{"id":7712,"date":"2025-09-08T02:36:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T01:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/?p=7712"},"modified":"2025-09-08T02:44:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T01:44:56","slug":"manos-a-la-obra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2025\/09\/08\/manos-a-la-obra\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u00b4s get to work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, this is it, folks: we\u00b4re in September now, and it\u00b4s time to get to work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u00b4s time to <a href=\"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2022\/09\/05\/rutina-que-no-monotonia\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/es_es\/2022\/09\/05\/rutina-que-no-monotonia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">get back to the routine (not monotony)<\/a>, or rather, to create a new routine, as every year is different, even if it only changes a little (and in our case, this year, it\u00b4s changing a lot, let\u00b4s see how it goes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u00b4s also a good moment to turn over a new leaf and start a project. Many take advantage of the back-to-school season and sign up for a gym, or begin to learn something new; advertising agencies are very familiar with this process... (By the way, I stopped watching conventional TV a long time ago, but I remember that back in the day, September used to be packed with ads for weekly or monthly fascicle collectables. Are they still in fashion? Or maybe they became a thing of the past? Would people still buy them?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few days ago, I was listening to ads on the radio, and this comic strip from Mafalda popped into my head:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"676\" height=\"213\" data-attachment-id=\"7710\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/img_20250907_231621\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?fit=4000%2C1260&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"4000,1260\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.75&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;AC2003&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1757286980&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.745&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.033333333333333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20250907_231621\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?fit=676%2C213&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359-1024x323.jpg?resize=676%2C213&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Mafalda comic strip, by Quino - Mafalda watching ads on TV\" class=\"wp-image-7710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?resize=1024%2C323&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?resize=300%2C95&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?resize=768%2C242&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?resize=1536%2C484&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?resize=2048%2C645&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?resize=18%2C6&amp;ssl=1 18w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?resize=676%2C213&amp;ssl=1 676w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?resize=600%2C189&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?w=1352&amp;ssl=1 1352w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u00b4s the translation: there are four frames: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mafalda switches off her TV set (<em>\u00a1click!<\/em>) while saying:<em> \u00a1\"Use\", \"Buy\", \"Drink\", \"Eat\", \"Try\"<\/em>!<em>\u2026 \u00a1EEEEEEEH!\u2026 What do they think we are?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>She sits back down and frowns, thinking: <em>And what are we?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Silently, she switches the TV on again (<em>\u00a1click!<\/em>), and sits back down.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Watching TV again, she thinks: <em>Damn them, they know that we still don\u00b4t know<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What do you think? What I love about Mafalda\u00b4s comic strips, and all of Quino\u00b4s work in general, is that their themes and messages are still very relevant in today\u00b4s world, over forty or fifty years after their publication. Times change, of course, and there are a few details that reveal the passing of time, but generally speaking, they have aged surprisingly well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or maybe it\u00b4s not that surprising, given that deep down, humans don\u00b4t really change that much, and there are so many repeating patterns... In the same way Mafalda and her friends found it difficult to believe their parents grew up without television, our kids now find it hard to imagine how we grew up without the internet or mobile phones, and the next generation will struggle to conceive life without artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What Quino was able to do brilliantly is to capture human nature in a humorous way, with all its <a href=\"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2023\/08\/28\/complicaciones\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/es_es\/2023\/08\/28\/complicaciones\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">paradoxes and contradictions<\/a>. With <a href=\"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2023\/05\/07\/la-importancia-del-contexto\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/es_es\/2023\/05\/07\/la-importancia-del-contexto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reflections that appear to be simple<\/a> but turn out to be really powerful. One day, I\u00b4ll bring you more of his comic strips so that we can reflect on them together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But let\u00b4s get back to today\u00b4s topic: why did I choose this particular strip? <strong>Because if we don\u00b4t know who we are or what we want, we let ourselves be influenced a lot more easily by other people\u00b4s interests.<\/strong> And that, eventually, takes its toll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>If we don\u00b4t set and define our own goals, we end up working for the goals of others.<\/strong> It\u00b4s that simple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Seneca explained it this way: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>There is no favourable wind for the sailor who doesn\u2019t know where to go<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Gary Lew said it this way (I have this one in a fridge magnet):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This is your world. Shape it, or someone else will.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What about you? How would you like to shape your world, starting now in September? What do you want to achieve this school year?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ahora ya s\u00ed que s\u00ed: estamos en septiembre, y toca ponerse manos a la obra. Es hora de volver a la rutina (que no monoton\u00eda), o m\u00e1s bien de crear una rutina nueva, porque cada a\u00f1o es diferente, aunque cambie s\u00f3lo un poco (y en nuestro caso, este a\u00f1o cambia bastante, a ver qu\u00e9 tal &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2025\/09\/08\/manos-a-la-obra\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Let\u00b4s get to work<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3116429,"featured_media":7710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"BinaryWords - Manos a la obra \/ Let\u00b4s get to work","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"\u00bfQu\u00e9 quieres conseguir hoy, esta semana, este mes? \/ What do you want to achieve today, this week, this month?","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4990,5166,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiracion-inspiration","category-quino","category-general","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3DPtR-20o","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9635,"url":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2026\/08\/31\/reto-de-30-dias\/","url_meta":{"origin":7712,"position":0},"title":"30-day challenge","author":"binarybea","date":"31\/08\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00bfQu\u00e9 opinas de los retos de 30 d\u00edas? \u00bfAlguna vez has hecho alguno? Ahora que est\u00e1 a punto de empezar septiembre, es un muy buen momento para plante\u00e1rselo (y me acabo de dar cuenta de que hace dos a\u00f1os escrib\u00ed pr\u00e1cticamente lo mismo, cuando me propuse el reto de 30\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Herramientas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Herramientas","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/category\/herramientas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260830_084440.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260830_084440.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260830_084440.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260830_084440.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260830_084440.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9688,"url":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2026\/09\/14\/ventanas-al-mundo\/","url_meta":{"origin":7712,"position":1},"title":"Windows to the world","author":"binarybea","date":"14\/09\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Esta semana o\u00ed un comentario en la radio que me pareci\u00f3 curioso: dec\u00edan algo as\u00ed como que muchos j\u00f3venes de hoy en d\u00eda consideran que se puede saber m\u00e1s de c\u00f3mo es realmente una persona por los libros que posee que por su perfil en redes sociales. \u00bfT\u00fa qu\u00e9 opinas?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Personal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Personal","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/category\/diario-journal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_20260822_195817-e1789341732906.jpg?fit=1200%2C756&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_20260822_195817-e1789341732906.jpg?fit=1200%2C756&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_20260822_195817-e1789341732906.jpg?fit=1200%2C756&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_20260822_195817-e1789341732906.jpg?fit=1200%2C756&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_20260822_195817-e1789341732906.jpg?fit=1200%2C756&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250907_231621-e1757283863359.jpg?fit=4000%2C1260&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3116429"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7712"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7723,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7712\/revisions\/7723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}