I'm on a bit of a translation kick these days as I am trying to learn Spanish.  I recently discovered Google chat bots (additional languages) that will auto-translate in Google Chat.  These are out of Google Code Labs.  Almost all of the options are pairs of English and non-English languages.  French-German and Traditional Chinese-Chinese are also supported.

By inviting these bots to a group chat (add them to your contacts first), they listen for a particular language and automatically translate it into another language.  Invite the Spanish-English bot to your chat and everything said in Spanish will be translated into English.  Invite the English-Spanish bot as well and you could have a conversation between English-only and Spanish-only speakers.

Does it work?  The translations are correct most of the time, but the bots get a little buggy,  The bot that is supposed to be translating into your language will often repeat your sentences, altering word order or translating sections.  Also, the chat always lists an extra participant.  In my case 5 participants, when there were only 4 (2 people + 2 bots).  Given this is a free service (a Google 20% project), these are small details.

Overall, the translate bots are useful if you want to have a conversation with someone with whom you don't share fluency in a common language.

Thanks to #PublicHealthNinja Baltica Cabieses for helping test the bots.

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Yesterday I received an email from #publichealthninja Camilo Erazo with a social media toolkit for a health and poverty conference taking place in Chile.  Not yet speaking Spanish (I'm working on it), I couldn't follow the program.  The hashtag #saludypobreza was in Spanish as well.

Chrome usually picks up on foreign language content and offers to translate it.  The results from the twitter search for #saludypobreza however were interpreted as English, since I was coming from the US search page.

I found two (now three) solutions using Chrome.

Solution 1:

Install the Google Translate extension.

Go to the Twitter search page for  saludypobreza and press the translate button.

Solution 2:

Or add a translate button for a specific language.

Go to the Twitter search page for saludypobreza and press the translate button.

Solution 3:

As I was writing this I thought of another solution. Go directly to the Twitter search page adding the Spanish language argument.

Thanks to #publichealthninja Cisco Grajales for asking if I had blogged this.  Great idea.  Done.

Do you know of other solutions or apps that translate Twitter feeds for following hashtags or events?

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If you're a user of both OSX and Microsoft Outlook 2011 (all 0.0001% of us), you've probably run into the problem of your emails, calendar events, etc. spamming your Finder search results.  You're not alone. This is one of those "It's not a bug.  It's a feature" things.

Problem:

OSX indexes everything in your user folder.  We need all of our Outlook items indexed because Outlook uses the OSX index for searching our email, calendar, etc.  However, Microsoft has placed the Microsoft User Data (I'll call it MUD) folder in Documents.  This by itself is not a bad thing.  It makes it easier to backup Outlook with Time Machine, etc.  We just don't need these items returned when we search for documents, etc.

Searches in Finder generally search everything, including system files.  Spotlight excludes system folders, searching only Desktop, Document, Downloads, Movies, Music, and Pictures, and Public.  

Solution:

This solution came from Office 2011 users responding to Microsoft changing the location of the MUD folder in Office 2011 from its previous location in the Library folder.  The reason we want too move MUD to its original home in Library is because Library is now a hidden folder.  By default, Finder does not display results from hidden folders.  Placing the MUD folder in Library prevents Finder from showing results from that folder while still allowing Outlook to search it.

Step 1 - Follow these instructions [edit: link fixed] from a Yahoo! Answers question about moving the Microsoft User Data folder.

Optional Steps:

These two steps set up convenient default searches with Finder.

Step 2 - In Finder, Preferences, General, New Finder window shows, select <your username> from the drop down selector.

Step 3 - In Finder, Preferences, Advanced, When performing a search, select Search the Current Folder from the drop down selector.

Next time you open a new Finder folder, you'll be ready to do a search all of the locations where you might have files.  The Outlook files will be hidden and Outlook will still be able to search my mail, calendar, etc.

If you are one of the 0.00001% of users who have this problem, did it work for you?  Other solutions?

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I really don't need any more reasons to love San Francisco and the Peninsula.  But San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has an attraction few airport share: a museum... several in fact.  SFO Museum curates outstanding exhibits.  The museum spaces are located in the various terminals of SFO.  

The current exhibit in the North Connector Gallery (United - Terminal 3) Television: TV in the Antenna Age walks you through the inception of television (the opiate of the masses, the cathode ray nipple) to the beginning of the cable age.  Skip the moving walkways, get a litle exercise after that 5-hour flight from the East Coast, and enjoy an outstanding exhibit.

Channel surfing in the pre-remote control days was actually preparing our thumbs for gaming.

Ukuleles from the Golden Age of television.

These must have been the TV's Daft Punk had growing up.

M*A*S*H defined a generation.  Glad I was there for this one.

So hot, 70's style!

If you're old enough to remember be up so early on Saturday mornings for cartoons that even the networks weren't awake, this is what you saw - TV test patterns.

