http://www.oneredpaperclip.com

BM sent me this link:
http://www.baunmah.com/cita/movie.html

Their stupidity seems to be limitless

“In fact, the RIAA has been known to suggest that students drop out of college or go to community college in order to be able to afford settlements.”

http://www-tech.mit.edu/V126/N15/RIAA1506.html

Mozo RIP 4/1/2006

The original purpose of this blog was to share my exploits while I was living in Taiwan. As that purpose has now been fulfilled, and I no longer am living in Taiwan, I have decided to take down this blog.

Mozo will not be publishing for the indefinite future. It was nice while it lasted. Thanks to all the fans and readers. See you on another site.

fun with kids

The videos below are from Kay's birthday. You'll need Flash installed.

Mandy
1MB

Kay
6MB

I also posted pics from BM's gig at HOB.

posted pictures from Kay's birthday.

no, really. you should go.

UPCOMING GIG with FULL BAND

Sunday, March 26 @ 7:00pm

HOUSE OF BLUES Sunset Strip
8430 W. Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069

18 and over.

Tickets are $10 presale. Buy presale tickets here.
Don't buy tickets at the door, because the house gets the money, not the artist.
Buy presale!

the Band
Benny Mao - acoustic guitar and vocals
Mark Lee - electric guitar
Eric Yang - electric guitar
Jerome Gaw - electric bass
Tim Hwang - drums

Great......

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2006/03/what_if_a_despe.html#posts

Good thing I use a shredder....

Opt out, people! Opt out!

lookame lookame lookame!

What have I been up to the past couple of months?

Look at this.

Did you see it? Did you SEE it? Yeah, the lights were off. Yes, that's right, I'm in charge of turning off the lights.

Now you guys know what I'm doing when I say, "I have to go work on my project."

If anyone can tell me where the title is from, you win a cookie. Or a ride on my motorcycle. Hint: sue-vee action jeep.

vote for a boring america

Back in the old days (i.e. 15 years ago), video games were still in their infancy. There were a lot of game companies struggling to make it, but common theme pervaded all the games: in order for game companies to sell more game, they needed to make it more fun. More exciting. More addicting.

Fast Forward to the present.

Tonight, as I worked on my project (implementing motion capture to play a student built computer game), we got into a discussion with someone who came to test the game. He was asked if he played Halo 2, and he just shook his head and said he can't go there. Can't. Not won't, can't. Why? Because of one game in junior year of college, he almost failed the entire year. He stayed up all night playing it, skipped class the next day, slept through the day, got up, and since he had no homework to do, started playing again. For 3 days. He finally went to the lab to work on a presentation that was due the next day. Unfortunately for him, this was right when Quake 3 demo came out. Someone so fortuitously decided to install it on all the lab's machines. And they played. And played. Until 20 min before they had to present. They got up there, shrugged their shoulders and said, we don't have anything. The professor was forced to fail his group. Now, he stays away from any game he knows will consume him (read: any game that's TOO fun).

Has anyone ever heard of WoW? World of Warcraft, a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game)? I have never played it, nor will I. Why? Because it'll suck up too much time. You pay (a monthly fee) to play and essentially you live out an alternate life in the game. You have a character, you collect stuff, kill people, buy things, make friends, kill more people, collect more stuff, buy more stuff, make more friends, etc. If I didn't spend time playing the game, I would feel like I was wasting my money. And other people would be advancing in the game while I accomplished meaningful goals in my life.

Or perhaps you've heard of people dying from playing too many video games.

Conclusion: video games are too addicting. They have gone from being not fun enough and trying to sell as many as possible, to being too fun and addicting and causing people to die. Of course, it's still the person's fault that decided playing video games was more important than eating or sleeping, but don't you think we've gone a little too far?

This is an official call to arms for game programmers/designers/industry execs. Make games boring. For the sake of our country and our children's children, please stop making fun games. I for one, will do everything I can to make only boring games.

it's that time again

Welcome back, folks. It is, once again, time to revisit the Jeff-look-a-like subject. I was having dinner with DW and SC and they mentioned that I looked like Apolo Anton OHNO who just won the Gold medal in speedskating. Ok, I'm down for another experiment. As always, in order to ensure scientific integrity, I am opening up the experiment to public review. After all, if this blog doesn't have integrity, what does it have? Nothing, folks, nothing.

So, as before, I submit for review two pieces of evidence. Please examine them with the utmost care and do not overlook any detail, as I will also try my best to do.



And once again, I'm forced to admit that I see no resemblence whatsoever. There is not even a hint of similarity. I'm sorry, but this look-a-like has also failed the test.

What can I say? There is no one who looks like me, and I look like no one else. I guess I really am unique. There's no other explanation.

As an addendum to a previous post, last time DW was here, he along with his two of his fellow doctors/classmates/researchers/friends were attending a conference in Anaheim. I drove them from Anaheim to the beach and to check out Mann's Chinese Theater. Apparently, it was a very spiritual experience for them, as they have told DW that they found God during that time. My guess is that it was probably while they were holding on to my car with a white-knuckled grip as I was navigating the freeways. They must have been so moved by their encounter with Him that they reflexively had to hold on to something. That's the only explanation I can come up with. DW thinks it might be because they aren't used to LA driving, but I don't think that's it. Everyone who has been in my car knows I drive like a careful old grandmother. I take special care not to drive over the speed limit and always drive defensively. I always am courteous to other drivers and never cut them off. But if God has found a way to use my careful driving skills to bring people to him, who am I to argue? This must be my calling.

Comments are getting an overhaul. I'm switching to Blogger comments. Apparently with the FREE Haloscan account, you only get the most recent 4 months of comments. I have to port all of them over. It's gonna take me a million years.

Last night was Bmao's birthday. (Well, technically, yesterday was Bmao's birthday, but whatever)

At work, I'm IMing with co-conspirator/cohort/fellow planning-committee-member RY.

me: "it's 4:00pm. only 3 hrs left"
RY: "you're more excited about tonight than BM!"

The truth is, I'm not more excited about tonight (last night). I just can't wait for it to be over.

Throwing a birthday party is like a wedding. Someone else does the planning, invites the people, makes the reservations, and coordinates with a billion different people who don't response to their evite until the day of. Oh wait, weddings are nothing like that. You have to do it all yourself. And you don't use evite. (ooo, another million dollar idea?) But still, when the day comes, you wonder if you planned for everything, you hope everything goes off without a hitch, (or in the case of a wedding, you hope people do get hitched) (get it? hitched? hahahahhha) (yeah, it's sad that I laugh at my own jokes) and you are anxious to see if your plans will come to fruition. Meanwhile, the Birthday-person is hopefully enjoying him/herself. Kinda like the wedding day when the couple is supposed to enjoy themselves and the slaves wedding party is supposed to take care of everything.

Which all goes back to my plan of getting married in Hawaii and buying one of those all-in-one-step-off-the-plane-and-everything-is-prepared-for-you packages. Future wife, are you reading this? Don't worry, I got it all under control.

The messer's have become the messee's

I've been getting random emails from my dad that have to do with his work. It'll be some email about confirming some trip or something. And I'll be CC'ed on the email. When I ask him why I got the email, he'll be like, "I sent that to you by mistake." But I think I'm on some email list he created because he keeps sending them to me. (It's kinda like this but on a much smaller level).

