4.24.2009

LIABLE = RESPONSIBLE >< IMMUNE

liable: responsible or answerable in law.
“The court held the defendant liable under the contract.”
Related term: personally liable: legally obligated or responsible in a personal way; strictly liable: liable without any fault.
Synonyms: responsible: "The board of directors is responsible for hiring the managing director."
accountable: "Children under the age of 16 are not legally accountable for their actions."
Antonyms: immune: "A judge is immune from prosecution for decisions taken in the course of performing her job."
Other forms of the word: liability (noun): "The general meeting voted to grant the board of directors a discharge from liability for the preceding financial year."
Common phrases: liable for costs / personally liable / jointly and severally liable / strictly liable
Usage notes: The words liable and libel (written defamation of another person) can sound very similar. Exercise caution when listening or speaking; to help you, remember that liable is an adjective and libel is a noun.
Source: Translegal

4.21.2009

CLOUD COMPUTING - 2

Baixei e instalei hoje o "ZumoDrive" (1 GB gratuito, zumodrive.com) e já comecei a usar experimentalmente. Parece muito bom.

CLOUD COMPUTING

"Cloud Computing (literalmente: Computação em Nuvem) is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualised resources are provided as a service over the Internet; Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them. [Wikipedia]

"Surfando nas nuvens - 25/11/2008 - Conceito Cloud elimina a armazenagem física de dados - Em pouco tempo estaremos surfando nas nuvens. Informações digitais não serão mais armazenadas em discos rígidos, mas na própria internet. É o conceito de "Cloud Computing", algo como computação na nuvem. E não se trata apenas de informação. Os próprios programas serão rodados no ciberespaço. Inúmeras pessoas já têm conta do Gmail e usam ferramentas como o Gears e o Apps, todos do Google, que permitem acessar programas sediados na "nuvem" – e não no computador doméstico. Enfim, em pouco tempo tudo se concentrará nas nuvens digitais, inclusive informações pessoais hoje compartilhadas em sites como o Facebook.” [http://revistadasemana.abril.com.br/edicoes/64/ciencia_tecnologia/materia_ciencia_tecnologia_404471.shtml]

“Google's rumored "GDrive," a service that would enable users to access their PCs from any Internet connection, could kill off the desktop computer, Britain's Observer newspaper reports.
The Gdrive, unconfirmed by Google and long rumored, may finally launch this year, with some tech news sites calling it the "most anticipated google product so far."
The Google drive would shift away from microsoft Window's operating system, in favor of "cloud computing," where storage and processing is done in data centers. Users would no longer have to rely on their computers' powerful hard drives. Home and businesses have already been turning toward web-based services, such as e-mail — including popular services hotmail and gmail — and photo storage, such as Flickr and Picasa. Users would no longer have to worry about their hard drives crashing, since data would be saved on the web, and could be accessed from any machine. With the Gdrive, a PC would be a device acting as a portal to the web, enabling users to think of their computer as software rather than hardware. Google refused to confirm the Gdrive, but acknowledged the growing demand for cloud computing.
[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,482761,00.html] [26 jan 09

Estou seriamente considerando aderir a isso, principalmente depois que o meu PC não reconheceu meu HD externo e passei pelo susto de ter o meu HD 'crashed'. Felizmente, uma troca de estojo resolveu.

SOLDIERS, CARROTS & PARSNIPS

These soldiers are not the military variety, rather, soldiers are anything in military formation, such as buttered toast cut into strips or the carrots in the Jamie Oliver’s recipe below (as I remember it):

SOLDIERS: Peel and cut carrots into sticks about the same size (5 cm) and thickness (choose carrots which have a medium-sized diameter, such as mini-carrots [though I've never used these - me thinks they are harder]). Place them upright on the bottom of a small pan, side by side, covering the whole bottom. Pour sweetened orange juice (one orange, plus some lime, plus some water and seasoning [vegetable stock, rosemary and bay leaves, whatever] - use sugar or sweetener with a pinch of sugar just to ensure browing) sufficient to almost cover them) and a dollop of butter [or some drops of olive oil]. Bring to a boil and let them simmer until the carrots are tender and the juice is absorbed. The carrots will then have their bottoms slightly browned (glazed) in the butter. They are de.li.ci.ous!

