Jon Thralow, Revisited

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." ~Arthur C. Clarke

At the end of January we interviewed Jon Thralow on Internet entrepreneurialism and especially eCommerce. It seemed we'd only scratched the surface so I met with him yesterday at the Red Mug to do a little more probing regarding his work.

Though now primarily doing consulting work, Jon used to manage a team of programmers. As we compared notes from time to time these past few years, I found it interesting to learn that programmers and Internet developers can have temperaments like artists. Those who do the best work may not fit neatly into your standard corporate cubespace. Jon, though a technical wizard and programmer himself, understood this art-heart-spirit of his team. They consequently achieved remarkable things together.

Here, for a few moments, we explored the meaning of Web 2.0, the explosion of web content and at least one solution for dealing with the tsunami of information that is washing across cyberspace.

Ennyman: I have been hearing a lot of numbers thrown around regarding how fast the Internet is growing. What kind of numbers are you seeing and where do these numbers come from?

JT: As for sales growth the Internet is one of the few bright spots for the economy, but the larger growth is happening in content My best guess is that in pure data being uploaded is growing so fast with YouTube, and social media sites that the number of gigabytes online is at least doubling every other year.

Ennyman: The Internet has brought a lot of new terminology into existence. Here are a couple that the average person might be hearing that need clearer definitions. What is “Web 2.0”? What is the “deep web”?

JT: "Web 2.0" refers to a perceived second generation of web development and design that aims to facilitate communication and interoperability on the World Wide Web. Some concepts that have led to this evolution are web-based communities, hosted services, and applications; such as social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, and blogs. As all of this new content is quickly being added search engines like Google are having a hard time keeping up and indexing this information. The amount of information that Google is able to index is a small fraction of the entire Internet. Everything that is not indexed by search engines is called "deep web".

Ennyman: You have helped develop a number of successful eCommerce companies and are currently consulting in this area. What is it that so turns you on about eCommerce?

JT: I am not really sure. I like science and I like doing things that people tell me not to. When I first went into eCommerce, it was more of a feeling like, “What is this? It is going to go away in a week or two and will it even work if more people get online?” I was just too curious to leave it alone. One of the parts that I liked best was the ability to marry marketing and science. Knowing exactly what each dollar did and how much that dollar turned into…

Ennyman: You are also involved in a company called Mozenda which helps eCommerce companies efficiently gather data from the Internet. Why can’t people just do this with search engines like Google?

JT: Mozenda does much more than help eCommerce companies. We have very large companies using this tool.

For eCommerce, a search engine only returns results on the browser while Mozenda gathers the data you want and puts it into a usable format.

Ennyman: What other kinds of companies are currently using Mozenda’s software platform? How are these companies using the program?

JT: There are many different companies including even a couple of DOW-tracked publicly traded companies, one from retail and one from financial. Financial companies will track buy/sell data to predict future stock prices. The retail company is using it to compare its prices to its competitors. Another financial company is using it to gather data from one section of its organization to mesh it with another. Many PR companies are using the program to watch the reaction to the brand by harvesting data from blogs and forums. Other large companies are using the product to learn about potential recalls in their product line before production has put too many out into the marketplace saving the company millions and increasing the product quality.

Ennyman: Doesn’t it seem a little like opening the door to a Big Brother situation here? Can this kind of data acquisition lead to abuses and does that concern you?

JT: Yes, this sure can lead to abuse. I think the analogy might be that Mozenda makes the guns and they can be used for either good or evil fits here. There have been companies that have been taken to court by stealing data from their competitors, but Mozenda does not advocate this practice. The goal of Mozenda is to make the data on the net much more usable.

Borges and I, Redux

This morning I woke with a pleasant inbox surprise. The following email from a visitor to my website and ultimately my Labyrinth. How sweet these fellow travellers can be when they tumble into our lives.

Hi there,
I don't ordinarily "write" anything that isn't technical and academic, but I spent the last two months reading Borges and it affected me. I found your site/labyrinth and thought I'd share my (very) short piece of prose/verse with you, because I think it's up your alley and I don't know anyone who would actually appreciate it.
If you like it, please let me know and feel free to post it on your site. If you have comments on it, I'd be glad for the feedback. It's a work in progress.
In any event, thanks for just taking a look.
R. J.

