Does Silicon Valley noise detract from long-term value creation? From Andrew Chen's blog

One hour, seven minutes, four seconds, thirty-four dollars.

As the eminent diagnostician Dr. Gregory House once noted, an addiction is merely academic so long as it doesn't interfere with one's work.
 
I acknowledge that I have a problem with Internet access. How else to explain the fact that I'm actually using one of the ship's Internet terminals, paying a rate of exchange that would make even a legbreaking street hustler tut-tut and comment about the need to observe the mores of basic human decency?
 
But I've been at sea for a few days, now. And here at 4:30 AM on Tuesday it's nearly the end of the working day on Monday back home; lots of emails (I correctly reckoned) piled up that were (a) business-related and (b) too complicated to be dispatched from the touchscreen of my iPhone later today in Japan.
 
Interesting thing, this shipboard Internet cafe. Like all others of its ilk I've used, it's a room off of the ship's library. Unlike any experience I ever had, when I visited after dinner last night, the library was being used as a dressing room for the ship's lounge entertainment.
 
I want you to imagine, dear reader, that creamy showgirls were peeling out of their gowns and into dance leotards, their need for a fast costume change obliterating any care for modesty. This is a more pleasant mental image than the reality of nervous male passengers being led in by the ship's entertainment director, and putting on ballerina costumes and wigs.
 
Overall, these men bore the mask of having been recently admonished "Why can't you just relax and be a good sport about this?" by someone they know they're going to be trapped in a small cabin with for another five days.
 
(Important rule of going on a cruise: have nothing to do whatsoever with any sort of onboard entertainment. Gamble if that's the only alternative. And if you must, then take your chances with the ocean. It's the place from whence all life springs, after all. The lounge of a cruise ship is where drunk people go to sing "Muskrat Love" in foam mouse costumes. Choose wisely.)
 
It's a fine ship. Naturally, all but a handful of the 1200 or so passengers are Asians, so I'm having the same experience I had in Beijing: I'm the guy who is definitely Not From Around here.
 
The sensation is intensified by being in such close quarters. I've quickly learned to do as the locals do: be slightly impatient and indifferent to other people, by American standards. If you want to allow someone to get off the elevator, someone will step around you, shoulder the exiting person aside, and tap the elevator button to send it skyward with just one passenger aboard. Etc. So I simply slap a hand on the door, allow the gentleman to glare sternly, and wait until the four or five people have had time to board.
 
I'm not kidding about the Exotic nature of my Western good looks. And by "good" I think I'm optimistically upgrading myself from "bizarre." We were warned that many of these passengers have never seen Westerners before and might do a lot of staring. They forgot to say "and take pictures."
 
Big sideburns on a Westerner are like having a woman who's 6'9 _and_ has a full beard. So I've been getting a lot more attention than I really enjoy, frankly. I made the mistake of eating a quick breakfast in the cafeteria restaurant on my first day and so many cameras were pulled out (nothing short of people walking up and popping the flash from six feet away without a word) that I abandoned the meal.
 
(From then on the policy became: if you shoot me, I get to return the fire. I'm usually pretty timid about taking other people's pictures so it's been a chance to work some undeveloped photographic muscles.)
 
Speaking of undeveloped photos, my Aperture and iMovie libraries attest to the fine time I had yesterday in Jeju. What a marvelous island. It's very much like Hawaii in the sense that it's a beautiful place with both a distinct local character and ample resorts for people who want to truly relax and enjoy some precious time off. If it weren't a 13 hour flight away from home, Jeju would be on that list of places I'd go for a true non-working vacation.
 
It doesn't matter how many photos I took. I got the handful of shots that I came for. Once again my Nikon D80 proved to be one of my very best all-time consumer purchases. We stopped at four or five different sights and as usual, each place turned into an endlessly engaging game of hide-and-seek.
 
We came to a Buddhist temple on the side of a cliff. We'd passed by a touristy sort of one on our way elsewhere (sort of like Buddhaland Wacky Coaster and Wild Water Park, in spiritual terms) and when we expressed an interest, our driver Wan said that he knew of a much better one. "No admission!" he said, smiling.
 
Well, it was bloody marvelous, is what it was.
 
"What's that building over there?" I asked, indicating what appeared to be a modern block of condos within walking distance.
 
