I definitely did origami as a kid. In fact, I can make a mean swan, and every now and then my swan will flap its wings. That is the extent of chaos that exists in my world of origami. These guys have taken it above and beyond the call of duty. Absolutely crazy. I’m going to spend one weekend trying out their creations. Just amazing!
Origami Gurus
TreeMaker
So things have come to an end for my stay in California. This was the summer of my life. You can’t dream dreams better than this experience. I can truly say that this was the best decision I could have made. I’m glad that in August I can be proud of the blind leap of faith that I took in March.
Why was this summer a success? First, and foremost, I had a great project and a great team. We had one of the strongest, if not the strongest, MBAs in Ivan who had a tremendous technical background to couple with his business knowledge. In fact, Ivan should get a lot of credit for our success as he helped us solve one of our mission critical problems with Axis early in the summer. Extreme Blue will forever be re-defined by the graphics work of Kelvin Jiang. If you need to understand basic, yet stunning, graphical design, then look no further than the work of Kelvin. He was awarded with special commendation at the end of the week, and he truely deserved it. And last, but definitely not least, we had Matt. Matt pushed us through to the end, and continuously forced us to be excellent through his pessimissim/realism. We were excellent because we had an excellent team. It reminds of a great line from, “Remember the Titans” where one of the players said, “I’m not perfect, [you’re] not perfect, but this team is perfect.” That’s exactly how I felt at the end of last week.
Why else was this summer so successful? I learned a lot. I learned that to reach the top, you have to demand that people keep pushing you. When you get there, don’t forget to turn around and help them up. I learned that alcohol may not be the best beverage when mixed with computer scientists. I learned that distance can create a relationship before it ever has the chance to destroy that relationship. When you learn, you grow. I’ve grown up a lot this summer.
There still has to be more reasons. Well, that’s true. We got to go to LinuxWorld this week, and that was spectacular. We got loads of free stuff. We demonstrated our product. And we created buzz about Eclipse OHF. I’m also on the verge of becoming an Eclipse Committer. Then, I can truly say that I’ve used my talents to create something better for the world. It’s a good beginning to my eventual goal to take over this silly planet.
The icing on the cake was the friendships that I created; friendships that I know will last beyond this summer. My room mate Meshkat is one of the smartest people I know. He’s quietly a genius. We watched the World Cup together and played poker together. We went dancing, yachting, and dining. He always smiled, and made the people around him laugh. He’s a great guy. I’ve already lauded over how great my team mates were, so they don’t get anymore face time. The staff of EB helped change our world. I think I’ve now opened doors that I didn’t know existed. My mentor helped me realize that I need to become my dream so that I can make it come true. And California helped me chill out and enjoy the little things.
Good-bye IBM. Good-bye San Jose. I’m leaving you now, but you’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
I recently met a family friend for dinner, and she and I both have the bad habit of speaking Turklish – an interesting mix of our ethnic Turkish with our adopted English. In fact, we don’t just speak Turklish, we write Turklish. While the ability to change languages on the fly isn’t worth commenting about, a recent round of e-mails in Turklish caused a stir amongst our inbred language community. Look to the right to Google’s list of ads, and you’ll see “Buy Turkish CDs in the US!”, “Get Turkish imported foods online”, and other Turkish advertisements. Now with Google gathering information from Google Talk to build a Google Music site, I have to ask: Is Google going too far to gather information? Who is Google sharing this information with? Does Google know I have a freckle behind my left ear?
I know that others have commented on whether Google is pushing the limits of privacy by scanning its searches, e-mails, and whatnot, but I never felt invaded until I saw these ads in conjunction with this new Google Labs project. Technically, I’m sure it’s nothing more than a mapping of words to a dictionary. Should that alone worry me? No. I’m confident that no person ever reads my e-mail and then gets his Turkish buddy Mehmet to find ads in which I might be interested. That would be an ignorant understanding of how AdWorks functions. In fact, you would be quick to note that participation in Google Music is voluntary, and therefore my privacy is openly invaded through my acquiescence. However, once people have information, what they know, and can find out, about you is no longer in your control. Quick example. Let’s say we scrubbed all of the name/identifier data out of a survey on favorite book. If I can drill down and find out that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington D.C.’s favorite book is the Koran, then I know a lot about a specific person. Having this data someplace means someone at sometime can learn more about you than you intended.
I don’t think that Google is the danger here. In fact, the world might be a safer place if the biggest threat to our humanity is a flame war over a blog post, which we nerds will happily provide. However, to do business in China, where 1.1 Billion people live, Google has to cooperate with the Chinese government. Do you want extra information about you to be accessible to the Chinese government if you’re the Falun Gong because you shared a piece of information with Google? What about when the United States claims that because of National Security Requirements, they will need access to the data banks of major search engines? If information exists, then someone will want to find out how they can use it. Should Google be collecting this information if it can’t guarantee the independence of how this information is used?
