Book Review: The People vs Tech, by Jamie Bartlett

I thought this was a good book highlighting the dangers of current and future digital technology (e.g. social media applications, the internet of things) and the incredible power that makers of these technologies are beginning to wield. From social media applications designed to cause addiction to targeted advertising designed to sway our votes, it's difficult not to feel a tinge of worry as you read. The author has done a good job of surveying the books and articles in this space and pooling them together. My only problem with the book was that I felt that the author was shoehorning the word "democracy" into the book as many times as possible and, most probably, simply because he had set out to write a book on "how the internet is killing democracy". There were a few places where I agreed with the author and felt that the danger which he was highlighting applied to "democracy" (e.g. election campaigns using data from our social media accounts to sway our votes). However, in other places I thought it was just a danger to governance in general (e.g. jobs being lost to AI) and not specific to democracy.

Book Review: iWoz – Computer Geek to Cult Icon, by Steve Wozniak and Gina Smith

I thought this was a nicely told story of the birth of Apple and the birth of the personal computer interwoven with the personal story of Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak, the creator of the original Apple I and Apple II computers. As an engineer myself and as someone who is pretty much unfamiliar with the details of the Apple origins story I found it inspirational to get into the mind of a real engineer's engineer, to read what it takes to be a real good inventor and creator. I liked the book as a whole but if there's one chapter that really stood out for me it was the first and the impact that Steve's father had on him through exposure to electronics from a really young age. It's a good life lesson that it's not just what we build in terms of electronics and software that's important but also how we teach and inspire the younger generation to succeed us.

Below are some quotes from the book:

"He [my father] never started out by trying to explain from the top down what a resistor is. He started from the beginning, going all the way back to atoms and electrons, neutrons, and protons. He explained what they were and how everything was made from those. I remember we actually spent weeks and weeks talking about different types of atoms and then I learned how electrons can actually flow through things – like wires. Then, finally, he explained to me how the resistors work – not by calculations, because who can do calculations when you're a second grader, but by real common sense pictures and explanations. You see, he gave me classical electronics training from the beginning. For engineers, there's a point in life when you understand things like how a resistor works. Usually it comes much later for people than it did for me. By the fourth grade, I really did understand things like that." 

"But even with all of this – all the lessons and explanations a kid could understand – I want to tell you about the single most important lesson he taught me. Because this is what I have always hung on to, more than even the honesty thing. He drilled into me what it means to be an engineer. What I am talking about is what it means to be an engineer's engineer. A serious engineer. I so clearly remember him telling me that engineering was the highest level of importance you could reach in the world, that someone who could make electrical devices that do something good for people takes society to a new level. He told me that as an engineer, you can change your world and change the way of life for lots and lots of people." 

"... I remember watching all those engineers who just wanted to do the technical side, to just put some chips together so the design worked. But I wanted to put chips together like an artist, better than anyone else could in a way that would be the absolute most usable by humans. That was my goal when I built the first computer, the one that later became the Apple I. It was the first computer to use a keyboard so you could type into it, and the first to use a screen you could look at." 

"We [my and my parents] had discussions about science and truth and honesty, the first discussions of many that formed my values. And what he [my father] told me was, he just wanted things to be testable. He thought that to see if something is true, the most important thing is to run experiments, to see what the truth is, and then you call it real." 

"For me it's the engineering, not the glory, that's really important." 

"Sometimes I think, Man, I lucked out. It seems like I was just pointed in such a lucky direction in life, this early learning of how to do things one tiny little step at a time. I learned not to worry so much about the outcome, but to concentrate on the step I was on and to try and to do it as perfectly as I could when I was doing it. Not everyone gets this in today's engineering community, you know. Throughout my career at Apple and other places, you always find a lot of geeks who try to reach levels without doing the in-between ones first, and it won't work. It never does. That's just cognitive development, plain and simple. You can't teach somebody two cognitive steps above from where you are – and knowing that helped me with my own children as well as with the fifth graders I taught later on. I kept telling them, like a mantra: One step at a time."