Is this a sign of things to come? A minor clue to the future of our relationship? Is this foreshadowing of the next chapter in my (and my sibling's) life? Maybe I'm overreacting (a likely possibility). Or maybe, just maybe, my dad is starting to lose it, a little bit at a time.

Hi Dad!

6 words

"Dear Jeffrey,

The Training Program regrets ..."

That's all I need to read to know I didn't get in.

Possible side effects include dying

Last week, at our bi-weekly men's/women's group meeting, MJ says she has good news and bad news to tell me.

MJ: "The good news is: I have great car insurance."
(and she saved a bunch by switching to Geico!)
me: "uhhhhhh...."
MJ: "The bad news is: I think I backed into your car."

After checking it out, it turns out to be nothing more than a minor scratch. Nothing to write home about.

The next day, I find out some disturbing news...

MJ: i told the w's gp about it
MJ: i said of all the guys at the exodus, i'd want to hit ur car
MJ: we all tht about it,a dn they agreed too
MJ: so it's agreed among the women if we have to hit someone's car, i'ts gonna be urs
MJ: sorry dood
me: what the heck
me: i don't want women's grp to hit my car!
MJ: sorry
me: imma park like 4 blocks away and walk from now on
MJ: it's acutally a compliment
MJ: b/c it means we think u're hte nicest
MJ: most easy going
MJ: most likely to be insured/responsible
MJ: least liekly to get mad
MJ: least materialistic/care about ur car
MJ: so really u shoudl be glad women's gp wants to hit ur car
me: great
MJ: you're welcome!

Telling someone that 'all the women would rather hit your car' and then convincing them it's a Good Thing &trade is a true mark of an attorney. You have truly found your calling, MJ.

But, back to the point, this unforeseen consequence of being a Nice Guy &trade is like when your parents say you have to finish your dinner of liver before you can eat candy. And then they give you candy liver.

Okay, so it's not like that at all. But I still don't like it.

Sometimes, the Truth hurts

As reported by some operatives in Columbus.

At this week's campus group, CH is leading campus group and asks people to give an example of when they feel different emotions. For guilt:

JL: "I feel guilty when I drop the Bible."

MY: "Why? Like if you drop it on a bug or a dog?"

Updated. In the interest of journalistic accuracy, this post has been corrected to reflect the actual events that transpired. Credit goes to JW. Mozo apologizes for any confusion this may have caused.

pics from the Bmao gig are up.

in•jus•tice n.

You are a 17 year-old girl. You and your 16 year-old niece are attacked by men trying to rape you. You defend yourself. You accidentally kill one of the attackers. Your reward: You get sentenced to death by hanging.

http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5183

http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGMDE130052006

Those have got to be the worst boyfriends in the world. Ever.

Oh yeah, Happy Valentine's Day. Try not to spend it with someone who's going to abandon you when the rock throwing starts.

what are the reasons why I wish I still lived in Ohio, Alex?

the seasons
not having to wash your car
no street cleaning (ok, not as much)
trees
grass
lawns
birds
traffic (or lack-thereof)
clean air
large, non-skinny, non-attractive people (seriously, if you grow up all your life thinking the rest of the world looks like they just stepped out of a fashion magazine, your wordview is screwed for life)
not having to pay for parking
SNOW DAYS

North East, enjoy the day off.

lucky! gosh!

From the nytimes:

The day went off peacefully, with even normally tangled Turin traffic easing as schools closed for the duration of the Olympics.

What the? How come I'm never a student in Turin when the Winter Olympics come?

I think we all know the real reason they closed the schools. They need more spectators.

my name is url

Things like this make me cringe inside. And out.

RY: "Hmmm, what's the earl?"
JW: (thinking) What the heck is earl? Oooh. She must mean URL.
JW: "You can't say it like that! It's not a word!"

Soon it's gonna get added to the Oxford English Dictionary, and all the computer geeks in the world will groan.

(this is for you, Sherry)

...and I'm glad to be an American, where at least I know I'm free....

I was reading the official rules for a Publisher's Clearing House contest (you know, cuz that's the sort of thing I do when I'm bored, or at work) and I ran across this:

In the event a winner from one of our promotions comes from Canada, a skills test must be successfully completed in order for the winner to claim the prize.

At first I thought it was cuz we didn't think Canadians were smart enough to win prizes or something. Dude, talk about being conceited, America. But then, after further research, I found this:

Under the Criminal Code, it is illegal to hold a lottery without a licence. Giving away a prize based on chance alone — a random draw, for instance — is considered a form of lottery. The contest industry invented the skill-testing question to get around that restriction. If a contest includes an element of skill, it is no longer considered purely a game of chance.

“It’s a loophole, basically, and to the best of my knowledge Canada is the only country that has that requirement,” said Toronto lawyer Brenda Pritchard, who is co-authoring a book called Advertising and Marketing Law in Canada that devotes an entire chapter to contests.

It's ok, the skills test is a simple math problem that only requires you to remember the order of operations.

2 * (18-4) + 4 = ?

Then again, that probably poses a big problem for a lot of people. Oh, well, more chances for me I guess. ...not that I enter this kind of stuff...

when life gives you lemons, throw them back

After a 4 week hiatus, I'm back to commuting on two wheels. I'm sure my mom is overjoyed.

Long story short: I gave my bike to a guy who fixed it when it wouldn't start. I wanted him to put new tires on it because mine are going bald. (Balding, as it is with humans, is not a Good Thing™ on motorcycle tires, or for the rider for that matter). Date: Jan 3, 2006.

after 1 month of phone calls, broken promises and frustration....

I finally get my bike back on Sun, Feb 5, 2006. Same old tires. New fork oil. A complete waste of my time. A month to change fork oil?!!! AND he has yet to give me back my money that I paid for the tires. Chalk this up to another life lesson. Too bad there's so many of them to learn.

i want to be just like everyone else

This post is dedicated to the spirit of the perpetual "Jeff-look-a-likes" that seem to keep popping up in my life.

The earliest Jeff-look-a-like is my brother SW. Everyone always said we looked like twins. We both disagreed. In fact, we could easily tell each other apart. I don't remember a single incident of us mistaking the other for ourselves. Therefore, this Jeff-look-a-like has been debunked.

Back in college, there were quite a few Jeff-look-a-likes. They were always found by my friends, AA and KE. I think at one point there were a total of 3 Jeff-look-a-likes that they knew of. I, always up for scientific discovery, wanted to see these so-called look-a-likes so that we could have a proper comparison. Unfortunately for science, and the field of Jeff-look-a-like-ology, I never got a chance to meet any of them. The closest encounter was when we were driving around for no apparent reason (as you do in college) and KE spotted one. He was walking in some narrow alleys and in between houses (as Jeff-look-a-likes tend to do), and as we were in a car, it was difficult for us to follow him. But that doesn't mean we didn't try. I think we lost him after 5 min of circling around the same area. He just disappeared. I hypothesize that Jeff-look-a-likes have some sort of invisibility that they can turn on, or some special ability to escape from predators. These 3 Jeff-look-a-likes are still inconclusive.