"Rich people stay there, when they come to visit the temple," Wan explained. Hie English was very good but it's the last 5% of every language that's the killer. I don't think I could really put across the subtleties of the question "Why do they come here?"
 
"Rich people, they have many problems," Wan said. "They come to rest and pray."
 
What I would have liked to have known was the nature of this desire. Do they come simply to de-stress? Is it like a retreat? Or do they come there to think and pray in the way that a Westerner would define those terms?
 
I left my shoes at the temple's steps. And my hat. Wan told me that it was OK to leave it on but I confess it was less about the temple's traditions and more about my own comfort levels. Something forces me to remove my hat when I enter a church and this same software left my hat on top of my shoes.
 
I guess I'm spiritual rather than religious, to use the popular term. But I don't use it as a way to deny the appeal that religion has for me. I enter a place like this and feel things that are openly irrational and yet absolutely real. I felt the same things in there that I felt atop a temple in Belize that had been abandoned a millenium ago, and inside a simple suburban Catholic church last year when I started taking my Mom to Mass every week.
 
Structure, location, denomenation...they're not the point. It's the knowledge that you're standing at the endpoint of a line that stretches back seemingly endlessly. For tens, hundreds, even thousands of years people have come to this place and left their prayers, which somehow leave a residue that builds in potency for layer after layer.
 
Eventually, it hits you as an power sense of awe and humility. You are but one breath in the life of the Univese. Countless have come before you and countless will come after you, but you're still incredibly inportant because you're the one that's here right now, allowing the next breath to take place.
 
I did think about my Mom and my Dad while I was in there.
 
Back to the pictures. The attendants assured me that the temple had absolutely no prohibitions on the use of cameras and after seeing a small but steady flow of visitors snapping photos with cameras, phones, and camcorders, I was assured.
 
How different the experience would have been, had I come here with a tour group. We would probably have had a strict 20 minute time limit. I would have been there with fifty noisy and feckless tourists, all of whom were dumped off there at the same time. I would have had neither the time nor the quiet I needed to simply fully enjoy the space and have my Moment, and then walk around, exploring the site and getting pictures.
 
Here the game of hide-and-seek began. I knew that there are many fantastic pictures hiding in this facility. After you've finally overcome your sense of awe, you realize that if you don't come away with at least a half a dozen images that instantly become your desktop wallpaper, it was a failure of the photographer.
 
A camera in my hands forces me to appreciate a location far more fully. I can't speak for the other tourists who came and went along with the occasional practicing Buddhist. But I wander with my senses fully open. I'm aware of light, color, detail, shadows, context, how one element relates to another.
 
I can't say if I accomplished any real art with my D80 in that temple. But when I got back to my cabin and dumped my memory card, I zoomed immediately to the temple photos and was gratified by the results.
 
I need to come up with a word that explains this sense of photographic narcissism. Narcissus was so taken by his own image that he stared at his own reflection until he died of starvation. I was so taken by one specific image that I put it into fullscreen display mode, turned off all of the toolbars, and just stared at it for a full minute.
 
Actually, I don't think it's narcissism or pride at all. Staring at that photo reminded me of the fine and full experiences I had there. And yes, it's now my desktop image.
 
Onward to Japan. A full day on another island, this time a recursive one as it's an island _off_ another island. My own batteries have recharged from yesterday's photo and video junket and whoops, I've just realized that my camera batteries haven't.
 
Off I go.

Test post to Posterous & Twitter.

(download)

Sent from my iPhone

Broadcast Journalism to be weighed by FCC

From the trade publication Inside Radio today:

Mandatory news is one idea as the FCC will weigh the future of broadcast journalism. Democratic commissioner Michael Copps is reportedly circulating a proposed Notice of Inquiry that would examine the state of broadcast journalism. CNSNews.com says it would look at consolidation’s impact as well as how the internet is picking up the slack following traditional media’s cutbacks. It also considers issuing “behavioral rules” for broadcasters, including mandatory newscasts. An FCC spokesman tells Inside Radio the agency doesn’t comment on pending items that have been circulated to the commissioners. The state of journalism has had Copps’ attention for years. In a speech to Free Press in May, he called for a “serious national discussion” on changes in the media landscape and the rise of “infotainment” instead of hard news. But Copps believes government intervention may not be the way to go. “Certainly we need more regulation than the country has had these past several years, but regulation isn’t always the answer,” he said. One possible solution he suggested, for instance, is a public broadcasting system “on steroids.” Conservatives worry stricter public interest standards could be a backdoor attempt at reviving the Fairness Doctrine, but Copps insists that’s not the case. In his Free Press speech, he responded, “We will not lose this opportunity to make real and lasting progress on media reform because some find it is in their self-interest to keep this phony issue alive.”

