chalo bolo - deep dhillon

Anybody Work for Crocks?

2011-08-06T10:15:00.001-07:00

A Typical Day in Preixan

2010-08-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

Wake up in a cozy log cabin at Sidsmums, meander into the kitchen, brew some coffee, eat some breakfast, remember what time it is, and most importantly, give George, our fearless protector, a scratch on the way out.

Realize we are late for the bus. Very late. Then run, run, run.

Past the beautiful house with the colored pots.

To the bus stop. Then wait. Wait. And wait some more.

Later, find something spectacular to look at, like a 13th century castle.

Then, while meandering through narrow ancient alleyways, notice something, anything, perhaps even a bottle of olive oil resting on a shelf, and remember... that lunch is required.

Stroll to the nearest market and get distracted by color. Lots of color.

Then pick up a baguette, some brie, some olives, and even, some anchovies... and walk. And walk. Until a place appears.

Like along the river. Cool down. Swim. Lie. Read. Chat.

Then, finally, as the sun sets, stroll back to Sidsmums, and share stories of the day with fellow travelers.

You Get Me Stamp Fical

2010-08-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

I was lounging on a bench at Luxemburg Park here in sunny Paris watching the kids play. A rather twitchy South Asian looking fellow walks toward me and the following conversation ensues:

Twitchie fellow (TF): "I just got out of jail man, I just got out of jail."
Me: "Really. That must have been terrible."
TF: "No, no. Definitely it was not terrible. Most definitely not. It was very nice. Very very nice. These policemen of France are very pleasant people."
Me: "Uh, wow. I'm glad you enjoyed prison."
TF: "You know I just come from Sri Lanka. Look, look at me, just look!"

I look over and see his arms covered in what look like deep knife slash wounds.

Me: "What happened to your arms?"
TF: "I was the prisoner. The Sri Lankans... You know Sri Lanka, you know them? I was in prison for two years, two years, can you believe it, two years..."
Me: "Are you a Tamil?"
TF: "Yes."
Me: "Is it bad over there? Is the war really over?"
TF: "Yes, yes. Very bad. It is very very bad. Look at me, I was in prison for two years. Look what they did to me. Are you Sikh? You look Sikh? Do you speak the Sikh language?"
Me: "Yes. I speak Punjabi."
TF: "You know Sikhs, you Sikhs, you are very good peoples, you are very very good peoples. You'll help me. I know today is my lucky day. This is my most lucky day, my most lucky day. I have met you. You are very good person. You know I have been sleeping in this park for 5 days. 5 days, can you believe it? It is a nice park, I like France, they are nice people. These France police were very nice people. I need stamp fical. You know stamp fical, you know?"
Me: "No. I don't know what a stamp fical is. What is it?"
TF: "I came on a boat, you know I came on a boat just 10 days back. I came very long journey, very long, very very long. So much ocean. So much water. So much."
Me: "How did you get out of prison, did you escape?"

TF nervously looks over his shoulder, then he looks up at the sweeping tree canopy hovering over us, then back over his shoulder, than at me.

TF: "Yes I escaped. I escaped. I ran away. I found the boat. Today you have helped me so much. I am so happy today. Today is the very best day. My best day. You have made me very happy today. Very very happy. Come, lets go."
Me: "Where?"
TF: "You come with me, we get stamp fical. Come lets go, you'll help me. Lets hurry. Come."
Me: "But I don't understand. What is a stamp fical?"
TF: "Yes yes. I know what is stamp fical. I know what it is. Today is the best day. You are very good man."
Me: "I'm afraid I can't help you if you don't tell me what stamp fical is."
TF: "You are very good good man. I know what is stamp fical. We go now."

After going around in circles for some time on the stamp fical issue, I stand up and slowly start walking away.

Me: "Its been a pleasure meeting you. I have to go now. Good luck getting your stamp fical."

TF looks defeated, and walks away slowly, as I call out to my kids.

Addendum: So for those of you wondering what a stamp fical is, I don't really know, but I have a theory. After writing this post, I started searching around. I think TF perhaps meant to stay "stamp fiscal" or "fiscal stamp" which might refer to a fee for an EU asylum application.

La Recoleta Cemetary in Buenos Aires

2010-07-21T03:52:00.000-07:00

I started making this video back in February when we were in Buenos Aires. I had basically given up on making videos for the web because its difficult to secure license rights for a decent soundtrack. But then, thanks to my friend Amanda, I found out about Moby's very cool policy of making some of his music available for budding filmmakers on mobygratis.com. I'm not really a budding filmmaker, more just a guy with a cheap video camera that wants to share stuff with the world who really really really requires a sharp soundtrack. In any event, I got approval from Moby to use his great song titled Papa in this short. All footage was shot in La Recoleta Cemetaria which is an amazing place chock full of glycerine embalmed Argentines and funky tombs galore. Needless to say: great imagery to sketch and paint from -- you might recognize some of our hands and work flashing by. So, crank up your headphones, expand to view on a full screen, and enjoy.

Holy Bat Trees Batman

2010-07-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

One of our regular past times here in Chandigarh is to sit on our veranda at night and watch bats fly over our house. There is a steady, graceful procession of very large bats ( each about the size of a healthy ground squirrel ) every night from around 8PM until 9PM. They always fly from the west over our coti to the east, with one bat departing every minute or so. So for the past few months we've wondered where they are coming from, where they are going, and why they always fly east, and when, if ever, they fly back. While all of our questions remain questions, we recently stopped by Pinjore Gardens on our way home, and found an even more odd piece of information. I always assumed bats lived in caves and other dark places. Take a look at the photo below though. There were far too many to count -- relaxing, hanging from nearly every branch in a large, very exposed tree. These, at least to my untrained eyes, look just like the bats flying over our house. Any bat-ologists out there that can shed some light?

Another Hair Raising Trip to Himachal

2010-07-16T02:52:00.000-07:00

Make Your Business Different

2010-07-15T01:31:00.000-07:00

As I travel, I rarely find a small business which is market differentiated. Wherever I find one restaurant that offers: Indian, Chinese, Israeli, Tibetan, and German food, I'll find another ten or fifty with a sign out front, virtually identical to the last, that also offers Indian, Chinese, Tibetan and German food. On occasion, I do find folks in the middle of nowhere who do offer a differentiated service.

This Sardarji below sharpens knives using this rather clever eco-friendly home rigged device. He didn't seem to have much trouble finding business in Dharamsala.

This fine gentleman served us an amazing wood fired pizza in the remote nether reaches of South Africa. While wood fired pizza is hardly novel in traveler locales, in this particular town, it was the only offering. Also, he had a unique pay-what-you-want approach to the wine, and exceptional ambience using recycled cans cut into floral patterns for lamps.

The owner of a brewpub in eclectic Nieu Bethesda, South Africa, clearly differentiated his business. He was, to my knowledge, the only brewpub for hours and hours in any direction. I asked him how business was, and he said, "Great. Obviously we don't move hours out on a lonely dirt road to get rich, but we get by. People know about the brewpub, they get tired of wine tasting." We were in another town, over 5 hours away, in "the other" brewpub, which coincidentally, the owner of the brewpub below helped establish, when the owner told me how he was called "totally crazy" for opening a brew pub in what was obviously wine country.

This particular business might suffer from other problems, nonetheless, it is differentiated. I have to say, I've never before seen someone haul magic expansion moss out of the woods and plop it into pretty bottles before.

A Trip to the Bazaar

2010-07-03T03:28:00.000-07:00

First weave your way through winding narrow alleyways toward the nearest entrance.

Then chat with the official Nike spokesman to find the best place to purchase goods.

Next, visit this fortune telling robot to discover whether your trip will be a successful shopping venture.

Don't forget to select just the right spices for your tea.

Wave to the parking attendant on your way out.

And finally, hop on the bus and enjoy your ride home.

Anatomy of a Bribe

2010-06-30T02:54:00.001-07:00

So last night we were with a friend driving to an Italian restaurant for dinner. She makes an illegal U-turn, and we get pulled over by the cops. Our friend says, "oh great, here we go. Watch and learn."

Cop: "License."
Friend: "Sorry Sahib. I wasn't paying attention."
Cop: "License."
Friend: "There were so many cars, Sahib, I got confused for a moment. It won't happen again."
Cop: "License."
Friend: "My brother, please let me go. I wont make the mistake again."
Cop: "Madam, please come outside and bring your license."
Friend: "Sahib, I don't have much time, can't we just be done now. Lets just finish the bill now."
Cop: "Madam, please come."

Our friend steps out of the car, walks over to a shack filled with cops. In this city, the cops set up a special booth on the side of a given roundabout. A cop stands outside and points at drivers, indicating they need to pull over. The "processing center" is where a few other cops formalize the tickets, or gather whiskey money, depending on the time of month.

Friend returns to the car a few minutes later. "Okay, just waiting for my change. All I had was a 500 note."

Cop taps on my window. I roll down the window.

Cop: "Sir, please remember to have your seat belt fastened at all times."
Me: "But I do have my seat belt on."

Cop, annoyed at my ignorance, with closed fist, reaches into the car and plops some notes onto the seat, then says, "yes, please remember safety at all times." He walks off.

We drive away. My friend starts laughing, "my change please. Gosh I wish I would have had a 100 note, would have saved me 100 rupees. I had to bargain down to 200 for a couple minutes. Its tough, you know, they see this huge car, and the rate quadruples."

I ask, "so what are the rates?"

Friend: "10 for a bike, 20 for a rickshaw, 50 for a scooter, 100 for a nice motorcycle or tiny car, 200 for a big car."

I say, "And what if you actually paid the ticket?"

Friend: "300. But I have to go across town to pay the ticket. Would have taken me an hour."

Me: "And why all the sneakiness?"

Friend: "Well they are really careful since a lot of journalists set up anti-corruption sting operations, with mobile phone videos and the like. Technically, with this entire transaction, we have no idea if we paid a bribe, or a reduced ticket on the spot. And also, whenever they are fund raising for the police department, there is nothing you can do, you have to pay the ticket. That's when their superior officers are present and watching."

Me: "And by your guess, what percentage of folks pay the bribe?"

Friend: "Maybe 1 in a hundred does not."

And on a final note, if you enjoyed this post, you should check out these recent NPR podcasts on corruption in India:

Norbulingka Institute Preserves Tibetan Culture

2010-06-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

We spent a wonderful afternoon at the Norbulingka Institute in Dharamsala. It feels amazing to escape the hot, dusty, chaotic horn honking streets of India into the peaceful and incredibly colorful temple complex. We particularly enjoyed watching the Tibetan craftsmen making huge Buddha statues. On our next trip we will definitely have to stay a few nights in the guest house.

And a few words from the Dalai Lama on the Norbulinka Institute: "Buddhism changed the whole Tibetan way of life, giving rise to a more compassionate community, in which there is a more peaceful attitude towards ourselves, towards our fellow human beings, towards animals and towards the environment. In today's world there’s a lot of talk about peace and non-violence, but the real factor in creating genuine peace is compassion, not just education and technology. Where there is compassion, a sense of community, a sense of respect for others' rights is automatic. In order to promote compassion, it is not sufficient just to talk; it needs to be spread through example. I believe that our peaceful and compassionate Tibetan society is such an example; that’s why it is worth preserving, and I am pleased to see that in its work to keep Tibetan culture alive, the Norbulingka Institute is actively contributing to that task."

Don't miss the lovely doll museum. This blue one below is about 3 apples tall.

A lively exchange of ideas amongst a group of female monks.

A monk listens in to glean a few enlightening words from Princess Leia and her wise brother.

Tossed to the Facebook Backshelf

2010-06-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

Last night, at dinner here in a small village high above Dharamsala, with our new friends from Sweden and Austria, someone mentioned their grandparents just had their 60th anniversary. I said, "That's so wonderful, to enjoy such a long marriage. Unfortunately, perhaps the last generation to stay married. Since then, we've all learned to throw away our spoons, plates, and cameras, why not out marriages too." A bit cynical, unfortunately, and I'm not sure how the thought popped into my head, but I fear there is some truth to it.

100 years ago, even something as simple as a spoon was considered a permanent heirloom, to be washed, polished, reused, and ultimately handed down to a subsequent generation. Nowadays, not only do we presume plastic spoons are to be tossed, even our formalware might get a Martha Stewart inspired overhaul every few years, just to keep us current on the latest designs. With rapid advances in electronics, we know ahead of time our new iPhone 4 will be uncool, and fit for the tossing a mere couple few years after its purchase. Its a rare first generation Indian immigrants' child that can't remember vinyl runners winding down hallways, up stairs, sprawling over chairs, and wrapped around the sofa. That generation, born in an impoverished pre-partition agrarian India, cherished their goods, and made great efforts to preserve them well into the future. Not only did that generation cherish their goods, but also their social relationships.

I remember throughout my childhood, whenever my parents announced we were leaving for a vacation, to a place like California, we kids would get really excited; we presumed our time would be spent at Disneyland, or wandering the glammy streets of Beverly Hills. We'd be so annoyed to find the reality of us sitting in a dark house in a no name suburb for weeks in the relatively uncool (literally and figuratively) climes of Yuba City. Few of us in the modern generation can envision "sacrificing" our hard earned 2 weeks of vacation to visit second cousins in a non-descript locale, but this was normal for my parents, as these relationships were cherished in the old country, more generally, in pre-industrial society.

We of the modern world were raised early on to know that social connections, like spoons, were to be disposed of when the economic need had arisen. I recall being 8 years old, and extremely anxious about moving across the country, primarily because I was leaving my friend network behind. I of course thought I would return to visit, in the summers, or on holidays, but alas, that was never to be. They are friends whose names I can't recall enough to even locate them on Facebook. In the modern world, we know we have to pack up and move; we move for jobs, for college, for graduate school, for fun, for a change. Sometimes we return, but often we don't. I recall being 17 years old, 2000 miles away from home, and clinging to the phone, calling friends and family alike, in an attempt to keep these links real, alive, and relevant. Over time I learned that most folks loved the chats to keep up, some would even return calls, but a very rare few would actually initiate such communication. And then we face a great paradox of our time. Ancient eastern wisdom says, "be in the here and now, focus on the moment you are in, do not live in the past, or in the future, live now." And ultimately, when faced with this, the friends of where we are become more important than those of where we were. And indeed, like spoons, plates and cameras, even our friends, become disposable. I suppose there has been some improvement, for in recent years, we don't need to fully toss out friends, we can downgrade "real" friends to "just Facebook" friends.

I read somewhere that 100 years ago, the average person had 50 social contacts in their entire lives. This was because most existed in an agricultural economy, lived in a village, socialized primarily with fellow villagers, and only rarely ventured beyond the village. Now, its a truly uncool Facebook or Twitteroid that has a mere 50 "friends." We live in multiple cities, we vacation in multiple countries, we interact with humans we've never met, all of which means we have far more than 50 social contacts. Its significantly easier today to meet new people, and we do, so I suppose it is only inevitable that some we've met from before, disappear from our lives.

As we travel, on some level it makes me sad to know my kids have gotten used to entering a new place, playing for weeks with some local kids, and then leaving abruptly, never to see the kids again. My son, when he was 3, and we were spending time in Norway, became fond of our dear friend's nephews. He actually only spent perhaps 5 hours with them, but Nayan shrieked for over a week about wanting to see them again. I wonder if we aren't hardwired for longevity in social contacts, especially when we form an emotional bond, and if our modern world's new found fondness for "social disposability" isn't, well, unnatural.

Its become a ritual of ours, and most travelers nowadays, to exchange Facebook info, on departure. It makes saying goodbye easier, and it leaves future interaction possible. Facebook interaction is definitely lame while compared to real interaction, nonetheless, it does seem like a slight improvement over utterly disposable friends.

I'll leave you now with a slightly related, but nice little "Goodness, Gracious Me" clip.

Babas and Waterfalls in the Parvati Valley

2010-06-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

The kids got out of school last week, and are off until the 15th of July, so we packed up, and ran for the hills. When we left Chandigarh, it was 46C and searing hot. 8 long and nauseous hours later, when we arrived outside Manikaran, it was a cool 25. Life is so much better when you can open the door, walk outside, and not immediately break out into a sweat. We spent a week outside Manikaran Sahib, and its nearest town called Kasol, in a fairly secluded cottage above a raging river in the spectacular Parvati Valley. Our hosts at Parvati Kuteer treated us well. We especially enjoyed the many local hikes we did in the valley. A short walk from our cabin is a mundir. I can't remember much about the history of the temple, other than this baba below from Rajasthan bought the place and told me he makes money off it now; also, the tree is 500 years old and marks the location of the original temple.

Nayan, my 8 year old son, and I were descending from a hike when Nayan said, "wow Papa, this place is just like hiking near Seattle." Right then the guy in the orange outfit below walked by asking me if I had seen his goat wander by. I said to Nayan, "just like hiking in the Cascades, except usually dread-locked sadhus don't wander by asking about their lost animals."

We spent much of our week in Kasol hiking and lounging near these pristine pools and waterfalls.

Guided hikes in India come with multiple gentlemen that carry your whiny kids. Its really great, as Ananya will certainly tell you.

Many of the areas we went to have little or no trails. Nayan is demonstrating the proper facial expressions to use when hacking through the jungle with a nice long machete.

One of the most beautiful waterfalls I've seen. Our guides hacked a trail through the jungle to get to this fall. The journey was a bit more adventurous then we normally take with the kids, but was well worth it.

A cool shot of a Ganeshji image outside the Babas place.

Father and daughter modeling fancy glasses.

The Amazing Sikhya School

2010-05-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

I've recently become quite interested in the non-profit sector's work in combating the crushing poverty here in India. My aunt suggested I check out an old friend of her's school. So my wife and I spent some time with the principal, my aunt's friend, and toured the school. Sikhya is a non-profit school providing a high quality education and nurturing environment exclusively to slum dwellers and other extremely poor children for free.

