Microsoft vs. Google

The theoretical or perceived notion that Google is going after Microsoft is somewhat of a joke. Google itself has not stated in any shape or form that they are intending of attacking Microsoft, but of course, Ballmer goes after everybody, not just Google, because he's just that kind of guy.

Eric Schmidt of Google states, "velocity matters." It sure does, and that is the one of the biggest reasons that Google succeeds. Software update cycles are commonplace and take place behind the scenes. If you haven't noticed, Gmail has done a major upgrade two weeks ago dealing with performance issues and a number of interface upgrades. This type of velocity doesn't take place at Microsoft which has a history of forcing upgrades for security issues, but also releasing patches way too far apart giving users somewhat of a disparate upgrade experience. The Microsoft periodic upgrades will shock people because of major changes, contrary to what Google does is by constantly changing their interface slowly and allowing users to test it out features one at a time rather than being overwhelmed with a complete interface overhaul.

How can someone state that Google is out to make money. Sure, it make tons of money. But it's all advertising.
For all of its achievements, no one can point at Google stating that its primary interest is to make money. Their bottom line so far is providing free services which have improved the overall Internet experience for everyone. Yes, Google's products are encroaching on Microsoft's marked territory (Office applications) and thus issuing a challenge, whether intended or not.
But, seriously, if people choose Google, then it's obviously for a good reason.
Google is much more serious about designing usable and innovative software. And everyone knows the bottom line is Microsoft is still about making money.

Shopping bags

The new trend in fashion and functionality is the emergence of reusable shopping bags.

These aren't the ordinary paper bags that stores provide for you to carry your purchase. They're all new plastic, or fabric-based bags with designer graphics of a higher production quality. The new trend in bags are flash, but they'll also store your stash! People are using them as an extended purse, storing items for daily use that would otherwise not fit in a regular purse.

It is a step into the future of preventing paper waste. It is an environmental boon that may also be a marketing and advertising bonanza. People gladly use their bags as a sign of being in style, but also mark themselves as slaves to the brand. I guess being a billboard is a small price to pay for going green.

Portal

I require some brief counselling and cake.

I just finished Portal. That has been one of the best video game experiences I've ever had. It's not a violent game at all but it is so rewarding and satisfying to play. It sends your mind to the wacked out dimension of thinking in lateral dimensions where you can create dimensional portals so you can walk through them and show up somewhere else in the same dimensional space. Confused yet? You just need to think in portals.

It's a thinking game that focuses on puzzle solving and that's why I love it. There is no relatable game play experience out there.
It requires a certain understanding of physics and I think it's possible to allow kids to play this in school as a demonstration in basic physics concepts such as kinetic energy and momentum.

Portal makes physics fun!

MattLAN

Ah damn. I was at Matt's place in Maple Ridge on Saturday. It was a pretty late LAN, which kinda sucked. We did a round of Battlefield 2, CS1.6, and tossed in a couple rounds of Halo3 for X360. It was a pretty good turnout. There was around 7 of us, though the late start was a waste. Most of us were sleeping by 5 but a couple were up until 7. Buncha crazies. They even went for breakfast after that.

I really miss LANning. I'm starting to get too old for it, but I haven't done enough of it to not want to do it.

Wacky weather

Only the other day, it was 0 degrees and the whole day was a contiguous stream of snow. Flurries pouring over the city blanketing it in white. That's all fine and dandy, but then today it was 13 degrees and torrential rain for the whole day.
There's probably going to be another water turbidity warning here like last year. The water level was really high this morning when I left for work, the canal/ditch on my street were almost overflowing. I've never seen it at that level before.

The effects of extreme weather are screaming in our faces. El nino, la nina, global warming, whatever it is, we have only seen the start of it.

Funniest CSI intro ever

"The only thing you need to do is answer 2 simple questions." "Whoddunnit, and how?"

Hahaha. Seriously, tonight's intro was the funniest thing they've done in a while. I love the humor they're incorporating into the show now with the funnier quirky lab techs like Hodges, Archie, and Wendy.
These episodes make CSI:LV push it back to my fav list.
This ep (8x08) "You Kill Me", along with the ep of Hodges' lucky day are my fav so far. CSI's quirkiness now mixed with even more quirky just makes for brilliant comedy.

