Awareness

                                           Friends find solace on each other.

The World AIDS Day was yesterday and I saw no awareness amidst the people I know, or the community I live in. It is kinda strange not to consider this day as an important reminder of prevention we all should indulge. I don't know whether people would keep their minds on spending - Black Friday/ Xmas - or just take it for granted.

Although there are parts of the world where HIV numbers are decreasing, there are parts where people are unaware of the problem. In UK, for example, a quarter of 90.000 people infected don't even know they have the virus. The UN recently released 2011 statistics which showed newly infected reaching 2.5 million. If we consider the UN program for AIDS, 'Getting To Zero', there is still a lot of ground ahead of everyone.

The campaign to get AIDS down to zero has 10 goals for 2015; many of them are quite difficult to deliver,  such as preventing all drug users from getting infected. It's extremely positive to have goals and follow them, but when you are speaking on behalf of other nations, it gets difficult to manage. What people need to know is that everyone can make the change, not leaving the burden to medical organizations around the world.

It could be as easy as using a condom or a new syringe. The condom promotion investment, for example,  in low and middle income countries is currently US$ 100 million, but it is needed more US$ 190 million to increase awareness till 2015. Investments are a bit low now than they are requested. So at least what people can do right is act aware - in fact that is the campaign idea by World AIDS Day organization in UK.

Hopefully in between this World Day and the next I can see people discussing and thinking more about this topic around me. If you are thinking on donating blood, one thing leads to the other, and then next time you see,  you are having the HIV test. It is as simple as that, and it can be part of everyone's lives too.

Can you see me?

                                 
                                       New planet in sight. Illustration by trrent


People are relentless these days - specially when we talk about Nasa discovering new planets. It`s quite interesting to note the last one, Kepler 21b, is 1.6 Earth size, ten times heavier, with no mild temperature at all (2960 F degrees).


A research group knows, after several months of observation, that it is in a zone that could be habitable. Don`t know if they are talking about the hot hot planet aforementioned, or other planets close by. Kepler 21b and other planets are around another Sun type of star, a lot bigger and younger than ours.


That is a sign for astronomers to keep looking.


They are 18 newfounded planets in total, researchers say, that could be habitable. Of course the distance from its parent star does impress anyone: 600 light years. Although they are far away, it`s possible to see the big star which they are close by, with a simple telescope. You just have to know what you are looking for.


According to a scientist I heard on the radio today, it`s the first step in order to attain something big. People are starting to get worried about what happens in the future, because the Sun and/or the Earth won`t last forever, so...


Nothing to be preocupied right now. Probably that`s why astronomers begun to look already (!!) Is this evolution making its way to forever be? Well, I only know that moving a whole lotta people across the galaxy is something quite curious to think about!

Worth studying?

Picture from http://www.digitaltrends.com/gadgets/gadget-usage-causes-lack-of-sleep-study-finds/

Since I have arrived in Brasilia, Brazil, I started to look for jobs. Of course, in Brasilia, the most bureaucratic city in Brazil, the majority of jobs are government's. If you are not Brazilian you should know you need to be approved in tough exams in order to join the government force.

That's what Im doing at the moment: studying for the exams. The thing is I'm a bit frustrated. The reasons are as follows:

1) The competition is far worse than anything else you are aware of (except for navy seals recruitment)

2) gov jobs are a dead end for someone's career

3) public administration in Brazil doesn't function well, actually it is horrible

The competition for those jobs is high and jobs in private companies are quite competitive too, but the salaries in government are a lot better than in most private companies. The job market situation in Brazil lately is favorable mostly to jobs in demand, such as hospitality, retail, and on the other end, technicians and engineers in constructions and stuff. It's hard to pay rent and support a family with an initial - and average - private company salary.

When Fernando Collor was president, he signed a law to give stability to public workers not only in the federal sphere, but to all others linked to government - public banks, post, police and so on. That decision relieved workers about the possibility of getting sacked (almost impossible). If anyone imagined something like pursuing a career in government, it has been revoked from constitution, then you are stuck in the position you applied for in the exam day til retirement. 

All this turns productivity at work pretty bad, no, maybe, terrible! When you work in a job you CAN'T get fired, then you know things aren`t right. Carlos Osmar Bertero, in a World Bank and Brazilian government request, in 1994, made a document (sorry, it`s in Portuguese) where he expresses his opinion on public management in Brazil - in brief: "Almost all things that oppose the common sense are practiced. Performance and quality of services to the population are poor and the costs to the nation are not low." 

I think you get my point. Well, now, excuse me, I have to go back to my studies.