Most recently, I have been informed of yet another Jeff-look-a-like. And this time, dear readers, we have proof. I was first made aware of this look-a-like by MJ. She even wrote about it on her xanga (along with a billion other look-a-likes), but as her xanga is protected, you, dear reader must make do with my summary. Her friend AW is so convinced that I look like this Jeff-look-a-like that she has started referring to me as "Dan Kim." Initially I was skeptical, but after being presented with the facts, I was inclined to agree. Here I will present Facts #1, #2, #3.



Wow, that's some irrefutable evidence there. But, in order to do this properly, and scientifically, we must present some sort of "control" to compare against. Thus, I will present my most recent picture.



You can tell that's me by the "Engineer" that's on my shirt. I indeed am a Computer Engineer. Honestly, now that I see the pictures side-by-side, I don't see the resemblance.

Thus, after careful review and re-review of the facts, I must say that this latest alleged Jeff-look-a-like has also been debunked. Good try, great effort, see you next time.

if you don't want to get anything done today

I know you guys read this blog because you're bored.

Hapland
Hapland2
Hint: click the "?" in the lower right hand corner.

Haven't tried the other games yet.

Try Cube Grow or RPG
You're supposed to figure out the right order to place things on the cube. I haven't solved this one yet.

this makes 0-2

As I'm rushing home to watch 24, I park my car, and step out only to be summoned by a guy who is sitting on a couch by the street (the couch was being thrown out, he didn't move it there). Mind you, I was on my phone at the time, so he was already being really rude by interrupting my conversation. Anyway, he says claims that his truck broke down a few blocks away and he needs money to pay the tow truck. He already has a bunch of money in his hand (like $100+) that he tells me to count (which I decline). He says he only needs $22.50 more. I don't have any cash on me (I just lost it all playing poker with my co-workers and paying for pizza) but I offer to borrow some from my friends (who I can hear inside my apartment. yeah, they're loud....like me). Being a little suspicious, but still wanting to help, I ask a few questions.

Why is he sitting on a couch a few blocks away from his truck? He says he called his friend (who has a tow truck?) and he's on his way, but he asked for an hour to get money together (his friend is charging him?). He was sitting on the couch trying to think of what to do.

I say I will go borrow some money, and go wait with him for the truck. He gets mad and says he isn't trying to burn me, that he's not a bum, and doesn't want to be treated like a baby. Uh, ok. I offer him the use of my cell phone to call his friend so he can call him to come earlier and not wait for an hour. He declines, saying his friend is coming, he doesn't need to call him. Uh, ok. He says he will wait for me while I get the money.

I go inside, tell my friends what happened, borrow some money, come back out (with HC) and say we will go with him to wait for the tow truck. He asks to borrow my phone. He proceeds to tell me some number (that seems like he is making up on the spot. "323, uh, um, 232, uh thirteen fifty seven"). I call the number and hand him the phone. He says his friend is not picking up, and is on the way. He asks if I dialed the right number. I show him the number. He dials again. He hands me the phone and it indeed is ringing but no one picks up. He keeps repeating that all he needs is $22.50 and if I can help him out. He says he will come back and pay me back and for me to trust him like a man. He doesn't want to be treated like a baby. I tell him he asked for my help, I'm not trying to treat him like a baby, but I want to wait with him, and this is my way of helping him. He then says, "Then this is my way of saying good bye," and walks off.

Obviously (or maybe not), this was a scam. The second time in LA that I've actually tried to help someone asking me for help turns out (again) to be a scam (I'm not counting that one time I did help the lady with the dog that didn't turn out to be a scam, but the dog died. That was just weird). This is seriously hardening my heart against helping those who ask for money or help. I don't want to judge them, or go into it being suspicious, but rather give them the benefit of the doubt. After all, when will I need help and have some crazy unbelievable story to tell? And how can I help the "least of these" if I automatically write them off when I first see them? So I try to keep an open mind, and offer what I can. And get burned. Repeatedly.

This sucks.

I won

Last Friday, I went to my first auto show. We saw a car that costs $1.1 million. That's just sick. A car. This is why AIDS is not being cured, there are hungry people in the world, and we still have landmines. Because of cars like that.

Besides that, I had a fun time. It was cool to see the new cars, sit in them, and help my cousin's family decide which car would be their next purchase.

For the rest of the population, auto shows are the equivalent of E3 for video gamers.

Over the weekend, I had my first taste of Korean shaved ice, a.k.a. potbingsoo. I'm getting so cultured by living in LA. The difference between potbingsoo and tswa-bing is that potbingsoo has ice-cream, a bunch of fruits, some chewy thing called duk, and the "pot" in Korean means red bean, so most of them have red bean. AND THERE'S NO CONDENSED MILK. That right there answers the question of which one I like better. No contest. No recount. Period. Exclamation point. That's the best part of tswa-bing! C'mon! I mean, I guess it's alright, but condensed milk is THE best part of shaved ice. How can you enjoy it without any? You can't. You really can't.

Watched 4 straight episodes of 24 on Monday night. It's good. Really good.

And the whole event that prompted me to even post: I won. A couple months ago (like August 2005), I got a ticket for making an illegal right turn from the left turn lane. I decided I didn't want to pay the ticket, so I got an extension, and then requested a Trial by Written Declaration. Goto ticketassassin.com for more info. Anyway, basically you have to pay the ticket, and fill out a form saying why you don't think you're guilty. I got my verdict tonight. Repeat: I won. Oh yeah, feels good. I definitely have to thank MJ for writing my letter for me. And making up reasons why I'm innocent. Sorry, I mean, helping me remember good (truthful) reasons why I'm not guilty. Lawyers are awesome.

http://wearingracism.blogspot.com/2006/01/spencer-gifts-campaign.html

maybe if my hair wasn't so long . . .

Tonight we went to go be in the audience for the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson. After getting in line around 7:30PM, we had to go through a security check (where they confiscated all our cameras and cell phones) and then sit on bench #4. After about 5-10 min of waiting, we hear: "Everyone sitting on bench #4, please listen to me very closely. We've had too many internet reservations show up tonight, and we're going to have to turn you away. These people had these seats reserved months ahead of time and usually we don't have a lot show up, but tonight more than expected came." So we didn't get to watch Dr. Phil and yell "Lemonade!" and do the "sua-bing" motion on live television (live for East Coast, anyway). I know all of you are disappointed not to see my television premiere, but I'm sure I'll eventually get on a show and make a fool of myself.

What a great first taping experience.

use of this information for any scientific studies is just plain insane

MJ, the new poll fulfills my promise.

I turned off logging for this one, so everyone feel free to vote more than once.

finally starting to get over jetlag

This is what happens when too many things happen to you in too short a time and you have a backlog of things to post: Only passing references will be made to major events that do them no justice. Oh well, that's life.

Posted some more pictures from Taiwan. I'm supposed to write an article about the experience, so it may end up getting linked here. Or not.

Got back Friday morning. Arrived in LAX an hour early, but we had to sit and wait on the plane for an hour because customs wasn't open. It sucked.

Went in to work on Friday because I took two weeks of unpaid leave. I figured I could use the money. I basically couldn't stay awake by 1:00PM. It sucked.

Saturday I slept in until 5PM. It was great. People started coming over for New Years. We ended up staying up all night due to........

TC and JT's engagement on New Year's Day. You can read more about it on JT's blog which links to TC's blog. There's also another blog that has details and pictures, but that person is related to a paranoid person which caused the first person to go protected. So you can't read it, unless you know that person. The original person, not the paranoid one. Got it?

