Tag: Culture

Lost in Translation: A Midnight Encounter at Ashburn Station | July 06 2025, 17:28

Yesterday late, around 10-11pm, I was returning from Washington by metro. At the exit of Ashburn station, a relatively well-dressed guy approaches me and asks how to get to Route 7 from the station by bike. I start to answer, then he asks me if I happen to speak Russian. My accent gave me away (damn, how did he know exactly?)

I open the map on my phone, start explaining it to him, go right here, then left, then right, a 45-minute ride. It’s night outside. The dude’s on a bike. He doesn’t have a phone — something is broken or dead. But the most interesting thing, he doesn’t know the address where he needs to go. And Route 7, by the way, is 497 km long, but he obviously meant a segment about 30 km near the metro, but it was still not clear where he needed to go in that section.

In the conversation, it turned out that he knows how to get to the place where he stopped (friends?), from the local Russian-speaking Protestant church, called New Life. I feel I’m explaining to him, he’s overall ready to go alone in the dark without navigation, but from his feedback, I understand he didn’t get it, and at the first turn, he’d go wrong. And at that time, there was absolutely no one on the streets, it’s a neighborhood and data center area (the largest in the world, by the way), very safe, but absolutely deserted. I tell him — my car is parked at the metro, let me give you a lift if that’s the case, it’s no trouble for me.

His name is Edik. He wrecked his car a week ago because he liked to drive “with a breeze”. He regrets it because now he doesn’t understand what to buy a new one with. Lives in Baltimore, came to our area because there’s some Mongolian holiday tomorrow. What? I ask, what the hell is a Mongolian holiday. Turns out he’s from Mongolia, lived there before moving to the USA. Russian family, school at the Russian embassy. Speaks Russian without an accent, and fluent in Mongolian. Illegal. Apparently, he came to the USA on a tourist visa and stayed. Works in a store somewhere near Baltimore. Deep in debt. Apparently, a few adventures weren’t enough and he went to Virginia by bike mixed with metro and buses.

I hope he made it home from the church.

Unveiling the Mystery of the Original Declaration of Independence | July 04 2025, 02:36

Tomorrow is July 4th – Independence Day.

I’m currently reading about it. It turns out that the authentic Declaration of Independence is lost to history, and the document labeled “Original Declaration of Independence” in the National Archives is actually a copy.

By the way, about 80% of the text of the declaration lists why the king is bad. Literally. He doesn’t do this, he doesn’t do that, he forgot about us here, he didn’t remember there. It’s just a straight protest of no kings. The last paragraph of the long text essentially says, in sum, forget him. We want to handle it ourselves.

Jefferson prepared the draft of the Declaration of Independence with all the usual revisions—crossed out words, inserts in the gaps, etc., all written in his poor handwriting. This document exists and is very interesting.

The rest of the committee approved the text, and Jefferson then created a fair copy (still in his bad handwriting and just the size of a regular sheet), which was presented to Congress, voted on, adopted, and received its first signatures. This “fair copy” was the real original Declaration of Independence—and it is precisely this one that is lost.

Later, Congress decided that a version suitable for publication was needed—bigger and, of course, not written in Jefferson’s terrible handwriting. For this, they hired a professional copyist. When he made his copy, Congress held a re-signing. This version by the copyist has the label “Original Declaration of Independence” on the back and is the one currently displayed in the National Archives. It was “original” only in the sense that it served as the master copy for printing.

So what happened to Jefferson’s “fair copy,” the genuine original Declaration of Independence? No one knows. It might still be somewhere in the archives, lost among other documents. Or perhaps someone took it home and preserved it, or maybe it was destroyed by time and circumstances, such as when the British burned Washington.

In 1989, a man named Michael Sparks bought an old painting at a flea market in Pennsylvania for $2.48. When he removed the frame, he discovered a rolled-up piece of paper behind it. This turned out to be one of the rare “Dunlap Broadsides”—the first 200 printed copies of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, printed on the night of July 4 to 5, 1776, by John Dunlap.

This find was in excellent condition and was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 1991 for 2.42 million dollars (and later resold for even more). This isn’t Bitcoin!

A bit about the dates. On July 2, Congress voted for independence. Not the 4th. On July 4, it was formally ratified by Congress, they spent two days making minor formal amendments, having already decided on the substance. No signatures yet. The date on the document, of course, is the 4th. Copies were printed and sent out the next day. Eventually, the ones sent out were signed by the delegates only on August 2.

