diff --git a/README b/README
deleted file mode 100644
index 17c7ffd..0000000
--- a/README
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-Python Ant Colony TSP Solver
------------------------------
-
-Uses Ant Colony Optimization to solve the TSP.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_colony_optimization_algorithms 
-
-anttsp.py is the file to run.  It reads from citiesAndDistances.pickled, which is a pickled 2D array with this format:
-CityName1  CityName2 ... CitNameN
-0           23               34         
-10           0               22
-.
-.
-.
-
-It is not necessary for the matrix to be symmetric i.e. the distance traveling from A to B need not be the distance from B to A  (if you have ever been to Italy and dealt with the mess of one-way streets you will understand how this applies).
-
-Run without additional arguments, it solves the 10-city TSP
-
-You can also try this:
-python anttsp.py 14
-
-Other values <= 14 tested as well
-
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..961ed4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Python Ant Colony TSP Solver
+
+Uses Ant Colony Optimization to solve the TSP.  
+See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_colony_optimization_algorithms 
+
+**anttsp.py** is the file to run.  It reads from citiesAndDistances.pickled, which is a pickled 2D array with this format:
+
+| CityName1 | CityName2 | ... | CitNameN |
+|-----------|-----------|-----|----------|
+| 0         | 23        | ... | 34       |
+| 10        | 0         | ... | 22       |
+| .         | .         | .   | .        |
+| .         | .         | .   | .        |
+
+It is not necessary for the matrix to be symmetric i.e. the distance traveling from A to B need not be the distance from B to A  (if you have ever been to Italy and dealt with the mess of one-way streets you will understand how this applies).
+
+Run without additional arguments, it solves the 10-city TSP
+
+You can also try this:
+```
+$ python anttsp.py 14
+```
+
+Other values <= 14 tested as well
+
diff --git a/ant.py b/ant.py
index d34f12d..15ddb06 100644
--- a/ant.py
+++ b/ant.py
@@ -4,11 +4,12 @@
 from threading import *
 
 class Ant(Thread):
-    def __init__(self, ID, start_node, colony):
+    def __init__(self, ID, start_node, colony, logs=True):
         Thread.__init__(self)
         self.ID = ID
         self.start_node = start_node
         self.colony = colony
+        self.logs = logs
 
         self.curr_node = self.start_node
         self.graph = self.colony.graph
@@ -47,7 +48,10 @@ def run(self):
             self.path_vec.append(new_node)
             self.path_mat[self.curr_node][new_node] = 1  #adjacency matrix representing path
 
-            print "Ant %s : %s, %s" % (self.ID, self.path_vec, self.path_cost,)
+            if self.logs:
+                print ("Ant %s : %s, %s" % (self.ID, self.path_vec, self.path_cost))
+            else:
+                print("") # this is necessary
             
             self.local_updating_rule(self.curr_node, new_node)
             graph.lock.release()
@@ -59,7 +63,9 @@ def run(self):
 
         # send our results to the colony
         self.colony.update(self)
-        print "Ant thread %s terminating." % (self.ID,)
+
+        if self.logs:
+            print ("Ant thread %s terminating." % (self.ID,))
 
         # allows thread to be restarted (calls Thread.__init__)
         self.__init__(self.ID, self.start_node, self.colony)
@@ -74,7 +80,8 @@ def state_transition_rule(self, curr_node):
         max_node = -1
 
         if q < self.Q0:
-            print "Exploitation"
+            if self.logs:
+                print ("Exploitation")
             max_val = -1
             val = None
 
@@ -87,7 +94,8 @@ def state_transition_rule(self, curr_node):
                     max_val = val
                     max_node = node
         else:
-            print "Exploration"
+            if self.logs:
+                print ("Exploration")
             sum = 0
             node = -1
 
@@ -100,12 +108,14 @@ def state_transition_rule(self, curr_node):
 
             avg = sum / len(self.nodes_to_visit)
 
-            print "avg = %s" % (avg,)
+            if self.logs:
+                print ("avg = %s" % (avg,))
 
             for node in self.nodes_to_visit.values():
                 p = graph.tau(curr_node, node) * math.pow(graph.etha(curr_node, node), self.Beta) 
                 if p > avg:
-                    print "p = %s" % (p,)
+                    if self.logs:
+                        print ("p = %s" % (p,))
                     max_node = node
 
             if max_node == -1:
@@ -124,3 +134,5 @@ def local_updating_rule(self, curr_node, next_node):
         val = (1 - self.Rho) * graph.tau(curr_node, next_node) + (self.Rho * graph.tau0)
         graph.update_tau(curr_node, next_node, val)
 
