RussThoughts(.com)

Define: Junk Bed

2012-01-26T00:13:00.001-08:00

Junk Bed occurs when a single person occupies a room containing two or more beds. Inevitably, one bed will be used for sleeping, while any additional beds will be used as storage for junk. This most often occurs in lonely hotel rooms. Used in a sentence: "I was upset when I got the room with the single King bed because I was really looking forward to Junk Bed."

The Problem with People and Google TV

2012-01-22T22:55:00.001-08:00

I've had a Google TV for over a year now and I think it's great. Sure, the software wasn't amazing when it first came out and yes, the Logitech Revue seems to has less processing power than my cell phone. But I still find it awesome to watch the latest music videos and check Facebook every now and then on my TV.

But there is one problem with the device that I don't think anyone at Google thought of. I call it the Viral Video Spiral of Death (VVSD).

Let me describe a common scenario that I know everyone that owns a Google TV has experienced. A group of people will gather around your 55" flat screen television for an evening of snacking and sporting events. Midway through the first quarter and/or the 10th handful of Lays, someone will notice that you have a random keyboard on your coffee table and pose the following question, "Hey, what is that keyboard for?" (Note: this could be followed up with a bro, man or even chap depending on the sporting event.)

"Oh that's my Google TV." You'll reply. "It lets me browse the internet while I watch TV. It's great for catching up on music videos."

"Does it play YouTube videos?"

"Sure."

"Oh man, my ex-coworker showed me this video where x does a y (3,940,000 results by the way) and it is hysterical! I nearly fell out of my cube at work watching it. People were staring."

And as the gracious host, during the next commercial break you will gladly pick up the keyboard and summon the video. Sure enough, it is very funny, and you find your living room briefly turned into a live version of Tosh.0.

But unfortunately, VVSD has already started. "If you think that's funny, check this out!" Friend 2 will say. "Here type in 'shit _(color)/(gender)_ people say.'" By now, the crowd has already forgotten what show they were watching in the first place as they all focus on recalling the name of that video with the epic nut shot or the cute hippos playing.

Each video watched by the group is followed by a video that is "even better" than the last in an endless cycle. VVSD is a very real problem and you can be stuck for hours watching video after video. But here's where the Logitech Revue's under-powered processor and Google's buggy beta software actually work in your favor. The system will crash. That you can be certain. This feature instantly brings everyone back to their regularly scheduled programming. The spiral is broken, and the people are free. At least until the next commercial.

Everyone who owns a Google TV and a group of friends has experienced this phenomenon, and it will continue as long as viral videos go un-watched. So hide yo' keyboard, hide yo' wife, and prevent the VVSD from spreading. Know the warning signs, and get tested regularly.

Oh, by the way, have you seen the video where the baby talks to the goat while it's milked? Hysterical!

How Engineers Solve Conversations

2011-08-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

There's always that span of time during a night at the bar when you find yourself thinking about things in a much deeper way than you probably should. Last Saturday, during those precious moments of clarity, I found myself talking to a man in sales. As we sat there at the bar and traded stories, my mind started to wander. Follow along.

Successful salespeople always think about how to read people and successful engineers always think about solving problems. As an engineer (with a few drinks in him), I came to the realization that to me, conversations can be thought of as just another problem to solve.

Every conversation has variables: the other people, the topics, body language, social rules, and the number of drinks consumed. These are things that can change at any time during the conversation. Every conversation has a set of constants: you, the location, news, weather, something funny across the bar or on TV. A constant in this case can be thought of as a set of facts known or agreed upon by everyone in the conversation. The goal is to solve for the other person or people in the conversation.

When I start to solve a conversation, I normally start with a constant. "Can you believe what happened with at shooting in the Loop today?" Unless I'm talking to the person doing the shooting, I generally know how the others will react. Like most problems, verifying your constants is always a good place to start. In the process, you will start to see patterns emerge.

