funkyzweit mit baku

Unwanted guests

Well there's a long tradition that ties oil and prostitution (though the same could be said about any industry that employs largely men working far from home), and Baku is no exception. Sometimes you're reminded of that relationship in the most peculiar way. Take for instance one of my colleagues who recently visited Baku and stayed at one of the local guest houses. He came across a classic on one of the notice boards, attached here for your viewing pleasure.
The oldest job in the world, as they say...

legomakers united by the web

Link: http://www.zemi.net/moonbase/
Yeah I played lego as a kid with my neighbour and best friend Robert. Countless hours putting these wonderful colored bloacks together, letting our imagination run free (although Star Wars was a big theme). I blame legos for pushing me to study engineering (there were other factors at work here, but that's another story).

It's mindblowing to see how technology has linked and united legomakers across the world, funneling their energies into vast organised creation. I mean this moonbase community has nothing to envy of NASA, save their budget perhaps.

Parents: get your kids into lego - it's good stuff!

3D Printers are here!

Link: Z Corp - 3D Printers for Rapid Prototyping.
This is nothing short of revolutionary if you ask me. Ok at $25,900 a pop it's not exactly going to be the next household item. But you can be pretty sure prices will drop. Educational institutions are going to jump on this, not to mention design firms. How I would have loved to get my hands on this as a student! Unleash creative talent and vision in kids across the planet...

Winter driving in baku: the movie

Oh you will want to see this vid, taken from a russian news channel. It's a zip file so donwload it and open it (windows media movie). Bring popcorn.

Blizzard

Siberia has decided to take a vacation and move down to Baku. Much to the surprise of Azeri drivers as ice, snow and wind colluded to put an end to what little civility there was in the streets. Sturdy soviet Ladas and Gigulis came to an abrupt stop. Traffic, any day of the week, is bad. But now it's really pitiful. Anyway, the thermometer has dropped sharply and it has been snowing constantly all day. Forecast is "no change" for the rest of the week, so I expect that Baku city will be looking like one big slosh pond by Friday. And check out the email we received in our inboxes at work today:

"Today's severe weather conditions and heavy snow have created a potentially hazardous situation, leading to traffic jams and road closures in the city. In consideration of these conditions, and to allow enough time to get from the work place to your home, employees can leave work at 15:30 today"

And guess what, it's 18:42 and I'm still heeeeere (looser).

Design in NY, and the power of networks

The next 6 months are going to be one big drawn out waiting-in-anticipation period. Here's what I wrote in a recent email to my friends scattered around our beautiful blue planet:

"...2006 is the year of renewal. Well, for me anyway. So my first move is to do something a bit more radical and exploratory. Something that breaks the monotony of corporate city life. Something a bit more "artistic" (we all have it in us, we just never find enough time to play around with it). This is why I booked 4 weeks of my precious vacation time this summer to study drawing and painting at Parsons School of Design, NY.

Yeah, I am excited, in case you're wondering. I'm hoping to bump into Carrie Bradshaw ;-)

While I have an option (but no guarantee) to stay on campus, I'm really hoping to find a room in a real apartment, to get the full NY experience (cockroaches, rats,...just kidding!). This is where you come in.

There are only six degrees of separation between me and someone who has a room to rent in Manhattan. I would be indebted to you if you could tap into your own networks and ask around..."

I think this is the very first time ever that I make a conscious effort to send out a wide call for help to my friends. I have been overwhelmed by the responses. Even friends I haven't spoken to in years have been really forthcoming. It's quite humbling, actually. I'm really positive that something good will come of it, and that I will find a place to stay whilst in NY.

Over the last year my interest around social networking has grown and I can't help but draw a parallel here. I've been eyeing with some initial dubiousness virtual networks develop around a core idea, product, belief, interest. Where or how is the trust generated? But trust is possible, even amongst people who have never "pressed the flesh".

Now sure these are my friends, and trust has already been earned (though I never take it for granted, and I kick myself for not spending more time staying in touch). But come to think of it, it is in many way transferable because more likely than not the person who's going to help me find an appartment is someone I have never met in my life.

But I digress. What I really wanted to say was: studying, and living, for a whole month, in NY, is going to R-O-C-K!

Miserable day (would make a nice U2 song title?)

Winter is here. I'm freezing my arse. Although not long, winter in Baku is pretty harsh and somewhat depressing. In stark contrast to the awesome week I spent in Stockholm on the Snowball. I made a few worthless pictures that you can see further down the sidebar under "flickr snowball". Stockholm was also cold, but the city is is designed for it, unlike Baku. The buildings have nice pastel colours. People make a real effort to decorate their homes with light and colour. Anyway, back to the Snowball: 8 hours of lindy hop and balboa every day for 5 days. A marathon dance camp. And a blast. If you're interested in lindy or balboa try these resources. And here's a small clip from the snowball.

Surviving 38 (or was that 37?)

Yesterday was my 38th 37th birthday. This year was a quiet affair...a couple of friends dropped by to commiserate with me...nothing fancy...and just like that the evening passed as that ship sailed onto another year...a good year? The omens are good. Fingers crossed. Ad gunu mubarek as they say...

ndlr: here's a real sign of ageing...screwing up your real age. Now, any sane person would get it wrong by pretending to be younger, not older. Thank my paddy friend Ian for pointing out the obvious inadequacy of my basic calculus (and you call yourself an engineer Manu!)

Year-end, time to go.

It's that time of year when it suddenly hits me that I'm tired and I want to go home. Boohoo. It's been a while since my last vacation (can't even remember). Always trying to cram too much stuff in the last few weeks running up to winter break.

And what a break: 3 weeks. Wooohooo. The highlight, other than seeing my friends and family, is the lindy hop camp in Stockholm.

This morning was one of those beautiful still grey mornings, but not so gray as to be depressing. You could just about distinguish the blue sky through the grey wisps, and where small breaks occured the trimmings where all pink-golden. Down in the bay the ferrys to Turkmenistan where lazily making their way west. Wish I had a decent camera. My little 2 mega canon would not do it any justice.

It don't mean a thing, if it aiiin't got that swing, shuba shuba shuba...

Lankaran

Two week-end ago I went down south to Lankaran, home of the potatoe. It's one of the major towns before you hit the Iranian border. A greulling 5 hours+ drive from Baku in a hot (no air-con) car with a broken alternator and temperamental CD player.

Highlights: nice mountain range and peaceful city. Could see lots of stars at night. Drank lots of tea.

Lowlights: Heat, flies, heat, sweat, flies, going around in circles to find a hotel room, too much lamb in one week-end.

Lankaran: Tick.