I replied:
"A very fine little piece indeed. It really snaps one to attention. Thank you for sharing. And yes, I will share it on my blogspot, recognizing your authorship of course. Can you briefly tell me a little more about yourself? Or should we keep that ambiguous."

He replied thusly....

For public consumption, the forking paths of ambiguity are probably fine... Google will tell anyone that I'm either a physicist, a budding economist, or an 18 yr. old kid w/ a myspace page (or none of the above). The alternative is a short bio, and that really doesn't seem appropriate (as it would be longer than my little contribution ;) )

For you, I'm actually _____ . I study and teach _________ (I have my classes read "Of Exactitude in Science" on day one), and play a lot of chess. I'm glad you enjoyed the writing and thank you for reading. I'd be happy to return the favor some time.
R. J.

Here is the wonderful gem which Mr. Briggs presented to me.

Borges and I, Redux

I know why I am not Borges.

Maybe it’s obvious, but I had to discover it for myself once. Looking at my eyes in the mirror, focusing on the reflection of myself looking in the mirror at the reflection of myself infinitely, going always down and always inward, that’s where I saw him.

Because I saw him in my reflection, I know I am not him.

Because in the moment that the ideal becomes real, it slips out of raw experience into the persistent and necessary imperfection of perception and memory that are all we know.

And the insistent division between them that dances between us, which draws me into writing this and you into reading it, seductively suggests a voice you have not heard that leads you into a labyrinth of swords and knives, gauchos and tigers, mortality and the infinite, the absolute oneness and the constant separation from it, save for the defining moments of life that forever defy description, indelible but usually forgotten, lost forever perhaps because they can exist only in the singular sense of now, outside of what we “know”, beyond the place and time I need to tell you who I think I am not.

But one can never be too sure--better look again.

RJB, 2009


Ennyman's Note: If you wish to read the original Borges and I, here's the place you can check it out. Be sure to follow up with the lustrous Of Exactitude In Science.

Life Is A Gift

About two weeks back I wrote a review here about Jean-Dominique Bauby's The Diving Bell & the Butterfly. Or rather, a review of the film about Jean-Dominique Bauby's story. It was the second time I had seen the film this past several months and as you can see the film made an impact on me. Sometimes art does that. Despite our differences of time and place, differing moments in history or geography and culture, a work of art or a story cuts through to one's heart. Such was this film. So much so that I had to read the book as well because occasionally, during the movie, there are excerpts from the book.

I didn't catch it the first time, didn't realize it was Bauby who was speaking, had written these things. I mean, it was clearly stated but I didn't add it up in my head. This second time, I thirsted for more of this man's prose.

It is beautiful writing, in the true belles-lettres sense of the word, and must be especially so in the original French. The chapters are short, the topics simple. The Wheelchair, Prayer, Bathtime, The Alphabet, The Empress... But each carries a far greater weight because they have been produced one letter at a time by the blinking of an eye. Not in "a blink of an eye" but rather, because every other muscle in his body is frozen except his eyelid, by blinking the left eye he communicates with. Of course this blinking form of communication is simply the final step in the inward development of each pearl, from grains of sand to invaluable jewels, all strung together in this wonderful collection of observations, memories, insights.

This limitation -- communication by eye -- makes telling a joke a bit tedious, yet in the writing you can still see his sense of humor. You see, too, the power of the spirit to rise up in the face of brutal circumstances. His mind is fully awake, and he locked within.

A line from Dylan's Hurricane comes to mind: "put in a prison cell, but one time could have been the champion of the world." Hurricane Carter, who was unjustly imprisoned, was able to appeal his sentence and eventually regained his freedom. For Bauby, such a hope was an impossibility. And yet, through the power of imagination and memory, he did have a certain kind of freedom. Writes Bauby:

"My diving bell becomes less oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly. There is so much to do. You can wander off in space or in time, set out for Tierra del Fuego or for King Midas' court.

