From L to R: Papa Smurf, the coat of arms of Argentina

Four years ago, I had the good luck to take a small guided tour of the Argentine National Congress. Throughout the tour, I became increasingly curious about Argentina’s coat of arms, particularly its focus on Papa Smurf’s lonely red hat hanging on stick.

I mustered the courage to ask our tour guide about it. He told us that the coat’s rising sun represents the birth of a new nation, the blue and white background reminds us of the clear sky and the Río de la Plata, the laurels symbolize Argentina’s successful struggle for freedom, the joining hands represent the solidarity of the Argentine people, and the staff represents the power of the people’s union.

“Yeah, but what about the hat?” I asked.

“Yeah…that’s just a hat.”

His response was simultaneously disappointing and totally awesome. None of my curiosity was assuaged, but I was left imagining a priceless exchange between the original coat of arms designer and the first president of Argentina.

If only it were so simple.

The hat is a liberty, or Phrygian, cap. Its inclusion on the coat of arms completes a graceful visualization of Argentina’s motto, En Unión y Libertad (In Union and Liberty).

Phrygia was an ancient kingdom in what is now Turkey. Its inhabitants would wear soft, red caps with the top pointed forward to distinguish themselves from their neighbors. Over time, the Greeks came to dominate the region, and the Phrygian caps eventually came to represent anything eastern or non-Greek. The caps became a symbol of freedom much later when freed Roman slaves started wearing them to represent their new status as Roman citizens. Freedom lovers worldwide have been wearing them ever since.

The cap became immensely popular in the late 18th century when French revolutionaries adopted the red Phrygian cap as their symbol, winning them the name of Red Republicans. Bostonian revolutionaries also placed a red cap atop a liberty pole during the American Revolution, an image echoed by the staff in Argentina’s seal. The symbol survives today not only on Argentina’s coat of arms, but on the seal of the United States Senate and the coats of arms of Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua.

Psychedelic mushrooms (Psilocybe semilanceata) are even called liberty caps by those seeking liberty from the confines of space and time.

From L to R: Vikram Ray, Klaus Daimler, Steve Zissou, Vladimir Wolodarsky, Pelé dos Santos, Eleanor

And yes, Papa Smurf and all the Smurfs wear them—which brings me to what is probably the greatest controversy surrounding the Phrygian cap our generation will face. That is, do Steve Zissou and his team wear Phrygian caps?

The Phrygian cap is traditionally red, although records exist of some white Phrygian caps (most notably, the Smurfs’). Regardless of color, Phrygian caps have all had their tops pointed forward. Team Zissou’s hats are merely knit caps with no clear top to point in any direction. The fact is that Zissou’s cap is clearly an homage to Jacques Cousteau who almost certainly wore his in homage to his country’s revolutionaries. It appears that Cousteau brought the Phrygian cap into the 20th century, adopting the red and discarding the traditional pointed top. Wes Anderson’s Steve Zissou carried the tradition from there.

It’s a shame that the cap’s significance is essentially lost to the masses. Most freedom lovers in the United States show their love by wearing variations of the American flag, despite its inelegance and the fact that it’s illegal—United States Flag Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8 (j) states:

No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However a patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations.

If you really love freedom, why not wear a red cap instead? It’s legal, it’s recognized worldwide, and perhaps most importantly, it’s classic!

Hiroshima Crosswalk by Daniel Hoye on Flickr

Today is ride your bike to work day. I work from home, but I wanted to ride my bike, so I decided to co-work at my friend Patrick's place downtown. According to my bike's odometer, Patrick lives about 13 miles from my place.

The ride was intense. I never feel very safe riding with cars, and some of the city's bike lanes are in terrible shape. That said, I get a certain pleasure out of riding my bike from point A to point B that makes up for any inconveniences along the way. It's probably just a feeling of self-righteousness.

By the end of the day, I'll have ridden at least 25 miles. In today's world of $4 gas, my trip would cost a little over $4.30 in our Volvo, and around $2.50 in our new Prius. My bike ride cost me a little extra time and a few extra cupcake calories that I ate yesterday. I don't begrudge losing either.

Time on a bike, riding over the contours of the Earth with wind on your face, is time well spent—especially when it's taking you somewhere you want to go. Commuting (or running errands, or visiting a friend, or going to dinner, etc) on a bike is better than arbitrarily running around (i.e. jogging) to get rid of excess calories.

