Month: September 2009

On the Gmail problem today (somewhat techie, depending on your background :))

Based on the post in the Official Gmail Blog on today’s Gmail issue, it appears that Google had a classic case of cascading server failure. Lots of companies with high web traffic volumes will have essentially many servers doing essentially the same thing in parallel. For example, rather than have 1 server trying to handle 100% of the traffic, they will have 5 servers each handling 20% of the traffic. You do this for a number of reasons, with one of the key reasons being that 1 server can’t handle 100% of the traffic. However, 5 can. The question is, can 4 handle it? Or 3? Or 2? IT people — like myself — ask themselves this, and try to manage it so that even if 1 or more servers go down, the remaining servers can handle the load. (For example, I once read of a stock exchange that ran their multiple servers at no more than 20% capacity, just to handle variable load or failure.)

The cascading server failure problem occurs when the servers suffer the simultaneous problem of failing servers and too much load. If you have 5 servers available and very busy and one goes down, the other servers can get too busy and also go down. Eventually they all can fall like dominoes. And getting them up is difficult because no sooner do you get one up than it can get swamped with traffic and go down again. Not much fun for the IT people, or the poor frustrated users.

The best place to find a washroom in a big city

You may think it is a cafe or a coffee shop such as Starbucks. True, they are plentiful, but as the blog 52Books points out, they might be less than clean and have other off putting problems.  52Books goes on to recommend bookstores, which I think is a fine suggestion. But for the best place to find a washroom, I recommend big hotels. Big hotels will often have easy to access washrooms in the lobby, and they will be well kept up and well supplied. Futhermore, there are always lots of people coming and going in hotels, making it difficult for anyone working there to pay you more than a second glance. Simply pause, look at your watch or mobile device as if you are expecting someone, then make your way to the nearby lavatory. And if you feel guilty about taking advantages of their services, you can always go have an overpriced drink at their bar. There, now you are square. 🙂

Morgans and Andrée Putman

One of my favourite hotels is Morgans. It’s in a great location in NYC. When I stayed there, I was on a floor that had an exit onto the roof that provided a superb view of the Empire State Building. That alone was worth staying there.

The other reason to stay there is the wonderful decor due to the great Andrée Putman. Here’s an example of her work at the hotel:

And according to Dezeen blog, a version of the chair you see on the left is now available in aluminum:

Striking! Years ago I had a chance to buy an Andrée Putman rug and passed on it. I still regret that. Perhaps you and I should be smart and get this chair. Go to the Dezeen link for more info.