This was also what inspired the parachute I flew when I was a skydiving videographer.  Ironically, I purchased from a videographer before I ever started flying video.

Is it just me, or does this old school TV antenna look like Katamari Damashi?

If you're ever at SFO, plan a little extra time to enjoy an outstanding museum experience.

What other airports have unexpected cool attractions?

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$14 trillion is a lot of money.  It's a little difficult to comprehend, unless you’ve studied economics or have seen really fancy infographics. 

If the debt is of mythical proportions, it stands to reason that the best way to fight it is with money earning potential of mythical proportions: internet work-at-home scams.

Scott Johnson recently tweeted (joking, of course) about a particularly shady work-at-home scam – a review from a “consumer review” site.  Shady within shady – kind of like being two levels deep in Inception.

Susan, the woman in the “review” (there really should be HTML tags for sarcasm), claimed to be making $6,000 - $7,000 dollars per month working only 10-13 hours per week.  That’s massive earning potential.  How soon we could pay of the national debt if every resident of the United States participated?

Before you say we can’t include infants, let me point out this scam is for online trading, at which we all know babies are quite adept.

Here’s how it would work.

If Susan makes $6,000 - $7,000 per month working 10 - 13 hours per week, that works out to $141.30 per hour.  At that rate the 311 million residents of the United States have a combined earning potential of about $44 billion per hour ($43,945,652,173.91 to be exact).  If we all worked one hour a week, assuming we cut into our Facebook and Lolcats time, as opposed to work, we could earn around $2.3 trillion per year.

It would still take us 6 years to pay off the debt.

$14 trillion is a lot of money.

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(to the tune of My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua Hawai`i - Bill Cogswell, Tommy Harrison & Johnny Noble - Copyright 1933, 1961 Miller Music Corp)

Performance at HealthCamp San Diego 2011

Vamp G7 C7 F x2
F
Won't you please give me my data back
G7
After all it belongs to me
C7
It came from my body
F
When you turned my viral load / into a code
A7
I know you're here to help me
D7
And you've got my best interests at heart
G7
but maybe things could go better, if
C7
someone on the / team knew more a/bout me than the / chart
F
It wouldn't be the first time that a patient
G7
Helped to find their cure
C7
People with terminal conditions
B A7
Are quick studies... believe me
D7
I'm called a patient 'cause I am the one here on the table. If our G7
roles were reversed, would you be able
F
To not have access to your own data
G7
After all it belongs to you
C7
Wouldn't you want to be a part
F
of what's happening inside your body
C7
What we're really asking for
F C7 F
is our dignity

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(to the tune of My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua Hawai`i - Bill Cogswell, Tommy Harrison & Johnny Noble - Copyright 1933, 1961 Miller Music Corp)

Performance at HealthCamp San Diego 2011

Vamp G7 C7 F x2
F
Won't you please give me my data back
G7
After all it belongs to me
C7
It came from my body
F
When you turned my viral load / into a code
A7
I know you're here to help me
D7
And you've got my best interests at heart
G7
but maybe things could go better, if
C7
someone on the / team knew more a/bout me than the / chart
F
It wouldn't be the first time that a patient
G7
Helped to find their cure
C7
People with terminal conditions
B A7
Are quick studies... believe me
D7
I'm called a patient 'cause I am the one here on the table. If our G7
roles were reversed, would you be able
F
To not have access to your own data
G7
After all it belongs to you
C7
Wouldn't you want to be a part
F
of what's happening inside your body
C7
What we're really asking for
F C7 F
is our dignity

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Last Saturday, the Health 2.0 Developer Challenge code-a-thon took place at Georgetown University.

I should state up front that I didn't go to code, participate in any particular project, or to specifically push data related to my work.  My goals were to observe, learn about how government health data can and is being used by individuals and groups looking for innovative solutions to health challenges, promote awareness of open data to which I am connected, and of course, network.  It's not uncommon for me to attend an unconference or similar event and not actually attend any sessions.  I find the hallway meetings to be extremely beneficial.  Events such as this are often when discussions occur which simply wouldn't happen if they had to be organized with the Scheduling Assistant in Outlook.

So now that I have somewhat disqualified myself, here are my impressions of the event.

The words that seem to sum up the event are "exciting mix."  First you have people like me, who spent more time in hallway meetings than in the planned event.  Second, in addition to open development time, there were pre-planned speakers on relevant topics, such as CMS.

There were pre-planned projects as well as those organized that morning.  HHS CTO Todd Park referred to the health sciences researchers in attendance as "free agents," adding his belief that the winning team with be one who engaged them.  After the morning speakers, there was a "free agent" list posted outside the main meeting room door, next to the list of teams and their topics.

Logistically, the event went smoothly.  The internet connection was fast and consistent (it is a major university  after all).  Coffee and other drinks were always available.  There wasn't actually a "lunch time."  After the food arrived, everyone ate at their own pace.  Facilities were excellent (again, it's Georgetown University).  There were a number of classrooms and workspaces available.  Smaller private areas were available, of which I made very productive use.

