Recently in Travels Category

February and March was supposed to be a time of rest before I head to the new job, but opportunity often knocks on the door when you least expect it.

When I met Mark Surman in Singapore last December, I had no idea I would eventually become involved in shaping the Open Web Career Track Drumbeat Project along with John Britton and Philipp Schmidt.

It was one of those requests that made me feel woefully inadequate, but I felt a deep affinity to its cause of providing accessible education to inculcate skills within the tech community — skills necessary to keep the web open and non-proprietary. John and Phlipp were extremely patient and kind to bring me up to speed.

So when Mark asked if I could present the Open Web Career Track project at Mozilla Developer Day in Bangalore, I agreed.

It is regrettable that I’ve never really traveled within Asia, and it would be my first time to India.

The crowd that showed up for MozDevDay was amazing. A full-house of about 300 people, on a Saturday, some coming from quite a distance away.

It was an eclectic experience: we talked pretty cutting edge tech in the hall — thanks to Arun — and ate sitting down on the grass patch under the noon sun. It was a departure from the sterile environment Singapore tech meetups are often held in, where the main complaint was always “why no wifi?”.

It was a blast speaking to the audience. The Indian and Chinese cultures share so many similarities it was easy to point out (and subsequently joke about) our common idiosyncrasies.

I’ve learned so much from the amazing people I met. In a land where there are places in poverty, open-source software means so much more than “why does OpenOffice mess up my Powerpoint slides?”. It is a means by which the poor can make themselves relevant in an increasingly technological world; where the oppressed can broadcast their plight to the rest of the world despite the best efforts of the oppressors to silence them.

The web has changed the way in which we communicate and connect with each other. It has the potential to be a lot more than a giant corporate marketplace. We need to consciously keep it inclusive and available to everyone.

Based on Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht’s recommendation on Diggnation, I chose to fly Virgin America from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

The price is extremely competitive even when placed beside the more nefarious airlines like US Airways and American Airlines, who slip in hidden fees for checked baggage and even plain water.

But the experience of flying on Virgin America is unlike anything I’ve ever been on. And I’ve flown quite a bit.

The first hint that Richard Branson’s airline is unique came even before stepping on the plane. The sign that tells passengers to check in oversized luggage read:

Love your bag. Let it ride with bags its own size.

Personal, humourous and human. I like Virgin already.

Stepping into the plane was like stepping into the club. The lighting was a psychedelic purple and a large glass panel framed the entrance from the front row of seats. I half-expected bottles of krystal cristal (thanks Min) to be handed out.

The macbook white panels around the large touchscreen LCDs were extremely luxurious. I couldn’t find episodes of Diggnation and had to settle on CNN Live. Unlike any plane I’ve ever flown on, Virgin’s flight entertainment system starts the moment you plonk on your seat. The headphone jack is also standard, allowing you to plug in your own earphones should you decide not to use the ones provided. I really wish other airlines will follow suit.

The flight was excellent, and staffed by extremely professional employees who really projected themselves as a cohesive team. I had to change my flight, which cost me a pretty buck, and the Virgin employee helping me over the phone provided one of the best on-phone experiences I’ve ever had. He was informative and efficient. While I don’t perceive myself as one biased towards foreign accents (I’m not American), I felt valued as a customer knowing Virgin didn’t outsource the call management.

I would definitely recommend flying Virgin wherever available. Where many carriers are keen on giving us less, Virgin has provided more than I expected from a short domestic flight.

Bravo.

Watched KA by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand a few moments ago. I wanted to just pop by the theatre to see if they had any offers for tickets that came available due to last minute cancellations. I stood last in a pretty long “Stand by” line, and I overheard the counter staff say that the show was sold out.

Then they asked if there were any single individuals waiting in line. 3 of us put up our hands and the first guy got to purchase that open ticket. Then a young man came up to me and said “I have a ticket”. I asked him how much it was, but he said he’d give it to me for free. He was part of a bachelor party, he explained. Why he couldn’t watch the show was still unexplained to me. He told me to say hi to his friends already in the theatre, which I did.

And that’s how I got the $170 ticket for free.

The show? Well, I think I need to watch shows that actually use language. All the interpretive moments are really lost on me. The only thing that impressed me was the athleticism and coordination of the performers.

Fireworks. Every single night.

There was a thunderstorm behind me, which I totally failed to capture because I couldn’t find a good vantage point. The ranger chased me out of the one good place I found.

I’ve flown the Singapore-United States route quite a bit. After my first near-death experience flying Garuda, I grew wiser to the fact that some things are worth paying a little extra for. Yes I’m probably exaggerating, but during the Garuda flight we were all unsure if the plane would take off in one piece. Plus it took 30 hours to get to LA, by which time a quarter of our family vacation was over.

