The Dancing Horse

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Code Monkey

As you know, the earth is not a perfect sphere. It's sort of pumpkin shaped. This makes the mathematics for navigation a little more complicated. Especially for large distances. But it effects short distances, too. In a previous career, these distances were important. If you used spherical geometry to calculate the number of feet between two points that were 15 or 20 miles apart, you'd get errors on the order of a few hundred feet. I knew how to correct for this. I was also the proud owner of a Texas Instruments SR-52 programmable calculator. (Again, I'm dating myself.) I decided to write a program for my trusty SR-52 that would take the drudgery out of making the corrections. It took me a while, first creating the equations, then squeezing the code into the 224 steps. My program was accurate to within a dozen feet or so over a 20 mile distance, perfectly acceptable. I just did it for fun. It had been four years since I'd worked as a programmer while I was in college.

I told you that story so I could present the following with a little credibility.

For Pandora Fans

I found this by accident. Really.
But it's pretty nice to have the Pandora player minimized to your tray.

You Can't Stop the Signal

The RIAA is at again. Streaming internet radio is threatened by punitive fees that will virtually shut it down if allowed to happen. There is a petition to stop them. Please check it out here, on Pandora.com's blog, do whatever research you need, and sign the petition.

My Son went to India

Last summer, my son went to Australia to teach the care and feeding of some industrial strength software that his company provides. He was kind enough to let me quote his emails home here.

In January, he went to India. He tought classes in both Bangalore and New Delhi, spending a week at each location. Below is a lengthy post of his experiences and observations about this trip. I have taken excerpts of about 15 pages of his report and pieced them back together again, but be warned, this is not a completely glowing travelogue.

I've seen starships off the belt of Orion. ... whoops, sorry.

Dogs, cows, monkeys. I've seen them. Bangalore started rounding up stray dogs the week that I arrived, because a young girl died from a dog attack (rabies). There were more attacks while I was there. I didn't see any cows blocking traffic. Speaking of which, I remember a video of crazy city traffic that was posted somewhere in the web.

It's &%*&^$% TAME!!!

Imagine:

NASCAR (not necessarily that fast) on a four lane highway (sometimes divided, sometimes not) with cars, trucks, buses, tractors pulling huge over-filled wagons, camels pulling pulling huge over-filled wagons, cyclists (2 & 3 wheels), pedestrians, cross-traffic, motorcycle rickshaws (capacity = driver plus two) filled with 12-15 people. People crossing the highway (day and night), tractors or cars going against traffic in your lane (left-hand roads). The horn is used during the daytime, dimming your high-beams at night (and still using the car horn) to signify that you are passing on the right. Larger vehicles have the right of way. It's like playing chicken without stopping until you arrive at your destination.

Accidents:

Not really.

1 - I saw a truck and a car that were nose-down in ditches. These were next to each other, so the may have happened at the same time. Probably one was turning against traffic. These had happened before I arrived.

2 - I was walking on M. G. Road (Mahatma Ghandi Road) when I heard a plasticky wallop from behind my left shoulder. I turned and saw a moped and two bodies on the road. A crowd gathered and helped the people. Both could walk, though the lady was motionless on the street for a few minutes. My guess is that the petite lady tried to cross through traffic and was hit by the guy. Maybe she was driving the moped, but more guys than women drive.

Squalor:

I've seen tent villages next to construction sites, and a guy washing his face with water from a puddle.

Part of it made me really sick. I saw baby monkeys, puppies, calves, and human infants. They are all part of this world of dirt and trash,

Imagine a fast food restaurant's dumpster up-ended.

Cows standing in a pile of trash, nibbling. Dogs sniffing for food. The night gets cold, so people will gather what they can and burn it for warmth. Sometimes wood. My nose sniffed burning plastic; trash.

More Miscellaneous Thoughts:

My current hotel is like a theme park. Four restaurants; one bar; one dance club; one banquet hall; one game hall with bowling, billiards, skeeball, air rifles, and video games; one electric bull surrounded by an inflatable landing pad; gokarts with a racing track; and a cricket batting cage. And two roaches in my bathroom.

Perspectives using Texas as a unit of measurement

Texas

268,581 square miles

23,500,000 people

87.5 people per square mile

India Where Texas is 1.0 (ed.)

