10
Mar
2010
Do you remember people when you see them again? You may not remember their names, but do you remember if you've seen them before and when you saw them?
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Try this test. You have to pay attention!1. Look at the faces and try to remember them.
2. Look at a 2nd group of faces and try to remember them.
3. Answer the questions:
- Have you seen the faces before?
- Were they in the first group or the second?
I was very surprised. I know that I'm terrible at remembering names and I assumed that I was just as bad at remembering faces. However I got a perfect score, 100% on the first part: recognizing faces, and 92% on the second part: when I'd seen them. Let's see how well you do.
Wendy http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/tmt/instructions_1.shtml
Vocabulary:
Try: probar
Pay attention: prestar atención
try to: intentar
score: puntuación
I remember faces! 
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05
Mar
2010
What do you think about this car-plane the "Transition" which is expected to be available in 2011? Terrafugia has completed its flight testing of the Transition POC (Proof of Concept). It's a plane that you can land at the airport, fold up the wings and drive home. Great idea! 20 years from now will we all have "Transitions"? Just think of the traffic jams in the sky! Check out Terrafugia.
Vocabulary:
available: disponible
flight: vuelo
proffo: prueba, comprobación
land: aterrizar
fold up: doblar
wings: alas
traffic jams: embotellamiento
sky: cielo
23
Feb
2010
It's raining. The raindrops fall into the pond or lake, puddle or pool. And in the same place drops of water pop up. Are these the same drops that fall? 
Where do the droplets come from?
For non PhD's: There's a thin layer of air separating the drop from the water below. It's like an elastic sheet. The connection is pinched off and a smaller droplet is formed, again and again until the tiny droplet can be absorbed.
Once I was swimming and the rain was falling. The sunlight was coming in horizontally and the water drops were popping up all around me. It was quite an amazing sight! Wendy
Click here: Water Drop at 2000 Frames per Second
raindrops: gotas de lluvia
fall into: caer dentro de
pond: lago pequeño, charco
lake: lago
puddle: charco muy pequeño, como en la calle o en un camino
pool: piscina, charco de agua limpia
tiny droplet: gotita de agua
pop up: saltar para arriba
sight: vista
05
Feb
2010
We're lucky here at the UEM. Yes, we are. We have a great Tech Support team , the TIC, hidden away in Building C. They keep tabs on the main computer and solve all our computer issues. You'll see them in the cafeteria or on the bridge, or when you are desperate because your laptop refuses to obey you. Yes, we do have the occasional computer glitch, but it's usually the user who's complicating the issue. At least it is in my case. I admit it. I'm one of the computer illiterate. Well, not completely. I've made great progress since I first learned to double-click. What a strange concept:double click. I'm very grateful to all the friends and colleagues and computer geeks who've helped me over the years. And are still heard saying "Oh, NO" when I cry out for help.
The members of our TIC department speak Spanish! That is a BIG plus in the modern world. Some also speak English. We can communicate with the TIC team: in person, by email, by phone. They respond. They're patient. They're helpful. They understand that many of us have no computer smarts so they try not to speak to us in computerese. We just wouldn't understand what they were saying in any language because we don't know what's going on inside our computers. We can often be heard talking to the computer screens, "No, no , NO! Where did my document go? Not now! Please...don't shut down!"
Yep, we're lucky. We have a very sophisticated TIC department at the UEM. Wendy
VOCABULARY:
to be lucky: tener suerte
tech support tea: equipo de apoyo técnico
hidden away: escondido
keep tabs on: controlar
issues: problems
laptop: portatil
refuse: negarse
obey: obedecer
glitch: fallo en el sistema
grateful: agradecido
geeks: friki del ordenador
computer smarts: mano para el ordenador
computerese: idioma informática
language: idioma
screen: pantalla
shut down: cerrar, apagar
27
Ene
2010
You do a load of wash. The clothes go in and the clothes come out. Everything's nice and clean. You take the shirts, shake out as many wrinkles as you you can, and throw them in the dryer. You grab the socks and underwear and toss them in too. Then you're off to attend to other demands. A few minutes later you're back again. You don't want a pile of ironing, so you take out the damp shirts and hang them up. No mystery there. Your mother taught you well. A few more minutes for the rest of the load while you start in on another project. Finally the dryer calls you to attention. Time to pull everything out, fold the clothes, and forget about the wash for another week. Great! But wait, oh no. You match up all the socks but there's only one bright green sock. Where's the other one? Oh, not again! There's always one extra, and one missing sock. It never fails. You were paying attention. You picked up all the clothes on your floor and under your bed. Oh, no time now. You set the "extra" sock aside and the days and weeks go by. 