Batman Quotes!!! (Adam West Batman)

Robin: "Let's go!"
Batman: "Not you, Robin. They have strict licensing laws in this country. A boy of your age is not allowed in a drinking tavern."

Dick Grayson: "What's so important about Chopin?"
Bruce Wayne: "All music is important, Dick. It's the universal language. One of our best hopes for the eventual realization of the brotherhood of man."
Dick Grayson: "Gosh Bruce, yes, you're right. I'll practice harder from now on."

Robin: "You can't get away from Batman that easy!"
Batman: "Easily."
Robin: "Easily."
Batman: "Good grammar is essential, Robin."
Robin: "Thank you."
Batman: "You're welcome."

Batman: "Better put 5 cents in the meter."
Robin: "No policeman's going to give the Batmobile a ticket."
Batman: "This money goes to building better roads. We all must do our part."

Robin: "Boy! That was our closest call ever! I have to admit that I was pretty scared!"
Batman: "I wasn't scared in the least."
Robin: "Not at all?"
Batman: "Haven't you noticed how we always escape the vicious ensnarements of our enemies?"
Robin: "Yeah, because we're smarter than they are!"
Batman: "I like to think it's because our hearts are pure."

Robin: "Holy molars! Am I ever glad I take good care of my teeth!"
Batman: "True. You owe your life to dental hygiene."

Bruce: "Yes, Dick, your bird calls are close to perfect. If more people practiced them, someday we might have a chance for real communication with our feathered friends."
Dick: "In that case I think I'll polish up my ruby-crowned kinglet and my rose-breasted yellow-tailed grouse-beak calls."

Dick: "Sorry, I'm not interested in dance lessons."
Bruce: "Wait a minute, Dick. The junior prom's coming up, isn't it?"
Dick: "Yes, but..."
Bruce: "Well, we don't want you to be a wallflower, do we? Dancing is an integral part of every young man's education."
Dick: "Gosh Bruce, you're right."

Batman to Robin: "When you get a little older, you'll see how easy it is to become lured by the female of the species."

Robin: "I guess you can never trust a woman."
Batman: "You've made a hasty generalization, Robin. It's a bad habit to get into."

Robin: "That's an impossible shot, Batman."
Batman: "That's a negative attitude, Robin."

Batman: "The green button will turn the car a la escarda o a la drecia."
Robin: "To the left or right. Threw in a little Spanish on me, huh, Batman?"
Batman: "One should always keep abreast of foreign tongues, Robin."

Dick: "Gosh, Economics is sure a dull subject."
Bruce: "Oh, you must be jesting, Dick. Economics dull? The glamour, the romance of commerce... Hmm. It's the very lifeblood of our country's society."

"Gosh, Batman, you're right!"
Bruce: "Don't dip your oar in this sordid sea, Dick. You might be besmirched."

Batman: "That's one trouble with dual identities, Robin. Dual responsibilities."

Batman: "In fact, Mr. Wayne is taking Mrs. Harriet Cooper, a devotee of Miss Glaze's, backstage before the performance to meet the dazzling star."
Robin: "While Dick Grayson, I suppose, stays home and works on his essay on glaciers?"
Batman: "Right again, Robin."

Robin: "To the batcave?"
Batman: "And up the batpoles."
Robin: "The batpoles?"
Batman: "Even crimefighters need their sleep, Robin."

Robin: "Picked up the seal pulsator yet, Batman?"
Batman: "We're still over land, Robin, and a seal is an aquatic, marine mammal."
Robin: "Gosh, yes, Batman, I forgot."

Robin: "Where'd you get a live fish, Batman?"
Batman: "The true crimefighter always carries everything he needs in his utility belt, Robin."

Robin: "Batman, maybe I should stay home tonight. Homework, you know."
Batman: "I think you should acquire a taste for opera, Robin, as one does for poetry and olives."