Area=4.5

People=46.8

P/M²=10.5

India is crowded. There are probably smaller countries with higher ratios of people per square mile.

Three meals per day for five days is my limit for Indian food.

Money doesn't grow on trees. It grows on foreigners, especially Americans.

A couple of students talked about U.S. politics. One asked my opinion about the war in Iraq. The other suggested that U.S. military spending be used to help the poor in the U.S. I pointed out that we have the following:

- Minimum wage

- Free medical emergency care for those who cannot afford it

- Free public schools, including lunch, for those who cannot afford it

- Programs like the Texas Workforce Commission

- Scholarships and grants for college students who are poor

- Taxes are paid to people/families if they earn too little

We're a great country and ranked number 4 for Economic Freedom (today's India Times). Hong Kong is #1. UK, New Zealand, Canada, and others are in the top ten with us.

Karma

Indians believe in Karma (sanskrit for "Action"), usually interpreted as Fate. If they are sick, then it is the result of their Karma to be sick, so they just accept it. I think it's the result of my Karma to have issues with the taxi ride back to the hotel.

What do I like about India?

I have photos of Taj Mahal. I met an honest taxi driver. (I'll explain after I return.)

The people here are very industrious and friendly. Some work every day for 10+ hours.

Fashion - the ornate designs on women's dresses/saris/shawls are amazing.

Industry - people work. No work equals no money. There are no government hand outs from what I can tell. People protect there jobs in an almost union-like way. If a person's job is to open the door and he stepped away, then he may run to the door so he can open it for you. I had three people direct me to the restroom (no guess-work or getting lost), and two opened doors for me. If an Indian has a job, then other Indians respect his/her right to perform that job.

History & Culture - President (?) Nehru wrote a history of India starting 7000 years ago. India is a mix of influences form Hindis and Muslims. The Taj Mahal shows the variety arts and styles. India produced many discoveries that we enjoy. Buddha was born in India, so that's especially important to me.

Welcoming - Indians accept everybody. There were some controversies earlier in history when the rulers were Muslim and the masses were Hindi. That is resolved now with the democracy. The division of India/Pakistan (1947/1957 ???) was supposed to separate Hindis and Muslims. India is 80% Hindi and still has more Muslims than Pakistan. It still seems that the Hindis tolerate the Muslims who are here. Maybe not.

I've met some nice people. One taxi driver, one guide at the Taj, the students in my classes, and the people who support the classes. Sales people in shops can be nice, too, especially if you are buying something.

Toothbrushes accidentally rinsed under tap water and immediately thrown into the trash can: Monday morning, Tuesday morning, and Thursday night

There are a couple of guys who provide refreshments for the classroom. I wanted a "coffee with milk" yesterday, and the guy remembered today. Kind of cool. So he grabbed a coffee mug for me instead of a paper cup (like yesterday). He held it with both hands, one on the bottom, and one on the top. Then he rotated it. I'm not sure if this was an absent-minded motion, or if he was cleaning the rim with the palm of his hand. Then he made the coffee (it's a pretty cool coffee/tea/chocolate machine in the office) and I accepted it. I returned to the classroom and cleaned the handle and rim with Purell hand sanitizer.

The Chinese restaurant at the hotel (one of four restaurants) has really good Chinese food. It's not Indianized; it's what I would expect from an American Chinese restaurant. My stomach still hurts, and dinner has been my main meal this week. Breakfast and lunch are just enough to keep me going without causing more pain. I'm glad I'm on antibiotics.

Okay, it's 10pm-ish. I'm heading to bed. Good morning, ya'll.

_________________

Oh, Dear God, I'm in a spot of trouble. ...but it's the good kind.

I started the day with a startle, and finished it with a stun.

I slipped on my trousers and undershirt so I could open the door and grab the newspaper. Something scurried across the paper and I jumped. I followed it to the left, and saw a rat run into an open panel. I looked up, and an Indian hotel person giggled. I'm sure he thought the rat was good luck or something.

The students applauded me at the end of class. The argumentative student said I was the best instructor ever. He was from the group who walked out of the class on the first day with the previous instructor. Two other students (session two with the previous instructor) gave me gifts. I now have an Indian hookah and a lantern. We took group photos. I read the reviews, and almost all were glowing.