+    def set_logs(self, logs):
+        self.logs = logs
diff --git a/antcolony.py b/antcolony.py
index 54e83e7..a64b8ce 100644
--- a/antcolony.py
+++ b/antcolony.py
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
 import sys
 
 class AntColony:
-    def __init__(self, graph, num_ants, num_iterations):
+    def __init__(self, graph, num_ants, num_iterations, logs=True):
+        self.logs = logs
         self.graph = graph
         self.num_ants = num_ants
         self.num_iterations = num_iterations
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ def __init__(self, graph, num_ants, num_iterations):
         self.reset()
 
     def reset(self):
-        self.best_path_cost = sys.maxint
+        self.best_path_cost = sys.maxsize
         self.best_path_vec = None
         self.best_path_mat  = None
         self.last_best_path_iteration = 0
@@ -45,9 +46,15 @@ def iteration(self):
         self.avg_path_cost = 0
         self.ant_counter = 0
         self.iter_counter += 1
-        print "iter_counter = %s" % (self.iter_counter,)
+
+        if self.logs:
+            print ("iter_counter = %s" % (self.iter_counter,))
+
         for ant in self.ants:
-            print "starting ant = %s" % (ant.ID)
+            if self.logs:
+                print ("starting ant = %s" % (ant.ID))
+
+            ant.set_logs(self.logs)
             ant.start()
 
     def num_ants(self):
@@ -66,7 +73,9 @@ def update(self, ant):
 
         #outfile = open("results.dat", "a")
 
-        print "Update called by %s" % (ant.ID,)
+        if self.logs:
+            print ("Update called by asd" % (ant.ID))
+
         self.ant_counter += 1
 
         self.avg_path_cost += ant.path_cost
@@ -80,7 +89,8 @@ def update(self, ant):
 
         if self.ant_counter == len(self.ants):
             self.avg_path_cost /= len(self.ants)
-            print "Best: %s, %s, %s, %s" % (self.best_path_vec, self.best_path_cost, self.iter_counter, self.avg_path_cost,)
+            if self.logs:
+                print ("Best: %s, %s, %s, %s" % (self.best_path_vec, self.best_path_cost, self.iter_counter, self.avg_path_cost,))
             #outfile.write("\n%s\t%s\t%s" % (self.iter_counter, self.avg_path_cost, self.best_path_cost,))
             self.cv.acquire()
             self.cv.notify()
@@ -96,7 +106,8 @@ def create_ants(self):
         self.reset()
         ants = []
         for i in range(0, self.num_ants):
-            ant = Ant(i, random.randint(0, self.graph.num_nodes - 1), self)
+            ant = Ant(i, random.randint(0, self.graph.num_nodes - 1), self, logs=self.logs)
+            ant.set_logs(self.logs)
             ants.append(ant)
         
         return ants
diff --git a/antgraph.py b/antgraph.py
index 472440c..e14de36 100644
--- a/antgraph.py
+++ b/antgraph.py
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
 from threading import Lock
 
 class AntGraph:
-    def __init__(self, num_nodes, delta_mat, tau_mat=None):
-        print len(delta_mat)
+    def __init__(self, num_nodes, delta_mat, tau_mat=None, logs=True):
+        self.logs = logs
+
+        if self.logs:
+            print (len(delta_mat))
+
         if len(delta_mat) != num_nodes:
             raise Exception("len(delta) != num_nodes")
 
@@ -41,8 +45,9 @@ def reset_tau(self):
         # initial tau 
         self.tau0 = 1.0 / (self.num_nodes * 0.5 * avg)
 
-        print "Average = %s" % (avg,)
-        print "Tau0 = %s" % (self.tau0)
+        if self.logs:
+            print ("Average = %s" % (avg,))
+            print ("Tau0 = %s" % (self.tau0))
 
         for r in range(0, self.num_nodes):
             for s in range(0, self.num_nodes):
diff --git a/anttsp.py b/anttsp.py
index 2118a63..3161716 100644
--- a/anttsp.py
+++ b/anttsp.py
@@ -21,7 +21,12 @@
         num_iterations = 20
         num_repetitions = 1
 
-    stuff = pickle.load(open("citiesAndDistances.pickled", "r"))
+    f = open("citiesAndDistances.pickled", "rb")
+    u = pickle._Unpickler(f)
+    u.encoding = 'latin1'
+    stuff = u.load()
+    f.close()
+
     cities = stuff[0]
     cost_mat = stuff[1]
 
@@ -30,12 +35,12 @@
         for i in range(0, num_nodes):
             cost_mat[i] = cost_mat[i][0:num_nodes]
 
-    print cost_mat
+    print (cost_mat)
 
     try:
         graph = AntGraph(num_nodes, cost_mat)
         best_path_vec = None
-        best_path_cost = sys.maxint
+        best_path_cost = sys.maxsize
         for i in range(0, num_repetitions):
             graph.reset_tau()
             ant_colony = AntColony(graph, num_ants, num_iterations)
@@ -44,14 +49,14 @@
                 best_path_vec = ant_colony.best_path_vec
                 best_path_cost = ant_colony.best_path_cost
 
-        print "\n------------------------------------------------------------"
-        print "                     Results                                "
-        print "------------------------------------------------------------"
-        print "\nBest path = %s" % (best_path_vec,)
+        print ("\n------------------------------------------------------------")
+        print ("                     Results                                ")
+        print ("------------------------------------------------------------")
+        print ("\nBest path = %s" % (best_path_vec,))
         for node in best_path_vec:
-            print cities[node] + " ",
-        print "\nBest path cost = %s\n" % (best_path_cost,)
+            print (cities[node] + " ",)
+        print ("\nBest path cost = %s\n" % (best_path_cost,))
     
-    except Exception, e:
-        print "exception: " + str(e)
+    except Exception as e:
+        print ("exception: " + str(e))
         traceback.print_exc()