Transportation Solutions From Afar For Portland

We can learn from both successes and failures. By that I mean just because something failed under a certain circumstance it would not work under another. We can study failures, and understand why it failed. Then we know how to fix it and how to implement it in a situation where it can succeed.

In countries such as India, China, Singapore and Indonesia, traffic is a big problem. Many of the cities are overcrowded and the combination of private and public transportation solutions has not worked to rectify the situation.

But this doesn't mean that those solutions have merit. Many of them make sense in a city such as Portland precisely because of the successes it already enjoys. Portland has the resources to properly implement these solutions that have not worked in places such as Indonesia. Lets review some of them. Just remember this essay is meant to touch the surface of this issue. If you have any further questions, please feel free to let me know.

Intra-city Transport
In Jakarta and its surrounding areas as well as the larger cities, there is a public transportation system called Angkot (short for Angkutan Kota; City Transport). These are small mini buses with specific routes around town. They are buses for all intents and purposes. But they're very small, each can seat maybe 10 people maximum. The ones I have seen are all Suzuki Carry vans.

While I think the Suzuki Carry is a perfect vehicle for this task even in Portland, any SUV or minivans will work. The Suzuki Carry comes with either a 1.0 or 1.3 liter engine with about 60 and 75 horsepower respectively. The point is, a vehicle with space enough to carry 10 or so people powered by a small efficient engine is a perfect vehicle for this task.

In short, I am proposing two things using the smaller vehicles as public transports:
- passenger load management, during light passenger load hours, use smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles
- service fringe areas normally not served, often would be public transportation users cannot use buses because of the distance they would have to walk or ride their bicycle

How would these things work in Portland?
- These small vehicles can reach the fringe neighborhoods, especially with the narrow streets
- During the hours where the buses only have a few passengers, these small vehicles will save fuel
- The smaller vehicles will replace the full size buses during slow hours. When there's a sudden spike in ridership, either more of these things can be deployed quickly or the regular buses can be put back in service
- These things can serve additional routes inexpensively, especially the fringe neighborhoods. These small vehicles can make a circle around mall neighborhoods as its route, picking up passengers at the end of the regular bus lines.

These things are not meant to:
- be on the freeways or highways
- replace the large buses during heavy bus use (morning and early evening)

Advantages:
- efficient mileage per person transported during the hours when regular buses are empty
- able to service more fringe areas so more people will be able to take the bus
- many models of widely available vehicles can be easily used for this duty

Disadvantages:
- it is another vehicle that the public transportation company will have to service and manage
- passengers might feel crowded because the vehicles would often be already full
- passengers might have to wait for additional vehicle deployment when there's an unexpected heavy ridership

Here are some pictures from the web:
http://jakartadailyfotolagi.blogspot.com/2006/03/angkot.html
http://jakartadailyphoto.com/index.php/2006/03/28/angkot/

And here are some pictures I took:




The first picture shows the angkot only lane (on the left of the concrete barrier)
The second picture shows the side door where you would come in
The third picture shows how angkots serve small neighborhoods where buses can't go into

Inter City Transport
Craigslist already does this function, if a little hectic. There are companies in Indonesia who you would call to travel between cities. The mode of transport are regular vans/SUVs.

With Craigslist, you would search for people already traveling to the city you want to travel to on the date acceptable to you. On the opposite side, you would post the time and date and destination of your departure. If you're lucky enough, you will find each other.

In Indonesia, these companies supply the vehicles to travel between cities and they will get the people together who are going in the same direction at the same time. The companies will dictate the time of the day they are leaving and they will pick you up at your residence.

There is no reason an enterprising web programmer cannot parse the existing information from Craigslist and put them all in a single website. People will then be alerted when what they're looking for is available. This business can then expand slowly to include a few vehicles of their own, serving common routes.

This is something that is lacking in the Northwest. Many people are already living a life without a car, but many others kept a car strictly for long distance trips. If this mode of transport is more prevalent, these people will have even less of a reason to own a car. In addition, people who own gas guzzlers for their own needs can use this service if they don't really need to drive their gas guzzler once they've arrived at their destination. They can rent a more fuel efficient car at the destination city.

Carpool restrictions
Another thing I saw was carpool restrictions during heavy traffic times. Many major roads are restricted to 3 or more people during these hours. This will work very well in many neighborhoods in Portland. There are more than enough side streets to be used by single riders, leaving more room for the carpoolers on the major roads. I am thinking of Lombard, Powell, Barbur, Broadway and many other major thoroughfares.

Actually, to be fair, this idea is really about separating different users and focusing on the most efficient ones. I would like to propose separating the bicycles from the major thoroughfares WHEN CONVENIENT. I don't think the bicycles should be punished and relegated to crappy side roads. But when the side roads are just as good as the main roads, why not let them use that road almost exclusively?

For example, Milwaukie Ave in Sellwood. There are plenty of safer side roads paralleling it, yet the bicycles, motorcycles and cars are stuffed together during rush hour. When I was riding my bicycle, and my scooter at other times, I chose 17th ave instead. There are hardly anyone on that road, and if it's busy I take 16th, or 15th or 13th. Why endanger myself on the bicycle or scooter AND slow myself down at the same time?

So for bicycles, I propose when there are alternative roads, make that road mostly for bicycles (wide, 2-bike width bicycle lanes on either side, make it a little uncomfortable for cars to be driving on this street. This way the bicyclists are safer, the carpoolers have a nice road with less people on it, and those who still choose to drive alone will be the one inconvenienced, but still free to do so.

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I will add more as I have time. But these are the ones I can think of for now.

