fat, dumb, and happy

so we moved into our new place on monday. it's pretty awesome. have i mentioned we are one block from the pacific, where we can go running? only 1.5 miles to our buddy's surf spot. if you have your own board you can go right outside our place. pics to come soon. but let me just say, for now, that chuqster is loving it.

now that is one happy cat.

seems i'm a heterodox

robbie has been buggging me to post, so here goes:

<-- fetching photo, no?

my sister sent me an interesting article from the wsj about the fuss going on about galileo over at the vatican . . . currently. seems someone is trying to erect a statue to galileo, "the Che Guevara of secular science," and the old wounds are open again.

One of the most interesting bits:
"Today, the church insists it has no problem at all with modern science, and even science fiction. In May, for example, the Vatican's chief astronomer declared that Christian theology can accommodate the possible existence of extraterrestrials. The Bible, he said, 'is not a science book.' "

NO way!! i think that's the first time someone over in vatican city has admitted such a thing.

Does this put kooky catholic creationists out of business? Certainly it should help the fence-sitters come over to the side of the flying spaghetti monster. check out the site for pics of FSM at the olympics and at ikea!

more importantly this sent me off to find out more about Galileo and the banned book list. Find me one book on that list that hasn't been on some "classics" or must-read list at some point and i'll buy you a drink. machiavelli, sartre, descartes . . . it's pretty hilarious. officially stopped being enforced in 1966 but has never been renounced or denounced or some word like that. my grandfather used to smuggle them into ireland, because obviously the quickest way to make a book popular is to ban it.

and it turns out i'm a heterdox. who knew! it means i'm approaching heretic, but they don't have to kick me out. awesome! i knew i wasn't officially an atheist, though laura tries to convince me otherwise.

also, if you're bored or on call, check this vid out. some people have too much free time. and yes, kristen, i know i have a wiki problem. 1st step is admitting it.

a tribute to dave ngo

david ngo is a cool cat.

one of my favorite people to keep track of. why? three main reasons.

1. smart. (i mean he went to MIT . . .) no but really. i mean, sure, he's got a bunch of degrees and stuff. but more importantly he can coherently answer the question "what is design?" which I'm sure many of you struggle with every day. once you see his vid you'll be able to sleep better at night. also i found his design website by googling him (sorry dave, i'm a stalker).

bad design makes me CRAZY (a remnant of course 2 training that i will never lose). so we need more designers out there - enginerd love! what's your next big plan, dave?

2. funny. quite funny, actually. couple examples. there's the AED videos, 6 so far, he makes with a couple of friends. also, I understand he's part owner of Mr. Yogato, a fro-yo place in DC with some awesome rules!! my favorite: "Anyone wearing a kickball uniform and has played hard (evidenced by dirt on their knees) will receive an automatic 10% off yogurt"

3. sweet dance moves. sadly, have no way to show you this and haven't witnessed it in person in about a decade or so. oh wait, unless you count AED 4, though I don't think it's dave's best work, dance-wise. also he used to sing for toons.

alright's that's enough of me embarrasing dave, i guess. heart you! over and out.

socks aka medias

I've been dreaming of socks. Yup, only glamour for me. In between writing my IRB (first draft, done!) and training chuqui not to eat off my plate, I'm freezing my tucus off. We live (temporarily) in one of the coldest parts of Lima. It's a little valley and all the clouds settle right in and don't leave. When you walk you are walking horizontally into a cloud so your face gets all wet but the top of your head doesn't. That's god having a laugh at wearers of hats, that is. Plus it's been raining. Thanks to my wetsuit, I did get to surf on saturday on the beach out by Miraflores and that was pretty awesome . . . but mostly it's cold here.

So back to the point. Socks. The only kinds I've seen here so far are either tube socks or thin, flimsy things to wear to work. I'm dreaming of the thick wooly kind. Céline tells me I have to go to Puno (right by Lake Titicaca) to get that kind of stuff. Luckily Catherine is going there for a while for her research and I may get to go help her.

Here is my all-time favorite sock pattern: Space Invaders!! yup, that's right.

Now if I could only find someplace to get yarn around here . . .

