Such calls are hardly news (or blog) worthy. What is worth a comment was the caller ID description.

Usually such calls display as “Out of Area,” “Unknown,” or something equally undescriptive. The caller ID was more pointed in its description for this call. It announced the call as “Phone Scam.” Perhaps the callers were hoping to disarm natural cynicism regarding unsolicited calls with such brazen honesty.

Notes:

For those interested the alleged source number was 567 248 4400.

I am on (and confirmed my listing) the Do Not Call list.

Perhaps the phone company added the description in the same manner that web browsers and e-mail clients alert you to possible scam/phising attempts.

It may seem strange to bother to set up a blog under my real name and then not bother to fill it with blog posts. However there are valid reasons to do such a thing.

Know your audience

The great lesson of any writing or speech giving is to know your audience. That is, you should tailor your subject and presentation to the interests and expectation of your audience. In real life, most of do this without thinking. We may share a joke with friends that we would never share with professional colleagues. We may have political arguments with good friends that we might avoid with neighbors. We may discuss personal details with families that would define the term “too much information” for everyone else.

We partake of such market segmentation not to deceive, but because we are aware that different audiences have different expectations. Good friends may enjoy vigorous argument, remaining unoffended by such differences in a way that neighbors may not (because friends know each other well, they understand that such differences are only a small part of the overall person). The “naughtiness” of that off-color joke shared with friends can be enjoyed because you are aware of each other’s tolerance for offence. Personal discussions that would be acceptable for family or loved ones may be embarrassing for others with whom you are less acquainted. Colleagues may appreciate in-depth technical or professional discussions that would bore or alienate others.

The problem with blogging is you cannot segment your audience. While ninety percent of your audience may understand that a comment was mischievous humor, some may be offended. While in real life it is possible to misjudge another’s taste and cause offence, in blogging it is certain. Friends may tolerate, nay even enjoy, vigorous political debate. They can comfortably differ, where others may draw harsh judgments. I have heard many expressions of the “I would never date/employ a Republican/Democrat/liberal/conservative” attitude.

It is true that the most popular, and indeed enjoyable, bloggers or commentators are often the most opinionated. That is fine if you aim to make your living as a “public intellectual.” For the rest of us such staking your position may offend neighbors and close employment opportunities. Arianna Huffington and Rush Limbaugh have been able to turn opinion into good living, the “Philosopher Geek” not so much.

Not so anonymous, not really cowardly

The term “anonymous coward” likely originated in the technical forum Slashdot.org and referred those who posted without a user name. However, a better term for anonymous blogging might be pseudonym blogging. It is more in the realm of a pen name than anonymous. As such, it can claim the company Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (believed to be the team who wrote the Federalist Papers, under the name “Publius”).

Because the pen-named blogger has a home (blog address) and a name (their adopted screen name), they are not truly anonymous. Indeed, the audience will hold them to account for their writings and online conduct just as they would in real life. If you shout “Fire!” from your blog, you suffer consequences for any panic caused. While the real you may escape embarrassment, the online you will suffer the same loss of trust and confidence they would in real life. The same holds for pseudonymed commenters: they (or at least their user name) will suffer a loss of trust or prestige should their behavior or comments deserve it. The worst trolls tend to be anonymous (no user name) or constantly change user names (only their style giving them away).

My “secret” blog has fallen fallow recently, so perhaps I may actually update this real blog. However, you (and the spam bots) should not expect too much.

Notes

You should not believe that I particularly enjoy off-color jokes nor hold disreputable opinions. It is merely that with a global audience any humor or opinion will find a party to take offense. The ability to write without wondering what neighbors, family, or potential employers might think is liberating. Many of the most interesting topics are also the most controversial.

Under my pen name, I achieved a modest audience (far larger than here) and made some online friends. Such communities have similar joys, duties, and expectations to their real-life counterparts.

