Jonas Martinsson

RIP Phrase Finder

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 15:04:00 +0000

Phrase Finder, a quick solution I put together for finding popular expressions that include a specific phrase, is no more.

Yahoo made true of their promise to shut down their free Search API, and with it Phrase Finder. I am sad to see it go, because I regularly used it myself.

There are no plans to bring it back to life at the moment.

The World and You

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Tue, 03 May 2011 17:25:00 +0000

Today, more and more people find themselves living in a foreign country. Be it a temporary state or a more permanent situation (as for myself); regardless, the world is becoming more global and multi-cultural. Or is it? And what exactly is culture? These are some of the questions that is being answered in Geert Hofstede’s cultural research, which now spans five decades. The book is a goldmine for people who are puzzled by culture clashes, and want to increase their understanding of cultural behavior. And who isn’t puzzled by cultural enigmas these days? No matter where you live, you just have to turn on the TV or head down to your local market or restaurant, and you will be exposed to foreign culture.

Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind, Third Edition

It turns out that the environment where we grew up ingrains eternal values in us. These values can be analyzed and measured, with averages calculated per country to quantify regional differences. This is exactly what Geert Hofstede has been doing since the sixties.

This book has personally helped me to straighten out two types of question marks; questions relating to why I sometimes feel out-of-place in my new country, and questions relating to how international conflicts play out.

The research identifies six dimensions, where countries are ranked:

Power distance
Individualism
Masculinity
Uncertainty avoidance
Long-term versus short-term orientation
Subjective well-being (happiness)

For me personally, moving from Sweden to Israel, I can empirically verify Hofstede’s data that the greatest differences between the countries are in “uncertainty avoidance” and “masculinity”. Israelis are fighting the inherent uncertainty of life, while Swedes generally accept uncertainty. A trivial example of this, is that during my wife’s pregnancy we have had numerous medical examination and ultrasounds, more than I can count; while the Swedish pregnancy exams are counted on the fingers of one hand. The fact that Sweden is labeled as a more “feminine” country than Israel has implications, on many levels including personal, family, gender, sex, education, consumption, workplace, politics and religion.

I highly recommend anyone to read this book. And especially if you find yourself living abroad, you owe it to yourself to understand why your new life is so strange. There is logic behind it.

The Cognitive Overload of RockMelt

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:17:00 +0000

Maybe I am just getting old.

But I simply don’t get the concept of RockMelt, the newest flockesque browser/social-thingy on the horizon. It crams IM, social networks, and a web browser into one glorified application.

I quietly ask myself how I would ever be able to get work done in an environment with that amount of cognitive overload? When accessing a web page I would be bombarded with information from the social sphere. Reading a longer article in that browser would be a feat worthy of the deepest reverence.

On the surface, it seems nice and innocent enough to save a couple of Alt-Tabs to access my social networks. But the Alt-Tabs are there for a reason: to separate different contexts. 95% of the time when I am on a web page, I am there for a reason, and I don’t want to be distracted by other stuff.

I believe the way forward is to simplify the user experience and use separate applications for web browsing and IM/social, so that the IM/social interactions can be turned off when you need to get things done. The web browser is probably the most used application on your Desktop. That’s exactly why it needs to be a workspace that allows you to work without interruptions.

Walden and I

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:17:00 +0000

My yearly Sweden vacations are ever so offline. Checking e-mail is 15 kilometers away, and an unexpected liberator in that. So how does this affect me? Well, last year's experience made me discover Honore's "Slow", a short book about simplifying your life, and taking time to smell the roses. During this year’s vacation, I hit the Swedish book shops with the intent to find similar titles. But I was disappointed with seemingly shallow follow-ups trying to ride the success wave of Slow. Hours of book browsing later I came back empty-handed, disappointed not because I couldn’t find what I wanted but rather because I didn't know what I was looking for.

Some days later I received a gift from my mother, a book with exquisite drawings and fine writings from a Swedish lake in the Mälaren area ("Sjö" by Gunnar Brusewitz). I was extremely pleased with the gift and started to ponder how removed I had become from nature. Living a city life, commuting to a cubicle, racing between commitments both at work and at home, and never taking the time to reflect, my life is not in harmony. With the vacation spent in lush landscapes, it is a disturbing contrast. My wife says I get depressed when I return home from summer vacations.

Resting in the grass of my mother's garden, it hit me: Walden by Thoreau! Of course! This book is commonly referenced in the books I like the most. Why not turn to the original thoughts? Returning to the book store I was lucky to find a modern acclaim-winning translation to Swedish. Ka-ching!