Lima traffic part 1: Combis and taxis

Alright so I promised this to my dad a while back. It's a video of the cobrador on a combi recruiting passengers. Combis are the privately owned little vans and buses that run all over Lima. You may know a version of them as chivas (Panama) or dala dalas (Tanzania). Cobradores are the guys who are combo door-opener/conductor/PR/enforcer/helper-on of little old ladies. Here in Lima there are technically buses, minibuses (as seen in video), and combis - which really refers only to the smallest vans. En route you get to listen to some rockin cumbia tunes, and if it's full, hang on to the bars on the ceiling while the combi accelerates and decelerates rather violently.



There are about 10 billion routes, some direct, some really, really indirect, and there are zero maps. (n.b.: if anyone created a website / map of the routes, you'd have a winning product). The buses are color coded, numbered and have some destinations painted on the side, but it's still a struggle. Here are the ways to find out which combi goes your way:

1. Ask someone. If they know, they'll say something like "take the dark green and sky blue bus from the corner opposite the banco comercio, or maybe the purple and white". Color translation can make this hard (how do you say teal in spanish?).
2. Figure out where you are going, but in the code language of the combis. For example, our home is currently Ovalo Higrueta (see earlier post) for which we can take combis that go to Via Maria, Benavides, or Aviacion (this took us about 10 days to sort out).
3. Trust that the guy who is yelling, sorry, recruiting (as he hangs out the speeding doorway) means it when you ask "are you going to ____?" and he nods. This is risky, we have learned.

You're doing all this while standing on an island at a busy intersection (btw, cars do NOT stop for pedestrians, beware Bostonians), that looks something like this.

Once you're on the combi you have to figure out which of the fares you qualify for, zonal, urbano, interurbano or whatnot. Or you trust that the conductor will not overcharge you (possible). We still haven't figure out much more than it costs 1 sole (35 cents) to go not-far and 1.50 to go far and more to go farther-than-we've-been. The distinction is not yet clear. Oh, and then you have to know when you are nearing your destination so you can proclaim "baja, baja" and they will slow down (a french "stop glissee") as you jump out.

Your other option, of course, is a taxi. They are plentiful (1/8 Lima cars). Of course then you have to negotiate your fare ahead of time. Lots of "no, es muy cercito! no tiene tráfico!", dark hair, and a near-native accent are pluses here. Some of them are these tiny little clown cars originally designed for managers to drive around their factories with, never designed for city streets. Oh and there are signs to buckle your seat belt but by my estimate about 5% of cabs have the combination of shoulder belt plus buckle necessary for such a plan. Plus they are notorious for taking people bad places and mugging them at night (don't ride alone at night). On the plus side they are faster than combis, way cheap (45 minute ride to Cayetano = $5), readily available, and generally safe when taken in numbers.

Oh, and lest you think I exaggerate, check out the wiki version of Lima travel horrors :)

Pick your poison!

Chuqui update

1. Chuqui is acting a crazy fool and running around (we're pretty sure she thinks she is a dog). She just now projected herself into the top shelf of my closet from the floor and slammed into the back wall. Loca!

2. Turns out "choo-key" sounds to Peruvians (who don't speak quechua) like the name of this guy in Spanish: Chuky. Fab. now all the locals think my cat is possessed. And her behavior is not convincing anyone otherwise.

Sigh . . .

Me gustaría presentarte a Chuqui

Ana is charismatic. At orientation her no-meat policy (which had already conquered her husband) took hold of Emily and, while no one can talk me out of meat, Ana's stories of adopting "third world cats" got me. Plus I've been thinking of getting one for a while (30+ hour call and dog's bladders don't mix) so it wasn't a hard sell. The second day after I got here I was talking to my hallmate, Celine, about it and the very same night she told me that one of her froggie facebook contacts had found abandoned cats in Barranco.

Berengere (the froggie facebook friend) had felt a serious moral obligation to find them a home before she left for Argentina three days later and I got interviewed (read = grilled) at a bar the following night: my intentions towards the cat, my ability to care for her then-injured leg, my plan vis a vis her health care etc. I was told that an Argentinian was also after the cat but that she trusted me more (woohoo! and yes, I played the med student card, I have no shame).

So, now I have a cat. 4 months old and a whopping 2.1 kg. This, in addition to a cellphone and apartment was all within 4 days of getting to Lima. Not half bad, I'd say.