Two areas in which I see the opportunity to expand the event's impact are virtual participation and digital footprint.  It would have been helpful (even for on-site participants) to have a wiki where information was collected about the teams, their projects, and progress.  At an event focusing on open data, this adds transparency and accountability to the process.  Perhaps there could have been an event reporter who function was to collect this information from the teams and post it on the wiki, freeing the teams, who were already working at a frenzied pace, from this responsibility.

This next comment is not really directed at the Health 2.0 Developer Challenge.  It's the question I always ask.  Where were the communities?  Where were the representatives of the persons and communities for whom these innovative solutions were being created?  There was no lack of experts at the event: physicians, researchers, developers, etc.  These are individuals who know their "customers" well.  There is, however, no substitute for having real citizens, patients, and caregivers participate in the development process.  Also, community health providers would have been a great addition.  They should be "baked in" to these processes.  Bringing communities in and giving them ownership of the process is key to success and positive impact.

I'm sure we'll be hearing more about MAYA and BlueMeter, the first as second place teams.  My personal favorite wasn't the fanciest app and didn't make the data do the craziest trick.  It was Nexercise, an iPhone app that quizzes users on data drawn from health indicators.  Correct answers unlocked discounts from retailers, such as athletic wear or dining.  The team of two (yes, only two!) built a working prototype and demonstrated it.  Watching their presentation, I knew they weren't going to win.  It was too simple compared to the other complex ideas being presented, some of which were presented more as a proof-of-concept, than a vetted system.  The organizers came over to this team after the winners were announced and expressed their admiration for their accomplishment.  This is where I think we need to be a little more DC and a little less VC.  Or at least more like a VC who sees the benefit in funding a small project that accomplishes a single task well.

My final question is the same I ask at every code-a-thon.  How many of these projects and apps will launch, or have a positive impact through other processes?  Apps don't have to launch a start-up to be successful.  After all, the group of developers from the Great American Hack-a-thon who built a Facebook game from Pillbox's data, decided to not launch.  They did however, post all of their code (including wrappers in multiple languages and a Facebook pill ID app) on github.

The end goal isn't apps, it's solutions to challenges that create a positive impact.  That isn't a destination, so much as a direction in which we are all blazing exciting trails, learning and sharing together - researchers, public health agencies, developers, advocates, citizens, and everyone in between.

[2/15/11 edit: information for Nexrcise added]

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I was talking with Erin Holve at the Health 2.0 Developer Challenge code-a-thon today about the difficulties in processing the vast amounts of information available in the public health space required to enable effective decision-making.  We pull from data sets such as Data.gov and very soon, HealthData.gov.  Much of the data that forms the foundation of our understanding derives from research. 

At one point Erin said, “researchers are the stewards of evidence.”  My initial reaction was, didn’t she mean “stewards of data?”.  Researchers generate data.  They test hypotheses, run experiments, and collect data.  Then it hit me.  Even when testing hypotheses, research attempts to measure some aspect of reality within a system.  These systems exist, function, and affect our lives regardless of whether or not they are measured or evaluated.  This is not data generated in a vacuum, but rather evidence of reality.

The groups creating applications at the Health2Challenge code-a-thon take the research data public health agencies publish as a measure of reality.  That data is only as good as the methods used to collect, codify, and communicate it.  The responsibility is immense.  I took Erin’s use of the word “steward” to highlight the responsibility inherent in the fact that researchers and by proxy, public health agencies, are not so much publishing data, as they are observing and sharing those observations with the world.  They are presenting the “evidence” of reality.

As “stewards of evidence” researchers are connected to a translational process where their work exists not in a vacuum, but as part of a continuum.  Their work empowers developers and public health agencies to build applications that then empower communities and individuals to solve the challenges they face.  To those who who use our applications, the “evidence” with which they are presented is accepted much the same as we accept research-based health data.

Many of the participants in the Health2Challenge code-a-thon, as well as public health agencies, are creating applications and systems that will solve specific health challenges by “observing” connections in health data.  The tools we are creating will process massive and diverse types of data, identify critical connections, and present communities and individuals with a picture from which they will draw conclusions.  These conclusions will affect policy as well as personal choice.  The tools we create will shape perception and beliefs.

Are we creating tools that accurately reflect connections in the underlying data?

Are we stewards of evidence?

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Could airlines add a safe coughing/sneezing demonstration to the pre-flight safety briefing?

On the flight on which I wrote this, the woman directly behind me began coughing as the plane left the gate.  Not a light, clearing one's throat kind of cough. It was a hacking, raking cough. Then, a passenger in the row in front of me coughed. I begin imagining air flow patterns, attempting to map the path of airborne viruses.  I was thinking of a polite way to ask the woman behind me to please cough into her elbow, when she stopped.  Perhaps I should still have asked.

