Paint yo' houses white!

Let me preface this by stating that I do not understand the state of Texas. I believe back in the day, keeping people out of the heat was a matter of pride, and a sign of courtesy.

So let me tell you what happens.

Every company office I go to is freezing. Its like 68 degrees, all the time. Women bring JACKETS to work in 100 degree weather. Men just stick it out, and are cold. Everyone is uncomfortable, and what do they do? They sit around and COMPLANE about how cold their own office is! I often feel like slapping them and telling them to just turn the AC down. It’s often not nearly as complicated as they make it sound. To complain about the weather is standard chit chat, because it effects all humans, and is unpredictable. Complaining about the climate controlled weather in Texas is not only commonplace, but almost systemic.

It is almost a matter of pride. Who can be in the most pain to put on the biggest smile and be the coldest. This crazy crazy crazy world that is the state of Texas, land of Styrofoam, ensures that everyone is way too cold just to burn extra coal.

Also, as a side note – boo and the Smiths for not visiting me when they were down in Houston.

Back to the topic at hand…

There is a lot of data about how much energy could be saved simply by turning up the thermostat in the summer, and down in the winter. We are talking about an energy equivalent of a large % of the car fleet! I remember our Nobel Prize winning Secretary of Energy saying on the Daily Show that if everyone in hot climates painted the roofs of their houses white, energy savings of HVAC would easily exceed 10%-15%. And that is something simple, and easy. Is it really that complicated? Just takes a little political will to save a bunch of $$$.

So if you are building a house, and you’re in the hot desert, get some white shingles.

Something cool happened at lunch.

Let me preface this by stating that anyone can change the world.

But I’m not idealistic. You can’t change the world they way you want to, because outcomes and the actions of people are random and out of your control. Recently I had a first hand experience of my actions indirectly effecting people around me. The coolest part is when it is not a rational choice on my point, but a more subtle unconscious choice because of my personality.

Here is what happened. It was lunch time. My usual lunch buddies were mostly busy, or were eating later, so I went to eat lunch by myself. The cafeteria has two sections. The first is where you get the food, and then there is a big area with tables inside to sit and eat, with big bay windows on one side. I got my food, but instead of sitting in the cold air-conditioned room, I walked outside. There is a small patio, which in previous years had been the smokers’ patio. It is grey brick, with a few steps up from the dirt to the patio, and a quant wooden park bench. As I wandered through the tables I saw the park bench outside. It was just the way I am, that I decided to go and bask in the sunlight and listen to my iPod. I enjoy the heat and the humidity. After sitting in freezing offices all day, walking outside feels like a warm blanket (or a snuggie, even better).

So there I was -- basking in the sunlight, listening to some “sitting in the sun” tunes. As I peered through the glass into the gloom and doom of the dark abis that is the cafeteria, I saw a trapped soul sitting by himself eating his food as he stared out of the window. I smiled to myself and kept eating. He must have seen the joy on my face, because soon after I spotted him looking at me, he grabbed his tray, and marched outside to eat lunch on the steps.

And then… a jogger came running by, and knew the man sitting on the steps. He stopped and they had a little talk; a talk that never would have happened had the man been eating lunch inside. They probably talked about work, maybe baseball, maybe how the wife is, maybe they talked about chemical injection skids, and jogger suggested that the other guy come to a meeting on Friday. Maybe this man’s input in the meeting changes the injection skid they decide to purchase, which causes BP to spend millions of dollars at a different company. Which means that the welder, who would not have gone to work that day, comes in to work overtime to weld the skid together. Which means that his kid, instead of spending the day with his dad, goes off to the mall with his friends. Where he meets a girl. And ends up dating her friend. And this girl gets him into Indie Punk music, causing him to join the Indie Scene, affecting his life philosophy for the rest of his life. And I’m not even assuming anything catastrophic happens (like the kid dies in a car crash on the way to see a show).

So the world is really freeking complicated.

Blood on my Hands

Let me preface this by stating that I don't injure myself too often.

But the date was sunday. The place was the Shooting Gallery in the middle of Houston, TX.

The Gun was a 30-30. The target was 100 yrds away. I always shoot out of my left eye (to aim), but for some reason, my friend told me to try and use my right eye. I tried, but it felt akward, which became confirmed when I pulled the trigger. I set the gun down, and felt something odd... On my face. I looked down at my hand and saw blood pouring down on it. I realized that blood was pouring down my face. The gun moved back about 1 inch due to the recoil, and apparently my face was 3/4 of an inch away from the scope. The power of the shot moved the scope into the physical area of space and time where my face was. The metal scope won.

This was an increadable experience for me, and really got me thinking.

