Reports From My Nanocosm

My work here is going very well. I’m getting a lot of good things done and meeting quite a few people across the organization.

I got a chance to explore some of Bangalore’s city center Wednesday evening after moving to a hotel close to the office. To do so, I took chance crossing the roads. They were as intimidating as I thought they were. I found intersections with walk signals that mostly work and crossed with other people who looked like they knew what they were doing. The real danger is that cars don’t stop when turning corners. I was able to [window] shop and get some grub (Dosa Masala).

This new hotel is less than 1/4 mile from the office, the third of three mega hotels at the edge of the city center. It reminds me of La Pensione in San Diego (little Italy), but on a gigantic scale. It is a hip, modern style with blue flourescent lighting under the bathroom sink. I’ll need to post a review when I get back.

I’ll probably take a break today (Thursday) to walk around some more, and this time maybe purchase stuff to take back.

Some things I’ve noticed in Bangalore:

• HBO has commercials. Real commercials for real products like Nokia phones and Nestle chocolate
• Cricket is big. They have a gigantic cricket stadium in the city, and cricket player product endorsements are everywhere.
• Three wheeled taxis are a big source of the air pollution. They have 2 stroke engines with killer fumes. The drivers are very pushy when soliciting business.
• There are trees growing in the street. And stumps remain where trees were removed.
• The sidewalks are treacherous. I twisted my ankle walking yesterday. Seems to be fine now though. Half of sidewalks are a mostly covered storm drains and the other half are rarely-even paving stones.
• My body build is average. I don’t tower over people like I do in certain neighborhoods back home, and I don’t feel like a midget like I do in other neighborhoods. There are also very few very fat, obese people.
• Very few people have bad B.O. here. Before I left, I heard a few cracks about India having B.O. problems like parts of Europe. I haven’t had that experience. I’ll chalk that up as a myth or mistaken stereotype.

btw: some pictures can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/geodanny/sets/521621/

When I was a young kid, I loved to tell tall tales and exaggerate about pretty much anything. So you can see my sister’s point of view if she told you that, when we were kids, I made her deathly afraid of outhouses by telling her about a news article describing a man being caught by police wearing a snorkel in an outhouse tank. Yes, nasty. It freaked her out for years. She wouldn’t go near a port-a-john. She thinks I made it up and tells that as an example of me being cruel during our childhood. I’ll give her the cruel part (I’m a year older), but I didn’t make it up. I just didn’t have proof that someone was that nasty… until now. After dealing with abuse for Geo for so long, I can easily believe someone could be this nasty.

Read: Peeping Tom Pulled From Outhouse Tank (AP via Y! news).
“ALBANY, N.H. – A 45-year-old man was arrested after a teenage girl found him staring at her from below an outhouse seat, police said. Police said they pulled Gary Moody, from Gardiner, Maine, from the waste tank under a log cabin outhouse on Monday.“

I may have exaggerated and told tall tales, but I know what I read. And this shows that someone is that f’n crazy. Nasty!    Plus, we were around 8 & 9, so I can’t even tell you if I told her to be cruel or to inform her; maybe it was a little bit of both. 

Don Park has an interesting commentary about Korean bloggers who took photos of a mean/disrespectful girl and then posted them on the web.

According the Don, the photos made the rounds in Korea and resulted in her being identified and personal information and stories about her being published. I don’t read Korean so I can’t cooborate.

Either way, this brings up an interesting series of questions relating to both privacy and government control. Are bloggers like this who report bad behavior the first wave in a self-regulated society? And if so, imagine what would happen if a politician, or someone with political aspirations, is able to control this citizen journalism? Could it be used to control minority thought in a small town or large city? Could a future Nazi Youth Corp be created where good little, loyal [fill-in-the-blank] citizens reported small offenses on the net, to build a better country? Will we be all carrying around cameras in our modern day witch hunt to rid our world of enemies or for spite?

