My favorite X-mas card this year ...

goes to the card below, which has materials glued on to look like a dog, from Jennifer. Thanks Jenn. I really enjoyed the card. Happy New Year!

Hate being a fan sometimes ...

I just saw this garbage listed as one of the five most amazing moments of 2007 on SI.com. What am I talking about? I am talking about the fact that Chargers' Antonio Cromartie scored on the longest play ever on Vikings! 109.9 yards.

Isn't it enough to put up with a Viking running the wrong way every so often? Now, I have to put up with this! Crap.

I guess you love them no matter what, but sometimes. SOMETIMES, THEY REALLY TRY YOUR PATIENTS!

Darth Vader rocks in any form ...

I knew about this guy, Tay Zonday, who sang Chocolate Rain on Youtube. Well, I did not really care for it. People love it, because the video has almost 13 million hits as of today. What I really like is when people spoof and make it absolutely hilarious. Like below. Enjoy!!!!

Where did the theather go?

This was my thought a couple days ago when I drove to Harkins Christown to see No Country for Old Men. I've been going there for matinees for years. Instead I saw a giantic Target store. I panicked as I had less than 5 minutes to make the show time. I took out my iPhone and check the location. It was still in the shopping center. I drove around until I found the new place. I must say I had one of those Dorothy in Oz moments.

X-Mas Photocards 2007 ...

These are photo Christmas cards I've received this year. It is always good to see how people have changed in a year.

Movies, movies, movies ...

Now that I am on vacation and not grading papers or finalizing grades, I find myself at movie theaters. I guess I have a pent-up desire to see movies. I have managed to see Charlie Wilson's War, I am Legend, and No Country for Old Men.

The most entertaining and educational of the three is Charlie Wilson's War. I had no idea to the level of our involvement in Afghan. Seymour Hoffman was hilarious. Tom Hanks was charming. I know the critics do not agree how good this movie is, but I think it delivers on all cylinders. One thing I did not understand. Why was a Emily Blunt caste as just another bimbo? I thought she was a well regarded actress. A complete overcast. Hmm.

I read about the great acting by Will Smith in I am Legend, so I was excited about seeing it. I was a little disappointed. I guess the hype did a job on my expectation. Smith did okay as a lone survivor and was believable for the most part. I am disappointed that the movie chose to make Smith's character as a 100% protagonist. I read about the meaning of the title and controversy surrounding the movie's take. I think I would like it better if the script was faithful to the book as I find the movie's ending very ordinary.

I was blown away by No Country for Old Men. I think everyone was fantastically cast. Bardem is a psycho. Brolin is a men's man. Lee Jones is a righteous sheriff. Wow. You just have to see it to believe it. I must own this movie when it comes out.

I will see Juno today. I hear nothing but good things.

I would watch commercials like this ...

I recently found myself being quite amused and entertained while watching a McDonald's commercial starring a kid grooving to Cha Cha rap. This leads me to believe that people do not necessarily want to skip ads, but need creative and funny ones to entertain while sending messages. Which ad am I talking about? Look below and enjoy.

Wish I had more time ...

to find a gem like this. I found this video from The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs. The following video is really rocking and hilarious. I think I will purchase the album that has this song, Merry Christmas from the Family by Robert Earl Keen. Enjoy.

I am feeling mighty guilty ...

I am starting to receive holiday greetings cards. It is good to hear from people you don't talk to on regular basis. I have not sent out my cards yet. Oh, no. I really need to get on this.

What I've been up to ...

Don't worry. I am okay. I have not posted in a long time, because I've been super busy and/or I've been lazy about posting. I like to thank those who worry about me. I am touched. HONEST. Here is what I have been up to since I posted last.

Puerto Penasco Trip
I was fortunate enough to get away for a male bonding good times during the fall break in October. In another words, drinking beers and eating tacos. I don't know what it is, but I am more easy going when I am down in Mexico. Taking naps are also much sweeter.



Oktoberfest
I had my second annual Oktoberfest during the last week of October. I did not have as many visitors as last year, but I still served up about 40 beer marinated bratwursts and about 5 gallons of Hefeweizen. I need to do a better job of advertising next year.

Guitar Hero III
I've been playing Guitar Hero III for Wii for a couple of weeks. It is way too addicting. I am still stuck in the medium level, but hope to make hard level soon.

A minor disaster avoided ...

A really good friend, Jim, recently tied a knot with his long time girl friend, Beth. I was one of his groom's men. I was more than happy to be in his wedding and do my part to make sure things go smoothly. I also did not expect anything would go wrong. It turned out, it could have been a little ugly if not for a little fortunate sequence of events. Let me elaborate.

Dude, where is my kilt?

I took Friday off to attend the rehearsal. Before I started driving to Tucson, I decided to phone Jim, because he talked about me picking up kilts for the wedding party. It's Jim's idea of formal wear. Anyway, I left a message on Beth's phone. I guessed it was too early for Jim.

I finished getting ready to head out to Tucson when I received a call from Beth. There was this slight panic in her voice. This is NO GOOD!!! I mean I don't want to stress out the bride a day before her wedding. Beth relegated our conversation to Jim.

Jim, still not 100% awaken state, came on the phone said, "dude, I left you a message yesterday." I said, "I have not checked my messages yesterday." I worked quite late the day before so I could take the day off. I said in my most reassuring voice, "I got this. I will get the kilts, but will be late to the rehearsal." Jim said, "it's more important."

Got to love the way guys communicate. I figured the message last night would say where I need to go to pick up the kilts. Well, it didn't. I checked all my e-mail from Jim, but to no avail. I wanted to scream in the most disturbing way. I did not want to call the bride again. Can you imagine her level of stress or Beth yelling at Jim? I figured I need to solve this minor problem myself.

I googled kilt rental in Scottsdale, AZ. Luckily, there was only one kilt rental in all of Arizona. That is got to be the place. It was a little too early to call, so I waited about a half hour. I told them I would pick up kilts ASAP. I felt good about doing this in a low key way as not to disturb the bride or groom. I felt like I did a good job as a groom's man.

Hotel room, what hotel room?
I originally planned on staying at a hotel room. A good college friend, Matt, and I was going to share the expense. He backed out a week before on the arrangement. Matt and I both ended up staying with Harley. It turned out pretty well as Harley is a good host always. I did save a few bucks, which was used for a wedding gift.

Wedding went smoothly. People loved the kilts. I won't tell you if we went commando. You have to ask the groom. Their ring bearing dog was a hit. The location was beautiful. It was an open bar. I cannot find anything to complain about really.

Here is to the my newest wedded couple, Jim and Beth.

Fun on Monday night? No way ...

I cannot remember the last time I went to a concert on Monday or going to a concert of an unknown band. Well, I have done both last Monday. I went to see Guster at Marquee Theatre on September 17, 2007.

Pam wanted to go see Guster and invited her friends including me to go. I did not know who Guster is, but I decided to go because I had not seen Pam, Amy, and Colby in sometime.

I checked them out on Guster's myspace. The band sounded very decent. I thought it would be an okay concert. I had no idea how much I would really enjoy the band.