Sunday, after eating a celebratory breakfast, went back home and slept til church started. Went to Exodus. Went to eat at a Cantonese place that gave us a $65 nasty fish dish. I got to eat crab though. Mmmmmmmmmm........crab....... Afterwards, went over to D and W's and stayed til 4AM.

SC, SC, SC and HC came to LA yesterday for their cousin's wedding. Hung out with them last night. Talked about how our friends back home are phasing people out of their lives. Yes, KE and AA, I'm talking about you.

Here's a picture of how ingenious the hotel Miyako, where they're staying, is:

welcome back

Home sweet home.

-OR-

"Place where I'm living while I'm studying but I don't know if I'll stay after I graduate because who knows where God will lead me" sweet ...

this is what i post when i'm jetlagged

I was too busy (or forgot; you choose) to post about my 2nd trip to Vegas.

A few things I learned:

1. Putting 7 ppl in a Honda Accord is not comfortable, fun, or any combination of the two.

2. When someone mouths "slow down", it can look like "do it now".

3. Finding $10 on the ground when you're down a few hundred makes you feel better....but not really.

4. EH talks in his sleep.

5. Watching EH and Transhi talk to their parents on the phone telling to go buy Xbox 360s is hilarious.

6. When BM has a feeling, he's gonna win 25 to 1 or 30 to 1. Tell him to bet more than $5 or $2.

7. If you see something at the Wynn buffet that looks like sea urchin, it's not. It's rambutan.

8. MJ loves Snoballs. She wanted BM and I to try one.

Me: Dude, I love White Castle. They're awesome.
BM: Eww. Gross. They're disgusting. Awful. They made me want to throw up.
(later on)
MJ: Try a Snoball!
(we each eat a half)
MJ: Well?
(pause)
BM: They taste like White Castle.
Me: No, they don't.

You can see how much we agree with MJ.

9. Going to Vegas when it's not 120 degrees outside is a lot better than if you do.

The point of this post is that I'm in Taiwan now. And I forgot to post the Vegas pictures before I left. But I resolve to take as many funny pictures in Taiwan as I can to make up for it.

long live King Burger! I mean...

Just wanted to let you guys know that the Burger King makes a cameo appearance in The Chronicles of Narnia.

industry pundits

I'll clarify this post later.

Presented our game to a bunch of industry people today at USC. After ALL the presentations (like 5 million) they were asked to rank which games they liked the best. OUR GAME WON for my class!!!! Our prize: a free game. I chose The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer. BM and I finished it tonight in 4 hours.

That made us look really good when we talked to the industry people afterwards. I got a few of their cards. They say they're actively hiring, so who knows.....

UPDATE: BM, MJ and I finished the game in 3 hours (RY, stop correcting my math). MJ thought the game was too easy for her, so she let BM play. c.f. this.

UPDATE2: Ok, this is what really happened. MJ handed the game off to RY, but RY started putting in all the cheat codes and had infinite lives. I got bored so I made her give the controller to BM.

nah, I don't need the manual

Insert the key. Turn clockwise to lock. The light will turn on.
Insert the key. Turn counter-clockwise to unlock. Turn counter-clockwise again to unlock all the doors. To make the windows roll down, turn counter-clockwise and hold.

To open the driver's side door:
Unlock the door. Roll down the windows. Open the door from the inside but make sure the light is not on, or the alarm will sound.

--JN, giving me very clear instructions on how to operate his car, (that's driver's side door handle is broken so must be opened from the inside) after I accidentally got my car locked in a parking garage overnight.

JN, your car prevents me from having Alzheimer's. Thanks again for letting me borrow it.

another png moment

It's an awkward moment when your friend gives you a gift, asks you to open it right away, and you tear it open only to find . . . the price tag still on it. =] Thanks, PNG.

Price of gas in OH. Life's not fair.

it's that feeling again

You know that feeling when you've taken a video game class for a semester, and it has a group project due at the end, and a few weeks before the end of the semester the professor tells the class that you'll be presenting your projects ahead of time to a bunch of people from the industry, and it's 4 days before you present, and your game is dependent on your part of the project, and you're really stressing out, and you have no idea how you're gonna pull it off, and then BOOM, you get it working?

It feels good, let me tell you. Really, really good.

I finally added some pictures to the gallery.

Happy Hot-pot Day!

• ticket home: $470.79
  
• 3 dozen crabs: unknown, thanks to Dr. Dave and Steph. This also led to discussions about not drinking milk or eating persimmons while eating crab. (something about being poisonous. I dunno, I was too busy enjoying myself)
  
• moving all the furniture in the known universe so our windows can be replaced: 1 bloody toe
  
• shopping on Black Friday: $58.68 + 4 hours of my life
  
• meal at J. Alexander's: unknown, thanks to Dad (actually, I saw the bill. really, THANKS, Dad!)
  
• Bang! card game: $10.69 + phone call to png
  
• midnight White Castle run: $7.05 + huge amounts of gas (Whitey C.!)
  
• breakfast at Bob Evan's: $20 + looking like Asian tourists
  
• extra charge for carrying my birthday present in my luggage (stupid 50 lb. limit): $25
  

Spending Thanksgiving with my family (including the worst Bang! player ever: MY) and friends: Priceless

Some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's a credit card or something.

3 day work week

Flying from place to place makes me wish.......I had my own private jet. That takes off from my backyard.

I enjoy travelling. The world is too big to just stay in one place. I guess Dad passed on the travelling gene to me.

Back from SF. Going to OH. Sanks-GIVING!!! Crab!!! (I hope Dave comes through, I hope Dave comes through.....)

I learned a new game called Bang! over the weekend. It will be passed on to my siblings over the holiday.

Black Friday is almost upon us

bf2005.com
gotadeal.com
blackfridayads.com

taken from The NY Times

rant from young, never-married, single, male

Just heard on the radio about a husband and wife betting on who the artist for a song was. They wagered $50.

Wagering money against your spouse is the most stupidest thing I've ever heard. (yes, not just stupidest, MOST stupidest) It's like betting against yourself. I mean, don't married couples share money anyway? If they don't, that's like saying they don't expect to be together forever. Don't marriage vows mean anything anymore? I guess not.

I'll never marry someone who wants to keep a seperate account.

now i can work even less than i already do

Don't you love it when the company you're working for gets bought out by another company that has an even better vacation day policy? I sure do. Who knew floating holidays would bring so much joy into my life?

KKD

Sometimes (okay, maybe like once a month), when you go into work early and are slaving away trying to get code to compile, you suddenly start starving because you ate breakfast and your metabolism is in high gear. When this happens, one of the best feelings in the world is when someone brings donuts for everyone. Krispy Kreme donuts. <homer>mmmmmm, doooonuts.</homer>

"What?" "Nothing, Mom...."

From this article:

"This is part of a phenomena in which parents have no idea what their children are exposed to. There is a code that children are aware of but not parents," says Sue Rusche, president and CEO of the anti-drug group National Families In Action.

Yeah, for all second generation Asian Americans, it's called English.

aren't you forgetting something?

The other day, as we were walking on the way back from lunch, my co-worker sees a sign advertising a house for sale. Due to the current crazy real-estate market, we wonder how much it's going for. So of course, he calls. The realtor doesn't pick up and it goes to voice mail.