Energy Independence

This election year, we're going to hear a lot from our current and hopeful lawmakers about energy diversity and energy independence. Many of them will talk about finding alternative fuel sources. The cynic in me can’t help wondering how many perks our lawmakers get from nuclear energy lobbies or the ethanol lobby, or any other energy firms.

For instance, Texas’s Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison recently wrote a great op-ed about ethanol's shortcomings and recommended that we "accelerate production of all forms of domestic energy." She recommends that we tap into Alaskan oil reserves as well as "clean coal, nuclear power and wave energy." Her advice seems prudent, but she fails to mention one of the most tremendous energy reserves in world: the extra fat most of us are carrying on our waistlines.

The reason so few lawmakers encourage biking or walking is due to a collective action problem. There are only a few firms who know how to make money off of a particular kind of energy, and they all stand to benefit tremendously from making friends on Capitol Hill. It's easy for these few people to recognize the benefit of joining forces to lobby politicians (e.g. $14.5 billion in tax breaks).

Meanwhile, it would be very difficult to assemble everyone who would like to be able to walk to the store or ride their bike to work. What's more, while it would be nice to be able to walk to work, dealing with a commute and taking a hit at the gas pump is easier than bugging my representatives. I mean, it's not like I can afford to buy them off.

Sadly, until the walking shoe or bicycle lobbies get their act together, we’re on our own. According to Geoffry Stlyes, the fact is that…

If we all drove just 12 miles less per week, fuel demand would fall by 5%, the equivalent of almost half a million barrels per day, or all the ethanol produced last year. The impact of that on gas prices would be much more dramatic than waiting for someone else to fix the problem.

That’s if we just cut out 12 miles of driving a week. For many of us that’s telecommuting, walking, or biking once or twice a week.

I would like to hear some lawmakers talk about rewarding developers who build walkable and bike friendly communities. I wish more companies encouraged telecommuting or living closer to work (Facebook pays a $600 rent stipend to every employee who lives within a mile of their offices). As Michael Pollan just said, it would be really nice if we encouraged more people to fuel their legs with food from their own gardens, kind of like the Victory Garden efforts of WWI and WWII—we could call them Freedom (from foreign oil) Gardens.

• shirt back

If you’d like to indulge my vanity and want a one of my birthday t-shirts, please let me know your shirt size asap because I will dye the shirts tomorrow and print them on Saturday.

I’ve decided to print “4th Annual La Jolla Cove Swim” on the back as well. They’re free if you swim the cove with me next Friday and they’re $15 otherwise.

Birthday party details!

In 2006, with no prior political experience, Pete Ashdown filed as the only democrat to run against Senator Orrin Hatch in the Utah Senate Election. He lost, but took an astonishing 31% of the vote, having only spent around $250,000.

Now he’s busy upgrading Xmission, the internet service provider he started in 1993, to use 100% renewable energy.

Pete makes me proud to be a Utahn and a Ute. I talked to Pete on the phone last week about how he keeps Utah’s first independent ISP going, why the University of Utah is so awesome, and why he wishes Obama (and everyone else in Washington) would embrace wikis.

Envisioning an Internet with Dozens of Users #

How long had you been considering being an entrepreneur? #

I’d thought about it forever, like little business ideas here and there, but eventually I thought wanted to work for a software company, just writing software. I got a job at Evans and Sutherland (one of the big computer graphics companies at the time). They had a real time connection to the internet, as did the University of Utah.

My experiences with the internet at Evans and Sutherland opened my eyes to the possibilities of what the real internet offered—file transfers, group discussions, chatting. This is still before the WWW. I really enjoyed it and was surprised how it allowed me to communicate with friends and delve into my hobbies.

The only disappointing thing was that I couldn’t do it from home. I started XMission thinking there must be dozens of people like me who wanted internet access from home. I thought I could run it out of a closet for a few geeks and collect a check every month.

So was that your first marketing campaign? Getting your friends from the bulletin board systems to sign up? #

Absolutely. I posted on all the boards asking them to look at xMission.

Thinking Long Term, Evolving #

How does XMission operate among the big telcos? #

I say it’s like McDonald’s versus local food. XMission isn’t the least expensive, but it’s a higher value in terms of better service (tech support) and stronger technical aspects. Our core motto is “is this a service that I would want to use?” It’s been a guiding philosophy, and has steered me away from opportunities that would have benefited me greatly yet may have hurt the company.