I met up with Pam and Amy around 5:30 at Amy's house. Pam brought dinner. I got to hung out with the little ones, Cam and Aidan. They are so much bigger and more independent. It was great. Cam can now have a real conversation. Aidan is walking and says no. Wow.

We left for Guster around 6:30. It turned out we were there about an hour early. No matter, we got some adult beverages and caught up with each others lives. We really should hang out more often.

Guster started playing round 8. The band has an awesome bongo player. By this fact alone, made the band sound very distinct to me. I only knew one of their songs. I think I heard Satelite from a movie or maybe Scrubs. I really enjoyed this concert very much. Guster is a fantastic live band. I just bought a couple of songs, Amsterdam and Satelite.

Spoofs rule ...

I was reading Woot. It is a daily bargain site. This site is popular not just for one excellent bargain per day, but for humorous ways they describe each bargain/product.

I did not expect what I found today. A spoof of iPhone price drop for Microsoft Zune. It is hilarious.

An Emergency Open Letter

To all Woot customers:

I have received more than three emails from Zune buyers who are upset about Woot dropping the price of the Zune by $20 one month after it went on sale the first time. After reading every one of these emails, or at least scanning their subject lines, I have some observations and conclusions.

First, I need to make a better effort to hide my email address.

Second, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 30GB Zune from $149.99 to $129.99. This confidence is based on more than the holy doctrine of corporate infallibility. The Zune is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to “ride the lightning” and “shoot the curl” this holiday season, not to mention “kill the messenger” and “rock the vote”, further enabling us to “pay the rent” and “keep the lights on”. It benefits both Woot and every Zune user (but especially Woot) to drag as many new victims as possible into the Zune “dungeon”. We strongly believe that misery loves company this holiday season.

Third, being in technology for 1+ years, give or take a year, I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always some idiot changing lanes without signaling, and the potholes never seem to get fixed. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product. I mean, why should you? Truth is, you don’t really need any of this junk. We’re afraid you’ll catch on to that fact and overpaid frauds like me will have to go back into fields like telemarketing and burrito construction. Fortunately, most of you continue to languish in a consumerist stupor, wallets spread wide for us to plunder as we please. The bad news for us is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service. But we’re hoping you’ll buy from Woot instead.

Third-and-a-half, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of the Zune, and even though the technology road is, like, this total Deathrace 2000-type scene, we need to do a better job taking care of our early Zune customers, at least until we find a private security firm we can afford. For some reason, our early customers trusted us. We must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these, lest you turn off the money spigot that maintains our decadent lifestyles. These peacock-egg omelets and mink-lined Jacuzzis don’t pay for themselves, you know.

Therefore, we have decided to offer every Woot customer who purchased a Zune from us on August 22, 2007 (or in the last Woot-Off) a $10 Woot credit towards any Woot order of $40 or more, before shipping. If that’s you, just enter the coupon code BUMPYROAD while making your purchase, and boo-yah: you’re mayor of Discount City. This discount applies to any Woot site, including Woot.com, Shirt.Woot, Wine.Woot, Sellout.Woot, and Beets.Woot. It doesn't expire, so feel free to check back everyday 'til you find something that will temporarily fill the void in your soul. You may use the coupon as many times as you bought Zunes. So, if you bought one Zune from us back in August, you can use BUMPYROAD once; if you bought two, you can use it twice; and so forth and so on and what-have-you. But you can only use the discount once on any one order. We make this decision with every confidence that most of you will never want any of the crap we sell anyway.

We want to convincingly pretend to do the right thing for our valued Zune customers. We’d apologize for disappointing some of you, but we long ago lost the capacity for sincere remorse. We will continue to do our best to trick you into having high expectations of Woot.

Larry Stalin
Woot CYA Officer

3:10 to Yuma is not great ...

I watched 3:10 to Yuma recently. It is about a ranching family trying to live honestly when everyone seems to be against the family. When a notorious outlaw is captured, the rancher is given a chance to make quick money by escorting the outlaw. Needing the money, rancher takes the job in a heartbeat and the story unfolds.

With great actors, Crowe and Bale, can a movie be bad? Gretchen Mole is not bad either. I don't know who played the older son, but he was quite good, too.

This is why I am disappointed that either the director or producers did something to change the ending. I mean it should be somewhat believable. I don't really want to give away the ending as I still think it is good enough for people to see.

Let the unproductivity begin ...

Just like millions of others, I am useless on Sundays these days. Why? I am watching football. I don't know when this obsession started. I don't particularly like being unproductive. I just cannot seem to help myself.

It was good to see Cardinals win their home opener against divisional foe, Seahawks. I was holding my breath as the game was determined last minute. Cardinals have a way of blowing games.

My fav, Vikings, lost today. Apparently, the new QB is not very good. He seems to be intercept prone. Defense seems to be solid. I hope they have a good season.

Sunday night game between Chargers and Patriots turned out be a dud. Although it was good to see Moss kick butt, however it was not good to watch as a neutral fan.

On the side note, local women basketball team, Mercury, won their first championship. The final game was not carried by any of the local tv stations. Hmm.

Hoping to be more productive next Sunday.

iPhone price cut debacle ...

So Steve Jobs graciously cut the iPhone prices by $200 this past week. ONLY AFTER 2 MONTHS! I was stunned, of course. My prized possession got devalued in a hurry. I thought to myself, "I have no one to blame." After all, I am the impatient one with money to burn. Sort of speaking.

Apparently people were really sore and vocal about their disgust at such precipitous price drop. I am not sure if this caused Jobs to issue $100 credit, but I am happy to have it.

I feel I did not really overpay for my iPhone although I always feel like I am overpaying my ATT service. I just do not use enough cell service. I did feel the sting of a rather quick price drop of iPhone, but this sort of things always happens.

Ultimately, I have mixed feelings about this. By dropping the price, I no longer feel like I belong to an exclusive group of techno snobs (I just came up with that). I am still happy with how the phone functions. I think I would purchase it early again.

I don't feel Apple owe me an apology. It is a business trying to max its profit. What do you expect?

RIP Beer hunter ...

Michael Jackson, aka beer hunter, recently passed away. He introduced many of us, beer aficionados, to unknown beers around the world. We learned to distinguish different flavors in beers from his books. We experienced unfamiliar beers from his writing.

I should go and get a book by him. I shall miss him.

Heroes are overrated ...

I am waiting on HD DVD version of 300 and Hot Fuzz from NetFlix. There has been a long wait since it was released. Instead, I have been getting Heroes on HD DVD.

Since I really enjoy superhero comics, I am a little surprised I am not liking Heroes. There seems to be a big buzz around it, but I am not feeling it. So far, I have seen about first seven episodes are they are okay, but I am not blown away.

I hope 300 or Hot Fuzz becomes available soon or at least The Lookout.

Balls of Fury ...

I watched Balls of Fury last Saturday. I thought it would be a real funny movie. Well, my expectation was much higher than the movie.

I thought someone like Christopher Walken would not be in a real lousy movie. I was wrong. In fact, he was not very good in the movie.

Like many critics, I thought the strongest performance was delivered by a peripheral actress, Maggie Q. She is the straight man making others seem more humorous. She was apparently in the latest Die Hard movie. I might have to check it out.

