The Road to the Temple

-Say, does this road lead to the Temple?
-This is Varlam Street. Not this one leads to the Temple
-Then what is the purpose of it? Who needs a road if it does not lead to a Temple?
From the movie “Repentance” by Tengiz Abuladze

It is 2008. The year 2009 is knocking on the door. How much time has passed? Well, that depends how to count. It has been almost 21 years since I saw “Repentance”. It’s been almost 15 years since I left my home town for United States of America. It’s been… only god knows how long since the Varlam street was built. And this street is still alive. It is alive here, it is alive there, and will likely survive all of us.

Everybody has own faith or absence of such.
Everybody has own Temple.
And everyone walk his road to the Temple.
One’s own Temple.
And that is right. And that’s good.

Just don’t walk on the Varlam Street.

Photo by Sergei Zdorovtsev

Putting Balls in Squares Holes

Photo by Sebb

Can women play chess? Can women play chess as good as men do?

I have recently read an interview with a super GM Levon Aronian where he bluntly states: “Women cannot play chess”. He was taken to the task by the readers of chessbase.com. Some of them went as far as calling him a chauvinist and sexist.

While, as a proponent of women’s rights, I may not agree with Mr. Aronian’s opinion, I would vehemently defend his right to say what he believes is true. Don’t we all go too far when starting an argument, we slap a label on our opponents? How can we have a sincere dialog when neither side wants to hear out another? And this is an excellent example how creation of stereotype or generalization of a very specific issue evokes other stereotypes.

What Levon does, he takes too broad of a brush: “women are generally much too emotional for chess”. Thus, he creates, or rather recreates an old stereotype. And who lives by stereotype, dies by stereotype. One could easily use an old myth and say: “Armenians are generally much too emotional for chess”. After all, Mr. Aronian admits: “Sometimes I have too much blood in my brain”. But would that mean that Armenians cannot play chess? Most definitely, not! And the level of play displayed by Mr. Aronian is a testament to that.

In the last about hundred years we have had world chess champions with such opposite personalities as Botvinnik and Tal, as Karpov and Kasparov; and more hot-headed player would often succeed the more cold-blooded one and then vice versa. And, although it is common knowledge that women on average do not perform in chess as well as men on average, it does not mean that it is because they are too emotional. And it definitely does not mean that a woman cannot outperform a man in chess.

I conclude my article on the proud note that I did not bring up name Polgar (or did I just do that?)

Juiced up Cranberry

Cranberry has been known for quite a while to be extremely effective household remedy against urinary tract infection and general boost to one’s health. It is certainly very refreshing. Especially, when it is pure cranberry. Nothing else. Once I had a friend stopping by our house. To my shame I had little else to offer but some Lakewood Cranberry juice left on the bottom of the bottle. To my suggestion to dilute it with water he simply grabbed the bottle and downed it like a strong man he was. Then he quacked and said: “Now I understand the look on your face. Nevertheless, it was good.” That is the pure cranberry juice. But here is the trick: not every cranberry 100% juice is 100% cranberry juice. Fairly recently I have noticed that most of the juice manufacturers are involved in the deceptive advertising. Not that they violate any law or lie. They are just very selective about how they tell the truth. Let’s take a look how Lakewood (which by my measures is nevertheless the best brand out there) does it.

Please take a look at the front label of the bottle. You see picture of cranberry. You see Cranberry in large print. You see 100% Fruit Juice. It easy to think that you are buying a cranberry juice (which is the more expensive one). But stop! Here is a hint. It is 100% fruit juice. Always take a look at ingredient label. And here you can see that what you just picked is only partly cranberry. The other parts are apple, pear and grape. And you don’t quite know how much of cranberry is there. Basically, you may be buying apple juice with some cranberry in it.
Here is what you should look for:

As you can see this product is labeled as Pure Cranberry. So it says on the ingredient label. This juice has twice less carbohydrates and sugar. Sure, this bottle is about twice more expensive, but you need to dilute it anyway for better taste.

So, next time you are shopping for the cranberry juice, you buy what you intend to.

My Day in Court

They say that everybody gets his day in court. So did I. I really did not ask for it. About a month ago I was driving home from work. I found out that day that the company that I work for was bought out. I was driving in the left lane somewhat flustered over the news. The future appeared not too bright and radio talk show host promised me all the gloom in the world if don’t go to church of my choice daily. As the right lane on the Palisades Parkway was so beat up that I was afraid of actually losing one of my wheels in the potholes, I stuck to the left lane. I was driving my wife’s new car, which was gliding as if it was a bout on the very quite lake. And then there he was, seating in the bushes. He probably was very proud that he pulled me over. Gotcha! He said I was driving 71 mph. Was I really? I doubt it. It is a tactics of police to hide in the bushes so that you see them at the last moment. However, this may also lead to the situation when your car is too close for the radar to accurately measure your vehicle’s speed. That was my case as I believed. So I went to court having done my home work at least in part. I have obtained some of the radar certifications as well as police officer training certificate. Having talked to people, I had a good sense that it would be difficult for me to defend my case. At least it was worth trying to reduce charges.