Where is Andre now?

So I am staying at my cousin and his wife's house in Bogor near Jakarta. From the center of Jakarta, it is about 55 miles on the toll roads. There is a palace here as a vacation home for the Indonesian president. I guess you can say Bogor is Indonesia's version of America's Camp David. This year in June, it will be celebrating its 528th anniversary as a city. With a population of almost 40,000 people/km^2 or 100,000 people/square mile, it is one of the densely populated cities in the world. Nicknamed rainy city not only because of the amount of rain, but also for its regularity. Afternoon showers are reported to be quite regular even in the summer; it made the Guiness book of record with having 322 thunderstorms per year. With about 150 inches of rainfall per year, it is almost 5 times that of Portland, Oregon with 35 inches per year. This is not to say that the town is cool and comfortable. The average monthly lowest temperature is 70 degrees and highest is 90 degrees. Daily average humidity is quite high, ranging from 70-90% throughout the year.

Bogor is famous for at least two things, the Bogor Palace (Istana Bogor) and the Bogor Botanical Gardens. The Palace is now a presidential retreat, having been built in 1744 on 70 acres of land. There are deers roaming freely in the palace gardens while the palace guests enjoy the extensive art collection in the now 200,000 square feet palace. Bogor Botanical Gardens border the palace and contains 15000 species of trees and plants, including 3000 species of orchids alone and the world's largest flower, the Rafflesia. The Rafflesia is Indonesia's national flower. Though I'm not sure why, it's a parasitic plant and it smells of rotten meat; its only merit is its rarity. The other two national flowers are much better, the Moon Orchid and the Jasmine. One known for its beauty and the other for its fragrance.








The traffic in Bogor is quite a bit less complicated and crowded than Jakarta. I would drive here (Actually I did, both on the main streets and on the side streets/alleys full of potholes), but not in Jakarta. There are malls, day spas and foot spas (you've got to look that up) here as well as impromptu side of the road markets. These markets are simple stalls made of scrap wood and tarp as roofs. There is one that is actually on the road, a road that's supposed to be two lanes wide is now only one lane because of the market stalls. They sell everything from fruits and vegetables to toys and clothing to rabbits (I don't really know whether it's for eating or as pets).







This city is quite old, it celebrated its 528th anniversary on June 3rd. I am not sure whether it has been a city for that long or what. I know that the area has been inhabited since the 5th century, when it was called Pakuan. Back then of course Indonesia as a nation doesn't exist, it consisted of many kingdoms spread across the different islands. The one that Bogor, or Pakuan back then, belonged to was called Tarumanegara. One amazing thing about this kingdom back then, they had communicated and even sent messengers to China.

Anyway, that is Bogor, where I currently live and while I am in Indonesia, probably will be. As of this writing, I am in Malang to visit my cousins and my aunts (my mom's sisters) and uncles. I was in Surabaya doing the same thing a few days ago. Tomorrow I will be in Bali for a few days, then Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok before I am back in Bogor. My mom will be with me until August 2nd, when she will go back to Los Angeles to my sister, my brother in law and my niece and nephew.

Who are these Indonesian people?

Heck if I know. From what I can tell there are hundreds of different ... hmm ... I suppose ethnicities if you want to call it that. It's more like groups of common culture (language, social structure, etc) because people have moved around so much. The following is my attempt to very much simplify and generalize the complexities and the varieties of the indonesian people.

There isn't a common "look" to an Indonesian. Really, not even native Indonesians in the same meaning as native americans. If you count native Indonesians as people whose ancestors have been in Indonesia since before the Dutch colonization in the 17th century, they all still look different. Indonesia today encompasses an estimated 17,000 islands (no, not a typo) with about 1,000 of them permanently populated. Each of these islands have their own people and their culture that are not at all the same to their neighbors. Often, they differ even within the islands themselves. To complicate things even further, these islands have experienced immigration of different people for thousands of years. Let's look at a few of them who live in the main islands.

*Diversion: Indonesia has 3 of its islands in the top 7 largest islands in the world. The list starts with Australia as the largest island, Greenland, New Guinea, Bornea, Madagascar, Baffin Island and Sumatra. In the top 15 largest, both the islands of Sulawesi and Java also made the list.*

Starting with the island of Java, there are the Sundanese people in West Java. The Sundanese are famous for their angklung, a unique musical instrument made of bamboo, invented by them. Javanese in central and eastern Java with a bit of Madurese (from the island of Madura in east Java). That's just in Java and that's just the major ones. We are not counting the sultanate of Yogyakarta where the Sultan of Yogyakarta is the governor of the province, Betawi people in Jakarta (themselves a mix of people residing in and near Jakarta since the 1600s; Betawi people now are a mix of Southeast Asian ethnic groups, Portuguese and Dutch plus Arab, Chinese and Indian), and many other ones. Also, in this island, there are monuments to Buddhism (Borobudur) and Hinduism (Prambanan) as well as the ubiquitious muslim ones and several Christian ones to mix in religion with the diversity of ethnicity.

In the island of Sumatra, there are the Malay, Batak and Minangkabau people. The Batak people have a history of canibalism, though no longer generally practiced. The famous Danau Toba (Lake Toba) is in the same area where they live. It is famous because it is the largest volcanic lake in the world. The Minangkabau people are probably one of my favorite people in the world, if only because they produce the best food. They are also called the Padang people.

There are the Balinese people, of course, from Bali. The largest population of Hindus in Indonesia, are very dramatic, artistically. Famous for their dances, sculpture and gamelan music.