I am not completely down on this movie, because it reminded me so much of the movies I enjoyed long ago. This movie liberally borrows from Enter the Dragon and Kentucky Fried Movie.

If I was not a big fan of those two movies, then I would not have like this movie at all. I am recommending this movie for a silly afternoon or a rental.

Do you believe in Karma?

I was born into Confucianism. You know, respect your elders and other social ideals. That has served me pretty well.

I was introduced into Christianity in my early teen years, mostly Methodist/Presbyterian tradition. This has also served me well. I mean ten commandments are pretty good rules to live by.

I no longer associate myself with an organized religion, but I subscribe to a notion of Karma. Do good things and good things happen. The best thing about my belief is that I am more introspective.

I was stuck behind many red lights yesterday when I drove home. I was a little upset at this phenomenon. Realistically, series of red lights will happen periodically. It is just probability. Instead of continuing to curse my bad luck, I started thinking to myself if I have been bad lately.

I don't know if I am a spiritual person, but I like the fact that I examine the way I live. Karma rules!

Hold on firmly ...

I am still smitten with my iPhone. I don't have a buyer's remorse although I think the AT&T plan is a little pricey for how I use it.

I imagine many iPhone owners are having a similar problem, so I am writing to let new iPhone users or soon to be owners about it. IT IS SLIPPERY. I personally almost dropped it several times. A friend drop it into a tray full of dip. Luckily, it was not a wet dip. It cleaned nice enough.

I might have to get a case for it.

I WON ...

Lousy $3. I only managed to hit one Powerball number. Apparently, more than 300 mil prize will be claimed by one Indiana ticket.

That must be why I felt an urge to drive to Indiana to buy a ticket. No, not really.

Thumbs down ...

I like to watch Roger Ebert's show. I find it informative and entertaining to listen to so called movie intellectuals discuss contemporary movies. Mr. Ebert has been missing for quite sometime now due to his illness. I guess the show's distributor is trying to move on without him.

I became aware of the distributor trying to obtain Ebert's thumb up/down trademark. Read this funny article. I wish I had a trademark to sell. Sigh!

Worst product name ever?

I was reading fakesteve.blogspot.com when I found this article about a digital music player from Germany. I mean, WOW. I am thinking this will be renamed, but who knows. I don't wnat to get into trouble, so I am not even mentioning the name. Follow the links.

I met R2D2 ...

I ran into R2D2 in front of my local Bestbuy. It never feels real unless you actually see one. Well, I actually saw a R2D2 mailbox. It was not as nice as I thought, but cool none the less. I just wished Princess Leia was there to deposit a piece of mail.

I maybe burning bridges ...

I hope not. I have been putting in long hours at work. Teaching AP Physics for the first time is quite the challenge. I am trying to stay one chapter ahead of the class and add in labs. I am challenging my students act like beginning college students. I hope it works out.

I am not very good at keeping in touch with people. Long hours are not making my inadequacy any easier to overcome. I should call some people and say hi!

Hanging with boys is hard ...

I went to Cards game yesterday. One of the teachers I work with invited me. I have never been to the University of Phoenix stadium, so I thought it would be nice. I spent the time drinking enough not to get called out, but not so much I would get wasted. We drank beer from 11 to 7! That is like putting in a full day of work drinking beer. Not to mention, heat advisory day made drinking extra hard. It really is hard trying to keep up with big boys.

We had a good time. Drank and ate like kings. Here is to football!

Superbad is super exellent ...

I just saw Superbad today. I felt like seeing a movie, because it felt like a nice lazy Sunday morning thing to do. I sure chose to do a fun thing, because Superbad was very FUNNY movie.

It is about three geeky high school seniors and their last day of school. Many funny things happens as they get invited to, attend a graduation party, and try to hook up with girls.

The movie did not feel like a rehash of an old high school movie, which is rare. Just think about how many decent movies about high school adolescents already exists.

I am not usually a big fan of a childish humor movies. This movie once again proved to me that people should not buy into a genre, but watch quality movies.

Go see this HILARIOUS MOVIE!!!!

My first bad news ...

When I decided to become a teacher few years back, I thought about many benefits, but not so much about job hazards. Well, it turns out one of those hazards is losing his/her students to violence.

I lost my first one. I was not very close to the student, but I keep wondering if I should have been nicer. Maybe gotten to know him better. The student was not stellar academically, but nice and cordial.

I feel bad, but not overwhelmingly sad. Does that make me a bad person? I feel like I should be feeling worse.

Tivo, where have you been all my life?

Do you remember the good ole days when we used to record shows on VCR? Well, some of you do. I cannot remember the last time.

Everyone has been telling me how not having cable and DVR is like being a caveman. I keep on telling everyone that I watch too much TV as is, and don't believe in paying for TV shows. But I have always been envious of their cable DVR.

Well jealousy is gone. I just bought a Tivo HD. It is capable of recording HD. I don't have to have a cable service to use one. I am in heaven. I started to record Scrubs, Poker After Dark, etc.

It does cost to get Tivo service, but it is like renting a cable DVR. After buying the hardware and prepaying for service, it is like $17 per month. It is a little pricy, but I am very happy.

Visual voice mail ...

I thought Apple was the only one offering visual voice mail. What is a visual voice mail? Since you can see a list of all your voice mail on iPhone, you can choose to listen to the ones you want and in the order you want. I really like that about my cell phone. Wait, it gets better.

Cox is offering visual voice mail via a website called Phone Tools. I guess it pours when it rains. I can now visually check voice mail on my land line as well. Bravo, Cox!

Mm, port and icewine ...

I like to inform people when I find things I like. Here are a couple of adult beverages I am recommending.

Montevina Zinfandel Port: It is less than $20 and not really bad at all. Here is a little description I stole from another website. "Montevina's non-vintage Amador County Zinfandel Port displays a fascinating aroma of raisined berry fruit, chocolate, toffee, caramel and orange peel. The wine's rich, lush, grapey flavors also evoke raisin, cocoa, coffee and toffee. This delicious, fortified wine is the perfect accompaniment to chocolate desserts, walnuts, and rich goat and bleu cheeses."

Jackson-Triggs Vidal Icewine 2005: I never had icewine before this wine. So I have a reference to compare. However, this does not stop me from wholeheartedly recommending this wine. I just wanted more after it was gone. Here is a blogger with a review.

Holy crap, two copters clashed midair?

Last Friday, two Phoenix area news copters collided with each other in midair. All four people involved perished.

Okay, how does this happen? I am still dumbfounded about two news copters following a police chase colliding midair. I mean it is not like cars where there are only 2 dimensions to work with. They have 3 dimensions. What is the chance of that? Apparently, it is a noted danger for these pilots, but I would think the chances are pretty slim.

Affordable organic local milk?

I was grocery shopping yesterday when I found out Shamrock Farms now sells organic fat free milk. I don't drink much milk so I would pay a little more for this organic milk as long as it is not too much more. Better yet, it is local. Here is a link to the Shamrock Farms Organic page.

It is good to know that I can pay about $3 for a half gallon of hormone and antibiotic free milk! Score one for me.