While the government offers an almost free education, the quality is significantly below that of the education offered at myriad private schools. Many of the government school's are grossly underfunded and mismanaged. There are an amazing number of stories about teachers that never show up to class, standardized test scores that are simply manufactured, or the answers are distributed to the kids by corrupt principals ahead of time so school incompetence cannot be effectively measured. I'll save chatting in more depth about the public schools, as, despite all of this, there has been some improvement the past few years in Punjab, in part due to private money from the west arriving most often in the form of NRI (Non-Resident Indians) money given directly to school projects.

Sikhya strives to match the standards of the elite private schools in the city. Sikhya also provides a nurturing and loving environment for these kids who come from extremely difficult backgrounds. All schoolwork is performed in school; this is because, according to the school teachers I chatted with, it is simply impractical for the kids to do work at home -- most do not have electricity in the slums and many are required to work long hours. Another challenge is abuse; many kids are abused at home, and tragically, there simply is not an effective social service system in India which can help. Despite all these difficulties, it is obvious from the photos below, that the kids are thriving.

The computer labs are quite extensive at Sikhya, complete with broadband Internet connectivity.

When Slumdog Millionaire came out, many friends of mine asked me if the slums are really like that in India. I said, well yeah, in fact, they're even worse. Its tough to convey just how stinking hot it is here on the big screen, not to mention, how stinking stinky it can be. I also hear from friends and family traveling or living here that everyone is corrupt, and there's not much anyone can do. This is patently false, Sikhya school was set up by one man who simply wanted to do some good.
There is no doubt corruption is rampant in India, but it is also true that everywhere you look there are examples of honest, caring locals striving to improve the situation.

We were so inspired with the Sikhya school that we started volunteering a few days a week. Our first assignment was to paint murals. The school is broken into 5 groups, one for each of the basic "elements," which according to eastern philosophy and religions, are the base materials from which the universe is made.

It costs 200 US$ to educate one child for one year at Sikhya. The school can arrange for you to sponsor a specific child, or children, and track their progress through school and life.

My favorite part of working on the murals was meeting the curious kids wandering about.

If you wish to donate to Sikhya school, please drop an email to: sikhya_head@rediffmail.com and mention you are friends of Deep and Ameen. Unfortunately they don't have PayPal set up, but you can either wire money to the school's bank or send some along with a relative visiting India.

Drop me a note if you are interested in setting up a letter writing exchange with students of a particular grade.

Drop me a note if you have any trouble donating or volunteering.

The Rockin Rikshawala

2010-05-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

My son and I flagged down a bicycle rickshaw for our journey home tonight. As I stepped onto the rickshaw, I noticed it was brand spankin' new -- cardboard and plastic still wrapped much of the cycle's tubing. After the many hundreds, perhaps thousands of rickshaw rides I've taken in India, not once have I ever ridden on a brand new one. So I said to Gopal, "Vah, your rickshaw is absolutely fantastic!" He smiled and said, "No Sahib, this one is already a month and a half old. Its simply okay."

As we were cruising home, Gopal was totally cranking -- I've never seen someone pull a rickshaw this fast. It was obvious something was different about Gopal. It turns out, Gopal owns 14 rickshaws; he himself rides 7 days a week, 18 hours a day -- from pre-dawn, through the searing summer heat, and late into the night. He keeps a brand new rickshaw for himself, once it gets a little old, he adds it to his collection of rentals. According to Gopal, the average Chandigarh rikshawala will earn between 2500 and 5000 rupees a month (that's between 58 and 116$US). Gopal makes about 900 rupees per month on each rickshaw he rents out. A brand new rickshaw costs 9000 rupees. Now according to Gopal, each rented rickshaw comes with significant overhead, there's the occasional worn out tire, a broken chain, and other bike maintenance related problems, but his biggest expense has more to do with his riders, who can require a fair amount of money for things like a marriage (for their daughters), a funeral, medical bills, etc. So all in all, Gopal says he grosses about 15000 rupees a month, and after all his expenses, pulls home around 11000. I asked him how he manages 13 other rikshawalas. Gopal says he has a cell phone in his pocket, they call him if there are any problems. All his riders return their bikes to him at the end of the day, where they all sleep on their rickshaws together. He said he has no problems with the government and hence no need to pay any bribes. There is a one time license fee of 500 rupees per bicycle. I also asked if he had any problems with riders running off with his bikes. He said no, he has all their paperwork in order, they have to sign for the bikes, and he learns all their family history before hand. I asked Gopal why he doesn't upgrade to an auto-rickshaw. He laughed and said, "Never. That is the worst business ever. For them it is just a status symbol, that they don't have to work hard like us." Apparently autos have many maintenance expenses, petrol expenses, license fees, taxes, penalties (tickets for things like too many passengers, traffic violations, etc.), money for bribes and more. Gopal says his business is good, hard work for sure, but good.

I asked him where his wife and kids are. He says he owns a house in Delhi, has 3 kids, 1 of marriageable age. His daughter's marriage will cost him 1.5 to 2 lakhs (3500$US to 4650$US). He has 3 rickshaws running in Delhi, he visits once a month or so, otherwise he sleeps on his bike, and keeps growing his business.

I must say, I was totally blown away by my conversation with Gopal. Before Gopal, like most others, I thought of rikshawalas as men to feel sorry for, men with few options, no education, and little money. While 11000 rupees per month doesn't sound like much to a westerner ( a mere 256$US) its almost twice as much as a teacher makes here, and more than 6 times what a farm laborer makes. And most importantly, Gopal's income is growing. I asked how many more rickshaws he thinks he could handle. He felt he could double the number without many problems. I asked how many rikshawalas are entrepreneurs like him -- he kept peddling, and just laughed.

Nature's Business

2010-05-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

This porcelain pair of hemorrhoids sparing squat toilets offer a deluxe view of the magnificent Chandigarh Rose Garden park.

For you art lovers and mountaineers, here is a colorful stand up work designed to offer fresh air, as well as a nice view.

And my personal favorite, a rather endangered species, which never fails to bring back childhood memories of crickets chirping, wheat stalks swaying, and the scent of a new day.

I Love the Rain

2010-05-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

No AC buzz. No whirling fans. No reason to squint. Black sky cracks open, and dumps a bucket of bliss. The searing heat subsides, at least for the moment.

And the sun returns, though the rain is not forgotten.

Salesmanship: No MBA Required

2010-05-08T02:18:00.000-07:00

"Oh sahib, you're such a budda sahib, please help an old man. Here, hold him, hold him, he'll give you good luck sahib. Oh chota sahib, yes, he likes you, here take him, yes bring the camera mehim sahib, yes please shoot, yes take the picture, oh budda sahib, why are you backing away, chota sahib is not afraid, he is a brave sahib, yes mehim sahib, take the picture, go on take it, yes take more, go on, yes, good, it is a good picture. Oh bless my sahib, you're such a budda sahib, praise be to God, may he bless you day after day after day."

From Dust to Dust

2010-05-04T18:16:00.000-07:00

We were walking along a dusty road in the beautiful mountains this past weekend and ran across a rather gruesome site. In classic Indian style, the contrast was dramatic. Marlin Perkins, host of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, might have read: as the radiant red sun slowly set across the Himalayan skyline, two gentlemen casually sip chai and chat while a sweet street dog gnaws industriously on the victim of a traffic mishap.

WARNING: THE PICTURE YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE CONTAINS ELEMENTS OF A GRAPHIC NATURE. PLEASE CLICK AWAY IMMEDIATELY IF YOU WANT TO PRESERVE YOUR DISNEY PROVIDED MENTAL IMAGE OF DOGS AND MONKEYS AS CUTE AND CUDDLY.

Things to Do in Chandigarh When its 112 Degrees Out

2010-04-29T04:24:00.000-07:00

Find a nice comfy spot to take a nap.

Find some shade and get a shave.

Find a job in an air conditioned museum and take a nap.

Hang out.

Cruising Kasauli

2010-04-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

It has been a bit warm here in Chandigarh, with daily peaks over 110 degrees. So last weekend we decided to head up into the mountains to escape the heat for a bit. We zipped through the skinny winding roads of the Himalayan foothills, with each child clutching a plastic barf bag. Despite many false alerts, we managed to remain vomit-free, a rather rare event for our kids on windy roads. The mountains are beautiful here, though a bit dusty this time of year. We did manage to escape to the much cooler temperature of a mere 102.
One of the treats of the mountains is the ever entertaining monkey drama. In Kasauli there are lots of these cute and fluffy, relatively well mannered gray monkeys.

This plump nugget and Ameen became friends. He enjoyed her chips, and promised to come visit us soon, though he said he prefers to wait until cooler days.

Kasauli is a quaint little town, which once served as a hill station for the Brits. It's primary tourist attraction is called Monkey Point, where legend has it, Lord Hanuman, the Hindu monkey deity, took a rest during his many exploits aiding the hero Rama against his battles with the demon king Ravan. Unfortunately we never made it to Monkey Point. For some reason, Monkey Point sits inside a high security Indian Air Force base. We diligently emptied our pockets of all electronic devices, waited a few hours for the Air Force officers to complete their lunch, pushed and shoved our way through a mob of excited devotees, only to find out that my painstakingly acquired Indian government provided proof of "Indianness" card was not sufficient proof that I was Indian. Upon leaving the premises, I was approached by many folks kindly offering me use of their IDs so we could go inside. After glancing at the handful of uniformed and rifle carrying jawans, we chose to eat lunch instead.

One of the many heritage homes from the days of the British raj.

We saw this lovely bovine shopping for "home making" things.

A devout Ramones fan working as a jalebi maker -- they were extremely tasty, perhaps it was the spirit of Joey Ramone and his sticky sweet voice.

And finally, an amazing sun set on the way back down to Chandigarh.

Akhand Path in Sukharan

2010-04-16T00:45:00.000-07:00

We recently went to an Akhand Path in Sukharan, my maternal ancestral village. I wrote a detailed blog post a few years back on the history of Sukharan. If you're interested, you can read it HERE to see the story of how a Punjabi village formed and evolved. Also, don't forget, you can click on any of the images in this post to see a much more clear, higher resolution version of the image.

Random village singing extortionist women who heard about the Akhand Path. They sing and sing and sing and then say things like, "Aray Bibiji, you've come from so far, and heard our songs, please give us some money now. Thats it! More now, come on, we are such good singers. This is such a small amount of money for a person as impressive as you." This is the crew leaving after a successful mission of cash extraction; notice the bag of cash slung over the woman on the left's shoulder.

Ananya suspicious of yet another photo.

My nephews listening to the amazing kirtan in the Gurdwara.

I dig the Bollywood cinemagraphic quality of this shot.

These guddas used to be everywhere in Punjab, but the numbers have plummeted recently, like so many other Punjab classics. Modernization has really started to take root. Back in the day I used to love riding in the back of a gudda.

Fortunately, Facebook and the XBox haven't yet hit in the village, so raising Nishan Sahib at the Gurdwara is still a big deal. We all hung about for a few hours as this gentleman shimmied up the flagpole to wrap and raise a bright new flag of the Khalsa.

More fun with slow shutter speeds at dusk.

Nayan cruising with his new pindh buds, aka, Punjabi homeschooling lessons.

Long Walk to Freedom

2010-04-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I went through a phase where I was inhaling books far faster than we could find decent book shops. As a result, I decided no more books less than 700 pages. So after a couple weeks, I finally finished the captivating memoirs of Nelson Mandela titled Long Walk to Freedom.

Mandela's life was so different than the rough image I had outlined in my head. For one, his life is far more exciting and inspiring than his speeches. Also, prior to reading his book, I associated Mandela with Gandhi or MLK, especially with respect to the latter two's idealism and strict adherence to the principal of non-violence. While it is true that he leveraged non-violent techniques, it is also true that Mandela was an effective strategist, and pragmatist; he later became a major proponent in the ANC for waging a violent campaign, ultimately founding, funding, and leading the ANC's guerilla arm called Umkhonto we Sizwe. Speaking in his own defense in the trial which saw him locked up for life, Nelson Mandela says:

We of the ANC have always stood for a non-racial democracy, and we shrank from any action which might drive the races further apart than they already were. But the hard facts were that fifty years of non-violence had brought the African people nothing but more repressive legislation, and fewer and fewer rights. It may not be easy for this court to understand, but it is a fact that for a long time the people had been talking of violence -- of the day when they would fight the white man and win back their country, and we, the leaders of the ANC, had nevertheless always prevailed upon them to avoid violence and to use peaceful methods. [...] it could not be denied that our policy to achieve a non-racial state by non-violence had achieved nothing, and that our followers were beginning to lose confidence in this policy and were developing disturbing ideas of terrorism. [...]

Umkhonto was formed in November 1961. [...] Experience convinced us that rebellion would offer the government limitless opportunities for the indiscriminate slaughter of our people. But it was precisely because the soil of South Africa is already drenched with the blood of innocent Africans that we felt it our duty to make preparations as a long-term undertaking to use force in order to defend ourselves against force.

The photos in this post are from our recent trip to Robben Island, where Mandela and other anti-apartheid political prisoners were locked up.

This is the limestone quarry where Mandela smashed rocks for much of his life:

And his prison cell:

My wife, Ameen, is shown chatting with our guide, who was a prisoner sentenced to life in prison who served 13 years. He was caught after a botched power station bombing attempt. I asked him how it felt to live on the island guiding tourists through the prison he spent so much of his life in. He said it felt great to tell the freedom story of South Africa every day.

1st Day of School

2010-04-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

After months of homeschooling, we have finally surrendered our children's learning to someone else. The kids started school today at The Millenium School in Mohali. After multiple frustrating months of trying to arrange for the kids admission remotely, and despite all the warnings we got from folks, it was remarkably simple to find a great school and get them admitted on arrival. The hardest part was actually paying for the school (and our flat).

Its quite awkward doing business in cash; I felt like a gangster running around town with bags of money, sitting across from someone and repeatedly counting out bills one by one for many minutes. Most folks here have boxes full of fruit colored cash lying around for such transactions, but we were left with repeated trips to the ATM, and an onslaught of phone calls from vigilant bank officials back in the states.

The school itself is quite impressive: swanky new buildings, oodles of computers, projection systems, cute uniforms, and heavy piles of books. The school is taught in English, which wasn't our first choice, but too many folks were freaking out about the kids being kidnapped or getting lice from the "low class" Punjabi schools. Nonetheless, the kids have a class for Punjabi, Hindi, English, Math, "Computer Training" and some other subjects like Environmental Science.

On admission, Nayan took a challenging examination. Its a good thing we home schooled him in math and brought him up to Indian standards, the Seattle School system is spectacularly slow, and North Beach uses an overly repetitive curriculum called Saxon. We switched him onto the Singapore math curriculum, augmented with my own impromptu few months of computer programming (using a cute visual programming language called Scratch), where he wrote automated math exam programs. The excitement of taking exams of his own creation kept Nayan excited and motivated.

The school itself is quite impressive. A bus swings by in the mornings, picks the kids up, and hauls them off. For the young ones, there are Ayas, or nannies, on the bus. Ameen hopped on the bus for Ananya's first day to witness multiple shreaking 2 year olds (yes they start school here that young) who were quickly scooped up into the warm, loving arms of the Ayas, and eventually cooed into smiling submission. Once at school, the teachers greet the buses, slurp the kids off and pop them into class. Unlike virtually everything in India, the schools are remarkably organized and efficient.

After the kids left, my wife and I realized that this is the first day in 8 and half years that we've been alone together. To celebrate, we're heading to The Taj for breakfast.

Life's Short Says Seneca

2010-03-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

Now that we've reached India, and are in the warm protective embrace of family, the questions have started. So what are your plans? The truth is, our plans are none -- we are simply out of life plans right now. I feel like I've been on a very long road trip, and not the literal one we were just on, but the metaphorical life journey, and we've managed to pull over into a rest area to have a look around, eat some warm paranthas, and flip through the atlas. I had one goal for this trip, and it is being met. My goal was simply that our lives would slow down -- that time itself would slow -- that a great life divider would appear: before the trip, and after. Back home, we have a wonderful life; we're blessed with loving friends and family, a beautiful city, a lovely neighborhood, and work that I love. All this is such great fortune, and I strive to be thankful every day, but the one thought that couldn't escape me, is that our life is simply racing by. I would blink and a new holiday season would be upon me. Mondays would appear as if I had just taken another breath. My 10th anniversary appeared and it was only moments before we were completing our final lavan. I was chatting with a good friend about this, and he suggested I read a classic philosophical work by Lucius Annaeus Seneca titled On the Shortness of Life. It was great advice. Here is a short but poignant snippet:

Though all the brilliant intellects of the ages were to concentrate upon this one theme, never could they adequately express their wonder at this dense darkness of the human mind. Men do not suffer anyone to seize their estates, and they rush to stones and arms if there is even the slightest dispute about the limit of their lands, yet they allow others to trespass upon their life—nay, they themselves even lead in those who will eventually possess it. No one is to be found who is willing to distribute his money, yet among how many does each one of us distribute his life! In guarding their fortune men are often closefisted, yet, when it comes to the matter of wasting time, in the case of the one thing in which it is right to be miserly, they show themselves most prodigal. And so I should like to lay hold upon someone from the company of older men and say: "I see that you have reached the farthest limit of human life, you are pressing hard upon your hundredth year, or are even beyond it; come now, recall your life and make a reckoning. Consider how much of your time was taken up with a moneylender, how much with a mistress, how much with a patron, how much with a client, how much in wrangling with your wife, how much in punishing your slaves, how much in rushing about the city on social duties. Add the diseases which we have caused by our own acts, add, too, the time that has lain idle and unused; you will see that you have fewer years to your credit than you count. Look back in memory and consider when you ever had a fixed plan, how few days have passed as you had intended, when you were ever at your own disposal, when your face ever wore its natural expression, when your mind was ever unperturbed, what work you have achieved in so long a life, how many have robbed you of life when you were not aware of what you were losing, how much was taken up in useless sorrow, in foolish joy, in greedy desire, in the allurements of society, how little of yourself was left to you; you will perceive that you are dying before your season!"⁷ What, then, is the reason of this? You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last. You have all the fears of mortals and all the desires of immortals. You will hear many men saying: "After my fiftieth year I shall retire into leisure, my sixtieth year shall release me from public duties." And what guarantee, pray, have you that your life will last longer? Who will suffer your course to be just as you plan it? Are you not ashamed to reserve for yourself only the remnant of life, and to set apart for wisdom only that time which cannot be devoted to any business? How late it is to begin to live just when we must cease to live! What foolish forgetfulness of mortality to postpone wholesome plans to the fiftieth and sixtieth year, and to intend to begin life at a point to which few have attained!

