At the The China Vortex, Paul Denlinger discusses how there is no unified “China market”, no monolithic, simplistic, single-minded Goliath that the rest of the world is trying to deal with. While I do not have the depth of on the ground experience that Mr. Denlinger has (I have not yet been blessed with the opportunity to visit or do business in China), I can see the truth he brings to the discussion.

One of the great pits that Western culture falls into when dealing with the China problem is just that: It is seen as a problem, not an opportunity to expand and learn from a culture that deals with life, philosophy, and business in a very different manner.

This should come as no surprise to any astute student of History, or even modern geopolitics, as the way that nations deal with perceived threats or challenges is to create a national culture of The Other, the us-v-them foreign policy.

When Japan was the country du jour in the 1980s, the Western World respected it, in a very shallow way, as a fellow industrial nation with a strong warrior culture. However, it was treated in a simple way, with Western media portrayals that strengthened perceived stereotypes, and plastered over the profound differences that exist within Japan, and within the Japanese people.

China is even more of a victim of this Politics of the Other, having spent more than 50 years as one of the adversaries in the Cold War, being vilified and portrayed in the least flattering light possible. Even without the base Human interpretation of simplistic interpretations of the Other, the West is crippled from the start in its attempts to understand a nation as large, diverse, and fractured as China.

China is far more than Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and small cadre of smaller, but no less important industrial / post-industrial metropolitan areas.

Drawing on my experience in trying to interpret Internet performance data from within this nation, it is clear to even the casual observer that the Chinese Internet does not simply exist in the major cities. It extends into the far reaches of the country, fractured by the internal conflicts of the connectivity providers, government officials at a many levels, and the unstoppable drive and creativity of the people who see the Internet as an opportunity to make their way in their world.

Cultural and national stereotypes are the way that humans ineffectively deal with the differences that exist. But just as the terms “All Brits..”, “All the French..”, “All Germans…”, “All Argentinians..”, et al. should be treated with disdain and seen as a sign of ignorance, using the words “All Chinese…” or “All of China…” should be quickly quashed and carted off to the dustbin of simplistic paranoia and xenophobia.

There is no such thing as a threat. As it is often stated in other contexts, a threat is simply an opportunity that is hidden by your own prejudices.

Well folks, I got the good news last night: I am Department of Labor Certified.

This means that I can now actually apply for a Green Card.

Oh yeah, and based on some of the other happenings in the world of US Immigration (here and here), I am part of the group that is either going to be royally screwed over, or be part of some sort of general amnesty due to political manipulation and greed entering into the process.

Could be a fun month.

I have been watching Sketches of Frank Gehry in a piecemeal fashion over the last two weeks (kids, in-laws, Christmas, etc.). Despite what you think of Gehry or his buildings, you have to admire the process that a true architect goes through to create a new building idea.

As Bob Geldof says in the film, quoting Auberon Waugh: “If you ever meet an architect at a party, you should punch him in the face”.

I work in a building that sucks. As Kathy Sierra states: “I want a space that matches my enthusiasm”. This space drains me. And when I look around me, I have no hope for any of the other buildings out here in suburban hell.

How can an architect reach the point where generic is good enough? Where looking the same is the best that can be done?

Now that I am back on US soil, I have some tips for surviving your trip to London.

1. GSM Phones. If you are one of the millions in the United States who subscribe to a CDMA service (Verizon, Sprint, etc.), invest a few bucks on eBay and buy a low-end, unlocked, tri-band GSM phone. I have used GSM for years, and the unlocked phones give you an amazing advantage — you buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card once you arrive.

   In the UK, incoming phone calls are free. If you have a half-decent office phone system, you should be able to remotely forward your desk phone to your UK number and voila! You have a local number that folks in the US can always reach you at.

2. OYSTER CARD! If you plan to travel anywhere on the London Public Transit system, buy an Oyster card. Same concept as the pay-as-you-go SIM card. And you’re never fussing with change or daily passes for the tube, DLR or busses.
3. Saline Nasal Spray. This seems like a bit in the “too much information” category, but trust me on this one. London’s atmosphere makes New York seem like an untouched Alpine pasture. After one day there, your sinuses will feel and look like the inside of a pool filter after a dust storm. A simple nasal spray takes of this, and often provides a somewhat scary indication of what man does to the urban environment he lives in.