A week of lying low ...

I did very little this week. For one thing, I blogged only once this week. I really did not find anything I really care enough to blog.

On a positive note, I have managed to go for 5.4 mile run five times this week so far. If I go tomorrow, then it will be six. That would be great. I cannot remember running 32.3 mile in one week recently. I would like to get in shape so I can run a decent race in near future.

I managed to watch a couple of movies. I watched a Korean monster movie, The Host, on HD-DVD from Netflix. It was critically well reviewed as well as by regular viewers. I guess my hope was too high. I liked it, but I am not too keen on it.

I recently acquired a Toshiba HD DVD player, because Netflix offers next gen movies already. Blue ray is too expensive still. I already have HDTV and surround sound. My Toshiba player did not set me back too much. It comes with five free mail-in HD DVD's. I have not regretted buying it. Movies look very sharp and sound great!! It is not VHS to DVD difference, but you definitely notice the higher quality.

I've seen Letters from Iwo Jima, Children of Men, Jet Li's Fearless, and The Good Shepard in addition to The Host. I've noticed that regular DVD's look soft even when they are upscaled to HD resolution. I guess I am getting real spoiled.

I also went to see The Simpsons Movie yesterday. I was worried it would not good, becuase I read a bad review. USA Today, I think. I am happy to say the movie was not bad at all. Is it the best Simpsons? No! However, it is full of what makes The Simpsons such a joy to watch. Physical comedy mixed in with current pop twist and real wit. Bravo!

I am going to go see Ratatouille tomorrow. I guess I am not done making Steve Jobs rich when I purchase his phone, iPod, and computers. I am actually looking forward to watching it. Critics really love it.

I am all over the place with my thoughts today. Scatter brain, I guess.

I wish my iPhone could do this ...

Check out the video below. It would be very cool!

Oops! No more grapes for you ...

I recently learned dogs can have very bad reactions to eating grapes and raisins. In fact, dogs can be poisoned with as little as seven grapes. Check out the following link.

Hmm! I need to put this on the list of things I should not feed Cenya, my dog. I already refrain from giving my dog wet treats (for good of Cenya's teeth), or chicken bones (choke hazard), or chocolate (poisonous).

Good ole days, we could give anything we wanted to dogs.

Where is Bart?

I used http://www.simpsonizeme.com/ to transform myself into a cartoon character. I wanted to meet Bart once I became a cartoon character. I flew to Springfield.

The first place I went to meet Bart was his home. Marge said kids went with Homer. It's bring your kids to work day at the power plant.

I spoke to Homer when I got to the power plant. Where are Lisa and Bart? Homer said that they were with him in the morning. They went to their school for the afternoon. Homer seemed preoccupied with his boss, Mr. Burns.

Once I got to Springfield Elementary School, I spoke to Lisa as Bart was nowhere to be found. Lisa thought Bart was ditching again. Of course! Maybe Bart went to find some memorabilia in the cartoon studio garbage again, we both thought.

I stopped at Kwik-E-Mart, because I got thirsty on my way to Krustylu Studios. I spoked to Apu as I paid for Squishee. Mm, lemon Squishee. Apu said I just missed Bart.

The last place I looked was at the cartoon studio, where Bart's favorite, Itchy and Scratchy is made. Well, I missed him again. The main gate security said, "Bart just left for home." May be I can catch him another day.

I feel the earth move ...

Well, I didn't. I thought of the song as I needed a title. What is this about earth moving?

I just read about an earth quake that just happened early this morning in the Bay area, California. My sister lives in San Francisco, so I was worried obviously. I called at 5:30 AM. I would not normally call that early, but I figured this is an emergency.

My cellphone call went through right away. This is a good sign. No damaged cell towers. Too bad, she did not answer. I left a message saying I would call again after my run and hope things are alright.

I called again after my run around 7 AM, but still no answer. Crap. I am starting to worry.

Sis called around 8. She said everything is fine. The quake was around 4.2 and epicenter was on the East Bay. It was good to hear. I am not familiar with Richter scale, so I asked her if things fell off or new cracks appeared. Sis said, "it was like a small movement that can be felt if one was on water bed."

Well, thank heavens!

Score one for cloth bags ...

Do you know San Francisco has already banned plastic bags for large stores? I thought that was a pretty awesome move. I just read a story that would further the cause for cloth shopping bags. Whole Foods are selling awesome British designer, Anya Hindmarch, grocery bags for $15 each, and people are waiting in lines to get them. In fact, there might be after market demand for reselling them. Read about it here.

I hope more and more people buy and use cloth shopping bags. I, personally, use four cloth shopping bags. Most grocery stores credit you for using cloth bags, so they will be paid for in time. And IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD!

Las Vegas Trip ...

I was in Las Vegas last week for a conference. Since I don't want to be uncool, I don't want the nature of the conference known. Let's just say, having a conference in LV does not sex up my profession. Anyway, I still had fun when I was not attending various sessions during the conference.

I usually detail my trip, but this time I did not really keep little notes reminding me what happened and when. So I am trying a different method here. Highlights and lowlights.

Highlights

• Playing blackjack with Garrick. Dealers were not kind to us.
  
• Seeing Tobey McGuire at World Series of Poker in Rios Hotel.
• Just joking and having fun with Garrick.
• Having cocktails and people watching. There were a lot to watch.
  

Lowlights

• Two hour delay at Sky Harbor caused by US Airways.
• TSA pulling me aside for bomb sniffing my laptop.
• No wifi connection at the conference or the hotel (WHAT!)
• The most expensive buffet at Bellagio turned out to be mediocre!
  

San Francisco Trip ...

I journaled the trip to see my sis throughout last three weeks or so. Here are links to them.

• Day 1: Getting there. How I got lost and went to Richmond instead.
• Day 2: Hanging out. Eating out. Visiting a museum.
• Day 3: Drive out to Sonoma. Transsexual pre-Pride Rally
• Day 4: Trip to Palo Alto and Pleasanton. Garrick's graduation
• Day 5: Pride Parade and Scrabble games

Here is the last part of my journal, Trip back home.

I woke up at four in the morning to the sound of my sister's alarm. I did not want to get up. Luckily, I packed up last night. I washed up and got ready to leave. Sis hugged me bye. As I walked out the door, I remembered I need to get an electric cord. I felt dumb, but I rang the door. I grab what I forgot and we hugged again.

I walked into the nearest BART station, 16th & Mission. There were a few people there. In fact, there seemed to be other Oakland Airport bound passengers. When we got to the Coliseum stop, where I waited for the AirBART bus with others. More and more came to wait, but it did not seem like a real line. This could be a problem. I had that foreboding feeling.

When the first AirBART showed up, I did not rush to it. I figured there should be enough room. Well, wrong! I was the last person to be let in. Talking about cutting it close. I was very relieved that I would make the flight on time. Spoke too soon.

Since sis did not have a printer, I had to line up get a boarding pass. It took a little time. I then had to go through TSA check point. I walked up and a TAS lady pointed outside where a line was snaking around. I was now not sure I would make the flight. This is leaving almost two and a half hour early. CRAP! Luckily, I went through the TSA without any problems. It just took sometime.