"You can visit the woman you love, slide down beside her and stroke her still sleeping face. You can build castles in Spain, steal the Golden Fleece, discover Atlantis, realize your childhood dreams and adult ambitions."

With these words I leave this thought: Today, cherish what you have. And don't let anyone or anything ever steal your spirit. Life is a precious gift.

And for sure, this book comes highly recommended. You can find it both new and used on Amazon.com... or order it from your favorite local bookstore.

Pain and Sorrow

"Yet man is born to trouble as surely as the sparks fly upward." ~ Job 5:7

"Life is difficult." So begins Dr. M. Scott Peck in his searching book The Road Less Traveled.

Peck continues. "This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths." And in a footnote, he points out that it is one of the Four Noble Truths taught by Buddha, who said, "Life is suffering."

According to Peck, accepting this truth results in a form of inner liberation. While we each may experience a unique package of sorrow and troubles, it is a common fate. As the Proverb states, "Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, and joy may end in grief."

Peck's message is that we should not be caught off guard. Life is hard. That is, hard things can happen to us, and unless we are made of stone these things will affect us. It is part of being human. But we can respond to this reality in a variety of ways with ultimately positive ends. Artists turn it into art, musicians into song. For many it is a weight that humbles us into self-forgetfulness and leads us into a place of greater awareness of others' pain, isolation, despair.

These are not things that happen overnight. Grief must do its work.

A number of songs came to mind today. "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton was among the first, written when he lost his four-year-old son in a tragic accident. "Fire and Rain" was a similar heartfelt song through which James Taylor bared his soul when I was a young college student.

Blackbird, from the Beatles' White Album, speaks to me from this haunted place as well.

Blackbird

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see.

All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly

Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly.

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

For this reason it is not good to be alone in the world. There is value in having friends and/or family with whom we can share our burdens.

Notes: The painting atop this blog entry is by Turtle, a local Duluth artist. The blackbirds were painted from a window in my apartment my last year in college.

10 Minutes With John Heino: Not Dead Yet

I met John Heino on the set of Iron Will, a Disney film set here in the Northland. We were extras in the ballroom scene and spent quite a bit of time in the holding area for extras. We had shared just enough that he made a memorable impression and when our paths crossed again through another association, a friendship grew.

By day he is a respected professional, serving as president and CEO of Como Oil & Propane, an energy supplier to this area. But many know him primarily as the keyboardist for one of the region’s most popular rock ‘n roll blues bands, the Centerville All Stars. The more you get to know John the more you discover. His creative spirit and energy crosses into many disciplines, both in the arts and in public service.

He agreed to let me pick his brain last week… or maybe attempt to reflect some of his soul. This interview took place on Friday the 13th, hence the first question.

Ennyman: Is it better to be good or lucky?
JH: Well, I think from a personal fulfillment standpoint, it’s better to be good. If you measure your success by financial or materialistic things, it’s better to be lucky. If you don’t need external validation it’s better to be good.

Ennyman: How did you get into music?
JH: My mother had me take piano lessons when I was about seven years old. I quit when I was ten. I had no appreciation for classical music at that time. What really got me into music was the British Invasion. All of a sudden everyone was listening to music. Everybody was starting bands, combos… The good news for me was that everybody wanted to be a guitar player, so if you could scrape up the money for a keyboard and an amplifier, you could probably get a job with a band.

It wasn’t music theory or creative impulses, but the excitement of the scene, and maybe the girls.

Ennyman: What was it like recording music in the same studio where The Doors recorded?
JH: Our band spent seven years on the road. About a year and a half after high school we were in L.A. after getting comfortable as a group in Seattle. We were actually renting a house, and had soundproofed the garage – in Canoga Park. Kurt, a friend of the guitar player’s who was trying to help us get things going was road manager for the Butts Band… which consisted of drummer John Densmore and (guitarist) Robby Krieger (This was after Jim Morrison had passed.) The Butts Band.. they were rehearsing in our garage… Ray Manzarek came by once or twice.