Robin, to Carpet King: "You must be that gentleman I've read about. Aren't you a king or something?"
Batman: "Robin, England has no king now. England has a queen, and a great lady she is, too."

Robin: "Gosh, Batman, this camel grass juice is great."
Batman: "Beware of strong stimulants, Robin."

Batman: "Robin, the Constitution provides that a man is innocent until proven guilty. And the Constitution is the cornerstone of our great nation. We must abide by it."
Robin: "Gosh, when you put it that way..."

Batman: "Man-eating lilacs have no teeth, Robin. It's a process of ingestion through their tentacles."

Batman (after cracking a safe): "It's not difficult, if you have steady nerves and a good ear. Quality is destroyed by the tenor of criminal life."

Batman: "An older head can't be put on younger shoulders."

Robin: "Venus seemed like a nice girl in that costume."
Batman: "I suspect she is a nice girl down deep, but she's fallen in with bad companions. And who knows what her home life was like."

Batman: "Go back outside and calm the flower children."
Robin: "They'll mob me!"
Batman: "Groovy."

Batman: "You know your neosauruses well, Robin. Peanut butter sandwiches it is."

Batman: "Too many Bessarovian Cossacks around here, Robin. If I'd joined you in the fight, some of them may have been injured."

Robin, about Batgirl: "She's gone again! For once, Batman, let's follow her."
Batman: "No, Robin. With my head sticking out of this neosaurus costume, I might not appear like an ordinary, run of the mill crimefighter."

Bruce: "Just because we're traveling, I don't think that Dick should neglect his studies, so we brought along one thousand key works of literature, his biological specimens, and also his own desk."
Dick: "Yes, I expect to study hard."

Batman: "You're far from mod, Robin. And many hippies are older than you are."

Superintendent Watson: "Well, I think this calls for a cup of char at venerable Ireland Yard."
Robin: "Char?"
Batman: "Yes, Robin, a colloquialism for tea."

Catwoman: "Let noone say that Catwoman is not the best-dressed woman in the world."
Batman: "There are no fashion shows where you're going, Catwoman."
Robin: "And how could a feline feloness like you also be a fashion model?"
Batman: "Ah-ah. Give credit where credit is due, Robin. She may be evil, but she is attractive. You'll know more about that in a couple of years."

Robin: "If we close our eyes, we can't see anything."
Batman: "A sound observation, Robin."

Robin, about Catwoman: "Do you think she'll kill Batgirl?"
Batman: "Or worse, Robin. Or worse."

Batman: "Nobody wants war."
Robin: "Gee, Batman. Belgravia's such a small country. We'd beat them in a few hours."
Batman: "Yes, and then we'd have to support them for years."

Joker: "Let bygones be bygones. I'd like to shake hands with both of you. Can't we be friends?"
Robin: "I'd rather shake hands with a spitting cobra!"
Batman: "You're being cynical, Robin. To err is human, to forgive...divine."

Batman: "What took you so long, Batgirl?"
Batgirl: "Rush hour traffic, plus all the lights were against me. And you wouldn't want me to speed, would you?"
Robin: "Your good driving habits almost cost us our lives!"
Batman: "Rules are rules, Robin. But you do have a point."

Batman: "Cattail Lane and Nine Lives Alley. The Grimalkin Novelty Company is on that corner."
Robin: "Grimalkin? What kind of a name is that?"
Batman: "An obscure but nevertheless acceptable synonym for cat, Robin."

Robin, looking at Batgirl: "You know something, Batman?"
Batman: "What's that, Robin?"
Robin: "She looks very pretty when she's asleep."
Batman: "I thought you might eventually notice that. That single statement indicates to me the first oncoming thrust of manhood, old chum."

Robin: "Gosh, if I could just figure out that riddle. Why can't I get it?"
Batman: "Maybe your mind's on that cute little teenager who waved to you on the way across town, eh?"
Robin: "Awww, come on, Batman."

Dick: "Awww, heck! What's the use of learning French anyway?"
Bruce: "Dick, I'm surprised at you! Language is the key to world peace. If we all spoke each other's tongues, perhaps the scourge of war would be ended forever."
Dick: "Gosh, Bruce, yes. I'll get these darn verbs if they kill me!"