As I walked away, a stranger told me I dropped my ID. I quickly checked. I indeed lost my ID. I had to go back to a TSA agent to get my ID back. At least that was not a hassle. I board about twenty minutes later. I realized then and there, I left my favorite running gear at my sister's.

I cannot wait 'till October ...

Most people know of Guitar Hero. It is this awesome game where you pretend to play guitar to awesome rock songs. It is like air guitar but with a guitar controller. So cool! I played it on a friends XBox 360, and I just cannot get over it.

Well, Guitar Hero III is coming to Wii this October. I will certainly get one. Here is a preview.

Full blown consumerism ...

I am totally opposite of what I like to be right now. Like Buddha said, material things do not bring happiness. Well, how come it always feels like they do. I know after a while, I will be tired of these things I acquired recently and have a full blown regrets and such.

What have I acquired:

• iPhone: I love it. Everyone says I need a cellphone, but I lived without one for many years.
• HD-DVD player: Watching Netflix HD-DVD is awesome, but what is wrong with regular DVD?
• Zinfandel Port: I love port. Are there anything better?
• Emeril Steamer: Do I really need to steam food as well as Emeril?
• Insulated six pack carrier: Who ever wants to walk in with lukewarm beer?
• Cigar: Occasional smoke never hurts. I hope.
• MacBook: I was very tired of awfully slow iBook anyway.

Some of thses are gifts, but I need to curve some of my buying habits. Or do I? Being a responsible good human being is hard!!!!!

Day 5 of San Francisco Trip ...

Date: June 24, 2007

Alcohol Consumption: 1 Watermelon Vodka thingy

Money Quote: "Is that guy completely naked?"

This is the last day of my trip. I got up late. No running today. I really did not feel like it. I shouldn't have to. After all, it is a vacation.

This morning started off with a little spat about going to church. Apparently, mother called to let us know we should be attending church today. Hmm, how nice of mom. Sis mildly insisted we go to church this morning. I insisted back that we don't go. I told her I felt a little sluggish from staying out late yesterday. Sis let me off the hook as I insisted she can blame me if mother called us on it.

We instead went to a late breakfast. Unfortunately, we rode bikes there. I really wish the bike I rode had a better supportive seat. At least there was no real traffic. When we arrived, I was a little confused. It said ice cream parlor. Huh? Ice cream for breakfast! I guess that would work. It turned out the little place served up meals as well as malts and ice creams. Cool!

The name is St. Francis Fountain. It is a nice cozy place. I ordered corned beef hash. It came with a slice of grilled banana bread, which my sis is crazy about. My hash was very awesome. Most restaurants serves hash from a can. They are really greasy. However, St. Francis served shredded bits of deli quality corned beef. It was delicious. Sis and I talked congenially. I logged some highlights from this trip so I could blog later. She looked at her case brief.

We rode back slowly. We took a little down time before heading to Pride Parade. We took BART to get to the parade route. First thing is first. We went to SF Apple Store. Sis needas a cover for her new nano. The store was two story building. Pretty nice. Phoenix Apple Store is about a half the size.

We slowly walked our way over to the parade. SF takes the parade pretty seriously. There were corporation sponsored floats. Politicians and celebrities were on floats. It took us some walking around to find a little nook where we could watch the parade.

While walking around, I saw a guy completely naked. He had on some type of a ring on his bare genital. I was wondering how this is possible. Unless public nudity is legal, his bare butt should be in jail. I had to look away quick. What the heck!

We made our way over to the concert area where the parade ends. A huge area around the city hall was blocked off with several stages. There were many booths for us to peruse. I think it all comes down to people making money. There were many vendors. I had a chance to see the new Scion xB. It is cool looking, a little bigger and a littel less boxy.

We walked over to Japan Town for noodles. I pigged out on a large bowl of ramen. Wow. It was large, good, and inexpensive. Relatively speaking, of course. What is cheap in SF! Sis had a lunch special that had a piece of grilled mackelel. After eating, we visited Japanese bookstore and grocery. Sis bought a few things at the grocery store.

We started walking back and then decided to catch a bus back home. A wise decision I think. Although we could have used the exercise.

We unwound by doing very little and just hanging out. We managed to play Scrabble twice. It was not like when we were little. No more passing and spelling two and three letter words.

We took a last walk together around Dolores before splitting some ice cream from Bi Rite Creamery. Mm!!!! I did not feel guilty because I was not having dinner as I had a big lunch.

We turned in early as I had to leave around four in the morning to catch a plane in Oakland.

Wish I could been there ...

I just got this photo from my friends, Rohrers. They were married and honeymooning in New Zealand, Bora Bora, and Tahiti. Wow. What a great picture! Think about vacationing somewhere else on this Friday and enjoy this photo, everyone.

Do you like live music?

I don't make it out to concerts as often as I like. There are many reasons such as expensive tickets, very high decibel, pushy fans, etc. I still enjoy concerts when I do make it out to these events.

What is the next best thing to going to concerts? Listening to taped concerts. Thanks to tape friendly musicians, people taping quality recordings, and archive.org, I can enjoy concerts without undesirable factors.

I find these concerts worth listening many times and buying their pristine studio records.

• Gavin DeGraw at Bogart's
• Jack Johnson at Dodge Theater 8/5/2005
• Smashing Pumpkin in London 6/19/2007
• Gin Blossoms at Canyon Club 1/24/2003
• David Gray at Webster Hall 8/2/2005
  

I hope you enjoy the above shows and explore the live music website yourself.

Here is a couple of iPhone photos ...

I took these two photos of my godson, Aidan, during his second birthday party. Let the terrible two begin! He is so much bigger, moves around, talks, and understand much better than I remember. It was great seeing him. I need to spend more QT with him.

Do you believe in local businesses?

There is a non profit group in Phoenix, Local First Arizona, that wants you to support local businesses. Not big national chains. It totally makes sense. When you use local businesses, most of money spent stays in that area. I always make a point to shop at Bashas, which includes AJ's and Food City, because it is the only local grocery chain. In addition, Ed Bashas gives back to post secondary education in Arizona.

Why am I mumbling about local businesses? Because Local First Arizona is offering free 20% off coupons to local businesses. Participating businesses includes Cowboy Ciao, Spinato's, Don & Charlie's, and much more. You print it and use it. Save money while doing good!

p.s. Expires this Sunday 7/8/2007.

Hey Moe, one beer please ...

I just visited Moe's in Springfield. Cool!

What happen to freebies?

I always look forward to freebies on my birthday even if every new birthday depresses me. You know getting older without good benefits like being able to drive, to buy tobacco, to buy alcohol, drop in insurance, or VOTE! I could always count on Harkins to cheer me up with a free movie. Well, no more. They no longer offer the free birthday movie! I need to find one lousy freebie to cheer me up on my birthday.

If I lived in Springfield ...

This is what I think I look like if I was in The Simpsons. You can create your own avatar by visiting The Simpsons Movie Website. I think making your own avatar is hard as you think you are either better looking or not as good looking. I would love it if someone else would make an avatar for me. Who to recruit, hmm?

Is this the future of toilets?