Three of the first five American presidents died on this day. Jefferson, Adams, Monroe. Jefferson was in fact the father of this declaration, with Adams, they found the time. So maybe July 2nd would be a more appropriate day to celebrate.

Yes, also—technically—America did not gain independence in 1776. It happened only after the signing of the Treaty of Paris (September 3, 1783), when Britain said: “Alright,” and recognized America as a separate state.

If the War of Independence hadn’t turned in favor of America, Washington (like most of the founding fathers) would likely have been executed for treason. But since it turned out otherwise, they picked that day.

A Costly Trip to the National Cryptologic Museum: Enigmas and Espionage | July 02 2025, 14:56

I went to the National Cryptologic Museum yesterday. Indeed, this trip will cost me $1000 because a rock hit the windshield of the new Tesla on the way. Anyway, let’s talk about the museum.

It’s very small. Located on the premises of the National Security Agency. The museum basically consists of three small rooms. One is dedicated to German Enigmas and there exhibits Alan Turing’s Bombe decryption machine, — a device as big as a kitchen in Lobnya, used for systematic decryption of messages encrypted by the Germans using “Enigma.” After the war, Churchill, for reasons of secrecy, ordered all physical traces of the program, including the Bombe machines, to be destroyed, so it’s quite a rare thing. Moreover, there’s only one working Bombe machine in the entire world, somewhere in England, and even that was barely restored. The Enigmas themselves were produced in large numbers, and the museum has two working ones; you can press the buttons and encrypt something.

In the room with computer equipment stands an old Cray, as well as a decommissioned nuclear deterrence hardware server rack taken out of service 15 years ago. It’s not very clear what’s remarkable about this – well yes, old computers, that’s all. The Cray is actually exhibited many places.

Unfortunately, there are no longer exhibits from the Star Gate project — like the blue box shown in the attached photos. The Star Gate project was used by the US government during the Cold War. Many of the psychic spies were based at Fort Meade, tasked with gathering intelligence, detecting enemy agents, and identifying vulnerabilities in the US using “remote viewing.”

Never heard of “remote viewing”? It’s the mental observation of a distant place where a person has never been, in order to gather information about an individual, an object, or specific data. As absurd as it may sound, it’s claimed that the program was quite successful and used until 1995 🙂

Specifically, this little blue machine, PSIFI, is part of that program. For example, it was used to study the impact of consciousness on random processes — like altering the behavior of random number generators through thought, collecting statistics on attempts at psychokinesis — with “hits”, “trials”, “gated hits”, “gated trials” etc., suggesting successful impacts compared to an expected random distribution, biofeedback — the lower part of the panel contains controls and inputs, apparently for electromyography and other biosignals. Overall, a good addition to the UFO research program.

Exploring Xplor Park: An Engineer’s Marvel in Riviera Maya | June 29 2025, 05:41

I returned from Mexico — visited Xplor Park by Xcaret in Riviera Maya. The park is already 18 years old, but damn, it’s an engineering feat, not just a park. As an engineer, I was walking around with my mouth open.

The park is the size of Moscow’s “Neskuchny Garden”. A significant part consists of kilometers of natural karst caves, formed millions of years ago at the site of the Chicxulub impact crater (the very one that ended the era of dinosaurs). Above the caves are dense jungles. High above the jungles — kilometers of zip lines. The water in the caves is from a natural underground stream, which is filtered through limestone plus some technical structures. Bats fly around, but obviously, they are not wild and are working for food. No wildlife (other than tourists and bats) is present, so it’s pretty well isolated from the outside world. In these kilometer-long caves, completely covered with stalactites and stalagmites, we swam, rafted, and even drove through in amphibious vehicles with gasoline engines (meaning, the ventilation is well-thought-out).

In front of us, three Mexican women failed to control their vehicle and crashed into a tree. Literally — the front wheels of the buggy were above my head. We picked them up walking along the track, sat them back, and about 5-10 minutes down the road, park workers took them away. The girls have something to remember.

The ticket includes a very, very good buffet restaurant. But pictures are essentially a must-buy — a very thoughtful system designed to extract about 100 dollars from a visiting family. Helmets are embedded with a chip, the system classifies the pics on the fly, and at the exit, you can see all your photos and buy them right there. And on the way back to the hotel, you can post on Facebook or Instagram.

Well, we’re back home now, back to work from Monday.

Unveiling Ancient Numeric Codes in “Slave for Sale” by José Jiménez Aranda | June 27 2025, 21:00

An interesting painting “Slave for Sale” (Una Esclava en Venta), 1897, by Spanish artist Jose Jimenez Aranda.