"If you read the same things as other and say the same things they say, then you're perceived as intelligent. I'm a bit more independent and radical and consider intelligence the ability to think about matters on your own and ask a lot of skeptical questions to get at the real truth, not just what you're told it is"

"I think most people with day jobs like to do something totally different when they get home. Some people like to come home and watch TV. But my thing was electronics projects. It was my passion and it was my pastime. Working on projects was something I did on my own time to reward myself, even though I wasn't getting rewarded on the outside, with money or other visible signs of success."

"When I look back, I see that all these projects, plus the science projects I did as a kid and all the stuff my dad taught me, were actually threads of knowledge that converged in my design of the first and second Apple computers."

"I wanted to be like my dad, I remember his conversations with me; he would always point out all sides of an issue. I would know what he thought about it, but he would let me come to my own decisions, which very often turned out to be like his. He was a very, very good teacher. So I intended to be that way, too."

Walk: Dorking West station to Betchworth station via Box Hill

Went for a walk along the North Downs Way with my wife, brother-in-law, nephew and trusty Ordnance Survey (OS) Explorer map last (Bank Holiday) Monday. We walked from Dorking West station (OS coordinates: 160498) north along the Mole Gap Trail for 1.5km, then joined the North Downs Way (OS coordinates: 164515) and walked east for around 1.5km to Box Hill (OS coordinates: 179513) where we had lunch and enjoyed the view before proceeding east along the North Downs Way for another 3km to Betchworth station (OS coordinates: 211514) where we completed our walk. See here for route details in the Ordnance Survey website.

Summary of the walk

The total length of the walk was 6km (3.7 miles). There was an incline at Box Hill (from 50 metres elevation to 170 metres elevation) but other than that it was a steady, easy walk.

Getting there

Outgoing we caught the Southern train from London Victoria to Redhill (35 minutes) and then caught the Great Western Railway train from Redhill to Dorking West (15 minutes). Incoming we caught the Great Western Railway train from Betchworth to Redhill (10 minutes) and then the Southern train from Redhill to London Victoria. We booked the train ride as an off peak day return from London Victoria to Dorking West for £29.50 for all four of us (3 adults and 1 child).

Essentials

As well as the Dorking, Box Hill & Reigate Ordnance Survey Explorer 146 map we also found the Maps.ME app super handy. Unlike the Google Maps app the Maps.ME app shows walking paths. Also, on a hot day like we experienced it's worth having at least two 50cl (500ml) bottles of water per person.

I've uploaded some pictures from the walk to my Flickr account here.

Racist police at German airports

I was flying back from Muscat (Oman) to London (England) this week via Munich (Germany) and I had a horrible time being subjected to intimidation and threats by German police officers at Munich airport. I contacted Lufthansa Air and Munich Airport about it in the hope of finding a channel through which I could make a complaint. Thankfully, Munich Airport got back to me and provided with an email address (bpol.muc@polizei.bund.de) to which I've just addressed my complaint and described my experience, as follows:

Dear Munich Police, 

I was flying from Muscat to London via Munich on Monday 16 April 2018. (Flight number LH 2482 from Munich to London Heathrow.) After going through our gate (Gate H40) and, having been checked by Lufthansa staff, my wife and I were stopped by a couple of police officers. 

We can forgive that these police officers were only stopping and profiling non-white passengers. Fine. And, whilst it's distasteful, we can also understand and forgive that these male police officers wanted my wife to lift her face veil to show her face (even though she had just done so a second earlier to a Lufthansa staff member). Fine. She obliged. Not a huge deal. 

However, what is unforgivable is that the one officer we were dealing with was getting in our faces, getting super aggressive and threatening to detain us. And, to top it off, he was laughing out loud about it with his colleague as my wife and I were walking away afterwards. It was a horrible experience, totally unnecessary and has left us disturbed. Is this normal behaviour to be expected when flying through Munich airport? If so, that's fine; we'll accept it and refuse to fly via this airport in future. If not, we would appreciate a response and for this officer to be brought to account. 

