Graham Glass, etc.

Russia Trip Part 1: Overview

There are two nationalities that I feel a particularly strong connection with: Russians and Japanese. I've been to Japan many times but had never been to Russia, so I felt that it was about time that I made my first trip over there.

Based on a recommendation from my Russian friend Mark Piller, I booked my trip using East/West tours. They did a good job and I definitely recommend them to anyone wanting to visit Russia. I scheduled 4 days in Moscow and 4 days in St. Petersburg, traveling between the cities via an overnight train. I stayed in the best old-fashioned hotel I could find in each city because I wanted to get a feel for the opulence of old Russia.

In order to prepare for the trip, I started learning a little Russian. Because I only had a week to study, I didn't learn enough to actually have a conversation, but it did make the trip more enjoyable because I was able to practice a few words with the people that I met. Russia uses a different alphabet from English, and I hadn't learnt any cyrillic before I arrived in Moscow, but by the end of the trip I was able to learn at least half their alphabet.

I got the impression that Russia could be a dangerous place, so I was apprehensive about carrying much cash around with me. I even called my bank to reduce my credit limit while I was away in order to reduce the damage that could be done by a stolen card. As you'll see from the rest of these postings, I think I was overly cautious and will not be so worried on my next visit.

I did quite a bit of preparation for my trip, and highly recommend that you check out the following Internet sites, even if it's just for a bit of light entertainment.

How to pack for a trip to Moscow
Mafia in Russia
Thrill of the Kill; inside the mind of a Russian hit man
Traveling to Moscow, Russia
The wildest bars in Russia
Moscow and St. Petersburg; sample holiday itinerary
The Moscow Times; GO!
David Carlson's Virtual World: Moscow
Exile Field Guide to Moscow
Exile Club Guide

In part 2 of this series, I describe the Moscow portion of my trip.

Back from Russia

I just got back from a trip to Russia. I spent 4 days in Moscow and 4 days in St. Petersburg, traveling between them via overnight train. It was definitely one of my best vacations.

I'm going to blog about the trip over the next few days. In the meantime, here are my photo albums of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Not all the photos have titles yet; the missing ones will be added shortly.

Although my body is now back in the US, my heart is still in St. Petersburg.

Playing with the Son of Satan

According to this article, the search is on for another boy to play Damien, the son of Satan. This is particularly amusing to me, since I used to play tennis with the original son of Satan.

Jonathan Scott Taylor, who starred in Damien: Omen II, was a fellow pupil at Haberdashers' Aske's School in the UK and we were both on the tennis team. So yeah, I used to knock balls around with the Devil's spawn!

I Salute Eileen Collins

It's weird.

Eileen Collins just commanded the latest Space Shuttle mission which was an outstanding success. She had the additional pressure of going right after the Columbia disaster, and performed her job perfectly.

So why isn't she receiving a hero's welcome in the USA?

I read loads of articles that complain about the lack of role models for women, and this is an unparalleled opportunity for the media to showcase a female who has reached the pinnacle of her profession. Unfortunately, there will probably be more written about Paris Hilton this week than Eileen Collins, which is a sad state of affairs.

Anyhow, for the record I think she's an amazing woman who sets a very high standard for any person to reach for.

If Time ran Backwards

If time ran backwards, then this is something magical that you might see.

Home Recording: Lady of the Night

Here's part 6 of my home recording series; part 5 is here.

This is one of the first songs I wrote; I was 16 years old at the time. I recorded it years later when I had enough cash to afford a multitrack recorder.

If I was to make video for the song, I'd associate the chorus with a mosaic of clips showing people reuniting; a mother and her child, a soldier and his girlfriend, a young couple, etc. The last verse underscores that the song is all about getting back again together with someone you love.

Click on the following link to play the song:
Download LadyOfTheNight.mp3

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Again in your Arms
copyright 1987 by Graham Glass

Lady of the night,
I hold you close to me,
And everything you say to me is right.
It makes me feel,
I'm so in love with you,
Even in the dark I see your light.