Maybe the rat was good luck, after all.

The Trouble:

How do I get a hookah and a lantern back to Dallas? It's not an issue with them being illegal or anything. The problem is that each is maybe the size of a Nerf football. Each one has a glass shell joined to silver-coated metal. British Airways only permits one (as in one-and-only-one) carry-on bag for the flight. I'm checking two bags and carrying the laptop. My two large bags are full. I could fit them into the garment bag, but it's a garment bag that will go through three airplanes to arrive in Dallas. I don't think so.

I don't know if I'm dreading my return flight because of non-stopness that begins at 3am, or if I'm looking forward to it so I can get home as quickly as possible.

It's two BA flights and one AA; I'll be relieved as soon as I fasten my seat belt

I'm on vacation after I return. All I need to focus on is documentation, which is low stress. I'll hide in a library to do the work.

Group hugs and hot chocolate!!! (Something I need to help me recuperate once I return.)

I found the correct quotation from Bladerunner:

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die. - Batty

The week ended well, mainly from the glowing student feedback and gifts. The students said that Jaipur, Srinagar, Kerala, and Kashmir are beautiful. They also recommended Goa (beach resort town), and Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras) kind of get my attention. Would I come back to India? I might. Would I look forward to the trip? Maybe. If I could do a two-week tour of the above mentioned cities, then maybe yes. If I have to stay in the same hotel in Bangalore for work, then maybe no. If I have stay in the same hotel in Delhi for work, then maybe.

HOME, HOME, HOME-ITY, HOME!!!!!!!!!!

Afterthoughts on History and Culture:

When Indian women wear western clothes (jeans & shirts), then they look like other Latin women. I think the Indian saris/sarees are pretty, and Indian women look pretty when they wear them.

Delhi will host the 2010 Commonwealth Games. They are doing construction - adding new things (like a bridge) and improving the airport. The poor will have jobs. They need more.

Sikhs. I flew on Jet Airways from Bangalore to Delhi. I read the restrictions list posted by the security screening area. No liquids, walking sticks, pool sticks, cricket bats, knives, et cetera. Sikhs have one exemption from the list - their sword.

The Sikh Kirpan (the Sikhs have five symbols, all starting with the letter K) is a ceremonial sword. It is worn purely as a religious symbol (representing dignity and the historic struggle against injustice), not as weapon!

Even though the Sikhs have the one exemption from the security list, it is a diminutive version of this sword that is permitted. IIRC, the dimensions are 3" and 6", though I don't remember which is for the handle and which is for the blade.

The other four Sikh symbols:

Kesh - long, unshorn hair (spirituality). Turbans are mandatory for males, optional for females.

Kangha - a comb (hygeine and discipline).

Kara - steel bracelet (strength, continuity, restraint).

Kachha - underpants (self-control and chastity).

Sikhs make up 2% of the Indian population. Male Sikhs are given the title of Singh (lion), and females are given the title of Kaur (princess). I had a Singh in class, and a Kaur was an airline stewardess.

Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966. She was assassinated in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards. Indira was the daughter of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (India's first PM, and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi). IG was followed by her son as the PM. He was assassinated, too.

I spoke with my parents tonight. I almost finished the conversation with "it was a good trip." Not yet. My dad went to India, and he experienced similar things. We agreed that the poverty and begging are everywhere, and he was on a "free" trip where he was brought to a shop at the end and was expected to buy something. He said it will take a couple of months before I'll be ready to think of traveling anywhere. I'm going to East Texas for the weekend for extra recuperation.

Education:

America has public schools, and we are one of the greatest nations in the world. (Depending on which measurement(s) you prefer, then America is the greatest nation in the world.)

India has no (zero) public schools. The country would go broke if they tried to fund public schools. Even if they did public schools for something equivalent to K-4, the country couldn't afford it. There is the expense for the masses of students, which is only compounded by the corruption that would sap any educational funds.

Yes, America has corruption, but it's not as prevalent as what I experienced in India. Some of the India corruption is subtle - "free-taxi-ride-that-ends-at-a-shop." Other is blatant, and all of it is everywhere.