Addo Elephant National Park

2010-03-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of our road trip in South Africa was Addo Elephant National Park. We decided to pass on Kruger Park, the largest and most well known of the wildlife refuges in South Africa, primarily because we wanted to avoid the malaria zone with the kids. We burned a bunch of time trying to find an organized safari to go to. We went to all the usual suspect web sites like go2africa.com and found the packaged safari thing didn't work for us, as we initially suspected. Neither Ameen nor I have ever been interested in organized group tours, for multiple reasons, but mostly because we don't like having a rigid predetermined travel schedule. We also love chatting with folks we meet on the way and asking them where the best places they've been. So we chatted with well traveled locals in Cape Town who assured us that our rental car in Addo and Mountain Zebra parks would fill our game viewing fix. They were right, Addo's an amazing park, and not obnoxiously overpriced like all the tours and game parks we researched.

In the 120,000+ hectare park, I felt like I was in Jurassic Park, the movie. The main rest camp is surrounded by large electrified fencing, inside of which are humans, outside of which lie many very large beasts including but not limited to: elephants, lions, hyenas, rhinos, zebras, wart hogs, and lots of cool African deer-like creatures. Some of the oddest areas were the "picnic" spots deep in the gaming area. One we considered entering was wrapped in multiple layers of 8 foot tall fencing topped off with layers of electrified wires. Multiple dents about the size of an elephant head could be seen. Next to a skinny gate were a few more warning signs. It felt like voluntarily entering a massive jail cell. Needless to say, we chose to picnic in the car.

The sign next to Ameen reads: "Beware of Lions, Alight from Vehicle at Own Risk." Instinctively and laughing, we hopped out of the car to shoot this photo. Once out of the vehicle, we were quickly overcome with paranoia. Ameen was looking for lions over her shoulder, I was looking behind us. The bush is very thick, so you can't visually be certain there are no predators for more than a few feet. We rushed the photo (hence the lack of focus) and quickly hopped back into our car. A few minutes later we drove by this not so lucky critter.

There are a number of sneaky areas called hides, where you can hang out and watch the animals undetected. The hides are usually located near a watering hole. Its an amazing way to spend a few hours.

By far the most fascinating part of the park for us, was watching the elephants in their natural habitat. Back home, we have a rather nice zoo, but it is a zoo, and it lies in a cramped urban setting. The elephants there have such a depressed look in their eyes. To see elephants living in the wild, albeit managed, but with vast space and their family structures intact was a real treat. Elephants are such social animals; we observed for hours how the adults treat the children, the teen interactions with each other, the assistance elephants gave to one another, and the discipline ( a baby was pestering her mother, and the mother slapped her trunk into the baby launching it off into the water).

Indian Club, Left. Pakistan Club, Right.

2010-03-21T22:38:00.000-07:00

I look forward to my first impression of a country, in part because the contrast between my cartoon-like first impression, and richer departing impression is so stark. In Dubai, the first sign I noticed once out of the airport was at our hotel, and it read:

Indian club, left. Pakistan club, right. Arabic club, straight.

I started laughing as soon as I saw it, and the hotel owner asked what I was laughing about. Many things hit me at once about the message a sign like that conveys -- I chose one; I said something in Punjabi to the effect of, "well I understand we can't live in the same country, but I'd think we could at least visit the same club in a far off country." He laughed -- a portly Indian gentleman bald with a few hairs combed over. Needless to say, Dubai is not too bothered about social integration, another lesson from the sign. Beneath the sign was a photograph of the Indian club featuring the hotel owner and 12 women smiling -- all looking rather fashionable in a village-girl-visits-Manila sort of way.

Later in the evening, my wife said I had to go check out the club and report back to her. She was dying to find out what went on inside. My wife had been in the hotel lobby and saw some colorful characters disappear down the dark hall. I was curious, especially since it sounded a bit like the socially fascinating Bombay dancer bar joints Sukhita Mehta describes in one of my favorite books of all time, Maximum City. I assured her, I'd spin in, but needed to go out and grab us some dinner first. We were bushed after our 9 hour red eye flight from Capetown, and a rather bizarre time at the Emirates Mall, home of the world's only giant indoor ski mountain which is so kooky in concept that I absolutely had to check it out. I wandered down the street in search of some hummus and lubne. I passed 3 herculean muscle men with black tank tops, rubbery sandals, extremely well coifed facial hair, standing next to 3 cherry red Bollywood motorcycles. One of the gang had odd looking tennis ball shaped lumps shooting out of his shoulders. While standing out front of the hummus joint waiting for my meal, the manager and a couple guys interrupted their chats to cat call women. I have no idea what they were saying, but they made squeezing gestures with their finger tips each time a woman passed by.

So after eating dinner, I held up my promise, and wandered near the club corridor. I was immediately herded into the Indian club. "Yes sir, yes sir, please sir, come this way only." I wonder how often the shepards get it wrong and drag a Pakistani into the Indian club, or vice versa. It was definitely bizarre inside -- 4 of the woman from the photograph, fully attired in club gear, dancing on stage and singing karaoke to American pop songs. The audience had one dude and about 15 worker guys tasked with getting me to sit down next to the other dude. I stayed only a few seconds, long enough to scan the surroundings and provide a decent report back to my wife. So first impressions of Dubai: a giant kooky mall of a city full of steroided looking muscle men gawking over imported Geisha-like dancer girls.

Kooky Characters in the Karoo

2010-03-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

One of the most interesting things about traveling is the people you meet. We've met all sorts of interesting characters. Last night was a classic example of the social outliers you meet while backpacking around in the middle of no where. We are currently in Nieu Bethesda, a tiny town located at the end of a long dirt road connected to a paved road which is a long way from just about anywhere. Last night Nayan and I were lounging on some plywood benches out front, when an elderly gentleman appeared wearing one very old sandal and one large hiking boot, neither the laces on the boot, nor the straps on his sandals, were done. He had a neatly trimmed white beard, and looked about 65 years of age. We started chatting and he described himself as retired and permanently in a state of travel with his shortest travels to his homeland of England. The gentleman described his 50+ year career as that of a "bureaucrat serving bureaucrats bureaucratically." Something about a now disbanded office of government real estate assistance related services. He has been traveling non-stop for over 7 years now, having been to any country I could think to name for many months on end. The town we're in is infested with mosquitos right now, so I was making small talk about the annoying creatures. He said he had no idea there were any, saying, "they don't bother me any more." When I asked him about his shoe, he related this story, "A few weeks ago I was in a very rural area in the Northern Cape camping in a backpackers place surrounded by the usual razor wire and ADT signs. In the middle of the night I awoke and 2 thieves demanded I give them my wallet. I started shouting and yelling and raising quite a ruckus. The thieves were annoyed I wouldn't give them anything so they stole one of each of my shoes which were outside my tent. They did this just to spite me." He laughed and then said, "fortunately for me they took one right and one left shoe, so I am hardly affected. I refuse to buy new shoes just to show them that they did not win."

A Taste of the South African West Coast

2010-02-26T00:03:00.000-08:00

We had a nice trip up the west coast of South Africa. We didn't go too far, but little distance is required to get a flavor for the vast open space of the west coast. Only a few miles north west of Cape Town the landscape becomes incredibly barren and lonely. It felt like Wyoming in the summer. It didn't take many miles for me to abandon my fantasy of driving for days on end deep into the Namibian desert. We made our way to a little town called Langebaan which is set on a very white, flat beach. Its a popular spot for kite boarding. It was incredibly windy. Our sun umbrella caught wind and flew almost half a mile until we could eventually run it down. The bright white sand is extremely fine, 3 days later and we are still trying to scrub it out of Ananya's hair.

Escape from Water World

2010-02-23T00:39:00.000-08:00

Perhaps a week into our stay in Buenos Aires, the kids and I got caught in a torrential downpour. It was dark out, and we were sheltered under a restaurant awning, laughing about the rain and milling with other folks. The kids insisted we go for it and head home, despite my many warnings that we would be totally soaked. I relented, and so, we three started running; perhaps not 20 feet into our journey it was as if we had jumped into a lake. Nayan and I had a blast, laughing all the way home, enjoying the mixture of heat and heavy rain. Ananya shreaked after losing her flip flop and remained totally spooked that night, and for weeks after; for the remainder of our time in Buenos Aires, anytime Ananya saw clouds, or signs of rain, she stubbornly refused to go outside. We bribed her with a push button umbrella and lots of ice cream, and we spent much time convincing her that the rain was nothing to fear, and not much could happen. Looks like we were wrong. Our friend Maria who lives in Buenos Aires, just forwarded this article published in La Nacion, about the torrential rains. Take a look. Many of the pictures are from our neighborhood with water levels rising over 1 meter. The first shot is of a group exiting a bus while clutching a rope to cross the currents. Looks like we indeed escaped just in time.

Ridgebacks, Rottweilers, and Razor Wire

2010-02-20T02:54:00.000-08:00

You know you're in South Africa when you see a sign like this next to a nice hotel. We're still getting used to being greeted with huge Rodesian Ridgebacks, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and other slathering doobers while heading out for a hike. The locals don't seem to notice, and the dogs seem friendly enough when you're introduced, nonetheless, it is a bit nerve wracking. One of the hardest things to get over here is this ever present security obsession. From what folks tell you, the ubiquitous razor wire, electric fences, heavily armed ADT guards, and oodles of huge barking dogs is all necessary to keep people from being robbed. Its still tough for me to tell if this is the truth, or a bit of a hangover from the tenuous apartheid days -- it does, however, seem to be a bit overkill. When you chat with folks, most say something like, "we haven't had a break in before in the past 20+ years," or, "its usually just petty break ins, folks looking for quick getaways with a lap top, cell phones or other electronics." If so, I can't help but wonder why everyone cares so much -- get some insurance, a dead bolt, and be done with it; the rest of this hoo ha just freaks out the tourists. I also wonder if this isn't a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy -- razor wire wrapped home owners assume massive crime is just one tenement away, and the tenement folks see these armed fortresses presuming attempts will be made to rob them, and conclude, perhaps it is their duty to rob them. Even if the crime is truly this extreme a concern, isn't this race to the most hardcore security obsessors just pushing the crime to one's next door neighbor? After all, in between the hardcore homes are seemingly unprotected homes with little more than a friendly lab meandering about.

Seals and Sauntering Near Haut Bay

2010-02-18T00:40:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing trip to Seal Island. It's a short hop from Haut Bay. You don't actually get off the boat, and wander around, as you may guess from the photos. Basically, its a few rocks, surrounded by rough waters and completely coated in seals -- a truly amazing sight, one of the most beautiful I've seen. We experienced some really big swells, but our stomachs thankfully held up.

Afterward, we bought some fish off the dock and hauled them back to our firepit out back. We're staying in a lovely cottage up in the hillside above Haut Bay called Placid Pine. Our host Louise is absolutely wonderful. The kids have been ecstatic here in South Africa; we have a large rustic backyard where they have freedom to roam a bit, there's a nice pool, and our hosts live in the house which the kids love to visit; Ananya especially likes to hang out with our fearless protector, Thomas the cat.

After a month couped up in a massive city like Buenos Aires, Nayan especially has been giddy, last night breaking out into a scream, "I just love campfires, I just love them!" I had to remind him to breathe afterward. Louise taught us an amazing technique for barbecueing. Basically you start a fire in a fire pit. Once its hot, you throw in some charcoals in a clump near the edge. When the coals are hot, you slide the hot coals over to another spot under a grill mounted on a pole with an adjustable clamp to control the height for heat control. Then you get to linger over the fire, enjoying the heat and view, occassionally clamping onto a hot coal and plopping it under the grill. Needless to say, our fish was tasty, and we've already begun designing our pit back home complete with a bread warming section and a pizza oven.

A Day on the Paraná Delta Near Tigres

2010-01-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

Well I finally started reading the manual for our SLR camera after 5 years. I've been playing around trying to get decent shots in the extremely bright sun, something that can be a challenge if you rely on the camera's automatic modes. These shots are from a day trip we took to "The Delta," which is where Porteños go to escape the city heat and relax in the cool milk chocolate waters of the Paraná Delta . And for you factoid lovers: the Paraná Delta is fed by the 1600 mile long Paraná River running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina ultimately dumping as much water volume as the Mississippi into the Atlantic ocean.

Rockin the Tango at San Telmo

2010-01-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

Our Sunday ritual here in Buenos Aires is to hit the San Telmo antique and craft market. Today, we spent a good time sitting on the curb listening to this rocking street orchestra called Orquesta Tipica Imperial. I never thought there could be anyone crazier then my dear friend Timothy of Bellingham who hauls his full size acoustic piano around in a mini van, that is, until I saw the piano player from Orquesta Tipical, lugging his massive instrument through the cobble stone alleyways of San Telmo. What a glorious treat.

It turns out someone made a documentary film on these guys. The trailer looks interesting, apparently they are often harassed by the police for playing on the street. If anyone finds out how to get a hold of the film, please let me know, I'd love to see it.

Boys, Bodies and Bashings

2010-01-23T02:58:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest joys of marriage is that your partner's stories become your stories. So my wife was sitting in the kids play area at Plaza Cortezar, the local park and restaurant area where we spend a lot of time. The kids were busy digging in the sand, sliding and playing their never ending game of tag. It was late morning, lots of folks were milling about, many sipping coffee, some setting up for the daily craft fair, and some preparing their restaurant for the day. A couple guys in their late teens were a part of a construction crew working on some repairs in the plaza. One of the boys was drunk. The two broke out into a fist fight. All bystanders remained in their pre-fight positions; no one rushed in to stop the fight or gawk, but everyone was watching, and aware of the fight. At one point, the drunk boy fell to the ground and struggled to stand. Blood gushed out of his nose. The other boy kicked him hard in the face. At this point, immediately multiple older men, around 50 years in age, stepped in, constrained the standing boy, and walked him away. Other men helped the fallen boy, someone arrived with a large bottle of water and poured it on his head; another brought a towel and started cleaning his wounds. Soon the police arrived.

So what my wife found most interesting were the cultural dynamics at play. For one, it seemed no one was particularly worried about weapons, or serious danger. Also, there was an acceptance that boys will be boys, and the fight was fair and therefore immediate intervention was not required or desired. Upon the violence taking a turn toward the "unfair," however, with one boy clearly down and incapacitated, bystander response was swift and thorough.

This story reminds me of another story. One day a few years back in Punjab, we were driving home from a day trip to the Himalayan foothills. My Thiaji (father's older brother), myself, my wife and kids. We slowly drove through the chaotic, dusty streets of Nawanshar. A cacophony of cars, goats, people, cows, honking buses, strewn wires, and a uniformed policeman directing traffic. As we approached the town center where multiple streets intersect, right in the middle of the street were about 15 boys, again late teens, in a full fist fight. My Thiaji scratching his gray beard, started laughing, "Deep, look at our boys! This is how we live. Ah, I wish I was young again." Thiaji then stopped the car in the midst of the chaos to chat with a policeman who was calmly directing traffic as if nothing was going on. Thiaji asked, "what's going on?" The policeman responded, "oh the kids are just bored, it happens every Friday evening." My uncle looked at the cop like he was totally daft, pointed out his window toward two flying fists a few feet away and said, "well of course, but what is this particular fight about?" He needed the details. Something about a boy, a sister, a crass remark. Thiaji rolled up his window, waved to the cop, smiled at the fighting boys, and we inched along, wondering what was for dinner.

Buenos Aires Nose Beatings

2010-01-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

So a few minutes after arriving in Buenos Aires, I noticed some woman with a broken nose sipping coffee at a cafe. A day later I saw another broken nosed woman chatting with a well coiffed tough looking guy; I wondered if she was a domestic violence victim. Then yesterday I saw another one, and thought, wow, are the men here abusive? Maybe its all that hot Mediterranean blood. Then today I saw another one, and thought, okay, something is up; all of the broken noses have the same exact bandaging. Later, we met a tour guide who started cracking jokes about the "lions" here in the BA jungle -- she pointed out plasticated boobulation examples everywhere; she said the national health insurance even covers it. So I did some searches, and a bunch of weird things showed up. I don't typically follow the Miss Universe news, so I missed the fact that Miss 1994 Argentina died recently from a botched buttocks implant. And this freaky woman has issues with hers as well. Apparently though, this is all old news. This 1999 Newsweek article has a punchy quote:

In "The Masks of Argentina," author Luis Majul estimates that one in every 30 Argentines has undergone cosmetic surgery. And with prices plummeting, face-lifts and nose jobs are becoming "democratized," says plastic surgeon Maria Cristina Zeaiter. But the country's elite sets the tone; everyone from Diego Maradona to President Carlos Menem has gone under the scalpel. Menem's ex-wife, former First Lady Zuelma Yoma, is a frequent client of cosmetic-surgery clinics. But few Argentines are put off by such dangers. "Mankind suffers two great ills: aging and ugliness," says cosmetic surgeon Jose Juri. "Plastic surgery can treat them both."

So, it turns out that, not only do folks here get a lot of plastic surgery, but BA is actually a major plastic surgery "medical" "tourist" destination. Here's a rather disturbing CNN expose.

Homeschooling at La Campana National Park in Chile

2010-01-13T04:02:00.000-08:00

We're still working out many of the kinks in our home schooling efforts. One of the things that seems to be working is field trip based learning. So recently we hauled the pod out to La Campana National Park which is in the Vizcachas Mountains about 60 kilometers from where we are staying in Valparaiso.

