Stadium Arcadium

Ontem o Corinthians se classificou para a final da Copa do Brasil.

Há tempos que eu não me envolvia tanto com uma partida de futebol. A última vez que fiquei grudado assim na TV assistindo o jogo e passando mal de nervoso foi acho que em 98, na final do Brasileiro. Por algum motivo, desde então eu havia perdido grande parte do meu interesse em acompanhar o futebol. Provavelmente foi a baixaria que rola solta nos bastidores, a falta de organização e a falta de profisisonalismo dos dirigentes brasileiros.

Mas, desde que fui assistir a São Paulo x Internacional no Morumbi, no ano passado, esse interesse aos poucos vem aumentando novamente. Desde então tenho tentado ir ao estádio, sem sucesso. Ontem foi mais uma dessas ocasiões. Só não estive presente ao jogo porque não consegui chegar antes de os ingressos terem acabado.

Mas, agora, tem a final.

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Debian, APT and gpg keys

For quite some time now Debian's repositories have been relying on gpg keys to ensure the authenticity and integrity of their packages.

One thing no one had the decency of explaining is how to get a certain repository's key into one's "trusted ring" so apt won't complain when downloading packages from there.

Well, I'm going to go right to the point and tell exactly what to do.

1. Add the repository's address to sources.list (if you have any doubts try man 5 sources.list)
2. Reload the package lists (through "apt-get update" or Synaptic's "Reload"). It will complain about not having the key to the repository. In that complaint, it will show you the ID of the repository. Write down the last 8 digits of it.
3. With this information in hands, you're able to download that repository's key using the following command (replace XXXXXXXX with the number you wrote down):

gpg --keyserver wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net --recv-keys XXXXXXXX

4. Now all you have to do is to import that key into apt's key database:
   

gpg --armor --export XXXXXXXX | apt-key add -

5. And you're done. Now run refresh the package lists again and apt won't bug you anymore.
   

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Driving Permission in a week

Now it's official. I'm a licensed driver. I passed the exam almost flawlessly, the only mistake I made was forgetting to use the flasher once.

All in all, it was pretty easy, actually. Easier than I expected, though, to be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. Anyway I was very calm and relaxed and, as I mentioned before, I was very confident I would not fail. Now I believe that the only factor that's really measured with some significance is one's serenity. The course is very easy - actually, I'm convinced that it's too easy. And, from what I've seen, people who failed the exam was really nervous about it. I confess I was nervous, too, but I was able to control it and not to make a fool of myself.

Now in a week or so I will have my provisional license (around here new drivers get a provisional license for a year before getting a definitive one) and will be officially looking for a car.

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I wanna have Time 5.

Man, I can't believe two weeks have already passed since my last post. Time is running fast this year.

To think that in about two months I'll be defending my masters is a bit frightening, to be honest. I'm not sure I'm prepared for that, and there is still a lot to do.

At least now I don't have any more data to collect. All I have to do is write write write write write. And then write some more.

I've been practicing a lot on the guitar, and a few tunes are beginning to come out of the amp; although they are not THAT good - they are actually very simple songs used for practice - at least it's something. A month ago I wouldn't have been able to do even that. There is still a long way before I can do anything for real. And, to be honest, practice can be very frustrating sometimes.

I realize that frustration is actually part of the process, and therefore I will keep trying. The more difficulty I have, the more I will practice. That's the way I believe we may overcome difficulties.

In other news, my field exam for obtaining my driver's license in on next wednesday. I feel fully prepared and, to be honest, I'm very confident. In the classes I've had so far I really learned more than just enough to be approved; I learned a bit of how to really drive - out on the street, in traffic, having to withstand other (usually less careful, less educated) drivers. Surely, the fact that the car had the sign "driving school" on its side may have made a difference on other people's behavior (which is frankly quite hypocrite). But even so, it was not a futile exercise.

All in all, everything seems to be going well. I just need to pay a little more attention to my dissertation - it needs a lot of work.

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