Category: Archive

In the USA, every four years there is a mega reality show called “Let “s pick the President rdquo;. The vast majority of us are the spectators , a small number of actors gradually is getting even smaller, and today we have only two people left to play the main parts.

What do they want? They want the job. No, they want THE Job. They want the job #1.

We, mere mortals, periodically are looking for jobs too. Ours are not #1,#2, or even #3. But if you think about it, in our job search we should learn from the presidential candidates.

In my e-book, “Enterprise Software without the BS rdquo;, I wrote that looking for a job is not the one, but three separate processes ndash; getting the interview, passing the interview, and considering the offer. It “s a game, you have to play by the rules and present yourself the best you can.

Just skimmed through the book on programming in Java? Call yourself Java expert. They are looking for person who can work in a fast paced startup-like environment? This is exactly what you “ve been dreaming of. May need to work long hours? Great, you are an workaholic. Yes, I ‘m sure, I know who to make your project a success!

Does it mean that you have to be a bullshit artist? Yes, all of us are to some extent. But if you are a go-getter, you need to achieve the goal ndash; get the offer. After you get this job, you “ll have time to look around, and will find an excuse for not working long hours, and hey, you don “t have to know everything about Java ndash; Google is ready to help. All this will be AFTER AND IF you get the job.

The presidential candidates are the people who have the best job interviewing skills, otherwise they would not be able to survive as the only two job applicants for the most desirable job in the country.

If you accept my premise that each of us bullshits a little while looking for a job, you should agree that two people who were able to be selected as main candidates for the job #1 are the best bullshit artists in the country. To take it one step further, the one who wins the job is the best BS artist.

On the other hand, I “ve seen BS artists in our profession who were able to memorize typical interview questions and answers, got the job and were fired on the second or third day because their poor programming skills quickly became obvious.

But there is a big difference between our job, and the job #1. The president of the United States is allowed to build a team of advisors, which will allow him to survive for four, or sometimes even eight years. These people are survivors, and whoever is selected, will build the right team. Hence, it doesn “t really matter who wins.

But I “ll still be voting for the McCain/Palin duo. She “s so sexy!

It ‘s been fun to talk to folks from 360 Flex and The Flex Show, and here ‘s the audio recording of that conversation.

BTW, 360 folks did it again – they put together an excellent unconference that will take place during Adobe MAX conference next month. Yours truly will be there comparing frameworks. Not to diminish the value of the official Flex-related MAX materials, but this unconference seems to have more advanced stuff that the big brother.

I ‘ll be happy to see you there, but if you can ‘t make because of attending other presentation, there is no excuses for not attending the BOF session on using Flex frameworks that I will moderate on Monday evening at MAX.

At MAX, I ‘m ready to meet with any Flex developer who ‘s willing to buy me a beer (I drink Leffe from Belgium). You can easily find me there – every day I ‘ll be wearing a black t-shirt with large white letters FARATA. No worries, it ‘s not exactly the same t-shirt – I ‘ll bring four of them.

See you soon,

My Japanese vacation came to an end, and in this concluding blog I “ll just mention some of the little artifacts of life that I did not see at home or other countries I “ve been to.

Public transportation stops at 1 AM. What if you had a little too many drinks after work and missed the last train home? Taking taxi may by very costly as many people live pretty far from their places of work. Getting a room in a hotel is also expensive, unless it “s so called capsule hotel. Imagine a corridor in a morgue, OK, in a fancy one, where there are rows of drawers, and if you “ll pull the handle, you “ll see a dead body. In the capsule hotels not only the bodies are alive, they also enjoy a light, linen, and a TV in their large and luxury drawer. This costs 20-30 bucks per night. Nice, unless you are claustrophobic.

My last hotel in Tokyo was brand new, and it had many cool features, but I “ll just show you one photo. There was an “Internet Radio rdquo; panel on the wall in my room.

Just push a button, and it connects to the Internet to get the live feed from BBC, Voice of America, or couple of other online radio stations. The sound goes through the main audio system. Nice.