I am proud to say that I digested Walden for two months, reading and rereading it and penetrating the text. Still, I am incapable of reviewing it. It is simply too unwieldy for such an effort. What fascinated me the most is how relevant Walden is today. Perhaps even more so than when originally published in 1854. A central question in the book is if we are slaves or masters of technology. I believe we have become more enslaved in the century-and-a-half since Walden was written; today it is all but possible to escape the ubiquity of technology. While technology has enabled tremendous progress and human potential, it has also tethered us to an ever-faster pace of technological invention. Are we in control of this pace today, and will we be in control tomorrow? This is an important question from a global perspective - but Walden deals with the personal perspective. Can we live a rich life with technology? Thoreau's answer is a resounding "No".

How did Walden change me? I try to achieve fewer things. I try to keep my to-do list short. I try to spend more time off-the-grid. I try to reflect before I act. I try to connect to nature. I try to smell the roses. But one thing is certain: simplicity is not easy, but comes with significant rewards.

Doing Less

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:48:00 +0000

I’m now back from a relaxing vacation, doing close to nothing. The return to a hectic business life is a stark contrast. This has led me to set out a plan of doing less this year.

But don’t get me wrong. Last year, I had great strategies, plans and goals for FeedJournal as well as for other personal projects. But looking back, nothing much moved forward. I can find no other reason for this than that I was feeling bogged down by the weight of my commitments.

That’s why I this year plan to do less. By this logic, I hope to accomplish more.

As an example, the long promised rewrite of the FeedJournal Publisher interface will take the back seat to a revamp of the existing interface, which by all means is working well. Improving what is there requires some magnitudes less effort.

I hope it’s as simple as that.

Book Review: Switch

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:34:00 +0000

Do you ever feel like you want to change something but don't know how? If you are anything like me, this is a challenge you face daily. Luckily for us, the Heath brother has taken upon themselves to create a comprehensive framework for how to go about changing someone or something. What's even better is that they succeeded to write another great book, that lives up to the high expectations from their debut blockbuster Made to Stick.

Switch reaches Gladwellian mastery when it comes to readability and entertainment value. But the true value comes with the concrete framework for driving change. Laying out such a framework follows in the tradition of Made to Stick, and has become something of a Heath trademark. With this framework, driving change replaces the guesswork with a more methodological approach to change where the outcome can be predicted.

I enjoyed this book immensely and I expect to get as much value out of Switch as I got out of Made to Stick. I can't wait for their next book, whatever it may be.

My IBM Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:25:00 +0000

Valerie Skinner interviewed me for the IBM “Yin meets Yang” blog. I am sharing my thoughts on agile, Jazz and other software development stuff.

Impeccable timing, since my company today also launches a preview of our integration product for Jazz and Lotus Connections.

Two Books On Presentations

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:54:00 +0000

Recently, I had the enjoyment to read two good books on presentations. You know, these humiliating affairs feared more than death itself. One is “Confessions of a Public Speaker”, which I panhandled from a colleague after reading his praising tweet; the other is “Presentation Zen”, a longtime item on my Wish List. I wrote Amazon reviews for both books:

One thing is certain, Scott Berkun has the gift of the gab. The author's personal experiences as a speaker at conferences is greatly entertaining and full of humorous anecdotes. I promptly subscribed to his blog, to get more of Berkun's good writing.

But of course, that's not why you read this book, you want to learn about public speaking. And Berkun doesn't disappoint. His first-hand, pragmatic advice on all matters related to public speaking is useful and highly relevant for budding speakers. The book is not, neither does it try to be, a complete reference - but rather a view into the hard work behind presentations.

Let's make it clear that Scott Berkun is not a glamorous celebrity on the speaking circuit. But he is a professional with a name for himself. I think that makes him even better suited to write this book, more so than a superstar such as Jobs or Gladwell.

No matter if you have any upcoming speaking events, you'll get the itch to give it a go after reading this book. I highly recommend it.

---

Conceptually, Presentation Zen is an excellent book. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I would've wanted to.

Let's start with the good. I love Garr Reynolds's artistic approach to slide design, giving a death kneel to the ubiquitous bullet points. This is where the book really shines, and where you will learn the most. If this section would have been expanded to form the entire book, I would be in heaven.

Here's what I didn't like. Plenty of concepts are mentioned repeatedly, degrading the reading experience when the book is read cover-to-cover. There's also some typographical errors in the book, an issue that always gets me fuming.