I could have sold out during the tech bubble in the late 90s. I had some opportunities that would have been great for me in the short term, but would have been lousy for my customers and employees.

How have you been forced to evolve? #

Our dial-up service is rapidly disappearing when it used to be a mainstay.

One thing that surprised me was the idea of colocation. In about 1995, a customer asked me if he could run his own computer in my server center. I thought, “I’ve got a card table you can use and I’ll charge $500 a month.” By 2000 we’d built a new building which is now full of other people’s servers.

Domain names are a good example of a business that I could have gotten into but missed out on. Back in 1993 I would have been able to get tons of available domain names for free.

Other opportunities have popped up. For instance, we tried web design, but we found we’re better partnering with designers rather than doing it ourselves. We need to focus on the plumbing.

Seeking Tech Leadership for Utah and the US #

Had you held office before running for Senate? #

I’d been appointed to sit on the Salt Lake Historic Landmark Commission, but I don’t count that for much.

My interest in running for senate started at a committee meeting arranged by Senator Hatch in 2003 in which Hatch asked if it was possible to make a computer self-destruct if it downloaded illegal content. As a business owner who depends on computers, something like his proposal would absolutely threaten my livelihood and that of my customers and employees.

There’s no way I can monitor all of my employees’ activity on the internet. A university couldn’t either. I’ve always thought we lived in a society in which we were innocent until proven guilty, and Hatch’s comments displayed an ignorance of the law, tipping the scales of justice in one direction.

In addition, his comments reflected poorly on Utah. The University of Utah was one of the 1st 4 nodes of the internet, and has produced Jim Clark, Nolan Bushnell (ed. note: My mom went on a few dates with Nolan Bushnell.), among other great computer pioneers. Utah deserves better than to have Hatch misrepresent the technology community here.

What’s more, I can’t point to a single person in Congress, in the House or Senate, who I respect when it comes to technology. Gore was probably the last lawmaker who knew what he was talking about regarding technology. Information technology is so important to our economy that we need at least one person in Washington who knows what they’re talking about.

So, Hatch’s comments and their significance was a real motivation for me to get involved.

Wanting a Society Focused on its People #

Then, around 2004, I took a trip to Japan with my family. Real eye opener. I saw a society so focused on its people, with a great education system, a great transportation system. I wanted those things for my children here.

Went to Hiroshima and went to the atomic bomb memorial. I was surprised that the memorial didn’t point the finger at the US, but recognized instead that the Japanese had over militarized themselves and paid the price for it. Japan had enlisted children to build bomb shells and essentially focused the entire country’s energy on war. They got bombed as a result. It made me wonder about where my country’s obsession with war was taking us.

I went home deciding to help anyone who was willing to run against Hatch. It turns out that Hatch is the 800 lb gorilla, and no one would bother to run against him. To me, this was…unsatisfactory. So I decided to do it. I was afraid. I didn’t want to expose my family to the grind of politics. I’m an introvert. I’ve spent most of my life behind a computer screen, but I went for it anyway.

I was surprised by how responsive people were as I asked for help. They were excited about something new. My life loves how it turned me into an extrovert. It was sublime on so many levels. It was so profound and I can’t wait to do it again.

People thank me for running, and I tell them “You should run—we all should run!” I wasn’t in any special position to do this. I mean, I was able to take the time off work to run a campaign this scale, but there are tons of opportunities for people to hold office on other levels.

So when are you going to run again? #

A lot of people pushed me to run for mayor, but I don’t think I’m cut out for mayor. I’m more focused on broad brush federal level issues: education, infrastructure, healthcare. I don’t want to seek an office, but I think the office should find me.

People wanted me to run for Congress this year, but I feel like it’s not the right time. For one thing, XMission suffered while I was gone, so I’ve got to get that back on track.

Bob Bennett (Utah’s other republican senator) is up for reelection in 2010. If he doesn’t run again, there will be a lot of people ready to take his spot and I’d consider that. I’d love to run against Hatch again in 2012, so if he’s running again, and I’m available, you can bet on it!

Becoming Political / Leveraging Technology #

Were you a follower of politics before? #

I’d followed presidential level stuff before, and complained about things like everyone else. Running for office helped me define what I really stand for. My wife held a delegate meeting for the Democratic Party when we first moved into our house. I told two of the democrats at the meeting that I was an independent because I was so disgusted with the parties at the time. Eventually, I realized that I had to compromise and work within the system and help the party that I believe has the best chance to make things right.