Cash machines are located in food stores, post offices, train stations. But only the ones in post offices will definitely give you the money ndash; not every ATM standing elsewhere accepts cards from all banks.

Even though most Japanese study English for 6 years in schools, they can “t speak and won “t understand you on the streets. People are friendly though and will try to help you in finding directions if you got lost, but don “t waste your time ndash; get a taxi (showing the map in English may not help). While leaving the hotel, ask the concierge to write on a piece of paper in Japanese, “Please take me to the Hilton hotel rdquo;. Keep it in your wallet and show to the cab driver after realizing that you were overestimating your map reading skills.

Important. This advice work only for people who stay at Hilton.

The Tokyo subway is well maintained, clean and air conditioned. You need to buy a metrocard in one of the machines putting a $5 deposit for the card itself, and then as much as you want for your commuting needs. When you enter the subway, the machine scans the card, and when you exit, it scans it again to deduct the money based on the distance/train you took ($1.60 is a minimum charge). When your vacation is over, go to the office of a train station and return them the card and get you deposit and all unused money back.

I was lucky to see a Sumo fighter in a subway car. He was listening to an iPod, which is an event of itself. It seems that iPods aren “t popular here. Sumo fighters used to die early, but nowadays, after retirement at 32, they hire personal nutritionists and lose weight to live longer.

There are 5.5 million vending machines in Japan. They even sell liquor. I was wondering if under-aged kids can buy it, and the locals said, “There is no special regulation in this regard, but they don “t do it rdquo;.

I “d like to answer your burning question ndash; is visiting Japan expensive? You can always plan a trip that fits your budget. In general, it “s not more expensive than vacationing in Western Europe if you restrict your consumption of tea, coffee, wine, watermelons and grapes. These items are more expensive here. Clothes are more expensive here too, but it doesn “t really matter since they sell mostly small sizes anyway. Food is less expensive than in Western Europe.

People in Tokyo are better dressed than people in Manhattan. I mean a lot better!

It “s a pity that most Americans don “t like international travel. They are scared of getting lost, mugged, and not knowing the local language is the worst part. Many Americans are brainwashed and sincerely believe want living in the USA is a lot more superior and there is no reason to go anywhere else. Forget foreign travel. Many people never leave their hometown. Forget the hometown. A square of five street block can be a lifetime space for some of them.

Visiting Asia in general and Japan in particular would help Americans in realizing that Asia is a lot more developed and advanced than they think hellip; Regular Americans would also learn that America is not far ahead in any aspect of life. This might have been the case 30 years ago, but it “s over.

I “m in the fortunate position of being able to travel both in the USA and internationally, and wherever I go, I always ask myself the same question, “Would I want to live and work here? rdquo; While there are lots and lots of beautiful places in the world, so far I didn “t see a better than the USA place for living. Being an American allows me to afford comfortable traveling and learn how other people live (sorry, I “m too old to be a backpacker and stay in cheap hostels). I encourage you to pack your bags too, and spend your next vacation not cleaning your backyard, but seeing a foreign country of your choice. I “m sure you “ll like it.

I “m typing this on the plane. A direct flight Tokyo-New York by American Airlines is only twelve and a half hour long. The food on the way back is delicious. Tasty deep fried fish, fresh salads, shrimps, and out of this world pastries. And all this in the economy class! We bought all this food in a gourmet food store in Tokyo before the flight.

We need to finish all the food while in the plane. Last time I was randomly picked and JFK authorities put me through so called agricultural inspection. People are not allowed to bring food back to the USA. Yet another stupid restriction, but hey, gotta play by the rules.