But my largest gripe is about the font chapter. There is no such chapter. With plenty of sample slides showing how a changed font can improve upon a slide design, not a single word is written on font usage.

To summarize, the concepts and ideas put forward on slide design are great, and I know that my slides will look better next time I design a slide deck. However, I think that the book is not reaching its full potential, with a halting treatment on slide design - the book's claim to fame.

GCR Ch 5: Cognitive Biases Potentially Affecting Judgment of Global Risks

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Thu, 13 May 2010 20:30:00 +0000

I read Global Catastrophic Risks not only to deepen my understanding of global risks, but also to find ways to practically do something about it. Hopefully, blogging about the chapters as I digest them will assist on both accounts.

“All else being equal, not many people would prefer to destroy the world. […] Therefore I suggest that if the Earth is destroyed, it will probably be a mistake.”

Eliezer Yudowsky goes on by describing mistakes in human reasoning and how flawed our intuition is. The heuristics we use to evaluate probabilities, form the basis for how we deal with all types of existential risk. Knowledge of human psychological flaws are therefore important as we shape agendas for risk prevention.

It is interesting to note that knowledge of these very biases and flaws does not make us much smarter. Research shows that when we compensate for our known biases, they are reduced by some 50% but never go away completely.

“It is a terribly frightening thing, but people do not become any smarter, just because the survival of humankind is at stake.”

GCR Ch 4: Millenial Tendencies in Response to Apocalyptic Threats

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Sun, 09 May 2010 19:19:00 +0000

This is the weakest chapter so far. Millenialism is the expectation that the world will be destroyed and replaced with a better world. Millenial belief comes in two flavors: religious and scientific. The religious form spans many religions, while scientific millenialism is best exemplified by the Singularitarians, led by Ray Kurzweil.

While the larger portion of the chapter outlines different types of millenialism, the question is: how does it relate to evaluating global catastrophic risks? This is where the chapter truly fails. While the author brings forward examples (Y2K) where millenial impulses helped to bring risks to the global agenda, there are no genuine suggestions how to factor in millenialism when evaluating risks. The bottom line is “millenialism […] require[s] vigilant self-interrogation to avoid [large risks].” Doh!

Finding a Great Windows VPS Host

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 06:49:00 +0000

I have been hosting my web sites on WebHost4Life for a long time, and they have served me well for years. However, after they recently migrated to a new infrastructure I have experienced problems. They still offer a great budget hosting alternative for ASP.NET/SQL Server sites with lower system requirements, but I decided to take my business elsewhere.
I evaluated Windows VPS hosts that offer an isolated hosting environment for a good price. Here are the shortlist of the Windows virtual private servers that I considered:
1and1
I immediately recognized the brand from magazine ads. Their Windows VPS offerings are very attractive on paper, but their system specs seemed somewhat outdated, especially their choice of database server. They offer MSDE 2000, which Microsoft stopped supporting two years ago. I didn’t really see this as a showstopper, and sent a message to their sales department to understand if I would be able to upgrade the database server myself. After over 2 business days I am still waiting for a reply to this inquiry, or indication that they are looking into it. Needless to say, if this is the response time for sales requests, I don’t want to even think of how tech support works.
UltraHosting
This host has great reviews and they support Xen technology, which prevents them from overselling RAM – a common practice in the VPS space. Their prices are attractive, but a bit steeper than 1and1. I went ahead and decided to pay more for better quality and support. But, as I checked out my order I found out that they require a credit card to be associated with PayPal, a practice that most other online merchants don’t follow. This was a no go for me.
VPSLand
VPSLand offers great prices for great system specs. I was very close to choosing them, but then I read several online reviews about how they consistently suffer from downtime and slow pings. Perhaps they could have been a good host but I didn’t want to take the risk.
KickAss VPS
KickAss VPS has a great reputation in hosting forums, and good system specs to go with that. Their prices are a bit above the previous hosts, although they have a price guarantee. If you find a cheaper service with the same specs they match that price, and give you and additional 10% off. Also, they replied very quickly to my e-mail questions. This is the host I finally went with and I hope it will serve me for a long time.

No More Attachments?

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 22:01:00 +0000

The last couple of months have proven hectic, as Mainsoft pushed out Harmony for both Google Docs and SharePoint. Harmony is a free product that lets you access your online documents from an Outlook sidebar. As Harmony’s product manager it’s been one hell of a ride defining and seeing the product through to launch. You can see (hear) me presenting a video for each product on the respective product pages for Google Docs and SharePoint. After all the hard work it is great to read the write-ups in TechCrunch, Lifehacker, and other sites.

