Radu Panciuc

Timelapse: The Mountain

Radu Panciuc — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:45:39 +0000

The goal of this outstanding timelapse was to capture the beautiful Milky Way galaxy along with one amazing mountain – El Teide, which is Spain’s highest mountain at an altitude of 3,715 m. The whole timelapse was filmed between 4th and 11th April 2011 by Norwegian filmmaker Terje Sorgjerd. The film also includes an accidental sandstorm which can be seen at 00:32. This is definitely one of the best timelapses I’ve ever seen and it’s worth resharing over and over again. Enjoy!

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

Are you typical?

Radu Panciuc — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:49:50 +0000

A follow-up for the 7 billion video. This time National Geographic takes us into the commonality of the expanding population. So, are you typical? I am not. At least so far

7 Billion: Are You Typical? — National Geographic Magazine from Jamie Lee Godfrey on Vimeo.

7 Billion

Radu Panciuc — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:54:40 +0000

So, what does 7 billion people actually mean?

7 Billion, National Geographic Magazine from Jamie Lee Godfrey on Vimeo.

Mobile Year in Review – 2010

Radu Panciuc — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 08:30:48 +0000

via Lee Wilkins.

The Google Story: Sergey & Larry

Radu Panciuc — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:45:32 +0000

Bloomberg’s Game Changers is quite an interesting documentary about Google’s founders – Sergey Brin and Larry Page – starting from their first meeting at Stanford till today’s new media mega-company which is on a collision course with the old media businesses like newspapers, books, television and movies. The video is around 50 minutes long but it’s captivating and definitely worth watching. Enjoy!

#YearInReview 2010

Radu Panciuc — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 11:24:12 +0000

Here’s a couple of things from the year that is coming to an end. 2010 had a good taste for me. Let’s hope for a healthy and fruitful 2011. Here we go:

got a Specialized. This means that 2010 was a good year for riding, which reminds me that I miss Bulgaria – best place to mountain bike.
got accepted at Rotterdam School of Management to study Supply Chain Management.
started my little project called Roadar.
made my first promotional video for favit.
went for the first time to Rally Bulgaria (part of the WRC) where I spotted Kimi, Loeb, Solberg, and the others.
quit my job and left Bulgaria.
got the Open Horizons Scholarship which I am very grateful for.
spent 2 weeks with my niece and nephew. Priceless.
left for Netherlands and started studying again

What am I looking for in 2011? So far I am looking for some health, happiness, and strength so that I can work hard and write some important bullet points at the end of it as well. Main objectives are to graduate, get a job, and settle down somewhere (most probably Romania).

What about you?

You know you’re in Romania when…

Radu Panciuc — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 09:33:04 +0000

… you’re watching TV and you see that Romania is one of the most expensive countries in EU, comparing percentages and not actual values (a 20% increase from 100 Euros to 120 is different than a 100% increase from 20 to 40 Euros).

… it snowed heavily a couple of days ago and there is ice on the streets. Drivers are freaking scared, driving tiptoely. Nevertheless, the seatbelt is still shivering and hanging alone in the car while drivers swear at authorities for not cleaning the streets.

… you go to the City Hall to get a new birth certificate which costs 0.5 Euros. Desk No. 1: you get a form and a slip with how much you have to pay. You go to Desk No.2 with the slip and in exchange you receive another slip, a bit more sophisticated. At Desk No. 3 you present the last slip and give the 0.5 Euros. You get a stamp on it and return to Desk No. 1 where you submit the receipt and the form. You go back tomorrow to pick up your certificate. You may call it crisis optimization.

… you hear that the quality of a product can be established by the difference between the acquisition and retail price. According to the TV, all labels in Western Europe display the 2 prices so that customers can see seller’s profit. I haven’t seen such a thing so far but can’t say it doesn’t exist. The quality of a product is therefore given by its acquisition price, not by a certificate. This reminds me of the Food Miles discussion.

… you’re watching TV and see a 2 month old clip you saw on the Internets. Nothing strange so far until you see that the clip is being tailored in such a way that it fits the news.

Airport Tips

Radu Panciuc — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:13:22 +0000

It’s no news anymore that flights have been cancelled or delayed all over Europe in the last days. Unfortunately, I was among those people that had to wait hours for their flight, sleep on the floor, or try to get to a check-in desk just before the plane takes off. But, fortunately, I had no constraints when it came to timing (didn’t have to catch a business meeting or some kind of strict schedule) and I flew alone – really felt sorry for those families with children sleeping on the airport floor, God knows for how long.