Running that program brought back memories of using Visicalc on an Apple II (however, I probably actually ended up using Lotus 123 on a PC more often). I am not sure how much memory the Apple had (perhaps 32K), but it was a high spec model with not one, but two, floppy drives, and an 80 column card (compared to the normal 40). I remember briefly having access to a model with a 20-megabyte (yes MB) external hard drive, and being astounded at its speed and capacity.
[For younger readers an 80-column card allowed the display to show 80 characters by 24 lines of text instead of the usual 40 characters. Such characters were usually displayed on a green monitor (green characters on a black background).]

What is incredible is how small the program is. At just 27 kilobytes, the entire program is barely bigger than an empty Excel spreadsheet, yet the basic functionality of a spreadsheet is exactly as it is today.

As incredible as the program was then, I am very grateful for the power and ease of Excel. Indeed I am far more forgiving of Excel compared to, say, PowerPoint.

Ahh, nostalgia, like computers, it just ain’t what it used to be.

It seems we may be able to add the Artic to that list.

According to a recent study, modern polar bears may be descended from brown bears that roamed in what is now Ireland.

So I guess I should wish a top o’ the mornin’ to the top of the world. There is no word on whether the bears now intend to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

Notes:

For more see:
http://news.discovery.com/animals/polar-bears-genetic-roots-ireland-110707.html

The Anti-PowerPoint Party (APPP) seeks a national referendum on banning the use of presentation software within Switzerland.

While it looks like a self-promoting gimmick (the party founder has a book to sell), it is likely to raise a smile in many corporate environments.

A nice video that reminds us that while we remember many wars through black and white photos, they are all fought in color.

In case you were wondering:

Veterans Day does not include an apostrophe but does include an “s” at the end of “veterans” because it is not a day that “belongs” to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans.
United States Department of Veterans Affairs FAQ

I was in a supermarket and realized that not only did I recognize the music playing, I liked it. Lest you think this was some hip place that lays food items out in straw and uses artistically hand-drawn signage, I can assure you it was not.
[Indeed such a place would be playing classical music not the classic rock that I recognized.]

This makes me feel almost as old as learning those new CD thingies are thirty years old.

Notes:

Food items in straw, muzak turned to the classical channel, and those artsy signs are probably a good marker that you are overpaying for your groceries. You would not catch Sam Walton merchandising with such foo-foo nonsense.

I can (try to) claim that gray hairs make me look more distinguished, wise, and mature, I can see no such benefit in appreciating supermarket music.

While many people claim massive improvements in energy when shifting to a low-diet, I cannot claim such radical shifts. My peak energy is no better but I, perhaps, have fewer fluctuations. I was already lean, so had no weight to lose, which is a reason many people adopt low-carb eating. What surprised me was how easy it was to shift eating styles. Although I never went to extreme induction (less than 30g of carbs per day), I did begin at around 60g of carbs a day. That was still low enough to get me into ketosis.

Avoiding postprandial sluggishness has been the primary benefit I received from low-carb eating. I can be completely full after eating a low-carb meal but still ready for work. The same level of satiety from a more “balanced” meal would leave me feeling sluggish. I certainly would not be performing any rigorous mental work for at least an hour, maybe longer.

I thought I would badly miss my pasta, but did not. I was hungry between meals until I adjusted the non-carb quantities up to make up for the lost carb calories (a serving of pasta is about 200Kcal). I still feel an echoic pull when I pass the cookie aisle in the supermarket or a donut shop. I am sure I will eventually have high-carb day when I indulge in French fries, but mostly the shift was easier than I imagined.

Perhaps because I am lean, and have no weight to lose, I have found I do better with a slightly higher carbohydrate intake. Even after adding extra low-carb calories, I still found myself hungry between meals. This was worst at night and felt close to hypoglycemic. I have since increased my carb intake, and that has improved things. I am do not really count carbs any more (I do, but very casually) but at a rough guess I am at 80 to 100 grams a day.

Results:

• Not much change in body weight. I perhaps lost a pound or two.
• I am perhaps slightly more “cut.” This is probably related to small loss of weight, as I have not done any training.
• My energy levels are more constant throughout the day although I do not have the reinvigorated feel that many claim.
• The last time I did more intense aerobic exercise (I admit it was a while ago) I felt that I had more aerobic capacity (I felt less out of breath at my existing exercise level).
• I never get carb cravings. When I am hungry it feels like hunger (a call to refuel) not a major craving.
• Foods that once provoked an addiction like response (once you start eating, it is hard to stop) such as ice-cream, cookies, or potato chips, no longer do so.