So what is Harmony in a nutshell?

Having your shared documents available in Outlook enables some cool new features which changes the game for how you think about e-mail and attachments. You can drag attachments from incoming messages to the Google Docs or SharePoint, where they are easily shared with anyone.

And when you send a message, linked documents are automatically shared with recipients, regardless if they have a Google account or not. And when you send an attachment, Harmony suggests that you replace it with a link to a shared document instead. Hence, Harmony’s tagline: “No Attachments”.

The Lost Symbol

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:28:00 +0000

I just finished Dan Brown’s latest book, The Lost Symbol. I enjoyed it to a great extent, especially being introduced to curious new subjects such as Noetic theory. As with most commercial successes, The Lost Symbol did not go down well with critics. But of course, the culture elite can’t stay elitist if their taste blends with the populace. Good for them.

Just as with Brown’s previous book, The Da Vinci Code, it sparked my interest in code breaking. Researching cryptography, I stumbled upon the tweleve discussion forum, dedicated to solving puzzles and treasure hunts. There, I discovered two intriguing unsolved puzzles: Maranatha and Quest for the Golden Eagle. It doesn’t hurt that there is a million dollar prize in each puzzle. Wish me luck.

GCR Ch 3: Evolution Theory and the Future of Humanity

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:35:00 +0000

The book’s chapter 3 discusses our understanding of evolution, given the long perspective.

Evolution is not unique and has occurred several times in our history. Tool-making hominoids with communication skills have evolved independently in Africa (our ancestors), Europe (the ancestors of the Neanderthal) and south-east Asia (“hobbits”).

Environmental change is the major catalyst to drive evolution. Once species have filled their niches in the wake of an environmental change, adaption of organisms is only fine-tuned.

It has also been shown that in the last 40,000 years evolution has been driving our species forward, 100 times faster than before. Why this is so, is still unclear.

Today, psychological pressures and new environmental factors decide who among us reproduce.

When considering evolution, it is easy to focus on the physical adaption of organisms, but as humans evolve, it becomes increasingly important to consider intellectual evolution. We are still struggling to understand how to measure intelligence well. IQ is only one aspect of human intelligence, and has a low degree of inheritance. We still need to figure out if and how evolution can help humankind grow smarter over time. Although, in the near future, technical progress and the singularity are likely to supersede the process of evolution when it comes to improving the human race .

So how is evolution relevant to existential risks? It all comes down to how capable we will be in adapting to a changing environment. History has given us many examples of cultures going under because of their failure to survive a new environment. For example, the medieval Norse colonists in Greenland died out as they failed to change their eating habits, in a changing climate.

But, if climate change gives us enough time, our behavioral and societal models will have time to adapt.

The Maturity of Agile Development

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:01:00 +0000

Recent discussions about the coexistence of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) and agile development has prompted me to revisit my master's thesis on the subject.

Ten years ago, I was one of the first practitioners of eXtreme Programming (XP), a software development method that belongs to the agile development movement. The big stumbling block of these methods has always been how to introduce it in an organization. Mentioning the words "extreme programming" makes you fight an uphill battle from the start. Agile is definitely a better word when presenting it. But still, the adoption of agile development requires a shift in the organizational culture, which historically has been more formal.

After having participated in and coached a few pilot projects, I started to think about how to best introduce the method in a software organization. This thinking caused me to return to university to research the topic - the result was a master's thesis on the subject.

During my research, I considered the existing and accepted certification levels in the software industry and compared it with the agile way of developing software. The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is the most widely accepted definition for measuring process and organizational maturity. It was developed by academics and industry experts and is used by the largest governmental organizations in the world. If I could find that XP was compatible with the CMM, it would be so much easier to introduce in software development organizations.

What I found went beyond compatibility between the CMM and XP - I actually found that XP is an excellent springboard for organizations that want to reach greater levels of CMM maturity! I presented my findings at the XP2003 conference and these results are still used by many organizations to convince risk-averse managers of the traits of agile development. Maturing Extreme Programming Through The CMM

It is interesting to see that today, the members of the agile community are still fighting the same battle. Scott Ambler, IBM's agile expert and evangelist, is working on an Agile Process Maturity Model (APMM), for the same reasons: to ease that adoption of agile methods in traditional software organizations.