In Kalimantan/Borneo, there are the Banjarese, itself a fusion of the older Buddhist and Hindu culture until the 1500s when the muslim culture and religion became prevalent in the courts and birthed a new kingdom. This island is shared with Malaysia and one of the richest countries in the world Brunei Darussalam (currently 5th highest Gross Domestic Product per capita).

Sulawesi is an easy island to remember because it looks like K. Bugineses and Makassarese people populate this 12th largest island in the world.

Then there are the aboriginese people in Irian Jaya (a large island shared with Papua New Guinea).

So in a somewhat long Facebook note, that is the Indonesian people. I don't know much about a lot of the different people of Indonesia. Of course, the people I'm most familiar with are the people in the island of Java. Between my parents, they have close family from the west side of the island, throughout the island and to the east side and a few of the surrounding islands.

Java is the most populated island, so now you can see people from many other islands in Indonesia and other countries. The food and the people are influenced by Europeans by the Portuguese and Dutch, Indians, China, Malaysia, middle eastern, several southeast Asian culture, and many others. Indonesia is South East Asia's melting pot. Indonesian people are the stew of that pot.

A priori vs a posteriori; nature vs nurture; tabula rasa vs ....?

A priori vs a posteriori; nature vs nurture; tabula rasa vs ....?

Epistemology categorizes knowledge into a priori and a posteriori. A priori knowledge is gained without experience. A posteriori is gained with experience, from outside influences. One use for the idea of a priori and a posteriori is on the question of nurture vs. nature. Were we born with some universal truths/predispositions or were we born "tabula rasa", as blank slates? Doubtless this argument will continue unsolved for generations to come.

However, as we observe our own personal growth, other philosophical ideas and a combination of other information we can deduce a few things. While this method does not produce a scientific theory, it does suggest a workable and logically probable hypothesis. Our lives are rich with experiences that we can use to grow ourselves, let's look at some of them and try to answer this basic question. While many of the theories and ideas we will use to answer this question have its opponents, we have to assume that one side of the argument is the correct one. The combination of these assumptions and how they connect together is how we will answer whether we are born with predispositions toward certain behaviors or we are born as blank slates and we're a product of our nurturing environments.

Humans are arrogant and we assume that we are somehow "better" than plants and animals. This may be true, but why are we better? One of the common theories for this is that we, humans, have logical thought that can overcome instincts. While animals have been shown to be able to think on their feet, humans may be the only species that can overcome their basic instincts. There have been many arguments against this, theories that say that humans are unable to overcome our basic instincts. For our purposes, we will assume that we can overcome our instincts.

The next set of data points we will consider are exceptional humans, men and women who made a name for themselves despite or because of their upbringing. Let's take two of the great minds in the sciences and engineering, Einstein and Tesla. Arguably, both had the predisposition for the sciences from their family. Einstein's father was an engineer and Tesla's mother was talented in making home craft tools and memorizing epic poems (Tesla had a photographic memory). In the spirit of "correlation does (not?) imply causation" let's look at the rest of the population of the world. How many of the current 6 billion people on earth have (or should have) a predisposition for the sciences just as Tesla and Einstein? How many are as prolific of an inventor as they were? Just because you're supposed to be predisposed to a certain behavior, does not mean you will be. Or is that the wrong hypothesis? Should it be: because you're predisposed to a certain behavior you don't have to behave that way. The difference is that the latter hypothesis implies we have a choice and the capability to break away from our predisposition.

On the same line of thinking as above, looking at a person and their background, let's look at Ada Lovelace (regarded as the world's first computer programmer). The only predisposition that we can deduce she might have is that both her parents are supposedly pretty intelligent in their own right. Her father is the famous poet Lord Byron (but Ada didn't have any relationship with him) and her mother reportedly was very intelligent in her social circles. So what made her become the world's first computer programmer? Her mother's obsession in discouraging her to study literary subject and directed her toward the math and sciences might have some influence. It can be argued that despite the weak predisposition on math and science, continual exposure and possibly good experiences in math and sciences (she might have had good/great tutors who fostered her interests) created and later nurtured her interests. So here we have someone who may have a weak disposition for math and science greatness who rose to become one of the great minds.

Lets refrain from continuing the study of philosophical ideas, human experiences and other information to answer our question. This article is merely to show you a method with which you can answer the question yourself. Use your own experiences and deduce your hypothesis from it. Study other philosophical ideas well enough to understand all sides and pick an argument that supports your hypothesis. Learn about different people (not only the famous and infamous, but also those who are indifferent), and deduce what you can so you can then complete your hypthesis. What do you think? Were we born as blank slates or were we born with predispositions and universal truths already wired into our brain?

As for me, using the methods above, I've developed my hypothesis. For those who know me, it should come as no surprise that I straddle the fence...again. My hypothesis is simply this: We were born with some predispositions and universal truths, but we have the willpower to not only overcome them but even change them. My original thought was that we were born as blank slates because I believe and have observed that people can do anything they want bad enough.

There are some exception of course (no one can become a US president when they're too young...until we change the constitution), but by and large we all can do what we want to do. But since then, I've observed myself, my behaviors current and past and noticed a few things. I've always been rebellious, not the AK-4 carrying kind, but I've always challenged status quo. When my parents said I can't do something, I have to try it. While correlation does NOT imply causation, I have to wonder if I've always been predisposed to this. If I have, then I wasn't really born as a blank slate, completely subject to my surroundings and external input.

In short, this article is not for me to answer the question for you. It is merely to show you some of the tools I've used to come up to my answer. While critical thinking has gone out the window just as common sense, that is the one thing I can say that we, humans, have as our most powerful weapon in our arsenal. So go forth, be critical thinkers and be the best person you can be, predispositions be damned!