The other question Don brings up is whether or not those bloggers acted responsibly. Am I acting responsibly by linking to it? I’ll defend myself by saying that it is already out there, and it needs to be available for the an effective debate.

The girl was obviously wrong here. I won’t condemn the bloggers though I think it could have been handled better. I assume that the Korean system has police officers stationed through out. Couldn’t the  blogger have summoned those police officers instead? Now, instead of this being a small situation that could have been handled discreetly with a fine, the whole world has this girl’s name and face, and she’ll be living with this for years. In this case, I think the punishment is worse than the actual offense she’s being punished for.

BTW: The last paranoid novel I read was Radio Free Albemuth by Philip K. Dick. Good book. A sci-fi swipe at Tricky Dick and the Red Scare. Were the fear mongerers actually working for the other side?

I’m getting used to Bangalore now and my internal clock is adjusting well so far. It is 12.5 hours difference between San Jose and Bangalore, and I haven’t bothered changing my watch yet; I just add 30 minutes. I made it through yesterday and today so far without being too tired. Jet lag finally hit me about 8:30 yesterday evening (or is that 9:00;), but it was bed time already .  The weather has been mild and comfortable. I’m not sure why but elevators here have a habit of being hot and muggy. The office elevator includes a thermostat reading that says 27 degrees centigrade (= 82 f).

The office has porters who bring coffee and tea around on trays a few times per day. And the tea is unlike any I’ve had before. It is loaded with sugar and milk and would make boba milk tea taste bitter in comparison.

Unfortunately, my hotel is on the other side of the downtown from the office (6km). I can’t walk, even if I wanted to, because the British laid the roads out like a maze and I’d be afraid to cross the streets. So I’ve needed to use a driver which the company has contracted with. It got old last night when I went out for dinner with some coworkers and needed his services. Fortunately, I’m able to change hotels tomorrow to one around the corner from the office, on the same side of the street. I hope it is half as nice as the one I’m at. Seems nice from the outside.

Ok, I can’t stop talking about Bangalore traffic. What can I say, I lived in L.A. The weather has been great so far so that wouldn’t be much fun to give more than a passing comment on.

After a little more than a day, I realize that the traffic mess is actually a form of organized chaos. Nobody appears to follow what I’d consider the rules of the road. Everyone constantly cuts each other off, squeeze between other vehicles, and honk their horns. But it is organized in a dance of sorts, similar to a school of fish. Somewhat admirable. Nobody is in the lead, nobody is behind, but it flows and works as a system. Motor bikes, three-wheeled golf carts, small cars, and big trucks all seem to get around just fine. I’m sure if I lived here, I’d join right in the ballet.

It is interesting so see so many motor bikes. This morning, it seemed they filled half the road into the MG Road area (downtown). I’ve only seen a few people wearing helmets which, considering this traffic, makes it even more interesting. I’ve also seen families riding on their motor bike. In one case, a father, mother, child around six, and small toddler.

The guide books are right, the smell of exhaust is very strong and assaults the senses if you’re not used to it.

Singapore Police gave me a good scare this morning (3am local time). I had been curled up sleeping in a chair while waiting for my connecting flight to Bangalore when a police officer shook me awake during a security check. Behind him stood another officer holding a small, but still menacing, machine gun. I’d exect most people would be startled by a police officer waking them, but even more so when they’re backed up by a machine gun. I’d expect that, even from people used to the sight of police with machine guns roaming their streets and airports (I’m not). The good thing is that the officers were both smiling, spoke in friendly voices, and weren’t pointing guns at me

It took me a minute to register what he was telling me, but eventually I pulled out my passport and ticket. I think he’s used to that reaction since he was patient. Either that, or he didn’t have much other pressing business; the airport was empty, save the few other souls stuck between flights. If I’d thought about it, I would have asked them for a photo to share.

