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People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election. Otto Von Bismarck With friends Great evening today. First, I was writing and doing some research at home, then I took the T to the Harvard Square and to the John Harvard's Brew Pub. I have read many good things about the pub and it turned out to be more than a decent place: food was quite OK and beers about the same quality as in other local brewery pubs. But most important was to enjoy the company of Wilfried , who had just completed his quals (an exam every aero-astro PhD-candidate has to pass), and other aero-astro friends of mine: Bill, Paul , and Alex . Such a nice company one seldom has - very intelligent but also bitingly sarcastic and fun. Nice time. Bill drove us all home, and having 5 students of Crawley's (a criteria being more than 6 feet tall) in a small Acura certainly made us close friends... Top-10 things Bush is not going to tell Or is he? Check Juan Cole's list and compare...

How bold one gets when one is sure of being loved! Sigmund Freud Moving over S has left for Helsinki, I am at Dave's. It took surprisingly long to empty my small cave, maybe because we had to really think about what to S would take to Finland today, what I will take later, and what to throw away. It was simply amazing how well I had made the cave my home. I think I will miss it more than the 4-bedroom, 2-story home we had in China. Things I admire in USA, part 2 Continuing from yesterday: 7. Contemporary architecture as a form of art 8. Great bridges and other civil architecture projects 9. NYC subway system 10. Philanthropy by the mega-rich and volunteerism by not so rich 11. Music: jazz, blues, rock, etc. 12. Some museums: Moma, Metropolitan, Smithsonian, etc. More tomorrow, or some other day. A dream I had a dream. Far in the future, a kind of time-machine cum space-ship was built. I was an explorer on the ship and was sent to a far away world. To my gr...

Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. Werner von Braun Halonen won The incumbent, Tarja Halonen, won the presidental election in Finland. Fine with me. What is surprising is that 80 minutes after voting ended, 99.7% of the votes had been counted. All counting is manual in Finland. Maybe USA should get some help from Finland in arranging elections and counting votes. Things I admire in USA, part 1 Again, a list of things, this time suggested by Dave : 1. The constitution and system of government with checks-and-balance, rule of law etc. 2. Freedom of speech and press. 3. Multiculturalism. 4. Lack of envy as a guiding principle (as opposed to Finland). 5. The quality of the top universities (yeah, MIT, but also Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, etc) 6. Friendliness of people and small talk. More tomorrow, or later today. On working hours Many companies in USA advertise themselves to prospective candidates by posting "employee...

A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems. Paul Erdös Packing Here I am, emptying what I struggled hard to fill, packing what's worth carrying with in to the future. Not owning much makes it easy, nothing much to do, not many memories attached to things, only to people. Away, away, I throw papers, old clothes, course notes, and all unopened bills and envelopes. It is nice to move, nice not to know what is a going to happen, to have more plans than a life can realize. Oh, life is just getting better and more enjoyable. Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs January to February 2006".

Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why. Kurt Vonnegut On San Francisco and public transport Matti L asked me whether I really consider SF as a public transport paradise. He pointed out that the service level of transit in NYC is much higher, which would suggest NYC as a paradise rather than SF. I cannot refute this valid objection. So, I have to clarify why I called SF a transit paradise. First, I was impressed by the accessibility provided by transit in the SF proper. It seems that one can take a bus from any place to any other place with reasonable ease. Second, I was impressed by the variety of transit vehicles. The historic trams as almost too cute to be true, the cable cars are live museum exhibits, and the BART is the cleanest subway I have seen - it even has wall-to-wall carpets and very comfortable cushioned seats. And it is really fast. I was also impressed by the use of trolley-buses and their reliability. On heroism In Return to the Moon Har...