Mind Over Matter

Last night I was walking down Killingsworth on my way to a meeting. The chill in the air...ok the freezing cold weather, made me think. About other people braving this cold. About how lucky I am to have clothing, shelter and food.

How many are without shelter? How many are families? Women? Children?

Will they at least have “just warm enough” bedding and have enough walls, cardboard they may be, to valiantly shield their frail bodies against the bitter winds?

How many will instead shiver, their bodies generating barely enough warmth to fight the impending freeze? They impatiently await for the sunrise and the feeble warmth it may bring to an Oregon winter day.

A cold breeze the likes of which I've never experienced jolted me back to reality and my surroundings. My thoughts turn inward, toward my battered, chilled body. Wearing black denim (is that a fashion faux pas these days?) , polo shirt and a light 2-button hound tooth pattern sports coat, I feel feeble against the wind. Old Man Winter's breath, no matter how light, blows through my clothing to chill me as if I was naked.

I am uncomfortable, my skin crawls trying to escape the cold and find any semblance of non-existent warmth. But I will survive, I will be alright, my destination mere blocks away. The warmth of family, friends and a heated meeting room awaits. Infinitely a better option than many.

So why was I so reluctant to get out this morning? I dreaded checking the thermostat, afraid that I would see the red colored alcohol barely breaking through its bulb. That was what I saw. I should have stayed neatly tucked in my blanket on the folding chair that I slept on.

What a difference my state of mind can have on my outlook. From a placid larvae in the warm embrace of my blankets to bravely facing, nay even conquering Mother Nature's challenging cold. With a flick of a switch, deciding to get up and that the world out there is worth taking becomes the overwhelming desire of the day. So I will give you a break today...stay in your comfort zone. Tomorrow, forge the will to conquer the new day and break out of your shell. Seize the day.

On Communicating

Being able to say something in the clearest, most concise manner does not make one a good communicator. As a matter of fact, I have found that the more someone prides themselves as a good communicator, the worse they are. That's like saying they're a giant for being the tallest person in the crowd of 6th graders waiting in line for lunch at the school cafeteria.

One key ingredient is being sensitive to what the audience needs to hear and having the skills to give the audience what they need to understand your point. Listen and watch your audience's reactions. If necessary, explain the concept from a different context. When talking to a literary scholar, I can start with examples or quotes from famous writers. When talking to an engineer or scientist, I have to address the facts and figures that I can back up.

The biggest mistake someone can make is to put the other person on a defensive.

Once this happens, any semblance of logic usually goes out the door. In discussions and arguments, there must be logic. Even if it's one sided, at least one party needs to be logical enough to be able to deal with the other party's emotional outbursts. The best communication circumstance is when both sides are logical and being open to agree to disagree.

When someone disagrees with us, it very seldom means they're not a good person. Each of our experiences and points of views are unique. In our circumstances and point of view something can be correct and appropriate. But under a slightly different circumstance and/or point of view, that same something can be incorrect and inappropriate. We must be aware of this at all times.

Assume the best intentions of someone. Why assume otherwise? It only creates stress and turmoil in ourselves. If you're curious about their intention, ask. Though in my opinion, simply assuming the best intentions work even better. When someone critizes us, assume they're not personally attacking us personally. They are simply telling us what we did that was disagreeable to their point of view. Take this opinion, analyze it against your morals and your experiences. If they're right, do something about it. If you disagree simply say, "thank you for the input, I will be sensitive to your needs if I can" and you continue doing what you're doing.

One thing that really bothers me is when I argue/discuss an issue with someone sometimes we're saying the same things but under different definitions. Or we think we know what each other means by a definition but we don't. This has caused many misunderstandings. Be aware of this. Ask to make sure our definitions of key concepts are the same.

Last but not least, honesty. Not only do we need to be sincere and honest in our communications with others, they need to be honest too. Tell each other what you like AND didn't like. If I don't know that you don't understand my earlier point, we will have what the McMennamin brothers call a Communication Breakdown. By honesty I don't just mean not to lie. But honesty as in don't be embarassed to ask questions or to show dislikes.

Being a good communicator is not easy. The rules change almost every time you communicate with a different audience; sometimes even with the same audience. Don't be arrogant and think you are a good communicator, listen and watch your audience. Make sure to remember these points:

- be honest and let your audience feel at ease for being honest with you

- don't put someone on the defensive

- assume the best intentions

- they're not a bad person for disagreeing with us

- listen, be aware of what the audience needs in order to understand you

- define your boundaries and make sure they're the same with your audience

On Anger and Other Emotions

Some would argue that humans, like animals behave according to our emotions and instincts. I however, would argue that we have logic that can overcome emotions and instincts. Undeniably, we all have emotions and instincts no matter how much we suppress them. The difference between us and "lesser" beings is that we are capable of sorting through our emotions and make decisions based on more than the current emotions and instincts we are feeling.

Emotions and instincts are tools for survival in the wild, they are neither good or bad. Our reactions to them make our actions good or bad, not the emotions themselves. Sadness, anger, fear, even jealousy are only negative in that they don't make us happy in the present. They have their uses. Sadness lets us know that whatever we're doing or experiencing is not a positive one for us. Fear sharpens our senses and makes us mindful of our surroundings...unless we let it paralyze us. Jealousy lets us know that we are in the presence of a rival. Anger lets us be brutally honest and lowers our inhibitions for hurting others.

