Beam Me Up

Through my career I have learned that in order to be successful, people need to work together and interact with other people.

When it comes to “business”, we’re connecting (doing business) with people we trust and respect. I believe that in order to create a trust and some sort of a bond (the actual type vary) eye contact and handshake should be made – in other words, we need to travel.

Remote sensing technologies and “passing the ball” methods are useful to maintain a relationship but they could never be a substitute for creating it.  In other words, we need to meet our customers, partners, suppliers, vendors (and family) in order to create and maintain a successful relationship.

Spending most of the 24 hours in airplanes and airports the other day, I can only ask for one thing: please make it simple to travel.

Act more aggressively than normal? We are Israeli based after all! LOL

Speaking of which…when I went to Jaffa during my last trip, I tried several times to walk into some basic “deli” type places that looked like they had amazing food. At each one it sounded like the guy was yelling at me in Hebrew but I couldn’t understand the menu… they “yelled at me” and motioned for me to get out of the way so the next person could order. I was intimidated and eventually walked out of each one until I got back to the hotel…  It was quite funny!

I know what he was talking about…

However, I was disappointed and somewhat frustrated to learn that at the time (2000-2003) little thought was given by corporations to data security. Words to that effect were used, but the majority of security was dedicated to the A(vailability) in CIA and some were dedicated to the I(ntegrity). Very little (with a few exceptions) were dedicated to the C(onfidentlity).

As it turns out, what was missing was knowhow. This knowhow which is rampant across DOD corridors, was virtually non-existant in the corporate world. And the few that did understand the concepts were ex-defense employees.

So the knowhow for data security is now being built, and ever more security folk get up in the morning and say “how do I help enhance our competitive standing in the industry” vs. “how do I ensure I don’t get to clean up all the machines over the weekend”.

So – what is in this knowhow? Well, to me it appears that the knowhow consists of knowledge (theories), experience (past experiences, witnessing others, reading case studies), and language (how do I communicate to all parties involved in the activities). Or – as I will explain later – the common memories in the field (similar to the so called “muscle memory” in the organization).

Well here’s to the topic at hand: food, ”foodies” and what makes a great dish “great”.

Over the past couple of years I have become a “foodie” -  I have always loved food. But a dinner at Moto changed my understanding of eating forever. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal but was perturbed by some of the concepts at Moto: Great dishes like the squid and the amazing beet combinations contrasted the the chef’s abilities to create things that I could not bring myself to enjoy – like the nachos dessert.

The Nachos at Moto was an excellent dish. But it played with expectations that I could not resolve – Grated mango took the place of Jack cheese, Creme Anglais substitiuted for Mexican cream, and beignets instead of Nachos. The dichotomy was just too much. I repeat – the food was tasty. It was delicious (I mean – really, how bad can fresh mango, custard sauce and beignets be? Had they not been perfectly shaped like nachos!).

I had to figure it out – What made a great dish? Previously I was convinced that tasty food was good food. But here was a tasty dish that was not “great”. Obviously I was wrong – but little did I know how wrong I was!

So as usual, it was a start of a learning exercise that spanned a few years as I dug deeper into the cooking trend commonly referred to as “molecular gastronomy”. I have dined at many leading proponents of the techniques, places such as WD-50, Moto, COI, TFL and Per Se, Manresa, and others. I have had great dishes and not-so-great dishes. And I purchased books. Not your small friendly simplified cookery books, but the heavily detailed stuff that is coming out of Barcelona and San Sebastian and Chicago (the modern Meccas of avante Garde cuisine).

The answer came from the catalogs of Ferran Adria’s El-Bulli restaurant. Ferran fastidiuously analyzed the diner’s experience. He built a map of all the influences on a diner. And this map contained the answer.

But I will start with an example given by Ferran when he explains that some dishes will forever be lost on global diners. Example in point was a dish called ”Cala Montjoi Goose Barnacles”. As Ferran explains, this is not really Goose Barnacles because Goose Barnacles do not grow in Cala Montjoi. Only a resident of the Costa Verde will know that!  As for me, I: 1. did not know Barnacles were edible; 2. Did not know there was such a thing as Goose Barnacles and 3. Would not know what the heck I was eating and how to put it in context.

The diners problem would not relate to the quality of the food – no; in this case the entire dish would miss because of a lack of experiental context: The associate memories were just not there. Or as Ferran put it in his diagram – Memory is a key influencer on the diner.