This was probably the most public transportation we have ever taken for a day trip, so we started out the lesson discussing how to catch the train, how the automated ticketing system works, where to find the bus, and how to find a toilet at a bus station without eating a meal. Since we haven't had a Lonely Planet guidebook with us, we're flying a bit blind relying heavily on our hosts for some advice; stuff like: "I'm pretty sure if you make it past the land of the big tomato to Olmue, you'll find a bus that will get you close to the park. From there, just hike into the park." Our homeschooling lesson continued by a colorful illustration of how to look really clueless on a bus in the middle of no where while butchering a major world language; our illustration rendered perfectly, inspiring a wonderful Chilean gentleman to help us flag down the next ride in our route. This photo below shows the man running away from us as fast as possible, fleeing the half baked field trippers.

Along the way, we continued our lesson discussing what horses eat in the Cordillera de la Costa, apparently smooshed tomatoes from the back of a truck.

And more information on why you might hang a cow skin from the ceiling.

Here was another quick lesson on why National Park's are located on the end of really long dirt roads:

And another one on why you might build a blue shack on top of a well a half mile up from the rangers station.

Ah yes, and the environmental lesson we originally set out on, which was to witness and understand the very unique ecological system of this region in Chile.

So we also spent some time understanding how a plant ecosystem can remain shielded from the world at large (in the case of Chile, huge mountains a short distance to the east, and a big ocean to the west). And of course, we chatted about who this Charles Darwin guy was, since he climbed this mountain during his "Voyage of the Beagle." Darwin was interesting to the kids, in part since Manuel, one of our hosts, while recommending the park, described how he came here with Darwin's great, great, ... great grand daughter, who herself is also apparently a scientist.

So there you have it, a serendipitous field trip based ecological homeschooling lesson on the last of the Jubaea chilensis (Chilean Wine Palm) forests.

Downhill Distractions in Valparaiso

2010-01-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

My wife has grown tired of me constantly checking out the lines here, as in, me imagining how I would hit a set of stairs, or launch out into the street off a nice drop with a downhill bike. Obsessing over lines is something I've done ever since I was a kid and I first started skiing. It seems I can't enjoy a hike unless I convince myself first that it wouldn't be that great of a mountain bike ride. I've never though, had this problem in a city, since I normally think of cities as terrible places to mountain bike. Valparaiso changed that; it is simply so obviously built for 8 inches of suspension, a downhill helmet, and some armor.

So, after feeling a bit OCD, I was thrilled to discover that I am not the first to obsess on the Valparaiso lines. This morning, I was chatting with Manuel, a very relaxed gourmet Chilean chef who cooks for guests here at the cozy Valparaiso Experience; I was telling him how amazing the streets are. He asked me what I meant, and I explained. He then asked me if I was one of those crazy guys. I laughed while my wife nodded. So Manuel went on to tell me a story. Apparently the traditional male Valparaisians are a pretty hardy stock of fisherman and port people. When they first saw an army of "green haired, pierced skinny kids" parading through the streets on their beefy rigs, they laughed. Then, they witnessed the Valparaiso Urban Downhill, and were hand-on-forehead impressed at the kids "bravery." Manuel even described his personal shock at witnessing a hard core rider get some fat air while jumping out the window of a house; upon landing, this rider removed their helmet revealing long flowing locks of blond. Manuel said, with a starry look in his eyes, "we have wonderful women here in Val, they are artists, painters, architects, but wow, I'd never seen anything like this. She was amazing."

After some quick YouTube sleuthing, I've dug up some footage of the 2007 Downhill race. Enjoy.

A Day at Pablo Neruda's

2010-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful day visiting Neruda's house here in Valparaiso, Chile. The gardens are beautiful. Slideshow courtesy of Smilebox, a friend's company in Seattle.

Flip Cam Cruising Through Valparaiso

2010-01-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

I'm convinced there's a light weight way to make a decent video and quickly get it onto this blog, though I haven't yet found a good made-for-grandma webware solution. This is my first attempt with minimal editing and slim formatting. I'm experimenting with shooting lots of clean, short clips and then basically rapidly stacking them together. Where I usually sink a lot of time is in splitting clips in iMovie and going too high res, so I'm intentionally avoiding these slow downs. This video of us cruising the colorful streets and wonderful waterways of Valparaiso, Chile went from Flip Camera to blog post in an hour and a half, not bad, though still an hour and 25 minutes too long I think. I wish I could just plop in my Flip Cam, pick a song, and walk away; alas, perhaps a little video geekery project is in my future.

Put a Dagger in the Steering Wheel

2010-01-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I was on a business trip in San Francisco having dinner with a friend who'd spent a number of years working in Kazakhstan. He said to me, "sometimes in life Deep, you just have to put a dagger in the steering wheel". After a moment of staring into the air picturing my high school 75 Ford Maverick with a butcher's knife in the steering wheel and a stack of pizza boxes on the passenger seat, I said, "Eh?"

Recently, folks have been asking me how I could just pack up and take off for over a year with a wife, 2 kids, a mortgage, dog, blah and blah; I do remember feeling overwhelmed by the forthcoming details about 4 months ago when we finalized the decision; so instead of doing what comes naturally to me and analyzing myriad complicating factors, I thought of Patrick and decided we just need to focus on the dagger. So we sunk a bunch of cash on pricey non-refundable plane tickets, and then, the mortgage, dog, kids schooling, house, and all the remaining hoo hah just became part of the path.

Poem of the Day from Pablo's Hood

2010-01-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

On occasion I feel a conflict between my multiple selves. I thought I'd include one of my favorite Neruda poems titled We Are Many which contains such lovely words on this topic.

We Are Many

Of the many men whom I am, whom we are,
I cannot settle on a single one.
They are lost to me under the cover of clothing
They have departed for another city.

When everything seems to be set
to show me off as a man of intelligence,
the fool I keep concealed on my person
takes over my talk and occupies my mouth.

On other occasions, I am dozing in the midst
of people of some distinction,
and when I summon my courageous self,
a coward completely unknown to me
swaddles my poor skeleton
in a thousand tiny reservations.

When a stately home bursts into flames,
instead of the fireman I summon,
an arsonist bursts on the scene,
and he is I. There is nothing I can do.
What must I do to distinguish myself?
How can I put myself together?

All the books I read
lionize dazzling hero figures,
brimming with self-assurance.
I die with envy of them;
and, in films where bullets fly on the wind,
I am left in envy of the cowboys,
left admiring even the horses.

But when I call upon my DASHING BEING,
out comes the same OLD LAZY SELF,
and so I never know just WHO I AM,
nor how many I am, nor WHO WE WILL BE BEING.
I would like to be able to touch a bell
and call up my real self, the truly me,
because if I really need my proper self,
I must not allow myself to disappear.

While I am writing, I am far away;
and when I come back, I have already left.
I should like to see if the same thing happens
to other people as it does to me,
to see if as many people are as I am,
and if they seem the same way to themselves.
When this problem has been thoroughly explored,
I am going to school myself so well in things
that, when I try to explain my problems,
I shall speak, not of self, but of geography.

Ballard Pundit Reveals a Year of Wandering

2010-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Virtually every Sunday morning, my family and I head down to the Ballard's Farmers Market. We meander past the stalls and sample the latest organic goodies, while our kids suck on honey sticks and pester us for caps and Pop-Its from the toy store. So last Sunday, on a whim, I decided I'd pay $10 to a fortune teller and see what my future had in store.

The last time I went to a fortune teller was about 15 years ago, so its not something I do every day, nor is it something I take very seriously, but I figured worse case scenario, I was helping our local market economy out. So the fortune teller asked me whether I used to write a lot of fiction. I said well yes I did. She said, "it looks like you stopped about ten years ago for some reason, and I think you are going to start up again in full force." Then she asked, "are you going on a big trip? I see you surrounded by laughing kids and you are a teacher." I said, "well yes, actually we are going on a trip." She said, "I see you in Thailand, is that where you are going?" I said, "well to be honest, we haven't planned that far ahead, but it is certainly a possibility that we wind up in Thailand." So then I went ahead and explained our plans, rough as they were. Then the fortune teller said, "I also see that you were a philosopher working in academia on the French and Belgium border in a past life." I laughed. She then said, "make sure you start writing again, you must return to your writing, it is essential to your soul."

So while I'm not sure whether I wore a beret and a Dali mustache in a past life, I am sure that I am sitting on a plane heading on a year plus long adventure. Turns out the fortune teller did pretty well, I have no idea how. Ever since my wife and I got married, we've tossed around the idea of a long global trip with kids in tote. Even before my wife and I met, we both traveled a fair amount, and it was something we assumed we would continue, even when it was more challenging, i.e. while hauling kids about, paying a mortgage, feeding a dog, and taming the many items of modern life competing for attention.

There have been multiple points in the past decade that Ameen, my wife, and I had thought seriously about leaving. Mostly they were disrupted by my strong desire to see a project I've had the great privilege to be a part of take off. A prior post of mine, titled Evri Exposes the Web that Always Was is perhaps my best attempt to articulate why I've felt so attached to this work for the past 8 and a half years. After much thought, I feel now the time is right to make a change; the company has strong leadership, an amazing team, and committed investors. I have stepped back from my full time role with the company and will be continuing on as an advisor. My time with Evri has been one of the most exciting in my career. It has truly been amazing to see a nascent unformed idea grow into such a wonderful and promising content discovery engine.

So what are our plans? Well the truth is, things are only half baked; we're basically escaping the wet northwest winter, and following the sun through South America, southern Africa, Dubai, then on toward India. Once in India, I'm not too sure on the details, we want to help out a non profit building sewer systems in rural Punjab in some capacity, and of course we have lots of friends and family we'll be visiting. We'll also be homeschooling the kids on route until we can get them enrolled in India where we'll be stopping for a longer duration.

If you're interested in following along with our trip, I'll be blogging here on Chalo Bolo and tweeting as zang0. I'll also be available all the usual means, Skype, Facebook, email, Seattle phone number, etc. First stop: Valparaiso, Chile, home to one of my favorite poets: Pablo Neruda.

Discovering Content by Mining the Entity Web

2009-11-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

I had a blast last night presenting to CS students at the University of Washington. For those who missed the talk, the video is embedded below.

Abstract: Unstructured natural language text found in blogs, news and other web content is rich with semantic relations linking entities (people, places and things). At Evri, we are building a system which automatically reads web content similar to the way humans do. The system can be thought of as an army of 7th grade grammar students armed with a really large dictionary. The dictionary, or knowledge base, consists of relatively static information mined from structured and semi-structured publicly available information repositories like Wikipedia, Crunchbase, and Amazon. This large knowledge base is in turn used by a highly distributed search and indexing infrastructure to perform a deep linguistic analysis of many millions of documents ultimately culminating in a large set of semantic relationships expressing grammatical SVO style clause level relationships. This highly expressive, exacting, and scalable index makes possible a new generation of content discovery applications.

The talk slides used in the video are available HERE. It is best to download the slides and follow along as they are difficult to see in the video. In addition, the talk is broken up into multiple parts. Part 1, is shown below. Links to all parts are as follows: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.

Automated Action Based Content Generation

2009-11-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

I am republishing this article in its entirety. The original was published on the Evri blog HERE.

--

I'm excited to announce The Attack Machine, an exploration site available via Evri's experimental Garden, which harnesses the power of the Evri API to automatically generate content oriented around an action, or verb.

Content on The Attack Machine is automatically generated leveraging Evri's deep linguistic analysis of news, blog and other web content. The Attack Machine is an example application highlighting the power of leveraging a grammatical clause level understanding of verbs. The entire Attack Machine site could be straightforwardly mapped to other verbs, such as love, hate, punch, cherish, destroy, etc.

Content on The Attack Machine homepage is generated by an algorithm which runs every few minutes and looks for the top attackers and victims in particular categories such as animals, locations, weapons, and politicians.

Evri's system can be thought of like an army of 7th grade grammar students armed with a really large dictionary, or knowledgebase. These 7th grade grammar student algorithms are able to scour the news, blog and other web content to break every sentence down into key grammatical clauses such as the grammatical subject, verb, and object. The attackers in The Attack Machine are, in essence, the grammatical subjects; the verb is always attack and related verbs like: kill, assault, maim, etc.; and the victims on The Attack Machine are the grammatical objects. So, for example, if a blog post contains a simple sentence or title like: "Israel attacks Hamas.", this post will appear in the attacker page for Israel, and the victim page for Hamas.

In a blog post titled Evri's Garden Sprouts Some Search I discuss in detail the underlying search mechanism our scientists and engineers use to power higher level API and application functionality. One of the key higher level API functionalities The Attack Machine leverages is an API resource called Get relations about an entity. This API resource is used, for example, to populate the center column in the individual attack pages such as this one on alligator attacks:

and more specifically, the following REST API call is used:

http://api.evri.com/v1/organism/alligator-0x397510/relations/verb/attack/?media=article&sort=date&includeMatchedLocations=true&appId=evri.com/blog

This API call allows us to automatically identify the key people, places, organizations and things involved in attacks, in addition to getting the articles which correspond to the latest attacks. Now if the user clicks on a specific person, place, or thing, the following API call is used:

http://api.evri.com/v1/organism/alligator-0x397510/relations/verb/attack/location/florida-0x3154d?media=article&sort=date&includeMatchedLocations=true&appId=evri.com/blog

So in this way, we can populate the data for all attacks by alligators in Florida.

Finally, The Attack Machine leverages the Evri API to generate unique natural language content which benefits the reader, as well as significantly helps page SEO. For example, the 1st and third paragraphs in the 1st column in the screen shot above are automatic formulations from API output. In addition, the Evri knowledgebase is leveraged to minimize human editorial contribution. For example, the second paragraph above is written by an editor and linked to either a specific entity, a narrow category for an entity, such as animal, or politician, and a higher level category such as person, organism, or location. Simple logic is then applied at page generation time to select the natural language content from an entity handle if it exists, if not, from a narrow category handle, and if none exists (since we have thousands), then from a higher level category (there are only a handful of these) handle.

That's all for now. If you have any questions on how to use the Evri API for similar applications, or any other feedback, please let us know on our API forum.

Kooky Coconuuts

2009-10-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Stumbled across this kooky yet catchy coconut video while combing for kids Spanish content. Get your dancing shoes ready.

Sentiment API Exposes Web’s Feelings

2009-08-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

I recently wrote this article for Evri's blog. I'm reproducing it here in its entirety for the reading pleasure of all you ChaloBolo-ites.

--

Every minute of every day people are expressing their sentiments and writing them down in news articles, blog posts, and other web content. Many people are too famous to write down their sentiments, but journalists, bloggers and other content creators are more than willing to document their feelings. Often times a famous radio commentator will bash a politician, or a politician will thrash a Hollywood actress. And on occassion, a true act of heroism will be recognized, and all sorts of famous folk will follow up with praise. Whether depressing or uplifting, disturbing or unnerving, tapping in to the sentiments of key actors on the world stage can be highly informative and engaging.

I'm excited to announce the release of our new sentiment web API which lets you build applications around the sentiments of specific entities (i.e. people, places, or things) as well as categories, or facets. Every minute of every day, Evri's systems are busy scouring the web, reading news content, blog posts and more so you don't have to. Now, Evri's system is also understanding the sentiments, or positive and negative expressions by and about entities. Many types of applications can be built using the sentiment API in areas including, but not limited to: market intelligence, market research, sports and entertainment, brand management, product reviews and more. Specifically, Evri's new sentiment API lets you:

Find the percentage of positive and negative expressions of sentiment made by an entity, or about an entity. For example, find out what percentage of things being written about the iPhone are positive and which percent are negative.
Discover who is criticizing and who is praising a particular person, place or thing. For example, see who is criticizing and praising Microsoft right now.
Read what praisers and critics are saying about an entity. For example, see what the GOP are saying about the Democrats.
Discover who or what your favorite entity is bashing and why. For example, see who Lance Armstrong is complaining about.
Discover who or what your favorite entity is praising and why. For example, see who the World Health Organization is commending and why.

Now, as an exploratory exercise, or tutorial, on how to use the API, I will walk through the calls needed to make a widget called the Vibology Meter. So, imagine the widget below is externally configured to be about the entity Barack Obama corresponding to the Evri URI: /person/barack-obama-0x16f69. Upon first load, you see something that looks like this:

From the above screenshot, we can see that the percentage of positive sentiment and negative sentiment expressed by Barack Obama are displayed. We can also see the specific top entities being praised by Barack Obama in the left column, and the specific entities being criticized in the right column. For example, from the above screenshot, we see that Barack Obama is criticizing the GOP, Rush Limbaugh, the ACLU, Al Zawahiri, and Israel. In order to render the screenshot above, this sentiment summary information is returned by the following REST API resource call:

/v1/sentiment/summary?sentimentSource=/person/barack-obama-0x16f69&includeSummaryDetails=true&sort=date

Now, consider the use case outlined in the screenshot below, where the user clicks on [Anything] under the positive vibes sentiment. In order to get the results outlined to the right of the positive and negative sentiment columns, we execute a resource request like:

/v1/sentiment/about?sentimentSource=/person/barack-obama-0x16f69&sentimentType=positive&sort=date

From this request URI, we see that the sentimentSource references Barack Obama, meaning we are interested in vibes or sentiment expressed by Obama, as opposed to about him. Next we see the sentimentType is set to positive, meaning we are interested in positive sentiment expressions. Finally, we see sort=date meaning we are interested in the latest results.

Also from the screenshot below, we see the results of this resource request, namely, the specific snippet from the article, as well as a time stamp, the article title, and a link off to the source article. From the snippet, we see the sentence stating that "the president commended..." -- the Evri system recognizes "the president" to be the source of the vibes, or sentiment, and commendation to be the prime justification for his positive sentiment expression.

And finally, we consider the case illustrated below, where the "Receiving vibes" tab is selected, and the particular source of negative sentiment is chosen by the user to be Rush Limbaugh. In this case, by executing this resource request:

/v1/sentiment/about?entityURI=/person/barack-obama-0x16f69&sentimentType=negative&sentimentSource=/person/rush-limbaugh-0x1ebf5&sort=date

From this request URI, we see that the entityURI references Barack Obama, meaning the returned sentiment is about Barack Obama. We can also see that the sentimentType is set to negative, meaning returned sentiment expressions will be negative in nature. We also see that the sentimentSource references Rush Limbaugh. The URI referencing Limbaugh was obtained from the sentiment summary results of the request shown above in reference to the first screenshot.