What I eat.

• I am certainly not paleo. I have some grains (oatmeal), dairy (cream and butter), peanuts, and other things that I am sure or not paleo.
• I mostly avoid: sugar (but I do eat fruits), starches (potato, pasta), and HFCS, etc.
• I eat leafy greens without limit (practically speaking it is hard to eat huge quantities of these).
• I eat beef, chicken, fish, as well as pork and bacon.
• I eat most vegetables in moderate quantities (even decent portions can be carb light because some of those carbs are fiber).
• I eat various nuts and seeds.
• I cook in butter (mmmm!), olive oil, or coconut oil (can be very good).
• I use plenty of cream and sometimes coconut cream. Coconut cream can make nice smoothies.
• I use added protein (mostly Whey).
• I do eat chocolate (85%) and cocoa.

Problems:

Sometimes I still get hungry between meals. This is surprising as satiety is the one thing such diets are supposed to avoid. This could be due to no longer having those little snacks that are not counted (cookies, etc.). Some of it could be due to not eating enough calories. Being more generous with carbs can help here.

My total total cholesterol is high. However, my triglycerides are low and my HDL is high. The total number is higher than I would like. I will, at some point, take the VAP test. That gives a broader picture of actual cardio-vascular risk.

Musing

I have met a few vegetarians in my life. All of them seemed to be somewhat nervous ectomorphic types. I suspect that in a strange irony, many would do well on a low carb, higher protein diet (which is more likely to include meat). I suspect that such a diet would actually calm their “nerves” and the extra protein would offset the catabolic effect of nervous stress.

Resources

Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes or his article for the New York Times [registration required]

Protein Power by Michael R. Eades, M.D.

From the movie Fat Head, this short video explains why calories in versus calories burned is not the complete story. A good introduction to topics covered by Taubes and Eades.

The Logic of Failure describes the problems we encounter when we try to model complex systems. It shows how even simple systems can confound the best efforts of their controllers.

By documenting a series of experiments where participants had to control simulated environments (an imaginary country, an imaginary town, and the temperature of a warehouse), Dörner shows just how difficult it can be to control any system. He documents the errors we tend to make and the poor results we achieve. All of these systems had simple parameters and simple goals. Few of them came close to the complexity of many real-life challenges. Yet, in each case the results were poor with the participants soon losing control of their imaginary systems.

In one experiment participants had to control the temperature of a warehouse by manipulating a dial. The dial had no numbers, so the participants had to ascertain how the dial worked. Most participants ended up creating wild fluctuations, with the temperature spinning between too cold and too hot. Even this simple system (turn the dial, observe the result, adjust according to the result) defeated most participants.

Experiments to manage the irrigation, pasture, and crops of an imaginary country met with equally dismal results. Most participants ended up creating population booms followed by collapse, over grazing followed by drought and starvation, and general misery for the citizens of their imaginary country.

An experiment to manage an imaginary town created the same misery for its inhabitants. Attempts to curb traffic congestion caused a business bust, attempts to create better housing created a congestion, attempts to manage the factory output created worker unrest, attempts to create worker satisfaction reduced factory output. In this case, like the others, the controllers soon lost control.

The author describes the frustrations the participants felt. He illustrates the different responses to that frustration: dictatorial decisions (of the “just shoot the bastard” type), “ballistic” decisions (panic stricken, fire-fighting, uncontemplative, quick fire), resignation, and micro focused (locked on some tiny detail that was unlikely to provide a solution).

None of the participants was stupid. None started with bad will. Most ended up defeated by the complexity of these simple systems.

