Peace succeeds in the Dominican Republic!

The Heads of State of Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador have agreed to overcome the Diplomatic Crisis that started on March the 1st, 2008, with the Colombian military operations that led to the death of the terrorist Luis Edgar Devia Silva (alias Raúl Reyes) in Ecuadorian territory, and move on into Peace! This is a good reason to celebrate!

So, what was this all about?

The external problem with regards to the Venezuelan authorities is the compromises that exist between personalities and government officials with the FARC terrorist group, that today we know have been collaborating since about 1992-3, and the information obtained that reveal a plan to overthrow the Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

And is this what Venezuelan citizens want??

Of course not! But somehow we are stuck in a country with too much oil-money and a giant and omnipotent State. From which the Head of the State (the President) shows more interest in the making of his own personal plans than representing the citizens that elected him in the first place. So, while the citizens have problems for finding food, for having a better health, and a better education, these people in the Government are looking forward to do something else... and there is so much money to do anything!

Would that be all?

And no. Recent information has revealed that the terrorist group has been collaborating with Venezuelan authorities to gather about 50 kg of Uranium. And what would THAT be for? Well, you should know what Uranium is and what applications it has. If you don't, then you should read here and here.

What about the internal situation in Venezuela?

The popularity of Hugo Chavez is still uncertain, and has been declining. Evidences are proving the existence of a complex network in support of terrorism, in which certain public personalities and government officials are involved. There is much to uncover with regards to the relationship between the information obtained from the terrorists' computers and ongoing legal cases such as The Maletinazo. This puzzle is on its way to be solved... (I am sure this will give birth to books and movies about how the modern Mafia operates.)

Will it have its effects in Venezuela?

Undoubtedly. Let's make sure that the effects in Venezuela continue to give shape to a peaceful solution to the political turmoil that we have been living for almost one decade already. Election processes are upcoming and there should be no mercy in using these arguments in support of better candidates. These matters must not be subject to negotiations. It is just a matter of knowing how to "temporize" (as Machiavelli would say in Chapter XXXIII of the First Book of the Discourses), and then to act with the truth as our flag in Defense of our Republic.

What to do next?

We must be organized and continue to help uncover the truth together, support the truth with proofs, and proceed as peacefully as possible to reinforce the Rule of Law locally, within Venezuela, primarily declared by the Venezuelan Constitution. Share the truth with others, help them become more aware of the developing situation, and persevere in helping to construct a bright future for Venezuela, making sure that the people responsible of supporting terrorism are indicted and condemned.

How do we (Venezuelans) do that?

We must be WAY more Legalist and serious about the application of the Laws, learn the Constitution and Laws by heart and, if the competent authorities should not apply them, then demand the reinforcement of the Law through alternative ways. Protesting is a good way of doing it... Again, very soon, we shall go back to the streets! this time to demand the full application of the Laws!

Update with more fishes, a better website and the coolest events!

It has been a while since I last wrote on my blog. As you may have seen on my website, I've been quite busy upgrading it. The previous post was dated December 2nd, and today it is February 28th! some good news have arrived and here they are:

Greg is going to Hong Kong!

Yes!! Thanks to my work at the University, a paper entitled "Integral Control with Error Modulation in a FAM-based Agent for a Furuta Inverted Pendulum" will be published at the 2008 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence, to be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, during June 1-6 (Sunday - Friday), 2008. At this moment, I am in the process of requesting dollars to the (so-called democratic) Venezuelan government in order to register for the Congress, and making the arrangements to travel to Hong Kong and present my research. Read more about FAM-based Agents here.

Fishes keep on multiplying

In the previous post I was so excited about having about 35 new Guppy fries in my aquarium. Well, these fishes are like rabbits! and now I have many more new-born fries, and some other fries are growing up already. It happens that my 3 gallon tank is just too small for the more than 50 fishes that I have today. It's crazy! but the experiment about manually controlling the aquarium is working very well... the next step consists in proposing a formal research project at the University to automate a similar system, making use of my FAM-based Agents (yes, the ones I will present in Hong Kong!). Life support and Biospherics rocks! One step at a time!

