Cracking the Fring Glyph Code

Lately I've been watching quite of bit of the TV series "Fringe."  For those unfamiliar, it starts out vaguely reminiscent of the x-files where a special agent investigates paranormal cases.  However, it is quite distinct from x-files as the focus is less on UFO's and government conspiracy, more on crazy science or science fiction realized.  In the vein of modern cinematic television, the overarching plot takes a more central focus as well.  The point is, its a solid show and I've consumed 3 20 episode seasons faster than I'd like to admit.

As I watched, I noticed the scene breaks were often accompanied by one of set of images.  I made some half hearted attempts to correlate the symbols with the current episode, but never made any progress.  A quick search of the web took me to fringepedia, where I learned that the images made up a code.  They link to a nice post from an ArsTechnica editor Julian Sanchez about cracking the "glyph code."  My first thought was, "I know I could break the code if I put in the effort, so why bother?  I'll just look up the solution."  Then I thought better and decided to crack it myself.  I recommend you give it a try as its pretty straight forward.  The most time consuming part is collecting the data, but I thin the ArsTechnica article links to a repository of the glyphs in each episode.

If you want to crack it yourself, stop reading here, or risk spoiling the fun.

I say that the code is relatively easy as the fringepedia page states that the code is a mono alphabetic substitution cypher.  If you are a fancy computer wiz (like Julian Sanchez), you'll find dictionary attack programs and whatnot (which may or may not be worth the time), or you can stay organized and think logically.

Perhaps it was cheating in knowing that the code was a monoalphabetic substitution (one symbol = one letter), or perhaps it was the simplest and therefore most logical place to start.  Either way, My first step was compiling my data.  With one seasons worth of self collected data (season 3), I did a frequency analysis.  This showed me the three most common symbols (with appearance percentage):  Apple8 (15%), Leaf1 (14%), and SmokeR_3 (11.5%).  That is, the apple image with the dot at roughly the 8 o'clock position, the leaf with the dot at the 1 o'clock position, and the smoke facing to the right with the dot at the 3 o'clock position (not knowing if there were smoke faces looking right with other dot patterns, I ended up recording extra information in the symbol name).  Searching for "letter frequency" quickly brings you to a wikipedia page showing that the 3 most common letters in the English language are:  E, T, and A.

I assigned Apple8 to E and either A or T to each Leaf1 and SmokeR_3.  From there it was good old crossword skills that cracked the code.  Episode 14 was crucial.  Between the episodes romance, the heart shaped dot on the last glyph of the episode, and the fact that the code contained 3 high frequency letters allowed for a good guess.  A six letter word, xEAxTx, related to romance?  HEARTS fits the bill.

To save myself the trouble of typing everything out, I put the episode cypher text into a spreadsheet and linked the plain text to my translated guesses:

This way, whenever I changed a letter in column 2, it would change my translations of each episode's cypher text.  Another key clue was symbol 13 LHand10_7 (left hand oriented at 10 o'clock with the dot at 7 o'clock) being a double letter at the end of a word.  How many letters can be doubles?  The answer is appearently almost all letters, but not commonly at the end of words.  That for the most part takes out vowels and suggests S or L.  Skeptical referencing back to frequency charts (given that we don't have 2 letter words and our limited sample size, the frequency table will be off by a bit), it was relatively straight forward to make educated guesses leading to correct looking solutions.  Next thing I knew, my cypher was pointing out my poor data collection on several episodes.

Its worth noting that my code breaking was simplistic and relied on several features.  First, that each symbol represented a letter.  Second, that each episode produced a word, that is, I knew where words started and ended.  Lastly, I had some good context.  Given a message typed using this cypher, my technique may not have been as efficient.

All in all, a fun puzzle, but not exactly mind blowing revelations in the coded messages.

Andrew Jackson and the Vampires

Andrew Jackson and the Vampires, by James Prohaska

More exciting than how it was taught in HS:

If your like me and enjoy a good historical fiction/alternate history and have a penchant for well thought out zombie and vampire literature, put this on your reading list.  Anything but a Hollywood knockoff, this book does an excellent job of portraying broader historical happenings and their modern reflections on an action packed, fictitious backdrop.  In contrast to "FDR American Badass," (the dvd only B movie) which becomes self mocking and low brow, "Andrew Jackson and the Vampires" maintains its dignity as it retells history and subtly comments on modern society without ever becoming overly serious.  The movie that this script directs in your mind has certain elements of a western: the star, Andrew Jackson, a rugged and rebellious type, quick to fight, and quicker on the draw with his signature flintlocks.  Lets hope that Tarantino directs this one.

Prohaska doesn't get bogged down in the "rules" of vampirism, but twists it to his will to put a face on evil and make a force for us all to unite against.  You will get sucked in by the action, but leave wondering how much is true.  In the world we live in, vampirism is purely fantasy (we hope, or it is an extraordinarily well kept secret), but the rest of the story will make you peer down the rabbit hole.  What you find may be a surprising view of the world we live in today.