Ennyman: Didn't you tell me that you saw ZZ Top’s first major performance? How did it feel to see their name in lights when your group had been working so hard to get its name in lights?
JH: ZZ Top was at a place called Starwood… down from the Whiskey A-Go-Go. ZZ Top was just coming out, doing a club show in L.A. … I remember being amazed that three people could have such a full sound.

Ennyman: You once wrote a song about passion. What are you doing these days to keep your creative passion alive?
JH: I still regularly write music. I put out a couple CDs in the past couple years. Photography… I am in the process of printing, mounting and framing photography for a November show at the Red Mug in Superior. I don’t have enough time… I could spend all my waking hours doing either photography or music. Time is limited. I am torn when I have time on a weekend to indulge. Should I write music or go out and shoot photographs. I just spent a weekend up the shore doing pictures of what happens when ice gets blown in.

The conventional wisdom is that you only have one life. But I have been trying to overcome that by living three lives at once. If I could just figure out a way to get rid of sleep. It takes up so much of your time.

Ennyman: You have a Facebook site where you’ve been showing your photography. What is it about photography that gets you so jazzed?
JH: As long as I can remember, I enjoyed looking at photography... When I did finally go to college, I started as an art major and quickly got into photography. Like a lot of people I would have great memories of the great Ansel Adams images, so I would go out with a camera looking for that image.

What broke things open for me was my photography instructor. You have it backwards. Don’t look for the picture… let the picture take you. Don’t think in advance what you are looking for. Get relaxed and just look… and at a certain point you won’t be able to stop reaching for your camera.

On the North Shore, all it takes is a camera and time… God or nature is sending us an infinite stream of images, and if you are just open to actually see…

What excites me, and what I shoot the most, are images you’ll never see again. The one-word short answer for me is “fleeting.” I’ve got thousands of pictures that no one would see if I had not taken them.

There’s something exciting about knowing other people have seen something they would not have seen otherwise.

I’ve only recently realized that a lot of my imagery is related to fractals… each an excerpt from infinity.

There are so many things wrapped up in this [process of making pictures]. The pure aesthetic of reveling in the imagery, the beauty that is there. And there is the anticipation of what you are going to see before you take the pictures. Then there is the aspect of capturing that… And then there’s what happens when people see the work… And then there’s the connection when someone appreciates your work.

I recently went with my son… not talking, but just shooting, then discovering only afterwards what he had shot and I’d shot. Every time there are individualized images and choices with different results.

Ennyman: Perhaps the same can be said with these interviews… each involves choices in regard to questions, focusing the lens at different angles, usually with unexpected and wonderful results. Thanks, John, for sitting still long enough to make this snapshot.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge. With the exception of my portrait of John, the photos on this page were borrowed with permission from John’s Facebook albums.

The Unifinished Stories (part 2)

SHORT STORY MONDAY

At a writers group in Bedminster, NJ, a frustrated young novelist learns about an exceptionally talented writer named Richard Allen Garston through an old timer there. A member of the group named Willis responds to the younger man's inquiries, confirming Garston's talent and whetting the narrator's appetite for more information about this unknown talent.

The Unfinished Stories of Richard Allen Garston (2)

"I became acquainted with Richard Allen Garston through a writer's group which met irregularly for readings in the late fifties. It was a closed group. That is, by invitation only." Willis laughed, a soft short burst. "We called ourselves the Royal Pines. Horace and I were quite privileged to be a part of it, actually." Willson Willis sucked on a pipe, which made him look especially writerly. "What a shame that one of the great writers of our time will be forever forgotten because of his brother's insanity."

"What kind of things did he write?" I asked.

"From what I could tell he wrote stories, if you can call it that. He created characters and put them in situations."

"You never read his work?"

"He brought fragments to our group, but it was obvious --" He broke off.

I waited.

"His output was prodigious."

"How could you know that?"

"I saw the piles of manuscripts. There were actually two people, I believe, who read most of what he wrote. His brother Greg and one of the other writers in our group, Gary Spencer. When Gary finished reading Garston's work, he quit his job. Went away and became a Trappist monk."
"A Trappist monk?"