I'll fight/scream/yell to protect our public schools. Yes, they are not perfect, but (I heard) there are more good schools than bad. And I believe they are vital to American prosperity. Arguments for privatizing our public schools are a step in the wrong direction. If education in America becomes "what you can afford" then there would be a noticeable increase in uneducated poor. I don't want that. I believe everyone can prosper, and they should in America.

I'm a very proud father. My son is now in Iceland! Can't wait for that report!

Images From China

More images from this site.

Subway Maps of the World

This was on Digg.com, but there is much more information on the full up web site. Go to Travel Tools.

Mary Chapin Carpenter and my Great Grandmother

I listened to "Family Hands" this morning. It always reminds me of my Great Grandmother. Although, not in the same sense that the song reflects. Born Mary Emma Glenn, (it's how I'm distantly related to John Glenn) She was my mother's father's mother. She was not what you might picture. She lived her life in Central Texas, about 100 miles west of Fort Worth. Rough, arid, cattle country, hers was not an easy life, and it showed on her face, thin and hard. Nor was she indulgent to us youngsters. She loved us, no doubt, her lemon meringue pie alone proved that, but she didn't have patience for foolishness. One telling thing about her was that she cautioned us not to disturb or hurt the black King snakes that we might find around the house. They were sacred. They kept the rattlesnakes away.

We loved going there for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The food was amazing and there was "The Mountain" to explore. The mountain probably didn't qualify technically, but it was the tallest thing I'd ever seen until I was a teenager. Covered in several varieties of cactus and mesquite trees, it was not easily negotiated. Did I mention rattlesnakes? OK, so I never actually saw one, but they were there. We usually visited in the cooler months, so they weren't very active. There was a small hill about a third the way up, we called the "Knob". From it you could see the house, the town of Gordon to the east, and the terrain to the north. You had to be older to get permission to climb to the top of the big mountain. I remember my first time to do it. Two cousins and I scrambled through all the brush to get there. (We never came down without a session of plucking out the fine hairlike needles of prickly pear cactus, found at the base of the large needles and on the "fruit" itself.) When we got to the top, one of our much older relatives was already there. "How did you get up here so fast? we asked. "I followed the cow path." DOH!

I was nine when my great-grandmother died. I didn't really know her. I wish that I'd had the wisdom to talk to her more and that she'd had the patience to tell us her stories.

Travel and Health

 

We arrived in China on Wednesday and on Sunday my colleague and I were both sick. We had done a lot of things right: Used bottled water for brushing teeth as well as drinking, avoided eating food from suspect sources, but we still got sick. AJ, my partner, had stomach problems, and I had "flu like symptoms", basically achey joints and a dry cough.

What we could have done better is carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer in our pants pockets when we were out and about. Public lavatories are not frequent and don't have the amenities were used to.

And we didn't pack prescription drugs with us before we left. You can go to your family doctor, explain what your about to embark upon and (s)he will write prescriptions for the most likely problems.

The dumb thing I did is that I have a company issued travel kit that contains:

Gentamicin Sulfate eye drops for eye infections.

Diphenhydramine, Benadryl, which you don't need a prescription for, and by the way the cheapest way to get this is in Tylenol-PM.

Loperamide, which is a little safer than Lomotil.

And finally, the big gun, Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim. This is a powerful antibiotic which I would only use in an emergency.

I had this kit in a convenient zippered pouch and left it in my desk!!

Fortunately, we were still able to work, and were only knocked out of exploring the area for two days.

I had made a promise to AJ that my plan was to go in healthy, come out healthy, and don't let 'em kill us. Technically, I kept my promise, we just got sick in the middle.

Xiamen and Gulangyu Photos

These are, more or less, a random collection of pictures I took during my visit to Xiamen, China and it's satellite island, Gulangyu.

Near my hotel was a boulevard that had been blocked off as a pedestrian only shopping area. My last day in country, my last couple of hours, in fact, I frantically walked through this area taking pictures of the shops and people. Some, I asked if I could take their picture, and everyone was happy to pose. Since I stood out, and had gotten used to being stared at, it wasn't difficult to get their attention with my camera. These two girls were enjoying a break.