A Car Buying Story

So, I just bought a new car.  I thought I'd make some notes about it for myself and then figured others out there might find some of this info useful.  So here it is:

My old ’96 Saturn SL1 was on its last legs (wheels?). I had nursed it along long enough to save a few dollars and scope the car market. I knew I wanted a hatchback with good gas mileage, but still enough spunk to make it worth driving. I got it into my heart and mind that I really wanted a gently used VW Golf TDI. Those are hard vehicles to come by; during my several months of monitoring vehicles in the area (dealerships and private sellers) I only saw 2 or 3 that fit my interest and price range. Other options I was considering included the Chevy Aveo or Cruze, Honda Fit, and the Ford Focus.

Over a period of time, I test drove the Golf, the Fit, and the Focus. The Fit felt like a tin can, the Focus more substantial but still nimble and peppy, but the Golf was the big winner! Solid yet responsive, the low end torque of the Golf TDI put a smile on my face both times I took it for a test drive.

After my Saturn almost stalled out on an evening commute and with a fresh paycheck in hand, I decided I needed to buy a car this weekend. VW Golf TDI’s new were running $25,000+, and even 2011’s with 50,000 miles were hard to find and cost almost $20,000. That pushed me towards the Ford Focus. My company's x-plan discount combined with $3,500 in rebates meant I could get a new Ford Focus hatch back SE (mid level features) for as little as $15,000. Nearly $4,000 off on a new vehicle brings the price near that of a comparable gently used version (~2 years and 30,000 miles). Obviously an older car will be cheaper, but the discounts and rebates outweigh the depreciation that occurs during the first year or so. So a new Ford seemed worthwhile. The 4 door hatchback (5 DR HB) is small enough to maneuver in traffic or a city, but maintains a large internal volume for utility and with the 6 speed automatic dual clutch transmission, gets 38 mpg’s on the freeway according to the EPA (lets see if I can beat that!) (also, the manual only has 5 speeds and is rated for 36 highway, so I went with the automatic). 

Ok, the right car was chosen. Calling ahead, the dealership had 3 2013 Ford Focus SE Hatchbacks to look at in three different levels of accessories. The basic ran $16,000, had the 5 speed manual, no heated seats, etc.; the mid level ran a sticker price of $18,000, had the winter package, 6 speed auto (no tiptronic shifting) but minus the other bells and whistles. The top of the line had the “appearance package” which included fog lights, MyFord Touch Sync, leather interior, tiptronic shifting (“selectshift”), rear disc brakes, and ambient lighting. The extra $2,500 didn’t justify the minimal performance enhancements and questionably valuable extra features. Car selected, mid level with heated seats.

Buying at the end of the month, they gave me the car below the x-plan price at straight dealer invoice (basically an extra $250 off) and then the incentives to boot. At that point, the real selling begins. The finance guy sits down and gives you the quick overview of your warranty, title fees, and how you are paying for the car. Then, while he finalizes the numbers, they try and sell you aftermarket products. This includes paint protection film, rust protection, scotch guard, floor mats, and anything else. I made mental note of what was available and prices, but held off on actually purchasing (more later).

Then, you rejoin the finance guy and he pitches the extended warranty. They offered three plans, the high end, mid level, and “basic” coverage. The high end included prepaying for maintenance, the warranty itself, and tire and wheel coverage. The mid level offered the warranty and wheel coverage, the basic just the warranty. The prepay is for the mileage triggered maintenance like a fuel filter replacement or tire rotation that you’ll get done at a dealership – I didn’t crunch the numbers, but I figure it locks you into service and any savings made by paying upfront will be lost with missed service or contract squirming by the dealers (“Oh, that isn’t covered by the prepay…”). The tire and wheel thing didn’t make a lot of sense – it was unclear what it covered (not flats but some road hazard damage but not other stuff?)…

The extended warranty itself though, was interesting. At $2,024 dollars it extended the bumper to bumper coverage to 96 months (8 years) or 120,000 miles, that’s 1.7 cents per mile (2.4 cents for the extension from mile 36,000 to mile 120,000). It does not cover normal maintenance (oil changes) or collision induced damage, but in theory, it covers everything else. So, in 5 years, if my air conditioning fails, I get that fixed for free. So, it’s a gamble, will one large or two medium things that are coverable go wrong over the course of 8 years at 15,000 miles per year? Several other interesting points were the transferability of the warranty to a subsequent buyer (increased resale value), a pro-rated rebate at trade in (a few hundred dollars if traded in at 100,000 miles), and a full refund if the warranty is unused at expiration. I took the gamble and did it. We’ll find out if it’s worth while. Overall, this was a really stressful part of the buying experience as it was unexpected and a large sum of money. In the future, I would recommend that you ask about this early on in the process and make your decisions before hand. Also, I should have negotiated on the warranty price – any reduction in price would drive the economics closer to my favor.