Now, parsnips (pastinacas [!!!]) look like white carrots . It’s a pity that we can’t find them in Brazil.

4.19.2009

WAKE-UP CALL

(chamada despertador/para acordar, alerta) A telephone call that one requests to occur at a specific time in order to be woken up, especially in a hotel.
A sign or warning that alerts one to negative or dangerous behavior or circumstances: “Her personal life was spiraling out of control . . . and her brush with death came as a wake-up call”.
A portentous event, report, or situation that brings an issue to immediate attention. For example, The rise in unemployment has given a wake-up call to state governments, or The success of the online subscription is a wake-up call to publishers.

BREAKFAST AROUND THE WORLD

Brazil (café da manhã, desjejum): Mostly, in the Southeast Region, black coffee, cow milk, yogurt, white cheese, fruit juices. During the week, usually black coffee with some milk and a cheese roll (pão de queijo).
France: Cups of coffee, often café au lait, or hot chocolate, usually served in big bowls, accompanied by a glass of orange or grapefruit juice. The main food consists of sweet products such as tartines. A typical French breakfast does not include any savory (salgado) product.
Germany. The typical German breakfast consists of bread rolls, butter, jam, ham, sausages, soft-boiled eggs and coffee; cereals have become popular.

Iraq: Tea, a lamb stew, pita bread dipped in rich labneh, a type of yogurt, or in olive oil and za'atar (a common Middle-Eastern spice mix).
Italy (colazione): Capuccino, bread or rolls, butter, and jam. It is very common for Italians to have a quick breakfast snack during the morning (typically a panino, or bread roll).
Japan:
Miso soup, rice with nori or other garnishes, natto (a type of fermented soybean), grilled fish, raw egg, and a pickled vegetable, green tea (traditional) and coffee (modern).
Korea: Rice (sometimes seasoned with cinnamon), soup, several kinds of Namul or seasoned vegetables, Kimchi (fermented, pickled vegetables/pepper), and grilled meat or fish.
Nigeria
(Yoruba people): Ògì— a porridge made from corn, usually served with evaporated milk. Ògì is eaten with Acarajé (akara) or Moi moi, English tea or malta. Another popular option in south west Nigeria is garri (known in Brazil as farofa, made from the root of cassava). For breakfast it is soaked in water and sweetened with sugar.
Portugal (pequeno-almoço): Two varieties: one eaten running to work (yogurt, milk, coffee or both and some bread with butter, cheese or jam) and another, more time-consuming, on the weekends (with the addition of orange juice, croissants, different kinds of pastry, and/or cereal).
Spain:
In Central Spain the traditional breakfast is “chocolate con churros” (hot chocolate with Spanish-style fritters).
UK
(Britain and Ireland): Weekends: Eggs, bacon, baked beans, tomatoes, sausages, mushrooms, accompanied by toast and tea or coffee. A full breakfast is also a meal available any time at many cafés and “greasy spoons” (boteco, no Brasil e “tasca” em Portugal). The author Somerset Maugham once quipped that "the only way to eat well in England is to have breakfast three times a day." Soft-boiled eggs can be eaten with buttered toast cut into strips, which are then dipped into the runny yolk. In the United Kingdom, these strips of toast are known as Soldiers.
USA: Hot oatmeal porridge, grits (in the South), eggs, bacon, ham, sausages, pan-fried potatoes (hash browns), biscuits, toast, pancakes, waffles, bagels, French toast, cornbread, English muffins, pastries (such as croissants, doughnuts, and muffins), and fresh or stewed fruits of various types. Coffee, tea, milk and fruit juices are standard breakfast beverages.... Eggs are strongly associated with breakfast, to the extent that many Americans and Canadians consider egg dishes out of place later in the day.