Looking back I can say with conviction that Memory is probably the number 1 ingredient in a chef’s arsenal. Unfortunately, not all chef’s understand that! My proof comes from endless interactions with people who fixate on the same stuff – like the grilled chicken, the steak place, their favorite wine or their disdain from Gefilte fish or German ham hocks (are all Gefilte fish or pickled ham hocks really bad? Or is one brain cell immediately sending the all important “I didn’t like the texture when I was 7″ signal and the diner succumbing to what was really 1 bad experience too long ago to remember).

Like their security bretheren trying to cope with data security demands, all diners cannot be confronted with dishes outside their realm of understanding. All foodies can really do is try to absorb the experience the way an anthropologist would a tribal dance. Given time, the Memories will be formed and the foodie’s range of interest will increase.

It is like the early days of sushi: simple, unthreatening dishes in rolls like smoked (not live) salmon; philly rolls; spicy tuna; egg omlet; cooked crab. 20 years later and people eat Sashimi (look mom – no roll!) buy fresh tuna at Whole foods to eat raw and Ikura Uzura (salmon roe and quail egg yolk) are a standard dish.

For Japanese cuisine memories were built, language was developed, allowing us to experience more of the exquisite Japanese cuisine. And the diners understood fish more than ever before. And it took some 20 years!

Like nouvelle cusine and fusion I believe the avante garde cuisine is a trend rather than fad. I believe it will force us to learn  more about what we eat than ever before. And it is about time.

And here’s to some practical advice: can you control you mind or does your mind control you? Can you open YOUR mindto new concepts? Try that next time you see locals eating something weird at a faraway land. You might be surprised just how good those things are! And if you can’t – well, remember the plasticity of the brain. More details here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPSdWY5VdEE

Hi, we had a delay of one hour. I’ll probably arrive to you place around midnight. If it’s too late can you please leave the keys outside?

No problem. I’ll wait for you. Is it tonight or tomorrow? 

Tonight… In flight internet is awesome…

Is it really IN flight internet? Can you see porn?

When my “neighbors” will sleep I’ll definitely try it…

You need protection.  For the next flight buy one of those 3com protection screens… 

So that’s the real reason you need it…

I’m thinking about a smart answer, since this conversation is being blogged….. 
 

In my opinion, this post speaks for itself.

I wish I could be there but I have better plans.

Gadi,  I hope that CC copyrights do not apply.

And the most interesting dish just happened to be on the Vegetable Tasting menu. Very interesting indeed.

Hmmm. Delectable meal. Hmmm.

 It was a dish labelled: Chickpea “Croquette” – Sweet Peppers, English Cucumbers, Sesame Seed Yogurt and Eggplant Confit. Now Larousse Gastronomique defines a croquette as a “small savoury or sweet preparation…… Croquettes are shaped into corks, sticks, balls or rechtangles. They are usually coated with breadcrumbs, plunged into very hot oil and fried until they are crisp and golden…”.

So why is a Chickpea “Croquette” interesting to a group of Israelis eating at the French Laundry?

Well, because most people from Mediterranean states have another name for it. We call it “Falafel”. And whatever the disputed origin of this dish - it is THE fast food choice in Israel.

Hmmm. Falafel. (I apologize for the dark picture, I didn't want to disturb the other diners with a flash)

This was a great Falafel, on par with that served at the best Falafel stands in Israel, but for me it was a mere ball of Falafel. At any Falafel stand you’ll get 5-6 balls for about 5 bucks. Was this going to be a McDonald’s like “fast food” experience (and thus the disappointment of the meal), or was this another epitomy of world cuisine where the recognition of quality just happened to be masked by mere abundance, and thus serving as the East Mediterranean equivalent of Joel Robuchon’s famous Mashed Potatoes?

And I was immediately reminded of Dima, an Army buddy who had originally been from one of the Russian cities directly situated on the Caspian sea. In one of our discussions my mention of just how great Sturgeon Caviar can be and how lucky he was to have lived on the shores of the Caspian sea, was greeted with a shrug and the remark that he despised Caviar. Caviar for them was just plain Caviar. They had lots of it. In large jars. Everywhere.  Growing up he got fed up with Caviar. Having left Russia he became surprised at just how revered the stuff actually was by Westerners. In Dima’s perspective, Caviar was farmer food. It was not the stuff you serve at restaurants awarded 3 stars by the prestigious Michelin ”Red Guide”. 