When I talk about shooting, I start to hear stories about the family member who was on the police force. Now I have more constants to work with. A problem can't be solved unless you add a little bit of past experience with other problems into the mix, so I share a similar story. As the conversation continues, I find myself getting closer and closer to turning variables into values you can predict with reasonable certainty.

Normal people solve hundreds of these problems everyday without even thinking about it while engineers fail to solve many of these problems every single day.

That night, as you can probably already tell, I failed miserably at solving pretty much anything.

Attention People of Chicago

2011-07-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

It's July, which means I'm halfway through my first Chicago summer. Everyone I talk to in or from Chicago raves about how great the summers are. I must say that the people in or from Chicago have a very strange definition of great.

I will say that the city itself is amazing in the summer. You've got the great parks by the water, summer concerts, multiple block parties every weekend, and a beach where you'll find some impressive people watching. There is always something to do in the summer if you leave your apartment.

But let's talk about the white elephant in the room: the weather. Chicago's weather is mentally ill. When it's happy, it's really friggin happy. Most of the last two weeks were spent with heat indices topping the 100 degree mark. But when it's sad, it's suicidal. The last two days, we've had some of the worst flash floods on record. One day it's 90 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. The next day, or maybe even hour, it looks like the four horseman of the apocalypse have come for rapture. It's a mental patient that they're trying to cure with LSD and cocaine.

Here's what no one here seems to understand. There are places with amazing parks, shopping, swimming, block parties, you name it, and the weather is bearable all 12 months of the year. Yes, that's right, no need to get beat in the face repeatedly for eight months waiting for the psychopath to let you in. I don't really understand why people think they need to bear the winters here, because even the summer weather is some of the craziest I've ever seen.

So here's my description of Chicago weather. The winters are cold, snowy, and there's no decent skiing within a days drive. There will be times when you cannot leave your house for days, so keep some frozen pizzas in the freezer. The summers are sweltering, and once a week you will stare into the gates of hell when you look out your window, if only for an hour.

But it's all worth it right? RIGHT?!?!

My New Take on Inception

2011-07-19T23:05:00.000-07:00

I just got back from San Juan, Puerto Rico and on the flight home, I got a chance to watch Inception one more time. I'm sure the last thing the world needs is another interpretation of Christopher Nolan's film, but here's one you might not have heard. WARNING: The follow paragraphs contain spoilers.

I started thinking about totems. Every person going into the dream world has a totem that supposedly only themselves have touched. Except Cobb. Cobb's totem is the same as his wife Mal's, a small top. That got me thinking. There are three people who touch the top: Saito, Mal and Cobb.

We learn later in the film that Cobb and Mal both worked as extractors together and began playing with the idea of a dream inside a dream. From Cobb's story, we know they spent almost 50 years in limbo together before Cobb incepted Mal with the idea that they were in a dream.

Now back in the real world, Mal is still obsessed with the idea that the two of them are still dreaming. Cobb tries to reason with her, using the children as proof, but it is no use.

And now the twist. What if Mal was right? Maybe they were dreaming. How can Mal convince Cobb that it was all a dream? She has to use the one thing Cobb believes is real, the children. What Mal does is create a scenario where Cobb can't be with the children. She kills herself and pins it on him.

Enter Saito. He has chosen Cobb for his special task in part due to the test missions performed in the beginning of the film. But we never see that start of those missions. I believe that Mal and Saito are working together to wake Cobb up from the dream.

In fact, you know from the very first dream sequence where Cobb and Arthur are trying to convince Saito to give them is secret. Mal tells Saito what Cobb is up to, forcing the dream to collapse. In fact, anytime Cobb attempts to go deeper into the dream levels, Mal is there to try to stop him.

What we see at the end of the movie is the failure of Mal to get Cobb to wake up. Cobb is completely lost in his dream world because he no longer believes Mal is real, and she was his last link to reality.