"Garston committed suicide about the same time and his brother became guardian of Richard's work. His brother, I was told, refused to speak with anyone about the stories and eventually had them burned, saying they were 'of the devil'."

"If he was such a good writer, why was he never published?" I asked.

"He never finished anything. Richard had developed a whole catalog of rationales and justifications for his mounting pile of unfinished manuscripts. He usually told the group he was following his Muse. I remember on one occasion he produced an elaborate philosophical defense for his habit of incompleteness beginning with the explanation that he was creating life and if his characters were to live forever then the stories must be free to continue living. That is, and here he was emphatic, the stories could remain fluid -- free to assume new forms, to expand, to diminish -- only as long as they were left unfinished and unpublished. It was his hope, he said, that his stories might have a life that would never end. Wait." Willis held up his hand like he was reaching for something or grabbing a moth out of the air. "Now I remember. Something about hope. He said he was fighting to give his characters hope. Something like that. Anyway, should a story be captured in print and closure be reached, there seemed no more possibility of change. Without change there is only death."

"That makes sense, I guess." During the pause I tried to formulate another question, but Willis needed no prodding to continue.

"I don't believe that was it, though," Willis said in a leading way. "To a few of us Richard confided -- he always made light of it, but we've since wondered if this were not closer to the truth -- that he had made a deal with the devil. He said he was like Scheherazade, staving off death by creating his own tales for 1001 nights. In some way I suspect that if this were the truth, it's a wonder that he kept it up for more than eighteen years."

"Based on the stories, or rather, pieces you read," I interjected, "what is your personal evaluation of Mr. Garston's significance as a writer? I mean, if a tree falls in the wilderness and nobody hears..."

Willis leaned into me, lowering his voice. "By what measure do we determine a writer's significance? His contribution? As you know, I've achieved a measure of critical acclaim, but I can't hold a candle to Richard's work. Even the little I read from his manuscripts made me ashamed that I was calling myself a writer. I don't mean to say I'm not good. I capture my stories adequately enough. I care about my characters and their stories. I also care about my readers. But am I a great writer? Not by that highest standard. I'm probably just clever and I work harder than a lot of other people. Now Richard, he was a great writer. A complicated man, but a great, great writer."

I lay awake long into the night, my mind quickened by this single mesmerizing question. What was it that drove Richard Allen Garston to produce so many unfinished manuscripts, to build so many beginnings without resolution? I needed to know.

CONTINUED

Incentives Matter

Reading the book Freakonomics this past week inspired in me an interest in the theme of incentives. While researching this theme I came across a very cool blog called Incentives Matter. As I read some of the articles I felt like I'd discovered a kindred spirit. I wanted to contact this blog writer to get to know him better. To my astonishment, Pedro Albuquerque, the blog's creator, teaches at a university right here in my home town.

We made contact, suggested lunch, and followed through in a matter of days this past Tuesday. I learned that he was born and raised in Brazil, met his French wife in Switzerland, and speaks Portugese, Spanish, English and French. A really nice guy, and sharp as a tack.

What follows is an interview that emerged from this meeting.

Ten Minutes With Pedro Albuquerque

Ennyman: How did you become interested in economics as a career?
PA: My youth in Brazil was marked by the many economic problems that the country was experiencing during that period: frequent cycles of boom and bust, hyperinflation, black markets, chaotic public finances, debt moratorium, price controls, government's seizure of people's savings or properties, in other words, a whole plethora of events that would make a Lewis Carroll universe look like a very ordinary place.

I had always wondered about the causes of all that distress. It was only after I read two amazing books by Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose, and Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, that I realized how useful economics was as a tool to understand the world around me, and that I wanted to follow a career in economics.

Ennyman: Your blog is titled Incentives Matter. Once a person starts thinking about incentives they realize how it touches such a broad swath of disciplines. How did you personally get attracted to this theme?
PA: The idea that incentives matter permeates the entire science of economics and can be found for example in the books by Friedman and Smith that I cited before. Recently however economists have become much more aware of the relevance of incentives as a defining characteristic of economics as a science. Books like Freakonomics by Steve Levitt discuss the point very openly, and the Nobel Prize given in 2007 to University of Minnesota professor Hurwicz (unfortunately deceased last year) was a huge recognition of the explicit role of incentives in the field.