It is a matter of perspective. For me, falafel is fast food. Great fast food, but still fast food. However, there are too few good falafel places in the US (unfortunately in the US, most so called “mediterranean” places serve soggy, microwave reheated falafel balls), so a really good falafel can and should be served at 3 star Michelin rated place. In fact, it seemed right-at-home with the “salsify croquant” and other eclectic, world dishes.

Perhaps, one day, the ancient chickpea and it’s dishes will become popular in the US. At that point it will join the other successful imports from countries such as Germany (e.g. Frankfurter and Hamburger) and France (double fried “French” fries) and Italy (Pizza). It will also join the original American dishes such as Burrito, Taco, Popcorn, Tomatoes, Chocolate, Potatoes, Corn and many more. We look the those staples of fast food and forget just how good they can be when done right. Abundance makes us ignore the greatness of these dishes.   

Returning to falafel: And like everything else around the Mediterranean Sea, falafel is way too old to have a clear history. And as can be expected, falafel has it’s place in providing fodder for the animosities between the inhabitants of the levant. So it seems the Lebanese have decided to explore suing it’s neighbor to the South claiming falafel is somehow a “controlled appelation” like Feta.

Luckily for us, in the odd chance that Lebanon succeeds, we now have a new name for falafel. We can now call it Chickpea “Croquette”. As in “Te’n li bevakasha mana Chickpea “Croquette” be’ pita, im thina, salat, veksat hamutsim. Meh-at zhug. Toda” (Translation from Hebrew: “Please give me a portion of Chickpea “Croquette”  in pita bread with tahini sauce, salad and few pickles. A little hot sauce. Thanks”).

Life is like data security: One simply cannot have a sense of security without backup plans.

Thank you Thomas Keller (owner/chef) for an amazing meal and for saving the Israeli falafel. Now that I know that my favorite fast food is safe I can rest easy and concentrate on computer and data security.

/al

* Not to be a wine bore, the wines we had were excellent: a white Mas De Daumas Gassac 2007 and Nuit St. George 1er Cru Clos de L’Arlot 2004

Bummer: Slang. One that depresses, frustrates, or disappoints: Getting stranded at the airport was a real bummer.

I was so happy to finish my meetings early. I got on the standby list for the earlier flight. The UA service representative was about to hand me my boarding pass when a red faced person rushed all the way in. Of course that he received his seat. One hour later, after unsuccessfully fighting with ORD’s wireless network, I was on the next flight, just to e deplaned few minutes before takeoff due to an hydraulic problem. Now I’m waiting for a new, unscheduled flight that will bring me home  past the arrival time of my original flight. 

Yes, the weather in Chicago suck as well. 

One of the challenging ones for us, a group of mountain bikers which consisted of 3 1/2 engineers and 3 1/2 doctors, was the consumption of red meat and cheese in Mongolia. That surely, cannot be healthy: can it?

When I mean red meat and cheese, I mean ONLY red meat and cheese, and perhaps some flour to make Tsuivan, some sort of a chewy noodles and boiled mutton, which, when properly seasoned, is not bad.

Tsuivan is homemade sticky noodles with boiled mutton and little spices

The red meat and cheese are sourced from the family’s herd (read: equity), and the flour is purchased. In fact, a bag of flour or rice makes a great gift for a ger family you decide to squat upon (they are the friendliest of people, which makes the fact that they speak no English very disappointing).

Now here’s the clincher: They eat very little, if at all, vegetables. And I mean very little. The markets in the aimag centers (regional capitals) may have 2-3 vegetable stands, and that is it.

No oranges, no celery, no Belgian endive (faint), no lemongrass or galangal, no apples, no…

So a bag of flour per family (pyramid base somewhat covered), NO Fruit or vegetable group whatsoever, milk and cheese in the summer (and butter and aruul in the winter – aruul is a rock like dried milk curd).

 

Milk curd (aruul) drying for the winterand lots and lots of red meat (breakfast, lunch and dinner). And salty tea. Meat for breakfast, meat for lunch and meat for dinner

So where do the Vitamins come from? How do they keep healthy? Surely they must die young?

Well, not as you’d expect. On average, Mongolians live 65.5 years, according to figures released by the World Health Organization. 

This places Mongolia with countries such as the Philippines, with 67.5 years, and slightly ahead of India where the average lifespan is 63 years. Other Asian countries included South Korea at 78.5 years and North Korea showing an average life span of 66.5 years. 

The report noted Singapore had an average lifespan of 80 years while China is 72.5 years.  

The shortest lifespan recorded is in Swaziland, where average life expectancy is 37.5 years. Sierra Leone followed at 38.5 years and Angola and Zambia both had average life expectancies of 40 years.

