Surf Roots, Software Thoughts

On Our Online Lives

2010-09-01T00:36:15Z

For as long as I can remember I've resisted the urge to put my life on the internet. I signed up with Facebook just about six years ago, when I was a freshman in college. Back then I delayed signing up while nearly every other college student was signing up. Then when the Twitter craze hit I resisted even more adamantly, deciding that I already spent too much time hunched over a computer or phone.

I subscribe to TechCrunch, a very busy tech blog whose posts I read about 5% of the time, and a recent post inspired me to reconsider my aversion to the online life that so many of my friends have embraced. The post talks about quitting social media, and in the process of reading I realized how much value there is in social media. Today I'm announcing that I will start blogging again, will start using Twitter, and have connected all of these social services together (along with Yelp, TripIt, and others). I know, you can't believe that this blog--idle for just about two years now--will come back. To be honest I've missed writing and am genuinely excited to return to it. Hopefully you feel the same way. And maybe you're wondering what's behind this sudden urge to catch up with the times ...

It all started at the Hadoop Summit this June, where 1000 Hadoop community members got together to chat and listen to relevant talks. Cloudera's product manager, Charles Zedlewski, was giving a keynote announcing the cool new products Cloudera had been working on. All of my coworkers were constantly checking their Twitter searches to see what people were saying on #hadoopsummit, whilst freaking out about the live demo's progress. I was completely intrigued with the real-time aspect of tweeting in this context. I was amazed to see, immediately, how the community reacted to our product announcement.

From that point on I decided that I like to share two types of information: information interesting to one person; and information interesting to an unknown group of people. In the case of the former I'll send a SMS, email, or Facebook wall post to the person or group that would be interested in said information. However, previously I had no good way to communicate the latter case. Twitter and Facebook let us share information with others in such a way that lets the audience decide what to read, watch, or listen to. And I think that's pretty neat.

So wish me luck with my new internet life. May it be valuable to you, the audience, and a learning experience for me.

In other news I've moved my site to alexlod.com (proper redirects are in place), and added a brand new theme. Oh and I'll never do 4square. At least not yet .

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Malmo, Sweden and Rome, Italy

2009-11-20T05:26:48Z

I was in Malmo, Sweden for Oredev, an awesome tech conference, October 31 through November 7. I then vacationed in Rome for a few days, from November 7 through November 10. I'm lazy so I have notes to share, but not a polished, fancy blog post. Having blogged extensively about my time in Europe and China, I thought I should at least make a small post . Hello, goodbye, and I hope you enjoy!

Malmo:
* Emil, Tobias, Tara, Eric, Peter going to Tapas in Malmo, being confronted by Rupert, the creepy dude with the arabic ID.
** Made sexist jokes to Tara
** Made strange references to killing
** Told of a story where he rescued a family in Beirut
** Wouldn't tell us his name or his business
** Wanted our business cards
** Bought us raspberry vodka shots
* Gave a full day workshop, two talks, and ran a panel
* Taxes, including sales tax, are about 75%
** Minimum wage is super high
** Quality of life seems very high
** Healthcare is very attentive, at least form the stories I heard
** Everyone is able to take 18 months maternity and paternity leave. Staggered between husband and wife.
** Most people takes 6 weeks off in the summer time
* Jumped in the Baltic sea, naked, after a sauna
** Ocean was 45 degrees F
** Sauna was 188 degrees F
* Had Swedish cuisine!
** Starter: pickled Herring with mayonnaise, bread, lettuce, tomato, dill, lemon
** Dinner: delicate potatoes with cod, carrots, peas, and mustard sauce
** Desert: vanilla pudding with apple sponge cake
* Enjoyed the beautiful park with Dan
* Wonderful dinner in city hall
** Pig blood soup
** Duck with potatoes, cabbage, prunes, apple sauce, apples. Delicious
** Port for desert, great company
** Michael asked me to moderate the Cloud Computing panel, and give a Cloud Computer talk
* Had another awesome Swedish meal: BBQ deer with potatoes
* Observation: everyone is beautiful here. Guys and girls.
* Dan and I did a day trip in Copenhagen
** We ate and drank on the famous street, Nyhavn. Cool place.
** Girls were unbelievable there
** I was rather sick, so we mostly just hung out and walked around
* Had a good organic dinner with Emil, several CS people, and Dan
** Good food, good wine
* Met Julia and her friend, Matilda, with Dan at TGI Fridays
** TGI Fridays is pretty posh in Europe. They had a DJ, etc.