That pretty much sums up our walk through with the sentiment API. For complete documentation on this new API resource, see the Get sentiment information section of our REST API Specification. And finally, if you have any comments on how we can make this API better, questions on how to get things to work, or examples of bugs, please let us know on our developer forum.

Swords, Daggers and Punjabi Politics

2009-05-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, a local Seattle resident who recently relocated to India, is involved in the national elections there. While the western press typically presents Indian elections as a relatively pastoral exercise in democratic self governance, here are some snippets from our recent back and forth via email that show otherwise.

Friend:

Hope you are well. It's been a while since we chatted. I just came back from a short campaigning trip to Chandigarh last week. The Punjab elections are still going on (voting is the day after tomorrow).

Me:

Wow, campaigning in Punjab sounds exciting or scary and probably hot.

Friend:

Scary is an understatement. One of my friends, a really good guy, a professional, educated lawyer in the Supreme Court, who is contesting from one of the parliamentary constituencies there got attacked, his mother got beaten, his local president of the Congress party and his colleagues got stabbed with daggers and swords and are admitted in hospital. All by the Akali Dal guys ... they are out of control! We're asking for central police force for additional protection on polling day.

Me:

Unbelievable. Sorry to hear about your friends. Yeah, politics in Punjab can definitely be crazy. I think people haven't forgiven the Congress party for the 84 riots and subsequent total lack of punishment. Reasonable people mostly don't get involved in politics there, and when they do, they can wind up in the hospital or worse.

Friend:

Actually it's not at all because of the 84 riots. Initially I used to think the same. It's amazing how some politicians use random issues to create rifts between common people, most of who are regular people who want peace and jobs and agriculture.

More on the incident at Punjab Newsline in this article titled Prime Minister concerned about violence in Ludhiana.

Semantic Web Meetup @ Evri HQ a Hoot

2009-05-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks all for a terrific first Seattle Semantically Webbed meetup. Great food, drinks, and a chance to find out more about all things semantic. Special thanks to Alex Iskold and the rest of the AdaptiveBlue gang for coming out and giving a great presentation on GetGlue.

It's sometimes just amazing to me to experience the evolution of socialization and interactivity on the web. GetGlue reminds me of a project I started back in 1995 back when I was a researcher at GTE Laboratories. We built a system that fostered serendipitous communication between users based on websites users were visiting (all in a 3D browser based SGI built VRML world). Well VRML and SGI are basically dead, the web never did go totally 3D as we dreamed, and our project died, but it turns out we were onto something; the idea of socialization and serendipitous encounters based on browsing context lives on. GetGlue takes it to a new level adding a prime use case around product reviews that sort of inverts the closed Facebook social network phenomenon. Check it out and semantically webify yourself if you haven't already.

Stop Fuzzy Math in Seattle

2009-05-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

The Seattle School Board is voting on Wednesday to introduce a completely discredited and mandatory fuzzy math curriculum called the "Discovery Series" city wide. Please act now to stop them. Send an email to each board member listed below and let them know how you feel. If you don't know what to write, simply state: "No fuzzy math" or something similar in the subject, and "Please support our kids right to compete on the world technology stage by choosing real math and not fuzzy math. Please choose the Prentice Hall text books." or something similar in the body along with which school your child is in if you have a child.

Board members who supported real math recently but are under tremendous pressure to reverse are listed below. Let them know you are with them:

Michael DeBell: michael.debell@seattleschools.org
Harium Martin-Morris: harium.martin-morris@seattleschools.org
Mary Bass: mary.bass@seattleschools.org

Board members who let our kids down and voted for fuzzy math and the onslaught of mediocrity are shown below. Let them know you disapprove:

Sherry Carr: sherry.carr@seattleschools.org
Peter Maier: peter.maier@seattleschools.org
Steve Sundquist: steve.sundquist@seattleschools.org

Absent from the last vote, but said to be in favor of the fuzzy “Discovery” books is:

Cheryl Chow: cheryl.chow@seattleschools.org

Please spread the word to everyone you know in Seattle! Feel free to email this message, copy it, etc.

Here's a nice video of board member DeBell discussing in detail why the fuzzy math text is a bad idea.

And HERE the Seattle Times discusses why the fuzzy texts are a bad idea.

Finally, some additional talking points to include in your emails or use as a launch point into your own investigations. Please add in your own experience with district math programs at any grade level.

Prentice-Hall books are solid, well-organized, and mathematically sound computational algorithms and formulas are clearly stated and well motivated by examples and hands-on activities. These materials are family and student friendly.
Discovering Algebra and Discovering Advanced Algebra (Key Curriculum Press) have too much verbiage, too little in the way of clearly stated mathematical principles. Definitions, computational algorithms, and formulas are vaguely stated if they are stated at all. The program does not include enough practice for mastery.
Local and national mathematicians have expressed their written concerns about the soundness of these programs.
Our kids should not be subject to this ongoing failed experiment.

APIs Pave the Way Toward Understanding

2009-03-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

20 years ago this month, Tim Berners Lee proposed a “universal linked information system” at the Cern particle physics laboratory that would evolve into what we now know of as simply "the web." One of the more interesting phenomenon in the evolution of the web, has been the evolution toward the web-as-platform. Since even before a different, though perhaps no less influential, Tim -- Tim O'Reilly -- articulated the notion in his classic piece "What is Web 2.0", web companies have been rapidly exposing APIs which empower others to build upon their applications and data. This phenomenon has become so prolific, that it's almost rare to find a web company that does not have an API as a core part of their strategy. These APIs are forming the building blocks enabling Tim Berners Lee's more recent vision of the semantic web to be realized.

The semantic web is in essence, a web of understanding, where the actual meaning of web documents is made available to machines enabling a new generation of applications to emerge. The semantic web is being realized by many companies exposing APIs that are in turn used by other companies. For example, Yahoo has a terrific API with a very liberal usage policy. Yahoo has already spent billions of dollars indexing the entire web. Companies like Hakia, and my own, Evri, have taken advantage of Yahoo's extensive web crawl and global ranking to sample the web and index only the documents our users really need; this is a significant cost savings for a start up. Let's take another example; Free Base is busy building an extensive database of things -- think of it as a very highly structured Wikipedia, where not only is there a page for something like Barack Obama, but all of the data is completely structured and machine readable. This is in turn extremely helpful for applications like Powerset and Evri which need to be able to recognize these things in the many web documents their machines attempt to read in a human-like manner.

All of the above examples are, in essence, examples of machines talking to machines. In other words, when Hakia's indexing system leverages the Yahoo API to help determine what documents to index, I doubt a human is in the loop. In addition to machines talking to machines, there is, of course, the case of machines talking to humans. One of the hardest nuts to crack in the semantic web arena, is what a truly successful user experience looks and feels like. If you think back in time, when Alan Kay invented the desktop metaphor for PCs at Xerox Parc, the idea was not completely obvious. In fact, it was more than a decade before the metaphor was popularized by Apple. One of the most powerful motivations driving API proliferation is the appeal of access to a much larger community of innovators than are available within ones own company. For example, at my company we have great product designers and a terrific UI team; I have every confidence we are on the right path toward cracking the user experience problem for a deep semantic search engine. But, however good our team is, the user interface possibilities of building on our platform are endless. Why should we force our partners and customers to use our UIs? I think a similar conclusion is quite common; many semantic companies have some significant technology in the "deeper understanding" arena that enables a great number of UI permutations. So companies like Zemanta, Day Life, Reuters (Open Calais) and others all conclude: technology aspects with individual utility should be freed so its inherent value can be realized.

And of course, "freeing" technology aspects in the form of an API enables different monetization opportunities. In this rough economic climate, its a true advantage for any company to have diverse revenue streams. Many might not realize that almost 10x of Twitter's traffic is API driven. While most of us have little idea exactly what Twitter's monetization strategy looks like, I will wager a guess that making money off the API will be a core part of it. So how are companies making money off their APIs? Some are taking payment in the form of links to other already monetized pages. Many are simply charging for it. Most companies offer a certain volume of API requests free, then charge an escalated amount as a function of API request volume.

It seems obvious to most that social networking applications played a pivotal role in the web's evolution the past 10 years. Similarly, when we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the web, I predict APIs exposing a deep understanding of the web's content will be unambiguously recognized as primary drivers.

Godot Arrives in Brilliant Color

2009-02-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

Our widgets began rolling out onto new Washington Post articles as of 8.30 AM; today many Post readers are experiencing a glimpse into the Entity Web for the first time. After all the preparations were complete, many hours were spent waiting for the traffic tsunami to come; time passed like molasses and I joked to a colleague that I felt like I was Waiting for Godot. But unlike Samuel Beckett's play, our Godot arrived; not only did Godot arrive, but he arrived fully adorned in the bright hues of multiple fine log monitoring apps riding on a news wave about the economic stimulus bill. What a rush to see the news world arriving en masse onto our door steps here at Evri headquarters.

Amazing Apple Innovation

2009-01-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes Apple just amazes me with the simplicity of their interfaces. This new announcement is a case in point.

The Making of the N7

2009-01-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

One, boy... one vision... space, by rocket. With the advanced joining of ordinary baking soda, aka sodium bicarbonate, and white vinegar, Chief Rocket Scientist, Nayan, was able to build a rocket that reaches new heights by leveraging the gaseous output of an ordinary chemical reaction. This film, this cinematographic work, captures the marvelous triumph of boy over bottle -- this is the story behind the making of the N7.

Sachs Quote from The End of Poverty

2008-12-31T17:46:00.000-08:00

I recently started reading an insightful book by Jeffrey Sachs called The End of Poverty. Here's Sachs (paraphrasing a parable) on the IMF: The local priest gives one remedy after another [to a farmer with dying chickens] -- prayers, potions, oaths -- until all the chickens are dead. "Too bad," says the priest, "I had so many other good ideas."

Farewell to Eartha Kitt

2008-12-25T17:05:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite singers, Eartha Kitt, passed away today. She will certainly live on through all her recorded works. For those of my readers who don't know her, here's a clip from Wikipedia:

Eartha Mae Kitt (born on January 17 1927) s an American actress, singer, and cabaret star. She is known for her role as Catwoman in the 1960s TV series Batman, and for her 1953 Christmas song "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her "the most exciting woman in the world."

And here's a video of Eartha performing one of my favorite tunes, C'est Si Bon:

Is Blue, Blue, or Blue Right for You?

2008-12-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

I recently published Is Blue, Blue, or Blue Right for You? at blog.evri.com. I am reposting it here on ChaloBolo in its entirety.

***

Historically, machines have faired poorly at understanding ambiguous terms and their meaning. For example, it is easy for you to look at the following sentences:

Blue is a forthcoming Indian film starring Sunjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Lara Dutta and Zayed Khan.
Blue are an English pop boy band consisting of four members: Lee Ryan, Duncan James, Antony Costa, and Simon Webbe.
Blue is the 1971 album of Canadian-born singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.

and realise each sentence is referring to a different Blue. This, and related disambiguation tasks are not so easy for machines to perform well. Perhaps because of the difficulty of the task, most modern applications have simply shied away from the problem and relied on you, the human, to do more work. For example, if you go to your favorite search engine and search for the keyword Blue, you get results like these, or these.

If you are really after articles, images or video about the Bollywood film Blue, then it is up to you, the human, to add the disambiguating information and formulate your queries in a more exacting way. For example, you might search for Bollywood Blue, or if you remember the film stars Akshay Kumar you might search for Akshay Kumar Blue. In addition, you often need to execute these more refined queries in multiple places like your image, video, web and news search engine.

Here at Evri, we are busy getting machines to search more, so you don't have to. At Evri, if you go to the Bollywood film Blue page, you'll note the articles, videos, and images are all in reference to the correct film. Same thing if you go to the English pop boy band Blue page, or Joni Mitchell's album Blue page.

Let's take a look and compare the Evri found images when I took the screenshots:

And here is a snapshot of the video media bar taken from the Evri pages shown in the same order as above:

And just for fun, here are the top images for Blue from a favorite image search engine:

So how do we do it? Well our approach is multi-pronged, but core to our activities is teaching machines to read documents similar to the way humans do; unlike most search engines, we don't just treat documents like a bag of keywords with no understood inter-word meaning. So, for example, for a sentence like:

Chief Seattle spoke to his people.

our system recognizes the base subject>verb>object grammatical clause to be Seattle>speak>people. In addition, our system knows that cities do not typically speak to people whereas people do. Our system also recognizes Chief to be the prefix modifier of Seattle, as well as a title used to address a human. This understanding enables our system to recognize Seattle, in this sentence, as a person.

In addition to building a deep NLP based grammatical understanding of text, we are busy building a very large knowledgebase of entities (people, places, or things); this knowledgebase contains structured information about each entity. For example, we know that the boy band Blue is a band, and more generally, an organization. We know the band originated in London, England, and was active between 2001 and 2005. We also know the active members of the band were: Lee Ryan, Antony Costa, Duncan James and Simon Webbe. This structured information is used in multiple aspects of our system to disambiguate between this Blue and the many others present in the world at large.

We also regularly leverage our NLP based text understanding in conjunction with our structured knowledgebase understanding. Here is a diagram depicting the data flow of our knowledgebase and its use at indexing and search time.

Finally, while we believe we've made great strides toward proving that machines can disambiguate well and help alleviate the burden from us humans, there is still a long way to go. While we have many examples of pages that work amazingly well, you will no doubt encounter those where we could use improvement. Please send us these examples and we will do our best to fix them.

I will leave you with a screen shot of a page whose accuracy I find compelling. When I think of the sheer number of pages on the web containing the word ten (more than 600 million in Google's index) that are not about this album by Pearl Jam, it is a true feat to hone in on just the right stuff.

At Nani's

2008-11-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

I had some time on my hands yesterday, was without an Internet connection, and started playing around with my Mac. I stumbled across iMovie and thought I'd try to make my first video using the built in camera. So here you have it, starring ChaloBolo's very own Nayan and Ananya.

Evri's Garden Sprouts Some Search

2008-09-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

I just published a blog post titled Evri's Garden Sprouts Some Search @ blog.evri.com. Here is a snippet:

We thought about launching a labs site where we could showcase our latest gadgetry, but decided none of us really fancy wearing lab coats. Many of us have gardens, however, and a few of us wear overalls, so we figured we'd instead start a garden to sprout new ideas. So, voila: we have a new section of our site called Evri's Garden where we'll be showcasing our fresh but not fully farmed veggies. Our first garden sprout is Evri Search, which I'll spend some time chatting about.

Evri Search exposes our text analysis infrastructure that automatically identifies and makes available linguistic links connecting people, places and things found on the web. To provide this enhanced search capability, Evri Search performs an exhaustive deep natural language processing based analysis of every sentence in our corpus. This search interface allows you to directly interact with the same back end system our scientists and engineers use everyday to fine tune the algorithms used in our applications to search on your behalf. The help section on the search page is pretty exhaustive, so I thought it would be more entertaining to just walk through some interesting queries.

One of my favorite queries is to find corporate acquisitions. To do so using the Evri query language (EQL), I can construct a query like:

[Organization/Name]>buy>[Organization/Name]

In this query, I am asking the system for all sentences containing a grammatical clause where the source of an action is a named organization (usually companies but also non profits and government agencies), the action is the verb buy (or similar verbs), and the target of the action is also a company.

The full post is @ blog.evri.com

Evri is Public and on Chalo Bolo

2008-09-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

I am excited to announce we have opened up Evri to the public today. You can see what is new in the Evri blog post titled: The Beta is Open. You can also install the Evri widget on your blog or website by following instructions at www.evri.com/partners-and-bloggers.html.

I've installed the widget here on Chalo Bolo, so if you take a look at the bottom of any post, you can click on the Evri icon to launch the widget. I'll spend a few minutes explaining what the widget is, and how it works.

A couple weeks ago, I posted an article titled: The Twittering Ecstasy of Communication. Here is a view of the Evri widget as activated from this article:

Our technology took the text of my blog post, sent it up to Evri.com, and in essence, applied machines to read the post similar to the way a human might; the system then generated a media recommendation experience enabling you, my readers, to find out more about topics discussed within the post.

In the view above, we see the user has chosen to focus on the social networking site Facebook. Evri recommended articles that are based on the essence of my post, but with a focus on Facebook. As we can see from the recommendation titled "Facebook, a narcissists haven..." the recommendation was pretty appropriate given my statement: "I've always had this nagging sense that these activities have an innate element of narcissistic junior highschoolness about them." regarding Twitter and similar applications.

Also note, that the graph in the lower right corner enables you to get recommendations for articles and videos given a pair of entities. For example, clicking on LinkedIn shows recommendations based, again on the essence of my post, with an emphasis on both Facebook and LinkedIn.

As illustrated in the screenshot below, note that you can click on any recommended videos and watch them without ever having to leave Chalo Bolo.

Finally, if you discover you are really interested in discovering more about an entity like Jean Baudrillard, the post modernist philosopher from France, you can follow his link to our detailed page all about him. And once on the detail page for Jean Baudrillard, you may discover that, for example, Richard Wolin accused Baudrillard of "all but celebrating the terrorist attacks, essentially claiming that the United States of America received what it deserved" in the terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda on 9/11.

Please let me know if you have any problems installing the widget, and as always, I would love to get any feedback on ways to improve the product.

Hip Wiggling Black Boot Superman

2008-09-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

The Twittering Ecstasy of Communication

2008-08-31T12:19:00.000-07:00

About a decade ago a good friend of mine and I were discussing the on coming evolution of humanity toward a more united, more immediate, interconnected borgification-like thought process. He recommended I read Jean Baudrillard's Ecstasy of Communication. The French philosopher, as I recall, was arguing that communication is basically without meaning, that it is the communication itself that is communicated -- Baudrillard saw humanity as becoming all consumed, "orgiastically," by its ever increasingly sophisticated ability to communicate.