Yes, even anger can help us. Now prolonged irrational anger is not healthy either for us nor the person(s) we're angry at. But it does let us communicate our disdain for whatever it is that angers us. I always tell my friends that I don't expect them to never be angry at them nor should they expect me to never be angry at them. But being friends mean we'll be done with the anger and we'll continue being friends after resolving the issues.

I am one of the more emotionless people I know when it comes to completing tasks. I can work with anyone no matter how I feel about them because I can set aside my emotions toward them and just complete the task/project. My utilization of the anger emotion is even less; I often don't even feel angry. Not only can I not show anger, most often I don't feel anger when I probably should.

This is unfortunate. Anger can be a great tool, especially in communicating with the people we love. Often times we guard our words and actions in order not to "hurt" the ones we love. This results in masking our true selves to our loved ones. Being angry lets our friends and family know that we cannot accept the current situation and it is a big deal to us.

Yes, we can tell them nicely that we don't agree with their actions, words or whatever situation we find ourselves in. But in a few circumstances, being angry has its advantages. We tend to say what we think, ignoring our assumptions of consequences. Now I don't mean complete uncontrolled anger (that would be like the HULK) or going berserk. More like a logical anger where we let go of our inhibitions of "hurting" the other person. Let them have a piece of your mind, release your tension about the subject and let the other person know how you feel.

If you truly love each other (at any level, friends or family), and the anger is fairly controlled, you would have just communicated to each other at the basic level. Sometimes this is what is needed to resolve a situation. The key here is to have love for the person you're angry at (and they for you) and to be done with the anger after a good discussion that should follow the anger episode.

So use your emotions, even anger. Remember they're just tools for us to live life to the fullest, to learn, and to be better. Emotions are neutral, it is our actions and response to them that makes us, our behavior when dictated by emotions, good or evil.

I'm a celebrity...on the web...kind of

Ok ok it's me. OMSI interviewed me for their Sound Science podcast (thanks Kim)last year. I didn't think much of it but recently several people told me they found other cool things about OMSI when they looked for my podcast. So go forth and find yourself cool things to do at OMSI (science pub anyone? Or OMSI after dark?) www.omsi.info/podcast/archive.cfm and look for sound science number 88

A few things I've done

Since connecting to old friends and acquaintances, everyone asks what I've been doing. So here it is in no particular order, you guess the order!

Became an EMT
Flunked out of college
Working on getting enough support for the first annual Northwest Alternative Fuel Vehicle Auto Show (got contacts who can probably get the hydrogen car, Volt, new hybrids, etc from BMW, Toyota, Honda and GM)
Designed, built and raced off-road gokarts
Became interested in girls
Finished high school
Got a Blackberry for $20
Helped build a soap box derby car
Pushed a soap box derby car
Working on a micro-hybrid system for heavy trucks; basically a start-stop no idle system
Fell flat on his booty while pushing a soap box derby car
Raced a soap box derby car
Finished college with nerdy degrees
Fought forest fires
Put on workshops and taught middle/high school teachers how to teach certain science subjects and specific engineering/science topics (math and science in every day life, engineering a mousetrap car, and science is fun)
Working on a method of utilizing shipping containers/trailer roofs to generate power; a method to connect them together when stored in the shipping yard and utilize the same connection to provide power to the truck that's pulling the trailer to increase fuel mileage
Spoken in front of 1000+ people
Participated in a spelling bee (Mondays at Mississippi Pizza, Portland OR)
Spoken to 50 different K-12 classes (~1000 or so students I think) about math, science and engineering
Sold some of his photographs for money
Spent too much money on fountain pens; finally stopped buying one after the last $230 pen
Working on a wireless data transmission for heavy truck electronic controllers (switches and sensors)
Chaired a local chapter of an international engineering society (still on the governing board)
Had the idea and wrote the original bylaws for a leadership club
Working on designing a human-hybrid electric vehicle
Became homeless
Saved too many voice messages from his 4 yr old nephew
Watched Dancing with the Stars on a regular basis
Felt lucky to have met his friends and acquaintances so far
Had a photograph published in a local art magazine
Found out that about 80 feet is as high of a cliff face he can free climb
Found out the hard way that his brain does not transfer the information to his limbs quick enough to survive too many novice level downhill mountain bike races

There are more of course, maybe I'll keep adding to this

Games To Play with Scrabble Tiles

Bananagrams/Gorilla Scrabble:
Why pay for a bananagrams tile set when you can use your existing scrabble tile set? Here's how the game goes:
- place all tiles face down on the table, no need for the board
- each player take 15 letters face down
- last winner say GRRR and everyone flips their 15 tiles
- try to use all 15 tiles to make words in a crossword manner
- first person who used 15 tiles yell out Jungle Feed and everyone take one more letter
- the last person who yell out Jungle Feed when the tiles run out is the King Gorilla
- everyone inspects King Gorilla's board for misspellings, if none, King Gorilla wins
- if there's a misspelling, King Gorilla becomes a Lemur and their tiles gets dumped in the middle and play continues for everyone else
(*variations: take two instead of take one, count points by number of tiles used, count points by points on the letters, etc*)

Snatchagrams:
This is another no turn based game. Basically the only turn is for a person to flip a tile over, otherwise anyone is free at any time to yell out the words he/she sees and pick up the letters. valid words are 3 letters or more. Can use someone else's letters that has been used in a word, but can't simply rearrange the letters, must add to it. Here's how the game goes:
- Place all tiles face down on the table, no need for the board
- first person to go flips 3 tiles, as soon as the tiles are up anyone can yell out the word he/she sees
- first person to yell a word gets to use the letters that are up to make a word and put it in front of them
- that word can be snatched by another player to make another word as long as every letter in that word is used and at least one more letter is added to make the new word
- play continues until all tiles are gone or no other words can be formed
- winner is the person with the most words
(*variant: winner by points as counted by the letters used or by points on the tile*)

