Category: Everything else

About everything and nothing in particular

Musical “Les Misérables”

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When I wrote my review of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables, I admitted that what pushed me to read it was the Hollywood adaptation of the musical based on the same book. Before the musical, I only knew the broad strokes about the novel. The musical interpretation, though a bit on the superficial side, turned out to be very engaging. I rewatch it from time to time, and many of the songs have made their way into my playlist.

At some point I got interested in the history of the musical itself. And it turned out not to be some little-known production. So I’ll try to give a brief overview.

The first staging of a musical based on the famous book was in France, in 1980—and of course in French. But that production ran on stage for only three months. And perhaps no one would have heard of it if, in 1983, a recording hadn’t been passed to Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of the Broadway version of the great musical Cats, with a proposal to create an English-language version. The text was rewritten for an English audience; a prologue and several new numbers were added; and most importantly, all the non-musical spoken dialogue was removed. This version premiered in London in 1985.

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The Death of Belarusian IT: How to Kill a Successful Industry

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No matter how Belarusian officials try to put a brave face on it, the exodus of IT from the country is a fact. And for many years the IT sector was the nation’s calling card and a fairly substantial share of GDP.

Just the other day I had to discuss yet again what will happen to this industry now, and when it might recover. Unfortunately, my forecast is bleak: Belarus will never again be an IT country. Or at least not for decades. I could be wrong—I’m no great economist—but I’ll try here to lay out the considerations on which I base this view.

But first—a bit of history.

Belarus didn’t become strong in IT out of thin air. In Soviet times, Minsk was an assembly shop, including for computing hardware. It was in Belarus that the large “Minsk” computers were made, and later the ES personal computers, which people chased after even when I was a teenager, because they were IBM-compatible machines you could buy for home use and, for better or worse, enjoy the benefits of a personal computer.

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Dirty and Politically Incorrect ’80s

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I remember that in my childhood in the USSR, there was a craze for aerobics that came from the ‘decaying’ West. Various courses were released, special programs aired on TV, even records were issued with music and exercises. But even back then, as a teenager, I had my doubts that everyone was getting into this sport purely for the sake of sport—especially the men.

Time passed, the craze faded, but it was replaced by yoga, CrossFit, and other things like Pilates, which shall not be named.

What’s interesting is that even today many still perceive aerobics as an excuse to watch attractive women—not exactly with sporting intentions. But if in the 1980s this was seen as a manifestation of self-expression and liberation, now such views and videos could very well get you charged with harassment. O tempora! O mores!

And back then they even made movies—with young John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis. And no one went to jail, surprisingly. Even though it reeks of objectification of women, disregard for African Americans, and a bunch of other things.

So maybe the USSR was right about the decaying West after all.

Euronet ATMs: A Relatively Honest Way to Take Money from Foreigners

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In Cyprus (as in many other European countries, by the way), you can often come across Euronet ATMs. I remember someone once told me to be wary of them, but didn’t go into much detail about why.

I hardly ever saw these ATMs in the capital, Lefkosia (Nicosia), but in tourist areas, they’re on almost every corner—brightly designed to catch your eye and offering the option to withdraw large amounts of cash. That’s appealing, since most ATMs have withdrawal limits. And when you’re abroad, cardholders usually pay an additional fee for each transaction, so it’s more cost-effective to withdraw less frequently but in larger sums.

For a long time, I didn’t really look into what made these ATMs so problematic—especially since I live far from any tourist zone and don’t have any of them nearby. But I kept hearing negative feedback, so at some point I decided to dig into the issue.

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MyShows: How to Keep Track of TV Shows (and Movies)

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There was a time when I didn’t watch any TV shows at all, because I had a strong impression that all series were basically soap operas. (Too many of them were being shown on TV during the final years of the USSR—things like Santa Barbara and Simple María.) But then someone persistently recommended a space series called Firefly. Eventually, I gave in and watched it. And I was absolutely blown away by how powerful a well-made show could be—both in terms of writing and acting.

That’s where my love for TV shows began—as well as my appreciation for actor Nathan Fillion, who played the lead role in Firefly. He later starred in the excellent series Castle, currently appears in The Rookie, and, in my opinion, would have been the perfect choice to play Nathan Drake in the Uncharted movie (though for some reason they cast Tom Holland instead).

For my wife and me, watching good shows has become a favorite way to spend our evenings together. But at some point, keeping track of what we’d seen and when new seasons were coming out started to get tricky. So I went looking for a good tool to help with that. A coworker recommended the service MyShows. I’ve been using it for many years now, and recently the developers added a new feature (still a bit rough around the edges, but promising)—tracking not only TV shows but also movies. So I figured I’d write a bit about this platform.

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Who Needs Credits?

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Recently, there’s been another heated debate on the internet about the rules that certain game companies use to decide whether to include or exclude employees from the credits of their games. And this is indeed a fascinating topic!

Games weren’t the first to come up with credits. Movies come to mind much earlier. However, even in films, credits have undergone massive changes. I remember absolutely hating the credits in Soviet children’s films, especially when they were placed at the beginning of the movie. You’d sit down in front of the TV, all ready to enjoy your favorite film—perhaps one you’d been waiting for all week (this was before you could just hop onto Netflix and watch anything). And then you’re hit with “film director,” “cinematographer,” “director”… I couldn’t care less! I wanted to watch the movie, not read their names!