Other countries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast

4.16.2009

SINISTRAL >< DEXTRAL

Sinistral (adj; noun): lado esquerdo, canhoto. Pertaining to or facing the left side; left-handed. "She wore her watch on her right wrist like most sinistrals."
Dextral (ajd; noun): lado direito, destro. "Twenty-four dextral students at Monash University were recruited. None had a sinistral in the immediate family, and their handedness was carefully..."
Keep in mind that "sinistral" and "dextral" refer to a particular side of an object, not the side of the person looking at it. The sinistral side is that side of an object when you are facing in the same direction as the object. "That unmotivated nebbish, Pierre LePoupe, could never climb the sinistral face of Mount Mukkimuck," refers to your right side as you look at the mountain from the approach.
"Mazel Toffe is the most dexterous sinistral I have ever heard play a violin."
Source: YourDictionary

4.15.2009

THE HOLY SEE

see = sede, área governada por um bispo, bispado.

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope...While all episcopal sees can be referred to as holy, the expression "the Holy See" (without further specification) is normally used in international relations (as well as in the canon law of the Catholic Church) to refer to the central government of the Catholic Church.

"Vatican blocks Caroline Kennedy appointment as US ambassador - Mr Obama was reportedly seeking to reward John F Kennedy's daughter, who publicly gave her support to his election bid. ... Ms Kennedy, 53, has said that she supports abortion. Raymond Flynn, a former US ambassador to the Vatican, said earlier this week that Ms Kennedy would be a poor choice. “It's imperative, it's essential that the person who represents us to the Holy See be a person who has pro-life values. I hope the President doesn't make that mistake," he told the Boston Herald. .." The White House refused to comment."

4.14.2009

ACP / BRICs / CENELEC / HORN OF AFRICA / LDCs / NICs / SCHENGEN

ACP = African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
BRIC or BRICs is an acronym
that refers to the fast growing developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The acronym was first coined and prominently used by Goldman Sachs in 2001. Goldman Sachs argued that, since they are developing rapidly, by 2050 the combined economies of the BRICs could eclipse the combined economies of the current richest countries of the world.
CENELEC: comprises the National Committees of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
HORN OF AFRICA: A peninsula in East Africa that juts for hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea, and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. The easternmost projection of the African continent, the Horn of Africa denotes the region containing the countries of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia.
LDCs: Least Developed Countries (LDCs or Fourth World countries) are countries which according to the United Nationas exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world.
NICs = Newly Industrialized Countries (Brazil is a BRIC and a NIC).
SCHENGEN: The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed between member states of the European Community in 1985, removing/abolishing systematic border controls between the participating countries, currently a group of 25 European countries. (Ao chegar em um aeroporto europeu, o viajante se depara com este termo).
Source: en.wikipedia.org

AMELIORATE / MELIORATE / MELIORATIVE >< PEJORATIVE

(Verb) To make or become better, to improve.
“Meliorate” was the original word which, influenced by French "améliorer," became “ameliorate”. Mas “meliorate” continua tão válida quanto. Palavras derivadas: meliorable: "improvable," meliorative:" making better," the action noun "melioration," and the agent noun, meliorator "one who makes things better."

"You could meliorate your life (and mine) immensely by whining less about yourself and thinking more of others."
"In fact, human relationships provide multitudinous opportunities for melioration."
"Would it meliorate our relationship if I spent less time with you?"
"The greatest meliorator of the world is selfish, huckstering trade."
"While technically improvable, few would dispute the visual appeal of this satin- surfaced High Relief".
"The objects of certain attitudes can be captured by descriptions that are neutral and attitude-
independent. Such attitudes colour* terms that are pejorative or meliorative (e.g., the mildly derogatory Greek "barbaros", whose sense, fixing its extension, was the same as that of ‘non-Greek’)." *Este é o verbo nesta frase.
Source: Your Dictionary

ANNIVERSARY / BIRTHDAY

Anniversary: data de comemoração de um evento (fundação de uma empresa, anos de casamento, etc.). The annually recurring date of a past event, especially one of historical, national, or personal importance: a wedding anniversary; the anniversary of the founding of Rome. A celebration commemorating such a date.