I don't know how one can refrain from clicking on a link that shows smiley butts. Click here to find out what the future of toilets look like. Be prepared to laugh!

Day 4 of San Francisco Trip ...

Date: June 23, 2007

Alcohol Consumption: 1 glass of wine, 1 bottle of beer, 1 Jack and Coke

Money Quote: "No pain, no pain!" by Garrick

Again, I made sure I ran first thing in the morning. I ran up 18th Street again. I felt the burn at the top. Wow! It is good to be alive. No pain, no gain. Right?

Today, I am visiting Garrick down in Palo Alto. He is finally finishing all his glorious schooling, which includes BS from Harvard and MD & PhD from UPenn. His residency at Standford/VA is done. Garrick is a full blown psychiatrist. It is a proud day.

I am nervous about getting to Palo Alto in time, but my sis does not seem to understand my apprehension. I never used Caltrain before or are used to riding the bus/subway in SF. We had a spat. I explained to her I have not figured out the public transportation and where things are. I decided to leave little early. My sis walked with me to a bus stop, where I caught J-line, which was a hybrid of bus/subway. I had to catch T-line at Embarcadero for Caltrain station. It was a good thing I left a little early as T-line did not run as often on weekends. I bought a small bag of pretzel, a Sneakers bar, and one ticket for Zone 3, which includes Palo Alto. The train ride south was quite comfortable although a little slow from making many stops along the way.

Garrick picked up from the Caltrain. It is always nice to see Garrick. I met Garrick's parents and oldest sister when we got to his place. I waited as they got ready for graduation ceremony. We chatted a little and it was time to leave.

There were already people there when we got to Stanford Faculty Club, where the graduation was. My name tag was there much to my surprise. It was really nice of Garrick to put me on the official list. Cool! It was a little hot, but we were all mingling with free hors d'oeuvre and open bar flowing. Even cooler. Nice touch by Stanford. Garrick's middle sister's family joined a little later.


I sat through all eight graduates being introduced, bragged about, and each reminisce about their residency together. It was very nice ceremony. It was nice to hear other graduates mention Garrick throughout their speeches. That goes to show he is well liked. One of them mentioned Garrick's mantra, "No pain, no pain." I don't know why, but it struck me funny. I am sure it means more significantly among psychiatrists.

It was late in the afternoon when the graduation was over. Garrick's sister invited me out to her house out in Pleasanton. I left my sis a voice mail to let her know what I was doing, since she did not answered the call.

Garrick's sister lives in a beautiful two story house with two great kids and her young at heart husband. Garrick and I played with Garrick's niece and nephew while others slaved over preparing dinner. They were expecting some more guests. In the meantime, I played Wii against various opponents.

When it got late after good dinner and conversations, Garrick drove me home to SF. It would been a real shame if we did not go out for a drink on such a happy occasion. Garrick called up a couple of classmates and got one of them to meet us at Bar XYZ in Hotel W. It was really cool just hanging although I was not really dress for the joint.

It felt good to have spent a day getting reacquainted although it never seem like Garrick and I don't spend very much time on the phone, or corresponding, or meeting.

Day 3 of San Francisco Trip ...

Date: June 22, 2007

Alcohol Consumption: 1 glass of organic wine

Money Quote: "My boss found a smoking gun."

Got up early to go run again. I ran on Valencia instead this morning. As I ran toward Embargodarus on Market, the city was full of noise unlike Mission area. I had a brisk run and felt good.

After just moping for awhile, my sister and I was bound for Napa Valley. She does not have a car, but utilizes a company called City Car for her occasional vehicle needs. She pays monthly due plus hourly and mileage. I think that is great! I mean there are no parking, gas is expensive, no waste on insurance, etc.

We got in her reserved City Car, a blue Prius, and headed out of the city. I hated stop and go traffic in the city, but it was a much smoother ride once we got on a freeway. On our way to Napa, we ran into a NASCAR traffic. I had no idea NASCAR came to the wine country. Hmm! Last minute change, we decided to stop at Sonoma instead. My sister does this quite a bit.

We parked Prius on what looked like the main road. We walked into what looked like a nice cafe for late breakfast. While we ate, my sis had to converse with her boss. It seems he found a smoking gun from thick documents sent from an opposing counsel. It was a great weather for eating al fresco although it would felt hot if we were not under a partly shaded area.

After eating, we walked around and explored what seemed like a town center. We went to a little out of way farmer's market. My sister paid up through the nose on a sweet onion. I bought some kettle corn. Mmm, kettle corn! We kept cruising the commercial area, which included galleries, restaurants, wine stores, etc.

It was getting a little hot. I guess I got very spoiled as it cannot be as nearly hot as Phoenix. Anyhow, I kind of coerced my sis to go back home as I did not feel like staying in Sonoma. Especially, neither of us wanting to sample any wine I failed to see any point in staying very long.

On our way back to SF, we got off one exit to find George Lucas' ranch. Last minute deal with my sister again. We failed to find it, but managed to almost run over a dog, which appeared out of nowhere.

We also stopped to admire Golden Gate. I downplayed the awesomeness of the bridge, but it is always nice to check it out. We sat on a bench a little way out and up and talked a little and enjoyed the scenery.

I coaxed my sister into cooking dinner tonight. I said something about how she always asks me if we want to go out or eat in like I really had a choice. I guess she did not mind cooking once. I am mentioning this, because we want to TJ for grocery. My sis wanted to pick up some grocery for tonight and other necessities since Prius was not due for a couple of hours. The TJ we went to was busier than any other TJ I've ever been. There was a line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot like the pictures I've seen of oil shortage days from 70's. We just parked on a nearby street. What is $0.75 compared to waiting? We got our stuff, and drove home. Unloaded and I carried up the grocery while my sis went to return Prius.

My sis made her "famous bruschetta" along with salad and pasta. Everything was good. I won't even wimp out with being in a new environment or being hungry as the reasons for things tasting good. I was happy.

I decided to go to Dolores park to take city scape pictures. I was hoping to take detailed pictures and put them together. My sister met up with me later. Did I forget to mention there was a huge transsexual rally? It seemed to be a pre-rally of sort for Pride Parade on Sunday. I will just say I saw things I don't normally see.

We hung out to looked around for short time and headed back home. We stopped at Bi Rite ice cream parlor for home-made ice cream. This is two nights in a row. It is a good thing I am running every morning. I felt a sleep as we started watching a movie. Good night!

My dog made me do it ...

Here is a picture of my dog, Cenya, with the new iPhone. I just could not hold off on purchasing this awesome new gadget after everyone's glowing reviews. Even Cenya is howling over it.

So far the phone works like advertised. I have not tried using Edge for internet, which everyone says is very poor. We will see. I need to call few people and inform them I now have a cellphone. I just wish people would stop saying, "welcome to 21st century."

Nemo, the Submarine ...

I was running this morning when I saw this submarine like vehicle parked in Biltmore hotel. I saw this two mornings ago. I thought it would be gone already, but it was still here. I guess it is here to promote the new ride, Nemo the submarine, in Disneyland.

After running, I drove to Biltmore and took a few photos. Check it out! I also saw the ugliest duck. I think it was wearing a toupee!