Only Americans can hurt America. Dwight D. Eisenhower Hamas won Hamas won the elections in Palestine and has now the responsibility and privilege to try to from a government. The situation is strange: some of the goals of Hamas (to destroy Israel) are absolutely outrageous and keeping them while in the power is a recipe for escalating the war, which is in nobody's interests (at least not in the interests of civilians in either Palestine or Israel). This goal, together with some long term enmity among I, P, and US, caused both I and US to promise not to recognize any government in which Hamas is a member. But doing so would show disregard for democracy, which US certainly cannot afford to show. Let's see. On teaching & learning Looking back at the courses I took in MIT I have to say that I am really pleased to realize the value of different teaching styles. Every professor has his/her own teaching style, own way of constructing the assignments (some call them homework,...

It is well to read everything of something, and something of everything. Joseph Brodsky A design challenge Here is another toilet related design problem: how to make a device, which prevents stealing rolls of toilet paper but permits the use of paper for wiping. Add another requirement: the device should contain two rolls of paper, thus lengthening the replenishment cycle. And still other: the replenishment should be easy, but still require some simple key or tool, so that unarmed thieves cannot steal the rolls. Pretty simple, a problem which should have been solve long ago. It turns out that this problem is still very much open and preliminary design solutions are numerous. Some have two rolls adjacent to each other, with a sliding cover exposing one of them. In others, the rolls are on top of each other, which sometimes prevents them from rolling. In some, there is just one large roll. Sometimes, there are two large rolls, either side-by-side or on top of each other. The solution...

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes. Henry David Thoreau A job for Java-gurus If you know Java and want to work at the leading edge of the telecom industry, check out this open position . I applied for it, got an oral offer, but was later, after 40 days, told that I do not know enough Java or the existing Preminet-solution and that learning them would take at least a year. Imagine how hard these things are: it takes as long to learn Java and Preminet as it takes to complete two master's degrees in MIT. Certainly it takes an extraordinary genius to do the former. What a challenge it would have been! Since the job is now open in the internet, I conclude that nobody in the corporation has the other required skills and experience and is a Java-guru and knows Preminet well enough. Finding such a person will be hard, since not many people outside the corporation have experience on Preminet, and that is why I want to advertise the position. Go for it, you gurus! It wi...

There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you 'play' with them! Richard P. Feynman A goal I was reading a chapter of the Engineering Systems Monograph on sustainability for my PhD-preparations and came across this paragraph: As we face an increasingly global economy, fundamental organizational and political changes, and the advent of ever more advanced technologies, the development of methodologies that allow us to understand and manage complex engineering systems becomes increasingly critical. One of our core objectives will be to perform research at the interface of technology and institutions, with the ultimate objective of developing a new cadre of professionals capable of addressing the most pressing socio-technical challenges society has to face. It summarizes very nicely the reasons, why I want to pursue a PhD here in...

The only interesting answers are those that destroy the questions. Susan Sontag End of an era Long time ago, when I was young and vulnerable, I was a fan of the police series "Hill Street Blues". In one episode, one of the cops is trying to get a degree from some college or similar. He fails to turn in a paper and tries to talk his way out and get a grade. The teacher says "It is not enough to be promising, one has to prove oneself by delivering" (or something to that effect). The reply got imprinted in my mind, and looking back, I think I have been trying to prove myself ever since, to avoid others from calling my bluff. It has been tiring at times, fun at others. But now, I assume I can now relax, as I have proved myself and can take it a bit easier from now on. Thus, my forthcoming (if accepted) PhD-studies are not about proving myself, they are about saving the world. I claim that is a nobler cause. Taking a train is not easy I walked to the South Station...

We must make demands of reason and create a life worthy of ourselves and of the goals we only dimly perceive Andrei Sakharov MIT nuclear reactor We visited the MIT nuclear reactor in the morning. Since we got in, I know that nothing suspicious turns out, when they search for me in the internet, FBI's databases, etc. So, in we went, first for a short lecture by Mr. Lau, the boss of the place. Then, for a short visit the the reactor building itself, where we were shown several experiments they are conducting using the reactor. The reactor has been designed to leak neutrons, and those neutrons are then used for all kinds of experiments. The most interesting research has to do with treatment of cancer. For example, already now they can make tiny grains of gold radioactive and insert the grains next to a melanoma-tumor, which then destroys the tumor. Also, they run very experimental research on some fatal brain tumors: put some boron in the tumor cell (by adding boron to some amimo ...