The three aftermarket products of interest to me were the windshield treatment (Crystal Fusion), under body rust protection, and paint protection films. The general internet forum consensus is that anything sold by the dealer is a ripoff, to just say no and walk away. Crystal fusion is marketed as acting like a permanent Rain-x that reduces/eliminates chipping and cracking (backed by some warranty). Online user reviews are difficult to come buy and not very descriptive, but the one or two found were positive. At $400 installed by the dealer, it’s a chunk of change (ie, one could buy a lot of Rain-X for that price or pay many months of full glass coverage on their insurance). Rust protection research suggests that it’s a ripoff, as in overpriced and it may or may actually make the problem worse. Auto designs and materials have improved over the years such that rust is not as big a problem as it used to be. Also, the $600 rust protection cost goes a long ways towards winter car washes that will really help. Paint protection films seemed to get generally positive reviews. $400 installation of the film is about half cost of goods, but doing it yourself is supposedly difficult (and you could spend any savings on cleaning products and time doing a crappy job yourself). I need to call around and see what prices there are from other installers, but I’m leaning towards doing this one.

Summary of Advice:

• Know your timeline, start early and use the time – know what you are interested in and keep an eye on the local inventory. 
• Look at available options and categorize things as deal breakers or bonus’.
• Heated seats are a deal breaker, tiptronic shifting is a bonus, ect.
• Try building a vehicle on the manufacturer website to see all the options
• Call around to dealerships to see what’s in stock, but know that anyone will get you exactly what you want (color, options, etc.) if you come to them.
• Check dealer websites and look for “see window sticker” to get all the details
• Its easier to see the stuff in person, but helps to know what’s there and what you are looking at
• Don’t feel pressured! Ask for space, ask for them to leave you alone, go home and sleep on it. No matter how good the deal is, there will be another good deal another day.
• Know the steps involved in purchasing a new car:
• Vehicle selection
• Finance intro
• Aftermarket upsell
• Warranty pitch
• Payment
• Haggle on everything – it never hurts to ask for a lower price, the worst they can say is “no.”

Running Data

I'm currently training for the Grandma's Half Marathon this summer.  Taking a cue from my fiancé, I 've started logging my runs.  The first version of the spreadsheet has a page with my workout plan and another with my running log itself.  The log is basic: date, run type, time running, distance, and description/notes.

The date is obvious.  The run type describes the category of the run from rest day to workout.  Time - some people suggest running for time and others for distance.  Each have their pro's and con's, I prefer time, but like to know the distances.  The thing with time is that you can't cheat the purpose of your run by running too fast or too slow.  Your long run will take you 1 hour no matter your pace, so it removes the need to race yourself.  The details column is useful for making note of how I felt.  Its handy to be able to see that I always feel like crap on my run after a long day at work, or that my shoes regularly come untied after 45 minutes.  Even more useful is seeing how nagging aches and pains wax and wane - I tend to forget when things started to bother me and when they stop.  The sore knee I suffered around Christmas (too much mileage trying to keep up with the lady) flaired up once or twice when I ran too fast or too hard, but was gone after 3 weeks of relaxed running.  This is paradoxically the most difficult part of the data to analyze, but also some of the most useful.

The other day I realized that I haven't plotted anything yet and I've amassed 3.5 months of daily running data (yes, there are rest days, missing distances and the occasional hike).  I don't think it means all that much, but here it is, 7 day running averages of my distance and time:

And for completeness, here is all the individual data with Excel's "Moving Average" trendline using 7 periods:

I don't want to discuss my training plan in too much detail, but I'll outline it briefly.  My schedule calls for 5 runs per week, two workouts (sometimes a third being a 5k race), and two rest or cross training days.  One run, usually Saturdays, is designated as a long run.  Workouts and mileage build on the way towards race date and consist of a sustained tempo run and either hill repeats or 400 or 800 m repeats.

Not sure what the data actually mean, but as long as I've got enough Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS) to keep me from running during this brutally winter like spring week, I figured I'd take a look and see if any insights showed themselves.  During January, I was recovering from a sore knee.  Yet I was still able to log my highest mileage/times.  While my knee stopped bothering me, I got my first tast of MTSS.  I cut my running to no more than every other day and my run time to about 20 min.  Lo and behold, notes on MTSS dissappear 12 days later.

Lately, I have been running too fast on my normal days and too slow on my hard days.  My mileage/time has also crept up to a consistently high value.  Perhaps running an appropriate pace for the days schedule and taking a down week will help prevent the onset of injury.  Its a tricky balance to stick to your schedule but flex it enough to avoid injury and fit your daily life.

World War Z

World War Z:  An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks

While fashions come and go, zombies never get old.  Just look at the last 5 years of movies:  Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days later, Shawn of the Dead, Warm Bodies, and soon, Hollywood's rendition of World War Z.  Here we have spanned horror, thriller, comedy, romantic comedy, and blockbuster action, all in zombies.  There are also the slightly more sci-fi bordering on vampire ones like I am Legend, but whatever, the point is zombies are fascinating.  Through zombies one can explore human nature, disaster response, and preparedness.