I lost my sandwich breakfast

Sigh.
I'm so sad. That was a really expensive breakfast.
I got a Smoked Ham with Honey Dijon sandwich from Starbucks. Except when I was walking to the office from my car, the sandwich ripped through the bottom of the bag. Sigh.
I guess it's lucky I got a Fruit, Yogurt & Granola Parfait which was supposed to be my lunch, but is now my breakfast since I really have eaten anything yet.

DAMN YOU STARBUCKS. GET SOME BETTER SANDWICH BAGS.

Beckham in Vancouver

Ah, last night was a pretty boring match, but a very entertaining game.

The biggest highlight: streaker on the field. Haha.

Winter Accessories

It's technically not winter yet, but it's really getting cold. It's reaching as low as 5 degrees now so it's definitely time to start wearing warm. With that said, I LOVE my scarf. It's a striped gray/dark gray scarf I got from Gap when I was down in Seattle. I almost look like a character from Hogwarts.
When I wear it, it's like my ultra accessory. +10 to cool, and auto casts Style Aura.

I'm really needing a haircut now, it's really long, but it's so cold. I need to find a nice toque before I get a haircut. Hehe

Premonition

This feeling is based more on coincidental milestones, serendipitous events, which by themselves, hold no significant meaning, but with all of them in sequence, it seems like there's some sort of synergy that's driving it towards me.
Although, I'd rather not name the specifics or I might jinx it.

I have had a certain name running through my head, although there was no reason that it should have been.
I recently came across said person's name in an article, and I had no idea of his previous history/success.
With my current project work focusing towards Facebook, it adds up. Somewhat. Or maybe I'm just hoping it all does.

Impulse Shopping

I always wondered what was wrong with people who couldn't help themselves buying everything in sight even when they knew they couldn't afford it, or it was a waste of money. I'm starting to get a glimpse into that world because I've been having ridiculous tendencies going to Red Flag Deals, a website for bargain hunters and sharing good deals in Canada. Refresh, refresh, refresh... Ooh there's something I want!

I haven't actually bought much, but I have been wanting to get stuff I've seen like discounted clothing from A&F (Hoodies & Tees), cheap gaming headsets (Sennheiser PC131), Bluetooth earpiece (Jawbone Silver Noise Shield), Video Games (Orange Box for PC).

There's been some good freebies I've found on the site as well like free Wii jackets.

Apple's new release of Leopard has me all excited. I've never been a fan of OS upgrades but the new features are blowing my mind, most notably Stacks, Spaces, and Quick Look. Now I'm actually hoping my computer dies so I have an excuse to get a new Mac with Leopard. :D
Something caught my eye on the Apple site too, the Samung SCX-4500 printer. Damnnnnnn it looks so nice.

Gotta keep resisting the urge to buy stuff

Technology in the electricity marketplace

There's been a test run of user-driven electricity-on-demand technology done in Washington, and I've got to say, this type of infrastructure could revolutionize the world in terms of energy demands. The framework itself could apply to other things and reduce consumption and be more dynamic to regional/national/world economics and force people to pay attention to supply and demand on a daily scale.

It may be more of a hassle to individuals in the short run, but I think people would eventually appreciate the higher level of control being able to shop the energy industry like a market or a grocery and consciously pay regarding on your own budget. It's a counter-point to having to pay something because you have no idea how much it's going to cost in real-time and so you blindly use it until you get the check. Real-time marketing, or as the article terms it, service-oriented architecture (SOA), is going to hit the market like a sledgehammer, people will not be adapt properly unless the technological model is done correctly.

Back from Seattle!

Now I'm sad, home alone.

I went with my sis and her husband down south on Wednesday night. I'm so exhausted driving the whole week. I had to drive all night considering we left as soon as I got home from work and it was raining heavy all night all the way down to Renton.

Our first stop was Boeing. We did the Boeing tour and it was awesome! The tour consisted of an hour trip around the factory. We could only see 2 of the 5 (or is it 6?) hangars of the factory, which is only about 1/4 of the entire complex. It is MASSIVE. It's 1/3rd of a mile deep. I don't think any words would be able to describe the immensity of the building. You have to see it yourself. The hangars we could see were the construction areas for the 777 and the new 787, also known as the Dreamliner.

Next stop was the SuperMall in Auburn. The mall has turned into a pretty quiet place. It's really crappy now, and it shows with the lack of people there. But, with slow business, comes GREAT deals! Even without using the discount card we got from the information centre, the prices were so low that I would feel bad not buying their merchandise!