Mortality is really affected by the remoteness of the living conditions. In the winter, if you get a cold, it is unlikely you’ll make the trip to the aimag center alive (at -30 degrees Celsius).

What does this mean? To me it is a sure sign that you must always question even the most basic assumptions. The assumption that they food pyramid is correct might be applicable to the US, but is far from correct for Mongolians. Why this is so is not clear to me or to my fellow bikers. Our guide had a theory that Mongolian’s developed a capacity for eating meat, which we summarily dismissed. But we did not come up with a better idea.

How can we be in the 21st century with so little understanding of how food, the most basic requirement for life, works?

Comments welcome. 

Some more data from the BMJ:

Mongolia: a health system in transition. 

Manaseki S.

Arrowe Park Hospital, Upton, Wirral, Merseyside.

PIP: 70% of the 2.2 million population of Mongolia are younger than 35 years old. More than 75% of the population live in urban areas, but many adopt the traditional nomadic lifestyle for at least a few weeks each year. 95% of the population is literate. Winters produce extremely cold temperatures and shortages. Mongolia has a well structured and staffed health care system. 3.9 physicians serve 1000 people. Women comprise more than 80% of physicians. Leading causes of mortality and morbidity are acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in the winter and diarrhea in the summer, particularly among children. Hypertension and ischemic heart disease are common. Mongolians are the greatest consumers of red meat in Asia and perhaps the world. The health system is in the process of switching from a centralized system of specialist clinics to a family doctor system. Family doctors usually are general physicians, pediatricians, and gynecologists who have undergone family doctor training. They have not received adequate training in treating ARIs, however. Family doctor clinics have 3-6 physicians, each physician with his/her own nurse. Each physician cares for 200-350 families (350-600 children younger than 16). Family doctors must visit each newborn every 2 weeks for the first 3 months and then once a month until age 1. They must also visit each elderly and homebound chronically ill patient at least once a month. Their nurses either come with them or visit patients alone to administer injections, change dressings, take infants’ measurements, and encourage persons to come for vaccinations. The small district and county hospitals face shortages of drugs, raw materials, and functional equipment. The few national hospitals provide tertiary care. Treatment without medicine and traditional treatments of herbal remedies and Buddhist rituals and prayers are resurging in popularity. Harmful practices include swaddling babies, which contributes to rickets and pneumonia, and giving ill children their mother’s early morning urine. Immunization coverage is high. Supplementary ration cards provide milk, flour, meat, rice, and sugar to pregnant women and mothers of children under 1 year old. Milk centers in major towns provide milk to children with a doctor’s prescription. Even though malnutrition is rare, vitamin deficiencies are common.

PMID: 8292957 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

image by betta design on flickr.com

A couple of days ago I called the India consulate in Sydney, Australia. Turns out they have a new process to get a five year business visa issued:

1. Complete all the documentation necessary. This means download and print forms, complete them by hand, etc.
2. Scan all the documents and your passport
3. Email them to the consulate for approval

At this stage I stopped the representative on the phone and asked her – did you just say you want me to EMAIL you a copy of my passport? She replied with the affirmative. Could I come in person or send it by courier? No. Only email.

I congratulate the India consulate for embracing technology and using email for daily operations, allowing me to communicate electronically with the consulate. On the other hand, I think that their procedures need to be revised in as far as sending private information unprotected over the Internet is concerned.

I opted to apply for a one year visa instead, at a greater cost (the one year visa costs about half of what the 5 year does and I will have to get another one) but without going through with this procedure. I wonder how many people don’t think twice before complying. Actually, having seen people sending credit card numbers (complete with names, billing addresses and CVV) over email, I know that most people will comply with these instructions.

Two hikers walk in the wood and encounter a bear. One hiker immediately pulls a pair of running shoes and puts them on. His friend looks at him in terror and amazement and yells at him – “You can’t outrun a bear!” to which he replies – “I don’t need to be faster than the bear; I only need to be faster than you”.

I would like to use this opportunity to thank those people. Thank you! You make my life easier. By being the low-hanging fruit for identity thieves, identity fodder if you will, you allow me relative safety from identity theft by following a few very rudimentary safety precautions; See, I don’t need to be perfectly protected from identity theft, I only need to my identity to be harder to steal than your identity.

Shana Tova

First class is nice. Very nice. But XX (name removed to protect the innocent) G5 is still nicer. Much nicer.

More updates to come