Birthday: data de nascimento de uma pessoa. The day of one's birth. The anniversary of one's birth.

CLIENT / CUSTOMER / PATRON

Customer is the most general word; someone who buys goods or services.
Client: someone who gets services or advice from a professional person, company or organization.
The party for which professional services are rendered, as by an attorney: Client
A person using the services of a social services agency: Client
Bank: Customer.
Hotel / Hairdresser: client / patron.
Restaurant: Patron
Source: Answers.com et al

4.11.2009

FELIZ PÁSCOA / EASTER / EASTERTIDE = THE EASTER SEASON = PASCHAL TIME / PASSOVER = PESACH

An Easter Bunny for You:
a(\_/)
(=`.´=)
i(")_(")

BOTTOM LINE / TOP LINE

bottom line = linha do resultado, linha do lucro/prejuízo.
top line = linha da receita, da entrada de dinheiro

“O que importa é a última linha do balanço, a linha do resultado, onde mostra se a empresa teve lucro ou prejuízo”.

Net income is informally called the bottom line because it is typically found on the last line of a company's income statement. A related term is top line, meaning revenue, which forms the first line of the account statement.
Souce: Wikipedia

LODESTAR

estrela-guia: 1. A principle or fact that guides someone’s actions. 2. used to guide ships at sea.

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Monday in Perdue v. Kenny A., in which the Court will consider whether an attorney's fee award under a federal fee-shifting statute can be enhanced based on quality of performance and results obtained when these factors already are included in the lodestar calculation.
The lodestar calculation is used by courts in awarding attorney's fees and is the product of reasonable hours worked and a reasonable hourly rate. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the lower court's enhancement of attorney's fees in a class action suit, finding that factors such as quality of performance and results obtained may appropriately be considered.
Source: Longman's Dictionary et al.

4.04.2009

ABECEDARIAN / BEGINNER / FLEDGLING / FRESHMAN / GREENHORN / INITIATE / NEOPHITE / NEWBIE / NEWCOMER / NOVICE / ROOKIE / TENDERFOOT / TYRO

Principiante / aprendiz / iniciante
Abecedarian (estar no beabá?) = One who teaches or studies the alphabet. One who is just learning; a beginner.
Beginner = One that begins. One who is just starting to learn or do something; a novice.
Freshman (calouro) = A student in the first-year class of a high school, college, or university. A beginner; a novice.
Fledgling (inexperiente, frangote) = A young bird that has recently acquired its flight feathers. A young or inexperienced person.
Greenhorn (novato, simplório, ingênuo) = An inexperienced or immature person, especially one who is easily deceived. A newcomer, especially one who is unfamiliar with the ways of a place or group.
Initiate = One who is being or has been initiated. One who has been introduced to or has attained knowledge in a particular field.
Neophite= A recent convert to a belief; a proselyte. A beginner or novice: a neophyte at politics. Roman Catholic Church. A newly ordained priest. A novice of a religious order or congregation.
Newbie (inexperiente?) = One that is new to something, especially a novice at using computer technology or the Internet.
Newcomer (recém-chegado) = One who has only recently arrived.
Novice = A person new to a field or activity; a beginner. A person who has entered a religious order but has not yet taken final vows. Also called novitiate.
Rookie (slang/gíria) (recruta/novato) = A beginner; one who is new to a profession or field. “Rookie” is a slang. Example:1) Brazil played like a bunch of rookies against Equador last Saturday, lets hope they play better on Wednesday!!! 2) It's not easy being a rookie police officer. Etymology: This word is derived from 'recruit', a new member of an army.
Tenderfoot (novato) = A newcomer not yet hardened to rough outdoor life; a greenhorn. An inexperienced person; a novice. often Tenderfoot A Boy Scout of the lowest rank.
Tyro (principiante) = A beginner in learning something. Ex.: He was a sensitive, fine soul alert to the pleasures of being green, a tyro, an amateur, unwilling to close his mind before it had been tempted
Sources: Knights English / Answers.com