Rome:
* Ate lunch in Ariaccea (a famous food village)
** Had starters, which were mostly meats, cheeses, vegetables, and other things
** Totally delicious
* Got a coffee, which in Italy is the tiniest amount of liquid, along with an Amaro, which is a digestive that's good
* Got a beer Saturday night in Trastravere, which is a really cool hip scene
* Ate pizza and delicious fried starters at Pizzeria la Montecarlo in the city center
** Starters: Fritto misto (from Southern Italy)
** Dinner was at 9:30pm or so
* Went to a club Saturday night called Cearcolo degli Artisti -- outdoors and indoors; cool place
* Sunday had breakfast at Mateo's house; cake and coffee
* Sunday lunch was Silvio's mom's pasta with meat and salad
** Unbelievable
* Sunday went to Pigneto (street: Via del Pigneto) to get a beer. Really cool area
* Sunday dinner was Silvio's mom, cooking onions + potatoes along with a fried steak (like wienerschnitzel). Soooo good
* Had desert wine called Passito in the Monti area, which is by the colosseum. Really cool area, and the wine was good
* Monday we relaxed, spent time in Trastravere, and played soccer with Silvio's friends
** Europeans are totally fine showering naked with each other
** Ate dinner at around 10:00pm at Economica (pizzeria)
*** Had potato and sausage pizza, with bruschetta to start, and two half liters of Nastro Azzurro. Super good
** We then went to San Lorenzo, which is a very Mission-like hood
** Had a beer in Piazzetta, which is a little square in San Lorenzo
* Bought three Italian coffee makers (called a Moka), and Silvio's mom gave me some coffee

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Remember Me?

2009-06-03T02:44:03Z

It's been nearly six months since my last update. What can I say? I suppose I just haven't prioritized sharing my life and thoughts on the internet (which is perhaps the biggest reason why I'm not on Twitter). I admit that I miss writing, but I've managed to fill my days with some cool stuff I think. I've been cycling like a maniac, working -- still at Cloudera -- a lot, reading (currently The Dark Tower series), exploring San Francisco (which means eating and drinking with friends), and road tripping on the weekends to various places to see various people who are important in my life. Life is good.

Anyway, enough emo shit. I'm here to tell you about my new blog, which is solely about the beer I drink and the sandwiches I eat. The blog is very bluntly named Beer and Sandwich, and it's composed of short descriptions and photos. I decided I needed to start this blog for three reasons: first, my coworkers made me realize how much I love food, sandwiches in particular; second, my friends made me realize that I know a fair amount about beer and really enjoy a good beer; and third, I tend to forget beers and sandwiches that I enjoy, which hopefully won't be the case any longer now that I'm documenting my experiences. I hope my writings and experiences are helpful, and possibly entertaining. Enjoy, and I'm always open to recommendations .

(PS: Tumblr is pretty awesome. The iPhone app made it the perfect blog platform for me; I usually write each post immediately after I've had a beer or eaten a sandwich.)

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Burned Out On Web Programming?

2008-12-11T00:52:29Z

Learn Django and you'll be revitalized. Django is like drinking from the fountain of youth when it comes to web programming. It makes your life better by being insanely intuitive and generally unbelievable. Expect a more in-depth post hopefully soon.

I can say with a strait face that Django has made my quality of life higher.

Django: web programming nirvana.

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New Macbook Pro: Computer Nirvana

2008-11-26T18:48:53Z

I just got a new Macbook Pro. Wow.

The packaging is unbelievable. Seriously. I wanted to cry when I was opening the box. The computer is just sitting there waiting for you, even staring at you with its puppy dog face. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

And I thought the packaging was good ... The computer is awesome. Insanely beautiful. Sleek. Mysterious. Exotic. Take every good adjective, add them up, and that sum can only partially describe my first impression of the new Macbook Pro. Apple, the world would not be as beautiful, in reach, or fun without you.