I arrived to the court house about 2 hours in advance. Yes, I am very young and inexperienced in many sides of life. This was my first one. But at least the court was in a very scenic location on the bunk of the Hudson River. If I were not so stupid to wear dress shoes (I was going to court!), I could have taken a very nice walk in the park. Anyway, I was actually happy to see that there were only few people waiting for justice to be served. So I waited for two hours. And then, to my disappointment, the smarter people showed up in much larger numbers. According to my rough estimations about 70 people were ushered into the court about 3:10 pm. You could tell that in the majority, the people were well-to-do professionals who by no means wanted to be there. At about 3:40 pm the judge showed up and explained the procedure: those who plead guilty stay in the room; those who plead not guilty should leave the room and get in line to the prosecutor to cut the deal. There were people who came to the court but were not on the list due to one reason or another (in one case the officer was blaming the post office!). They had to come yet again in December. There were people who did not come for the proceedings. For some of those, an arrest was ordered. After pleading not guilty, I found myself in the back of the line to the prosecutor. At about 4:30 pm, I have finished my phone calls and realized that the line has not moved a bit. Did I mention that the court was located in a very nice scenic place? That’s right; it was a legal court not a food court. So the fear of dying of starvation took over the fear of missing my turn to the prosecutor. I jumped in the car and drove to… Well, I did not have a solid idea and soon I realized that I am on my way to my work place (which I regrettably skipped on that day). That seemed to be the best bet. At 5:10, with a Panera Bread sandwich on the back seat, I was already back to the court house, just in time to catch the rest of the speech that prosecutor gave to everybody.

It has become painfully clear: the state did not care to serve justice, not on this particular day. The state was looking to receive quick and easy pay off from those who was issued a speeding ticket. He did not want to hear excuses or explanation. He was not looking to catch and punish bad guys. He was looking for a way to get rid of people before the day end and collect as much money as possible. There were people who stuck to their guns and wanted a trial. They received commendation from the judge for their righteousness and given another court day. I know nothing about those people, but as far as I am concern the time and wages that they lost in the quest for justice would cost them way more that implied fine. Maybe it was worth to them. I cut the deal at 8:30 pm and was on my way home. And now I am thinking: would not it be more efficient, for those who was caught with traffic violation to pay a reduced fine to the police officer right on the spot. He is the one who makes judgment in the first place how dangerous your violation was. So, let him make a judgment about the deal. After all, it is all about money, is it not?

Политическая Ориентация

Поскольку и я, и жена основательно нагружены и работой, и нашим удальцом сыном, то в домашнем хозяйстве бывают пробоины. На днях зайдя в свой кабинет, я обнаружил свои шорты гордо лежащие на полу, а на их законном месте в кресле любимую жену, сосредоточенно работающую за компьютером.
--Хм, это радикальное решение проблемы. Это левый радикализм или правый?
----А?.. Я ничего не трогала. Они сами упали.
--Я всё понял: Это центризм.
Я подобрал шорты и вышел вон.

Political Orientation

Since both I and my wife are preoccupied with our demanding jobs and our bundle of joy of two powerful legs, our household gives a way from time to time. A few days back, I walked into our office and found my short lying on the floor while their almost permanent spot in the armchair is occupied my lovely wife, who was very concentrated doing something on computer.
--H-m, this is a radical solution to our problem. Is it a left radicalism or the right one?
----Ah?.. I did not touch them. They have probably fallen on their own.
--I see. It is a centrism.
I picked the shorts up and left the room.

Toys

Do you remember what your favorite toy was when you were a child? Mine was a medium size teddy bear. Sure, it was many years ago, almost in a stone age. Nevertheless, I remember that bright flashy toys did not attract my attention for more than one evening and I would always keep my Mishka close to my heart. A friend would tell me how his son’s favorite toy was a regular stick, which would instantly become a magic sword in his hands and he would become a magnificent knight. So, what is the common link between these toys that are so different? I believe it is child’s imagination. The toy will become whatever your son or daughter wants it to be. A stick will be a sward, an ugly doll will become a magic princess and a teddy bear may become a mayor of the toy town. And yes, they are low-tech. While the high-tech toys are very interesting and captivating they are often limited to the cause and effect functionality: press the button and bulb will light. And because this function is so strong, it will likely suppress the creative or imaginational function. So next time you see your kids building a doll house out of your favorite collectable vinyl disks, do not get mad. They are just using material most suitable for their imagination.