And there we have it. Re-watch the movie and look for the connection between Saito, Mal and Cobb. Also look for clues that Mal was right and that they were living in a dream world when she committed suicide. It's interesting that after a full year, Inception still has the ability to make you think.

Two Prisoners Missing From Classified Guantanamo Files

2011-04-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES, CA - Wikileaks recent release of classified Guantanamo Bay documents caused even more controversy today as it was discovered that two high profile prisoners were missing from the files.

Harold Lee and Kumar Patel were made famous in the 2004 documentary Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. The success of the first film garnered a second documentary four years later titled Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. According to the latter film, the two men were placed in Guantanamo Bay after Kumar was found with an unknown electronic device and controlled substances on a flight to Amsterdam. They escaped from the facility during a highly publicized security breach involving at least three prison guards and a goat, all of whom where subsequently discharged. One of the guards, "Big" Bob, now runs a flooring outlet in Kansas City.

But the authenticity of both films was called into question today as it was discovered that both men are absent from the classified Wikileaks documents. The files contain detailed information about some 158 men held at the facility along with intelligence summaries and assessments. It is unknown who provided the information to Wikileaks, but Secretary Ron Fox released an official statement earlier today relating to the publishing of the documents:

[Holding up a picture of a little girl] Does NPR and The New York Times see this picture of a cute little white girl? With the release of these documents, it is clear that they want to see her get raped and murdered. It is unfortunate that these institutions want to rape America. [He then threw the picture against the wall]

Harold, Kumar, and NPH were not immediately available for comment.

LinkedIn's Usability Disaster

2011-04-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

If you've ever searched for a job on LinkedIn, you may have noticed a feature that allows you to search for jobs near a particular zip code. Now I'm guessing most people don't memorize the zip codes for major cities in the US, but no problem. LinkedIn provides a nice little "lookup" link right next to the box. All this sounds just fine. Maybe searching by city would be easier, but it's certainly better than nothing.

But here's the issue. When you click the lookup link, you don't get a simple ajax Javascript popup that allows you to enter a city, and get the correct zip code. You get a new window and this monster:

Even if GeoNames.org has the best zip code lookup system anywhere online, this type of user experience is shockingly bad. I have to search for the city on another site, then copy and paste the zip code back to LinkedIn? Someone needs to prioritize this JIRA story and fast.

Apple is Lazy

2011-03-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

They have 350,000 app logos to choose from but there are (many) duplicate logos in the latest Apple promo. WTF?

Click to enlarge

There Is No Twitter vs. Facebook

2011-03-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

There was a time not too long ago when my roommate and I would spend hours on a Saturday night drinking beers and debating who would win the battle of the internet: Facebook or Twitter. We came to a few conclusions from those discussions: 1. We really needed more friends, and 2. we were convinced that Facebook was destined to slaughter Twitter.

Facebook was in the middle of introducing incredible new features. The idea of Facebook connect was a single sign-in solution that seemed like it might actually work. The ability for websites to add social context to any page easily with the "Like" button was revolutionary. Meanwhile, Twitter wasn't doing much. They seemed to be busy trying to figure out how to make money and get rid of the infamous fail whale. It seemed pretty obvious that Facebook was the hare and Twitter the tortoise.

Fast forward to a few months ago when revolution began sweeping through Northern Africa. There were many realizations that came from the protests, and one of them for me was that Twitter and Facebook will co-exist because they are used for very different things. And if I had to live with only one of them, I would choose Twitter every time.

Facebook has been (and still is) in the process of changing the way people use the internet. The ability to bring your friends into your online world and communicate with them so easily is ushering in a revolution and we have only scratched the surface. But the same thing that makes Facebook so amazingly useful is what ultimately limits it: friends and networks.