"Hi, I'm looking at one of your houses for sale at 4222 (something) St. and I just wanted to know how much it's going for, how many bedrooms it has, and how much square feet. If you could call me back, I would appreciate it. Thanks."

And then he hangs up.

Now imagine you are the realtor and you receive that message on your voicemail. You hear the message and try to call him back. Yeah, now you see the problem. My co-workers are very "special".

why I work at a startup

Someone just tried to punch a fart out of a fellow co-worker. This is why I don't get bored at work. Too much entertainment.

She shall be red, black, and beautiful. And they shall call her Kawasaki.

From the i-know-you're-bored-at-work dept.

Actually, I'm bored at work, otherwise why else would I be posting this?

http://www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/cool/cool_illusion.html

http://www.jrentech.net/benz/random/posts/rnd/pho.swf

quirks of the web

You know when you sign up for a website and it has that picture of distorted text that it asks you to type in? Sometimes I can't figure them out. In our quest to keep our accounts free from some-computer-signs-up-for-a-billion-accounts, somewhere along the way I have been cut-off from the rest of humanity. Maybe it's because I spend so much time with computers. Or maybe it's just because I'm dumb. Or both. Or neither. That's deep, I know.

On an entirely different note, I went to the xanga homepage today and I saw at the top they had a tab that said "Metros". The first thing that popped in my mind was "They have a specific section for metros, now?" So sad. This is all BH and EH's fault.

noise pollution

I think I just woke up all my neighbors in a 5 mile radius. I took my new (to me, but not as in unused) motorcycle around the block. They all hate me now.

societal idiosyncrasies

Why is it when you walk into a bathroom (or elevator), you automatically become responsible for everything in its current state? For example, you are at a party at a friend's house. You walk into the bathroom, and there is pee on the floor. If you do nothing and walk out THAT VERY SECOND, it doesn't matter; if someone saw you come out of the bathroom, they'll think you did it. Same goes if you walk into an elevator and smell something foul; the next person that walks in will think you let one.

It's like you have to clean everything and/or get rid of the smell so that nothing can be blamed on you. You wanna know what my question is? Where is the guy who left the bathroom/elevator before you?! How come he/she gets to get away with it?! There's never anyone waiting for the bathroom when they leave, but there always is when you walk out. Murphy's Law.

Awww, yeah!

Class M1 license, baby!

I dunno if this means I'm stupid or what, but I thought motorcycle licenses were a seperate license. Like you carry around a driver's license _and_ a motorcycle license. My dreams of two-license grandeur were quickly dashed at the DMV when they told me they just issue one license and it says class C and M1 on it. I supposed that's more efficient.

post #214

I am constantly amazed at how fast people comment on this blog. Actually, I'm surprised people even read this thing. My life is not that interesting, people. Which says a lot about how boring work is for all of you.

People all over the world play the same card games differently. Who changes the rules?! Maybe when people start teaching it to other people, they forget the rules, and in order to not seem dumb, they just make up new ones. Ahh, card games. Our family's favorite pastime.

I know why I like reading other people's blogs so much. I'm (generally) not a talker, due to my introverted ways. I enjoy listening to people, especially if they're interesting or funny. Blogs are like walking around listening to people's one-sided conversations, but if they bore you, or you dislike them, you can walk away. And they neither notice nor care. I wish I could do that in real life. Maybe I'll try it.

this post is a placeholder

It has come to my attention that recently a friend has started the "phasing out" process. This happens when the person in question acquires a boyfriend or girlfriend and starts to spend increasing amounts of time with that person........to the detriment of their previous "I'm-bored-what-should-we-do" friends. At first it starts slow. Maybe they start arriving later than usual, or they stop calling. Eventually, they miss meetings altogether and start making excuses.

I, for one, am disgusted by this practice. You know what this says to me? That person was using his/her friends as "placeholder friends". These are people you hang out with until your girlfriend/boyfriend comes along. Once you get hooked up, you forego the other friendships and concentrate on your new-found relationship. How do you think this makes your "placeholder friends" feel? They are slowing being phased out of your life. Where once there was fledging camaraderie, now there is only a barren land of lost hope (as opposed to the lush, fertile, rich land of lost hope, but that's somewhere else). Once they had purpose--to make you forget you were alone in the world and that nobody loved you. Now they are just useless acquaintances you stepped on while you ran to your future spouse. Well, people, this has to stop!

Don't phase people out! Surgically extract them from your life. Just cut all communication with your friends. Don't make excuses. Tell them how it is. "I have a (girl|boy)friend now, and I'd rather spend this time with them. I'll call you when they're busy and I'm bored." At least this way your friends aren't clinging onto that one ray of hope that they will see you this week. This way they'll know how things stand and won't be _as_ disappointed when you don't show up for their birthday......again. It's like a bandaid you have to pull off. Do you want your friends to be the hairs that get pulled slowly? Do it in one quick motion! Hope is a very powerful thing. Crushing that hope week after week is just cruel (although usual) punishment. Don't do that to your friends. Even if they were just placeholders.

enunciate people

Note: 3ds Max is a 3D modeling program, may also be referred to as "Max".

Conversation I had in class today:

group member: "Do we have Max?"
Professor: "Are you the only one that knows how to use Max?"
me: "I know how to use Macs."
Professor: "Ok, so we have two people who can model."
me: "Oh, I don't know how to model."
Professor (incredulous look): "You know how to use Max, but you don't know how to model?"
me: "Yeah, I have a Mac, but I don't know how to use 3ds Max or Maya to model stuff."

At this point everyone in the group, including my professor, are just staring at me like they can't believe how stupid I am. Yup, great day at school today.

Welcome to the blogosphere

My sister has started a blog. I won't post the site here, for fear she'll unleash Booba on me in case she wants to keep it private. Finally, my family is catching up technologically to the rest of the world. Actually, my family is pretty up-to-date (I'd like to think I've had a part in that, along with my brother) but my dad still insists on using dial-up to access his company's VPN even though we have a cable modem and wireless router at home. It just boggles the mind, I know. (Mei, maybe we should cut all his phone cords so he's forced to use the wireless. Shhhh...)

Whenever people ask me if I call my parents I say no. But that's because at any given time, there are 50 emails zipping back and forth across the country keeping everyone up to date. Some of this includes all the Aunts and Uncles and various cousins (and extending to Taiwan). I'm still very proud that my extended family all has email and knows how to use it. Good job, older Asian generation!

what I accomplished today

On my way to work this morning, I figured out why LA is so impersonal. It's because everyone is so superficial. Superficiality (yes, that's a word) doesn't work among friends. Say you lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone else. You try to act like someone you're not, or drive a buggy that everyone knows you can't afford, and it gets you nowhere. People call you out. It doesn't work. But say you were a stranger to that town. You pull up in your nice new Italian hand-made 2 hp buggy and everyone thinks you're rich. See? Showing off only works if people don't know you. So LA'ers purposely try to not-know people so they can be superficial. But the fact that you don't know anyone pressures you to show off and BE superficial. Thus, perpetuating this vicious cycle that is LA life. I know, deep, huh.

the most dangerous restroom in the world

excuse me, you see this space? yeah, it's mine

Yesterday, we had group presentations in my class. We were presenting game engines and were using the LCD projector. During one of the presentations, a student walks and stands RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, blocking my view, and proceeds to present his slides. I'm sitting in my chair thinking, Is this guy gonna move? Doesn't he feel uncomfortable standing so close to me? Does he even know he is blocking my view? Apparently not. You know how people shuffle their feet back and forth when they present stuff? He kept RUNNING INTO ME. He was literally touching me while he was presenting. I couldn't move away because we were sitting in rolling chairs and I was already against the side with people sitting around me. Possibly the most uncomfortable 10 minutes I've ever experienced. Then again, I haven't embarrassed myself in front of my gf/fiance/wife's friends/siblings/parents yet, so who knows what God has in store for me? I can't wait.