The purpose of these briefings is to prepare passengers for emergencies. I would classify pandemic influenza as an emergency. I would even classify the ability of air travel to spread seasonal flu as a public health situation worthy of attention.  Pre-flight safety briefings are given in the hope that those actions need never be taken.  Safe coughing/sneezing education, however, would target a situation that likely occurs on every flight.

CDC provides guidance to airline flight crews.  The subject of in-flight transmission of influenza has been discussed in the British Medical Journal.

Very few passengers seem to pay attention to the safety briefings these days.  Perhaps changing things up would rekindle our interest.

I recall a CDC presentation on H1N1 pevention information dissemination, retention, and compliance that stated individuals need to hear a message from 5 separate sources for the message to be ingrained.  He is a short list of potential channels for coughing safety messages.

1 - Verbal pre-flight safety briefing.
2 - Demonstration by flight attendants
3 - Instruction stickers on seatback tray tables
4 - Similar illustrations in inflight magazines and shopping catalogs
5 - PSAs during inflight video entertainment
6 - Instruction slides on monitors that display flight/boarding information at airport gates
7 - PSA signs at airports

A single multicultural design depicting safe coughing/sneezing instructions could be used for numbers 3-7. This, as well as video PSAs, would be an outstanding opportunity for a contest or challenge, organized by airlines, airports, or even public health agencies.  CDC already has a set called Cover Your Cough, although a contest or challenge would have the added benefits of increasing public awareness of this issue and empowering citizens as part of the solution.

I understand that the content of pre-flight briefings is mandated by the FAA. Altering that content, as I suggest in numbers 1 and 2, would be a massive endeavor.

While we're working our way through that process, there's no reason airlines and airports couldn't voluntarily implement numbers 3-7.

I'd love feedback on how we might further develop this idea and present it to those in a position to implement it.

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Reading Alisha Miles’ post Declaring Information Bankruptcy reminded me of a fundamental change that's been occurring in my life over the past few years.

I was a hoarder. Not the kind you see on television shows where the house if full of things, or worse, animals. I was a digital hoarder. I hoarded things I found online.  I don't think I was alone in this.  Not by a long shot.  Alisha mentioned 2,000+ RSS feeds.  Stories about illegal music downloading mention persons with tens of thousands of songs.  Digital content is essentially effortless to save.  For a consumer, simply click the Save button.  If you run out of hard drive space, upgrade to a larger drive.  Better yet, push the “Click to migrate to the cloud” button.

How do we organize and manage this data?  Better search.  Better filters.  But are we actually throwing away what's left after we filter?  Organization and management are futile exercises, if the information we organize and manage does not add value in our lives.

Case 1: Podcasts

Two of my favorite podcasts are from DJs who post their sets, two hours of continuous music.  They upload a new set every week.  I started rating them, not deleting my favorites, so I could listen to them another time (which I did not do).  Never mind the fact that I had 10’s of backlogged sets to which I still hadn’t listened.  Add to that, my other podcasts, which all have backlogs of unheard episodes.  There is more new content in my podcast directory than I have time in which I can listen.

I started deleting these DJ sets, regardless of their “rating.”  I now enjoy listening to the podcasts even more, as I spend less time evaluating and more time immersed in listening.

Case 2: RSS feeds

I recently paired down my Google Reader feeds to ~15.  Any feed that hadn't been read in the last month was deleted.  Now, not only do I look forward more to the few feeds I have, I feel there is room to explore new ideas and perhaps add a new feed, though my selection criteria has increased dramatically.  Space in my Google Reader feed list, though essentially unlimited, has a much greater value.  As for what's left, I now find I read more thoughtfully, taking each post in and reflecting on it.

One could argue that these examples are distinct from content we generate through the course of our work or personal lives, such as documents or photographs.  Then again, the photographer at a friend’s wedding, where I was Best Man, took over 2,000 photographs.  I started to go through them to pick a couple to print.  Eventually, I became overwhelmed and bookmarked the site.  I still haven't printed any photos.

Life is ephemeral.  The less things I have, the more I value the things that remain.

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Summertime in Washington, DC. No matter which party is in office, DC always follows the 3H Policy: Hazy, Hot, and Humid. While summer beers are generally light and refreshing, it's doesn't mean they're short on flavor.  I'm not such a fan of lighter beers, but my burgeoning love of IPAs has convinced me that perhaps a beer does not need to have color and viscosity of used motor oil to be enjoyable; especially on a day so hot you could fry an egg on the street.

I often complain that I never use my degree in Physical Science for anything science-y. But this is a situation in which only the rigor of clinical evaluation can save us.