Twitter is different. Right now, anyone with access to the internet, can create an account, and join any conversation in the world. By including a hashtag (#tag) into their tweet, they are instantly connected to people all over the world. Groups on Twitter are created only when there is a purpose for that group. As soon as the conversation ends, the group ends. This allows for a constant evolution of groups as the events or conversations change. Messages can contain multiple hashtags which allow for similar topics to merge seamlessly.

Facebook keeps you in contact with the people you know. You can instantly get feedback on whatever is going through your head, and that feedback has more value because it is from people you know. But that's all it is, feedback. Posts with comments. Twitter does not provide feedback (some might consider retweeting feedback, I don't), it provides a conversation. And a Twitter user with no followers can join any conversation instantly using hashtags. Millions of people being able to discuss any number of topics instantly all over the world. Most of those topics are worthless. But some of them have the power to change the world.

As I said before, friends and networks are Facebook's greatest assets. But they are also what will keep them from ever conquering Twitter. People post on Facebook because they have friends and want feedback. People Tweet because they want to be heard.

The Academy Awards of Kevin Bacon

2011-02-28T22:14:00.000-08:00

The winners from last night night's Academy Awards were all 2 degrees or less from Kevin Bacon (thanks to FindTheBacon.com for doing all the legwork):

Best Actor: Colin Firth -> Where the Truth Lies -> Kevin Bacon
Best Actress: Natalie Portman -> Mars Attacks! -> Jack Nicholson -> A Few Good Men -> Kevin Bacon
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale -> Pocahontas -> Gary Sinise -> Apollo 13 -> Kevin Bacon
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo -> Red State -> Kevin Pollak -> A Few Good Men -> Kevin Bacon

The other nominees and their degrees:
Best Actor:

Javier Bardem -> Collateral -> Tom Cruise -> A Few Good Men -> Kevin Bacon.
Jeff Bridges -> Arlington Road -> Tim Robbins -> Mystic River -> Kevin Bacon.
Jesse Eisenberg -> The Squid and the Whale -> William Baldwin -> Flatliners -> Kevin Bacon.
James Franco -> Mother Ghost -> Kevin Pollak -> A Few Good Men -> Kevin Bacon.

Best Actress:

Annette Bening -> Mars Attacks! -> Jack Nicholson -> A Few Good Men -> Kevin Bacon.
Nicole Kidman -> Days of Thunder -> Tom Cruise -> A Few Good Men -> Kevin Bacon.
Jennifer Lawrence -> X-Men: First Class -> Kevin Bacon.
Michelle Williams -> Synecdoche, New York -> Dianne Wiest -> Footloose -> Kevin Bacon.

Best Supporting Actor:

John Hawkes -> American Gangster -> Josh Brolin -> Hollow Man -> Kevin Bacon.
Jeremy Renner -> Mission: Impossible IV -> Tom Cruise -> A Few Good Men -> Kevin Bacon.
Mark Ruffalo -> In the Cut -> Kevin Bacon.
Geoffrey Rush -> The Life and Death of Peter Sellers -> John Lithgow -> Footloose -> Kevin Bacon.

Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams -> Catch Me If You Can -> Tom Hanks -> Apollo 13 -> Kevin Bacon.
Helena Bonham Carter -> Novocaine -> Kevin Bacon.
Hailee Steinfeld -> True Grit -> Josh Brolin -> Hollow Man -> Kevin Bacon.
Jacki Weaver -> Cosi -> David Wenham -> 300 -> Michael Fassbender -> X-Men: First Class -> Kevin Bacon.

You and Everyone You Know Is Crazy

2011-02-17T21:38:00.000-08:00

Not just crazy, fucking insane.

When I was younger, I remember staring at my friends and classmates, how they acted, and thinking about why they did crazy things. I was thinking about how normal I was acting, and nuts the people were around me. Sure, it might have been a little pompous, but it worked for me, and I'm sure it worked for many others as well.

I am a bit older now. I've had a few more relationships, and I've come to the realization that I'm just as crazy as everyone else, and I have been for a long time. Crazy is all around us. Men think women are crazy. Children think parents are crazy. You think that guy in the car ahead of you is crazy. And it turns out, we're all crazy.