That said, I have to admit that sometimes creators managed to make this part interesting. In some films, they would show the actor in their role alongside how they looked in real life. That, I loved to watch—it didn’t make me want to switch off. Off the top of my head, I can recall this approach being used in New Year’s Adventures of Masha and Vitia and the later Don Cesar de Bazan. In those films, the actors in their everyday appearance looked nothing like their characters on screen.

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Cyprus: Attitude Toward Wines

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Living in regions where winemaking traditions span not just centuries but millennia significantly changes one’s perspective on this product. I’ve never been a fan of alcohol in general, or wine in particular, so all the talk about blends, notes of bog moss with hints of caramel was just noise to me. I occasionally have a glass of wine, but very rarely—and I don’t always finish the glass. However, my wife loves wine and is always trying new varieties.

Since people in Cyprus have been drinking wine at least since the days of Ancient Greece, it’s hardly a novelty here. There are plenty of local wineries, and prices start at as little as €1.50–2 per bottle. Of course, experts might debate how good a €3–4 wine can be, but to me, it’s simple: you either like it, or you don’t.

For example, in the photo, there are two wines produced in Cyprus by the company KEO (owned by the local church, by the way). They cost around €3 per bottle. Their average ratings on the Vivino app are 3.5 (depending on the year). Both wines are considered “popular among users” of the app.

So, it’s perfectly reasonable to pour yourself a glass in the evening.

However, what has specifically changed in our family is our attitude toward wine as some kind of lofty, refined beverage. The two bottles in the photo, for instance, weren’t bought or opened to drink at all—they were simply used as part of a meat marinade. When wine is this inexpensive, why not use it for marinating meat? With a large family like ours, a single meal easily uses up an entire bottle.

In the past, I might have considered this sacrilegious (How could you waste such a product?!), but now it’s just normal.

As for Cyprus’s main wine attraction—that would be Commandaria. But I’ll write about it some other time.

Difficulty in Games

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Once again, I’ve been reflecting on gaming preferences. I’m generally almost omnivorous when it comes to genres—I enjoy a wide variety. But a few years ago, I realized I’ve started gravitating toward casual gameplay. Games like Dark Souls already terrify me just from their descriptions. I want a great story, engaging gameplay, but without bone-crushing difficulty.

I still enjoy hack-and-slash games, but in recent years I often play them on easy mode. I understand this means I miss out on some of the satisfaction. But trying to beat a boss 100,500 times robs me of far more enjoyment. Life is too short for that.

Even with this approach, I sometimes encounter wildly unbalanced gameplay. Take Darksiders 3 (which I didn’t like at all compared to the first two games). My daughter spent a week trying to beat one boss on normal difficulty. I spent four days on easy. The balance is horribly off when most of the game feels smooth, and then you hit a sudden spike in difficulty. Honestly, I’m surprised I didn’t quit. What’s strange is that after that boss, the game gets easier and smoother again until the end.

In Darksiders Genesis, like a true masochist, I play without a gamepad (despite constant reminders from the developers that playing without one is pain and suffering—then why even bother including keyboard controls if they couldn’t make them decent?). And halfway through the game, there’s another boss where I hit a wall. This, despite my characters being leveled about 30% higher than the recommended level for that boss.

What I’ve been pondering is this: who are all these people playing games on Nightmare mode? When even on easy, I sometimes feel like giving up.

And why have I suddenly shifted toward easy modes in so many games?

In general, I’m all for adaptive difficulty. A game should help the player make it to the end and get maximum enjoyment. The worst outcome is when a player quits a game and is left with a bitter aftertaste.

What Did You Study and What Was Your Job?

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I came across Alex Exler’s post about the “What Did You Study and What Was Your Job?” flash mob (the post is in Russian). It’s a fun idea, so I decided to write about myself and also find out about others.

So, I graduated with a degree in “Computer Science” from the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science (ФПМИ in Russian) at Belarusian State University (BSU). According to my diploma, I’m a “mathematician-systems programmer,” though I’ve always felt we leaned more towards applied programming than systems programming. But that’s what the diploma says.

Now, as for “what jobs I’ve had,” that’s much more entertaining. By “work,” I mean only activities for which I got paid. If I did something for free, it doesn’t count.

Here’s the list:

  • Janitor (my very first job where I earned money)—there’s a photo above, though it’s of poor quality, and I’m not in it because I was the one taking the picture. Still, you could call it our little gang of janitor-trainees back in 1987 (yes, in the fourth grade).
  • Electronic text typist (typed handwritten texts onto a computer).
  • Programmer (even before officially earning the title).
  • Journalist (wrote a few articles for the teen newspaper Perekhodny Vozrast (Teenage Years), for Computer Gazette, and some small pieces for sci-fi magazines).
  • TV scriptwriter (for the TV program Five Wonders on Belarusian television; my wife later took over the baton).
  • Translator of fiction books from English to Russian (I got paid for two; one was published).
  • Writer (I earned some pennies for my book, so it counts).
  • Blogger—like this blog, for instance. I’ve received a few donations for it.
  • And the rest is in my main profession:
    • Programmer
    • Software architect (not of buildings)
    • Analyst
    • Technical writer
    • Project manager
    • Manager at various levels
    • Management and process consultant (this is what I currently do, and my full professional history can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/knari/)

What about your experience?