I am sorry that we did not get the officer's name and identification number. We wanted to. But with the aggression and intimidation we were facing, we were afraid to request it. We honestly felt like we were dealing with a thug rather than a person of the law. 

Regards,

Adil Hussain

I searched online to see whether I was alone in my experience. Doing a quick search of "Munich airport racist police" and "Frankfurt airport racist police" turned up a number of results as follows:

• UK athlete Mo Farah being pushed and dragged by a police officer at Munich airport
• Brown person singled out for profiling
• Brown person accused of having a fake passport
• Black travellers describe their ordeals with German customs
• Indian Woman Told To Strip At Frankfurt Airport
• Lady arrested and robbed by the police at Frankfurt airport

So, in summary, it seems there's racism top to bottom in the police force at German airports and you're best avoiding Germany if you're non-white. If you really do have to travel to or via Germany, brace yourself for a run-in with "the law"!

Update (05 May 2018): After contacting Munich airport, Lufthansa Air and Munich police about my experience, the responses were as follows: Munich airport got back to me straight away and were super helpful in providing me with the Munich police contact details. Lufthansa Air got back to me around a couple of weeks after my complaint and were apologetic and said they had forwarded my complaint to the station manager at Munich Airport. Lastly, Munich police got back to me a week after I contacted them with a generic letter saying they would investigate the allegations.

12-day trip to Oman: Muscat, Sur, Nizwa

Below is a write-up of my 12-day trip to Oman with my wife. I'll start with a summary and some essentials and then proceed on to our trip itinerary.

Summary

12 days，7 hotels ，6 destinations, clear open roads and a good mix of land, sea, sun, mountains and deserts in the north of Oman. A highly recommended trip for the adventurous and nature lovers. Pictures of our trip here, here, here and here.

Essentials

1. Rent a car for the duration of your trip. The best way to get around is by car and finding parking in Oman is never a problem. A four wheel drive vehicle is a must if you're going to head for the mountains or the desert.
2. Have a cooler bag in your car to keep your snacks and drinks cool because it gets very hot in the car.
3. Keep your sunglasses and sun lotion with you at all times.
4. Purchase a mobile data plan on arrival at the airport.
5. Download at least two offline mapping apps on your mobile device. We found no one app was good enough to rely on entirely. The two we tended to use the most were Google Maps and MAPS.ME.

Itinerary

Day 1 (Thursday 5 April)

Arrived in Muscat from London Heathrow flying via Munich. (We booked with Lufthansa Air for £440 per person.) We bought a couple of Omantel Hayyak 2GB mobile data packages for 7 OMR each on arrival, set them up and then picked up our SUV (Hyundai Tucson) from the Europcar/Interrent desk at the airport. (We booked our car with arguscarhire.com for £467 including insurance.) Once our phones and car were all set up we drove to and checked into Lana Villa in Muscat.

Day 2 (Friday 6 April)

Stayed in and explored Muscat. We caught the Friday prayer at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and then drove on to Qurum Natural Park and Qurum Beach.

Day 3 (Saturday 7 April)

Drove to Sur from Muscat and stopped by at Bimmah Sinkhole and Wadi Shab along the way. After that we proceeded to and checked into Sur Grand Hotel.

Day 4 (Sunday 8 April)

Stayed in and explored Sur. We stopped by Bilad Sur Castle, Sunaysilah Fort, the fishing harbour for the sunset and then Al Ayjah Lighthouse where we sat and enjoyed a multitude of Adhans being called for Eisha in every direction.

Day 5 (Monday 9 April)

Drove from Sur to the southern part of Wadi Bani Khalid near the villages of Sabt and Sayq but we didn't find any water so we turned back and proceeded on to Wahiba Sands and checked in to Golden Palm Oasis for an overnight desert experience.