That's because everything I do in my day to day life is normal to me. And I bet you have the same feelings about what you do. But it's not. I think what you're doing is insane. And you should be thinking the same about me. Knowing that everyone around you is mad as a hatter keeps you on your toes. It keeps you from predicting what will happen next.

There's nothing wrong with our crazy. It's there, so we should figure out a way to deal with it. In fact, I enjoy talking and hanging out with some of the craziest people I have ever met. What I've come to realize about every relationship I've had is that in order for it to continue, I need to keep three things in mind:

I'm crazy. And I need to recognize that fact, and use it to my advantage.
The other person is crazy. They think about things in a crazy way and will act in an even crazier manner.
The other person either doesn't know that either of us is crazy, or knows that everyone is crazy. Most people I meet fall into the latter category.

When I think about all my relationships, the ones that I still have seem to flourish on these three basic principles. And like I said before, all of this lunacy is a good thing. Because the main reason I think you're crazy, is because your ideas are so completely alien to me. When you let your crazy out, I begin to see and understand things in a very different way. It is a way I would never see in my normal life. And that's the irony of it all. The people from our relationships make us more crazy, which in turn makes us all feel a little more sane.

My First Google Chrome Plugin

2011-01-18T21:09:00.000-08:00

I have been playing around with Google Chrome Extensions lately. Here is my first attempt at a simple extension (5 hours of fiddling, no error checking) that will search IMDB for trivia for the movie you have selected. Just highlight a movie title in any webpage, right-click and you should see the option to find JooTrivia for that item.

Get it here and leave feedback. Obviously this only works in Google Chrome.

Your Business Sucks at Using Social Networks

2011-01-12T22:32:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed more and more people "liking" companies and products on Facebook than ever before? I have. And every contest I try to enter online start with the words, "Just click the 'Like' button."

After talking to a friend, I had the reason. At the end of November, 2010, Facebook decided to make a major change to their promotion guidelines. The change made running a contest or giveaway much easier. In the past, promotions had to be approved by Facebook and able to spend at least $10,000 in advertising on Facebook. Those restarints were dropped and now it costs you little more than the time involved in making a simple canvas application.

But before you Google, maybe you should think again. Right now, companies look at social networking sites as a way to spread brand awareness and drive traffic to their main site. And yes, in the short term, social networking is good at both of those things. But what about the long term? I venture to guess that most traffic graphs following the opening of a contest on Facebook look pretty spectacular. Large increases, and high-fives all around. And the week after the contest ends, it's like nothing happened.

What people (and companies) don't seem to understand is that in order to be successful in using social networks, they need to think about things completely different. It's not about driving traffic, it's about creating value for the customer. Use social networking to do something people couldn't do in the past and you will be successful. It will take more time, and be more expensive up front, but the rewards are worth it.

For example, if you're a travel site, don't have a giveaway to send you and three friends to Mexico. Make it easier for friends to travel together through your site. Look at what social networking sites allow you to do that wasn't possible before. Suddenly, I have instant access to private information on everyone I've ever met. Figure out how to use that in a product related to your brand, and build it.

Integrating social networks into your product isn't about finding the right strategy and following it. It's about finding the right idea and pioneering it. Now that's something to click the Like button for.

~Russ

Waterfree?

2011-01-01T22:13:00.001-08:00

I don't understand these new "waterfree" toilets. Originally weren't all toilets waterfree? Am I supposed to be impressed because they figured out a way to go back to how things were?

Wait, I have an idea. I'll invent a paper towel that you don't throw away. Amazing!

The green revolution: companys finding ways to charge more for technology that's already been replaced once.

BofAHoles.com

2010-12-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

Upon hearing that WikiLeaks might be dumping a bunch of documents about Bank of America next month, I have decided to register the domain name BofAHoles.com.