We pretty much blew our allotment for our trip based on how much we spent that one day that we didn't buy anything when we went to Seattle Premium Outlets. I'm so disappointed when I realized that the personal exemption limit was bumped up.

My sister left yesterday and so now I'm home alone. =(

The Unit theme song

Give me your secrets
Bring me a sign
Give me a reason
To walk the fire

See another dawn
Through our daughters’ eyes
You give me a reason
To walk the fire

I love The Unit, and the theme music they have on the show as well.
The army style theme for the first season was good, but the new theme for the second season is even better. I was looking around to find the full version of the song, but apparently it's not even done yet.

VIFF: Deep in thought

I went for a double header tonight.
Both deep and foreign.
Secret Sunshine is a Korean film about a mother who is dealing with loss and tragedy. This movie made me scratch my head, and I'm still processing it. It's a very chilling drama and it's hard to fully comprehend it. Viewing raw, unfiltered grief and anger is a lot different than what you see in most modern films and this takes a look around that alley of what people could and do go through. The direction is all over the place and creates an atmosphere of the world passing by as I'm sure how a lot of people feel when they have something on their mind.

Beaufort is a psychological Israeli war drama about the pullout of the IDF from the Beaufort post in Southern Lebanon.

These movies are a lot to chew on. It's quite different than what I went to see on thursday which was For The Bible Tells Me So, which is still a relatively serious film with a sociopolitical debate on religion and homosexuality in current society.

I think I have a problem

I'm a serious tv addict. I didn't really realize how many series' I was following until I got hit this week with all the season premieres. Ungh.

I'm still trying to catch up from being gone at the beginning of the week...
My current week series/season premiere listing...
Finished:
Simpsons, Family Guy, Heroes, Prison Break, K-Ville, Chuck, Journeyman, House, Bionic Woman, Bones, The Office
Queued:
The Unit, L&O:SVU, NCIS, Criminal Minds, CSI, CSI:Miami, CSI:NY, Greys Anatomy, Numb3rs

There's a couple of other ones that are in mid/late season like 4400, Eureka, Psych, Painkiller Jane (which got cancelled), Sanctuary, Burn Notice.

Ungh, there's other shows that haven't started their season yet most that I can't remember off the top of my head, I really should cut my list down.
Still coming: 24, Lost, Dexter

Dining in San Francisco

I just got back from San Francisco last night. My little 3 day vacation was a nice break, I spent most of it stuffing my face full of good food.

Arrived in San Francisco on Sunday. Met up with Cam for lunch at Cheesecake Factory and then headed up to Sonoma Valley for a scenic drive. Cam rented a BMW 325i zipcar and we had an adventure trying to figure out how the car worked. We went for a wine tasting at Kunde Estate. The vineyard was beautiful! It was a massive estate of well-manicured vines sprawling across hills. There were also some interesting caves on the estate, but we didn't get a chance to. They also had a patio with a small lake with some decorative fountains. It was amazing!
After that, we headed over to St Helena in the Napa Valley and went to Tra Vigne by Cam's suggestion. Their pizza was excellent. The Arctic Char I ordered was damn excellent. I actually think it was salmon since it was pinkish. It was so soft it practically melted off my fork.

Went for lunch on monday at Scala's Bistro. Their lunch menu includes their staple "Earth and Turf" appetizer which is one of their popular dishes with a delish calamari. The Salsiccia pizza and Lamb Risotto we got weren't as stellar as usual. This trip to Scala's was a letdown.
Mmm dinner however, on the other side of town, also by Cam's suggestion, we dined at Foreign Cinema. The food was absolutely exquisite. I think this was my most favorite dining experience for the whole trip. The restaurant is a very expressionistic display of art and architecture. The dining area was split into 3 wings. The first is a standard indoor area with beautiful walls lined with classic paintings and a relaxed atmosphere. The second is an open air patio surrounded by concrete buildings giving it an artsy-urbanesque motif. Lastly, the third wing, which I didn't really get a chance to see, is an art hall with modernist paintings. The name of the restaurant stems from the fact that the hallway of the entrance leads up to the restaurant as if it is like a movie theatre; they also have a foreign film which they play(The English Patient, for that night) during the evening on one of the walls in the open dining area.
The oysters were a little on the small side, but sumptuous. We ordered a combination of Buckley Bay, Kumamoto, and Malpeque. We also tried the Steamed Mussels with Thai coconut curry sauce. The green curry sauce was very refreshing, I'm used to eating curry that's either creamy so that it's flavorful, or it's too watery and bland. The curry they served though, was a very light and mostly watery mixture, but gave enough flavor to give it a distinct kick without being creamy. It tasted great with the bread too.
I obviously had to go with the Hawaiian Tuna. I give their Seared Ahi a 9.5 rating. The sauce didn't have enough kick and wasn't at all flavorful. The slices of tuna also had just a bit too much seared. However, the slices were big enough so that the very soft Ahi could still be enjoyed with the its tender flaky texture.
Damn... the dessert! Lavender creme brulee is just a classic. The "Chocolate pot de crème with crinkle cookies" was chocolate diabetes in a cup, and boy was it MMM MMMMMMM good. I forgot what kind of crumble pie Cam got, some type of berry.... boysenberry? was just right. A little bitter, mixed with the vanilla ice cream and the crumble of the pie, is out of this world.
10/10 for Foreign Cinema. DAAAAAYMNNN!

