasts for some time now, although I am a latecomer: podcasts are “old things” now. By listening to admittedly small number of them, I can say that some are great, some are just good, and from some I’ve unsubscribed after just five minutes of listening. The curious difference between a podcast and a book is, to me at least, that the book has to be really boring to put me off; on the other hand, there are many things that can go wrong with a podcast: bad editing, narrator’s annoying voice, bad sound quality, too slow or too fast talk… name your personal itch. This makes podcasts more vulnerable than books. So, what are some good podcasts? At least, what are the podcasts that I like?

Enter The History of Egypt by Dominic Perry.

I do admit to have taken good interest in history in my later years: the history classes in school were mostly really boring. (sorry, teachers!) With one notable exception, all of my history teachers were incapable of taking the attention of the class, and the history I (don’t) remember was full of names and years, and who did what at what time, a stream of names and numbers with little connection between them. We did not learn why things happened, we just learned that they happened, who did it and what century or year it happened. The context given to events was brief and focused on bare skeleton of the much greater context of the times.

That one teacher who could captivate us? She knew how to tell a story, how to explain why something likely happened and she knew how to connect the dots; even more important, she knew how to bring historic characters to life, to be men and women, and not just names with numbers.

After leaving the educational system, it took almost two decades for me to stumble upon a few really great history books and discover that I actually love the stuff.

I would dare to say that The History of Egypt is one such podcast: it tells the story from the very beginning of Egyptian history on, through millenia of development and dissolutions, heights and tribulations. Dominic’s narration is clear and easy to listen, and he does employ the same little trick that my old teacher used: he’s talking in stories. This is no easy task, for a serious history book or podcast can not stray too much from the scholastic knowledge in its attempts to be entertaining. But Dominic plays the scale better than Anubis, the Guardian of the Scales, while Thoth, who is Aani in Duat (underworld), weighs the hearts against the feather of Maat (both goddess and the tenet of cosmic order) and proclaims the fate of the deceased.

Did you know that Egyptians had a festival where women would get on a barge and process up and down the Nile while flashing their breasts to onlookers like an ancient Mardi Gras? Neither did I know, so guess where I’ve heard about it? (they did it for religious reasons, by the way) Did you know that there was a religious festival where you wouldn’t be a true faithful if you did not get dead drunk?

A mystery novel you like? How about a crime, a never resolved possible murder of a Pharaoh? Or, how about what ancient Egyptians ate? Food? Cereals? Vegetables? Fish? Wild animals? Other people? What did the wealthy do? What did royal wives do, if they ever had to do anything?

How about the one Pharaoh who was a woman with a fake beard? In a male-dominated society? And, who left the rather obscene graffiti depicting that Pharaoh in an ancient equivalent of “Porn pic of the day”?

The information doesn’t have to be juicy to be intriguing – it has to be a story. Dominic delivers in a great style, and his podcast is full of interesting details. Of course, you can learn a great deal of “official history of Egypt” from this podcast because everything is based on the archaeological evidence and relies on expert knowledge; it’s the frosting on the cake that makes it delicious.

If you have developed an interest in sampling his work, pick any mini episode: they are full of stories you can not find in your average history book. And if you’re willing to give it a go, start with the oldest podcasts first; you can find them on iTunes and many podcast sites. I listen to the podcast using PlayerFM application available for both iOS and Android.

P.S. there’s no advertising in this article: I have no financial gain from promoting the podcast or podcast application: I just like them, so I decided to share them with you. Dominic, keep up the good work!

Visits: 347

Kratka povijest imunizacije i njenih protivnika

By rado

On 3rd February 2019

In Croatian

Kad pričamo o imunizaciji, prevladavajuće je mišljenje kako je riječ o ne tako davno osmišljenom postupku, praktički izumu moderne znanosti – na što se često i lako nadovežu protivnici cijepljenja sa argumentom kako je riječ o modernoj proceduri koja je smišljena zato da bi nas učinila bolesnim i donijela zaradu farmaceutskoj industriji. No, tome nije tako: imunizacija je zapravo vrlo star medicinski postupak koji je otkriven i masovno korišten puno prije nastanka moderne farmaceutske industrije. Dapače, imunizacija je toliko stara da bi je bez problema trebali prihvatiti isti oni ljudi koji ne vjeruju modernoj medicini, ali vjeruju starim, tradicionalnim vještinama i mudrostima starih naroda.

Visits: 330