Any ideas what I should do with it?

You Fail

2010-12-20T10:27:00.000-08:00

When spammers stop trying, you know things are getting pretty bad...

from: Microsoft ®Corporation 2010 cmjfelix@rio.rj.gov.br
reply-to: mr.grahampoll2@hotmail.com
date: Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 8:37 AM
subject: Winning Notification!!!
mailed-by: rio.rj.gov.br
Prize won! $552,000 send name,tel,country

"Home Alone" Drinking Game

2010-11-25T12:14:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the holiday season!

Take a drink whenever:
- someone crashes into the lawn jockey (from FSR).
- you notice product placement (from FSR).
- you see a Christmas tree.
- someone says "Kevin" (from FSR).
- the Home Alone theme music plays (hear the theme here).
- you see the tarantula.
- Kevin gets scared of something (the old man, the basement, etc.).
- someone makes a phone call.

Take a shot for some important scenes:
- When the family realizes they've left Kevin.
- When Kevin uses Angels with Filthy Souls to scare someone.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Next/First Restaurant

2010-09-27T03:12:00.000-07:00

If I were to run a restaurant, it would be called "You Are a Giant." Everything in the place would be very tiny, as to make you feel like a giant. Tiny glasses, tiny plates, tiny forks, tiny menus, etc. After dinner, people would walk outside and on the way to their cars, things in the environment would slowly start to get bigger and bigger. Of course, on the other side of the street would be my other restaurant, "You Are a Dwarf."

Thinking Outside the Bottle

2010-09-24T00:30:00.000-07:00

Whenever I hear about a massive disaster somewhere in the world, there is always one thought that comes to mind. It is highly likely that there was at least one person that was blackout drunk before the disaster happened. When the person woke up, along with the normal feelings of regret and general confusion, they peered out the window and saw that everything he or she had ever known had been destroyed. Everything was flooded. It was raining fireballs from the sky. It's the type of situation that brings D-list celebrities together for a song.

Then, for a split second, that person truly believes that they were the cause of all the chaos.

And that makes me smile.

Roommate Monopoly

2010-09-20T01:14:00.000-07:00

My roommate is the worst person to play Monopoly with. His strategy is all about making deals with you that always end up in his favor. The last time we played, and I have no idea how he did this, but I ended up with a sub-prime mortgage on Baltic ave. I thought I was winning for a while, then eight turns later, I was toast.

Eating Healthy

2010-06-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

"Man, when I was a kid, I used to eat pizza and ranch dressing almost everyday for lunch."
"Yeah, I knew some kids that did that. Everyday it was cheese fries with ranch dressing from the cafeteria.

*silence*

Yeah, they're dead now."

Re: Doomsday

2010-05-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

[A reply to a thread about backing up your personal hard drive]

Besides pictures and possibly purchased media (many times you can just re-download them if you beg CS), what terabytes worth of data are you people backing up?

For personal files: gmail has my mail, google docs and/or gmail usually have any important docs i need (what is your definition of important?). Taxes are all online. Banking is all online. All digital media that i "found" for free isn't worth anything to me (and even the stuff i paid for wouldn't set me back much). Any code projects i am working on are on some server somewhere already. Am i missing something?

And for photos, think about it: If you have a DSLR and take decent pictures, you have an online account for sharing photos. If you want to keep the high quality copies for printing, you would have printed them already. If you wanted to share the lower quality ones, you would have shared them already (i.e. someone has a copy somewhere if you really need it, which you don't). And if you just took them, they are still on your camera. 99% of the other photos you won't miss (and neither will the people you show them to).

A forest fire every now and then is a good thing. It helps you know what is really important. Here's a hint: it isn't much. Do I need my 5th grade report on dinosaurs? Do I need my failed iphone app? do I need my 128kbps Mp3 rip of the Beastie Boys from 1998? The answer to all of these is no.