Day 6 (Tuesday 10 April)

Drove to the northern part of Wadi Bani Khalid near Muqal where we got some good swimming in. Proceeded on to Nizwah where we checked in to Al Diyar Hotel.

Day 7 (Wednesday 11 April)

Visited Nizwa Souq and Al Hoota Cave and then proceeded up Jebel Shams and checked in to Sama Heights Resort.

Day 8 (Thursday 12 April)

Drove around the top of Jebel Shams near our accommodation, caught site of some good deep canyons and went for a nicely paved walk from Al Khitaym.

Day 9 (Friday 13 April)

Drove to Musannah and checked in to Millennium Resort Mussanah. The initial plan was to pass through Wadi Al Hawqain and Al Rustaq on the way to Musannah but we got caught in some tough mountain roads so we bailed on Wadi Al Hawqain and simply passed Al Rustaq on the way to Musannah. The resort was a little too much on the luxurious side and we only stayed here because there were no other accommodation options in the area. In hindsight we should have just gone straight from Jebel Shams to Muscat.

Day 10 (Saturday 14 April)

Drove to Muscat. Checked in to Behlys Boutique. We visited Muscat Grand Mall in the evening but it's nothing to write home about. Just another fancy mall.

Day 11 (Sunday 15 April)

Hung around and did some activities in Muscat. We caught the dolphin watching boat ride from Marina Bandar Al Rowdha (we didn't enjoy the dolphin watching experience), some jet skiing in Azaiba Beach and then some gift shopping in Mutrah Souq.

Day 12 (Monday 16 April)

Dropped off our rental car and caught our return flight from Muscat airport.

Francis Road Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) appeal

I received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) from Waltham Forest Council for passing through a conditional no entry sign on Francis Road in Leyton (at the Albert Road junction). The sign has been recently put up and I totally missed it. Like me I'm certain others have missed it and are being bullied by the council into paying the fine. The council truly does run an extortion racket. No two ways about it. I will be appealing the PCN and as a starting point I've just sent the following representation:

First of all, I had no intention to pass this conditional no entry sign. It was a Sunday afternoon. The roads were empty. I was on my way to Sainsbury's Local just up the road coming from Leytonstone. There were many roads available to me to get there and no incentive for me to skip this sign. I simply missed it.

Secondly, about the sign itself, the conditional no entry sign is ridiculously easy to miss. It is obscured by the white arrow on blue background "carry on straight" sign right above it. There is no marking on the road on the ground leading up to it indicating to the driver that they should stop. There is no indication leading up to the sign that the layout of the road has changed and that there is no straight through access. This area has plenty of bold red unconditional no entry signs which are super clear to spot but there's no reason to assume that there will be a conditional no entry right in the middle of Francis Road. Given that this sign is a such an anomaly in the area there should be a white and red marking on the base of the pole to make it super clear to oncoming drivers that there is something here worthy of taking note. Add to that the conditional no entry sign should be slightly lower than it is so that it comes naturally and clearly into the view of oncoming drivers. And add to that the sign should be coupled with a camera sign to get the attention of oncoming drivers – especially local drivers – who have no reason to assume that the road which they are used to driving through is now conditionally inaccessible.

Thirdly, it is clear to me that I am not the only person who has missed this sign. I went today to the site to make sense of the contravention I had committed and within 10 seconds of getting there a driver of a small van was on the verge of driving straight through before I jumped at his car waving to save him from a fine. I spoke to him and like me he totally missed the sign for the above-mentioned reason. I have also seen from doing a quick internet search that others have been caught out by this unclear road marking (e.g. http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=118167).

Unless the council has deliberately put up this obscure sign to catch drivers out and generate extra income for itself I believe it has a right to revisit this site and make it much more apparent that this part of Francis Road is no entry area between the said times. It baffles me why this isn't just a simple unconditional no entry area sign but that's a whole separate discussion. I will be making a Freedom Of Information request to get a better understanding of how many drivers have been caught out by this poor signage. Numbers don't lie. If I am just one of a handful of drivers who have made this mistake then I will happily pay the fine. If, on the other hand, the number of drivers caught out by this sign is in the hundreds then I believe the council has a duty to overturn the PCNs issued here and readdress the signage.