It is an interesting point, and one that I've been sensitive to. On deciding to blog, adopting social networking apps, etc. I've always had this nagging sense that these activities have an innate element of narcissistic junior highschoolness about them. At the same time, I've always felt this instinctive need to broadcast communicate -- from late in my teen years when I studied creative writing, to subsequent technical publications, to more recent blogging efforts.

Many reactionaries to the "Twitterification of the Web" tend toward a Baudrillard-esque take. By the "Twitterification of the Web," I mean the increasing emergence and dominance of the "What am I doing now" type functionality that Twitter introduced and social networking sites like Facebook extended through automatic status update broadcasting. I often hear the argument that this "crap is just a giant waste of time" -- certainly there is some truth in this, but recently I ran across an article by HorsePigCow that discusses some direct benefits of Twitter in particular. I was struck by the one line, that Twitter is a "serendipity enabler" -- its an interesting idea, that broadcasting snapshots of life minutia provides entry points for the interested listener to latch on and react to -- and perhaps, this one I'm really holding out for, we can create a rural-like social encounter experience in the urban world, i.e. just run into our friends instead of planning a priori encounters. The author provides the example of her tweet of arrival at an airport that led to a serendipitously present friend to hear the tweet, and arrange to meet.

Well, to make a long story short, I thought I'd finally dive in and give Twittering a try. So as an experiment, I'm now tweeting. You'll find my last few tweets available on the ChaloBolo website in the right column below the post topics section. You can follow any of the links should you be a fellow tweeter interested in subscribing.

Chameli to Rahul Bose to Shantaram: More Meandering through the Entity Web

2008-08-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite movies of all time is Chameli. So I decided to check out our Chameli page. Once there, I recalled really liking the male lead performance by Rahul Bose. So I quickly wound up on the Evri Rahul Bose page. I then was curious about the videos -- one was about an interview with Rahul Bose and a guy named Gregory Roberts -- the name Gregory Roberts sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't remember why. I started watching the video below, and quickly realized it was the author of the book Shantaram, that my wife just bought and is sitting right next to me on our night stand. A couple weeks ago, I had read the jacket of the book -- the amazing story of an Australian philosopher turned druggie turned Mumbai mobster turned into redeemed author -- it seemed a little too amazing, so I wasn't motivated enough to crack it open. Needless to say, after watching this interview, I am pretty intrigued. Warning: the host is a bit annoying, and the interview is in Hinglish. And a final warning: the links above require you to have a beta account with us which you can get HERE.

And here are links for the remaining interview parts: 2, 3, 4, 5

Last Days of The Raj - The end of British rule in India

2008-08-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

I just watched an interesting dramatized documentary on the last days of the British in India. The documentary starts with the arrival of the emergence of independent Pakistan and India. Viceroy Mountbatten, sent to India to formulate and execute a plan to end British rule in India and transfer power. The film tracks the violent events through till the birth of independent Pakistan and India. The film is available HERE.

The Flaming Conch Shell

2008-07-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

My good friend Matt, now known as Mateo, dropped his life as a Seattle software geek, packed up his trailer, and drove down to the lovely beaches of Zipolite, Oaxaca. He has set up a new life down there. Occasionally I post some of his letters, with his permission of course, to remind us all that there is a world out there away from mortgages and 9 to 5 gigs. Here are some snippets from the latest in the Continued Adventures of Mateo series:

I'm swamped with work doing web design stuff. Everybody here suddenly wants websites and I'm the only person who does them. You can see my latest one at www.septimosol.com, not bad eh? The hardest part is working with the people here who have lived in a fishing village their whole lives and have shall we say a different aesthetic that needs to be pleased. And they want me to use the logos their best friend since fourth grade made for them, like the flaming conch shell in the Septimo Sol site which I could not persuade them to let go of. Still, its fun working with people and making a difference in their lives and work.

Also I was thinking today this is ending up being a really good professional experience, as both a designer and programmer, and general systems administrator (because people are now starting to ask me to do all sorts of IT stuff), in kind of a roundabout way... I have been used to doing my thing and getting help in areas that I never had any experience in from other friends or co-workers. Here I'm completely on my own, so I have been forced to learn a ton of stuff that I never would have otherwise and become good at stuff I have always sucked at. Like at the moment I'm having to do a lot of research on how different search engines work so that I can get my clients rankings improved. It looks like I'm going to end up being kind of a jack of all trades computer guy down here. Tell that to Carsten when you feel like seeing a good belly laugh! Make sure he's not in the middle of drinking a beer or something.

Well, I've been thinking of you because today was another deep-should-have-been-here day. It has been raining for 3 days straight and everything is a mess. My house is full of piles of wet clothes and there is not much I can do about it. My road is washed out and I can't leave in my truck, everyone else has been hunkered down as well. Today I had to clean a nasty virus off both of my computers, and the online sync and backup service I'm using... a version of the Brontok virus. Its indonesian but it might be hitting mostly Spanish sites at the moment because a lot of the web documentation is in spanish. So anyway I got mostly through it all and everything backed up, and my registry cleaned up, and I decided to walk down to town to grab a piece of zuchini pie at Francos. Jody was there; my Australian friend who traveled through here last year, never left, stayed long past her visa, lost her passport, and most recently became impregnated by an entertaining mexican hippy called Rasta who hangs out at a local hotel and busses tables in exchange for free room, board, and [mystery substance X]. When either of them need any cash they have to go to the owner and ask for some like he's their father or something. However he is like the coolest guy in Zipol and the place is exactly what they want although it doesn't seem to me to be very conducive to family upbringing. Anyway despite what it sounds like she has a very solid head on her shoulders and is in a great space so she is great fun to talk to. It reminds you that intelligent people choose all different paths. So I spent about an hour there talking to her and my friend Paco, Franco's son, who is training to be a marabarista which is sort of an all purpose juggler type dude. Currently he is practicing all the time with twirly gyro things that seem to stay stuck on string connecting two wands. If you have seen it you will know exactly what I'm talking about, and if not I'll never be able to explain it. We are both supposed to be featured in a Mexican beer commercial being shot here at the end of the month, the rep showed up yesterday and took pictures of both of us without our shirts on and then scribbled down our phone numbers and raced off. Then Andrew the ex programmer nudist also from Australia wandered by, and we went off to go see the lagoon, which broke today. We say the lagoon breaks when the sand barrier between the sea and the seasonal river breaks and the water in the lagoon starts rushing out into the ocean. Its very dramatic because it starts with a tiny trickle and then as it excavates sand away it turns into a raging current and then carves out a big wide (20 meter) opening, and then the water becomes kind of a lake, but an estuary really. Its fun to watch. Plus we almost got to see Armando's little beach bar completely get taken out, but alas, it only took part of the roof and a palapa hut, so we'll have to wait for the big rains in October to make the lagoon break again. Ha ha, I'm becoming Mexican, laughing at the misfortune of others.

Then I went to go buy some roast chicken to take home for dinner, and along the way I lost Paca, so I went to Jody's beach bar where Paca always goes when she runs away, because she likes hanging out with Jody. She wasn't there, but Daniele was... a thoroughly delectable Brazilian girl with whom I have struck up a purposeful acquaintance. Try to guess what the purpose is. I had to think quick on my feet and make up a plan to invite her on the following day. So tomorrow a bunch of us are going to Estacahuite to go swimming in the rain and eat Shrimp al Diablo at my favorite Shrimp al Diablo restuarant. Actually every Mexican restaurant is a Shrimp al Diablo restaurant, since that is one of the three dishes that by Zipolite law must be included on every menu, along with Filete al mojo de ajo and Filete Empanado. Anyway hopefully I will be able to snuggle up with her a bit tomorrow.

So I watched the boys play soccer on the beach for a while, and talked to my friend Pedro from Oaxaca city who was trying to steal a little time away from his in-laws on the beach, then I headed home, but I got sidetracked at Geogione's new little cafe, where my Oaxacan friend Alexis who builds cob homes was having a nice toasted foccacia sandwich. I had a bite and it was so good I had to order a couple foccacias for myself to take home, and while you are at Georgione my friend why don't stuff one of those nice italian salamis in the bag, say Alexis why don't you come over for a little glass of wine before heading off on your motercycle? Alexis and I split most of a bottle, and he invited me to his birthday party on friday, we are going to have sushi. I told him I wanted to bring the Brazilian, which was fine, and suggested he also invite our friend English Sarah from Mazunte, the former rock star who made her real fortune in North Carolina selling little ice creams to construction workers in tight shorts. He said, sure she's coming, but the problem is, so is her boyfriend, and her boyfriends wife has also suddenly turned up from wherever she went and is also coming, so he's expecting fireworks. Just another day in Zipolite...

Enjoy the summer in seattle!

The Grammar Students Guide to Radiohead

2008-07-12T00:09:00.000-07:00

Below is an article that I wrote and originally published on the Evri blog. I included it here in its entirety.

--

Here at Evri, we talk a lot about searching less. When we say searching less, we are talking about you, our users with precious time -- we want you to search less -- we aren't talking about our machines, because they do an awful lot of searching so you don't have to. So how are they, our racks and racks of computers, searching so you can understand more?

Well it comes down to teaching our machines to read documents more similar to the way humans do - to basically understand more of the meaning of the documents they index. This is very different from what traditional keyword based search technology does. Typical search engines, when they encounter a document, treat the document like a bag of words -- associations between the words, how they interconnect, and form actual meaning is lost. Consider the following text snippet from a Starpulse article:

Howard insists they won't be copying Radiohead's idea and making their disc only available on the internet. [...] He tells BBC Radio 1, "We won't be doing the same thing as Radiohead, no." [...] Last year, Radiohead released In Rainbows as an Internet download and allowed fans to name their own price for the album.

Now from this snippet of text, your favorite search engine will store this data something like:

Radiohead - 3
Howard - 1
Rainbows - 1
released - 1
Internet - 1

and so on. I'm simplifying things a lot for the sake of discussion, but basically, your favorite search engine is maintaining a list of words, and keeping track of how many times those words appear in a given document. This approach works quite well for finding websites, but not very well for discovering facts, or relationships describing how people, places and things interconnect.

Now consider how Evri's approach is different. For this same snippet of text, our machines will break the snippet out into multiple sentences. For each sentence, our machines will, in essence, diagram the sentence similar to what you did back in 7th grade grammar class. So, for every grammatical clause in a sentence, our system creates a data structure like that shown below.
In the last sentence of the snippet above, our system will store a relationship like:

Radiohead > released > In Rainbows

In addition, our system knows that Radiohead is a band, released is a verb, and In Rainbows is an album. If a sentence said: Radiohead of Oxfordshire may release an album called In Rainbows, our system will store Oxfordshire as the suffix modifer of Radiohead, and will store the verb release as being conditional; knowing that a verb is conditional or negated is important as this information can be used to determine where in a list of results this relationship should appear. In addition, if a subsequent sentence says something like: The band's experiment proved successful., our system will know that The band refers to Radiohead; this is because our system attempts to resolve anaphora similar to the way humans do. Finally, this triplet style data structure is searchable at web scale and web speed by searches expressible in a query language; this query language is quite flexible, but basically allows our recommendation and information navigation applications to formulate effective queries in a precise manner. For example, a query like:

[musical_artist] OR [band] > praise > Radiohead

is being used to render the right column in the entity detail page shown in the screen shot below.
When you actually click on a person or organization, like Billy Corgan, the system will execute a more refined query like:

Billy Corgan > praise > Radiohead

One of the challenges our scientists and engineers face is how to formulate these types of queries in clever ways so you, the user, do not have to; I'll save this discussion for another day, however.

Finally, we published a book chapter last year that does a more thorough job explaining our approach, and additional grammatical treatments our system performs. So if you're interested, see the Natural Language Processing and Text Mining book chapter titled A Case Study in Natural Language Based Web Search.

Evri Exposes the Web that Always Was

2008-06-25T17:43:00.001-07:00

There are moments in my life that are incredibly vivid -- just thinking of them draws out a swirl of colors and sights and sounds in my mind. I recall being lost, at the age of 3, and escorted by a policeman to our home. I recall flying through the air for what felt like hours, until my shoulder smacked into a thick fir tree -- the sound of my bike crashing behind me - the pain and angst during the many hours it took to hike out. I remember huddling over a workstation in the basement of the University of Wisconsin engineering computer lab - mouth wide open, staring at Mosaic, while watching a fellow graduate student click through the first few web sites I ever saw. I remember the first time my brilliant former boss showed me an early prototype of an NLP based search tool about 7 years ago -- I saw for the first time a world of information, an intriguing world of information, connecting things, or entities, in a direct, and revealing way I had never seen before. Seeing a CNN video play in that first web browser, and wandering through the interconnectedness of the web, I knew the world as I had thought of it had changed. Seeing the web of entities for the first time, I knew the world as I had thought of it had changed again.

If you're like most people, when you think of the web, you think of a bunch of websites connected via hyperlinks to other websites. Indeed this web's incredible value we simply take for granted now. But another web exists, and I believe its value is equally incredible though untapped -- it's a web that has existed since humans first wrote down a sentence -- it's the web of things, connected via language itself. It's this web that we humans use to understand and make sense of the world. So if the world wide web consisted of 1 website with 1 document containing 1 sentence -- the sentence being: "Evri launches its Beta," -- this web, the entity web, or as my CEO Neil calls it, the "data graph of the web," would consist of 2 nodes: Evri and Beta, with grammatical clause level linkage: launch. One of Noam Chomsky's great contributions of the non political flavor, was carving out a theory showing all humans communicate in languages representable by a common basic grammatical structure. At a most basic level, humans define a source of some action, the action itself, and then the object of that action. For example, a caveman points at himself, then points at his stomach, then points at some meat on a rock -- message is clear: me want meat. Of course most of us use a more complex form of language that transcends caveman-speak.

Dealing with the complexities of language is one of the things that keeps many of us Evri-ites busy -- doing things like getting machines to learn how to resolve pronouns such as he/she/it and other anaphora like the lawyer, the president, or the company. A human can read a body of text about OJ Simpson and understand that "the lawyer" referred to throughout the article, actually refers to Johnny Cochran -- any system that tries to expose the entity web needs to do the same. Humans easily perform other tasks that are difficult for machines, but essential to the entity web - for example, if you're talking about Will Smith, most humans can easily figure out whether you're referring to Will Smith the actor, entertainer, and musician or Will Smith the football player of the New Orleans Saints. Humans are pretty good at using the context of language to assist in this type of disambiguation task. We've made good strides at getting machines to perform this task pretty well by following the general approach humans follow, that is, paying attention to the surrounding context and by leveraging our language model. For example, we know actors tend to perform actions like: act, perform in, star in, against objects like: movies, shows or events. We know football players perform very different actions like: scoring, tackling, or passing against objects like field goals, players or footballs. In addition to all the excitement with language, there's the great fun that has kept me busy for many a long day and late night -- whacking through the vast ocean of human communication fast and efficiently -- as many companies have shown with the world wide web, its not enough to know a web exists, its essential to bring order and the efficient ability to navigate.

So we're opening up some early glimpses into this web connecting all things; I'd love for you to tell us what you think. You can sign up at www.evri.com. And on a final note: I recently watched a great film called Heavy Metal In Baghdad that features the amazing story of Acrassicauda, a group of war weary kids from Baghdad that simply want to rock out; here's a screenshot from their page on our new Beta:

Bizarre yet Hillarious Bollywood Video-Ma-Jig

2008-06-10T22:55:00.000-07:00

Bye Bye Stealth, Hello World, Evri's Coming Out

2008-05-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

After many months of intense focus, late nights and long weekends, we are finally on our way out of stealth. You can read more HERE, HERE and HERE.

Photos from India Trip

2008-05-08T22:17:00.002-07:00

You can see my photos from our recent to trip to India HERE.

More Wonder in Wonderland

2008-04-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

We returned to Wonderland, and things have indeed changed since our 2005 trip; there is now a water park -- the perfect place to cool off and listen to bhangra.

Ameen modelling Jalandhar's latest swim wear fashion...

And the kids 5 minutes after returning home...

The Progress of Safety - Indian Style

2008-04-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

So for any of you who may have recollections of 70s travel on India's famed GT road, things are much different, generally for the better. My childhood trips to India virtually always involved an accident of some form or another. Once my father, grandfather and I got ran off the road by a bus overtaking another -- our motorcycle went down, and we all suffered some serious breakage. I can't recall a single trip to India during that period where at least someone we knew was not in a serious accident.

Now things are very different. The road from Delhi to Amritsar in general segregates traffic moving to Delhi, from that moving away from Delhi. I'm no traffic engineer, but in general, this seems a good thing. In addition, the moon crater size pot holes, while by no means an endangered species, generally have dwindled on main thoroughfares. Things get even more amazing -- many cities now have very strict helmet and seat belt laws. When you look out onto the streets, it really looks like the laws are being enforced, and folks are following them. But on closer inspection, I realize this is not quite the case.

Upon entering a taxi, virtually every one of them tells you to put on your seat belt. So I reach for my belt, and realize there is no buckle on the end -- its been cut off. The driver usually smiles and says something like, "just lay it across your lap, so the police won't notice." I was wandering the bazaar and noticed a man selling helmets - they looked like hard baseball caps. He had a pair of scissors and was busy cutting off the straps. I asked him what good a helmet was with no straps -- he looked at me like I was completely daft, "so the police don't bother you, obviously."

I also realize that woman don't wear helmets. So I ask my driver why that's the case -- he says, "oh the ladies were furious that their hair was being messed up. Woman have many rights you know. Men in the goverment also realized that so much of life's beauty is gone if one can no longer see woman and their long flowing hair on the back of a motorcycle." All I could think was, ok, here's a country with an out of control infanticide rate driving a major gender imbalance, and the government decides to start favoring women by allowing them the option to die in statistically larger numbers. After thinking about it for a while, I realize I'm wrong -- after all, the straps are cut off the mens helmets, and there is no functioning Snell helmet approval organization, so virtually anyone can manufacture helmets; they can even make them out of tupperware if they want to.