Google Docs Templates For Product Managers

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:02:00 +0000

I created two new Google Docs document templates for Product Management work: a Product Requirements Document (PRD) and a Functional Specifications Document (FSD). These are two central documents in the product development lifecycle. The requirements document is used for a product's business and marketing requirements, while the specification document further details how those requirements will be implemented in the product.

I'll start to dogfood these templates right away and will make updates along the way as needed. Please let me know if you find them useful or would like to see any changes!

UN's Stagnating Initiatives Against Bioterrorism

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:23:00 +0000

With UN's failure to implement the strategy laid out by the former Secretary-General, who will protect humanity from one the most dangerous threats, bioterrorism?

With great foresight, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan brought the threat of bioterrorism to the UN agenda in 2006. In his recommendations for a global counter-terrorism strategy he writes: "The most important under-addressed threat relating to terrorism, and one which acutely requires new thinking on the part of the international community, is that of terrorists using a biological weapon. [...] They can [...] bring incalculable harm if put to destructive use by those who seek to develop designer diseases and pathogens. The answer to biotechnology’s dual-use dilemma will look very different [than that of nuclear weapons]. But the approach to developing it must be equally ambitious.[...] What we need now is a forum that will bring together the various stakeholders — Governments, industry, science, public health, security, the public writ large — into a common programme, built from the bottom up [...].The United Nations is well placed to coordinate and facilitate such a forum, and to bring to the table a wide range of relevant actors."

Later that same year, the United Nations adopted its Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (resolution 60/288). In regard to biological threats it calls for: "To invite the United Nations system to develop, together with Member States, a single comprehensive database on biological incidents, ensuring that it is complementary to the International Criminal Police Organization's contemplated Biocrimes Database. We also encourage the Secretary-General to update the roster of experts and laboratories, as well as the technical guidelines and procedures, available to him for the timely and efficient investigation of alleged use. In addition, we note the importance of the proposal of the Secretary-General to bring together, within the framework of the United Nations, the major biotechnology stakeholders, including industry, scientific community, civil society and governments, into a common programme aimed at ensuring that biotechnology's advances are not used for terrorist or other criminal purposes but for the public good, with due respect to the basic international norms on intellectual property rights."

With the new UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who took office in 2007, the initiatives have unfortunately stagnated. A worrying UN fact sheet dated March 2009 outlines the implementation of the strategy so far.

Firstly, The UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) does not include any entity or initiative dedicated to combating bioterror. Ban Ki-moon also admits that "there is no such thing as a bioterrorism unit within the UN system". Other important terrorist threats, such as the IAEA for nuclear matters and OPCW for chemical weapons, all have dedicated task forces, except for bioterrorism. Instead, the UN is handing over the task to existing bodies, such as the WHO and INTERPOL. The WHO's meager page on bioterrorism is not assuring in any way. INTERPOL's bioterror landing page is even more worrying, where an "upcoming" conference planned for March 2005(!) is highlighted. The world should tremble.

Secondly, the UN implementation haphazardly bundles biological threats with other types of terrorist threats. It is important to understand that biological threats pose a new set of problems that has not been previously encountered, and that strategies for fighting chemical and nuclear threats are not efficient when combating bioterrorism. Biological agents are relatively easy and inexpensive to obtain or produce; they can be easily disseminated; and they can cause widespread panic beyond any actual physical damage.

Thirdly, where is the promised UN-moderated forum/programme set out in the strategy document?

In contrast to the UN, the US government spends over $2B a year to prevent bio-attacks.

A unilateral approach is not enough to combat bioterrorism. We need a UN-led international forum today for going forward as a civilization and preventing biological terror attacks. It is critical that global policies and action plans are put in place to deal with "the most important under-addressed threat relating to terrorism". The global community cannot afford a late and disunited arrival - we might not get a second chance to learn from our mistakes.

Follow-up posts will address why bioterrorism is becoming rapidly more dangerous and what I believe that the global community should do to counter it.

Interview with Henrik Blomgren

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:50:00 +0000

For years, I've unsuccessfully tried to get many friends to start blogging. One of them is Henrik Blomgren, software consultant and small business owner.

Henrik and I go way back. At the turn of the millennium, we were both leading software teams at Swedish Framfab. As the IT bubble burst, and our hopes with it, Henrik built his own software firm and his journey has now taken him all the way to Zurich, Switzerland. Below is a short interview I did with him a while back.

Me: What motivated you to jump off the corporate bandwagon and start your own business?
Henrik: Two factors, the first not being in a position to influence or change things at Framfab, the second was a number of ideas I had back then that was not possible to realize as an employee.