Do people not understand the concept of personal space? I would blame it on his ethnicity (Indian--you know, maybe it's so crowded over there they get scared when they have empty space around them--yes, that's a racist comment, but Asians are racist), but there are plenty of Americans that have to stand within licking-distance to your face when they talk to you. I don't get it. And I don't want to. Please just stand a reasonable distance away from me when you converse with me. OR ARE PRESENTING SLIDES THAT I'M SUPPOSED TO SEE.

me and my 5 talents

At my church in Ohio, we started two Bible studies at two local chinese restaurants. The workers don't have time to come to church on Sundays, so a few people go to the restaurants Friday night after it closes and lead Bible studies in the restaurant. I heard stories of how most live together in a cramped apartment, but I never saw it first hand. Reading this article in the NYTimes really hits home. I know these people. Some of them sat next to me at church (the ones that could come).

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/02/jobs/02lee.html?8dpc

How blessed are we to have been born in the richest country on earth, with all the opportunity in the world? And how responsible are we going to be when we finally have to answer for what we did with our lives?

"Oh, God, I was busy moving to a different country, learning a different language, different culture, trying to earn money for my family back home to survive. I'm sorry I couldn't witness to that many people."

"Oh, God, I was busy playing video games, hanging out with friends, watching movies, eating out, thinking about how to earn even more money so I could enjoy the luxurious life you gave me. Sorry I couldn't witness to that many people."

Yeah, one of those people is gonna get a well-deserved smack-down.

an alternative theory

[17:13] somebody: i read that article about christian men not dating
[17:13] somebody: i have another theory
[17:13] somebody: christian women are ugly
[17:13] somebody: for the most part

from the "I'm in charge of the contact list, can I have your email and phone number?" dept.

http://www.crosswalk.com/community/singles/1351339.html

Why aren't single Christian men dating? I dunno. Maybe it's cuz there are no Mandarin speaking girls at their church. Just a thought.

grassroots movement

Why is it that when everyone I meet finds out I was born and raised in Ohio, the reaction is always the same? "Whoa! Really?!" No, not really, I'm just joking because I like to lie to people when I first meet them. People must think all Asians come from Asia or are born in California. It's not true! I'm living proof. Now that you know, spread the word. Then, the next time I tell someone I'm from Ohio, they can be like, "Oh yeah. I've heard of people like you."

the secret to success

I went to the USC Career Fair today and felt sorry for everyone I met. I was sent by the company that pays my bills, along with JL and BH, to recruit for developers. It's hard to go up to random strangers, hand them a sheet that describes your life and explain why you are the most awesome person in the world. And CS people definitely do not excell at people skills. Dang, how am I employed? Oh yeah, cuz my cousin got married and God likes me (still trying to figure THAT one out).

Tips to all of you unemployed peeps out there.

1. Do not go at the end of the career fair. The recruiters tend to leave early, and they're really tired cuz they've been sitting out in the sun for 4.5 hrs. That means they won't listen to what you have to say.

2. Recruiters won't listen to what you have to say. So you have to sell yourself to them to make them listen. There are so many people that recruiters meet that there is no way to remember them all. So do something that stands out so when they go through the resumes again, they'll remember you.

3. Bring a resume. There were a handful of people that didn't know there was a career fair and were just walking around asking questions. That's great, but there's no way for us to get in contact with them. And we already have so many other candidates.

Wow, I sound like I know what I'm talking about. Why am I giving job advice? Forget everything I said. Just go make friends with lots of smart people and they will hook you up when they become successful. Smart people, watch out. Lots of people are about to add you on Friendster, Myspace and AIM. Yeah, right. There's only like 10 people that read this blog. Nevermind, false alarm. Smart people, go back to becoming successful.

Another successful Exodus retreat

retreat. a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, and instruction under a director Exodus retreat. specific form of retreat that involves travelling to the middle of nowhere, renting an extremely large house, discovering and killing (by means of flame thrower) six black widow spiders, finding a large rat living in the BBQ grill, swimming and lounging in a heated pool and jacuzzi, improvising to make sure we are not spied upon while nursing babies and showering, staying up until morning playing poker praying...................for good cards, inundating ourselves with extreme amounts of very delicious foods that can only be described as gluttonous, worshipping God with household items, and playing charades that make a dim sum lady turn into a drunk driver throwing up. May also include new singles for the next Exodus album. (you might need quicktime 7 to play the video)

in that case, it's ok.

RY: "plus, i knew about the dinner before i knew about dinner."

welcome to my world

what life is like in LA.

"you know lots of people and lots of people know you, but you're not close to anyone nor is anyone close to you." --a true LA'er

Home Depot needs to improve their hiring standards

HD guy: "Ok, 6 5/8 inch."
Enters it on his computer. An error message pops up.
HD guy: "See, it's giving me an error message. (reading from the screen) You have entered an invalid number. Valid range is between 6 inches and 10 inches." (looks at me to see my response)

(to myself) "Wait for it, wait for it, he'll get it....."

(HD guy continues to stare at me, forcing me to speak up)

Me: "Uh, isn't 6 5/8 inches in that range?"

HD guy: "Oh, uh, yeah, but it's not letting me put it in."

(I had to suggest putting a " after the number so the computer would accept it. And it did.)

It's times like this that I want to move to a remote uninhabited island. Persons involved in creating the sovereign nation of Jamir can also come.

Backstory: My (sucky) apartment has (sucky) louvre doors that we want to replace. My (sucky) apartment has (sucky) doors that are not standard sizes. Therefore, my (sucky) options are either to cut a door (which is impossible without compromising the integrity of the door because our doors are too small) or custom order one. I was going through the process of doing the latter when the above dialog took place.

The mundane adventures of . . . a guy named Bob

Disarray. Chaos. Panic. Fear. Citizens of the dark, rainy city were living under the heavy hand of a shadowy organization called "The System." It seemed to have control of everything. Everywhere they went, if they wanted to shop, read the news, share pictures, or even talk to their friends, citizens were being asked to "Register." Unregistered people were turned away by the millions. They could not shop. They could not communicate, could not travel. They were unknown to "The System." Without registration, they could not live.

With registration came access. Access to everything they wanted, when they wanted, where they wanted it. But with one big caveat. In order to "Register," they had to "Submit."

One fateful day, the clouds over the city broke and the unseen but ever prevalent sunshine broke through to reveal a savior. Standing on the dirty, oil-slicked street was someone they had never seen before. (Ok, some of them had, but those that did pretended they didn't.) His clothes were shining as if they had been washed by "New and Improved! Arm & Hammer Fabricare Laundry Detergent!" He stood there with his hands on his hips, chest puffed out, cape waving in the wind. His name was Bob. But tattooed on Bob's forehead (that he had eBay'd to the highest bidder) was a website address. That address was: www.bugmenot.com.