This review undoubtedly lacks from proper context as this is my first experience with a proper zombie novel.  Sure, I've tried reading a little HP Lovecraft, but I haven't even cracked a Stephen King novel.  That said, I know a good book when I find one.  This is one of those books that will ruin the movie for you - once you read it, you'll see how much it will lose in translation to a movie (that said, I am looking forward to the movie).  But given its quality, don't worry about seeing the movie first and then reading the book.

In a typical book, there is an introduction, plot buildup, climax, and denouement.  Here, the title makes the book a forgone conclusion:  there is a worldwide war as humanity fights for its survival against zombies.  So how do you take a book with a known plot and keep it interesting?

Masterful writing and a unique format go a long way.  The book is a collection of a UN inspectors interviews, or rather the parts of interviews that were too personal for the official report.  Max Brooks demonstrates his skill as he writes in many different voices, reminiscent of Flowers for Algernon, creating a well conceived notion of the zombie apocalypse.  If and when the zombie apocalypse comes, I hope this book is used by the analysts and governments in defending and rebuilding humanity.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT.

With each interview, details of the rise of the zombies and the state of humanity are revealed.  Written flat out, the story would be borring, but presented as a series of unique perspectives from various times and places throughout the war, it is fascinating.  A simple statement about the virus spreading through human trafficking is not nearly as exciting as hearing the internal conflict of a trafficker.  Each chapter is a small window, disconected in time and space from all other chapters.  It leaves the reader feeling disjointed and uniformed.  But slowly, dripping with dramatic irony, enough information is acquired that the reader, like the survivors during the war, can build up a coherent picture of what is happening and what can be done.

The concept is so well thought out, it is remarkable.  With such attention to detail - government attempts at coverup, societal fragmentation, the failure of standard military practice, the South Africa plan - the story leaves you with a dreadful sense of inevitability.  How else could things turn out?  Given the current socio-economic-political state of the world, how else could things turn out?  Its a little depressing.

While the plot's ending is somewhat optimistic - the survival of humanity - it raises the question of an all too dark reality, In the face of great peril, can we put our differences aside to overcome the challenge at hand?  In stories like Watchmen (spoiler) where, optimistically  a common threat brings people together and ends longstanding wars and conflicts, WWZ shows a more realistic response.  Even a threat like the zombie apocalypse isn't enough to immediately overcome longstanding (and often well founded) mistrust between people.  Hardliners in positions of authority, in deteriorating chains of command, wield too much power and are just as likely to start a nuclear war as they are to avoid them.

Like all good books, it stands well on its own but is equally interesting as a reflection of modern society.

Traffic

Traffic:  Why we drive the way we do (and what it says about us)
Author:  Tom Vanderbilt

Ironically, my introduction to the book came about while driving.  On a long distance trip I was trying out a new podcast, 99% Invisible, and was particularly fascinated by the episode about "the white stripe."  The interview subject was discussing how we see the roads we drive on, in this example epitomized by how long we drivers think the white dashes that mark our lanes really are.  I won't ruin it for you, but I will say it was sufficiently intriguing that when I stumbled upon "Traffic" at the library, I didn't hesitate to pick it up.

Since I started reading the book, I've started driving slower - both because its safer and because I'm looking at the road a little more closely.  The book is at times, overwhelming in the amount of data, or rather research conclusions that are presented.  While many of us know Murphy's Law and most of us have heard of real "laws" like Moore's Law, I lost count of how many different <person's name>'s Laws were listed or how many studies were cited in Traffic.  But its great to know that someone has measured the fact that we adjust the radio 10 times per hour with an average of 1.6 seconds per adjustment.

After reading this book, you'll find yourself slipping into a mediation on the billboard message, "You Aren't Stuck in Traffic, You ARE Traffic."  Vanderbilt thoroughly explores the concept of traffic from its origins, to how it is being combatted, how traffic will change in the future, analogies in nature, the economics, and of course the safety.  Vanderbilt gives an honest effort in tying all this together, but what is the thesis?  Traffic is really complex, mostly made so by human psychology and competing interests between the individual and the system as a whole.

Where does traffic come from?  That question depends a lot on who you ask.  Asking how to fix it gets even more complex.  In Traffic, we learn about Shoup and his theory that free parking is ruining society; or rather, because of the massive subsidies for roads and undervaluation of parking, we get lots of traffic.  First, without any parking spaces or place to put your car, there will be no traffic, second, people trolling for free street parking drive more slowly and have a higher accident risk thereby creating both traffic and major economic damage.  The theory continues.