Me: As a business owner, you currently focus on providing services over products. Was that a conscious decision and which do you think is the smarter strategy?
Henrik: Initially, my focus (this was 2002) was on creating niched software products, but before I got started I was offered a few short-term contract offers which I accepted - primarily in order to build up some capital. After a year, the market conditions got better and there were a lot of interesting contract jobs out there so I continued, with longer contracts and better rates.

I would not call it a smarter strategy, but much less risky and a much more predictable way to earn a monthly income.

Me: After running your own company for a couple of years you moved everything to Switzerland. How come?
Henrik: Again, multiple reasons. Compared to Sweden, Switzerland is a much more business-oriented country and offers considerably lower tax rates on both personal and corporate levels. This combined with providing equal or higher quality of living was an important factor. Being centrally located in Europe was another, both for business purposes and if you like to travel around. However, being close to the Alps has turned out to be the greatest bonus, especially during the winter.

Me: You introduced me to the book the 4-Hour Workweek. Are you there yet?
Henrik: No, I work considerably less hours now, and travel more, but I'm not sure that can be accredited to Timothy Ferriss.

Me: What is important to you? Where do you see yourself and your business ten years ahead?
Henrik: I have no idea. It's going to be interesting to see how the current crisis plays out; my guess is that the next ten years will be much tougher than the previous ten. Business opportunities will be fewer and consumers will be able to spend less, especially on technology. This prediction is based on the view that credit has been cheap and easily obtainable, and consumption (both private and business) has been driven by debt to a large extent.

GCR Ch 2: Long-Term Astrophysical Processes

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:26:00 +0000

I read Global Catastrophic Risks not only to deepen my understanding of global risks, but also to find ways to practically do something about it. Hopefully, blogging about the chapters as I digest them will assist on both accounts.

The book begins with discussing long-term astrophysical processes with a focus on the lifespans of our planet, solar system, galaxy and the Universe. These are the least immediate, but at the same time the most difficult risks to avoid. As such, there are not much we can do about them, right now. Hopefully, if we succeed to manage the other risks we're facing now and will face in the future, we will reach a point in time where we will have to deal the timely demise of the Earth, and later, the Universe.

3.5 billion years from now, the Sun will have exhausted its storage of hydrogen and increased its temperature enough for Earth's biosphere to be unable to sustain biological life. But even before Earth's temperature reaches that level, already 1 billion years from now it will be hot enough to disqualify all complex life. 7 billion years from now, the Sun, expanding as a red giant, will engulf Earth's orbit and devour it. A long-term goal for our species must be to find another habitable planet by the time that these events play out. A rescue plan for the Earth would be if we, or a passing star system, could eject it from its orbit before the Sun swallows the planet. In such a scenario we would have to rely on Earth's internal energy source. This is actually the only human intervention that is being addressed in this chapter of the book.

Our current model of the Universe tells us that it will continue to expand indefinitely, or at least long enough for all its major bodies to die a timely death. Perhaps this is the ultimate risk, a process which neither we nor anybody else can do anything to stop. It goes without saying that the current understanding of the Universe is not complete. There are still much to be learned, and with new discoveries our model of the Universe will change as well. The smallest stars in the universe will shine the longest, but even they expire after some trillion years. Their expiry, in combination with the consumption of hydrogen gas used in star formation, sets the time for the last stars to stop shining at about 100 trillion years ahead. This number should be compared to the current age of the young Universe, which is 14 billion years.

This is the end as we know it today. Let’s see how far we can get…

Sign-Up Closes For Online Chess Match Championships

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:08:00 +0000

The sign-up period for the inaugural Online Chess Match Championships is now over. The list of registered players for the two divisions are:

Open Division

Player	Rating
ZwaartePaard	1942
Valiantangel	1866
leomalagar	1864
Acho	1861
tseltzer	1850
jonasil	1840
Tensaigg	1759
castleden	1745
SklavinLydia (tentative)	1737
surGeonGG	1660
TonyPrice	-
jumong (tentative)	-

Under 1600 Division

Player	Rating
offtherook	1595
ranban	1576
farbror	1561
jerichob	1530
AHappyLearner	1484
caleblaziken	1456
edwaxx	1413
KasparovsDog	1385
Avie	1021

So, the Open Division will host 10-12 players and the U1600 Division 9.

I was considering different pairing systems for setting up the single-elimination cup brackets, including adopting the system used in the tennis ATP tour. After consulting with FICS user tseltzer, I am instead opting for a Swiss-like cup system where the top seed is not meeting the bottom seed, but instead the top seed from the bottom half.