A friend's BBQ party seemed a logical location.  We acquired our samples: 12 of the tastiest summer beers, as recommended by the staff of The Perfect Pour, Maryland's beer mecca.  Our cohort represented the spectrum from mainstream - Sam Adams Summer Ale - to imports from the Land of the Rising Sun - Ise Kadoya, a small Japanese microbrewery.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostonroute66/4654488928/

What follows are the results of our selfless dedication to society. And the fact that we had 12 hours to kill waiting for Ken's pork shoulder to smoke.

But first, all respectable scientific papers begin with a summary of the conclusions. Here's ours:

Never, ever, start a beer tasting with a 10.4% (alcohol content) beer and an empty stomach.   As a result I cannot guarantee the accuracy of anything beyond this point.

The Results

Avery - Maharajara
Smooth, with a slight cantaloupe aroma.  Super hoppy pepper bite, with a slight citrus-grapefruit bitter at the end.  10.4% alcohol, but you don't taste it at all.  Again, this is NOT the beer with which to begin.  Highly Recommended - with caution.

Anderson Valley
Smooth w/ hints of creme.  Quite mellow.  No aftertaste.  Recommended.

Great Divide - Belgica
Harsh bitter right from the start that lingers.  And doesn't go away.

Hitachino Nest - Weizen
Sour apples.  Worse on the aftertaste.  This must have been a beer that had gone bad.

Smuttynose - Summer Weizen
Mellow, with a yeasty bitter.

Victory - Whirlwind Witbier
Light refreshing, hints of banana, not too heavy.  Everyone enjoyed this archetypal summer beer.  Highly Recommended.

Blue Moon - Honey Moon
Light and refreshing, with a touch of honey at the end.  Bubbled with a zesty-citrus effervescence and almost no aftertaste.  Recommended.

Hitachino Nest - Commerative
Light vanilla as you first taste, then grows and blossoms in flavor in the aftertaste.  Highly recommended.

Otter Creek - Solstice
Little flavor at first.  Irony aftertaste, like tap water.  Starts like water, finishes skunky.

Rogue - Old Crustacean
Full bodied flavor that lingers but not heavily.  Not overly fruity for a barleywine. This is not actually a summer beer.  It was leftover from winter.

Ise Kadoya - India Pale Ale
Not so hoppy.  Nutty with a chocolate-iron aftertaste.  Quite good, but too heavy for summer.

Goose Island - Summertime
Light, effervescant and malty.  Not much aftertaste.  Good summer beer.  Recommended.

Though it may just be a myth that DC was built on a swamp, summers here can be brutal.  Luckily, the DC-area has a fair number of craft beer stores and restaurants.  And if you're in-the-know you might even find the occasional rooftop beer garden.

What's you favorite summer beer?

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Hey, Zuckerberg! When did you change my privacy settings so that everyone can see my posts AND everyone can send me messages?  I just got a message from a real estate agent who said, "You came up on a Facebook search I did for people looking for homes."  Didn't I just reset my privacy settings two weeks ago?

Do you sit around as a group and come up with creative ways to abuse the trust your users have given you?  Are you not making enough on FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and targeted ads that you need to let private advertisers in and give them access to our lives?

The FDA tried that in 1997 when they allowed television ads for prescription medications.  Epic failure.

At this moment I am very close to following my friend Adriel Hampton in deleting my Facebook account.

For anyone who wants to avoid this situation, here's what you need to change in your "privacy" settings.  Privacy settings?  Why doesn't Facebook call them what they are: the "close door" button on the elevator.  You can keep pressing it, but the door is going to close when whoever programmed the elevator decides the door will close.  You are just a passenger.

We are all just passengers on Facebook.  And Facebook is back in the baggage area, going through our suitcases; selling everything they find.

- Stop businesses from seeing your posts -

Account, Privacy Settings, Personal Information and Posts, Posts by me, set YOUR preference.  (also check Posts by friends and Comments on posts)

- Stop businesses from sending you private messages -

Account, Privacy Settings, Contact Information, Send me a message, set YOUR preference.

- Stop Facebook from sharing your info with outside search engines and services -

Account, Privacy Settings, Search, Public Search Results, UNCHECK allow.

Don't worry about the warning Facebook will throw up.  They make it sound like your friends won't find you if you don't allow this.  Not true.  If they are searching in Facebook, they'll find you.  People (businesses) searching in outside search engines won't see your results.  This is Facebook's way of trying to use our personal information to compete with Google

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1 - Many cafes are closed on Saturdays.  Though there always seems to be a Caffè Nero open.

2 - Traffic lights which are red, turn orange (but the red stays lit), then green.

3 - In the Tate Modern museum, visitors just stand on the escalator, not letting anyone through.  I don't think it's the British though.

4 - No one covers their cough.

5 - Intersections in tourist areas have directions painted on the road telling you to look right or left when crossing the street.

6 - Pub etiquette: order drinks/food and pay at the bar before you sit.  They'll bring your food to your seat.

7 - There are frequent Tube closings during peak times, especially in popular areas, i.e. the place you are going (to reduce crowding).