In Traffic we get an inside look at the windowless rooms and quirky personalities that manage traffic in places like LA.  But we also get a look at how efficiently our roads operate and how people try to design them better.  Often designers are foiled by human psychology, but occasionally they take advantage of it.  For example, stop lights are quite dangerous - there is nothing but a social norm to stop people from running red lights (as is often done in, say, China, which is also really slows things down) - and inefficient in that, for a moment, everyone has a red while the intersection clears.  Why not use a roundabout that solves both these problems?  Or another question is why big, wide roads with huge lines of sight are more dangerous?  The work of a Dutch road designer, described as famous, showcases clever design and understanding of human psychology can lead to excellent results.  The designer created roundabouts, so traffic is always flowing, combined with his signature style of integrating the road into the community.  Not limited to roundabouts, the designer, instead of making huge sight lines with tons of space, which encourages speeding since it doesn't feel like we are going fast, makes the driver a part of the community.  That is, instead of wondering why you have to slow down from 55 to 30 on a two lane road going through an unincorporated town, you slow down to 20 mph naturally because the road is narrow and lined with shops and park space and the sidewalk has no curb and abuts with the road and you make eye contact with passing cyclists and pedestrians.

Perhaps the thesis that ties this book together is the examination of the relationship between individual people, how their psychology influences their behavior in cars, and their interaction with society while driving.  The diversity of issues addressed within the book make it difficult to write any sort of succinct review or summary.  Read the book, you won't be disappointed   

Periodized training update

As the season is winding down I thought I would post an update as to the results from this falls training cycle.  Overall, I would rate it as a success.

There are many factors that influence a seasons quality, some within your control and others beyond - partners, weather, free time, challenging high quality routes, and of course personal fitness.  This fall, things came together nicely and I was able to strike a good balance of getting out to take advantage of good weather and staying sane/not traveling EVERY weekend as well as climbing both trad and sport.  While I didn't bump up my hardest sport redpoint grade, I am stronger than ever bouldering.  Likewise, a combination of physical strength and improved mental toughness have pushed me to new grades on gear (very exciting).

For this training cycle, I focused on one hard workout per week, one hard session bouldering, and then getting out on the weekends.  Weekends climbing throw a wrench in your training schedule, but its worth doing because a day out is always better than a day at the gym.  Plus, depending on the season, you can tailor your day at the crag to fit your training cycle.  The consistent one hard workout plus one hard bouldering session per week were the single most important factor to the training.  More than one hard workout and I 1) got bored of just doing workouts, 2) would push myself too close to injury, and 3) noticed a decrease in my climbing skill.

Near the tail end if my training, just before my planned peak period during early October, I took a small vacation with my girlfriend.  This was the power endurance phase of my cycle, and despite the one day climbing on vacation, it was certainly not power endurance.  The week after the vacation I felt noticeably weaker, but pushed as hard as I could on my 4x4's and by the third week was easily finishing three sets of v2-v3 problems for my 4x4s.  Conclusion: a one week break is not the end of the world.

My peak period was fun!  Routes and holds that previously seemed impossible were now easily in my grasp.  Even routes that felt hard while hanging the quickdraws saw a redpoint on the next burn.  I may not have increased my absolute highest sport redpoint grade (but that is more a function of the fact that I was previously in good shape and found a few routes that fit my strengths), but I built up my base of solid-for-the-grade 5.11's on sport and solid 5.10's on trad.

Looking forward to a winter cycle and killer spring season!

Scarpa Vapor V

As the fall season started this year, I found myself in need of a new pair of shoes.  While many boulderers and sport climbers have an arsenal of shoes, sometimes even wearing different shoes on each foot for a single climb, I prefer to have one or two pairs that I use for everything.  Perhaps if I were pushing closer to my genetic limit, I would require that extra bit of send power, but given my current status, I prefer to know my shoe and be comfortable in it.

For the last several years, my go to shoe has been the La Sportiva Muira (laceup).  It knuckles up my big toe to concentrate power, it edges, it's surprisingly comfy, and its durable.  But its made me complacent - are there other better shoes out there?  Not quite ready to drop $160 to continue my love affair, I picked up some Scarpa Vapor V's and put the savings towards continuing my actual love affair with my girlfriend.  And so far, I am pretty happy with my choice.

The Vapor V's have a dual velcro closure over a padded and elasticized tongue, leather uppers and sturdy Vibram rubber sole.  The velcro is faster than laces, but the shoe doesn't slip on as easily making this shoe more cumbersome in the event you take it off on a multi-pitch route, but less hassle at the boulders or your single pitch sport crag.  Once on however, the shoe feels quite secure.  The full leather uppers do stretch; while remaining secure on your foot, they feel a little baggy after breaking in.  The full leather uppers are also showing a bit of wear just behind my toes from dragging along the rock or the occasional crack.  The Vibram XS Grip 2 rubber is great.  It is plenty thick, which is great for durability, and at my level (low 5.12s), its sensitive enough.  They have performed admirably all around:  at bouldering (secure heel hooks), sporty face climbing, and even some cracks (though given the scrunched nature of the foot, it is obviously not playing to their design).

I've lodged a few complaints above, but those are very nit picky details so that you know what you are getting.  The bottom line is this:  I am happy with my purchase and have worn these bad boys on some proud sends this fall.  I look forward to using them on winter training and for the spring rope season.  That said, after a resole, I'll be saving up an extra $20-30 and getting my lace up muiras again - more durable uppers, same rubber with more flex and sensitivity in the sole, a toe box that fits me a little better, and an easy slip on for casual climbing.  Returning to the Muiras with a more critical foot, perhaps I'll be less impressed...