Till next country hellip;

1. Arrival

2. Written in Stone

3. Playing with geisha

4. Bullet train

5. The cow ‘s name was Asada

6. God bless America for making Japan affordable

The population of Russia is 142Mil. The population of Japan is 127Mil. Seems to be comparable countries. But now take a look at this map . Russia is huge, and Japan is a little purple bird drop on the right. Japan is one of the most developed and industrialized countries, while Russia almost solely depends on the willingness of other countries to buy oil or gas. Isn “t it amazing? Just a thought hellip;

Traditionally, Japan was a country of farmers and artisans. These days many people who haven “t been here believe that it “s a futuristic high-tech overpopulated country. I don “t think so. Men work, majority of women are housewives. Majority of men are seldom home. They go to work early and come back late working long overtime hours. The reason is simple ndash; during the day time they almost sabotage work waiting for the evening to get overtime pay. Wives run the hose and typically give husband $300 a month allowance for buying lunches. Some of these wives get bored during a day and hire “an English language teacher rdquo; to have some fun.

Most of their husbands have lifetime employment, but when the retirement time arrives, some wives (especially those who didn ‘t have English teachers) immediately file for a divorce to enjoy the life for all these years spent alone.

Tokyo is gorgeous and, as usual, is squeaking clean.

I “d like to offer you a little test. Please select the right answer for the following question:

“Where have I been at 5:30AM on Saturday? ”

Pick one of the following:

A. Sleeping with my wife in the hotel

B. Interviewing a Shanghais prostitute in a bar

C. Attending an auction

I bet most of you would like to select B as an answer. I may disappoint you, but the right answer is C. Yes, I was attending tuna auction in Tokyo fish market. This is a very interesting event to attend. First, the wholesalers check the quality of these huge tunas, and then make their bids.

The price for tuna varies from $3 to $1000 per kilo.

The fish market is huge with lots of different fish and other products of the sea. Again, it “s so clean hellip; there is no smell at all. Running water takes care of it.

Getting back the answer B above. Not that I care, but this may be an important hint for your next trip. Japanese prostitutes don “t like sleeping with the foreigners. If you are desperate, you “d need to go with a Thai or Chinese girl. Or learn speaking Japanese to increase your chances.

Most of this week we ate raw seafood. But a couple of times we “ve enjoyed beef too. One day it was the kobe beef. Telling you how it tastes is similar to trying to sing after Pavarotti concert so you “d enjoy that yesterday “s show too. Kobe beef is very expensive, but being savvy travelers, we know how to get it for half price.

The owner of that particular restaurant wanted to make this meal more memorable for their customers, and they brought to the table a special certificate having the name of the cow, her date of birth, data on her parents and when she was slaughtered. Our cow “s name was Asada. And for me, this knowledge screw up the whole experience of kobe beef.

When you eat beef, you know nothing about those nameless, spiritless, orphan cows. You just eat beef. But when you eat a 5-year old Asada, Mary, or Bill, it “s as if you eat your pet. This really sucks. I feel guilty of eating Asada.

I “m not going to become a vegetarian at this point, but will definitely lower the consumption of red meat (it “s bed for cholesterol too). Hopefully, I “ll never run into a restaurant where a waiter will serve me a dish prepared from a chicken called Monica, Hillary or Sarah who was born, raised and lost her virginity somewhere in my neighborhood.

See you.

P.S. Now I know why there “s no pretty girls in Kyoto ndash; they all moved to Tokyo. The girls here are well dressed and good looking.

Bullet trains move fast ndash; some of them go as fast as 200 miles per hour. This morning I was standing at the platform waiting for my train to Tokyo, and one of these fast beasts passed right by me. I was able to catch a short video of it (12Mb). Isn ‘t it something? The most amazing thing is that you don ‘t feel this speed while sitting inside.

But the most impressive thing is that they go on time. I had about 20 minutes to my train and had a chance to compare the advertised vs actual time of arrival ndash; they match up to the minute. Position of each car is clearly numbered on the platform, so people don “t need run around guessing where their car will be standing. Each train I “ve seen had exactly 16 cars and this simplifies things a lot. Tickets aren “t cheap – $120 USD for a two hour ride in the second-class car, which is almost as comfy as business class seats on many airlines.