I'm falling asleep here, I'm not done yet and i'll add on later.
Continued:

We went for lunch on the following day at the food court in Westfield San Francisco down on Market St. The choices were excellent. It had a good variety of different cuisines, but also the quality was above average. This is a more upscale, higher-end food court with good food. The steakhouse, Buckhorn Grill, gives out free samples and if I hadn't already ordered my BBQ Ribs from Asqew Grill, I probably would have gotten their Tritip Sirloin.
The food isn't all that's high quality, the rest of the mall is pretty upscale with a Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, and other smaller name brand boutiques.
OH YES! They have Beard Papa too! Best cream puffs anywhere!

My neck is broken

Well, not literally, but I have a pinched nerve. I could barely get up in the morning. I think I tried 5 times before I was able to get up since my neck was hurting so much I couldn't move.
I had to drive carefully and twist my body to do shoulder checks. Haha.

It's been 4 hours and it's still stiff. It's not as bad now, my range of motion has increased, but it's still hurting like hell.

Sleep disorders

An interesting article on sleep disorders at CNN. I think I probably have pseudoinsomnia, either that or just regular insomnia. Either way, I have trouble feeling like I'm well rested.

Dreaming darkly

I've been getting a little bit more sleep than usual this past week, so it's not from the usual tiredness.
I am experiencing some really disturbing dreams; from situations involving in appropriate relationships, crushed teeth, dangerous situations with motor vehicles, insect infestations, bullying, and some other less severe emotional experiences.

I wake up in a pretty pensive mood, equally mixed with shock and a tired state of confusion; unsure whether to try and go back to sleep and forget about the raw emotions or to think of a deeper meaning.

I'm also seeing shadows. I think something's moving in the corner of my vision and there's nothing there when I take a closer look.
I think I need more tea.

Got Wii?

I sure do! I'm surprised though since I just ordered it on Sunday (Sep 9th). That was damn fast. I ordered my Xbox360 last Monday and it hasn't arrived yet. But it's a little different considering it's supposed to be bundled with Halo 3. It's not supposed to be released until the 25th, so it probably won't be shipped before then.

My Wii is a good deal I guess.... 420$ CDN+tax for Wii (includes Wii Sports, controller+nunchuk) and bundles with an extra controller and nunchuk, and Super Paper Mario. Oh whatever, I don't have to spend time trying to go in early in line to get one, so whatever. Hehe.

Mmmm London Fog

I'm sipping on one right now. This is the first time I've had it and I'm not sure if I like it or not...
It tastes wrong somewhat...
For those of you who don't know what it is, it's Earl Grey Tea with milk. Basically, an earl grey tea latte.

Tournament finish!

It's a pretty pathetic tournament, but it's still a cash finish.

After almost 4.5 hours of playing in a $100 Freeroll on Full Tilt Poker. Out of a field of 2700, I survived long enough to make a cash finish in 26th. It's only $2. But what the hey, I haven't really played much tournaments so this is good practice for me. It was good fun though since I had my dad beside me watching. We had good debates of how to play, and let's just say I probably would have gone broke a lot earlier if I listened to my dad more. Hehe.

Ungh. My neck is cramped now after that long grind.

Reaching for the past

I've always had problems of letting go of things I really liked in the past. Especially with video games, I always get annoyed by the fact that I cant' find old NES or SNES games even though my old systems are still running. The old classics are the best. Who cares about fancy graphics, the gameplay was simple and addictive. I love how the old systems had a lot of co-op play where it's all about you and your best buddy trying to survive to the next level. Sadly, that genre has almost died out to the more popular First Person Shooters, Role-playing Games, and maybe still some Adventure games.