And if there is something on your drive that you really couldn't live without (most likely, there isn't), then by all means, back it up. But is a hard drive the best way? Who has or needs a copy? Your lawyer? Your bank? Your hospital? Your mother? Do they have copies? Would it be hard to get them?

Yes, other techies will laugh at you (like they will laugh at me for writing this) but you can take it. Most likely, the things you really need most are already backed up. And they aren't on your hard drive.

Don't be a slave to your data.

Russ

(this only applies to personal data. businesses should have their data backed up by the admins :)

RussThoughts: Notes on India

2010-04-16T00:11:00.000-07:00

This is the first of a series of notes taken on my phone during my time in India. It, along with some of the pictures I took, serve as my memory. Most of this will not make sense. It has been modified heavily to hide the fact that I am illiterate.

[3/11/2010]
Note 1: Hanging out in Frankfurt [because of a layover]. The German language makes me laugh. Flight = flug. I listen to the airplane safety video and laugh out loud. People are staring. There was a light snowfall. Walking around the airport, I noticed a Pear in bottle at the Duty Free shop. The free wifi doesn't work. Damn. The first thing you see when you get off the bus from the tarmac is a McCafe your way. My plane to India is a Boeing 747-400 (a double decker), but I'll still be mushed into the back of the plane next to "baby's first international flight."

[3/12/2010]
Note 2: Saturday: Got to the hotel around 4:30am. Woke up at 9am. Breakfast consisted of fruit, some stuff that did not taste how it looked, and watermelon juice. Note to self: never get the coffee. There was a thin film on top and it kept reforming. Had to venture outside to get a SIM card for my mobile. Almost died every time I crossed the street. I needed to visit a bank in order to get smaller bills. Turns out, not many places accept 1000 INR bill. I Had no idea what line to get in or where to go. People kept pushing in front of me. Got the money and some passport photos needed to get a SIM card. 60 INR for 15 passport photos (I paid 8 USD for 2 in the States). I was feeling adventurous so I went for a walk around Bangalore. Wow. Dogs on the street. Cows laying around. Pretty nuts. Everyone was staring at me. Very much Slumdoggish. So many shops. So many goods. So much poverty. Street vendors sell watermelon instead of hotdogs. So dirty. met up with my friend at 5pm. Went to The Forum mall. Regular people shopping for regular stuff. Very different from where I was this afternoon. Went to British style pub (Firangi Pani) for drinks. Learned all about Cricket. Drove (a.k.a. feared for life), to a place that searved Delhi style food. So spicy. Everything. Made it back to the hotel. Very tired. Fell asleep watching Red Dwarf. I love that show. Oh, and there was a DUI checkpoint on the way home.

More notes to come...