I can talk about technology all day, but I don’t know enough about health care and education. The race let me work with people who know about those things. The real revelation from the race is that you can use technology to solicit information from people, and they’ll give it to you! I felt privileged to be at the center of a vast conversation.

A lot of people offered a great deal of good information through my website throughout the race, and people are still referring to the site and adding to it today.

What was the most useful Internet tool for your campaign? #

The wiki helped more than anything else. It’s been disappointing to me to see that other campaigns haven’t embraced the wiki—no presidential candidates or congressional candidates. It’s an all inclusive and transparent technology, it allows people to reach across party lines. A large problem in Utah is that the republicans don’t listen to everyone—opposing voices are ignored. Well, we wanted to listen to them, and the wiki was a great tool to get them on board.

Basically, I took other people’s ideas and applied them towards politics.

Another thing I did was publish my calendar. I made a point of stating that if our elected officials are our employees, we should have accounting for their time. I was one of the first to sign on with the Sunlight Foundation, and have pledged to publicize my schedule when elected, much like Jon Tester (D-MT) publishes his schedule on his website. (More info at the Sunlight Foundation’s Punch Clock Campaign) It’s absurd that only 8 out of our 535 elected representatives in Washington let us know how they spend their time.

I’m also supportive of Lawrence Lessig’s Change Congress. This kind of transparency and accountability is demanded, and elected officials have a hard time arguing against it. I just wish that Obama (who I endorse) would adopt some more of the Sunlight Foundation’s ideas as well.

Tell me more about what you did with the wiki. #

It started quite innocently. I had a laundry list of features available to me, and I wanted them on my campaign site—chat rooms, photos, etc. I use the wiki at XMission for employee manuals and documentation, so I thought I’d use it on the campaign site too.

I put my policies on there and let people fill in the blanks. It blew people’s minds that a candidate was willing to open up their policy discussion. It ran wide open, anonymously, for about 6 months. But after about 6 months, the vandals came in and relentlessly attacked the wiki.

At about 2am one night, I finally had to require registration, and that killed it. I’d had about 100 people actively participating before, but requiring registration reduced it to about a dozen people.

I’d love to see THOMAS (THOMAS is the database of United States Congress legislative information) evolve into something resembling a wiki that allows people to register and leave comments on bills before Congress. I know that terrifies lawmakers. If there were an effort within Congress to open up this dialogue, it’d be wildly popular and extremely effective.

Won’t this bring too many cooks into the kitchen and slow things down? #

Well, the wiki is unique because the more voices participate makes it easier to manage. A dozen people couldn’t write wikipedia, and they couldn’t police it either.

I found early on that detractors would get on and say “I don’t like this,” but when pressed for a rational explanation of why they didn’t like it, they wouldn’t respond. Facts and real evidence rise to the top and preserve themselves.

Thanks to Pete for his time. Thanks also to my Mom for running for Utah’s 1st district in 2002 (she didn’t make it onto the ballot, but she did get on the Daily Show).

• shirt back

Please come swim with me in La Jolla Cove (map) to celebrate my 30th birthday on May 23rd. I’ll be jumping in at about 6:30pm.

After a quick swim out to the ¼ mile buoy and back, we’ll go to Hoboken Pizza at 8. After we eat pizza, we’ll go to Cass St. Bar and Grill. After that, we’ll probably play Mario Kart on the Wii at the Sundwall residence.

Oh, and I’ll give you a t-shirt like the one above if you promise to swim with me. Leave a comment or email me to pledge your swimmingness. The tremendously talented Eric Shansby illustrated the design for me (here’s a better look at it), and I’ll be printing it on some hand dyed American Apparel shirts for everyone interested. The text says “30 Years That Didn’t Hurt” in Spanish. It’s something of an homage to Kurt Vonnegut who said he wanted his epitaph to read “Everything was beautiful. Nothing hurt.”

It’s also a roundabout way of saying that these 30 years have been really truly beautiful—the proof being in that I have the best wife, an awesome family, a sea to swim in, and friends to eat pizza with.

If you want a shirt, but don’t want to swim, send me at least $15, and tell me what size you want. We’ve got men’s and women’s medium, large, and extra large. All proceeds will go toward an upgrade to Adobe CS3. You can PayPal to jedsundwall at gmail dot com, or just email me and we’ll figure something out.