I've gotten used to the fact that I haven't been able to, and probably wont' be able to, find any old 8-bit games for the NES/SNES etc, anymore. However, I've recently been missing Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory for the Xbox. It's the first co-op game I've felt that has surpassed expectations and deliver a unique experience. I went for a walk in Lansdowne and I couldn't find a copy of it at Future Shop, or Best Buy. I was ecstatic when I finally found it at Toys R Us, until the guy scanned the box and wouldn't sell it. Apparently the game has been recalled. Now, I'm stuck trying to find a game that's just barely 2 and a half years old. Ungh. I really hate this industry.

Learning Italian with Star Wars

It's not really Star Wars I guess, but it's fan-based movies on the Star Wars universe. It's called Dark Resurrection, and so far it's pretty interesting. I've only seen part 1 of 2 and I'm pretty intrigued. It's filmed in Italian with English subs. The casting/acting is mostly solid and it's a pretty decent movie considering it's not a major production, although it didn't look quite low budget at all.

The special effects were good most of the time, but the blowing out of colors effect was being used a little too much. The casting was really intriguing, a lot of the actors/actresses were in the older range of 40-60's, and I think they gave a more experienced and believable environment. I still have a problem with the casting of the main character, but I could still relent depending on how she acts in the second part.

Yum yum salmon!

I just realized how good the Wild Sockeye Salmon on Filone sandwich at Starbucks is. At 5.95, it's so cheap! There's other sandwiches on Starbucks' shelves too, but they don't taste as good. I don't get how they price their inventory. One would expect that the salmon sandwiches would cost more (besides the fact that it's local since we get salmon from BC) but I would gladly pay up to 7.50 for this sandwich, while the less tasty ones, the 5.95 price tag does not justify it's taste.

It goes maybe not so well with Caramel Machiatto, I probably should have gotten a tea, or some fruit drink. Salmon doesn't really pair well with coffee or any bitter drink.

I'd like a book please!

There's an awesome video on CNN regarding new book printing technology. Being able to order books on demand will definitely make a difference in libraries and being able to stock more content and not being constrained to retain physical copies of old books that can be reprinted. This is the type of technology that will re-define the current generation's ability to adapt technology to be more useful rather than simply entertaining. Ipods/iphones are nice, sure, but how does that affect our society? Music is primarily a form of entertainment, but books can span even more across the ages.

Video-on-demand, sweet. Book-on-demand? KICKASS

I should really sleep earlier

A friend of mine is back from SF for a couple days, but today's probably the only chance I'll get to hang out with him. We went out for dim sum at Fisherman's Terrace. I'm not sure if we were sick or something, but we ordered very little. After that we got some bubble tea at Tapioca Express. It's been a while since I've gone out for bubble tea. Once you stop drinking it, you lose your taste for it. We went though since we just wanted to hang out, and there is really nothing better to do in Richmond.

Bourne Ultimatum! That was another headache inducing, although not as bad as the previous one, because of the rapid free-chase camera style that director Paul Greengrass OH SO LOVES! I felt airsick after watching one of his other films, United 93 which also employed the same technique. But, I have to admit, this Bourne was awesome. So were the others, but this one felt like it gave some completeness to the storyline. I'm a little saddened since I love the directional style of this movie series, and I would be quite disappointed if they don't continue. Considering that the movies don't really follow the books that closely I wouldn't really be all too critical how much they changed the story. The psychological aspect is tremendous, the mind games, the spy game with a character that employs a certain avoidance of action unless necessary which is quite contrary to the norm of any spy movie where the protagonist initiating violent encounters just for the sake of having action in the movie.

I was talking to Tim about this like a week ago... The 2 gig limit on gmail is pretty big, but it would be nice to have something even bigger, and an incurred cost of the upgrade would be a fair alternative. Well, I just noticed gmail is now offering the said pricing scheme:
6 GB ($20.00 per year)
25 GB ($75.00 per year)
100 GB ($250.00 per year)
250 GB ($500.00 per year)
They seem pretty reasonable.