February 20th, Total Lunar Eclipse: a Success for the GUIA team!

On Wednesday February the 20th, I joined the USB Astronomy Group (GUIA) to watch the Total Lunar Eclipse. There were about 150 people with us. It was incredible! Students, professors, and outsiders: many people came to the University to watch the lunar eclipse. It was a good way to begin the space-related activities at the University in 2008. I wish all the best success in future events to the Astronomy Group. They have my full support for new and more events to come. Well done team!

New sections at www.astrodrayer.com

Thanks for your messages and suggestions about the website. Recently, a friend of mine made a suggestion, and asked for an English section in the website. Well, the English section is under construction! Please visit www.astrodrayer.com and keep coming back! There will be many news about missions to the International Space Station, special events at the University, and updates about my research on Biospherics and Aquaculture. I intend to begin translating some of those pages to English, and include introductions to FAM-based Agents, Biospherics, and other topics as well. Your comments are always welcome to gregorio at astrodrayer dot com!

Newborn Guppies in the aquarium, 35 of them!

These last few days have been hectic because of obvious reasons. But nature made us a gift today at home. Two of our female Guppies gave birth to 16 and 19 Guppy fries, respectively, in less than 48 hours. The following are two videos; one video shows the fries and the other one shows the parents. I hope you enjoy this spectacle. Have fun! go on and grow fishes! it's quite relaxing listening to the running water too!

Guppy fries


Guppy parents

Constitutional Referendum: Venezuelans vote

Caracas, 10:30 a.m. - Early this morning, I went to Los Arcos School in Baruta with my friend Marinés Plaza to make use of our right to vote. We were impressed of the little amount of people in the waiting-lines. The process was moving forward fast, but still there was too few people waiting with us.

11:52 a.m. - The website ESDATA.info receives reports indicating that there are lots of ink that can be easily removed with chlorine.

12:23 p.m. - The ink in my finger can be removed with chlorine as well. Friends of mine report the same. This should not be happening with the ink. The same thing was reported last year during the Presidential Election 2006.

12:54 p.m. - The General Raul Isaias Baduel is unharmed after suffering an attack at his polling center in Maracay, Aragua. Four civilians were harmed.

1:15 p.m. - Lines are growing bigger; more people are going to vote. Polling centers are crowded.

3:00 p.m. - The main leadership of the CNE (National Electoral Council), Sandra Oblitas, acknowledged that the number of complaints they have received has been higher in this election than in previous processes.

3:06 p.m. - The delegation of international observers of the Popular Party of the European Parliament denounced the "lack of neutrality" by the Venezuelan government with the various foreign representatives present to oversee the development of the plebiscite taking place throughout the day, said MEP Carlos Iturgáiz in statements to Europa Press.

3:09 p.m. - The chairman of the Federation of University Centers (FCU) of the UCV, Ricardo Sanchez, said that students will stay on the doors of polling stations to "defend the votes."

He assured that a significant group of students will stay at the doors of the polling centers to defend the votes,

"We are collecting all the irregularities that may happen and there is a significant group of students prepared, the people will ratify their commitment to voting and to democracy. The long lines, the sun, the people is accustomed to the ferocity. Today is a patriotic Sunday"

4:45 p.m. - So far, the Republic Plan has arrested 45 people across the country, mostly for breaking the electoral ballot. Various problems have been reported by the malfunction of the voting machines. There are also allegations about caravans of Chavistas calling to vote and making propaganda for their option.

4:51 p.m. - CNE orders the closure of the polling centers that don't have electors in-line to proceed with the audit of a selection of ballot-boxes. According to the President of the CNE, Tibisay Lucena, "the voting has been closed" so that all the voting-tables that do not have voters queued should close their doors and stay open only for people who are waiting their turn.

With the update at 4:51 p.m. I will proceed to close this post about the voting process. Talk to you later!