Robin: "What do we do, tip off Commissioner Gordon?"
Batman: "No, not on your life, old man. The Penguin and I have a score to settle."

Dick: "Wow! The rings of Saturn! This is sure some fun, Bruce."
Bruce: "Astronomy is more than mere fun, Dick."
Dick: "It is?"
Bruce: "Yes, it helps give us a sense of proportion. Reminds us how little we are, really. People tend to forget that sometimes."
Dick: "Gosh yes, that's right. I'll bet I see those rings a little differently this time!"

Robin: "Gosh, there could be diplomatic repercussions if we fail this time, Batman."
Batman: "That's not the point, Robin. What's important is that the world know that all visitors to these teeming shores are safe, be they peasant or king."
Robin: "Gee, Batman, I never thought of that. You're right."
Batman: "It's the very essence of our democracy."

Batman to Robin: "Stop fiddling with that atomic pile and come down here!"

Dick: "Gosh, botany is tough. I'll never learn to recognize all these trees!"
Bruce: "Come come, Dick. Pine. Elm. Hickory, chestnut, maple. Part of our heritage is the lure of living things, the storybook of nature."
Dick: "That's true, Bruce. I'll learn to read that book of nature yet!"

Batman: "Robin, you haven't fastened your safety bat-belt."
Robin: "We're only going a couple of blocks."
Batman: "It won't be long until you are old enough to get a driver's license, Robin, and you'll be able to drive the Batmobile and other vehicles. Remember, motorist safety."
Robin: "Gosh, Batman, when you put it that way.."

Bruce: "When we have more time, I'll acquaint you with the various processes of sculptoring. It's a fascinating art to which I devoted many hours of study."
Dick: "I sure would like to hear about it, Bruce."

Batman (during a bat-climb): "Careful, Robin. Both hands on the Bat-rope."
Robin: "Sorry, Batman."

Robin (about Lydia Limpet): "Gosh, Batman, those look like honest eyes."
Batman: "Never trust the old chestnut, 'Crooks have beady little eyes'. It's false."

Robin: "When we put the fake jewels in Miss Starr's safe and take the real ones out, we could be nailed as crooks."
Batman: "That's a chance we have to take, Robin. In our well ordered society, protection of private property is essential."
Robin: "Yes, you're right, Batman. That's the keystone to all law and order."

Dick Grayson: "I thought Lima was the capital of Equador."
Bruce Wayne: "As you can see, I was right. It's the capital of Peru."
Aunt Harriet: "Oh, I just love this game of capitals. It's just so educational!"
Bruce: "Not only that, if we don't know all about our friends to the south, how can we can carry out our good neighbor policy?"

Bruce: "Most Americans don't realize what we owe to the ancient Incas. Very few appreciate they gave us the white potato and many varieties of Indian corn."
Dick: "Now whenever I eat mashed potatos, I for one will think of the Incas."

Dick (working on a jigsaw puzzle): "It's so much harder with the pieces upside down."
Bruce: "Of course. Think of what excellent training it is for your visual memory."
Dick: "Gosh yes, I guess that's true."

(in Batmobile, on golf course)
Robin: "Let's get going and make an emergency bat-turn!"
Batman: "Not this time, old chum. Have to think of the golfers. The retro-rockets would burn up the course for a hundred yards."

Batman: "Human mechanisms are made by human hands, Robin. None of them is infallible. It is a lesson that must be faced."

Batman: "That's life, Robin, full of ups and downs. It ill befits any of us to become to confident."

Batman (about to cross the street): "Remember Robin, always look both ways."

Robin: "It sure is a shame, Batman. A restaurant with such terrific chow turning out to be a mere front for some criminal scheme."
Batman: "Look at it this way, Robin. That $100 cover charge is pretty stiff. Penguin's 'terrific chow' is hardly within the budget of the average worker."
Robin: "Gosh yes, you're right, Batman. All the needy people in the world, all the hungry children."
Batman: "Good thinking, Robin."

Dick: "Gosh Bruce, Greek is still Greek to me."
Aunt Harriet: "It's Greek to a lot of Greeks too. It's one of the world's oldest, most important, most beautiful languages."
Dick: "It may be, Aunt Harriet, but can't we take a breather and work out in the gym for a while?"
Aunt Harriet: "But the mind needs excercise too, Dick."
Dick: "Well, my mind is getting muscle-bound."
Bruce: "Ahhh, there is an old saying, Dick. A sound mind and a sound body. A worthy goal."