Pairings will be posted in a couple of days on the Online Chess Match Championships site.

On Survival

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:54:00 +0000

What if humanity were extinguished right now?

Have you ever considered that scenario?

No one can provide an accurate probability of such an event happening, but the fact that it could happen is indisputable. While personal survival is a major force for the individual, humankind's survival is the ultimate goal for us as a species. Individuals do almost anything in their power to prevent their own destruction, but what are we doing as a species to ensure our own survival?

I would argue that we're spending more effort protecting specific zoological and botanical species than ourselves. Although humanity is not an extinguished species, there are several kinds of events which could wipe us all out in a matter of hours. We cannot continue to neglect the importance of protecting the survival of humankind.

Threats are manifold and I plan to discuss these in future posts as I digest the book Global Catastrophic Risks, which deals with these important issues.

Chapters I have read:

Chapter 2: Long-Term Astrophysical Processes

Chapter 3: Evolution Theory and the Future of Humanity

Chapter 4: Millenial Tendencies in Response to Apocalyptic Threats

Chapter 5: Cognitive Biases Potentially Affecting Judgment of Global Risks

Off the Back Burner?

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:52:00 +0000

How mundane it is to blog. I've put this blog on the back burner for many months now, as I've lacked inspiration for posting. Lately, I have been blogging exclusively about chess, which most likely doesn’t interest most of you. While it is a passion and I intend to keep posting occasionally on the subject, I don't want this blog (nor more life, for that matter) to focus on a board game. It is good to see that the small number of subscribers hasn't dwindled despite the chess focus of late, though.

Why blog? In the end, I want to use this space to improve my writing and also to serve as a two-way communication platform with anyone else out there in the depths of cyberspace.

Since I enjoy the creative process of writing, I will try to produce more stuff here, and perhaps from a more personal angle. I can't guarantee that it will work. But one thing's for sure: I will not promise to write more here; those are classical final words of the last post on dead blogs! But I will try.

The Online Chess Match Championships

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:47:00 +0000

The Online Chess Match Championships is scheduled to take off on June 1. It is your chance to play in a chess tournament cycle similar to the official World Championships. The main reason that I organize this tournament is to make the excitement of chess matches available to everyone on the Internet. The games will be played on the free FICS chess server.

You can sign up right away!

Looking Back at My Match vs. RealChosenOne

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:57:00 +0000

My first match on Chess Matches HQ, was versus RealChosenOne. To me, chess matches are the ultimate form of chess; I especially enjoy the preparations between games.

Slated for 12 games, the match was unfortunately interrupted after only 7, as my opponent without explanation disappeared from all online chess communities. I still don’t know the reason behind this, but I hope that RealChosenOne is OK.

As I’ve always spent a disproportional amount of study on openings, I’d like to present a glimpse of what was played, including one strong novelty. As White, I faced the Sicilian Sveshnikov [B33] and as Black I defended with the 2..Nf6 Scandinavian.

As White

As White, I met the Sicilian Sveshnikov in games 2, 4, 6 and 7. All four games started with 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5.

This is the main line Sveshnikov. From here, Black usually continues 10..f5. My opponent opted for this move only once in our match, while he chose the Novosibirsk variation with 10..Bg7 in the other three.

When he played the main 10..f5 move, the game continued 11. Bd3 Be6 12. O-O Bxd5 13. exd5 Ne7 14. Nxb5 Bg7 15. Nc3 e4 16. Bc4 Ng6 17. Qh5 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Qf6 19. Qh6 Qxc3 20. Bb3 Ke7

Here, I had prepared a theoretical novelty, 21. Rae1!?N. Soon afterwards, I went astray and lost the game. In the end, I don’t think the novelty gives White anything, so this was a failed preparation. I felt hard pressed to find an improvement here, and was very relieved when my opponent didn’t repeat 10..f5 in the next game!

The Novosibirsk games were interesting. From the position in the topmost diagram all 3 games continued with the standard moves 10..Bg7 11. Bd3 Ne7 12. Nxe7 Qxe7. The first time this position came up, I went for the unambitious 13. c3 and quickly found myself in trouble. Next time, I improved and found the sharper 13. O-O O-O 14. c4 f5 15. Qf3 Re8 16. Rfe1 b4 17. Nc2 f4 18. Nxb4 Rb8 19. Nd5 Qg5 20. Be2 Rxb2.