From it, I learned that just as there were Roman numerals, there were Greek ones in Greece. Pay attention to the plate. It reads ΡΟΔΟΝ ΕΤΩΝ ΙΗ ΠΩΛΕΙΤΑΙ ΜΝΑΣ Ω, which translates to “Rhodon, 18 years old, for sale for 800 minae”.

In the Greek text, there are two numbers – ΙΗ and Ω. In those times, Greeks wrote numbers using letters: Α (alpha) = 1, Β = 2, …, I = 10, K = 20, …, Ρ = 100, Σ = 200, …, Ω = 800.

Accordingly, ΙΗ is 18. The line above it indicates that it is a number, as does the line above Ω.

The Surprising Origins of Chain Link Fencing | June 26 2025, 10:08

Deception is everywhere. I googled “chain link fence” and it turns out that Karl Rabitz has nothing to do with it, but instead relates to a different one, and the very first of the known documented images of the chain link fence was found in… a mattress patent. More precisely, in the US patent No. 124,286 “Wire Fabrics”, issued on March 5, 1872, to a certain Mr. Peters (J. W. C. Peters).

From Drugs to Souvenirs: The Bizarre Market for Fake Medications | June 22 2025, 17:11

Look how they sell Ozempic, right along with sneakers and souvenirs. In the pharmacy here, they sell antibiotics and opioid pain relievers.

Faustian Dialogues in Modern Project Management | June 20 2025, 15:00

I think project managers can very well speak to developers in the words of Faust.

Well, here we go again, in the old manner

With you – all is uncertainty, all doubts,

In everything you create difficulties,

And for all, you wish for new rewards!

When will you, without any further talk, —

One, two: look, — and everything is ready soon!

(For context – this is Faust’s reaction to the refusal of the seemingly omnipotent Mephistopheles (Devil) to bring Helen of Troy and Paris from the realm of shadows to the stage for the Emperor’s amusement)

director

Don’t forget anything:

What can be done immediately,

Why put it off till tomorrow?

We must instantly grasp

All that is necessary and possible

(…)

“You have poorly executed it,

And left a gap in the corner”

And the designer might reply:

And you do not see, how vile and shameful

This craft?

Am I not an artist?

To the Manager:

“Fire! Help! Hell! We are all going to burn now!”

Switching to Pencil: Mastering the Art of Drawing with Three and a Half Rules | June 20 2025, 12:53

In the studio, we decided to switch from oil to pencil, which I hadn’t touched for years (and, frankly, never really knew how to use properly). But with practice, I understood just three and a half rules of good drawing.

1. Draw what you see, not what you think you should see if you look at the reference. This is the most difficult part because it involves fighting your own brain, which is convinced it knows what things look like.

2. Judgment of proportions. If something occupies a fifth on the reference, you need to distinguish it from a sixth or a fourth, and of course, see exact halves and thirds clearly. It’s like having a musical ear. If an imaginary line ends at a point on the ear, you need to see this imaginary line. It’s not hard, but requires practice, and it seems you need to practice it all your life. Interestingly, you are initially surprised at how wrong you are about proportions. There are many small optical illusions that one must get used to.

2.5. Angles. A continuation of judging proportions. You need to see the difference between, say, 45 and 40 degrees at least. And see where to turn the wrong line and by how much.

3. Ability to simplify. Any complex shape needs to be simplified in the mind to straight lines and shapes and draw those first, and also to reduce reality to spots of a maximum of a few shades (with white and black at the edges).

That’s all. If you master just these three and a half points, you won’t need anything else for a long time. No knowledge of anatomy, understanding of materials, or laws of perspective (all this is important, but comes later).

Cultural Codes: How T-Shirt Messages Connect Us Globally | June 19 2025, 16:13

I’ve long noticed that in the USA, people read the inscriptions on t-shirts and polos. When I lived in Russia, I remember, generally nobody pays attention to them. Or they do, and forget the next second. It’s normal for us to comment if we like something. I wonder what it’s like in Europe.

I have a t-shirt that says “2020 ★☆☆☆☆ Very bad. Would not recommend”. It’s already outdated, but I still regularly get comments on it.

In certain groups here, there’s a whole communication system based on what you wear. It seems among teenagers, it’s especially strict, and standing out isn’t welcomed, which is why many just dress like “carbon copies” — the same colors, the same brands 🙂 Well, obviously, students wear hoodies and t-shirts with their university’s symbols (I can hardly imagine putting my RGRTA on a t-shirt).