8 - Major sections of the Overground (light rail) are closed for renovation.

9 - Public works projects (replacing water mains, etc.) frequently block streets.  At night, some streets are closed, causing major delays for some buses.

10 - Free wifi in cafes and restaurants is much more prevalent than in the U.S., though not pervasive.

11 - In an elevator, the ground floor of a building is G.  The 2nd floor is 1.  If there's a mezzanine, it will be M.  In that case, the 3rd floor is then 1.

12 - It's possible to find purple Porsche in front of a blue shop called French's Dairy, that sells jewelry.

13 - In restaurants and cafes, to-go is "take away" and frequently comes with a discount on the regular price. ~10-20% depending on the cost.  Lower-priced items are discounted more.

14 - Tipping not necessary at coffee shops or small cafes. Only at sit down restaurants.

15 - When paying by credit card, staff will stand next to you with a wireless credit card machine, while you fill in tip and add the amount to the bill, submit the transaction, and then print your receipt.  Sometimes they may hand you the device and you'll have to follow yes/no prompts and enter the tip amount yourself.

16 - Almost everyone who runs or bikes wears a yellow reflective vest or jacket

17 - Doors entering a building are a have no standard direction in which they open.  Some open in. Others out. Even the English seem to do a lot of door pushing/pulling.

18 - Korean restaurants do not give you free kimchi. You have to pay. $7 for three small plates.

19 - The one-week Oyster pass (which lets you ride the Underground and buses for free) will save you an unbelievable amount of money.

20 - I left this blank for everyone who's spent time in London to add their own observations!

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(The full photo set from day 2 is at Flickr)

Day 2

I'm not sure what time it is.  I mean, I'm know what time my iPhone says it is.  However, a week and a half ago I was on West Coast time.  Then I spent several days in isolation at home in the DC area shoveling snow.  Now I am in London.  Talking with friends on the West Coast is rather confusing.  There seems to be more and more math involved.  I think I may have lost my circadian rhythm at Heathrow's baggage claim.

The hotel windows are insulated quite well against outside sounds.  This is especially fortunate since there is someone building something with a circular saw nearby.  However, the room doors are not as well insulated against the sounds of the housekeepers talking to each other from between rooms as they work.  Don't they know that their ten in the morning is my nine in the afternoon?

Before I left I saw the forecast for London was unfortunately consistent: rain and cold.  I took yesterday's clear skies as a bonus.  Today however, I awoke to the muted sounds that instinctually tell one that the world outside is wet.  The good news is a co-worker has recommended I pick up a souvenir umbrella from Harrods.  This, and another friend telling me about the basement full of food at the famous department store, will likely be enough to motivate me to investigate.

London is a terribly fashionable city.  WHere you hear the phrase "black is the new black" they're talking about London.

I'm still adjusting to transportation moving on the opposite side from the U.S.  For cars this isn't so much trouble, but for the Tubes (the subway, not the internet) it's a mildly amusing.  I keep looking in the opposite direction, waiting for the train to arrive.

Escalators, however, are the same as the U.S.  Everyone stands on the right and walks on the left.  And they are MUCH better at it that we are in DC.  Line queues to right for the escalator, but leave room on left for people walking, even when there's a huge crowd waiting to get on the right.

Walking is a mess.  There seems to be no rule or convention at all.  People are everywhere.  I thought this might contribute to overcrowding at the stations, where entire stations are often closed and evacuated because of crowds.  Probably not. During rush hour the stations are packed.

Harrods has beautiful window displays, similar to Macy's in NYC.

Harrods food court is impressive and classy.  There is incredible variety.  (more photos here)

I was disappointed that only one person was handing out samples.  I was looking for a free lunch.

Surprisingly, there are dim sum and sushi restaurants in Harrods.  Unbelievably expensive.  And honestly, the fish smell coming from the sushi place was not so good.  

I did find macarons!  This was an unexpected bonus.

However, I was shocked to see a Krispy Kreme.  In Harrods.  First Tokyo.  Now this.  

This is madness!

No. This. Is. KRISPY KREME!!!

Unfortunately, there is nowhere to sit in Harrods, so I went across the street to a Starbucks (there is one on every corner) to enjoy my find.

In the States when we pay for something we often give exact change (or a little over) with our bills to minimize the amount of change we receive.  In countries like England, where one and two pounds are coins, this doesn't work. Not realizing this, I gave the girl at a pub ￡5 and change for a ￡3.20 pint. She was utterly confused. I didn't realize what I had done until she broke out a calculator to do the math. I didn't have a chance to explain until after she handed me my change.  All coins, of course.

I found a beer named after my old friend, John Smith.

At another pub in Camden I was finally able to try Bangers and Mash.  Sausages dropped into a bowl of mashed potatoes and covered with onion gravy.  It was a delicious and heavy as it sounds.  I laughed when they asked if I wanted more gravy.  Later, I took them up on their offer.