Book Summary: Important but often overlooked features of complex systems

• All the system variables interact with each other. You cannot change “just one thing.”
• Variables can change through outside events, we do not have to do anything.
• Small changes in one variable can have large changes elsewhere.
• It is not always clear what the effect of changing any variable will be.
• Any changes we make may have lags, so that the effect is not immediately clear.
• Systems can evolve over time, what worked yesterday may not work today (or not work in the same manner)

Book Summary: Decision making errors

• Possible conflicts in goals: e.g., higher customer service and lower staff costs.
• Misunderstanding goals and priorities: e.g., is price or customer service more important?.
• Reductionism: Due to our need to feel we have mastery, we tend to over simplify the systems we are studying.
• Methodism: Failure to view the current problem or goal in context, but instead use “proven solutions.”
• Fire Fighting: A focus on the immediate crisis instead of looking at the bigger picture. Lack of reflection or questions.
• Not considering what we want to keep while focusing on what we need to fix.
• Assuming lack of immediate change meant all was well.
• Becoming wrapped up in pet projects and forgetting what is important.

Book Summary: Author’s Advice

• State goals clearly.
• Establish priorities, but realize they may change as the situation does.
• Form a model of the system.
• Gather information . . . but not too much.
• Don’t excessively abstract. Remember common sense.
• Analyze errors and draw conclusions from them. Change your thinking and behavior according to that feedback.

All systems involve feedback and the interaction of individual parts. Indeed most things that we manage are “complex.” If you are a manager then you are managing a complex system. If you are an employee, you are part of a complex system. If you are alive, you are part of a complex system. Whatever your field of endeavor this book is worth a read. Perhaps if the creators of some of those complex financial products (CDO, MBS, CDS) had read this book we may have avoided a lot of trouble.

In previous entries of this series we discussed Extroversion and Introversion, Sensing and Intuition, Thinking and Feeling, and finally Judging and Perceiving. In this post, we bring those for preferences together to find your type.

Those four preferences are all you need to decide your Myers-Briggs type. If you are more introverted pick ‘I’. If you prefer Sensing pick ‘S’. If you feel (ahem) you are a Thinker pick ‘T’. If you decide you are a Judger pick ‘J’, if uncertain pick ‘P’ (ha ha!). Add it all together and you would be (in this case) an ISTJ or ISTP. That is the simply and quick way to type yourself (or somebody else).

You can try a more involved test online. The test asks 72 questions and will return your type.^[1]

It is important to note some things:

• Type may point to the reasons for communication difficulties or other misunderstandings.
• The map is not the territory. Knowing a person’s type only gives indications as to how they might be. Most people do not perfectly match type descriptions
• The various preferences (E versus I, S versus N, etc.) do not simply add together. They interact with each other to create the whole type.
• Type is not a prison. Phrases like “you can’t expect an XXXX to do that” are just excuses. Type points to preferences and motivations, it does not prevent you living a full and useful life. It does not mean you can never be polite, disciplined, creative, etc.
• It would be very rash to make decisions regarding employment (to offer or take), romance, education, etc. based solely on type.
• Without changing basic preferences, people adapt to different situations: individuals may present as a different type as they adopt to current need (e.g., a Feeling, Perceiving manager may present a Thinking, Judging face as required by his current role).
• Under pressure, such as stress or tiredness, people may even appear as an opposite type (the “evil twin” effect).

The simplest way to find out about a particular type is to perform a search using the four-letter code. Such a search will return many entries. However, because I am such a nice guy, I provide links to the Typelogic entry for each of the 16 types.

Notes:
As of the posting date, Typealyzer has my blogging style as INTJ (The Scientists). Typealyzer is wrong.

However, on various Internet discussion boards, INTJ predominates. While INTJs represent a small portion of the general population (perhaps two percent) they can make up the majority of posters at such sites (by simple poll). Indeed all intuitive types feature in far greater numbers than they do in the general population.

^[1] This test and others like it are not strictly a Myers-Briggs test. The proper name for that test is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. CPP Inc. holds copyright of the test. No version of that test is available online. This test, and others, like it may use terms like Jungian assessment. While their results should be similar to a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment, they are not the same thing. For convenience I, like many others, use the term Myers-Briggs to include all similar assessments. Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers based their theories on C. G. Jung’s Psychological Types, which is why derivative tests use the description Jungian. However, the theories of Briggs and Myers differ from Jung’s original ideas.
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