Sometimes it's a black or brown or blue sock, a serious executive sock with no personality of its own. Sometimes it's a fuzzy sock or a bright red sock that Santa brought, or one of your daughter's favorite princess socks. If the one gone missing is a Spiderman sock you may have a real problem. "Where are my Little Einstein socks? whines little Alex. "Where are my basketball socks? shouts José. Socks just seem to disappear, don't they? Maybe they escape for days or weeks or even years. You checked everywhere, but refuse to give up. You put the lone socks away just in case their mates turn up. And one day, lo and behold, you find Spiderman inside the sleeve of a sweater, a boring black sock in a pajama leg, a tiny pink sock in the doll house being used as a sleeping bag. And then, years hence, you find the hiding places: down between the cushions on the old sofa, under the bottom drawer in the back of the closet, inside a toy car. And you laugh. There are so many imaginative places for socks to hide. You'd be celebrating your minor victory but.......you threw out all the odd socks, just yesterday.
Wendy
VOCABULARY including lots of PHRASAL VERBS !
load of wash: tanda de ropa
clothes: ropa
shake out: sacudir
wrinkles: arrugas
dryer: secadora
grab: agarrar
underwear:ropa interior
toss:tirar suavemente
pile of ironing: montón de ropa para planchar
damp:húmedo
hang them up: colgarlos
taught:(pasado de "teach") enseñó
pull out: tirar hacia tí, sacar
fold: doblar ropa,telas, papel
match up: emparejar
missing: que falta
fails: falla, (suspende)
pick up: levantar, recoger
set aside: apartar
go by: pasar
fuzzy: de peluza
whines: lloriquea
give up: rendirse
lone: solitario
put away: guardar, poner en su sitio
mates: parejas
turn up: aparecen
lo and behold: anda ya, mira por donde
sleeve: manga
tiny: muy pequeño
doll: muñeca
sleeping bag: saco de dormir
hence: after, later
hiding place: escondite
cushions: cojines
bottom drawer: cajón de abajo
closet: armario
toy: juguete
threw out: tirar a la basura
odd: impares
22
Ene
2010
We all know about the tragedy in HAITI: a major earthquake, tremors, aftershocks, another earthquake. Can you IMAGINE what it's like to be in HAITI right now?
The Haitian people need our help. Contribute! Donate a Euro; donate 50. Drop a few coins in the box as you come and go. It will all add up. And now UEM and Laureate International Universities havepromised to double our donations!
You'll see students in red VOLUNTEER vests collecting money in Building B today. There are collection boxes at the reception desk in each building.
IMAGINE what it would it be like if the ground in your hometown shook like that? Would the buildings collapse? Would your life change dramatically in a few minutes. Help the RED CROSS help the HAITIAN people. You are a citizen of the world. Do what you can do to help the cause.
Wendy
VOCABULARY
Drop: dejar caer
coins: monedas
add up: sumar
promise: prometer
vests: chalecos
ground: la tierra
hometown: pueblo natal
shook: sacudió (Pasado de shake)
buildings: edificios
citizen: ciudadano
18
Ene
2010
Please help the people in HAITI who are suffering from a 7.0 magnitute earthquake and 5+ magnitude aftershocks. The UEM VOLUNTEERS have set up tables, MAIN HALL, BUILDING A to collect money for HAITI through the CRUZ ROJA, the Spanish Red Cross . This initiative came from the 3rd and 4th year LAW students. They will be manning tables from 9:00 to 14:00 all this week. We know that it is exam time and everyone is busy, however they need more volunteers to collect money. Marta Acosta Soria and Alvaro Calvo Giralt came to the UEM LAB to ask for our collaboration. We are sending volunteers to help with the tables and have set up a collection box in the reception area of the UEM LAB which will be available from 8:00-21:00 all this week. If you have an hour or two to spare, please come by the VOLUNTARIADO tables to sign up for a shift or contact 20610076@live.uem.es . Be sure to put VOLUNTEERING time for HAITI INITIATIVE on the subject line. Remember, being a volunteer is an important part of your university experience and is mandatory on your CV for a job search in the global job market.