Lady, I want to say,
I miss that special smile,
Now you've traveled oh so far away.
When you return,
I know our love will learn,
That we can't be apart another day.

Hold me again in your arms,
Show me how good it can be.
Bring back those magical feelings,
How I miss you when we're apart.

Lady, sad goodbyes,
Will always be with us,
Can't escape however hard we try.
So just for you,
I sing this song of love,
To brush aside the teardrops from your eyes.

Hold me again in your arms,
Show me how good it can be.
Bring back those magical feelings,
How I miss you when we're apart.

Hear me calling to you,
Hear me calling to you,
Hear me calling to you.

People just like me,
Are all around the world,
Waiting for the loved ones that they need.
And with my heart,
I make a simple wish,
Plain enough for anyone to see.

Hold me again in your arms,
Show me how good it can be.
Bring back those magical feelings,
How I miss you when we're apart.
How I miss you when we're apart.
How I miss you when we're apart.

Role Model: Eileen Collins

Eileen Collins, the commander of the Discovery Space Shuttle, is an awesome role model for women. Just check out her incredible bio.

It's interesting to hear her talking with mission control; she's very calm, collected, and good humored. A consummate professional.

Come to think of it, she's not just a great role model for women, she's a great role model for everyone.

The World from Space

4:30am: They're taking a pause during the Space Shuttle coverage right now, so the video has switched to a live feed showing the Planet Earth from the International Space Station. It's an awesome view as craft passes quickly over the cloud-covered Earth.

Watching this scene immediately changes my perspective from everyday stuff to much grander thoughts about the future of humanity and the people who are making it happen.

I think it would be great if every child was encouraged to experience this view of the Earth for at least an hour every month for the first 10 years of their life. Not only would it be very exciting, but I bet it would totally open their minds to the big picture. We need to start priming our population for the prospect and excitement of becoming a space-faring species.

In the time it took me to write this small blog entry, the ISS has moved from daylight into nighttime, and now all you can see is a glimmer of light over the Earth's horizon. It is truly majestic.

Space Shuttle Anacronisms

It's 4am EST and an hour before my bedtime, so I'm listening to the Space Shuttle live coverage. A few minutes ago, mission controllers contacted the Discovery crew and started reading them new values for various re-entry parameters. The Discovery crew then acknowledged the settings, reading them back to mission control to ensure that everything matched.

Then mission control said "Oops, sorry Discovery, we left out one of the settings" and updated Discovery with the missing value. Am I missing something here? Are mission settings actually sent to the space shuttle by voice? Surely not!

Any insights on this would be much appreciated.

New Venture, Part 3

This is part 3 of the series; part 2 is here.

I've noticed that my lifestyle has quickly shifted into startup mode. The same thing happened with my last three companies, so it's no surprise.

I usually wake up around 1pm (yes, you read that right) and go straight to lunch with my notepad and source code listings in hand. I use mealtimes to work on design issues and code clean-up since I am relatively free of distractions. By the end of the meal I normally have plenty of action items including improvements to the current codebase. When I get back home I knock out the code enhancements and start working on the core design issues for the day.

At around 6pm I go for a workout which is usually a one-mile run and about 45 minutes of machines. After that I do a bit more work and then eat dinner at around 8pm. Somtimes I take a 30-minute nap. Then I work until about 5am.

I'm a night owl, and find that it's much easier to work when it's dark outside and there are no interruptions. I sometimes play music in the background, and drink plenty of coffee until around 3am. I keep things interesting by interleaving the computer work with fun things like learning the Russian language, listening to music, IM'ing with friends, surfing the web, and writing blog entries.

During the last 2 hours of the evening I normally drink a glass of wine to wind down, create a to-do list for the next day, and read a few chapters of a book before finally falling asleep at around 5am. Eight hours of sleep and then it's time to repeat the cycle all over again!

It's hard work, but extremely satisfying and rewarding.

Part 4 of the series is here.