I had been too tired when we landed to explore, but if I had, I’d have found the transit hotel for travelers who need a bed but don’t want to go through customs. Next time I have a seven hour night time layover in Singapore, I’ll be sure to bring my swim trunks for a dip in the roof top pool and then check into the transit hotel. But I think I’ll arrange for a couple days in the Singapore office instead to help me adjust to the time/day shift.

I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel. As startling as it was to be woken up by the police in Singapore, the taxis and traffic of Bangalore seem menacing. 

BTW: I think highly of Singapore Airlines. The service was excellent (in economy) and the food was pretty good. Roast Chicken one meal (not rubbery, fiberboard, synthetic chicken either) and salmon the next.

Sometimes it is funny to think of the different things we do to relieve stress or to just smile a little. This evening, in the mood to do nothing constructive, I played around with some poster board and acrylic paints. Ironic how I was constructive while not being constructive

I made a couple of dino paintings for my nephew’s third birthday party. The theme is dinosaurs and wil feature a bouncy house shaped like a dinosaur and have various other decorations fitting the theme, such as my paintings. Unfortunately, we’ll miss the party because I need to be in the bay area to catch a Saturday flight to Bangalore.

The fun didn’t stop there. With the help of a lovely assistant the dinosaurs attacked. See for yourself: http://www.flickr.com/photos/geodanny/sets/490474/

What a night! 

Update: I didn’t let the fun end there. I started sending this email around after making this post:
“Subject: Breaking News Alert: Dinosaurs spotted in Alhambra!

Breaking News Alert: Dinosaurs were spotted this evening in Alhambra, a small sleepy suburb just East of Los Angeles. We’ve already confirmed it wasn’t Phil Spector, but real dinosaurs.

For more on this story, click here:
http://flickr.com/photos/geodanny/sets/490474/”

I am surprised by how much someone at the DMV gets it. By ‘IT’, I’m referring to the Internet, and the potential efficiencies and productivity increases it brings. Not to mention customer satisfaction.

Yesterday, we got a car registration renewal notice. The notice says we can use the Internet to pay the bill. So I went online, searched for “California DMV” and clicked over to their site. It asked for the license plate and a number printed on the renewal notice. The next screen asked for billing information. The next was a confirmation. That’s it. Painless. No extra costs. No extra headaches or pages to print out and mail in. Done.

It took me less time to renew the registration than to type out this post – under five minutes.

On the flip-side, SBC doesn’t quite get it yet.

We’re moving from L.A. to the bay area. Both locations are within the same state and traditional PacBell (now SBC) territory. We don’t have a complex service package: SBC Yahoo! DSL, generic home phone service (to get the DSL service), and call waiting. I wanted to transfer the service from one location to the other online but it isn’t available. Instead, I spent an hour (yes, one hour) on the phone with various representatives from three different units to transfer our basic services to our new location. You’d think they would have made this available already for users keeping the same services and moving within their traditional service areas within the same state. Nope, they haven’t. Their web site also directed me to the wrong phone number. And representatives from residential service customer service aren’t able to transfer DSL service – that’s another department.

I’ll spare you my rant about SBC requiring land line service to get DSL. I only use them because I get a discount. Unbelievable that the government, specifically the DMV, gets it but the company providing my net access doesn’t.

I’m about to embark on a very exciting but draining two week trip, stepping foot onto 5 countries (ok, two are for flight transfers, and a third is my home country), and circling the globe. I’ll visit Bangalore, India and jolly, old London, England. And I’ll stop for a couple days in New York. I doubt this is much of a feat in our global economy, but it is a highlight for someone with an empty passport. Yes, my passport has been ignored since the day I got it (over five years ago).

The good thing is that I’m not stressed by this trip, traveling to another country, customs, or the unexpected. But what’s got me wound up is that I planned a series of major events simultaneously: moving 400 miles; cleaning our apartment to be rented (anyone looking for a large 3+1.5 apt. in a quiet suburban L.A. neighborhood?); losing wisdom teeth at the oral surgeon’s office; and this trip. I’ve left myself very little time to breathe. I’m also dealing with a D.A. who subpoenaed me to appear in court as a witness next Monday (while I’ll be in Bangalore). He’s been cool about it and now it sounds like the trial that has been postponed numerous times for 2 years will be postponed once again.

btw: In case, you’re wondering, my transfers are in Seoul and Singapore.