In this position I had prepared the strong novelty 21. Qa3!N. Previously, 21. Reb1 has been played (Zhigalko-Saric 1-0, Pardubice, 2006) with equal play, but after the text move White has a clear advantage as he puts pressure on the Black pawns while keeping an eye on the 3rd rank. For example 21..Rb7 22. Rab1 Re6? 23. Qa6! and White is already winning.

As Black

As Black, I faced three different setups against my Nf6 Scandinavian. I equalized early in all three games, and subsequently won them all. There were no major theoretical battles; mainly because White kept changing variations. The following interesting tactical position arose in Game 5 after 17. Kh4.

After spending more than half an hour on this position I played 17..g5?? which leads to equality after the prosaic 18.Bxg5. Unfortunately, I missed the beautiful mate in 7 moves, after 17..Nxe3!! 18.Qxe3 h5! 19.h3 Bf4 20.Qe6+ fxe6 21.Nf3 Qf6+ 22.Ng5 Qxg5#

I am already well underway with match number 2, this time against tseltzer. I can already now say that he has succeeded in putting my opening repertoire under heavy fire, and I have had strong reason to evaluate my opening choices more than once.

And, on June 1, the inaugural Online Chess Match Championships will start, and it is poised to be great! If you are a chess fan, don’t miss out on this free tournament cycle that I am organizing. Sign up here!

HOWTO: Play Chess Online

noreply@blogger.com (Jonas Martinsson) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:21:00 +0000

The most efficient way to improve your chess is to play lots of games.

The online chess community makes it easy to find opponents of any skill level. This is the reason why the number of great young chess players is much greater today; anybody can gain experience on the Internet, 24/7. In the old days, players had to travel to tournaments to gain the same experience that can now be gained in an online equivalent overnight.

So, you ask, how do I best take advantage of the online chess offerings to gain experience and improve my chess?

First, select a server that is dedicated to chess. More generic game servers that offer a multitude of board games invariably offer a worse experience and a weaker community for the chess fan.

Second, choose a server that has a decent amount of players logged in at any given time, so that you always can find an opponent that wants to play at your preferred time control.

Third, go for an intuitive interface that fits your requirements.

Fourth, depending on your preferences, you will want a server where tournaments are organized and where there is a vivid and well managed community.

The three chess servers I would shortlist are FICS, ICC and chess.com. I do not want to rank them, because they offer slightly different experiences and it is a personal choice which server will best fit you. All of them hosts a large number of players at any time, and they regularly organize leagues and tournaments for both individuals and teams. There are also organizations like Chess Matches HQ and STC Bunch that welcome players from multiple servers. Below, I give a summary of the pros and cons of each chess server.

FICS (freechess.org)

Pros: Free, Many interfaces are available.

ICC (chessclub.com)

Pros: Many strong players
Cons: Not free ($59.95/year)

chess.com

Pros: Free, strong community features, no download required
Cons: Not very strong players, bare-bones browser-based client

I play on FICS myself, mainly because it is free and I love the interface. For quick blitz games I prefer the free BabasChess client, which can be a bit intimidating at first, but is very powerful. For example, it supports move announcements and third-party plug-ins.

But I prefer to play longer games, say an hour per game and player. The problem with online chess is that you are using a computer interface, while a part of the chess experience that I love is to play on a standard wooden board with real pieces. The most common solution is to use a DGT board, a standard chess board that connects to a computer via USB (wireless connections are in the works) and allows you to play online chess. This solution is used in all major real-life tournaments to broadcast games live over the Internet. The problem is that investing in a DGT board will require tough financial negotiations with your significant other, the price tag for a standard setup is €479,00.

Isn't there a cheaper solution out there?

Yes, there is! I'd like to share with you the environment I have been using lately. It is a setup that I am very satisfied with. I use a standard full-size wooden chess board, to play my games far away from a buzzing computer fan and a glaring computer monitor. I log in to the chess server using the PocketGrandmaster software (version 4 supports both FICS and ICC) on my Pocket PC. The Pocket PC connects to the Internet via a USB cable to my silent media center that sits in the living room - but a Wi-Fi connection could work even better. When I play a game, PocketGrandmaster says my opponent's moves out loud, so that I don't need to take my eyes off the board. To submit a move, I first move the piece on the real board and then use the Pocket PC’s touch screen to submit the same move to the server. The difference from the DGT board is not huge and the only pain is that I need to make my own moves twice, while the DGT board automatically detects the moves made on the board. But, I can definitely live with this limitation, considering the price difference.