   If you don’t want to pack one with you, you can buy some truly awesome stuff at any Boots — Sterimar. What makes this stuff uniqe is that it is aresol powered. Unlike the wussy atomisers we use over here, this stuff is freakin’ jet-propelled — if it can’t blast the crap out, it’s likely brains.

4. Look to the right. Yeah, we all know that the Brits drive on the other side of the road, but many an American has been nearly killed in the first twelve hours on the ground by using their instincts and not their brains. I am in this group.

   Thankfully, the Brits provide nice warning labels at most crosswalks; look down, and they will tell you which direction to look in to avoid becoming a hood ornament for a Bentley.

5. Change Wallet. Dear lord; you will need one of these or you will blow out every pocket you have. The Brits still use a lot of cash, and like the rest of the world, the lower denominations of their currency are coins, not bills. A solid change wallet is key.
6. Take the red-eye. You will search online and find a multitude of strategies for dealing with jet-lag. I have a simple one — make sure your flight takes you overnight so that you land at Heathrow/Gatwick/Stansted/Dublin/Luton first thing in the morning. For folks on the East Coast or Central Canada, this means flights between 19:00 and 22:00 Eastern. For West Coast folks, it’s a 11-12 hour flight and an eight-hour time change, and Heathrow opens at 07:00, so 11:00-14:00 Pacific is a good range.

These are the top six I can think of rigt now. Comment on your strategies if you have them.

One of the lengthy conversations I have had with my wife as I work my way through understanding how my bipolar works and affects my life focused on how I think, and see the world.

I am just now coming to terms with the fact that the filters I process my world through are radically different than those that most people use. This is a breakthrough for me, as I assumed that everyone saw the world as I did and do.

A lot of this comes from my family. Both sides of my family are rife with bipolar and schizophrenia. My mother has it; my father had it to a lesser degree. My family was unusual because of this. Not dysfunctional; just differently functional.

My wife filters the world in a logical, linear way. Imagine one of those orderly mass protests you see on the news. Lots of people, lots of noise, but everyone moving in the same direction, headed for the same goal.

Then there’s me. I filter the world as if there was a riot going on. People running everywhere, throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails, screaming. Troops in vehicles rushing through spraying water cannons. But occasionally, one side or the other gathers enough strength to achieve a small tactical victory, push the other side back a little.

When you step back and look at those of us who have bipolar, remember that we see your world very differently. And it is your world, designed to preserve order and organization, protect you from the “madness” in our minds.

Homeland Stupidity is great and reminding us that the security and intelligence community in the United States is insecure and of questionable intelligence.

The military intelligence unit responsible for spying on Americans had to evacuate its Fort Meade, Md., offices Friday after a six-alarm fire broke out.

A fire broke out shortly after 3 p.m. on the roof of Nathan Hale Hall, at 4554 Llewellyn Ave., just on the other side of the golf course from the National Security Agency headquarters. Construction was underway on the part of the roof that caught fire, according to Lt. Col. James Peterson, director of emergency services at Fort Meade.

A fire is unfortunate, and yes, it occurred in a building with sensitive “intelligence” material. However, isn’t this quote from later in the post a bit odd?

Jennifer Downing, a spokesman for the post, would only confirm a fire was burning at 4554 Llewellyn Ave., deep inside the west county Army base. She directed calls to a spokesman with the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, who did not return calls.

Fort Meade’s fire chief also did not return calls for comment. And later, a public affairs officer told The Capital to file a Freedom of Information Act request. — Annapolis Capital

Ummm….

“Dude, I can see flames coming from your offices.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that my hair and clothes are on fire. Excuse me, I must participate in the screaming in pain and running madly away from the fire exercise.”

I was considering the amazing popularity of Wordpress (the hosted service as well ad the application), now the agreed upon champ in the blogging world. I was considering this in light of the fact that when I started blogging in the dark ages of 2004, MoveableType and TypePad were the undisputed champs.