I met a friendly group at the pub when I offered my small table to them as I was about to leave. Turns out one of them is a doctor, so we had an interesting discussion about the difficulties as health information becomes more pervasive and accessible. Her friend in the music industry and was very familial with the DC/Baltimore scene. We swapped names of great bands to come out of the area.  I had no idea Bad Brains had their start near DC.  Of course, I added SR-71 and Jimmy's Chicken Shack.  Another person had visited DC and was a fan of the architecture and open spaces.

The Tubes are easy to navigate. I think I'll try the buses tonight though. The group at the pub recommended the Night Bus (buses which run all night) if I'm too jet lagged to sleep. They got quite a laugh out of my saying that Americans have only heard of the Night Bus from… (they even said it at the same time) Harry Potter.

In Chinatown I had a delicious pork bun.

Later I had some very nice Indian "comfort food" at a restaurant, Masala Zone.  The dish was called Gosht Dabalroti.  I also tried an Indian beer called Cobra which, despite it's name was very smooth.  I swear there were hints of vanilla.

After visiting another pub, I went to make my way back to my hotel in Russell Square only to find the queue at Covent Garden Station out of control. Strangely, Leicester Square Station, two blocks away (and up the line) was fine.

Despite the rain, my first full day in London way quite enjoyable.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostonroute66/4366051257/

Enron, playing at the West End's Noel Coward Theatre, is based on the events of the corporate scandal.  A lawyer, giving the opening monologue, explained what we see may or may not be true.  It is a dramatization after all.  The production started slow.  Enron contained a good bit of corporate America bashing.  The voice of reason come only from low-level employees, never from anyone in a position of authority.

While there were aspects of the production I feel feel short or relied too heavily on stereotypes, it is certainly a unique experiment, bringing financial scandal to the stage.

Character development focused on greed and ambition.  The conclusion drawn at the end of the story, however, was unexpected.  All progress, Samuel West playing Enron exec Jeffrey Skilling explained, comes via bubbles.  Bubbles come via greed, ambition, hope, and most of all… money.

Enron was full of American pop culture references.  During the interval (as intermissions are called here) the daughter of a British family sitting next to me was telling her parents she was happy she recognized a few of them.

There was a considerable amount of profanity, I assume to show the vulgar nature of the characters.  Seemed overused to me.

I enjoyed the dramatized history lesson.  The play really did make difficult economic and accounting theories easy to understand.  The characters for the most part, however, never developed or grew.  Perhaps this is exactly what the playwright wanted to say about American corporate culture.  The characters did show how disconnection with reality is contagious and reinforcing.  

Once the play stopped being a synopsis of events, the characters came to life.  There were a couple of dance numbers, barbershop quartet, puppetry, mouse and velociraptor masks, and light saber fights.  The set and props were minimal.  Lighting was superb.  Lots of techno music.  Visually, the production was stunning.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostonroute66/4366799212/

A display above the stage kept track of Enron's stock price throught the production.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostonroute66/4366054191/

The connection to the events of September 11th both puzzled and disturbed me.  Planes are not held up by faith.  They continue to fly even when the passenger know nothing of aerodynamics.  In a market bubble, the plane IS held up by faith.  When faith is lost the plane (market) crashes.  This was accompanied by images of the Twin Towers.  Dust and debris were replaced by shredded paper.  Was there a causal connection implied?

Tom Goodman-Hill, playing Andy Fastow, who created Enron's shadow companies was the most engaging of the characters.  Perhaps this was because he was the only character who experienced growth through the narrative.  His demons were embodied in Jurassic Park Velociraptors, wearing business suits.  Through his performance, I found it difficult to tell if he eventually confessed his deeds to clear his conscience or cut a deal.

Amanda Drew, playing Claudia Roe, gave an excellent performance of a woman fighting an uphill battle in male-dominated corporate culture.  Roe wanted to build, to create something tangible, as opposed to showing paper profits.  Her performance was the most vulnerable of the cast.

I believe Enron will come to Broadway this spring.  I'm interested to see how it is received.  I hear there is a movie in the works as well.  If it's anything like the production, I would recommend seeing it.

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Day 1 in London has been quite enjoyable.  The incredible amount of legroom I had on the plane was balanced by the fact that the seat barely reclined.

Upon arriving at Heathrow, police boarded the plane and escorted someone off.

My hotel, the Waverly House is about a block from Russell Square, which seems to be a good launching point for exploration.  My corner room has a nice view of the city as well.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostonroute66/4366792838/

O2 UK, the cell phone provider is making me feel right at home.  My iPhone is barely usable.  I cannot get over how expansive connectivity is.  Between the international data plan and a wifi hotspot plan for my laptop (which I might use for the iPhone as well) it's about $100 for the 6 days I'm here.  The wifi is painfully slow as well.