The suicide rate in Japan is very high, because the level of stress is high as in any developed industrial country. It “s not considered to be a sin here, but a noble way to resolve a difficult situation. And most importantly, insurance companies pay benefits to the survivors (this is not the case in the USA). So some people use it as a way to resolve some psychological or financial issues and take care of their families. To commit a suicide, they jump from bridges, fill their own cars with gas, or jump under trains. The last case has a little caveat though, stopping the bullet train (which some suiciders may cause) is fined with $100,000, and stopping of a regular train would cost the suicider $50,000. This amount will be deducted from the amount paid by the insurance companies to the beneficiaries. Anna Karenina did not have to worry about insurance, lucky her!

We were moving from the Mount Fuji area to Tokyo. This shot of Mt. Fuji I took yesterday.

The day before, we took a lift (a gondola) to a nearby mountain to enjoy the view of Mt. Fuji, but it was clouded and we couldn “t see a thing. While waiting for the gondola to go downstairs one of use went to have a cigarette. There were a couple of women from France and a man from Egypt. After finishing smoking, they could not find an trash can to throw the butts in(reminder, they were standing on the top of a mountain). The obsession with cleanness here is high, and one of these French ladies took out from her purse a small plastic bottle from water, which has already some butts inside. She opened the lid, let everyone put their butts inside and screw in the lid. What a country!

Surprisingly, Tokyo is a pretty quiet city. We went to the street that has lots and lots of electronic stores with all possible gadgets and devices. In one of the stores I saw the newly released MacBook Pro with the body carved from aluminum brick, which I “ll purchase within the next couple of weeks. Here “s it is:

As you can see, its price is 15% higher than in the USA (just divide the price in yens by a 100 to get the price in USD).

We finished the evening in yet another small restaurant serving super fresh and tasty sushi and sashimi. But it seems that I already had enough of raw fish this week, and it ‘s time to get backto cooked food and meet. But a recent event with the cow named Asada may substantially reduce my consumption of beef. I “ll tell you this story in the next blog.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:&”Table Normal&”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:&”&”; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:&”Calibri&”,&”sans-serif&”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:&”Times New Roman&”; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} In Kyoto, cabs charge about $6 for the first two Km, then the meter starts ticking. Most of the taxis here are either Toyota Comfort or Nissan something. The driver can open (and close) the passenger doors ajar by sitting in the driver “s seat. Looks like the cost of the ride is the same as in New York City, but the drivers look nicer and actually know how to get you places.

We went to yet another good restaurant serving raw fish and other good stuff. At the end of the dinner, two Japanese women sitting at the table nearby asked us in broken English,

“Where are you from? rdquo;

” We are from the USA. And you? rdquo;

” I “m from Hiroshima rdquo;.

We smiled to each other, but I really felt the ugliness of this moment even though I didn “t drop that bomb back in 1945.

Next day I asked about it one of the local Americans, and he said Japanese have different approach, “We lost that war, let “s move on rdquo;. Well hellip;I don “t really buy it ndash; what about thousands of people whose relative died because of that bombing? I don “t think that it “s so easy to forget and forgive.

Germans buried ALIVE my ant with an 18-month old baby in Babi Yar during the WW2. I “ve been to Germany a couple of times and my mind understands that the people I see there now didn “t do me any harm, but still hellip;I “ll never forget about Nazis. I don “t think Japanese will ever forget and forgive Nagasaki and Hiroshima. And they should not.

For the evening, we “ve had scheduled a private party with Geisha. The plot of the movie Memoirs of Geisha was written to sell copies and may give you a false impression of what is this all about. Geisha “s have nothing to do with prostitution. It “s about paying money for spending time with her without having sex. This is exactly what I did yesterday. We “ve hired a very interesting Canadian-born man who lives Kyoto for 15 years, fell in love with Geishas in general, and even got married with a retired geisha. First he gave us a private tour in the region where geishas live, and then we had a private dinner with Geisha.

Some young girls decide (not being forced) to become geishas. They approach one of the special houses, and if a mother of such a house likes her, they sign a contract for 5-6 years and invest money into this girl “s education clothing (geisha “s kimono can cost $50-60K). While in training, these girls are called maiko. As of today, there is more than a 100 geishas in Kyoto.