This young lady was walking past me and let me take her picture.






This delightful woman came up to me and wanted her picture taken. I was tickled to oblige. After I'd snapped the picture, she said , "Xie, Xie." "Thank you" I said, "Xie, Xie" as she hurried away, waving, very pleased with herself. I heard this recently, "Growing old is a privilege, not a curse." She embodied that sentiment.







I frequently noticed people snacking on corn on the cob, which they buy from street vendors. When I eat corn on the cob, I'm never as elegant as this young lady.










Earlier in the week, we walked to the ferry docks to cross the channel to Gulangyu. They've created beautiful parks on both sides of the channel. This is on the Xiamen side.





Another of the Xiamen side.









The park on the Gulangyu side has almost a theme park feel to it.






I was told of two other parks within a short distance from our hotel, but didn't have the time to find and explore them. This is another view of the Gulangyu park, just on the west shore of the channel.

The previous two pictures are from a little trip to the island of Gulangyu.

It was a European, mostly British, enclave, with remarkable architecture. Some of it is in decay, but much is preserved as tourist attractions. Many guided tours passed us during our visit.

To us target-oriented-shopper types it means one thing: Pearl World and Nena.

We found the shop and introduced ourselves. The name of my employer worked powerful magic. They immediately fetched Nena, a young girl of about 25 who spoke very good English, which, I came to realize was taught mostly by people from my company. She opened a business card binder with page after page of our cards in it. I, foolishly, didn't bring one. No matter, my partner had one, and he had "The List". Pearl World is famous among my coworkers.

We spent two hours there filling orders from the people at home, selecting the pearls, deciding the length, and watching the girls string them.

I asked for a jade bracelet and got to hand pick the beads and helped arrange them into something I thought C would like. Fun!

It's 4:00 AM here, Saturday morning. We're going back!

On Gulangyu

This is a picture of a cute little girl. Her lovely, fashionable mother just happened to be in the frame. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Junk Boat

Junk Boats are motorized now.

Narita to Xiamen

The Tokyo, Narita Airport reminds me of Heathrow. The layout is almost identical. If you've been to one, you'll feel comfortable in the other.The Japanese live in a compact environment The hotel rooms are small but nicely appointed. The public restrooms are just too small for me. Even the men's room in the JAL Executive Lounge was confining. (Speaking of crowded, the culture allows line jumping. This morning, several times, people crowded ahead of me. Odd, in such a seemingly orderly society.)(Update: They might not have been Japanese.)

I'm sure that the tap water in the hotel is safe to drink. Japan is fastideous about cleanliness and health in general. I did use it once to brush my teeth, but I felt better using bottled water.

It was windy when we landed yesterday, but this morning was calm and sunny, a beautiful day to sight-see the south east coast-line of Japan. The pictures here are of the bay near Nagoya and the bridge near Kobe.

The flight to Xiamen is on a JAL 67, a wonderful plane, my favorite.

Narita

The first leg of our journey was to Narita. A 10 hour flight on United. My partner had a bad reaction to the salmon, but was better by the end of the flight. We spent the night at the Airport Hilton, and will leave in a few hours for Xiamen on JAL. The Hilton is our preferred place to stay, the ANA Hilton is smaller and not as clean. I'll get some pictures later and add them to this post.

It's easy to forget how much bigger the Pacific ocean is than the Atlantic. From Seattle to London is a 9 to 10 hour flight, half of that is over North America. Seattle to Tokyo is over a 10 hour flight.

I didn't bring the USB cable for the camera, so I'll try to buy one somewhere.

Update: Got a cable. Here are a couple of pictures of the Narita Hilton.

Travelog: Xiamen, China

Xiamen is located in the Fujian Province of China. Fujian is about 500 miles North of Hong Kong, and looks out to sea at the island of Taiwan, approximately 150 miles due East.

I will be traveling there on business in a few days and hope to provide a few insights on the trip and my experiences.

Xiamen is nestled on the mainland side of the Amoy Island.

Monica Schroeder

Thanks to John Scalzi, I've found some new music to help pass the time on my commute.
This is one of my favorite tracks also, generously made available on her web site.

Old Town, San Diego

I cropped and straightened it.