No more wisdom teeth, that is.

I had my two remaining wisdom teeth out today, both uppers.

I didn’t realize how fast wisdom tooth extraction could be. I sat down on the chair at 2:12pm and was promptly greeted by a nurse with a sphygmometer and the doctor with a loooooong needle. A few minutes later, with a still numbing mouth, the nurse led me into the operating room next door. I sat down, the doctor asked if I’d felt the earthquake (I hadn’t) and told me he’d poke around to determine if the anesthetic was working, and to let him know if it was painful. Wouldn’t have done any good. My slightly numbed tongue was covered with guaze and I could only could only let out gutteral sounds about feeling some pressure. I felt the tooth coming out – like a rusty nail in a board for many years. Ditto for the other side.

Doctor: “Do you still feel anything? Any pain? Need more anesthetic?”
Me (trying to say): “No. I can’t feel the back of my mouth.”
Doctor: “Good, because we’re done.”

It was 2:24pm when I walked out the door towards the elevator. That’s after getting instructions from the nurse and paying my bill.

Now for the recovery. The pain and swelling hasn’t started yet. It probably will soon.

btw: I was right outside the doctor’s office, on the street, when the earthquake happened. I didn’t feel it at all.

We’re moving this weekend. I’m going back to the mother ship.

Man, you never really know how much stuff you have until you move. We’re relearning valuable lessons such as how to let go and the joys of shredding.

We have a large pile of clothing, books and random stuff that we won’t be taking. A few items have already been spoken for, others will be picked out be friends, and the rest will go to charity.

We’ve been shredding bags and bags of old papers for the past couple months. We’ve filled our recycling container weekly with mostly shredded paper since April. Yes, that much. Pictured above is just the latest.

Moving makes us also question our materialism. Who needs a second large pot, several bookshelves of books, or toys from childhood? Not us, but we have them. Why do I have more clothes than my wife? I think it’s because I can’t turn down a free T-shirt; she says it’s because I don’t throw them away. Brett’s even got me asking myself why I have so many electronic gadgets and gizmos. What use is an old computer, PlayStation 1, or the zip drive I haven’t used since 2001? I’m not sure, but I’m keeping them just in case.

And to think that we probably have less than a lot of other people.

Reminder to self: Lift with your legs, not your back.

This was rotting on my Blast like the rat between the hub and cap of my tire.

Traveling to Chicago? Now you can see what parts to avoid. When will Y!Maps have an API for this type of interaction? Man, this is cool.

I had to laugh out loud when I read these two paragraphs from an article about the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) asking for stadium renovations.

“Letâ??s say we default in two to three years. If youâ??re talking about a new stadium in Wyandotte County, with construction costs, interest. â?Š The Hunts would have put in $50 million for bistate, but theyâ??re not going to put in $150 million for a new stadium, not with Los Angeles out there.

â??If you gave Los Angeles an opportunity, theyâ??re going to give (the Hunts) a blank check. Thatâ??s the scary part.â?

Arrowdead? – Kansas City Star (via Y! Sports)

If I’d had a drink in my mouth, it would be all over my desk. L.A. city can’t and won’t give a blank check to any sports franchise. Why else has pro football been gone from the area for 10 years? Higher priorities include balancing the budget, getting more police officers on the street, fixing potholes and easing congestion. The State can’t help either; it’s billions in the red again.

In actuality, the NFL needs L.A. more than L.A. needs an NFL team. If the NFL returns, they’ll pay for the move, pay for a part of the renovations, and will more fairly split luxury box and parking revenues with the city which hosts them.  The end-of-days certainly won’t be hastened by the lack of an NFL team; the last 10 years is a testament to that fact.