The best part, of course, is that if you have 500 rupees on you, you can totally ignore the laws, since a little palm grease goes a long way. And I must say, all cynicism aside, it really is liberating knowing that virtually every law out there is easily skirted, leaving one completely free to do what they want. Our kids love romping around seat belt free in the car. And in general I let them, not just since the belts are broken, but back in 70s America, that's how I grew up.

A Trip to Manikaran Sahib

2008-04-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

We recently returned from a few days up in the mountains with my cousin and family. We went to Manikaran Sahib, a Gurdwara that is located in the Parvati valley near Kulu and Manali in Himachal Pradesh.

The ride up was pretty twisty and turny. We had multiple vomit related pit stops. We've driven around the Cascades quite a bit without incident, but apparently the Himalayan mountain roads were too much for Nayan's stomach. Nonetheless, the drive was just spectacular. One of the things that is so different here, is that people, lots of people, actually live way up the mountain sides. Often there are no roads, just little trails; folks hike up many thousands of vertical feet to get to their houses. There's also an interesting network of rather sketchy cables and baskets to help people and goods traverse major valleys. Pictured below is me standing on one of many jerry rigged rafts that folks use to cross rivers.

The Gurdwara is built around natural hot springs; there are multiple baths where you can soak. The Gurdwara itself has a very universalist bent -- virtually every religious prophet is pictured throughout the Gurdwara; each time I went into the hot spring I had a different experience -- once with a group of Hindu priests, again w/ a number of Buddhist monks, more with Sikh pilgrims.
Here are a few snippets from SikhWiki.org on the history of the site: Guru Nanak Dev ji was with his Sikhs in the Himalaya mountains of India. His sikhs were hungry and there was no food. Guru Nanak sent his good friend Bhai Mardana to collect food for langar (the community kitchen). Many people donated rice and flour(atta)to make parsadas(bread). The one problem was that there was no fire to cook the food. Guru Nanak than lifted a rock and a hot spring appeared. The sikhs were able to make rice and beans.

Legend has it that once Lord Shiva and his divine consort Parvati were wandering in this sublime environment. Shiva liked the place and started meditating. Meanwhile, Parvati started taking a bath in the blue waters. While she was playing in the water she lost her earring. Shiva was enraged when he could not get back the earring, he started doing Tandav, the dance of destruction. The atmosphere got tense and Shiva threatened the serpent, the probable thief. The serpent fished the jewel out from the waters. Thus the river came to be known as Parvati and the place was called Mani(ring)Karan(ear).

A Delightful Delhi Day

2008-03-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

We had a blast cruising around Delhi today. Since we're all jet lagged, we experienced the very unusual act of getting the Dhillon family out and about at a crisp 7:30 AM. This is the first time in my life I have actually enjoyed Delhi. Perhaps its the stunning Le Meridien hotel that is coloring my take, but I could swear this city is so much cleaner and greener than I remember it. We especially enjoyed Humayun's Tomb -- mostly, the first, more minor tomb pictured here. Something about the lines and rawness of its shape; I also love how nothing is cordoned off or protected by railings -- we happily climbed up and around and all over the structures.

Love, Escalators, and Fishing Nets

2008-03-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

So we got out off the plane @ the airport yesterday, and I was totally shocked. For the 36 years of my life, and the many many times I have been to the Delhi airport, I have not once seen the escalator working. In 96, when I flew in from Boston, I saw a college girl fall on her knees before the escalator and start crying tears of joy, "oh my broken India! I have missed you so much." While riding down the escalator I contemplate the thrill of progress reaching even the arcane corners of government. Upon stepping off the escalator, I look up and smile, realizing the girl's broken love is still there to welcome her. Right above the customs agents that stamp your passport is a massive gaping hole in the ceiling where you can see piping and ducting exposed through shattered pieces of grease stained 70s ceiling tiles. Below the 30 foot round hole hangs a massive fishing net; it is tied with twine to rusty bent electrical poles sticking down from the ceiling at various angles. The net keeps new arrivals and customs agents safe from falling debris.

Family Photos from the Christmas Season

2008-02-03T10:07:00.000-08:00

Illiterate Iraqi Men in Ballard

2008-01-19T08:27:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a work out. While working out, the following conversation occurred between the following people:

Large white rather awkward 50 year old man w/ beard, I'll refer to him as LWAYOMB for short.
Typical white normal middle aged Seattle-ite woman, I'll refer to her as SeattleWoman
And me.

I'm working out on a machine, about 10 feet away LWAYOMB says to SeattleWoman, "excuse me, excuse me, miss, uh hum, do you know if we are supposed to clean up after we use the machines. I mean, uh hum, today is my first day and I, uh hum, am not sure."

SeattleWoman: "well yes technically you are, but I'd say about 40% of the people don't and about 60% do."

LWAYOMB: "oh, uh hum, yes, I see. Well you know, I see that man over there, uh hum, he didn't clean off his machines, and, uh hum, perhaps he can't read English."

SeattleWoman: "well you know some people do, and some don't."

LWAYOMB: "yes well he looks like an Iraqi, so you know, perhaps he can't read. You know, these Iraqi's don't read English very well."

SeattleWoman kind of drifts away passively.

So at this point I'm really annoyed. I walk over and say to LWAYOMB, "Sir, I speak English just fine. You really shouldn't assume that a man merely due to his skin color is illiterate. Also, I'm not from Iraq, but if I were, why would that matter? You could simply have asked me to wipe off the machines instead of proceeding with this elaborate passive aggressive dialog."

LWAYOMB huffs and says, "oh well yeah, uh hum, I've tried that before, uh hum and it didn't get me anywhere." LWAYOMB getting red and flustered, repeats over and over again, "can you read, I mean, can you read. Can't you read?"

I shake my head and go back to working out. Later, after LWAYOMB leaves, SeattleWoman says to me, "I'm really sorry about that. I thought he was asking a straightforward question, and I was trying to say, yeah some people do wipe down the machines, some don't, it's not really a big deal either way. But after he started on the racist angle, I was shocked and sort of speechless."

I said, "yeah that was pretty bizarre. I've spent my entire life in the states, and I must say, that was the first clearly racist incident I've ever encountered directed at me. And of all places, this is Seattle, where on earth is this guy from?"

So, to all my friends over the years who have argued to prove the point to me that racism is alive and well even in lefty Seattle, perhaps you are right. But I must say, while its certainly annoying, this man is clearly in the minority, and his behavior is not socially acceptable. Afterward, when I was checking out, I chatted w/ the receptionist about the incident. Coincidentally, the man walked by at the same time. She was apologetic, clearly bothered, and said she'd chat w/ him.

Remembering Paul Yeskel: 1951--2007

2008-01-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

One of my good and very inspiring friends recently lost a dear friend of his. He sent me the eulogy he made to his friend. I found it so moving I asked him if I could post it here; to my request, John said, "Please post away. My prayer is that everyone who gets this email will forward it." Please have a read and realize that life is precious, and there truly are amazing people who make this world a better place.

John Silliman Dodge
From Radio & Records Jan 18, 2008

I recall a scene in Tom Sawyer where Tom and Huck have staged their own deaths. The whole town is packed into the church and there’s much sobbing and lamentation. The two boys, hiding upstairs in the organ loft, are having the experience many of us fantasize about: attending our own funeral and seeing just how many people loved us and how upset they are that we’re gone.

On the afternoon of December 27, 2007 at a chapel in New Jersey, I spoke by thought to my dearest friend, Paul Yeskel who died suddenly and unexpectedly four days before. “Pauley, wherever you are I hope you can see this room filled with people all here to honor you, to declare how much they loved you and how much richer you made their lives.” We don’t know why he went to sleep the evening of December 22 and simply never woke up, but when the news finally comes, it won’t matter how it happened. Paul is gone and his wife, his daughters, his brother and sister, his world family will never be the same.

Let me tell you a few things about this wonderful man I knew for 35 years. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey and came of age during the golden age of New York Top 40 AM radio. Cousin Brucie, Murray the K, Dan Ingram and the rest were like family members to him. The summer of ‘69 before his first year of college, Paul went to Woodstock. And if that didn't clinch his career path, I don’t know what did.

He started in radio but soon moved over to records. Promotion was Paul’s special calling and his effectiveness was demonstrated by the gold records which covered his office walls. There were stints with Ariola, ATCO (where he was instrumental in signing my band, Cooper-Dodge), and Arista Records. Then came his marketing and promotion firm, Aim Strategies. Many firsts there, including the first company to promote the (then) new Triple A format, first company to develop radio play and retail sales tracking software, first company to focus on the current side of Classic Rock with the website www.classicsdujour.com. Besides the amazing set of rock-hall-of-fame pictures that rolls when you visit www.aimstrategies.com, I like this quote best:

“We have had the privilege to work with artists like The Beatles (Love), Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Heart, Styx, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Queen, CSNY, John Fogerty, Peter Frampton, Steely Dan, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Journey, Kiss, John Mellencamp, Sammy Hager, REO Speedwagon, ZZ Top and The Allman Brothers. I get paid for this. Life is good.”

Family was important to Paul. He married the girl of his dreams and together they produced two beautiful daughters. His fine family was a great source of emotional support when in 1998 Paul developed a rare and potentially fatal kidney disease. Younger brother David Yeskel (also a successful record exec) was to be the designated organ donor, but when Paul’s system started to crash in 2004 and they began the pre-transplant process, Dave’s candidacy was suddenly ruled out due to a family history of diabetes. Without a feasible Plan B, Paul was seriously worried. He knew that people died waiting for kidneys which came too late.

He shared these mounting concerns with me over dinner at The Learning Conclave conference in Minneapolis in July 2004. At one point I asked Paul, What’s your blood type? A-positive he says. Really, so is mine. I should just give you one of my kidneys. To which he responds, Don’t **** with me! But less than five months later at the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that’s just what happened. After that life-altering experience, we called ourselves The Kidney Brothers. We nicknamed our co-project Billy, as in Billy the Kidney. Of all my life’s so-called achievements, that’s the one of which I am most humble and proud.

The next summer, the Conclave invited us back to tell our story. To a packed auditorium session, Paul described the major rejection episode he experienced immediately after the kidney transplant. In typical fashion, he made serious things light and funny. The crowd cracked up when Paul said, “But hey, I’m in record promotion. I can handle rejection.” He soon became active in the cause of organ donation. If youbd like to learn more about the organization he was involved with, visit the New Jersey Organ and Tissue Sharing Network at www.sharenj.org.

Now our business is going through a fundamental revolution. But however things work out, the basics won’t change. We still need people with big hearts and big ideas to lead us into the future. We need honest people to offset the dishonest, visionaries to counterbalance the myopic, positivity to counteract the gloom and doomers. Paul was this kind of man. The kind of guy who puts a sign on his desk that says, “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

So if imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, let us flatter Paul by imitating the better aspects of his character. He was honest to a fault, candid even in difficult situations. He was generous and genuinely caring. He was in touch with his feelings and their expression. He was one of a kind, a big, beautiful man whose warm spirit enriched the lives of everyone he touched. I’m not being sentimental here. He was the kind of guy you'd give your kidney to.

I’ll close with lines from an old Eagles song, the band that Paul Yeskel first booked in college back in 1972 and last promoted with Long Road Out of Eden in 2007:

“My man’s got it made, he’s gone far beyond the pain. And we who must remain go on living just the same. We who must remain go on laughing just the same.”

So long, Paul. We’ll miss you. In you, the world lost one of the good guys.

Uranium Ore to G-Strings: Recommendations Gone Bad

2007-11-30T16:24:00.000-08:00

Amazon's recommendation engine, I believe, relies heavily on collaborative filtering. The theory behind collaborative filtering reads something like: I will tend to like things that people like me like, where "people like me" is defined to be: people that perform similar actions, like buy the books I buy, or rate movies they way I do. Now, take a moment to go the Amazon page for the Uranium Ore product located at:

http://www.amazon.com/Uranium-Ore/dp/B000796XXM

and check out the "Customers that bought this item also bought ..." section. So after laughing for about 5 minutes, I started to think of why this might happen.

Here's a theory I had: there exists a group of users that like to spoof Amazon's engine for laughs. So they go out and provide a bunch of recommendations on goofy products, like those appearing as a recommendation for Uranium Ore. Then, they comb Amazon for products that don't have a lot of purchase transactions. Since Amazon's recommendation engine relies more heavily on purchase data to determine similar users to then pivot into recommendations, in the absence of this data, I reasoned, it probably relies more heavily on user provided ratings. So, without having to spend any money, the spoofers can simply rate the product well, and voila, out pop the G-String recommendations.

Well I don't think this explanation cuts it. I went through and followed recommendations made by a bunch of users w/ comments like: This is the best strawberry jam I've ever tasted. It works well with toast AND English muffins, and these users certainly did not make recommendations of the G-String kind. So, what gives?

Thanksgiving at Fox Farm in Plain

2007-11-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

We've been having a fun Thanksgiving up here at Fox Farm in Plain, Washington. Fox farm is an old, well, fox farm, as in raising foxes for furs. The fox raising has long since stopped, and now its mostly a piece of land owned by a playful family that rents out a little cabin. The land is about 15 acres set in a beautiful valley near Lake Wenatchee in the Cascade mountains. The kids have been having a blast; the farm has chickens, goats and horses among other critters. The father of the family works up at Stevens Pass and collects all kinds of contraptions on the property, like old ski lifts, World War I vehicles, really old snow CATs, and more. Its pretty interesting just wandering the farm and running across things. We've also been enjoying having a nice campfire at night. Even in 20 degree weather, there's nothing like a campfire to stay cozy.

Nayan's Birthday Party

2007-11-18T12:51:00.001-08:00

We had a blast the other day celebrating Nayan's 6th birthday. We went down to Sunset Bowl in Ballard. The kids had a hoot. The older kids were seeking order and civility in the bowling process. The younger kids just wanted to grab a ball and throw it down the lane. The younger kids eventually won out, so we settled for pure chaos with the names of random party goers appearing on the who's-to-bowl-next bowling monitors. After some initial discomfort with the anarchy, everyone had a great time, including the birthday boy.

Slurpies at the Science Center

2007-11-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

We were at the science center the other day and I had a dying urge for a slurpy. Here's a quick clip of the kids savoring theirs. My appologies for the gunfire audio, but Blogger's video upload is a bit buggy.

The Rise of Khalsa - Punjabi Animation

2007-10-28T20:58:00.001-07:00

Its been 14 years since I had my original epiphany on how the web would change the world, and I must say, I'm continually surprised at how rapidly things can change on the Internet. It was a little over a year ago when I wrote about the difficulties of finding kids content in Hindi. Today I did a YouTube search for Hindi cartoons and found a bunch of good content. I thought certainly there couldn't be much Punjabi content, but then my Punjabi cartoons query revealed a bunch as well.

So while searching, I ran across this animation called The Rise of Khalsa in Punjabi. Someone posted it on YouTube in 7 parts. You can also purchase the DVD HERE. The YouTube link to the first part is HERE. I have so far watched the first 3 parts, and it seems to be fairly well done. The video depicts Banda Singh Bahadur's rise and conquest of Punjab by the Khalsa army starting in the early 1700s; the Sikh victories contributed to the ultimate fall of the Mughal raj.

There are some violent images, so be aware if watching it with your kids. Unfortunately, there are no English subtitles in the YouTube video.

Lord of the Flies: Hard Lessons for a 5 Year Old

2007-09-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

I posted HERE about Nayan's decision to wear a patka and be a proper Sikh. Well it seems he's changed his mind. For 4 weeks Nayan was perpetually taunted and called "weirdo", "freak" and repeatedly ordered to "take it off" by other kids. He was very surprised. He honestly expected other kids to be as excited as he was in his religious adherence. What particularly frustrated him, was that whenever a child asked him "why he had that thing on his head" - and he tried to explain it, they ran off laughing.

We had no idea he was being harassed until last week. He was afraid to say anything since the school authorities had lectured the kids not to "tattle." Ameen went in to speak with his teacher upon finding out. The teacher, to her credit, took action to separate some of the harassing kids. But I believe it was all too late. These things can be pretty viral in their propagation. The damage was already done.

Nayan learned a hard first life lesson: fitting in is really important, and in the all white school of North Beach Elementary, he already stands out. With all the pierced, tattooed, pink haired "open mindedness" of left wing Seattle - one would think this wouldn't happen. Well it seems many humans, even as young as 5, simply are obsessed with something as harmless as a head scarf. It saddened me to see him so excited with his new haircut and eagerness to be accepted, but alas, at least his heart was in the right place. He was very logical about it, he said, "Papa, perhaps I can try again when I'm older, and better at explaining Sikhism."

Saturday Morning Soccer in Ballard

2007-09-30T21:09:00.002-07:00

We don't yet have a mini van, but we do spend Saturday mornings at Nayan's soccer matches. I can see why this is THE world sport; the game seems to come very naturally to kids, and unlike T-ball, they really get into it. A quick video of the kids playing afterward is shown below (the gunfire audio is courtesy of Google's new video uploading software, the original is HERE):

Seth Falcon joins Hypertext Solutions

2007-09-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

Some folks have been asking what type of individuals we are looking for here at Hypertext Solutions. In general, we are looking for star contributors in multiple areas including but not limited to the areas of: text analysis, natural language processing, distributed programming, information retrieval, and data mining. I thought it might be helpful to chat with one of our new hires and ask him why he joined us.

Seth Falcon began working for Hypertext Solutions last week. In addition to being a key individual contributor to the well known open source Bioconductor project, Seth helped lead the overall development efforts for the project and was responsible for orchestrating the efforts of over a hundred contributors scattered world wide. Seth is a known contributor to R, a widely used statistical programming language. Seth brings with him a wealth of statistical and programming knowledge which will help us as we develop beyond our core areas of unstructured and structured text handling.

I asked Seth a couple questions when he first started last week; I have shared these below:

Seth, you obviously were working on very intriguing and influential work. You could have gone anywhere, both to large companies as well as myriad startups. What was it about Hypertext Solutions that really stood out for you as the place to join?

There were a number of factors that made Hypertext Solutions the most intriguing choice for me.  First of all, a small start-up was appealing because I want the excitement of building The Next Big Thing  along with the responsibility of helping to evolve the development culture.  Another factor is the problem domain.  The search space is a rapidly growing domain rife with interesting problems.  So not only did Hypertext provide the start-up environment I was looking for, but it gave me an opportunity to work with cutting edge technologies in a domain that I find interesting and challenging.