The Lathe of Heaven

The Lathe of Heaven, by Ursula K. Le Guin

This was a fascinating little sci-fi book.  It perfectly embodies what I see as the power of sci-fi:  to explore humanity through the introduction of bizarre and fantastical alterations to our world.  The story follows George Orr as he attempts to come to grips with his strange ability to have "effective" dreams that change the world.  Read on for further discussion that may present some spoilers.

As a more complete summary, the book documents the struggle of George Orr to control his dreams and fight their exploitation by his psychiatrist, Dr. Haber.  His psychiatrist aims to make George dream effectively under hypnosis so as to study the effect.  Using a new tool called the "augmenter," Haber directs George via hypnosis to effectively dream a world into existence in which Haber himself is a researcher of growing power and importance.  Taking things further, Haber tries to direct George to dream a more peaceful and perfect world.  Each time, however, his attempts are foiled as George's dreams follow the directions but foil their purpose - for example, the war in the middle east is ended, but only as humanity unites against aliens or overpopulation is solved but only by a great plague that wiped out most of the population.  Eventually, Haber directs George to the obvious solution of effectively dreaming to end his ability to dream effectively.  Perhaps due to his unwillingness to relinquish power, Haber further directs George to transfer the ability to effectively dream on to Haber himself.  Haber's resulting nightmare mixes each of the worlds George has dreamed into a single point in space and time.

The ties this book has to eastern philosophy are made obvious throughout.  There are quotes at the beginning of each chapter from Chuang Tzu as well as more subtle references to Taoist tenants like that of the "uncarved block."  George Orr is a very Taoist person - seemingly unassuming and easily manipulated, but impossible to budge when pushed; not one to push in any given direction but looking to follow the path and natural order (even in mixed up realities).  Further, he works with, not against, his surroundings to achieve a harmony in his life despite the ever changing and turbulent world in which he finds himself.  There are also some implications of Hindu-like "Brahman" as George works with the (now) friendly aliens to understand the nature of effective dreaming.

What is the knowledge to be taken away from this book?  Perhaps that solving the worlds problems is more difficult than we can immagine - even with unlimited power to develop a solution, there are many ways for things to go awry.  Perhaps that humans must fight their tendencies towards greed and power. But most of all, I think it mirrors many of the lessons of Taoism and other eastern philosophy:  to work with, not against, the world to become comfortable with your role.  I don't mean that we are each a mysterious cog in the machine of the world trying to figure out where we fit, but I think this book demonstrates, through bizarre circumstances, the necessity to be cognizant of the Way and how to work with the people and the world around you in an organic way to create an environment of peace and harmony.

Voting

My friend Jon showed me a slick video about the failings of the electoral college, its 6 minutes of your time well spent:

In addition to this video explaining the electoral college, CPG Gray explains a number of other voting related issues such as gerrymandering, the problems with "first past the post" (FPTP) voting methods, and some possible solutions to voting.  All well made and informative videos worth your time to watch.

Between the shortcomings of FPTP, the electoral college, and the problems with voting machines, its high time we citizens make this an issue.  Until we do, what good are our votes?  As usual, the task of making a nationwide change is daunting, so think global and act local.  If it successfully changes on local and state levels, then it can change on a national level.  In the words of Grover Norquist (paraphrased from NPR's This American Life):  given a generations worth of time, we can change anything.

Become informed and make it a habbit to write your representatives (local, state, federal).  They represent your voice, make sure they know what you have to say!

Periodized Training for Climbing

Climbing is an odd activity that blurs the line between lifestyle, hobby, obsession, and sport.  If you get into climbing, you'll want to get better if for nothing else than the ability to explore more places and more climbs.  Getting better involves two distinct components, namely 1) technical skill and 2) physical ability.  In this post, I'll discuss methods and means to improve physical ability.  **Disclaimer:  this is not professional advice, nor is it for novice climbers.  Novice climbers should climb a lot, pay attention to movement efficiency and balance, climb on varied terrain and find a mentor.

If you want to know more, read these books:

• The Self Coached Climber - the most current book on the market that brings it all together
• Performance Rock Climbing - a little dated, but still full of good info
• An Eric Horst book (How to climb 5.12, Training for Climbing, one of the other equivalents)
• The Making of  Rock Prodigy / Anderson Brothers' Training Guide - this is essentially the beef from the above books; what exercises to do and in what order to get results.  It may not be the be all end all, but it gets results for a lot of people.  

