The wheel appeared around 3000 B.C. in Middle East, it spread largely in Eurasia. The same invention was elaborated in Mexico but never reached the Andes.

The trajectory east-west seamed faster then the south-north for the diffusion of agriculture, domestic animals and technologies.

[Jared Diamond "Guns, germs and steel. The fates of human societies"

The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann

Initiation story. Always heard this book should be read twice. Starting the 2nd time now.

What I remember: the main character is an engineer, coming from a traditional family in Hamburg; after completing his studies, he goes to a sanatorium in the Swiss mountains for some time; the physical climbing of the mountain turns out to be also a spiritual elevation and led him to moral, spiritual and sensual experiences he would never have dreamed of in the lowland.

Where do I stand? Where is my magic mountain?

there are mountains and mountains

"After seven years of foreign policy madness and of empire
building on a mountain of debt, and of public indulging and private gouging,
the financial crisis and credit crunch, the plummeting dollar, the high
price for oil will all contribute to the 2008 economic slowdown, which
is likely to turn into a recession, during the first half of the year,
if it is not already into one since last December. The downturn in the
world stock markets during this month is another clear indication that
something is wrong, not only with the U.S. economy, but also with the
world economy."

(Rodrigue Tremblay is professor emeritus of economics at the
University of Montreal and can be reached at rodrigue.tremblay@yahoo.com)

disguised, foxy, masked, underhand, shadowy, unrevealed, unseen, tricky, obscure, mysterious, cautious, hanky-panky, top-secret, restricted, left-handed, camouflaged, under-the-table.

covert, furtive, hush-hush, secret, secretive, undercover.

adj. Feito às escondidas: reunião clandestina. / Que vai contra as leis ou a moral. / — S.m. Indíviduo que entra às escondidas num navio, avião, etc, para viajar sem passagem.