After a disco nap and shower I found a pub.  Everything I heard was true.  There are pubs on every corner, they are full of cask beers, and the food is reasonably priced.

Public transit has been easy to navigate.  Although one station, Holborn, was closed and evacuated for over-crowding.  I bought a 1-week Underground pass for about $30 USD.  Which reminds me that I need to stop thinking in terms of dollars.  These are Pounds, and are a bit for expensive.  Advice from Facebook was to multiply by 1.5.  Or even 2x, just to be safe.

On the advice of my high school theatre guru, I went to the West End and saw a show.  Leicester Square (which seems to be the same area as the West End) and nearby Covent Square are a rabbit warren of alleys, filled with unique one-off shops, cafes, and the occasional TGIFridays. And theatres.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostonroute66/4366051609/

I went to the equivalent of NYCs Times Square Ticket Booth and got discounted tickets for Enron. 

Before the play I had a very tasty cappuccino and chocolate/caramel bar at a cafe called Elis.

Apparently in the UK, businesses must be licensed to play music for their customers.  And I thought music copyright/performance issues were out of control in the U.S.

I took a quick stroll down a lane full of interesting galleries and bookstores, almost all of which were closed.  I hope I'll have time to go back a look around, especially at Tengu.  I definitely want to buy one of these little guys.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostonroute66/4366052033/

I found a very interesting candy store, Cyber Candy, that had about every sugar and caffiene-infused item imaginable.  Half of the store was stocked with Japanese items.  The picture of Homer Simpson in his underwear in the front window is classic.

On to the theatre.  Enron, playing at the West End's Noel Coward Theatre, is based on the events of the corporate scandal.  A lawyer, giving the opening monologue, explained what we see may or may not be true.  It is a dramatization after all.  The production started slow.  Enron contained a good bit of corporate America bashing.  The voice of reason come only from low-level employees, never from anyone in a position of authority.

While there were aspects of the production I feel feel short or relied too heavily on stereotypes, it is certainly a unique experiment, bringing financial scandal to the stage.

My review of the production will be a separate post.

That's all for today.  Jet lag or not, chia tea or not, it's time for sleep.  Tomorrow is vintage clothing day!

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A few things that crossed my mind, somewhere between DC and LA.

Economy plus, aisle seat, center section, empty middle seat, pleasant, but not too talkative, neighbor. This may be the most enjoyable cross- country flight I have ever taken.

The closet in a New York City boutique hotel is larger than the lavatory on this plane.

Is anyone else frightened by the sheer force with which aircraft comodes dispatch our waste? Is it suction generated by the aircraft, or an FAA-approved singularity?

Unless you are flying Jet Blue, find the Dunkin Donuts in your terminal before you board. (Jet Blue is based in Boston, the home of Dunkin Donuts - the best mass-market coffee. ever.)

Scarves. You'd be surprised how much warmer you feel with your neck comfortably covered. Less bulky than a jacket. Far more stylish. Could probably be wrapped around your eyes if you didn't have anything else to block out light.

There's something compelling about watching a TV show or movie without the sound. I find it deepens my appreciation for the art of acting.

Much like listening to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon while watching the Wizard of Oz, whatever music you are listening to will seem to synchronize with the in-flight movie.

Watching anything by the Wikowski brothers or Pixar will highten the effect of the previous statement.

What have you learned at 36,000 feet?

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Social Justice Camp DC began Friday with a evening of 5-minute Pecha-Kucha presentations, all focusing on Social Justice.  Speakers were brilliant, passionate advocates that discussed issues ranging from saving DC social programs from budget cuts to Regina Holliday's medical advocacy murals, created to promote patient's rights.  The inspiring civil and human rights work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was mentioned often, including in my own presentation.

My talk chronicled my experience looking for a definition of Social Justice.  After the usual Internet sources failed, I turned to an unlikely method: translate Social Justice into Japanese characters and then analyze those characters as if they were telling a story.

The results were surprising (and a bit funny), but eventually lead me to my own definition of Social Justice.

@cindythroop shot video from the front row.

I took the audio from her recording and created a video the shows only the slides.

Interestingly, I did some of the development of this idea on my $20 wall-sized whiteboard.

Fascinated by this process, I'm working a new Found in Translation.

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Here's the write-up for the 5-minute Petcha-Kucha presentation I'm giving tonight at Social Justice Camp DC.  I'll post a video if there is one.  Otherwise, I'll record the narration and post on YouTube.

Found in Translation: Social Justice

Coming from the Government 2.0 and Health 2.0 communities, I wasn't really sure what Social Justice was.  After a few conversations and web surfing, I realized it was a question I would have to answer for myself.  In studying foreign languages, I've found that one tends to learn more about one's own culture when seen through the lens of another.  So to decipher the meaning of Social Justice, I turned to the characters of the Japanese language.  Each character, a complex pictograph, tells a story.  I wanted to see what story the characters for Social Justice would tell.

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