Here “s our 17-year-old maiko:

The house she belongs to, arrange her appearances on private parties only for the close circle of the customers of this tea house. The only reason we were able to invite her was that we “ve hired an insider. Regular tour agents just put a bunch of tourists into a bus and bring them to one of the shows.

She enjoys drinking sake and is a pretty easy going. Here “s I am, playing a simple game with her.

She “s a giggling girl, speaks no English, and you can “t expect to discuss culture or politics with her. People are paying for just being around her. No sex, can you imagine? Go figure hellip; Different world, different culture.

After the contract is over, the new geisha moves out and works as a freelancer for the customers of the same tea house.

Today, we are taking a bullet train and start moving toward Tokyo.

Stay tuned hellip;

Here “s photo I took in one of the underpasses by the train station in Kyoto. You can rent a locker for $4 a day and leave your stuff there. What a simple and convenient artifact of life! I “ve seen free standing lockers in several other places too. The other thing to note here is the floor. It “s so clean that a surgeon can make a surgery here.

I keep bugging local people with the question, “Why it “s so clean on the streets? Do you impose hefty fines as in Singapore? rdquo;

“No, it “s just a matter of pride, we like it clean rdquo;.

Take a guess ndash; what is this thingy attached at the bottom of the house for?

Not sure? Ok, let me help you. Let “s say you are a dog and your master took you out for a walk. What would be the first thing you “d like to do? Find a convenient place to raise your back leg. Guess what, the house shown in this picture is not too convenient for peeing, because your right back leg will keep slipping from this slippery slope. Actually, if it would be me, I “d be a smart dog and pee right on the door of this house.

The life of smokers is miserable on the streets. Sometime they are having hard times finding a place to smoke a cigarette. Sometimes it “s even written in stone as in this pavement.

On the other hands, cigarettes are inexpensive here – $3.50 a pack. Many restaurants allow you to smoke inside, which proves that they don “t give a shit about your health ndash; the streets must be clean no matter what!

Boots are popular among females. Remember the movie Pretty Woman ndash; I mean that mini skirt and tall boots? Kyoto girls added high stockings and most of them look like whores, but they are not. I guess they just try to look cool. To my taste, Kyoto has big deficit of pretty girls.

But at least the girl in this photo has straight legs. Sarah Jessica Parker sent the message to the rest of the world that it “s OK to not hide the crooked legs inside jeans and the message was gratefully received by all young women in Japan.

I see a lot more handsome men here. Does it mean that I “m gay? Let me consult with my wife ndash; she knows everything.

The Japanese breakfast looks large but you don “t feel heavy afterward. In our hotel, one day I had 5-dish Japanese breakfast, and the next morning American style buffet. After the buffet I felt heavy and sleepy.

Sashimi here are very fresh. All food is good, especially when you ask a hotel concierge to recommend you a restaurant. Before coming here, I was under impression that travelling in Japan is very expensive. This is wrong ndash; it “s definitely cheaper than in Europe.

There are tons of temples and shrines (places of worship to an object) in Kyoto. My problem is that I “m not into museums. I prefer walk and observe life of locals. I like talking to them learning new things. And most of all, I like tasting good food in new places, which I remember better than most of the historical facts.

Actually, this fact I “ll remember. A shogun (a top military guy of the past) had an official wife and 30-50 mistresses. Mothers were happy if their daughters were selected to be mistresses, because if they “d have a son fathered by shogun, he “d have a chance to become one too. The official wife had no preference here.

Japanese are spiritual, but not overly religious. It “s seems that they have a smaller number of businessmen between people and God. Having a holy place or an object can be enough for saying a prayer. Interestingly enough, I “ve seen a bell and a long rope that people use to draw attention of God right before the prayer. To make sure that they are being listened by God, they also clap.

Please don “t treat my notes as a dissertation on Japanese religions. It “s just my quick observations. Just scratching the surface ndash; this is what my blog is all about. No load. Taking it all easy.