Do I get the most hyped phone ever?

I am so very tempted to buy iPhone. I mean there are so many reasons not to buy one. Including it is so very expensive, slow internet access via cell network, so on and so on. Here are some desperate reasons from Sprint.

I don't really have any good reasons to buy one except I need a cellphone, love Apple stuff, although I do get buyer's remorse once in awhile, and could use a newer iPod.

I am so on the fence. I would like to wait for the second generation iPhone, if I have the patience. Hmm. I will let you know on Saturday if I go through with the purchase.

Day 2 of San Francisco Trip ...

Date: June 21, 2007

Alcohol Consumption: 2 beers (yeah!)

Money Quote: "Thursday night is the new Friday night!" by Garrick

First thing is first. I ran about a half hour from Guerrero to Market on 18th street and back including a lap around Dolores Park. My sister seemed to have her mind set on biking. We walked to Ritual to grab some coffee. I had a scone to go with my beverage. After that, we separated. I came back to my sister's house and she went to a friend's to get a bike.

I worked on my sister's ancient Mac. Make it work as fast as it can. I just did some maintenance on it while listening to some podcasts. I learned Yelp is a great resource for picking a restaurant.

When my sis came back, she lamented that I did not study physics like I said I would. Oh, well. C'est la vie. I am on vacation. Might as well do as I like. We decided to get some lunch, but did not agree on what to get. I got a lamb shewerma from Ali Baba's and she got two fish tacos from Taqueria el Buen Sabor. I think. We laid out in Dolores park and chowed down. I was not crazy about my shewerma, but my sis's taco was pretty good!

After spending some down time, we rode bikes to Asian Art Museum, where Tezuka's Anime and Manga were being featured. Need I say more than Astro Boy! I grew up watching that. It was great to learn about Tezuka and Japanese Anime and Manga. I spent a little bit of change in the gift shop.

When we came back home, my gluteus hurted. I guess I don't like to bike. I spoke with Garrick, a good high school friend, on the phone. He was coming into town to see ole me. My sis and I waited until he came in town to go to dinner. In the meantime, we watched Hidden Blade, an awesome Japanese Samurai movie.

When Garrick made it to SF, I went down to greet him as my sister's place on third floor. Garrick had a hard time pulling into the garage as the entrance was very narrow. It was a little harrowing to say the least.

After brief tour of my sister's place, we went to Little Star Pizza. It was one of those constantly busy places. We managed to grab a table just prior to closing. Lucky us, we did not go hungry. We ordered ahead a deep dish pizza that we devoured.

We had an after dinner walk to an after dinner drink joint, Little Baobab. It was not too busy or loud, so we could have a drink and catch up. Garrick is finally done with his psychiatric residency at Stanford. I accepted Garrick's invite to spend Saturday attending his graduation.

We walked back to my sis's place. Garrick drove out of the garage no problem. I fell asleep when I made it upstairs.

Back home ...

Pride Parade in SF 2007 ...

My sister and I went to see the Pride Parade in San Francisco on last Sunday. Enjoy these pictures until I can update my trip journal.

P.S. If you look carefully, then you might be able to spot Mr. Sulu of the Star Trek fame!

Day 1 of San Francisco Trip ...

Date: June 20, 2007

Alcohol consumption: 0 (oh, no!)

I am here in San Francisco enjoying beautiful weather! Think in the 60's and not 110's like in Phoenix, Arizona. I wanted to blog about yesterday before I forget everything.

My day started out early as I did not pack the previous day. I also had to keg Scotch ale I made with Kevin, a good co-worker/friend. Kevin wants to serve this at his July 4th party. It did not take me very long to prime the beer and siphon to a keg. Clean did not take long either. I guess when you are motivated to work fast, things to do get done faster.

I quickly packed running gears as I do not want to neglect my fitness resolutions. I packed a couple of homebrewed Belgian beers. I am proud of these beers. Hopefully, we, my sister and I, will enjoy them together.

I checked in with Southwest for a boarding pass online. It was easy enough. Sky Harbor recommended two hours early in order to catch my plane on time. What a crock!! I could've been there just one hour early and would still had time to spare. Hmm.

My trouble began with security check line. The security, TSA, found my beer and asked what they were. I know the TSA is doing their job. Although I don't feel safer, they are doing what they said they were. I had to check in my luggage. Darn!

The flight over was pretty smooth. I did not experience any problem with air sickness. I took motion sickness medicine prior to the flight. I am not sure if I am getting better at riding or medicine did its job.

I arrived at Oakland around 3 pm. I promptly got my luggage, asked about AirBART, a bus to BART station. I got on a train that was bound for San Francisco. By the time I realized I was on a wrong train, I was already at the end of the route. RICHMOND. I had to catch another train going to San Fran. I took nearly forty extra minutes to get to 16th and Mission. I felt dumb, but much more aware of how to use BART!

I started walking to my sister's house. It was not as easy as I hoped. I walked around and got more acquainted with her neighborhood before I found her house.

Note to self: REALLY SHOULD GET A CELLPHONE! iPhone May be.

My sister was very happy to see me. We briefly chatted before going out for dinner as we both were hungry. We walked over to a little neighborhood sushi shop, Country Station Sushi. It is a little charming place in spite of the smelly neighborhood. We had a combo plate, which came with 8 sushi and 12 roll pieces, and a large tempura plate. Mm, delicious. I found out from the sushi chef and a regular talking that the restaurant will close soon as a the building will be rebuilt for another purpose. That is a shame.

My sister and I went for a home made ice cream and walked around Dolores park. We chatted some more. I think my sister is a little lonely out here. I should call her more often I think. When we came back to her house, I literally felt asleep right away.

Look ma, Andy Warhol!

Not really. I took this self portrait with my MacBook. It is cool what you can do with a little webcam and a software that comes with my laptop. I did not like front profile, but like side profile better.

I am off to San Francisco for five days starting tomorrow just in time to escape 110 and above temperature. Yeah!!!

Uncensored - A Special Christmas Box ...

I used to watch Saturday Night Live all the time when I was in high school. That would be when Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, and others were on. I guess people like to think SNL was good when they used to watch it. I am not different. I think it was great when I used to watch it all the time. Well, I digress.

I recently became aware of Justine Timberlake's video. It is possibly the funniest thing I ever watched. Check it out.

Uses inappropriate language.

DNA & Finger print on your wall ...

That is the big idea behind the people at DNA 11. While I don't like the idea of letting someone have my private data, I cannot deny the uniqueness every piece that are created. You can send DNA 11 your DNA via cotton swabbing or fingerprint. They create and send you so called "one of a kind art piece" back to you. Check out how they work at DNA 11.

Here is my imitation.

Are you ready for the first black president?

My humble opinion is Senator Obama is the best candidate for the '08 presidental election. I am not the only one. Just check out the video below. I became aware of this when Jeanne Moos did a report on this. Enjoy.

Rear projection TV's dirty little secret ...