Bingoagrams!
Take seven letters, no board needed
First person try to make a 7 letter word, their turn ends when they swap one or more letters
Next person tries to make a 7 letter word, again their turn ends when they swap letters
Play continues until someone comes up with a 7 letter word
If the word is valid, that player gets one point, if not, loses one point and out of play this round
Rounds continue until someone reaches a predetermined point or time runs out (play to 5 or for an hour)
(*variant:turn ends by player turning in the letter(s) they want to swap but does not take replacement tiles until it's your turn; this way you don't get to think unless it's your turn)

Bingo-cross
Same as above, but when someone gets a seven letter word, the word is laid down on the table. Play continues with that player having 1 point. The next winner can use the letter(s) of previous winner that's face up on the table in a crossword manner. So after the first winner, the second must come up with an 8 letter word.

Pick me!
This is not an easy game, at least not for me. Place all tiles face down on the table, no board needed
Turn over 3 tiles. Each player/team that come up with a word using these three letters in order (either left to right or right to left) wins the round and gets to keep the letters.
Game ends when all tiles are gone and winner is the person/team with the most letters kept

Scram!

Every player picks an agreed upon 4-letter word

Divide remaining tiles evenly upside down so no one knows what they have (set aside leftover, don't lose it!)

Last winner (or youngest, or...?) yells Scram! and everyone turns over their tiles

If you can make a new word out of the original 4-letter word by substituting one of the letters with one of theirs, yell out the new word

The first person who yelled out the new word gets to discard the letter being replaced and replace it with their letter to make the new word

Based on this new word, anyone can yell the next iteration of the word

Winner is the first person who gets rid of their tiles

I'll add more if I can think of or find anything else

Tribute to Oma

All of my grandparents have passed away. The last was my mom's mother. My mom's family is a close knit one of six sisters and one brother. On average, they have two children each give or take a couple (more on the give). I am glad for each and every one of my aunts and uncles and cousins. The only thing I keep hearing is how my aunts and uncles help each other and their families (ie my cousins). My mom's only brother was also the oldest sibling, and he waited to get married until every one of his sisters were married and cared for. He was tough and stern, but also one of the gentlest person I know.

I can't help but think that our family's closeness is from Oma's teachings. Her morals and values were her most valuable inheritance to her children, and consequently to us, her grandchildren. Both her and Opa lived with us after Opa's stroke. He needed full time care. Oma was by his side, every day without complain. Feeding him, cleaning him, taking him outside to enjoy the sun. And she still had the time to care and love my sister and I.

Back then, I didn't know that's what it was. I was annoyed at her for keeping the food from me until she deemed the food (especially the soup) was cool enough for me to eat. It was especially annoying when she kept tasting the food to check it.

When I was in grade school but old enough to come home on my own, I would often play soccer or hang out with my friends after school. Many times I would come home after dark. Oma would be walking up and down the street worrying for me. Back then, I didn't know that's her way of expressing her love for me. I was mad at her for waiting for me...maybe I was embarrassed.

Opa passed away after a while. Then we moved away, but we couldn't take Oma with us. So she stayed with her other children. As I grew older, and away from Oma, I wasn't lacking love and attention from my own family. Ok, so I have a stubborn and rebellious sister, a stubborn dad, a stubborn mom and I myself am stubborn and rebellious. Oh, yea we were all stubborn about different things at the same time OR the same things at different times.

I received several letters from Oma. All full of her wisdom and advice. Many were the usual things, study, get my degree (Opa was a teacher and they both believe in the value of education), respect my parents, and many others Her most progressive though, was about marriage. She simply told me to make sure that when I got married, it was to someone who I care for and who care for me.

When she passed away, I took stock of my family. My sister has her masters, I have my physics and engineering degrees, my cousins have their degrees (including engineers and doctors). We are close to each other as in if we need help, we will give each other help with no hesitation. Sure we don't talk or email often (well my sister does), but we have a strong bond...Oma. I think she would be proud of the legacy that she and Opa left, us.

Oma, I'm still looking for the one who you would approve of. I know you will pull me up by my ears if I don't ask her out when I meet her.

The Tale of Notebooks

Netbook = small and light laptop with fairly limited capabilities. Can't really play the latest 3D games of play 1080p HD movies, doesn't have any optical drives, etc. The cost are normally in the $199-$450 brand new

I used to own an Asus 1000H, and having many friends with computers asking me questions, I pondered about who can use netbooks and which one.

Netbooks are great for people who use their computer mostly to watch videos (netflix, hulu, etc), browse the net, look at pictures, listen to music, do office work, even programming (web, or otherwise). If you travel a lot, you will enjoy the 7+ hours of battery life, 3lbs or less weight (including power supply) and most of all, it doesn't take much room when deployed (think airline trays)

Netbooks are NOT for people who watch blueray videos or 1080 high def videos, want to play the latest video games, extensively do photo editing or movie editing (simple to moderate photo editing is fine, movie transcoding is a little slow).

One thing to remember about the price: You can buy a full featured laptop starting at $499 or so with 15" screen and very fast dual core processors. I wouldn't pay more than $400 for a netbook.