The wise man thinks about his troubles only when there is some purpose in doing so; at other times he thinks about other things Bertrand Russell Avett Brothers again We went to see the Avett Brothers in the Paradise-club next to Boston University. The brothers were opening for some other band. The other band frankly sucked, but the Brothers were just as ingenious and fun as they always are. Actually, being able to see time live is quite enough a reason to move to USA again later. (Dave, Matt, and Ilana were present as well). Funny thing happened I cannot tell the difference between am and pm. Today, I was convinced that a lecture about Toki Pona would start at 7.30 am. So, we woke up at 6.30, rushed to MIT just in time just to realize that we were 12 hours early. It was so stupid that I could not do anything but laugh at my lack of timing. Good thing: we had a nice (and very early) breakfast in MIT. On Toki Pona: Toki Pona is a "maximally minimal" language. It was c...

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. Nelson Mandela Back in Boston We are back in Boston. It is raining, torrentially. Nice way to feel home again. The flight from SF was not nice, as I assume is the case with all red-eye flights. Flight is too short for really trying to sleep and the seats are just too small for me. So, a long nap was appropriate back in home. Then, to MIT in rain, soaked. Later, I gave me thesis the professor Crawley. I hope he finds it good enough and signs the paper. Then I would be done with MIT for a short while. Plans My plans for the future are becoming clear. Two things: it seems that no company is willing to hire a real system architect, one that would design systems according to the state-of-the-art way of working. All companies are hiring just technical subsystem architects, mainly for hacking with Java etc. I am not interested, since the real problems with systems development are not purely technical, o...

Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion. Jack Kerouac Are Americans lonely? Americans must be rather lonely people. How could they be otherwise? Look how they spend their time alone in metal boxes, they even eat, drink, shave and put make-up in those boxes. It must make them very lonely unless they are antisocial hermits. Corporations have taken advantage of the lonely, hermit-prone character of Americans: in offices, the inhabitants of moving metal boxes are put in cubicles of about the same size as the metal boxes. Anyone, who commutes by foot, by bicycle, or even by train, suffers dearly in a cubicle. Thus, the office use of cubicles can only have been invented in USA and then exported to unsuspected countries. Free souls cannot be confined to cubicles, for even convicts have more living space! All quiet in the Western coast SF is a quiet place. Not many people are walking the streets at any time. Even the Chinatown was next ...

The only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of the world. That's what poetry does. Allen Ginsberg Transit adventure in the Bay area It so happened that I forgot my driving license in Boston. Thus, as we wanted to see how life would be in Palo Alto (Stanford), Mountain View, or San Jose, it became a day of transit adventure in California. It is surprisingly easy to travel without a car here. First, we took the historical F-tran from the Fisherman's Wharf to the Ferry Terminal, then the modern N-tram to the Caltrain-terminal, then Caltrain to Palo Alto, then the free Stanford-shuttle bus to Stanford's Main Quad, back to Palo Alto train station, continuing by the Caltrain to San Jose (what a lame place), then Amtrak to Berkeley. But by then it was already dark, we did not get to the campus at all. Instead, we concluded the adventure by taking the BART back to SF. Quite a trip. All tickets together were $60. Not too bad for two persons, about th...

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei Weather Weather is very strange here. Last year, it was much colder, up to -17C. Now, for the whole January, it has been above zero C. Today, it was +4C when I walked to MIT at 8am. The forecast promises +12C later today. Actually, flying to San Francisco tomorrow does not guarantee warmer weather, which I find surprising. Rudeness Since I again have to search for my next job, I have done some networking, sent applications through web-interfaces, sent applications directly to recruiting managers, and contacted professional recruiters by email (as they encourage applicants to do). All but one (out to maybe 20) letter seem to have been deleted on arrival. No replies. The only reply was from a manager at Xerox PARC, who told that they do not have MS-level openings. Fair enough. What is this rudeness? Are the employers so powerful, that they have lost all se...