Schiphol during Winter

The good part from all this chaos is that I learned a couple of things about airports, which I would like to share with you, might be helpful one day. I will start with a couple of Internet resources I found very useful when planning my trip. I flew from Schiphol/Amsterdam but I had to travel by train to the airport. It seems that in the Netherlands the snow is a big issue. Many trains were delayed the day it snowed and, unfortunately, there are no other good alternatives. Traffic jams make the trip by car less attractive and buses don’t usually run between cities (at least I couldn’t find any). Therefore, before going somewhere by train in the Netherlands it’s a good idea to check the status on their website – ns.nl. You have real-time information about delayed or cancelled trains. You should have in mind that tickets can be bought from ticket machines only with credit cards or Dutch debit cards using the Dutch PIN system. An international debit card wouldn’t get you a train ticket. Other alternatives for buying a train ticket are the ticket office where you can pay in cash (be aware of the working hours) or some of the ticket machines that accept coins.

One website I found very useful in checking flight statuses is flightstats.com which has up-to-date information about all important airports and flights. If you’re flying from Schiphol, you can also check their own website. The good part about this airport is that the train station is exactly underneath. This means you can easily go by train wherever you want in the Netherlands and even head towards Belgium, France, or Germany. The airport has self-check-ins which are very easy to use and you can even drop your luggage by yourself. You should be aware that the newly installed machines for luggage drop-off do not accept backpacks or smaller bags. If you have a regular or even big suitcase, then you can do it by yourself. Otherwise, you have to go to a regular check-in in order to drop off your luggage. Have in mind that when flights are cancelled the check-in desks are used as ticketing offices as well. This means that it will take much more time to get to the desk than normal.

Guy sleeping in Schiphol

After passing the security check you will enter into the Gates Area where you can do some shopping, reprint your boarding pass (similar check-in terminals are present there), charge your phone/laptop and enjoy looking at the airplanes. You should know that Schiphol Airport offers only 1 hour of free wireless. If things are chaotic that day, better to carefully listen if your gate number hasn’t changed or check that using the special terminals I was talking about earlier.

My next stop was Prague’s International Airport – Ruzyne. I didn’t spend much time here, in comparison to Schiphol, but it looked so empty compared to the Dutch airport. It looks like it’s newly built and it has many facilities, including unlimited free wireless. Due to the flight delay I missed my connection so I had to go to the transfer desk. Here’s an important tip when you need to change your flights due to cancellations or delays. Usually there is a long queue in front of the transfer desk at Arrivals and, in order to avoid that, you can go upstairs to the check-in area (Departures) and get your tickets at the Ticket Desk of your operator. Saved me some time and the agents there were quite nice and polite (Czech Airlines). Due to the fact that there was no other plane flying towards Bucharest that day, they had to put me in a hotel. You should know that in such cases you are entitled to accommodation, food, and transportation to/from hotel. Before flying, check the company’s website to see what are your rights and the exact procedure. It’s good to have an informed discussion with the agents, might give you some advantage. More information about Prague’s airport you can find on their website. The airport is not very close to the city but regular bus lines make sure to connect you with the most important parts of the city.

In Vienna I had a short layover between my flights. I can’t tell you much about this airport except that it’s quite crowded and the security check is exactly before the gates – I could see people being scanned while waiting for my flight. It was a thorough check compared to Schiphol and Prague and get ready to get your feet scanned as well. The good thing is that Vienna’s airport has unlimited access to free wireless internet. The gate where I was waiting had only one small store. If you plan to buy some things from the duty-free, you should do that before the security check.

Bucharest’s International Airport Henri Coanda/Otopeni was my final landing. Not much to be told about this airport except that it’s not as sophisticated as the ones in Western Europe and there is no free wireless internet available. You can find a Billa supermarket at the first floor of the International Arrivals.

KLM and AF using Social Media

As a conclusion, before flying somewhere during winter time, try to find some information about the airports and your flights online and plan your trip accordingly. I would advise you get to the check-in early (4-5 hours before the flight doesn’t sound bad when you have to wait in line for 2 hours). Don’t forget to put in your carry-on luggage some warm clothes and something for your personal hygiene. Even if they put you in a hotel the procedure for requesting the checked-in luggage takes some time. Carry more things with you than usual since you don’t know where you’re gonna end up and for how long. Keep your calm and be polite to people – angry discussions are not going to get you anywhere. Try to stay informed and regularly check the status over the internet. KLM and Air France allowed their customers to change their tickets using Social Media. If you have questions you can contact some of the airlines via Twitter and Facebook. You might get a faster reply than just waiting in line for hours.

Timelapse: Aurora Borealis

Radu Panciuc — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:36:45 +0000

Never seen an Aurora. It looks so not on this planet. Would like to stare at that sky one night…

via Andreea Berghea.

Meet Michelle

Radu Panciuc — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:42:01 +0000

Michelle is an old friend of mine from favit. We worked together on my last project there. I am saying this because I just saw that my ex-colleagues are working on something new and I realized that Michelle doesn’t fit there anymore. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the new favit and I am sending Michelle my best regards.

Radu Panciuc

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