Why wouldn't you buy a regular laptop over a netbook:
- if you travel a lot 3lbs for the laptop and power supply is a far cry from 5lbs weight of the laptops alone
- most people don't need the computing power on the laptops
- it's at least $100 cheaper than the cheapest laptop
- the 8+ hours of battery life (with 6 cell batteries) is very handy when you're on a long flight
- laptops don't easily fit in a Coach purse

How to use them for everything you might need at home:
- get a larger screen, hence the accessible VGA port is important
- get a wireless mouse and keyboard
- even if you don't travel a lot, it's nice to not take up a lot of room for your computer

What to look for when getting a netbook:
- get the Intel Atom processor (either N270 or N280)
- get the 6 cell batter (less = less battery life, more = heavier)
- 11.6" screens are usually paired with the less capable Z520 processor
- watch out for keyboard size and layout
- watch out for touchpad size, layout and button placements
- make sure all the ports are accessible (Asus 1008 places the VGA port on the bottom)
- easy upgrade for memory (usually comes with 1GB, want 2GB) and battery

My choice:
- Asus 1000H (older, decent battery life at 8+ hours, but can be had for <$300 and has almost everything the more expensive 1005 HA)
- Asus 10005HA (very good battery life at 9+ hours, decent keyboard and build quality
- Toshiba NB205 (has accelerometer for hard drive protection, very good battery life at 9+ hours, one USB port is always live for charging devices even if the netbook is turned off)

Would not buy:
acer aspire one ao751h - weak cpu (Z520, 1.2Ghz)
acer aspire one 250 - cramped keyboard
asus eeepc 1008 - vga port on the bottom, non replaceable battery
hp mini 110 - hd screen available (1366x768), video accelerator available, ok battery life, side mouse buttons (this one is ok to get, I prefer the above three)
MSI WInd U100 - nothing to boast about (this one is ok, I prefer the above three)

There are many others that I looked at but quickly dismissed (Samsung NC310, Dell Mini, Lenovo IdeaPad S12, etc)

Hope this helps.

On Changing the World

Mahatma Gandhi believed that we must be the change we want to see in the world. We must demonstrate to the world why they need to change. Starting with ourselves. As our behavior attract others to behave similarly, theirs will attract yet even more.

If we want to change the world to be better, we must show the world. Not just tell them. Our every day behavior must reflect how we want the world to be. We are ambassadors of that change. Many great causes succeed because of the influence of one person. Mother Teresa and Gandhi are examples of changing the world by personal actions.

Whatever cause you believe in, be good ambassadors for it. That means being passionate without being confrontational. That means practicing whatever cause you believe in with compassion. That means let the world see you be the change you want them to be.

In order for things to change, I have to change. I can only change myself, I am not God and I can't change others. Just because we believe in a cause, it doesn't make us better than a person who doesn't. When we genuinely believe in the cause, so much so that we practice it, we are more apt to change others to be like us.

Be the change we want the world to be and the world will change with you.

Scooter Time

I've been riding my 50cc scooter everywhere. Yes, through the rain and cold wind and sunshine. Because I can only go about 38mph or so at 75mpg, it changes the route I've had to take and lets me find new things.

There are a few downfalls though. A few are obvious, like longer travel times, getting my glasses wet with the rain, smelling like exhaust from other vehicles, smelling like whatever bad smell you had to endure (sewer malfunction anyone?) or actually getting too hot in the sun with a helmet on.

Some are not so obvious. One of them is tripping the sensor on stop lights, or rather the scooter doesn't. It's not so bad when there are other vehicles coming to you. But when it's 1am and you're on Halsey Blvd in Wood Village or Troutdale, that's a lonely road. With my luck with getting traffic violation tickets, I dare not run the lights. So I always make a right turn, then take a left into a parking lot and get back on the original road I want to be on. Let me tell you, that feels silly with absolutely no one around.

Another one is the ritual of getting the extra clothing on and off. With the weather getting colder, I have to put on a wind breaker and a warm layer on top of what I am wearing. Then my headset, because I want to be able to talk on the phone and ride like the big boys in their cars. I used to shove the phone between my ear and the helmet. So what, you say. Well this is all fine and dandy normally. But when you've got to use the rest room really bad, you don't have time to take all of those accoutrements off. Let me tell you, standing in front of the toilet with a helmet on is not a pleasant experience.

Oh, and you can't forget the weird looks people give you when you're on a scooter. Wait...that's just me they're looking strangely at. OK, so my leather welding gloves covered with slightly burnt fleece gloves that surprisingly still let the cold wind through may have looked odd. Or my offroad helmet with red, orange and white designs on it. Or the Mad Max look of my scooter with a lot of the plastic covers taken off.

And what is it with watering the lawn/garden at 1am in October, in Portland Oregon? At least make sure the sprinklers are aiming toward your own greenery. Also, how much pressure do those things have? The whole street is wet and I feel like going through a rain storm with a clear sky!

On the positive side, yes there are many, I'm learning a lot about Portland neighborhoods. Did you know there are more than a few houses painted pink in SE Portland? All of the neighborhood restaurants I've found in my travels have been great! One of my friends is going to have to come back to Tart fro-yo place to get her fix of pumpkin fro-yo with the pumpkin spice sauce. Or what possibly could be the only clean, spacious, unpretentiously not for hipsters and decently priced coffee house at Caffe Pallino (no I didn't misspell it, that's the name of the place).

So as we brace for the winter, will I be winterizing my scooter until the sun comes out in May? No way! I'm going to thrift stores to find better gloves, a dry bag (maybe at Next Adventure's basement) and a hard case for my laptop.