I want to run around the streets of Berlingame (where the Cloudera office is), skipping with glee and joy and excitement, while bumping "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! on my shoulder mounted boom box.

Apple: Computer Nirvana

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San Francisco Prop 8 Protest: The Fight for Love

2008-11-16T17:11:20Z

I would estimate between 5,000 and 10,000 people were grouped around the steps of City Hall, listening to stories, hoping for change, and believing that Gays will have equal rights soon. I was utterly touched by my experience today. I laughed at a few signs like the following:

I was sapping towards signs like the following:

And I was moved by the turnout, speakers, and general essence of such a wonderful movement. With the passing of Prop 8, a proposition that creates an amendment to the California constitution outlawing same-sex marriage, Gays are no longer recognizes as equals by our governing doctrine. This is despicable. Every man and woman enters this world as an equal, some loving the opposite sex, and some loving the same sex. Certain religious organizations made large contributions to the Yes on 8 campaign, the most notable being the Mormon Church, who donated over $20,000,000 (that's 7 zeros).

Reverend Amos Brown, one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s six students, gave the best, most motivational, moving speech I have ever witnessed. His booming, powerful voice echoed off the concrete and steal buildings which house our governing body, preaching love and equality and peace and happiness. His words touched our hearts, and his presence gave us that tingly feeling in our spine that makes us understand that this is something, that there is something here, something worth fighting for. Here is the speech, though the video isn't all that good:

After the speeches had finished, the whole crowd proceeded to march to Market Street, the most famous street in San Francisco, towards the Castro, which is perhaps the largest Gay neighborhood in the world. Thousands marched as millions watched. They marched for their rights to love whom they have wanted to love since they were born. They marched for their friends and family, loved ones and childrens, in hopes of one day having equal rights.

America has fought for equality before, and now it fights again. It fights now, not for gender or race, but for love. It fights for love, and what a wonderful thing to fight for. Love.

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Prop 8 Protest

2008-11-14T22:54:05Z

There's a nation-wide Prop 8 protest this Saturday. Find the protest nearest you by reading this. I'll probably post photos from the SF protest, which is at 10:30am in front of city hall.

Peace and love.

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Keith Olbermann on Prop 8

2008-11-11T19:32:45Z

I love Keith Olbermann. As a friend has said, "He is fearlessly confident to speak his opinion." Not to mention he and I have similar political views. Please watch this six-minute video of Keith Olbermann on Prop 8. He talks not of politics and religion but of love.

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Lessons in Hosting

2008-11-12T02:49:30Z

Today is a sad day. Today marks the end of an era for me, an era of rack-mount computers, data centers, nerdom, and fantisticism. Nearly 18 months ago, some friends and I installed a 1U rack-mount in a Seattle data center. I had purchased the machine thinking my social network startup, Cellarspot, would create enough traffic to require a monster machine.

After 18 month of spending $97 each month, not to mention an up-front cost of $2,800, my machine has been unracked and is now waiting to be picked up and sold off, never to be in my life ever again. The pinnacle of my nerdom was installing that baby, and today I feel slightly empty. However, I'm quite excited to be chipping away at my credit card bill. And to be totally honest, purchasing a server, power, and a fire hose was insane overkill and an entirely uneconomic hosting decision.

I tried to sell services such as game server hosting, web hosting, etc, but I didn't get any bites. I will step foot in more data centers as time goes on, and I will have another rack mount at some point. Goodbye, Dell PowerEdge 1950. I will see you, or at least your sisters, brothers, and cousins, again.

With love,

Alex

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This is Something

2008-11-04T17:07:46Z

I just got finished with my semi-weekly Facebook friend-list pass. I am utterly inspired by how many of my friends are talking about voting today. I have at least 50 status updates from friends encouraging others to go and vote. Some mention who they are voting for, and others don't.

The point I'm trying to make is that this is something. My friends, who are generally apathetic about politics, are getting involved in this election; they have an emotional connection and a deep, strong hope that this nation's politics will change. Generation Y wants change; we're hoping for change.

And we need change. Too long have we been plagued with neoconservative bullshit. Too long have we spent money and time on issues that are both irrelevant to common good and are not our own. Too long have we, American citizens and residents, been represented by an administration that does not represent anything that we believe in, that we agree with, that we need. Enough.

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