After searching for Quechua, Inca or Spanish names - since this is a Peruvian cat - I ruled out Tupac (most people would think of the norteamericano), and Anya (black in Quechua, but too Russian) and settled on Chuqui (choo-key), which means beloved in Quechua. More importantly, she answers to it :)

After a few days of separation anxiety and trying to sleep on my face, she's chilled out and is now in charge of warming our laps while we work on our IRBs / papers. That's Celine, Marie, Catherine and myself. Lots of laps to warm. Plus all the other random students in and out of our temporary flat. (And for those who worry, I got all her shots in order). She is also learning how to play with a ball. The only complaint I have is that she's a farty pants. But since she seems to unleash that mostly on Catherine, it's actually pretty funny . . .

I'll post more pics once I get my windows xp on the mac sorted (tonight I hope).

as andrew says, "REALLY?!?!?"

I'll get back to all that important tuberculosis and lima-stuff, but for now I really need to get this political rant out. I feel more and more as if I'm living inside one of those surreal totalitarian books (think 1984, Farenheit 451) where the government can do whatever the heck it wants, openly. And no, I don't mean Peru, land of past military dictatorships. I mean the US, "land of the free".

Ok I'm biased. Straight up, US customs and border patrol are not on top of my christmas shopping list and it's largely thanks to their warm "welcome" that I decided to upgrade from green card to citizen. (Really, you can't tell me that I'm not allowed to work in England when I have a green card. I'm pretty sure the brits are in charge of who can and can't work in their country. We need a little jurisdiction review.) My mom recently got downgraded to less the 90 days she would have gotten as a regular, visa-less Irish bumpkin to 30 days despite her green card (thought it was permanent resident?) Course there's always the odd friendly one who says "welcome home" but . . . still. Home is a fuzzy concept to me, that always throws me off my "looking non-smuggler-like" game.

Couple new policies of US customs and border patrol bring this up.

1. You must register online for screening > 72 hours ahead of time for any travel to the US from any country from where you currently don't need a visa (thefore a defacto visa requirement, undoing the original international treaties eliminating those visas). Even though approval lasts 2 years (if you don't change passports), you still need to register each new trip. Required starting January 12, 2009.

2. Customs/ immigration can search all documents and electronics (laptops, usb keys, cellphones etc) for any documents. If they find something remotely interesting (technical looking, foreign), they keep it and ask for help interpreting. If it appears non-suspicious, they destroy it. Effective July 16, 2008. Yes, you read that right. If it looks harmless, you don't get to keep it. If it looks worrisome, they keep it. Either way, you're cooked. Did I mention this includes US citizens?

I'm waiting for my sister's legal interpretation but potentially this means you need to back up your computer, documents, cellphone, camera, etc before you travel. Not to mention that if they select you to screen, you're never making your connecting flight (how long would it take you to listen to all the audio files on your laptop /ipod. Also I'm pretty sure from the wording that pirated movies and music are part of the quest.

Only three things to lighten the situation, as far as I can see.

1. I'm not-so-secretly awaiting the brazilian sequel to tit-for-tat parte dois. The immaturity level is pure genius. Pisses the US off in under 2 seconds flat without breaking a sweat (in the quiet button-pushing way of a younger sibling's honed skills).


2. The new (free) Airport Security computer game enabling you to be the TSA. Get inside their heads and fly under their radars. The best bit is that the rules on what is and isn't allowed change all the time, just like real life!



3. And finally, the recruiting efforts of the US border patrol. Really?!?! Your ideal border patrol agent is a fan of Nascar and/or professional bull riding (sorry, Professional Bull Riding)? This explains a heck of a lot! I'd bet money (well, honor, cause i'm poor) that in the Venn diagram of America, those groups don't overlap a hell of a lot with passport holders. Just a guess.

(btw, that's their official recruiting poster. really.)

Well I don't know bout you, but I feel better. Back to work. Cheerio!

(secretly afraid this rant just got me on a list for triple S security screen, augh). Oh wait, I'm not using my real name. Yessss! Counting on google to keep my privacy . . . (andrew?)


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ps: that TSA game made by an a company i just fell in love with, Persuasive Games. here's another couple examples of their games:

Points of Entry - Compete to award Green Cards under the Merit-Based Evaluation System included in legislation recently debated in Congress.