I don't normally read Google's blog, but they made a post about it

Murphy's Law

I guess it's an obvious cliche, but you should really back up your data. With the old adage of Murphy's Law of "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."
I was expecting this for a while, and contemplating about getting a new external HD to back my data up. And well... I guess I just got lazy. Right now it's unclear whether or not I can get my hard drives back up, but all it's doing is clicking whenever I start my computer. I'm going to lose massive amounts of work if it's permanently gone. I really hate the idea of digital storage. It's so easy to lose, but then physical storage doesn't really give much of a better alternative with its space requirements.

If you don't listen to your insights, then you deserve to fail. I hope my insights will re-consider about me hearing it.

Two idiots, and water.

So, my mom and I just got back from Safeway. My mom bought a 9.5L tank of distilled water for drinking, and we both assume the water comes straight out considering... it's that much water. There's obviously a great amount of pressure from the weight of the water being pulled by gravity. However, both me and my mom were quite dumbfounded as to why the water would only trickle out. I think we spent about 10 minutes trying to tilt it and raise it, all to the advancement of our realization we were pretty stupid not knowing how to operate a tank of water. Haha

We figured out a technique after that little game of trying to pour it out. Have you ever had this situation?
Please laugh now, and laugh again when you run into this situation yourself.

Tv = Bored--

I'm watching a pre-air copy of Bionic Woman right now. It's pretty interesting and certainly something fresh. I'm always surprised whenever I find a new show filming in Vancouver, and there were pretty obvious scenes with UBC. Some other new shows also seem pretty promising, which is to say, that they have decent storylines, good acting, and stand a decent chance of not being shelved.

Kill Point, is a new thriller on Spike with John Leguizamo playing an Army Sergeant returning from the frontlines of war to return to the States to rob a bank with his platoon only the heist goes wrong and instead, the platoon is stuck in a siege inside the bank. He plays against a quirky, grammar-obsessed hostage negotiator played by Donnie Wahlberg.

Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles. I'm not really sure yet about this show. It's going to be either really stupid or...really really really stupid, but it'll just be good because it is so stupid. I still don't think Summer Glau can act, other than being mental, which she truly fits here as a Terminator. Lena Headey is definitely a perfect fit for Sarah Conner, and same goes for Thomas Dekker as John Conner. The casting is pretty strong, but so far, the writing is a little bit questionable.

I'm definitely a big fav for Bionic Woman now. A lot of the actors are being borrowed from Battlestar Galactica, so that's a shoe in for the case of solid casting. The direction is pretty unique and gives a very naturalistic gritty touch to the sci-fi scene, very quite similar to BSG.

Harry Potter!

My copy of the Deatly Hallows just arrived!

Brown Rice Tea

I'm trying out this Japanese Brown Rice Tea that someone got in our office. It smells heavily of Brown Rice aroma, but the taste still comes out as regular green tea. I'm not sure why I'm drinking hot tea, I'm already feeling pretty hot. I'm an idiot. Haha, but I wanted to try the tea out.

a little sunday art

I didn't realize there was an art show going on at the Vancouver Art Gallery until today. It's the first time I've been in the gallery, which is the (I'm not sure what type of architecture it is), it's the one that looks like a museum. I just did some Wikipedia-surfing and I think museum architecture has its own classification. But back to topic, the current main exhibit is Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The majority of the works are of more modern (1800-1900s) paintings, and sculptures.

I've been meaning to take a look at these types of works for a long time, but never really had an opportunity to. I had a good introduction to the majority of the painting movements. Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Modernism, Surrealism, and I'm missing some of the smaller movements. It does make a difference seeing these works of art in real life. You can't truly appreciate the skill that goes into creating these paintings without seeing the imperfections and the subtleties of the strokes and the unevenness of the oil on the canvas or whatever each artists medium of choice. Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Picasso, Rodin, and Dali. These are the major names that come to mind, and I finally see truly how different each of these major figures played in advancing modern art. It's a little elitist, but I have to admit, that not everyone will be able to understand or appreciate fine art. I'm not quite at that stage either, I'm still learning how to appreciate it.

The one piece that probably intrigued me the most was Salvador Dali's "The Dream". I was thinking of buying a print from the gift shop, but I couldn't perceive the shock I experienced from seeing the actual painting. The colors and hues are so vibrant, while they don't look the same on printed material. The subject matter interests me as well since it's about dreams, but it wasn't what primarily caught my interest. Just the stark contrast and vibrant hues with an oddness that defines surrealism. It speaks on a very philosophical level.