First, I didn't feel any pain at the time. The adrenaline pumping through my body from firing the gun made it painless (until it wore off, then holy shit did it hurt). Second, I really started thinking about the universe. Fate. God. You can believe in Karma, or fate, or the divine, but there is something almost religious (I guess I'm starting to chalk myself up as religious atheist, instead of my usual agnostic-ism) about the concept of space and time. Its something we don't think about unless the "rules" of our human universe are shaken.

Perfect example is this injury. Humans consider the body a single entity within the confines of our brain. When we catch a football, there is a clear distinction that the human stops and the football starts. But when something violates this "unity" of the body as a single entity and concept, this made me start to wonder. Think of it this way. Why did I bleed? Why did my skin open up and let my blood pour forth? My forehead occupied a region within space and time. The scope of the gun also occupied a region within space and time. When non-normal things happened, the two things that the human brain considers separate entities (gun/body) occupied the same coordinates in space and time. Its zeno's paradox* (see footnote). As the gun moves into the region of space and time that my forehead was occupying, trillions of interactions at the molecular level are happening, my softer skin cells are pushed aside by the metal alloy scope. The end result is a gash in my forehead, but why? It demonstrated to me the frailty of occupying a space and time within the universe.

The best way to think about this is to close your eyes. This gets rid of your minds "perception" to place objects in an organizable pattern within your brain. Imagine a system of coordinates around you that starts near your closed eyes and stretches out for the rest of the universe. Everything around you is occupying a space in this coordinate system. Move your hand around until it hits something that is occupying a space in time near where you are trying to move your hand. Maybe I will never be able to communicate this feeling, or understanding. But its cool. Another great example is you driving in a car. What happens if when your driving down the highway you just drift into the the railing (not a suicidal jump, jeeze). It'll scratch your car up. Is that fate? Choice? Or does it just so happen that your car is trying to occupy a place in space and time that that railing is currently occupying?

Third, seeing your own blood on your hands is rather amazing. Its so unexpected, that processes that normally your body doesn't go through, it starts. First, I remember that moment very very clearly (thanks amygdala), and your body starts going into the "healing process". Seeing your own blood triggers this amazing response. Adrenaline. Clotting (unless you're mitchy my hemophiliac friend). Your brain instantly calculates the best course of action (go to the bathroom). Do you act panicked? Smooth? Calm? Angry? Anyone who has been there will understand.

One more thing I'll note, its healing up really nicely. I didn't get stitches, but the human body is pretty freeken awesome, and reconnected itself nicely. I don't think it'll scar. Which is good.

Thanks,

Guthrie

* Zeno's paradox is the thought experiment that goes as follows. Shoot a bullet at a wall. Lets say it takes 1/10th of a second to hit the wall. That means that after 1/20th of a second it is exactly halfway between the gun, and the wall. At 1/15th of a second the bullet is 3/4 of the way to the wall. At 1/11th of a second, the bullet has almost hit the wall. And at 1/10.22 of a second it is even closer... what happens at 1/10.0000000000001 of a second? Is there ever a moment in time where the the wall and bullet occupy the same place in space and time? If you keep cutting that number in time, the bullet never actually hits the wall, yet at some point in time, it hits.

Another good example is the ocean and the beach. How do you know where the shoreline starts and the water ends? Well... take a foot of water, and a foot of beach, and bisect it. Then take that new 1' section and bisect that... and then take that 6" section and bisect it. Is there ever a place where the ocean actually ends, and the shore starts, or can one keep make a division until the subatomic level?

Weather in Houston

I would like to preface this by stating that the weather here in houston is strange to me. I can't understand it.

First, let me tell you how I grew up. Weather came in from the west and north (canada). If it was really hot for a few days, a front would come it, and it would storm, and then be cool for a few days and then warm up. The temp between night and day would change pretty drastically. It could be 90 in the day, but drop to 65 at night. Regardless, the weather changed, it varied.

Houston is a crazy different ball game. The weather this week actually has a lot of diversity, the daily highs range from 35 degrees to 36 degrees. OMG! (Like 94-98 F). Huge variation. The temp only changes about 1 degree a week. It is amazingly constant. Every single day - sunny, humid, hot. Sometimes it rains in the evening. But... We don't get fronts. Its strange. Houston is such a big city that there is actually different weather for different parts of the city. I remember driving into downtown, and I saw no rain... and all of a sudden all the roads were totally soaked, like there was a huge hurricane downpour. When I drove back to my side of town... The ground was super dry, there had been no rain.

Another anomaly i've noticed is that when it rains... it will thunderstorm for about 5 days in a row, just a few hours every day. And then it will stop, and will be warm without rain for 10 days. Its weird. If the weather up north has the personality of a punk rocker, Houston weather is a Barbie.