1 दिन: शनिवार: बैंगलोर

2010-03-14T04:14:00.001-07:00

1 दिन: शनिवार: बैंगलोर: 4 के बारे में मेरे होटल मिल गया. टैक्सी चला रहा था ... अच्छी तरह से ... रोमांचक. बंद करो रोशनी सिर्फ दिखाने के लिए कर रहे हैं. मेरा चालक लाल बत्ती के माध्यम से सही गई थी. मेरे होटल बहुत पसंद है, लेकिन यह अभी भी एक के बाद गीला तौलिया जैसी खुशबू आ रही है एक सप्ताह के बारे में. एक छोटी सी ए / सी बात का ख्याल रखा. अंततः 5:30 के आसपास बिस्तर पर मिला. मैं 8 में जागना की कोशिश जेट अंतराल के प्रभाव से लड़ने जा रहा हूँ.
शनिवार की सुबह चेहरे पर एक लात के साथ आता है. था उठो, बौछार कर, और कोई समस्या नहीं के साथ नाश्ते के लिए. ताजा फल और स्थानीय अखबार एक अच्छा स्पर्श था. बाहर अध्यक्षता में मेरी नोकिया E72 के लिए नाश्ते के बाद एक सिम कार्ड ले आओ. यह आसान नहीं था. भारत में, तुम कह क्या तुम वहाँ रह रहे हैं, एक पासपोर्ट फोटो होटल से एक नोट की जरूरत है, और अपने पासपोर्ट और वीजा की एक प्रति. मैं तस्वीर याद आ रही थी, लेकिन मैं के बारे में 60 के लिए 16 का एक सेट मिल गया था. सिम 100 रुपए था, और फिर एक को 500 रुपये का कार्ड भरने.कुल बाहर आया Rs.620 है, जो कम से कम 15 डॉलर है. बुरा नहीं है.
एक काम कर फोन नंबर के साथ, मैं बहुत अच्छा महसूस किया. मैं शहर के आसपास टहलने के लिए निकल पड़े. एक सड़क (या किसी भी मार्ग के निकट कदम वास्तव में एक बात को ध्यान दें: हर बार आप) तुम अपने हाथों में अपनी ज़िंदगी ले रहे हैं. सड़क पार रोमांचक (एक बुरी तरह से) है. मैं अपनी यात्रा के बारे में 4 को पार कर एक सिम कार्ड ले, और वाह. एक हेल्मुट स्कीइंग के बिना कुछ भी नहीं है.
चलना पिछला के बारे में, जैसे ही मैं बता सकता है अब तक, मैं रेसिंग ट्रैक घोड़े और सरकारी भवनों पिछले फिरते, शहर के दिल में हो रहा से पहले. एक बात मैं अभी देखा है कि वहाँ हर जगह दुकानें हैं. हर सड़क के निर्माण का सामना कर रहे एक दुकान है, और आमतौर पर के बारे में 12. और एक दुकान एक ही मद बेचता है. वहाँ एक दुकान थी कि कुछ भी नहीं लेकिन बग repellant, कुछ नहीं, लेकिन ड्रिल बिट बेच दिया है, लेकिन ध्यान देने योग्य बात अभ्यास, कुछ नहीं, लेकिन बर्तन, कुछ नहीं, लेकिन skillets. इसके अलावा, जंगली कुत्तों की सड़कों पर घूमने और यह सच है, वहाँ बस यादृच्छिक सब के बीच में बाहर लटक गायों हैं.
खुशबू आ रही है सभी) नहीं थे बुरा (. उनमें से कई मसाले और फूलों के थे. बेशक, यह सड़े फलों के साथ मिलाया गया था, और भगवान ही जानता है और क्या. जो भी हो, लेकिन मेरी 4 घंटे के भ्रमण के अंत में, मैं मर थक गया और बहुत गर्म था.
मेरे सह कार्यकर्ता के साथ रात के खाने के लिए बाहर का नेतृत्व किया. हम मंच है, जो बंगलूर में सबसे बड़ा मॉल है मारा, और यह किसी भी मॉल तुम राज्यों में पता होगा की तरह था. एक फिल्म और थिएटर के साथ पूरा एक है दिल्ली नगर निगम.
तो बंगलौर के बारे में कुछ प्रारंभिक विचार: वहां कचरा हर जगह है. वहाँ लोगों को हर जगह हैं. वहाँ कारों और बसों हर जगह हैं. वहाँ दुकानें हर जगह हैं. क्या मैंने उल्लेख वहाँ लोगों को हर जगह हैं? यह गर्म है. ये बदबूदार है. यह किसी भी जगह पर मैंने कभी पहले से किया गया है से बहुत अलग है. यह कम से कम कह ताज़ा है. मैं हमेशा से चकित कितनी अच्छी तरह बातें यहाँ काम कर रहा हूँ.
समय कुछ आईपीएल (क्रिकेट) देखने के लिए.
~ Russ

A Lazy Post

2010-03-08T23:45:00.000-08:00

Both of these were stolen from commercials during the Olympics, and they make me want to embed more Youtube videos into my posts.