I spent the evening playing with a 17-year old geisha, and will tell you about it in the next blog.

It “s my first time in this country, and I “m looking forward to new discoveries. This week my wife and I are on vacation in Japan. Our friends Dora and Felix have arrived a day earlier. Dora runs a small but very reputable travel agency Travel Six Stars in New York City (star6travel@yahoo.com), and when it comes to vacations, I never go anywhere else.

Needless to say that I know how to use Internet, Kayak, Expedia, and other travel Web sites, and I use them to book local travel within the USA. But I don “t organize vacation – I prefer to work with THE professional. On the similar note, if you cut your finger, apply the band aid yourself. But if you have a more serious issue, go to a professionally trained doctor.

The major difference between Dora and any other travel agent is simple ndash; she “s been everywhere herself, while other travel agents try to sell you a cheap package to Dominican Republic they “ve learned about from the brochure received in the mail. By the way, have you ever tried to ask your travel agent where is Dominican Republic? Don “t bother.

This time, as usual, I didn “t know anything about this vacation other than the time of departure and the flight number. It was American Airline flight New York-Tokyo, and then Tokyo-Osaka on the local airline.

The first leg was a 14-hour flight from JFK over Alaska, Kamchatka and down to Japan.

Unfortunately this time my wife didn “t have time to get some good food on the plane (i.e. a piece of a multi-grain bread with French butter and wild Alaskian salmon), hence we had to suffer horrible meals served by flight attendant born during the Great American Depression. American aviation clearly goes down the toilet. By the way, toilets is the main theme of this blog.

Tokyo international airport was not as large as I expected, and finding our connection flight was easy – people speak some English here.

I got a habit to make the first judgment about any new place by the toilets. If they are clean and well maintained ndash; you “ll enjoy the rest too. The toilet was clean. But the urinals were hanging too low, on the kids level by our standards. Not a big issue ndash; you can always control the stream trajectory .

In the women “s toilet, besides regular cabins, you can find urinals embedded right in the floor, a bit unusual for a Westerners, but it was clean too.

As a matter of fact, if you asked me to describe Japan with one word, I “d use the word clean. The smoking area in the airport is located outside on the open air. It “s a fenced area open area, but inside the fans mounted in the walls suck in the smoke so it won “t go up in the atmosphere.

In Osaka, we “ve boarded a small van to get us to our hotel in Kyoto. Twenty three bucks, the driver takes credit cards and not tips are expected. All the cab drivers wear suits and ties and white linen gloves.

In the hotel room, when I went to the toilet, I was pleasantly surprised by the warmth of the seat. I had to learn how to handle control panel:

Press the second button on the left, and your ass will be sprayed by the water of the body temperature. Smart Japanese engineers ensured that the spray goes right in the bull “s eye, if you know what I mean. The next button marked Soft does pretty much the same thing but softer.

Toilets make the you clearly feel the difference between under and over developed countries. In India, I “ve seen urinals just standing openly on the streets. On the higher end, I “ve attended there the toilets equipped with a pitcher with water that gets you engaged with a hand job after you “ve completed your main mission.

The western world uses toilet paper, which is fast but not the best way to clean your ass.

Back to Japan. I started experimenting with the button High/Low. Guys, be careful with getting high. In this mode you can easily get prepared for colonoscopy.

Do you think I should try pressing the top right button?

If you think I spend too much time on toilets, don “t be. I “ve been using toilets for evaluating the health of new places for a while. For example, when I was going to job interviews at a new company, I “d always visit the toilet there even if I didn “t need to go ndash; a well maintained toilet is a good business card of any firm.

To be continued…

If you are young and poor, but want to take a some computer science courses for free, I ‘ve got something for you.

Stanford University is one of the best schools in the world when it comes to preparing software engineers. They have a program called Stanford Engineering Everywhere that includes courses on Intro to Computers Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Linear System and Optimization.

You can watch lectures on Youtube, listen to them on iPod and download lecture handouts.

Do you still have a reason for not getting into IT? No, you don ‘t!