To live effectively is to live with adequate information. Norbert Wiener CLIOS I attended a lecture about transportation by professor Sussman in the afternoon. He told about the work the Civil Engineering-department is doing. Of particular interest for me was the CLIOS-concept: Complex, Large-Scale, Interconnected, Open, Socio-Technological systems. For example, the transportation system, or the energy system. Just the kind of systems I really want to work on. Actually, telephone networks are also such systems. It is a pity, that most engineers/managers do not realize it and work only on very limited technical parts of the system. What's more, the usual way of organizing the work, or dividing the responsibilities, encourages such thinking. No wonder the development projects are usually so painful and prone to fail. Sussman also divided complexity in four classes: structural, behavioral, evaluative, and nested. My thesis was about the first one, about structural. I need to thin...

Java is the SUV of programming tools. Philip Greenspun Urine samples Look at these: Substance Abuse Screening Test Consent Form and Background Consent Form from EMC. I think I will not apply. Not that I am taking any "illegal or controlled" substances, except codeine for my persistent cough, o that there is something suspicious in my past, but I take these form (and their prominent place on EMC's website) as sign of not trusting their employees. And by the way: if I visit country X and use a legal drug (there, but not in USA), why should it make me unsuitable as a EMC-employee in USA? And since we know, that the illegal drugs are not the most dangerous (or disabling) ones, I do not see any reason for this kinds of drug testing. Really suspicious company. I just wonder how often they test their employee: if the testing is really meant to imporve safety (sic!), they should test everyone, upto the CEO, every morning. By the way, they are firing 1000 employees this year,...

If you want to win anything - a race, your self, your life - you have to go a little berserk. Chinese proverb PhD-application It is not enough to have a plan. Rather, one has to have several plans. If one fails, or even two, it is no problem, no need to stop, worry, and weep. Just pick the next plan and push forward full speed. Thus, I wrote my PhD-application for the ESD (Engineering Systems Division) in MIT. I do not propose anything small: I propose doing research which would solve the problems the world has with energy (systems). That's worth my time and effort and also somewhat large enough a topic for a MIT PhD-thesis. Daily crono Nothing much else happened. I felt healthy enough for a walk, thus I went to check how to local homeless people survive the winter. They have fancy make-shift tents and sleeping bags. Apparently they are still alive. Back at home, then Chinese food, a creative nap and then writing and checking which events/lectures to participate during the IA...

The opposite on love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference. Elie Wiesel Idle day Nothing much happened. Or then again, somewhat much. Check the blog of S for a short explanation of the things we did. You may even find out whom I casted my vote to in the presidential elections. By the way, I think Finland would be better off with a purely ceremonial president institution. Business ideas How about start a restaurant in which one could order some canine companion for the duration of dinner? There are many lonely and allergic people, who would like to have such a company. After all, petting a dog is a good way of relieving stress and lowering blood pressure. And, I think the idea is much more civilized/decent than lap-dancing or top-less servants. Or, for really allergic people: the reverse dog-walking business. Not so that one would pay for someone to walk to dog, but that people could rent dogs by the hours for walking, playing and petting. I bet that a dog would be ...

If we live good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times. Saint Augustine Being sick In 2005, I was not sick for once, at least if mild migraines do not count. Thus, I assume that it is just right for me to start this new year, 2006, by coughing my lungs out of my chest. Right, but not too much fun. So, nothing much has happened since we returned from Washington, DC, on Monday. S has got much better and has spent her time outside our cave, I have been resting, writing job applications, and reading. Another rip-off I was extended an offer by a large multinational company, orally, not in writing. Being naive, I took the offer seriously and was quite sure that I would have a nice job in February. Being naive is not wise! They withdrew the offer, for I do not know their systems well enough - kind of funny since the whole organization has 40 people. So, not much change for me to know their systems. I am sure I would have learned their systems in less than 2 month...