What I work on

My company just had a release of their flagship software last week on 7/7/7 with a serious interface overhaul. The functionality isn't that much different, but the usability has been improved considerably. Originally called Booking Server, the software was lacking in a personality, especially in modern day Internet branding/marketing.
Our software has been re-branded as Rezgo, powerfully simple reservation system. Through Internet blogging and various web marketing techniques, some people have started to take notice and most recently, our software has been noted on go2web2.0 as well as at KillerStartups.

XBox360 = bye?

It's a little disheartening to hear about Microsoft's failure in the gaming industry. The arrival of Microsoft on the gaming scene with the XBox and Xbox360 was a great boost in the competition of the gaming industry and has thus perpetuated increasing quality in game development and design.
This current fall of Microsoft is sure to dent it and may be a signal that it could be on its way to an early grave. I love the current new-gen consoles. The deeply integrated rivalry of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft has given rise to advances in experience design, hardware advances, and rich graphics, (somewhat respectively to each company).

The Wii is currently in the overall lead with its breakthrough in re-defining the video game experience. It's still sold out in most places, and has been since its release in November 2006. The XBox360 is the front runner for graphics with powerhouse games like Gears of War, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Call of Duty 2. They're also releasing Halo 3 later this year which should give it a little more stable footing pending its approval by the critics. Sony on the other hand with the Playstation 3, is well... floundering with the competition. It has no spectacle game to garner appreciation from fans, and the hardware may be the best out of the existing gen consoles, but has yet to shine.

On a side note, I'm now tempted to buy a Sony PSP. Damn Squaresoft =/. They're re-releasing Final Fantasy Tactics, with FMV upgrades as well as new playable characters, AND new character classes. Damn them *shakes fist* On the other hand, I can break into it and try 'homebrew' applications which seem to be popular in the PSP crowd with installing emulators allowing the user to install old games like SNES and PSX roms. Hrmmm...

A random quote from a Chinese proverb. "One joy shatters a hundred griefs"

Odd Videos

I just found these off the front page off torrentspy, but they're awesome nonetheless.

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/112363/Marble_Based_Calculator.html
This one is a marble based binary adder machine. it's pretty amazing how people think of these type of designs. some people don't understand the intricacies of this design and think it's stupid because you can count faster in your head. In truth, if early mathematicians did not invent binary, the modern computer could not function as it does.

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/112532/Spider_Man_Speed_Painting.html
Uhm. Crazy. I have a hard enough time drawing simple lines with my tablet. I can't even imagine how professional artists draw digital paintings like this.

Alias

I was a little apprehensive to start Alias. I have so far been discontent with J.J. Abrams and Lost.
So, after finishing season 1, I am hooked. I'm so on the edge of my seat, and quite confused as to why I haven't watched it before.
It's not really as confusing as other people have claimed. It's heavily serialized like Lost though and heavily detailed so missing one will definitely create a blank in the story.

Aiyee. I'm happy though since I have something to watch. Especially so since everything other show on television is on summer break -_-. My current lineup of airing shows is Standoff, Traveler, and 4400 just started season 2...
I actually thought Standoff was cancelled since it just disappeared for no reason. Or maybe it was just me expecting every new show being written off left and right. Since Jericho managed to fight that off with loyal fans, maybe I should go watch that too.

Information...

...is a dangerous thing.
Apparently, I struck a chord with certain individuals that did not know me very well prior.
They felt that I needed to know some things even though they did not directly affect me, and probably should/would not know any other way.
Privied information, is definitely a very dangerous thing.
I'm not as concerned as much of what I should do, but rather how to digest the information.

It affects me, indirectly, only because I know it now. Even then, it's paradoxical because had I not known it, it wouldn't affect me at all. The information serves as information that could give me potential insight, but for now it merely hinders my judgment because I will be second-guessing. Information is dangerous, especially if it exists in a state of flux.

Heed it, and I may avoid the rain, but carrying an umbrella everywhere.
Ignore it, and the sun may still shine, or I may be struck by thunder.

New Phone!

I got my Sharp Vodafone 903SH today!~ Thx Tim.
At least now I've got an alternative camera to use. The 3.2MP resolution is decent for a phone camera, and it looks snazzy.
My yuppie factor just went up a notch.

I don't know what it is lately. I've been feeling so tired lately. Sigh. I'm too tired to do anything by the time I get home. Well, the drive home has gotten worse too. Some traffic changes in North Van, and it takes me nearly half an hour to get out on to the Ironworker's Memorial bridge. It's retarded. 30+ minutes for <5 km. I need to find an alternate route.