Игрушки

Вы помните вашу любимую игрушку из вашего далёкого детства? Для меня это был мой плюшевый медвежонок. Конечно, это было много лет тому назад, почти в каменном веке. Однако, я вспоминаю, что яркие, броские игрушки не привлекали моё внимание на больше чем один вечер; и я всегда хранил Мишку у своего сердца. Друг рассказывал мне, что любимой игрушкой его сына была палка, которая в его руках немедленно превращалась волшебную шпагу, а он сам становился доблестным рыцарем. Что же общего между этими игрушками, которые настолько различны? Я думаю, что это воображение ребенка. такие игрушки под действием детского воображения могут превратиться во что-угодно! Палка превратится в меч-кладенец, некрасивая кукла станет сказочной принцессой,а плюшевый медвежонок может быть мэром игрушечного городка . И ещё, в этих игрушках нет батарейки. В то время, когда электронные игрушки игрушки интересны и увлекающи, они часто ограничены функциональностью причинно-следственной связью: нажмите кнопку и лампочка загорится. И потому что эта функция настолько сильна, она скорее всего подавит функцию творчества или воображения. И если в следующий раз вы увидите, что ваши малыши строят кукольный дом из ваших любимых коллекционных пластинок, не сердитесь. Они просто пользуются материалом наиболее подходящим для их воображения.

Ivan, Remember No Relations

In old-times Russian Empire, when a thief or a run-away slave was caught and interrogated, they were asked their name and origin. The answer was the same: “Ivan, Remember No Relations”. From those times a person who lost his roots is called “Ivan, who remembers no relation”. I was told this story by my chess coach, my Teacher, Ivan Alekseevich Sidorov. He was one of the most important people in my childhood. And not only mine. There are people who are regarded for turning bad kids good. He did better than that. He kept good kids good and made them better. . I have never heard anyone referring to him, even behind his back, without using his patronymics. That, in my opinion, is the greatest measure of respect.

It has been 12 years since I have seen him or heard from him. How did I become that “Ivan, who remembers no relation”? It is always easy to find an excuse: too busy, too far away, too many Mondays. How did I lose touch with a man who shaped me so much? We grow up, we move on, but loosing sight of people like Ivan Alekseevich is irreparable. I hope he is still alive and well. I hope I could find him to say: “My name is Albert, I remember what you did for us. Thank you.”

Computer Security As A Social Model

About a month ago my computer security system started to detect a malware. On every scan despite deleting it before. What a man to do? So I restored the entire system. A few good files did not survive on the way. But what are a few when we are talking about entire system? To my surprise and disappointment, my security center started to detect the same malware immediately after system restoration. Their number grew immensely. The scanning became routine and took at least half of the computer work time. Several times I would get scared and order a system lockdown to prevent intrusion. Finally my computer stopped performing and crushed. I managed to backup my files and restored the system yet again. This time I decided to use another protection system. The new system (quite reputable) did not identify any threat yet. So far computer works fine. Maybe, this calm will be short lived but I am enjoying it. And I wonder which security system was (or is) right?

How fast are you driving?

July 30, 2008

According to National Survey of Speeding and Unsafe Driving Attitudes and Behavior: 2002, about 78% of respondents had admitted exceeding speed limit in the past month. I don’t think any of them lied. I am not so sure about other 22%. So it would be pretty safe to say that majority of Americans break the law. This becomes an unhealthy wink-wink morale situation when most of us, normally law abiding citizens, tend to ignore a particular law, which if applied consistently could create massive line to the traffic courts. The constant cat and mouse game with police creates only additional hazard on the highways. What is your first reaction when you see a car standing on the shoulder? Now think of police car standing on the shoulder? And now think about a car that goes behind you, and may not necessarily see the police car as fast as you do. So, does the police speed-trap fight unsafe driving or rather creates a dangerous situation? As per my personal observation, I do not see as many drivers going significantly or at all over the speed limit where the limit is 65 mph or higher. May be Montana had it right and all we need is driving reasonably and prudent?

Is Weak Synonymous To Kind?

July 28, 2008

My nanny came today and told me how my son behaved on the playground. “When other children take his toys he never cries. He gets upset but never cries. And he so kind! He is willing to share his toys with everybody. After five minutes he stands there with nothing. I taught him that he couldn’t let other kids to simply take staff from him. Otherwise, when he goes to daycare, other children will eat him alive!” My boy is 17-months-old.

I said nothing. What could I say? She is right. A man should not let other walk over himself. And a boy will grow to be a man. But something rubbed me the wrong way. The kindness was equated to weakness. Is it true? Well, often a kind man does appear weak. A giving (I mean truly giving) person is seen as weak or even foolish. “People are taking advantage of you!”-We would scream at our mother. I know, she would say calmly. And we perceived it as weakness. But it was sheer believe in doing what is right. At least, it was right for her. Right for the world she wanted to live in and leave it to us.

I said nothing. I did not think that my son’s ability to stand up for himself would make him less kind. He will learn to give to those who need not beg and shoulder things that need to be fixed not demolished. He will learn. But today I was wondering how we trade-in our kindness for something more suitable.