Connecting globally on the cheap (besides Skype and Vonage)

It's not that I dislike Skype and Vonage, just that I think there are better values for your money and computer resources. The world is made much smaller by technology. For some reason, we continue to strive to make vast distances seem reachable. This has been going on for many millennia. Starting with domesticating animals to pack gear so we can travel long distances. Then riding them, then vehicles they can pull. Then boats, bicycles, cars and motorcycles. Next came airplanes. Now we are riding on the sea of electrons to reach the other side of the world in an instant. Yes the Internet.

Some of these are specific to US phone numbers, but many works just fine for anyone with a decent internet connection.

1. phone calls using Magic Jack. You will be given a US phone number (or you can select your own custom number for a small fee) Free to US numbers AND free to other Magic Jack numbers. $20/year + $20 initial purchase for the device. It's a small USB dongle. The best part is you can talk on your computer, or you can hook up a regular telephone (wireless) to the device. Plus if you leave the computer on, people can call you at this number just like any other US phone number. 

2. Voice/video chat on the computer. I use Google's gtalk. Both sides will have to download a small add on to your browser. But many other ones are available such us Yahoo Messenger and MSN Live. Free service

3. phone calls using google's google voice. You'll be issued a phone number and when you're in gmail's website or google voice's website you can make phone calls directly from there.  Free to US numbers.  Have to talk using the computer's speaker and microphone. Will also forward your US number's phone calls to this service and keep copies and transcribe voice mails. Free service

4. phone calls using Ribbit.com. Mostly a call forwarding service to a number you'll be assigned. You can then get a transcription of your voice mails. But they've also added a free online phone.  You can call US numbers for free.  Free service

5. video conferencing using tinychat.com.  It is a big virtual room where people can join and start chatting! Just like a big ol' meeting room. Of course you don't always have to use this as a business tool. 

6. Conference call with many people in the US using Magic Jack's conference call number. Create your conference call ID number by calling 305-848-8888. Distribute this conference call ID number and let people know when you'll be on. voila! Wait but you're not in the US, how do you call in for free from Indonesia (or other countries)? Well use one of the services I've mentioned before silly (magicjack device, ribbit, or google voice).

7. SMS using Google Voice or a number of other services.  Or you can find out the provider's email to SMS server and you can then send an email to the appropriate address.

T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net 

Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com

Cingular: phonenumber@cingularme.com 

Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com

Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com

Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com

US Cellular: phonenumber@email.uscc.net

SunCom: phonenumber@tms.suncom.com

Powertel: phonenumber@ptel.net

AT&T: phonenumber@txt.att.net

Alltel: phonenumber@message.alltel.com

Metro PCS: phonenumber@MyMetroPcs.com

where phonenumber = your 10 digit phone number

Podcasts I love

This American Life - Great human interest stories that somehow gets me thinking about a lot of different things. From economics, to science, camping, etc etc

Think Out Loud - Good discussions about current events, some are more obscured than others. Topics like the economy, budget cuts, the impact of digitizing books, etc

How Stuff Works - They have more than just how something works, but also podcasts on things you missed in history class, things your mom never told you and stuff you should know. Topics like how often you should wash your hair, obscure facts in history, etc

Intelligence Squared - A great show, an Oxford style debate of one topic/motion, three panelists for and three against the motion, one moderator and audience questions. Some topics include carbon footprint reduction is too expensive, Bush is the worst president in the US, the art market is less ethical than the stock market, universal health care is the responsibility of federal government, etc

Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know - A fun show, I listen to this when I need a fun podcast rather than an informational/heavy one or when it's on the radio. If you've never heard this, you should try listening to it at least once

Portland State of University's Center for Transportation Seminars - Podcasts of their seminars, covering topics such as zoning strategies, new technologies in measuring physical activities and travel, the future of transportation, etc etc

OPB's Morning Edition - Stories and happenings around the state

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me - NPR's weekly current events quiz program. Usually the quiz is based around the week's happenings. A pretty good way to catch up on the highlights of the week

Modern Manners - Tips on how to be polite in the modern society. How to pick your nose politely, how to complain in restaurants, when to answer your cell phones, etc

Live Wire - A variety show recorded at the Alladin Theatre in Portland, Oregon.
"Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. (Yes, it's more than a movie, but are you able to yell, drink beer and write haiku in a movie?)"

NPR podcasts - They have a lot of different ones. Some of the ones I subscribe to are Science Friday, Pop Culture, Story of the Day, and others. I will mention specific NPR podcasts if they warrant it (like Intelligence Squared)

How to succeed

Success and happiness is not for those who worked hard, or those who are lucky, or those who are good looking. Anyone can succeed and be happy.

All one needs to do is open the door for your opportunity. Honest mistakes are always innocent when the intent is pure. Carpe diem. Seize the day. Even if your act of seizing the day results in a misfortune to yourself or to others, the mistake is forgiveable. But only if the act was done with the purest of intentions.

Travel Sites

List partially taken from Clark Howard's website (http://clarkhoward.com/travel/travel_help.html):

# Kayak (note: does not check Southwest)
# STA
# SideStep
# Expedia
# Hotwire
# Cfares
# One Travel
# Orbitz
# Travelocity
# Cheap Tickets
# All Cheap Fares
# Priceline
# BiddingforTravel, tips for bidding at Priceline
# JohnnyJet, airline toll-free numbers, Web links and bookings
# Mobissimo, search international rates
# Itasoftware
# http://us.lastminute.com/
# Fares Watchdog
# Farecast
# Travelzoo

# Airtran
# America West Airlines
# American Airlines
# American Trans Air
# Delta Air
# Continental Airlines
# Northwest Airlines
# Southwest Airlines
# United Airlines
# US Airways
# JetBlue Airways
# Frontier Airlines

Review Sites
# http://www.tripadvisor.com/
# http://www.farechaser.com/