Old blog

The act of killing

Codrin PO

I watched a couple of days ago Black Swan, a movie in which Natalie Portman gave a great Oscar-winning performance. Last night, I watched American Sniper. A while ago, I also watched The act of killing, an Oscar-nominated documentary. I also read the news daily.

These fourĀ things madeĀ me think about … murder. In war, people kill. In peace, people kill. I am wondering why and what it does to them.

American sniper presents the tormented soul of a professional murderer that has and wants to do this to protect his country. Every murder changes him. Every murder affects him psychologically. After all, in war, a murder is still a murder.

Black swan shows how a tormented soul tries to protect itself by killing itself. READ MORE!

frenchclass · Old blog

The #FrenchClass revival

Codrin PO

It`s been a few days since I wrote my last article. But I promise I`ll make it up.

I started my French classes two weeks ago. I was reticent in the beginning, but now I`m happy I started. I have some interesting colleagues and the professor is … well, cool.6a00d8341d417153ef0120a52d9060970b

Yesterday we took the first test, with promises for many more in the weeks to come. The results I got today confirmed what I knew. The thing that I`m worst at is the grammar. It`s been over 10 years since I last studied and used it so the thing I need to do now is to really start studying.

I`ll update as often as I can, with an article in French at the end of the month (the exams are in early March). Wish me luck :)!

Blog · Old blog

Why should I use social media for food security?

Codrin PO2 Comments

In the past few weeks, I have worked on ā€¦ something different from what I normally do. Although social media data mining is use widely in almost every field, I thought I would try a different approach.

My idea was to see if I can collect real-time data and process it, while also forecast, based on keywords, hashtags and expressions, the next food scarcity hot spot (at local level). Continue reading “Why should I use social media for food security?” →

Old blog

First day of French

Codrin PO

I had today my first French class after over 12 year. When I was younger, I studied it for 11 years, from primary school to the end of high school. I think that I was pretty good at it, but not speaking it since 2003 may have damaged my ability of speaking fluently and decreased my knowledge of French grammar.

Last Monday I took a test and I was assigned to a UF3 level class at IEPSCF Namur. The levels here are from 1 to 7, with two more (UFDA and UFDB) for absolute beginners.6a00d8341d417153ef010534d6e12c970c

It was an interesting first day, meeting my colleagues from all over the world, although I haven’t really spoken with any of them. I`m a bit shy in such occasions. I prefer professional networking instead of socializing with friends.

From now on, four days a week, four hours per day, I`ll work on improving my French. Wish me luck :).

Career counseling · Not too personal · Old blog

Start my start-up

Codrin PO

In the past few months, since my professional activity “slowed down”, a lot of thoughts have crossed my mind. I was thinking what my next job will be, what my future will look like if I took a job, if I don`t take a job.

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A cartoon version of me now!

But one of the recurring thoughts was that of going solo. I thought about becoming an entrepreneur. I had no idea what to do (until a few hours ago) or how to get the funds to do it. READ MORE!