Thank you for your collaboration. Wendy
VOCABULARY
suffering: sufriendo
earthquake: terremoto
aftershocks: réplicas
volunteers: voluntarios
set up: montar
available: disponible
to spare: disponible, de sobra
sign up: apuntarse
a shift: un turno
law: derecho
busy: ocupado
11
Ene
2010
The International Space Station is often in the news,and has been since 1998. We know that there was a basic structure and that other components have been added over the years. We hear about the people on board, the difficulties they have, the experiments that are carried out. We know the ISS is up there and that it is quite an achievement.
Watch this presentation via computer graphics. You'll see the components come together piece by piece. What a difference from the original project. Open it full-screen so you can see the information onthe sides too. This is really neat, cool, awesome, sweet....chuli, chachi, guay, alucinante. O sea, mola mazo!
VOCABULARY:
The news: las noticias
carried out: llevar a cabo
come together: juntarse
full-screen: pantalla completa
the sides: los lados
neat/cool/awesome/sweet: maravilloso
http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm
08
Ene
2010
Happy New Year! Happy 2010 ! Oh, that looks futuristic just like 2000 or 2001 did a decade ago. And what about 1-1-2010? That looks really strange, doesn't it? Well, a week has already passed and we're still sitting here, writing 2009 by mistake and staring at the computer screen, wondering what the future will hold.
Have you made your New Year's Resolutions yet? Are they the same ones you made last year and the year before? Is this THE YEAR when you're finally going to get it together? Did you start the year off right, start in on your fitness program, your diet, your personal Stop Smoking campaign, or are you waiting for a more auspicious date like maybe 10-1-2010 or as the Americans would write it 1-10-2010? Shall we procrastinate perhaps until the day before exams begin, or till next semester, or possibly till Groundhog Day or your birthday or.....1-1-2011 (ouuu, that looks really cosmic. That's only 11+ months from now. Maybe we should just leave our great plans for personal development till next year.
So, where were you on New Year's Day? Were you sleeping it off?
Were you outside, enjoying the day from beginning to end?
This is where I was as the 1st day of the year 2010 came to an end. Wendy
VOCABULARY:
staring: to stare: mirar fijamente
wondering: preguntándome
will hold: ofrecerá, sostendrá
get it together: organizarme
start X off right: empezar con buen pie
auspicious: prometedor
procrastinate: dejarlo para el último minuto
Groundhog Day: día de la Marmota
sleeping it off: reculperándose
Last year's NEW YEARS post:
http://comunidad.uem.es/shakespeare/2009/1/7/new-year-s-resolutions-2009
21
Dic
2009
Ideas! Needs! New products! You could create a new product, find a market for it, and become the entrepreneur the world has been waiting for. Think Bill Gates and the personal computer you may be using right now. You have great ideas. Work on them.
Just think of the people who stumbled upon Post-Its. They created a glue that didn't stick very well. It was useless. "No....wait....maybe this could be useful." Add it to note paper Wow! The POST-IT was invented.
And the people who created Velcro. They invented a great product which started out as a clothing fastener, and quickly became one of the most versatile inventions of the century.
You have good ideas too! Put some of them to work for you. Be inventive. If you see there is a need, find a solution.
Just think about those rich people who are behind Microsoft,VELCRO or POST-ITS.
You CAN do it too. Think big!
-Wendy
Vocabulary:
entrepreneurship: espiritú emprendedor
entrepreneur: empresario
stumbled upon: encontró por casualidad
glue: pegamento
stick: pegar
fastener: una cierre
*If you have a good idea, look at the "Blog de Emprendedores":
http://comunidad.uem.es/eicaran/posts
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