So, how do you like it so far?

A few days before I started, I received a "book bomb" from the company (don't worry, just a bunch of books, absolutely no explosives) consisting of a number of technical and fiction titles.  I thought this was a great way to start communicating the company's vision to new hires.    Today is day three.  I continue to be impressed by the technologies that we are working on and am enjoying getting to know my colleagues. I'm really excited about ramping up and starting to contribute to our products.

More about Seth can be found on his blog at: User Primary.

First Day of School

2007-09-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

The other day was Nayan's first day of kindergarten. This was a bitter sweet moment for me. While I'm overjoyed Nayan is growing up to be a mature, articulate, and thoughtful young boy, its sad, in a way, to know he's growing up. I recall distinctly when I was 17, waving goodbye to all of my family and friends, as I boarded an airplane to head off to Chicago and my new college life; my family and friends were so emotional -- sad, and crying. In me, there was no sadness; I had to pinch myself to stop from smiling; I was thrilled at arriving in my new life and leaving my small town world behind. Without a doubt, when that day comes with Nayan waving goodbye to me, I'll be a real emotional mess.

Despite the teachers rounding us parents up and taking us to the "cry" room - no one was outwardly sad, most of the moms were just grinning looking forward to their precious hours of freedom. There were, however, many practical concerns. Nayan has never been away from home for such a long duration. Simply getting him to eat his lunch is a whirlwind of a challenge. Well he learned quickly. After 3 days of stubbornly refusing to eat anything but the cookies in his lunch, he ultimately caught on.

I was also concerned about Nayan getting picked on for his patka. Nayan has recently decided he will be a proper Sikh and never cut his hair. As others, Ameen and I were quite surprised by his decision, and powerful will. Nayan has virtually no role models here in the states who have kept their hair, but his dearest cousins in India all have their hair kept. Ameen, after many failed trips to the barber, ultimately relented. So it turns out no one teased him, as Ameen was certain would be the case. Our neighborhood is really full of such open minded and caring people. Thank God we don't live in France, where Nayan would have been ejected from the school system for simply following his faith.

KDD 2007 Videos Available

2007-09-01T06:33:00.001-07:00

The KDD folks have made select talks and interviews from KDD 2007 available online. If you were unfortunate, like me, and unable to attend, you can view the videos HERE.

I recommend Calculating Latent Demand in the Long Tail by Chris Anderson of Wired Magazine.

The Rock Star Treasure Hunt

2007-08-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

I've been interviewing a lot of people lately. Trying to find truly great employees is such an interesting process. I find it difficult to really put my finger on what predicts a future epic employee. I've interviewed a large number of people over many years. I've also hired a good number, and then gone on to see how they performed.

Over the years I have constructed a mathematical model to try to help me gauge different attributes of engineers and ultimately score them. Its not a terribly fancy model, but I do have a number of attributes I rank a candidate on after an interview; these scores are then combined to give me a final candidate score. In many ways, this is a ridiculous thing to do -- try and distill a human being down to a simple number between 0 and 1. What I find, is that I am constantly playing with the model to see which attributes really matter and in what relative weight to one another. I often go back and forth with numbers until I can align them w/ my intuition; I realize this is a silly game, but I find the process helps me think through the many issues and realize ultimately what is important. So I put the scores of the absolute best people I have worked with, and the worst, along with the scores I think I would have given them after interviewing them; this helps give me a little perspective. Some really key lessons stand out for me.

1. Programming problems and puzzles only take you so far. I like to ask a lot of tough questions, but the one lesson that sticks out in my head, is of the hundreds of people I have interviewed over the years, the one person who stood out as the uncontested best at answering my technical questions, turned out to be the absolute worst employee. As a candidate, I recall being utterly impressed by this persons answers. I kept drilling him from all angles, and then said, ok, these answers are simply great and I have to hire the candidate. I did, and then I realized what a mistake it was. It turns out, this person was a complete Bartelby the Scrivener, cleverly refusing to do any work. He simply would not do anything, other than reinstall various operating systems on his machine, and answer other people's questions. It turns out, he was really quite good at answering peoples questions, but a "mere" oracle was not what we needed.

2. Sort of the opposite of my first lesson, is that someone who my instincts tell me is worth hiring, but I may still be hesitant on, may still be great. I barely hired at least one of my greatest all time hires.

3. Motivation is a hard thing to gauge, but an essential part of any great contributor. People that have something to prove, can be incredibly motivated. For example, I once hired someone who had never programmed anything more than some toy applications based on a reading of "Java in 21 days." I knew I was gambling, but I was just so impressed with how much this person knew about something he knew nothing about only 3 weeks prior. Obviously he had many other great technical attributes, a strong math and physics background, etc. In any event, he was able to rewrite 6 months of work from a 15 year veteran in 5 long days and have the system really shining within a few short weeks. A few months later he was the star programmer amongst a strong team of 10.

Okay, I'll end this post, as I'm not sure what my conclusions are, other than, its not a straightforward thing to hire the best of the best.

Out of the dark - Hypertext Solutions buys InFact

2007-08-02T17:02:00.001-07:00

Well for those of you who have wondered what my top secret quest for the past few months has been about, you can now, finally, read all about it HERE. It has been an extremely interesting time in my professional career leading the effort to make this deal happen. I have indeed learned a great deal about many things non-technical. I have met an amazingly talented bunch of people who have helped guide me through this amorphous and somewhat enigmatic process.

More than anything, I'm simply thrilled to join Hypertext Solutions (note: the name is just a placeholder, we're still in stealth mode) where I can focus on taking the work that has consumed the last 6 years of my life out to massive success. I'm so happy to be back in the start up world, and especially, a well funded one with a powerful and disruptive strategy.

Finally, for those of you who are interested in perfecting and building upon the world's best NLP based text analysis and search platform, send me your resume! I'd love to talk to you.

And now, here is a snippet from the press release:

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Insightful Corporation (NASDAQ: IFUL), announced today the sale of its InFact search technology and associated intellectual property rights to Hypertext Solutions Inc. for $3.65 million in cash. Hypertext is a Seattle-based startup company focused on making information on the web more “intelligent.” The transaction closed today.

“Our move to sell the InFact technology enables us to focus on accelerating the growth of our S-PLUS product line and our Data Analysis business, which grew 14% during the first half of 2007 as compared to the first half of 2006,” said Jeff Coombs, President and CEO of Insightful Corporation. “We believe we are well positioned to drive additional growth in the predictive analytics space, and are currently investing heavily to deliver an increasingly enterprise-scalable platform and a series of high-value solutions targeted at the life science and financial services industries.”

Google Scalability Conference Talks

2007-07-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

Greg Linden has an excellent summary of the Google Scalability Conference with a number of links to the talks. I've seen a few, and highly recommend the first keynote titled MapReduce, BigTable, and Other Distributed System Abstractions for Handling Large Datasets by Jeff Dean. Greg's full post is available HERE. Kyle Cordes also does a good job of summarizing YouTube's scaling experiences HERE. You can see the full YouTube scaling talk HERE.

Human Computation by Luis Von Ahn

2007-07-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love StumpleUpon's video recommendation plugin. I now get great video's to watch highly tailored to my taste. Here is a lecture I ran into by Luis Von Ahn, a CS professor at CMU, lecturing on his approach to developing clever and addictive games to leverage human computational power to solve important problems. For example, one of the games allows him to build a database of metatags for images on the web. He argues he can metatag effectively all image content in Google's image search with his user population in a very short period of time. This lecture left me thinking social networking sites are significantly under utilizing their user populations.

How not to find great employees

2007-06-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

If you're in a startup and are trying to attract great employees, whatever you do, do NOT post a job ad that looks like this:

CompanyX is a tiny technology startup in Seattle. We are working on some amazingly cool technology, and we face the ongoing challenge of matching people with other people (contextually and behaviorally) and scaling a complex Web application.

We're looking for scary smart people who are willing and excited to jump into a startup, work hard, have fun, make their mark, and work for part equity and part cash. We want to make a lot of money, but you should know this is not your Mommy's station wagon rolling down the freeway at 60mph. This is a pimped out Hummer on extremely rough terrain with life-threatening hazards around every corner. And we're going too fast. If that actually sounds FUN to you, then give us a yell and tell us exactly why we should have a conversation.

Trail Critters and Other Biking War Stories

2007-06-08T18:17:00.001-07:00

So after non stop mountain biking for the past week up here at Whistler, I can say with confidence, bears rule the land. A few days back, I was flying through the woods on a cross country ride; I was descending some tight technical single track and ready to shoot out onto a gravel road when I noticed a rather large black bear mulling around in the trail exit onto the road. I stopped as fast as I could, smiled and waved at the bear, and proceeded to back out slowly. He watched me until I was almost out of sight. I then turned my back to him and zipped away -- heart racing of course.

Yesterday, there was a big fella grazing just a hundred yards or so at the top of the lift. I also met a French guy who told me all about his best friends grizzly encounter that had recently happened. Apparently his friend and another friend were mountain biking not too far from here, and a grizzly attacked the other friend. The Frenchman's friend charged the bear to save the other guy, and smacked the bear with his bike. The bear was pushing toward him while he was holding it back with his bike. He then tried to break the bears nose by punching it - to no avail of course. The bear then swiped him with his paw, and apparently ripped deep into his jaw bone. He then passed out, and awoke over half an hour later. Apparently the grizzly left him after determining he was dead, or unworthy. He escaped with only 256 stitches.

This is what riders up here do whenever talk of the furry ones comes up - we all have our war stories. Today, there is a section right above lower Whistler downhill, where you turn a tight corner and launch in the air and down fast into a long open descent. As I was rounding the corner just a moment before committing, I noticed a huge black bear grazing only a few feet from the trail at the bottom. Fortunately I slammed on my brakes and was able to back track out. Another instant and I would have had to race by him praying all the way that I wouldn't blow out a tire or that he wouldn't give chase.

Another rider up here had a mountain lion incident on Tuesday by the mini-disc golf course - he got confronted, and the lion kept pushing toward him. Finally he hopped on his bike and tried to out run the lion. Fortunately for him, he was a downhill racer so he was pretty quick. Apparently the lion chased him for quite a while. The lion story brought me back to my own lion encounter, but I'll save that for another time.

Once this sort of stuff creeps into your mind, its very hard to get rid of the thoughts. The past few days, I've been scanning for critters like mad. Its actually an annoying distraction when there's enough obstacles immediately in your path to pay attention to. Today I was dropping off a steep ladder when I got completely spooked by what turned out to be a life threatening squirrel. Ridiculously, I did end up with quite a crash - fortunately for my ego, it was a tough and terribly slippery spot. Well at least I got to test out my helmet and armor. In any event, I've had enough furry encounters in the past week to last me the year.

The Continued Adventures of Mateo: Fidel Oaxaca

2007-06-06T14:18:00.001-07:00

Book Review: Come Back to Afghanistan by Said Hyder Akbar

2007-06-05T22:46:00.001-07:00

I just completed an amazing book called Come Back to Afghanistan by Said Hyder Akbar, a 17 year old teenager from California. For anyone interested in the current state of Afghanistan, I highly recommend this book.

Books like this, i.e. personal accounts of a foreign and politically relevant land, are typically written by seasoned news reporter type folks, or other adults who already have a solid world view. Witnessing Hyder, a youthful teen, struggle to make sense of this world, often through colorful pop culture references, is so unique. In addition, I've always been fascinated by the recent history of Afghanistan. I was similarly glued to Soldiers of God, by Robert Kaplan, a detailed account of his experiences with the Soviet fighting Mujahideen. Perhaps it is the vivid descriptions of these rugged mountain war zones, places like the Khyber Pass or the Hindu Kush, that get to me. I'm also always interested in understanding the forces of tribalism, especially in South Asia.

Anyway, back to the book, not sure exactly how it happened, but somehow Hyder was given a microphone and recorder by Susan Burton who ultimately produced a show for This American Life, the NPR radio show hosted by Ira Glass. You can listen to the complete This American Life episode HERE. This show kicked off much of what appears in more vivid detail in the book. You can also buy the book on Amazon HERE.

Here's a snippet from a Publisher's Weekly review on Come Back to Afghanistan:

Akbar's refreshingly unsentimental reminiscences of visiting his father's homeland as a teen make for an intriguing portrait of Afghanistan at a time of significant transition. On 9/11, Akbar, who was born in Peshawar in 1984 but grew up in the U.S., was living near Oakland, Calif., where his father ran a clothing store. After the attack, the elder Akbar, a descendant of an Afghan political family, returned to his country to take a job as President Hamid Karzai's chief spokesman and, later, as governor of Kunar, a rural province. The author visited his father for three successive summers, and the result is this account, a closeup view of the creation of the country's post-Taliban democratic government, told from a perspective that's impressively both insider and objective. Akbar reports on chats with cabinet ministers and warlords, and sketches the lay of the land, visiting both sumptuous Kabul palaces as well as bombed-out villages. His youth and curiosity send him on some dangerous adventures (he retraces a mountain route between Afghanistan and Pakistan used by fleeing members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban), and that youthful flavor also infuses the writing with a hip stream-of-consciousness that is by turns funny, insightful and, occasionally, breathtaking.

All in all, I give this book 4 out of 4 stars.

Big Whistler Air

2007-06-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a great video of riders getting some big air. By the way, that reminds me, there's a popular trail up here called Dirt Merchant - there's a lovely spot where you launch over a creek that flows between the launch and landing. Its such a great feeling - a middle aged guy like me can feel like Evil Kenievel for a wonderful few moments. But I digress, back to these far more talented kids, enjoy:

Whistler Fun and Lots of Sun

2007-06-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

We got up to Whistler yesterday morning and have been having a blast ever since. Yesterday I had a great time riding a bunch of cross country trails all around the Lost Lake area. There are some really fantastic trails that I've never found before. Lots of great wooden planks and roller coaster fun on Rhinoceros Furniture - my these Canadians sure know how to make some unbelievable trails. Poor Maya didn't make it out of the house today; alas her paws are really sore from our heavy riding yesterday; I really want to find some good running shoes for her.

Today was a hoot doing some downhill riding. I ran into an old friend randomly who I haven't seen in 15 years. We had a blast riding together. And the weather has been just stunning - perfectly sunny and around 75 degrees.

Google Keeps Tweaking Its Search Engine

2007-06-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

A recent NY Times article that is lighting up the search blogosphere called Google Keeps Tweaking Its Search Engine by Saul Hansell provides some insights on how the Google ranking system works. For anyone that has ever spent some time tweaking ranking metrics, this is an article worth checking out. Here are some snippets:

“Someone brings a query that is broken to Amit, and he treasures it and cherishes it and tries to figure out how to fix the algorithm,” says Matt Cutts, one of Mr. Singhal’s officemates and the head of Google’s efforts to fight Web spam, the term for advertising-filled pages that somehow keep maneuvering to the top of search listings.

Some complaints involve simple flaws that need to be fixed right away. Recently, a search for “French Revolution” returned too many sites about the recent French presidential election campaign — in which candidates opined on various policy revolutions — rather than the ouster of King Louis XVI. A search-engine tweak gave more weight to pages with phrases like “French Revolution” rather than pages that simply had both words.

At other times, complaints highlight more complex problems.

...

Mr. Singhal introduced the freshness problem, explaining that simply changing formulas to display more new pages results in lower-quality searches much of the time. He then unveiled his team’s solution: a mathematical model that tries to determine when users want new information and when they don’t. (And yes, like all Google initiatives, it had a name: QDF, for “query deserves freshness.”)

...

THE QDF solution revolves around determining whether a topic is “hot.” If news sites or blog posts are actively writing about a topic, the model figures that it is one for which users are more likely to want current information. The model also examines Google’s own stream of billions of search queries, which Mr. Singhal believes is an even better monitor of global enthusiasm about a particular subject.

As an example, he points out what happens when cities suffer power failures. “When there is a blackout in New York, the first articles appear in 15 minutes; we get queries in two seconds,” he says.

Mr. Singhal says he tested QDF for a simple application: deciding whether to include a few news headlines among regular results when people do searches for topics with high QDF scores. Although Google already has a different system for including headlines on some search pages, QDF offered more sophisticated results, putting the headlines at the top of the page for some queries, and putting them in the middle or at the bottom for others.

Clinton tackles the Fox smirk

2007-05-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

I recall this being in the news a while back, but I missed it then for some reason. Anyway, its entertaining to watch Clinton go for the jugular.

The Camp Cody Reunion Tour

2007-05-20T19:07:00.001-07:00

Nayan, Maya and I had a blast camping out in the tree house and sauna up at Camp Cody this weekend. The weather was a bit schizophrenic, but we still had much fun. Uncle Timothy now has a row boat that Nayan was able to row in at the Camp Cody pond. Since the water was freezing, he was a little tentative about following papa on his morning dives in, but the row boat was perfect. We also got some great mountain biking in. Nayan had a blast on the wide interurban trail, but got a little spooked on the single track. I think next year will be a big turning point as far as father son mountain biking goes.

Other CC updates: with the arrival of the pond, has come some very loud frogs. All night long the endless "ributting" had all three of us, the dog included, combing through the night to figure out where the culprit was hiding. It turns out there are many many frogs. Alas, we fell asleep.

Some juggler friends of Islando were performing at the Bellingham Juggler's Festival. The opening act was just terrific. It was mad Bruce Lee style action fighting, followed by slow motion facial contortions, followed by more fighting, and then, what else, lots of juggling! What could be a better combo then Kung fu and juggling for a 5 year old?

No Nayan hasn't gotten a haircut, this photo is from last year. It was a bit rain-i-er this trip.

Here's a view of the sauna from the tree house. We placed one of the trapeze mats (our friends Islando and Uquoia run their own circus and practice under the tree house) on the benches inside and "camped." We slept with the door open, so Maya was off running frog searching sniffing missions all night. It wasn't the deepest sleep I've had, but pleasant nonetheless.