To close, I find it very interesting how willing we all are to share about ourselves in order to create a more open society. Yes, that society is virtual, and people will know all about my fantasy football team without ever knowing about me. However, have we reached a point where sharing information about ourselves exposes us to the fears and chaos of prying governments?
We spent an intense amount of time getting ready for the expo where we were to present for IBM executives as well as the other interns in the Extreme Blue program. Important pieces to the expo: (1) presentation, (2) poster, and (3) demo. I think we prioritized things in the wrong order, but we just did what we were told. We had one of the top presentations in Almaden, and we definitely had one of the top 3 presentations at Expo, but I’m jumping ahead. First, let’s start with the trip to NYC.
I played my last indoor game with RSI Random the Friday before we red-eyed to NYC. We won 5-4 and we didn’t take the lead in the game until 12 seconds before the game ended. It was a thrill ride. We were down 4 – 1 with 4 minutes to go. I was dead. A new player named Hugo took over the game and tied it 4 – 4 with a really pretty goal. Then, our goalie passed the ball up the field, it bounced off the top of the wall, stayed in bounds, and Hugo took it one on one to score the game winner. I arrived at the airport smelly, and full of adrenaline.
The flight was pretty quick, and JetBlue provides DirectTV on their flights which was great. Check out Project Runway on Bravo, great show. We arrived at JFK and found our way to the Intercontinental on E. 48th and Lexington. It was a great hotel, great location, in a great city! We walked through Central Park while we were waiting for our rooms to open up and saw 5th Avenue. After taking a quick nap, we headed down to the south of Manhattan. We saw the Financial District, Statue of Liberty, the Wall Street bull. Check out the pictures here.
We stopped by, “The Producers” on Sunday and laughed our behinds off. It’s really a great musical. I definitely thought it was money well spent! Next came the Expo!
We arrived at Expo only to find ourselves in a back room, with a small podium (other groups had tables), and depressed about the situation. We left on top of the world knowing that we had made a name for ourselves. The rest, is IBM confidential.
Another great trip was our sailing trip around San Francisco Bay. It was great to see the bay with friends on the water. A relaxing weekend, and then LinuxWorld. Week 12, here I come.
“There will come a day when you
will wish that you did a little evil
to achieve a greater good”
     -Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem
Wow, it’s been the craziest four weeks of my life. I guess things were once pretty slow because I was able to update every week. Even if I was a little late, there was a weekly update. Now, there’s only chaos. So, let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start (Sound of Music).
After my weekend on the Arkansas River, I had a short week in preparation for my trip to the motherland. It was my first time visiting Turkey since December 2002. A very long time indeed. Being a dual citizen means that I have certain obligations to adhere to in Turkey including military service. To get out of that was quite the process, but all is well now, and I can come and go freely. We visited family friends, my dad’s reunion classes from both high school and college, and family as well. I ate kokorec – don’t ask – as well as lahmahcun, pide, kofte, and drank loads of ayran. It was really great. We got to head down to Antalya and hung out at a holiday resort playing soccer, volleyball, and just having fun. It was a great time. It turns out that of my dad’s group of 6, only 4 are still alive. Could you imagine coming to your 30th high school reunion and having 2 of your 5 best friends already be dead? The Turkish Government has some very dark moments in its history, but the personal connection between what was and what could have been always finds a way to hit people harder. My cousin who is now 11 years old has a brand spankin’ new cell phone. It’s cooler than mine, and more expensive as well. I think there’s something wrong with that equation. Or maybe, I’m just jealous. Watching the World Cup in a country that loves soccer was a great experience. Halls were filled with people watching the games and screaming at every goal or missed opportunity. It keeps alive my streak of being in Turkey for every World Cup that Turkey has not been apart of in my lifetime. Bizarre, I know.
When I came back, I had a quick turnaround and then flew out to the wonderful land of San Diego. I woke up at 4:30am to make the light rail, and then bus connection, to the airport. We boarded our 6:55am flight, lifted off, and then turned around and landed the flight. I was then stuck at the airport until 2pm. Yes, I spent my day in the airport. It wasn’t until 3:45 that I arrived in San Diego, but it turns out the city was worth the wait. I met Mark Newmark, of former Russian residency fame, in the town he calls home. We toured the dock area, ate, and then explored San Diego. Eventually we found our way to his parents house where we had a wonderful dinner. The conversation was the best part. After dinner, we headed to the beaches of La Jolla where a colony of seals has taken over a local beach. It was quite great to see those animals so up close. Of course, it being past their bedtime, we didn’t try to interact with them, but seeing something from that close that should be forbidden is quite great. The next day was spent at the San Diego Zoo, but not before a wonderful breakfast that was the size of a full day’s set of meals. It was absolutely delicious, but too much.