The Freedom Of Information request which I sent to Waltham Forest Council can be found here.

Update (22 March 2018): I was driving up Leyton High Road this week and I noticed a new blue information sign on the Francis Road, Jesse Road and Dawlish Road junctions which reads: "NO ACCESS TO GROVE GREEN ROAD VIA FRANCIS ROAD". A little late but this is good to see.

Update (23 March 2018): My Freedom of Information request has been responded to by Waltham Forest's Information Officer and here is a link to the document that contains the results. In summary, the conditional no entry signage was put up in mid-December 2017, PCNs have been issued here since mid-December 2017 and the number of PCNs that have been issued here in each of January and March 2018 is around the 600 mark. That's a lot of PCNs!

Update (05 May 2018): My initial appeal was rejected by Waltham Forest (no surprises there) and I just gave in and paid the £65 rather than continuing with the appeal and taking my case to the independent adjudicator. I am disappointed in myself and I can now only hope others are more bold in their pursuit of standing up to the council's scare tactics and getting better signs put up around Francis Road.

Book Review: The Mechanical Turk, by Tom Standage

This was an alright read. The book tells the story of the chess-playing automaton built in the late 18th century and its journeys across Europe and America from the late 18th century to the early 19th century. The automaton itself I didn't find too interesting but the characters it meets in its lifetime – from the analysts trying to crack its mystery to the engineers it would inspire – I found captivating. The author doesn't divulge the secret of how the automaton works until the penultimate chapter but I'll confess I jumped straight to the back after reading a few chapters because the suspense was killing me!

Here are some quotes from the book:

"... Babbage soon came to the conclusion that there was no reason why a mechanical device made of simple parts could not perform complex calculations. He was so excited at the prospect that it made him ill; his doctor advised him to take a holiday and not think about such things, so he went to stay with Herschel near Windsor for a few days. He subsequently drew up a scientific paper in which he announced that he was designing a machine capable of calculating any mathematical tables, including astronomical ones, automatically. This was the genesis of Babbage's first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine..."

"... Babbage struggled in vain for many years and spent the fortune he inherited from his father, along with a vast quantity of government funds, in an unsuccessful attempt to build this machine (the Difference Engine). Part of the reason why he failed was that halfway through construction, Babbage conceived an even more ambitious machine, the Analytical Engine, which would be capable of far more complex calculations..."

"... Such was the complexity of this new machine (the Analytical Engine) that it was inarguably the earliest ancestor of the modern digital computer: it had direct mechanical equivalents of a modern computer's processor and memory. Babbage even devised a symbolic notation with which to write down programs for it. But following the failure of the Difference Engine, he was unable to raise the funds to build it. Even so, his analysis of the Analytical Engine's theoretical capabilities prefigured many elements of modern computer science..."

"... 'You Americans are a very singular people,' Maelzel later recalled to one of this friends. 'I went with my automaton all over my own country – the Germans wondered and said nothing. In France, they exclaimed, 'Magnifique! Merveilleux! Superbe!' The English set themselves to prove – one that it could be, and another that it could not be, a mere mechanism acting without a man inside. But I had not been long in your country, before a Yankee came to me and said, 'Mr Maelzel, would you like another like that? I can make you one for five hundred dollars.' I laughed at his proposition. A few months afterwards, the same Yankee came to see me again, and this time he said 'Mr Maelzel, would you like to buy another thing like that? I have one ready for you.'..."

"... the illusion of intelligence is as good as the real thing..."

"... in 1769 Kempelen had conjectured that playing chess and holding conversations were the two activities that most readily indicated intelligence. Nearly 200 years later, the computer scientists of the twentieth century came to exactly the same conclusion..."