Economist Glen Whitman once said that if he had to summarize economics in two principles they would be (1) "incentives matter" and (2) "there's no such thing as a free lunch." He called these principles the "two things of economics." Trying to reduce a science to two principles is naturally an oversimplification, yet it's a very useful one, and I entirely agree with his two choices. Among these two principles, "incentives matter" seems to me to be the more uplifting, so that's why I chose it as the title of my blog.

Ennyman: From reading your blog, it's evident that you are following current events in Washington… What is your take on the new administration’s first days in office, as regards economics?
PA: The new administration encircled itself with some extremely competent economists, and that's a good thing. However, I think that history has shown us again and again that one thing is a government that has good economists, and another thing is a government that listens to those good economists.

The first weeks of the new administration frustrated my best expectations and left much to be desired on those grounds. The reality however is that it's too early to tell.

Ennyman: I'm often fond of saying, “When there is an autopsy without blame, then we will find out what killed the patient.” Due to the nature of power politics in D.C.,how will we ever find solutions when no one seems interested in an accurate diagnosis?
PA: This problem is addressed by a field of economics called public choice, and it cannot be easily solved, both analytically and in terms of policy design. The solution naturally passes through the improvement of the quality of our democratic institutions, so they become more immune to political background noise and more focused on policy substance. This is however easier said than done.

One of the most obvious solutions to this problem is to count more on markets and less on politics to solve social problems. Such a statement may not be fashionable right now, given the current political climate, however modern developments in public choice point in that direction. Besides that, there's much that can be done in terms of regulating political action.

For example, politicians love to talk about establishing limits to market forces; however the success of the American experiment is the direct result of an incredibly smart Constitution that instead of promoting limits to markets promoted above all limits to political power. We need more of the blessings that the American Constitution originally gave us, not less.

Ennyman: You stated the one of the biggest problems in politics is pride. Can you elaborate on this?
PA: Pride, up to a certain extent, is a positive human trait. It's however a trait that is not compatible with statesmanship, especially when it presents itself as vanity or lack of humility. The true statesman (or stateswoman) knows that he (or she) is a public server, and it should never be the other way around.

I've always admired the American people for having a very good understanding of this point. We should always remind ourselves of this important positive aspect of our political culture so we make sure that we never forget it.

Ennyman: Sometimes it is difficult to assess how serious issues really are because the media is so frequently beating the drum to support legislation for those in power. How serious is our current crisis?
PA: The crisis is serious, however it's vital that we keep in mind that the American economy is flexible and robust by design, and therefore it has the energy and the means to get out of this mess by itself. The government can help to accelerate the recovery by parsimoniously using all policy instruments available in the macroeconomic toolbox, and, above all, by respecting the two principles of economics cited before. Choosing to ignore the role of economic incentives and costs will not help the economy, on the contrary, will only extend and deepen the crisis.

Unfortunately the new administration, following on the steps of the previous one, has shown until now a disturbing lack of concern for matters of economic incentives and costs. Because of this, I'm seriously concerned that misguided actions by the government may end up extending and deepening the crisis, making it worse than what it should normally be. For example, the constant referencing by government authorities to the idea that economic disaster will ensue if they're not empowered with legislation and funds according to their terms has the real potential to worsen the crisis that they're supposedly trying to resolve.

Ennyman: You mentioned being impressed by President Reagan's impact on world affairs. What in particular do you find impressive about his influence?
PA: President Reagan statesmanship was central to the revival of the American economy and political influence in world affairs in the eighties. He accepted to make very costly political sacrifices in order to get the country out of the economic stagflation of the seventies. With hindsight we know that his bets paid off, however there was no way he could have known that when his government started.Not many politicians have the humility, the moral fiber and the sensibleness necessary to make the hard choices that he made. You have to able to take the heat to do it. Your pride will hurt really bad, and a vain person would never be able to withstand it. Reagan did it however with dignity and grace.