What I do:
My training is essentially based on these books plus what I've picked up from friends.  I don't want to restate what others have said better, but as a brief summary, I try and periodize my training as follows (3-6 weeks per step):

1. ARC:  build up aerobic endurance/increase anaerobic threshold through long times on the wall.  
2. Hypertrophy:  build muscle mass, one rep max weight lifting style by hangboarding.
3. Power:  force divided by time, improve explosive strength by campusing
4. Anaerobic endurance:  climb through more pump with 4x4's

Try it once and listen to your body.  Then individualize your regimen.  Here is my current schedule (note the incorpration of bouldering, antagonist muscle training and spreading out of hard workouts):

A few more details on each phase:
ARC:  Look at professional marathon runners and you'll see that their mile splits are faster than you can run a single mile.  What pushes you into unsustainable anaerobic excercise is within their sustainable aerobic capabilities.  According to running literature you can train yourself to run at 80-90% max intensity and be in your aerobic state by running a lot at your aerobic limit (right under your anearobic threshold).  So do long sets on the wall over easy to moderate terrain, like 30 minutes of 5.8 climbing.  Take this time to work on movement, practice backsteps, footwork, and flagging.  Then reap the rewards of recovering while climbing sections of routes that within your aerobic limit.

Hypertrophy:  This is building muscle to gain strength.  You do this by working so hard that your muscles fail within a very short time.  The rock prodigy method suggests choosing 6-8 grips on the hangboard and doing 3 sets consisting of 6 reps of 10 sec hang / 5 sec rest.  Furthermore, rock prodigy suggests using weights and rigging a pully system to add or subtract weight as needed.  I have also been mixing in "frenchie's" (pull up hold, drop, pull up, lock off at 90 deg, pull up, lock off at 120, repeat...).  And to keep it interesting, boulder problems that focus on small holds with stopper moves, essentially fast failure but on a route.

Power:  also known as max recruitment, this is about getting all muscles to fire simultaneously to generate maximum force.  The classic exercise here is campusing.  I do 4-6 sets of ladders, that is start with hands off set (left hand low, right hand on the rung 18 inches higher, then reaching the low hand to the next rung 18 inches above the right hand).  I have also been doing 1 arm lock offs / negatives (with assistance as needed) and it is paying big dividends.  Not sure if that is more hypertrophy, but it helps with low lock offs while climbing.  To avoid campusing too much I am also aiming to do dynamic bouldering - big moves to small holds that focus on explosive power and contact strength (its not about finishing the problem but trying hard).

Anaerobic Endurance:  This is supposed to be the fastest to gain, but the fastest to lose, so it goes at the end of the periodization.  All I know to do here are 4x4's - choose 4 problems that are below your grade such that you can just barely do them all back to back to back to back.  Maybe you could eak out harder problems by doing running style repeats - alternating hard problems with short rest or an easy down climb.

Putting it all together:  
It seems easy, but the details are critical.  Find your target peak period - send season (October in my case) or a trip date, then plan backwards.  You have to do it to figure out what your body can handle.  Remember, injury free is the number one goal, so take a day off or drop down to one hard workout per week if you are feeling off.  Note in my plan the included antagonist muscle training.  Make sure to do pushups, wrist rotations, elastic therapy band workouts for your shoulders (rotators and stabilizers) at least once a week.

That got a bit long... I'm curious to here what else you guys do for exercises in each phase.  

The Climbing Media Fantasy

There seems to be a trend in climbing/mountaineering media that glorifies total commitment.  As a climber, who doesn't love commitment? That knowledge that the only way out is up and that when you make that move, there is no turning back; it raises your pulse and hits you with that shot of adrenaline you crave.  But this focus is more than just the moment while climbing, its about committing to the lifestyle of climbing.  

Climbing has always struck me as odd, its a rare subculture in which "the dream we all aspire to" is to be homeless, living out of a van at the crag.  You can see why the media loves this:  awkwardly good looking person realizes they don't fit the "traditional mold" forced on them by society so they abandon it to find freedom and follow their dream; its a perfect fairy tale.  But thats all it is, a fairy tale.  

We all love the butterflies in our stomach as we commit and feel every inch of air under our feet.  When it comes down to it, we like that feeling, but no one wants to get hurt.  Just the same way, no one actually wants to be the dirt poor totally committed climber.  What they want is to be recognized as the unique and individual snowflake of a person who contributes to society with their personal art of a lifestyle, but still has enough money to hang out at coffee shops on rest days while they live out of their off road and fuel efficient RV.  Its hypocrisy to want all the benefits from society without making any contribution.  

The opposite of the dirtbag dreamer is the weekend warrior, not the nameless, faceless, dead-inside cog-in-the-machine worker bee drone of society.  What sets the weekend warrior apart from the dirtbag dreamer?  Where the dirtbag dreamer is a hypocrite living in a fantasy, the weekend warrior is rooted in reality.  The weekend warrior cannot give up climbing, nor can they give up their life.  The result of climbing is that it makes us feel good.  The result of our careers is that it leaves our mark on the world.  Along the way, it earns enough money to provide stability, to live comfortably and even to climb a fair bit.  

Its easy to see the trap of society as a slippery slope: buy a car, buy a house, pay off debt, buy a bigger TV, pay taxes, repeat. die.  But is the dirtbag dream really any better?  In short, dirt bagging is neither sustainable nor secure.  Food, lodging, and transportation cost time either in money earned or effort spent.  Is it better to spend a day foraging for food or a day working and buy a weeks worth of food?  The weekend warrior is a roped climber while the dirtbag dreamer is a free soloist.  The weekend warrior is hindered by what he carries where the dirtbag is hindered by what he doesn't.  