Honestly... I'm enjoying the weather a lot. I love the heat. I love it. Maybe its just because I was so damn cold all winter long living on my modified porch in a house with little heat turned on (save the environment, and money!). I don't mind living in the cold, but going to a place where its hot all the time is fabulous. I don't sunburn either, which is cool. Only downside? All the buildings set the AC on like 60 degrees all the time, so most women wear heavy jackets everywhere (so stupid). I have to say, Texas does not conserve energy, recycle, they serve everything in Styrofoam and don't give a shit about the environment. But the weather is nice.

Enjoy the sun!

Peeps I met in Houston.

Let me preface this by stating there will be more posts about Houston coming, and hopefully when I get to egypt. OMG... I still don't know where I'm going go when I get off the plane. W/e. I'll figure it out.

Ok, back to houston. I felt (with some light prodding) to write about a few of the people I have met here. If I don't include you in this list... I don't hate you... I just didn't write about you because I forgot, lol, message me and I'll talk about you later. :-) Hate to exclude.

Max, my mentor, has given me a new appretiation for the french. He is from france and is awesome. The suggestion about kissing with tabasco sauce will forever remind me of you. Max is the person who I turn to when I am lost, and he coddles me. He is pretty new to BP, like all of my team, so he has a bit more of the perspective that BP has problems, instead of idealizing it because you've worked there forever. Its a rational approach. I feel that he is on my team, and despite the trouble I create, he sticks by my side, even if I have a huge cut in my forehead or run into cars. The coolest french dude i've ever met, thanks max.

Heather Brush is from Montana. She is a fellow intern and asked me to write about people (her) from Houston. So hi heather, this is for you. She is a down to earth kind of person. She's a petrol engineer, which means two things -- 1) she loves oil, and 2) she's going to be rich. We have quite a lot in common, and like me, has her doubts about religion, though, she lost her faith whereas I never found it. She's very chill like me, and i've noticed that people from states with very few people I tend to like because we get along. She wants to do something crazy and unique. I would suggest joining the peace core. She's an engineer and everything too.

Elliott is a sweet dude. He's my bro. We would be awesome roommates. I just feel like we have a chemistry (if that can be said without sound too gay). He was an intern last year, so he already kinda has a crew down here, and he's chasing this one chick, so we don't hang out as much as I'd like, but we'll be in touch probably for years. He's smart because he goes to MIT, so I guess that means he's smart. He wants to get better at soccer. I'm sure he will. I hope I lit his passion for playing the sport instead of just watching.

Megan and Brittany I will do together because they are roommates. Like everyone else down here (for some reason) they are in greek life. Their personalities are pretty different though. I feel like Brittany is someone I'd become good friends with because we were lab partners, but I'd get to know Megan on the dance floor of some DJ pants off dance off. Though... this is strange because Megan is actually really shy with people she doesn't know, while Brittany i think is more outgoing with people she doesn't know. Maybe thats not true. These girls do like to party, and so they've made the summer better because of it.

Chuck is my bossman. He's great. If you could wrap up Jesus, Gandolf, and Dumbledoor into a teddy bear you'd get my boss. He deserves more money.

Honorio is my favorite dude from Venezuela. He works with me and really takes life in stride. For the rest of my working life I will live by your work philosophy -- Work 15% harder than everyone else and leave 15% earlier. He uses common sense to save BP millions like every day.

Mandy is my cubicle mate. We got along really really well in the beginning of the year, but ever since things between her sister and myself fizzled I guess the magic was gone. We still are good friends, but once we started working hard I guess we had less time to have fun in our cube. She is from A&M and actually majored in PSCM, so she is actually qualified for her job unlike me.

Greg is a BAMF. He's broken like 50 bones by doing stupid stuff. He should have died a long time ago from stuff like crashing into trees and fighting polar bears. Somehow he's still alive. He's funny. He reminds me a LOT of another good friend of mine, so its nice because he makes me feel like I never left WI (he is from Muck Fishicgan, and a child of that whore Ann Arbor).

Monte says hi to me every morning when I get to work. We work out together (and get swoll). IDK what to say about monte but that his look is unlike anything I've encountered. The only dude I know who can pull off a combover and look sexy.

Bethany is from Alaska, and she is super super easy going. She also has an awesome acoustic guitar that I've become addicted to. One of the lowest maintenance interns, I feel that if I needed to pick a handful of people to come with me to a deserted island, she'd be one of my first draft picks. For a lot of reasons. Smart, resourceful, and I think if the group split and we discovered the others like on lost, she'd stick by my side.

Travis is from Montana like heather. He's easy going too. He plays football so he's always in the weight-room too. He wants to get in super shape so he can run super super fast. I'd also take him to the island, but I'd be scared that if he was on the other side he'd be a pretty big obstacle, though, i think if I set enough traps I could probably get him to fall into a pit with sharp sticks. IDK... I've been watching lost a lot.