When did the shift occur? What was the watershed moment?

It hit me. it was the day Scoble announced his blog would be a Wordpress.com blog. [here]

Now, Scoble may not be as large a force in the blogging world anymore, but that day in October 2005 when he made that announcement sealed the fate of SixApart. The buzz momentum swung to Wordpress and all of the yummy goodness therein.

The SixApart/MoveableType/TypePad fiends out there are likely to flame me, but the latest release of MoveableType received the response usually reserved for yet another Who farewell tour. It is bloated, complex and difficult to manage.

On the other hand, I can install and/or update Wordpress in less than 5 minutes and no one would notice a thing.

I wonder what the next seminal blogging tool will be?

Technorati Tags: Scoble, MoveableType, Moveable+Type, SixApart, Six+Apart, TypePad, Wordpress, photomatt, Matt+Mullenweg

This post has two underlying reasons for existing: 1) to test out the new MSFT Live Writer Beta; and 2) to talk about a great story that GigaOm pointed us to today.

Om Malik pointed out a story in the Seattle Times today that talked about “Broadband in the Boonies”. Having grown up in the boonies of British Columbia, this immediately got my attention. The story discusses the explosive growth of Internet businesses in the now heavily wired interior of Washington State; the story focuses on the are around Twisp, Winthrop and the Methow Valley.

Until you have been in this area, and I have, you don’t get the possibility of winter isolation. The story talks about how these places are four hours from Seattle; what they neglect to mention is that this is 4 hours in the period between April 15 and October 15, depending on snow.

The direct westerly route to Seattle from these locations passes through the Cascades. Through the extremely high and snowy Cascades.

Samantha and I took a spur of the moment detour through this little part of heaven, pausing a night in a campground in Twisp. Right on the river. When we woke up the next morning, I remembered how much I missed those early morning moments in the mountains.

Twisp is far more isolated than Golden, BC, or any of the other towns that we passed through on our trip this summer. But it is a reminder to us all that place is important. Not because we have to be there, but because it is where we are at home.

I have lived in the Valley. I have lived in Massachusetts. But neither has been home.

And to me, home is worth more than anything.

Technorati Tags: GigaOm, Seattle+Times, Twisp, Winthrop, Methow+Valley, Washington+State, Home, Broadband, Freedom, Om+Malik

I was trying yesterday to debug an issue that was appeared to be affecting the PubSub Agent — yes, I re-started it at the request of their sysadmin.

The issue was that it was showing data that appeared to have no relationship with the data appearing from all of the other measurement locations. I tried blocking it off using IPTables, MySQL restrictions, etc.

This afternoon, I figured out the problem.

Yesterday, I had been using this query to diagnose the problem:

select
       *
from
    data
where
    agent_id = 11
    and date between subdate(now(),interval 30 minute) and now()
order by
    date DESC

And everytime I looked, there was new data. I couldn’t seem to stop the agent from delivering data. Then I had a flash.

select
       count(*)
from
    data
where
    agent_id = 11
    and date > now()

157,000 rows of data. From the future.

Thankfully I know the guy who is responsible for keeping the PubSub servers running, and he is going to adjust the time, etc. But he makes no promises about how long the agent machine will stay running.

I apologize for the bad data.

Technorati Tags: GrabPERF, PubSub, Web Performance, The Future

After a few month hiatus, I am starting to code for GrabPERF again. I need to exercise my brain; as I am a hobbyist code mangler, I have to take on a project every now and then to keep my not-so-l33t skillz honed.

The change to the agent is one of efficiency. The current production agent opens two database connections to run tests: one to retrieve the test configuration data; the other to insert the results of the tests. This means I loop through one set of database query results while doing inserts inside the loop on a second database connection.

This is stupid.

The new code opens a single connection to the database, retrieves the test configuration, dumps the results to an array of arrays, then inserts the data on the same connection. This is more efficient, as I use persistent connections and compression to MySQL to improve performance.

I have this running as TEST AGENT 1 from the Technorati #2 site.

Let me know if you see any madness…outside of Washington DC, and specifically with GrabPERF.

Technorati Tags: GrabPERF, PERL, MySQL