A Photo Blog

Nice Essay on Mary Chapin Carpenter

This site summarizes her career.

With several downloadable songs.

This site, by the way, is an excellent source for music information. Click the circle!

Humorous (and wrong) Quotes

My favorite:

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." --Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

I've cornered the market!!!

Talk Like a Pirate Day!!!

Pirate?! I spent the whole day talking like a Parrot!!! Dang!

Hypoxia

This post by Instapundit has reminded me that Fighter Pilots and Scuba Divers have something in common: they're both fanatic about their air supply. The disclaimer on the Re-breathing apparatus is enough for me.



There are some differences in what happens when oxygen is scarce, but the outcome is disaster for both.

From my first introduction to military flying, I was indoctrinated in the use of supplimental oxygen. We had to attend "Altitude Chamber" training before we were ever allowed in a plane that could exceed 10,000ft altitude.(the T-37)

This training consisted of two days of classroom activity followed by the "chamber ride" itself. Since then, I got "refresher" rides every three years, for twenty years. This has resulted in an obsessive-compulsive attitude about having enough air to breath.

(When my daughter was born, there was a moment before the docter arrived, when the babies heart beat dropped alarmingly, the umbilicle cord was around her neck. The head nurse instructed her assistant to give the mother oxygen. When the assistant asked her how much oxygen, I blurted out, "A hundred percent!")

The fact is there are no fighter pilots that smoke. It interferes with the hemoglobin. I still have to deal with potential hypoxia in my job today.

Anyone interested in the effects of oxygen deprivation can get an idea of how non-responsive a hypoxic person can be , watch the plight of Jill in this very controlled environment.

Quote of the Day

Since this life here and now is all we can know, our most reasonable option is to live it fully.

– Paul Kurtz

Of Passing Interest

Inside the Factory Door

Two Eugolies

In the early sixties, C and I started going steady. It's what you did in high school. Yes, we're high school sweethearts. When I first met her family, her mother was working as a clerk in the local, very small, grocery store in our very small town in East Texas. Not long after we were dating, her mother got a job in the town's only bank. By the time she retired, she had become the President and CEO of the bank, loved by the bank's customers and the town's residents that new her. In fact, she and my own parents were close friends. Heart trouble caused her to have bypass surgery in her later years, and that led her to give up smoking. We think giving up smoking added about eight years to her life. She died around Christmas in 1991 of cancer. The smoking finally took it's toll.

I would have said she was a unique person except that we came to know someone who was cut from the same cloth. Ann Richards was so like my mother-in-law that her death was an additional blow to C. She symbolized her mother. C's mother supported Ann's campaign for governor. One of her cherished memento's is a photo of her mother and a beloved cousin, taken at Ann Richards Inaugural Ball after her campaign for governor. I had occasion to meet Governor Richards professionally and arraigned to let C meet her long enough to get the photo autographed.

It was Ann that said George W. Bush was "born with a silver foot in his mouth."
Smoking finally took it's toll with Ann, too.

Thank you, both, for what you did for your communities.

Living Flat Out

For brief moments in my life, I've transcended my common sense and done something that could have ended disastrously, not just for me, but for my comrades as well. It was like a switch was thrown, and I didn't care if I bent my plane or not. I was not going to let the situation get the best of me. Looking back, it was when I did my best flying. It was when I learned something new about myself, something I didn't even know was in me. I'm not proud that I risked other lives, but I'm not ashamed either. We all knew the risks and accepted them. My only defense is, it didn't happen often. Maybe it didn't happen often enough. I've known pilots that were able to get that impulse under control and manage it. They were much better pilots than me, geniuses really.

Steve Irwin reminds me of some of them. I would watch Steve on TV and think, "Man, you need to get a grip, or you'll kill yourself." The deck was stacked against him, and he stacked it himself! I could only watch him in small doses. But I understood. He was in that moment always. Like an addict, he couldn't step out of it. We seek that kind of passion, but something holds us back; fear, common sense, inertia. At least he showed us that there is another choice. My condolences to his family, Australia, and the fans that loved him all over the world, but I don't feel, like many, that he threw his life away.

Here's to you, Steve.

Test Your Reaction Time

My best time was about 0.22 sec, but I'm old.