The trick is to walk along the ridge top and not slide down the slippery slope on either side - not the societal trap to the left nor the dirtbag illusion to the right.  Plan ahead, take risks, and wander down off the ridge top.  Just don't get struck in a rut.  Dirtbags make for better videos, just don't confuse fantasy with reality.  

Malcom Gladwell: Blowing Up

This book is good.  Check it out!

Blowing Up: 
This story compares and contrasts two archetypical and polar opposite investment bankers.  One who is a knowledgeable gambler, your typical Wallstreeter, the other is Nassim Taleb (of the Black Swan fame) who trades in options.  One can apparently make money by trading options – betting that the price of a stock will rise or fall.   Here, my lack of financial knowledge clouds the details of how this works, but apparently it does.  Nassim’s idea is that by having a balance of options (bets?) that a stock will go up and others that a stock will fall ensures that he wins – kind of like MPT, but with options.  From the article, it sounds as though his portfolio value experiences drastic increases when the market goes haywire, but generally slowly bleeds in value. 

This whole story was curious.  The pin stripe Wallstreeter goes through booms and busts, living large and then losing the shirt off his back.  Nassim’s strategy makes for a hell of a payday, just widely separated and sporadic in nature.  No matter how well balanced (stocks, bonds, international markets and REITs) your portfolio, if the market crashes, so does the value of your portfolio.  But with Nassim’s options, you can cash in on a market crash.  It seems like Nassim’s options allow you a perfect negative correlation – that is, you could buy stock of company X and watch its value grow with the company, but also buy an option betting the value will drop; if the first half of your investment works, the second doesn’t, but if the second half works, the first doesn’t.  I wonder if there is a way to buy a small but significant set of options betting on a crash such that it would offset your losses in the event of a market crash.  Your portfolio value might look like this: 

This plot compares returns of a standard 7% return (red) to a simplified options balanced model (blue), assuming in both cases a $5,000 per year contribution (Roth IRA).  The options balanced model has a 5% compound interest return, where I assume the extra 2% is spent on options to balance your portfolio.  Then, depending on a random number (if rand() > 0.9), the market experiences a crash.  Your Portfolio loses half its value, but if you have options, you get a bonus ($50,000).  It’s a back of the envelope style calculation, so I doubt the numbers are right, but it seems like an interesting idea.  I’m guessing the devil is in the details – how much time can you spend buying options and how much of a return can you expect from your options?  But it’s an interesting idea and perhaps someone will offer an interesting financial product to simplify this (option index insurance?).  

Malcom Gladwell: John Rock’s Error

Now this was a fascinating story!  I don’t even know what insight to draw from this story. Mostly it’s just fascinating and I think more people should know about this stuff.  It’s the story of the Pill, women’s birth control.  This story has it all – science, fiction, politics, and betrayal.  As with Gladwell’s other articles, this weaves together several plot lines: of the Pill inventor, John Rock, the religious perspective (of the inventor and the Pope), the science of menstruation, and cancer.  Trying to summarize this succinctly will be a challenge, but here it goes.

John Rock was a devout Catholic and wanted to help people utilize the rhythm method, a natural form of birth control condoned by the church.  His solution was a “natural” one, the use of natural hormones in a pill that allowed for predictable periods of fertility.  Somehow he and his coworkers decided on a 4 week cycle.  This is curious because it raises the question of how frequent menstruation is naturally.  An academic spent a few years studying the Dogon people of Mali, in Africa who were determined to be, for all practical purposes, unchanged by the modernization of the rest of the world.  Women from this culture rarely menstruated as they spent most of their time either pregnant or breast feeding (which inhibits menstruation).  To cut to the chase, The Dogon women averaged one period per year until age 35, then four per year until menopause for a lifetime total of about 100 menstruations.  This is roughly 25% of the average contemporary Western women who menstruates some 350 to 400 times per year!

Ok, enough about menstruation.  Why does this matter you ask – cancer.  Every period corresponds to the production of huge numbers of cells.  More cell growth and production means more chances for cells to wrong.  American women are six times more likely to have breast cancer than corresponding Japanese women.  Why?  The fact that Japanese women started menstruation two years later (16 years old rather than 14) accounts for 40% of the difference.  Throw in higher weight at menopause and lower estrogen production (which could be due to their lower fat diet) and there is no difference.  Fortunately researchers are working on other forms of birth control that work to reduce lifetime menstruations. 

To finish the story is the perfect twist, only possible in real life: that John Rock, the devout Catholic, questions his faith as the Church bans all forms of oral contraceptive.  After working so hard to help humanity in a accordance with his Catholic religious beliefs, the rules change and deem what he created against the rules.  Did he leave the Church, or did the Church leave him?  Question the status quo.  Follow your gut.  Make a difference!   

The book:  Malcom Gladwell's What the Dog Saw.