Batman: "Ma Parker's girl is more dangerous than her three boys."
Robin: "Her legs sort of reminded me of Catwoman's."
Batman: "You're growing up, Robin. Remember, in crime-fighting always keep your sights raised."

Robin: "But what is it?"
Batman: "Saribus Sacer. A species of ancient Egyptian beetle, sacred to the Sun God, Hymeopolos. And from which the term scarab is derived. But, you should know that, Robin, if you are up on your studies of Egyptology."
Robin: "You're right."

Batman: "I know. Hieroglyphics self-taught are a chore, Robin; but, it is a surefire way to unravel the secrets of the ancient mystics."

Batman: "Experience teaches slowly, Robin. And at a cost of many mistakes."

Robin: "I am a little hungry."
Batman: "Of course, Robin. Even crime-fighters must eat. And especially you. You're a growing boy and you need your nutrition."

Batman: "Remember the Boy Scouts' motto."
Robin: "'Be prepared'."
Batman: "It would do well to keep that in mind at all times."

Robin: "We better hurry, Batman."
Batman: "Not too fast, Robin. In good bat-climbing as in good driving one must never sacrifice safety for speed."
Robin: "Right again, Batman."

Batman: "Tarnished reputations are unfortunate, Robin. We can live with those. However, a threat to all of Gotham City is something else."

Robin: "Self-control is sure tough sometimes, Batman!"
Batman: "All virtues are, old chum. Indeed, that's why they're virtues."

Robin: "How about rushing the place, Batman?"
Batman: "Shh. I think not, Robin. All they've done so far is stolen a few items, attempted to kill you, me, and Batgirl. No, I think they plan something really big."

Dick: "Bruce, let me ride Waynebow. I'm light enough."
Bruce: "No, Dick, I couldn't allow my own ward to ride my own thoroughbred. People might think it was funny."

Twitter Girl Scout Cookie Sales!

It happened accidentally, but now it's on like Donkey Kong. I'm collecting Girl Scout cookie preorders via Twitter!  Sometimes, you need a little more than 140 characters, though. Here are the details.

Hawaii Girl Scout Troop #84

Varieties:

• Lemon Chalet Cremes - 20 ct./8 oz.
• Trefoils - 36 ct./9 oz.
• Do-Si-Dos - 20 ct./8 oz.
• Samoas - 15 ct./7.5 oz.
• Dulce De Leche - 15 ct./6 oz.
• Sugar Free Chocolate Chips - 15 ct./5.5 oz.
• Tagalongs - 15 ct./6.5 oz
• Thin Mints - 28 ct./9 oz.

Cost Per Box: $4.00

Ordering Deadline: Jan. 30, 2009

Cookie Delivery: March 6, 2009

Notes:

• Yes, the boxes are slightly smaller and the number of cookies per box is slightly lower this year compared to last. Darn financial crisis!
• No need to pay until you get your cookies!  The biggest challenge is resisting buying cookies from Girl Scouts out and about while you await your order.  (My advice?  Go ahead and indulge.)
• We live in Mililani Town, and I work in Iwilei near downtown.  We can arrange pickup as the delivery date approaches. I'll bring them to you if you order six or more boxes!
• I'm hoping to have a "Cookie Tweetup" in March, where all cookie fanatics can pick up their cookies, trade cookies with each other, and indulge on the spot.

My daughter Katie thanks you!  Specifically, she thanks:

Sophie (@macratlove), Keith (@pineapplejuice), Blaine (@zztype), Melody (@melody), Neenz (@NEENZ), Paul (@plawler), Renee (@surfchik4jesus), Nathan (@NathanKam), Joscie (@joscie), Sandy (@sandylovesyou), Maleko (@djmaleko), Rob (@graf808), Ben (@bengutierrez), Marc (@marcorbito), Tammi (@alohaTammi), Kaimana (@kaimanapine), Larry (@larryheim), S. Hines (@hinessight), Paul (@pbarrett), Fran (@franmagbual), Susan (@lavasusan), Capsun (@exbor), Aloha Aina (@aloha_aina), Mark (@MarkFromHawaii)

Boxes of Cookies Sold Via Twitter to Date: 91