OMG... I need to stop this... I know I haven't talked about a LOT of people, but I just can't keep going, this will take forever. If you really want me to write a blurb about you... comment and I will. Shit...

Thanks, and be safe out there!

Guthrie

Google Voice

Let me preface this by stating that I understand someone has to pay for wireless carriers to put up the infrastructure.

That being said, i've discovered a way to make free phone calls on a cell phone. There are caveats, but you could theoretically do quite a lot of stuff with the correct apps. Let me be clear, as far as I know there is no app in the app store for this, nor will there probably ever be (if the wireless providers have anything to say about it).

First, there is this magical program called Google Voice. Its super cool, and has all kinds of amazing features that only google could pull off (transcribes voicemail, ability to switch phones seamlessly without dropping a call, oh, and did I mention FREE VOIP and SMS to any phone in the US? and you get your own number that gets forwarded to any other number you want). The possibilities are endless. Scared the government is tracking your calls? Have someone call your Google Voice number, and forward that to your Skype account, which you can pick up the call on your ebay'ed prepaid blackberry and THAT my friends, is phone security. I'm sure many already are.

But... if there were an APP that would allow you to access the website and use the JAVA (or AJAX or whatever they use) like you were using a laptop... but do it on a cell phone that supports wifi, well, my friends... NOW you have yourself some power. If you could do it with an iPod touch, you'd have an iPhone in a box wherever you could get wifi.

But fine you say... whats the real application? People get cell phones to walk around! Fine. Get US Cellular (free incoming calls) or T-Mobile (which has an android phone... just begging for this app to get written). You can make free calls from the google website... so just go online and call. It will FORWARD the call to your phone and the calleee. Thats an incoming call, and you get free incoming calls. So you can get the lowest phone plan. If you can find a pre-paid plan with free incoming calls you're truly golden as long as you can find the wifi.

My vision for the future is that there will soon be a phone that ONLY has a data/3G plan but a prepaid phone plan. So if you are at home with a wifi spot its free. If you are on the road, you got the 3G to call your phone if you get free incoming calls.

Anyways, this gets interesting especially with international plans, because many incoming calls are free on international plans. Does that mean I can call from my computer, connect, then close my computer and talk for free on my phone in egypt to anyone in the US? IDK, but these are interesting possibilities that are being raised. I think you'll need a blackboard to figure it all out.

Thanks, and good luck,

Guthrie

Life in the Spotlight -- My life in houston.

Let me preface this by stating that I have no written all summer. I feel bad about that. I'm sorry folks. It was never my intention to leave you hanging. So... Just for you, I will write a lot. Let this be part one. My life.

Let me start this writing flurry by talking a little bit about the city of houston. First, its a fucking crazy city. OMG. It is one of the few cities in the US that has NO ZONING LAWS. Most cities have these things called zoning laws, and if you've ever played sim city, you'd know that you set land aside for farms, and housing, and stores, and big industrial buildings. Well... That would only make sense. So, Houston doesn't do that. So there is this weird feeling to the city because its lacking a social center. I suppose there is a "downtown" but there are really three downtowns, and many smaller hubs. The best way I can kind of illistrate this is to have the reader visulize a city of about 50,000 people (surely you can think of one), and then creating 10 copies of the city, and randomly dump them next to each other in somewhat of a square. Voila. Houston.

The other weird thing is that most of the housing is in these weird like military compound gated communities -- even the shitty housing developments. So there is nothing but like a square mile of homes in the "shady palms happy funhouse village parkway". But right next to my freeking housing complex is a farm, with a strip mall on one side of the farm, and a factory on the other side. So its very random.

View Larger Map

Westheimer is an interesting street a well. First its hard to understand how huge the city is. Its a good 45 miles across, without like breaks, and then the burbs, no, the burbs are out farther. So from the center of the city, its 25 miles in any direction to get out of Houston. Its far to big to go to every neighborhood. One thing I have to say about it though, is that even though its a land of strip malls, each "area" has its own touch or flare. For example, there is a "china town" (though it might be a different asian ethnicity, i'm not sure) that looks just like the rest of the city, with strip malls and Tex-mex joints and the such... But all the street signs are in Chinese. Its weird.

Anyways, Westheimer is a street that runs from Highway 6 (which make a loop around the city, and probably takes 7 hours to drive in a circle, its that big), to the center of town, and its nothing but strip malls and regular malls and businesses for 15 miles straight. I have no idea where all the people live to shop at all these places. There is a ton of diversity in the city. I expected a lot of Hispanics, but I've run into large numbers of every ethnicity. Its a very very diverse place, which I like a lot about it. Columbians, Indians, Arabs, just every ethnic group is here in large numbers.

BTW... there is a plan in place to make ANOTHER loop even farther out....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Highway_99

Its big.