THE END

(roll credits)

at a loss of what to think

So there's this guy, we'll call him "God", and he is in control of everything. Sometimes he does things or allows things to happen to you that are very intentional and clear. You see some situation you're in and you're like, "Hmm, God is giving me a hint or a push or a clue."

This is not one of those times. Let me proceed to tell you THE weirdest, THE most random thing that has ever happened to me.

I'm driving home at around 11:20PM, and as I get close to my apartment, I see a lady standing across the street, with her two dogs, trying to flag me down. I'm think (yes, it hurts, but sometimes I think, please get over the shock), "That's weird," and I park and get out to see what's up.

The lady comes over and tells me she was walking her dogs when one of them suddenly collapsed. Uh, say again? "Do you need to take him to a vet or something?" "No, I have some stuff at home and I just live down the street, can you give us a ride?" Okay, sure, no problem. She loads up her dogs (which takes forever because the collapsed dog was just standing there and didn't want to move). I get back into my car, and at this point, I'm crammed in there with 2 dogs and a lady I've never met, blocking the road, with a car waiting for me to get out of the way. I drive her to her house, and she proceeds to unload the dogs. "Thanks for your help." "No problem, I hope your dog feels better." "Yeah, me too." As she gets just inside her fence, the collapsed dog lays down and the lady kneels over him. After about a minute, she turns to me and says, "He just died."

WHAT?!!!!!!!

"Uh, are you serious?" I realize in hindsight that question was probably the stupidest thing to ask. Why would she be joking? After standing there awkwardly for 5 minutes, she says I don't have to stay with her, that she has someone in the house, and thanks for the ride, I don't know what I would have done without you. Feeling like an idiot and not knowing what to do or say, I mumble, "Sorry about your dog," and drive home. All the while I'm thinking, "What the heck just happened?"

This is one of those times where being extroverted and actually being able to show my sympathy towards other people would have come in handy.

surreal adj. SEE ABOVE POST.

My life is so weird.

I wish I was a white woman against racism, then I could simulate some readings. Man, I'm missing out on all the fun. Credit goes to SWA and JW.

Sometimes they need it more than you think

Context: We recently got a friend a new Bible.

[14:50] someguy: he told me he's been reading the bible
[14:50] someguy: he likes the bible he got from us
[14:50] someguy: he says it has good translation
[14:50] someguy: so it makes a lot more sense
[14:50] someguy: before he was reading like a picture bible with like 10 words per page

"The greatest country in the world" - BM

I love living in LA and working for a high-tech company. Especially when we are hit with blackouts. It makes work _that_ much more challenging, and we all know how we so desperately need that in our lives.

More firsthand accounts from New Orleans

Even though our media is probably the best in the world (in terms of being able to cover important issues and not be censored, etc.), it is completely biased and often influenced by things other than "the public must know."

http://www.uusc.org/katrina/bradshaw.html

I learned in my PoliSci class, oh so long ago, (I sound old don't I?) that in order to get (more of) the big picture, it is often necessary to read news from other countries, because all the media in our country is BIASED. (Even though I'm so lazy that I usually only read the NYTimes.)

(The above link was shamelessly copied from a friend's xanga. I hope you don't mind, RY.)

in case you had any doubts

Contained in an email about an event for graduate computer science students at USC:

Email us if you would be attending the event and your food preferences [Pizza/Indian/Chinese/other?]

This speaks volumes about the racial makeup of our department.

There should be a manual for this

When single guys give other single guys advice about women, it's like . . . . . . . the blind leading the blind.

scooters

Remember when I went to Taiwan and wanted to buy a scooter and bring it back to the US? Yes, I know you remember, Stan. You were the co-founder of the club. Well, our club is about to get our first scooter.

My friend JN bought a scooter...



Yes, that is the color of his scooter. It's raspberry.

Last night, a few of us went over and rode his scooter around the block. It was like I was magically transported back to Taiwan. I want one now.

Here's how I can justify it:
1) It'll save money on insurance. (JN's insurance for his car+scooter is less than he was paying for his car alone)
2) It'll save money on gas. (85mpg)

The scooter could pay for itself in a year. AND I wouldn't have to deal with traffic when I go to work. We're gonna start an Exodus scooter club and ride around in a pack.

Katrina

If we are the richest, most powerful country in the world, if we are the only remaining superpower, and this is the best we can do, how sad is that? Our fellow citizens are basically living in the equivalent of a war-torn country. (Read the post "The Real News" on Sept 1, 2005 and look at the photos here and here.

Dang, President Bush, your record for dealing with national disasters is not looking good....

On another note, what must be going through the minds of homeless people in say....LA? MILLIONS of dollars are being poured out to help those in New Orleans, but nothing is being spent to help the homeless here. I wonder what's going through their minds.

this is what's left of a parking sign that was in the way of my cousin finishing his deck. I keep forgetting to take the "after" shot of when they put it back up.

my cousin finished his "mini" climbing wall. now his future-stunt-double kids can climb on something other than the furniture.

late again

Today was my weekly class. For some unknown reason, I thought the class started at 2pm, so I went out to lunch with my co-workers before driving to SC. I walked in and wondered why everyone was there and the prof was already lecturing. Hmmm......I bust out my laptop, go online to check the schedule, and lo and behold.......the class started at 1pm. Oops. No wonder everyone was staring at me as I walked in.

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." --1 Corinthians 1:27

I hate it how the vast majority of CS majors think they know everything. EVERYTHING. They're always trying to impress each other and the profs with how much they know. When sometimes they really don't know anything. I think it comes from trying to get respect from others because we were all picked on so much in our K-12 education. And now, the only way to get that respect is to prove how smart you are. CONSTANTLY. So annoying. Why do I hate hanging around my classmates so much? I would much rather hang out with non-CS majors. But then I miss people who enjoy logic puzzles, or who are perfectionists. *sigh* Why did God have to make everything a balance? Extremes are so much easier to deal with.

ways to woo a woman

I went shooting with cousin AC and a bunch of friends this weekend. GE was there, too. We had a blast. Watch out for casings hitting your head, and casings rolling onto your flip-flops making burn marks on your toes.

I have a target that I can use to impress my hot dates now.

"See that hole? I made that."

Look ma, I'm a super hero

Names have been changed to protect the innocent (cuz that's what super heroes DO. Actually, super heroes usually change their own names).

[13:43] really cool guy: what do you do again?
[13:43] Jeff: internet crime fighting
[13:43] Jeff: i work for an anti-piracy company
[13:44] really cool guy: lol crime fighting, sounds like a super hero

regional dialects

Why do people from a certain region talk the same? I met a guy from Northern California who talks EXACTLY like our cousin's husband DO. It's freaky. Same tone, same rhythm of speech.

On a totally unrelated note:

"Come look at this stall. Something weird happened." --EH to me while we were in the bathroom (Uh, no thanks.)

I have to be careful what I say when people ask me what I do. Some people get really mad when they find out my occupation.

movies really do suck

In previous years, he said, "you could still count on enough people to come whether you failed at entertaining them or not, out of habit, or boredom, or a desire to get out of the house. You had a little bit of backstop."