The zoo is quite fantastic. It really is a full day’s worth of stuff to do, but we jumped on a bus and did a quick tour and then followed that by seeing some things that weren’t on the tour. We got to see the famous Pandas and they had quite a line there in front of them. I really had a great time in San Diego, and Mark was even nice enough to let me watch the World Cup final. It’s great to see old friends and realize that simple things like friendship never change.
The following week was a long one at work. Lots to do, and no time to do it. It ended with Giana coming into town on Friday. It was her birthday the week before, so we decided to celebrate in San Francisco. Saturday we walked around downtown all day. It was a lot of fun. We saw Fisherman’s Wharf and walked through Chinatown and North Beach. North Beach, an Italian neighborhood, was celebrating the World Cup championship with t-shirts everywhere proclaiming that the Italians were world champions. We took a boat tour of the bay, and that was wonderful. We didn’t get out to Alcatraz, but that’s okay. From a distance it looked scary enough. That evening we went to a great restaurant named Saha in the Hotel Carlton. It was Yemeni food. I really enjoyed the salad which was a wonderful blend of diced tomatoes, parsely, olives, and onions, and it was just delicious. Afterwards we hit the Velvet Lounge which turned out to be pretty dumpy. We went there to support our friend Vishal, who ended up not showing up. Sunday we toured the Golden Gate Bridge area and saw the Coit Tower. It was a good trip.
This past week was even more killer than the week before. I put in 51 hours of work, and it was just a tough week. A lot of meetings and prep work, but also a lot of coding, which meant long nights. I also had a project due for class this week, and that made things even more difficult. I survived, but it wasn’t easy. On Friday night, we went to a Moroccan restaurant. It was fascinatingly boring, but fun. It was good that we went as a group, but it ended being phenomenally expensive for no good reason. Saturday we went paintballing. I won the first game for my team by taking out three people, and I won the last game by taking out three people. In between, I accumulated at least 9 welts that I can count, and only God knows how close I got to losing the ability to have children. I don’t suggest it for the weak at heart, but it was loads of fun. Afterwards we went to Sushi Boat which is a great restaurant where they have boats of Sushi float by you and you pick what you would like to eat. It was quite delicious. The day ended with a viewing of “The Devil Wears Prada”, which turns out not to be a chick flick, but a pretty good movie. Until next week… adieu
“Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never
Knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
while those around you crawled.”
– Elton John, “Candle In The Wind”
Lunch, Wednesday, July 12
Vienna and Chicago: Friends or Foes? – By Mark Skousen
The week started with our first indoor victory of the season. RSI Random took a close game 6-5 with a goal scored in the last minute by Captain Joe and assisted by myself. It was really an exciting game. I had an absolutely gorgeous goal that I will now share with you. We had a free kick from about 10 yards out on the yellow line. Nikki, our right winger extraordinaire, chipped the ball through the box and right onto the instep of my left foot which knocked in the ball backpost. It was just pretty.
The remainder of the week was dominated by my need to finish my midterm before I left for the Arkansas River in Colorado. I wrote a pretty darn good set of essays in my own personal opinion. I’m really enjoying this philosophy class as it’s very real world and still down to the basics. The basics are key because you can’t build arguments without understanding your foundation. I would definitely suggest this class to anyone who asked.
Friday, I left work early to head to our second game of the week. We had a great first half of smart to lucky soccer. We were down 3-2 at half, but it was the kind of game that anyone could win. The second half started with an ugly goal by the other team from behind the yellow line which counts as 2 points. With the score 5-2, they didn’t look back as they won the game 9-2. It’s my first game without any points, but I did have an own goal. Bad game on my part, and bad game as a team. The other team was definitely a good unit, and we tried to beat them with one or two players. Eventually, we started playing too much defense. Very scared. It wasn’t our best game, and now we go 2 weeks without soccer. Not a good situation.
The one positive of the weekend was going to Colorado. I headed out to meet my buddies Sam and Byron, and I met Neil, Joseph, Darryl, and Thomas along the way. We started at Fisherman’s Wharf and headed down the Arkansas River. It was amazing. I was scared for my life. I wasn’t very comfortable until we hit the jumping rock and I chilled out. The pictures can be found here. We got through Widowmaker on our first day and then camped out. We had shish kabobs for dinner, and slept under the stars. I’ve never seen that many stars in my life. I was absolutely amazing.
The next day we started off and hit three intense rapids right away. The first crazy one… I don’t remember the name. The second one was Sidell’s Suckhole, so named for a poor kayaker who didn’t make it through. It’s a IV-V, and was hitting hard that day. We hit the hole straight on, went vertical, spun around, hit the second wave backwards, went vertical, Byron almost flew out, and then landed. It was AWESOME! We then hit the Twin Falls. A seven foot fall followed by a five foot fall. It was pretty awesome itself. The rest of the day was really non-chalant. But I really enjoyed the weekend. It was absolutely a blast. Big props to my main man Sam with Byron as the sidekick main man.