The Arcade Wire: Oil God - You are an Oil God! Wreak havoc on the world's oil supplies by unleashing war and disaster. Bend governments and economies to your will to alter trade practices. Your goal? Double consumer gasoline prices in five years using whatever means necessary. Oil God is the second in our ongoing series of newsgames.

Disaffected! - a videogame parody of the Kinko’s copy store, a source of frustration from its patrons. Disaffected! puts the player in the role of employees forced to service customers under the particular incompetences common to a Kinko’s store. From a new series of persuasive games we call anti- advergames.

the madness of week one

First a pic of day 1 in peru: here's catherine and I on the Larco Mar pier in Miraflores.
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Well boys and girls it's been a madcap, slapdash sort of week so far. I'm 90% of the way to having an apartment to live in (supposed to sign a lease tonight), 90% of the way towards having my very first cat, and have figured out, mostly, how to get combis home from most places. How did all this happen? Well we now know what the roundabout near where we live, where all the combis go, is called. Ovalo Higreta (or something that sounds like that). This is NOT, of course, what it's called on the map (too simple). This was a major advance. And as for the cat (kitten), well he was rescued off the street by a french girl named Berengere who made it her moral obligation to find a home for the cat before she left for Argentina (today). So I'm going to meet said cat today and hopefully take him (90% chance he's male, they think) home today. Of course, once I get him I need to find a vet, make sure he gets shots and doesn't have feline leukemia, etc. Any name suggestions? He's a latino cat, so suggest appropriately. In terms of the flat, I don't want to jinx it so more after a lease is signed.

But of course, what about the global health stuff, you ask? Coming, slowly. Going to the lab today to learn more about the tb stuff they do there.

Finally, I should mention a most entertaining moment the other day where I had to reassure our cab driver that my bills were in fact, real. He thought one coin too light, one bill too folded and missing the stamp that grocery stores sometimes put on bills. He was distraught, poor thing. A very odd experience to convince someone that folds on bills are normal.

Coming soon . . . video of the combis.

hilarious

this video had Catherine and I in stitches. i just had to share it with you all . . .

Update

OK so I've been horrifically bad at blogging recently (read = since I started). Sorry to all my adoring fans (all two of you: mom and dad). But now I've renewed my commitment. However, I'm not the best at just blabbing forever (online, that is) so I'll try to stick to the interesting bits.

First let me say I'm really excited to be down here in Lima. First impressions are that it's very latin america and dirty in the center but feels rather like Paris in Miraflores. It's extremely spread out with very few tall buildings but 8 million people. It has the damp cold weather of Dublin currently (and foggy!), though we are in the dead of winter so it will get better.

I can't wait to feel like a local, get all the combis figured out. Combis are private little vans that run all around the city on all different routes and are a cheap way to get around. They take a little longer than cabs but cost 1 or 2 soles (conversion rate is ~ 2.7 soles = 1 dollar). However the catch is that there are no maps and so you have to figure out how to get a combi to where you are going which involves some luck and skill negotiating with the driver's partner in crime, a guy who hangs out the window and tries to recruit you into the van. However, they are not always totally forthright about exactly where they are going cause they are trying to make a buck too. So far we've stuck with taxis until we get sorted . . ..

I'm also excited to be working with D-labs. Thanks to Mark Brady, the fellow i'm taking over for, I got to meet the D-lab honchos last week at MIT and even got asked to be a reviewer for a design review on developing world projects at IDDS such as a cheap baby incubator and a device to kill HIV while breastfeeding. very cool! I'm hopefully going to get to start working on a prototype for an incubator that won't need electricity soon.

I'll also be working at Universidad Peruana de Cayetano Heredia on the tuberculosis stuff. Got a tour of our labs today and the requisite blood donation for joining the lab. Apparently my blood is control blood for some assays cause (supposedly) I haven't caught local parasites yet. Time will tell. I'm betting I already got something from the refrescas, but I'd rather get sick now and get it over with . . .

Currently living in sort of communal housing in Surco, a quiet neighborhood of Lima. There are a bunch of Frenchies on my floor which is nice cause they've already given me the scoop on yogurt (no sugarless available, boo!) and local substitutes for creme fraiche (tinned creme de leche). Catherine and I are going to start looking for housing in Miraflores and Barranco tomorrow, hopefully. Wish us luck! Abrazos!