"It wasn't like the last crop of summer movies were that much better than this summer," said Mr. Shmuger... (meaning they were just as crappy - my note)

Mr. Lynton said he would focus on making "only movies we hope will be really good." (meaning they make some now that they don't hope will be really good?)

At Universal, Mr. Shmuger said he intends to reassert "time and care and passion" in movie production. Some of his own summer movies, he conceded, should never have been made.

He declined to name them.

Taken from the NY Times article on declining ticket sales. Surprisingly, they didn't blame piracy, like they usually do. (Darn, losing job security)

What would be ideal is if everyone didn't go to the theaters, and just waited for the DVD to come out. Then, you could watch it in the comfort of your own home (and you can pause when you need to go to the bathroom) for a fraction of the price (assuming you don't watch movies alone). AND, because nobody watched it in the theaters, everyone will talk about it when the DVDs get released, not before. So, it's not like you're missing out.

Sadly, this will likely end up an unobtainable dream, just like people boycotting gas stations for a day so the price will drop.

Captive movie titles

I watched The 40 Year Old Virgin with some friends last night (pretty funny). In the theater, I saw a poster for an upcoming movie, The Constant Gardener. Granted, I know nothing else about the movie, but that title really doesn't give me the urge to want to see it.

landsailing

Landsailing was awesome. Even though the wind wasn't constant (it kept blowing and dying), we had some good runs. I probably got up to 25 mph in 15mph winds. I want to build one now.

The highlight of our night was the discovery that hand sanitizer lotion is flammable. People were pouring it in their hands and lighting it on fire, and then trying to take pictures of them holding fire. Purell is apparently the best brand for this (after extensive testing). You can also light the fumes that are left over in empty bottles.

Ultra-lights!!!

the moon rising

one of my fellow landsailers standing next to the boat...uh...buggy....landsailer...thing

Family vacations

Taking a vacation with your family is always a mixed-bag of emotions. Initially, you are excited about seeing your family which you haven't seen in so long. At the beginning of the trip, everything's fine, you're all laughing and enjoying each other's company. As the trip goes on, though, you start to notice all the little things that bug you about your family, and people start to slip into their roles which they have played ever since you were young. Your parents start embarassing you in public, they start nagging you about random stuff (read: everything), your siblings start teasing or fighting with you, etc. Suddenly you can't wait for the trip to be over. And then, when all is said and done, you say goodbye while wishing you had more time together and looking forward to the next time you can all get together. And praying that wasn't the last reunion you'll have (hey, my parents are getting old).

Nah, maybe that's just me.

quick note part 2

According to my (limited) experience, only US restaurants give you free refills on your drinks. Also, food is VERY VERY expensive in Israel. Not so in Taiwan.

I heard (and others have confirmed) that Europeans get 7 weeks off every year from work. This is mandatory vacation, and not something which you can "choose" to take or not.

Israelis have very good English. Especially when compared to Taiwanese. They both learn English in school, so I wonder what the difference is.

The elevators stop on every floor on the Sabbath (Saturday), because you cannot push the buttons. There are separate elevators for non-Sabbath-observing people.

Friday is the beginning of the weekend. The workweek in Israel is Sunday through Thursday. Friday is used to take care of stuff before the Sabbath (Saturday).

"Why did you let me look like that as a senior in high school?" --SW

Only Americans randomly talk to strangers on the street. I'm not sure if this was because we were Asian, so we obviously couldn't speak Hebrew, but I have never been approached by a stranger in a foreign country. On the other hand, I can just be outside getting stuff from my car when dog-walkers will say hi or have a conversation with me.

quick note part 1

About to go landsailing.

Here's some stuff from the Israel trip.

"I keep turning around to talk to you and you keep bugging out! It's like you're anti-queuing or something!"
--Heard in line at the Frankfurt, Germany airport McDonalds. Possibly the most British thing I have ever heard.

"If you treat Melissa like this, I'm going to tell her to boycott you."
--my Mom to my brother

Israel has some of the nicest beaches in the world. And there's very few beach front properties because the government doesn't allow it. So there are huge expanses of beach with no development around them. It's awesome.

In Israel, (as with most of the rest of the world) the cars are smaller on average due to fuel costs (if you saw the picture of gas prices, you know what I'm talking about). Also, because of this, one of the common perks they receive with their jobs is a company car and the company will pay for gas.

Word of advice I received from SWA and AA: When swimming in the Dead Sea, don't rub your eyes, or fart. The reason behind this is left as an exercise for the reader.

Haifa is probably the only place in the world where the rich live on the mountain and the poor live near the beach.

In Israel, the waiters (or everyone?) are very impatient. We were taking too long to order our drinks so he just left before half the table had ordered.

We had a free movie in the hotel, so we decided to watch Le Divorce. After we ordered it, the movie started and the credits started coming up. Someone said, "Hey, Cedric the Entertainer is in it!" Shortly after this, we realized we were watching Johnson Family Vacation.

Israel has the largest diamond exchange in the world. If the prices are kept artificially high, and this is common knowledge, then why do people continue to buy them?

People stared at us the whole time we were in Israel. We saw maybe 1 or 2 other Asians there (not including the tour groups). This is the reason behind cliques in US high schools that no other country can understand. Everywhere else, everyone looks and acts the same (for the most part). They are all Taiwanese or Israeli (those are the only two countries I've been to). But in the US, everyone is different. So you naturally cling to those who are similar to you. In Taiwan, they were baffled at why movies about high school always had cliques. They didn't think it was real.

Korean ageism

In Korea, due to the reverance of elders, there is a law that prevents companies from hiring new employees (people with no experience, fresh college grads, etc.) over the age of 27, 28, or 29 (it varies by company). "Why?" the dear reader asks. Well, you've asked the right blog. Let's look at an example, shall we? We shall.

What happens if a new employee is say, 40? And his manager is, say, 28? The manager will have a hard time telling the new employee what to do (due to the cultural habit of respecting your elders). This only applies to entry level positions, so it's not like you can't switch jobs after you hit 30.

I heard this from my Korean coworker, DS.

Oct 4, 2005

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

These aren't the droids you're looking for

The Israel pictures are up if anyone cares.

My server sucks. It keeps deleting the stuff I post. Oh well, I gotta migrate it to my new computer.

How do people find out about my xanga account if I didn't post anything?

This is the post-90s

I keep reading/hearing/seeing how girls want to marry a mi/bi/tri-llionaire. Well, I for one am sick of it. C'mon people! This is the (whatever-this-current-decade-is-called)'s! What about gender equality? Why is it always up to the guy to make the money? Where are the girls who want to make their own fortunes? Without them, I'll never have my dream of marrying into wealth. *sigh*

Please, dear reader (that's you), tell all the females you know to become ambitious, driven people, make a lot of money, and then find a nice, Christian, Asian, mandarin-speaking female to give the money to. And then tell THAT girl to come find me.

Yeah, yeah, all the posts about Israel are coming.

just me and my God

All alone again. I'm at the Frankfurt airport in Germany where our family just parted ways after visiting Israel for 10 days. I have the longest layover (again) so I was just going to wait with my family til they took off. But they are in a different terminal and the security people check boarding passes to make sure you're supposed to be there, which I'm not. After an impromptu farewell, I am left all alone again. Kinda sucks to travel alone. But it frees you up for a lot of pondering time.