I bought my parents a well-reviewed LCoS HDTV from Philips about three years ago. Considering its age, I am still pretty happy with how it is working for my parents. When I was recently visiting them, the TV would not turn on. After looking through manuals, I confirmed the TV needed a new projection lamp. I took the lamp out and looked at it. It looked like an outdoor flood light. I mean how expensive can it be. There also must be generic knockoffs.

Well, it turns out Philips wanted to charge $330!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What! I balked at the notion. I looked around on line and found just the lamp replacement, which obviously did not include a casing, for about $200. I was reluctant, but what could I do. I don't want an expensive TV not working due to one expensive part. The TV is working now, and things are back to normal at my parents' house.

Let this be a lesson to you potential TV buyers. Buy plasmas or LCD's if you do not want to keep spending money on expensive consumable lamps.

Please support these artists ...

Some musical groups or singers are freakishly protective about their music. I am not saying we the public need to get everything for free. In fact, people who know me always accuse me of being too old fashioned about not sharing music. I would not want to be an artist who does not get paid. In reality, artists make most of their money from selling merchandises and concert tickets. Most of my music dollars go to non talented record companies!

This is why I really appreciate artists like David Gray, Jack Johnson, and Grateful Dead, who let their fans tape concerts and share with others. I truly believe this is a forward thinking. People can sample, appreciate, and consume more of their music.

You can find some awesome shows on Live Music Archive. Here is a Maroon 5 song, enjoy!

How to feel old fast ...

I never thought I would utilize "Early Bird Special," but I did today. I always thought Early Bird Special is for older folks. I guess that is why I felt so old after eating at 11:30 AM.

Anyway, I had lunch with a good friend at Arriba Mexican Restaurant. The description of the restaurant is New Mexican style. Our waitress had trouble understanding us, linguistically speaking, and service was a little to laisse-faire for my taste. Although lunch cost only $4.99, but I did not realize an ice tea would cost me $2.50.

I had good time none the less, and food was not bad. I don't think any Mexican resturant will ever measure up to Rosa's in Tucson, which is my absolute favorite restaurant.

P.S. Guess who is writing this blog post on his new and fast MacBook!!!!!!!!!!

Reverse migration ...

It is been said Midwest is losing its population to West. Well, you wouldn't know that from my friends migrating back to Ohio and Minnesota. I know it is hotter than heck out here in Arizona during summer, but other seven months are nice. I will miss them even if we did not hang out as much as we used to. Au revoir, mon ami.

Olivia Munn, who?

I just became aware of a woman named Olivia Munn. She hosts a show called Attack of the Show on G4TV. I am writing about this woman, not just because she is beautiful, but has funny videos on YouTube. Below is my favorite so far. Check out more of her videos at MySpace.

Safari ...

I am not talking about a Surfing Safari a la Beach Boys. I am talking about an awesome video on Youtube that has everyone wanting to go on a Safari Trip. There are already more than 4 million hits to watch lions, a gator, and buffalos fight it out in Kruger Park. Check it out yourself.

Tessellation ...

I taught Geometry this past school year. After giving a final, I taught my students about tessellation. After all, tessellation uses transformations they learned. I borrowed one pattern from a student and made my own tessellation of fish. Enjoy!

Booz2Go ...

Two Dutch students reportedly invented alcohol in a powder form as a final project. This is why everyone should have a final project as a part of high school graduation requirements.

It is green and fizzy when re-hydrated. Their market is people under the age of 16, who are not legally able to purchase alcohol in Holland.

Read about it here.

Body Composition Analysis ...

I was cleaning my computer room and found a piece paper. It is a body composition analysis from quite a few years ago when I was probably at my best shape. And yet, it does not seem that impressive. Do I really need to add weight lifting to my exercise regime? Hmm. Here are the numbers.

Date: December 4, 1999

Weight: 147 lbs
Height: 66"
Frame: small
Body Fat: 17.9%
Fat weight: 26 lbs
Lean weigth: 121 lbs
Total Body Water: 61.8%

I don't know how I can get these numbers for my current shape so I can only use Body Mass Index to compare.

I was at 23.7, and am at 26.6. I am working on getting the BMI number down to at least 25, which is a border line normal weight. Although I think BMI is not very realistic.

Fitness goal ...

I am ballooning. I had to buy a new pair of shorts last weekend! Enough is enough. I am setting a summer fitness goal. I want to lose ten pounds. I know I cannot do this with dieting as I am not about to eat less. Maybe I can eat less selectively. I will lose the weight by running longer more often. I bought a new pair of running shoes and a new dog leash. Wish me luck!

Humorous image: I kept thinking about a woman trying to lose weight in order to fit into her swimsuit when I went shopping for a bigger pair of shorts.

Brick ...

I just found out what "brick" means in electronics. It's not like throwing bricks in basketball. It's not like the song, Brick House. In electronics, Brick is the slang term for an electronic device which cannot function (or has been rendered useless by damaged firmware).

Why am I writing about electronic devices that just sits there? Because I have two bricks. One I was able to revive and the other is a paper weight. Unlike the good ole days, electronic devices are often upgradeable through a process called firmware upgrade. I did such upgrades on a NAS box and a wifi router.

After an unofficial firmware upgrade, Galaxy Metal Gear NAS box did not work well with my computer network. Fortunately, I was able to reload a correct firmware with a bootloader. How is that for a geeky talk!

Unfortunatley, I could not find right information or at least easy information for my Belkin G router. Oh well, it is an expensive lesson learned about being cautious when upgrading firmwares.

Thank you, readers ...

Bored in Phoenix, my blog, recorded the second highest visitor monthly total from the last twelve month period. I am starting to suspect there are more than three regular readers. I think Jim's mother in China and Pam's sister in Seattle are checking regularly. Thank you!

How do I know? I have a free service from sitemeter. What is sitemeter? It records number of hits for my blog. It also keeps track of where the hits are coming from.

Side note: I hope you enjoyed my Rumsfeld-esque question and answer session above.

Here are two graphs from the sitemeter about my blog.

Reliable backup ...

Unlike in football, you can have a reliable backup in computing. I just put D-Link DNS-323 in my home network. It is like a dream. SATA II hard drives installed in no time, and web-interfaced configuration was easy to set up. I now have a gigabit network attached storage (NAS) that is a joy to use. I need to find an easy to use backup program, so I don't have to manually select and copy files. I don't particularly want to talk about how much it cost me as it seems like mucho denaro even if all the parts were cheaply obtained. I guess cheap is relative. I spent about $400 dollars to get two 500 gig SATA II hard drives, and a DNS gigabit dual bay NAS. I have no regrets as I will have a reliable way to back up my valuable digital files.

iPod update ...

It's been said, a picture is worth a thousand words. I thought I would post before and after pictures of my iPod after replacing the battery to show why I call my iPod, a ghettopod.

When boredom sets in ...

I was bored so I cut together video clips of Elite Beat Agents. I need to shoot some good clips so I can put together a decent video.


YMCA, anyone?

It's the end of the world as we know it ...

and I feel fine. I think how REM's song goes. What is up with all the light brown grass-hoppers(locust?). They are everywhere. When I drive, they all pop up to avoid crunch deaths. As I watch them pop up, I cannot help but think about the biblical signs prior to the apocalypse. I sure hope this is not a sign of an upcoming disaster.