My preference is towards our own Singapore Airlines, and this time round I had the opportunity to fly the non-stop executive economy flight to LA, SQ38 out of Terminal 3. A short exploration of Terminal 3 revealed a free movie theatre! I sat there waiting for my flight while watching Hilary Swank in a movie I’ve never seen.

Singapore Airlines impresses. After liftoff we had Doritos with sundried tomato dip. I had a Singapore Sling and a cup of pineapple juice. It was my first time tasting a Singapore Sling…nice!

There’s something magical about flights. The lights are dimmed. Everything you need is in that small enclosed space. It’s probably why a lot of people hate flying. I wouldn’t take a longer flight than I have to, but the feeling of heading towards a destination different from where you came adds that little electricity in the air.

Heather, Michael, Jennifer, Ryan and Geoff. I’m glad we didn’t rotate around different tables like we were supposed to. That’s the toss-up at most workshops and conferences, isn’t it? Network more broadly or more deeply? I think we chose well.

Over the duration of the 4 day event, we got to work on fictitious websites, designed imaginary devices and cracked countless jokes. It was liberating to shed my Asian shell and get in there guns ablazing - after all, I only had 4 days.

On the first day, the most important thing I learned came not from the speaker but from Michael who sat beside me. He said managing working relationships was the same as crafting a user experience. What do your bosses need, what are their motivations, and how do you make it easy for them to close the “transaction”? How do you align what they need as a person with what the project needs? While the topic of managing bosses isn’t new to me, the juxtaposition of that and user experience was highly interesting.

Another interesting tidbit we had from the casual chat at the table was the differences between relationships with Americans, Europeans and Asians. Michael mentioned how Americans are quick to bond, but devote only the relevant slice of themselves - you may get to know them fast, but just the work part of their being, or the parent if you happen to be the teacher of their child. You don’t get the full person. His observations were that Asians were the other extreme. It took forever to get through the outer shell, but when you get past that, you get the whole person.

I suppose that is accurate to a certain degree. We tend to think of people as whole persons rather than functions. My mother has always drilled it in me to understand that people are more than their jobs. They are parents to their children, children to their parents, and that creates a fuller way of looking at people. Maybe not as efficient, but certainly more organic and less mechanical.

The workshops proper were grueling. I learned a lot from the design strategy, design research and interaction design workshops. The information architecture workshop was a little too rudimentary, but it probably helped those who didn’t do IA for a living.

After a long day on Design Strategy, I thought I’d highlight some of the more glaring usability flaws right here in the hotel.

The elevator at the lobby has 2 arrows pointing downwards. There’s no arrow pointing upwards. Instead, the words “This car up” lights up when the elevator is heading up. Why arrow for down and words for up?

The 2 elevators have different button layouts (elevator 1 and elevator 2). It’s crazy to have to look for your floor everytime, rather than remembering which position it’s in.

Then there’s the control for the shower. Hot’s cold, cold’s hot, warm is off and off is warm.

I’m sitting here watching the proceedings of the NBA All-Star Game held at New Orleans. The Star-spangled Banner was performed by trumpeteer Christian Scott. It’s amazing, but the anthem never fails to move me, even when performed without words. I suppose you could say I’m in love with the United States of America, but the truth is that I’m in love with the idea of America, rather than America herself.

A country where anyone has the chance to be someone. Where everyone has a voice that is heard, however grating the message may be.

As I walked the streets of San Francisco this morning, the reality that America is rather divorced from her original ideals hits me. The huge dome of City Hall looked very impressive with its gilded edges and ornamentation. What you do not see in the photo are the homeless people scattered around its grounds.

The currentUnited States administration has done, in my own opinion, a horrible job of keeping the faith. Bush’s new $3 trillion budget’s main provisions go to the Department of Homeland Security. I’ve been in and out of the United States many, many times, but in recent years there’s been a tangible fear of walking through her immigration counters. It’s like you’ll never know when Homeland Security’s hyperactive index finger would point your way.

America has grown paranoid. Voices, even that of the majority, have been silenced. Newspapers and blogs write about how ridiculous certain bills are, but congress passes them anyway. I’m only a visitor to this country and I’ve seen a fair number of veterans homeless on the streets, but Bill O’Reilly , who actually lives in America, denies their existence. Everything is upside down, America.

Sometimes people are only as good as you believe them to be. When you stop believing in people, there is no incentive to live up to your expectations. There’d be no ideals to reach for.

Covered 8km this morning.