Difference

When I set out to make a widget last year, I was merely trying to think up of something simple, easy-to-use, and practical. It's a metronome, it keeps time, although not accurate as some would like, but it is a basic tool. It ticks in time. It pulses a beat. It's nothing fancy. I was hoping people would find it a practical tool. And yes, I have received responses to that degree, from musicians who found my widget to be an invaluable tool as an alternative to an actual physical metronome.

I received a letter from someone this morning who actually found another use for it. This person has asthma and does Buteyko breathing exercises to perform timed cycles of breathing. He/she was holding a stopwatch in front of their face to help keep their breathing on track. So, somehow, they managed to stumble onto my widget and thus reducing the strain of having to look at a stopwatch. I never thought this widget would make such an impact in someone else's life. But I thank them for letting me have an insight to how my work has made a difference in the real world.

Airport Drama

I'm so tired. I went twice to the airport tonight. The first time, I had to pick up my friend's family. Then I drove them back to their house where they had to continue packing and then had to drive them back to the airport for their flight back to Manila.

I was also there last night too since I had to drive my sis and her family. The house is so silent now since all the kids are gone and it's only me and my mom here. It was pretty funnysad last night. My sis started to cry cuz she didn't want to go. Eisner started wailing too. He didn't wanna go back home. Haha. Funny thing is, nevermind that all the luggages have been packed, or that they were at the airport; the thing that finally hit him that he was leaving was when my mom hugged him and told him goodbye. Haha. He was wailing from the food court area, into the washroom and all the way to the security checkpoint. It must have been a solid 5 minutes going. "Nooo I don't want to go back to Balut" haha.

Little Elle on the other hand was pretty silent. She didn't realize that she was leaving til she was at the security checkpoint doorway where she stood up in her stroller and waved with both of her hands. Oh so silly.

It was pretty dramatic too. In the main hallway at YVR where the terminals and the food court meet, some lady was in a hurry rushing with her cart. She either tripped or bumped into someone and took a huge fall onto the floor. It was so odd because right beside her were 2 officers. They didn't look like airport security b/c they had their vests on. I guess it was a good thing they were there so they could call for help a lot faster. She was pretty hefty so I take it she was in pretty bad physical shape. The officers lifted her up to see if she could stand, but after a second she just collapsed back down. It was another 5-10 minutes before the paramedics/fire truck arrived.

Considering how immediate the call for help was, it certainly took a while for the emergency responders to get there.

z95 = 95crave?

so z95 is gone... I'm gonna miss Nat and Drew in the mornings since they're so funny ragging on anybody in the news. It was a good start to mornings, but now that's gone, I'm wondering what I'm going to listen to instead. I'm hoping they find a good alternative for their morning time slot since my commute is pretty long.

I can't see I was a very big fan of Z with their repetitive playlists. But I did like to listen at least on the drive home. Sigh.

暑い!
Actually, it's not as hot today because all the windows are already open prior to me arriving which is a first.

There's some tv show filming across the street from our office. They're filming inside InterAction Computers. Apparently it's Eureka. I've heard of the show, but I haven't seen it at all. There aren't any big/well known actors on it, so it's not as exciting, but it's still awesome to see all the buzz and electricity with filming tv. Maybe if I keep walking around down there I can sneak into a shot. lol

Perspective

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWyJJQbFago

I think this video his an awesome message for people of all nations. We can make a difference as a citizen, and that our votes really do shift power. Things can be skewed because of what we see on television, and one way or another, we are all the same. I'm not trying to convince you to believe anything except be open to the possibility that not everything is as it is portrayed in the media.

People should strive to understand perspective and truth especially when they are many sides. There is truth in every perspective. But there is only understanding when you see all perspectives.

I broke my camera

*tear*
That's what I get for trying to clean the sensor. My poor Digital SLR. My poor Canon Digital 350D. It's actually not that bad. It's just a little pin I broke, but yet, it's still broken now even though it's such an insignificant piece of the camera. (I broke the 'Sub-mirror hinge'. It's a design flaw that Canon made it so prone to breaking, even if it is within the body of the camera. Repair is a...option. Not a financially reasonable option since it would cost about $200 just for labor, and the camera body is only worth around $500 now. So, I might as well get a new one.

Oddly, I would have thought I'd be much more upset. I think I would have flipped out about how I broke such an expensive piece of technology, but I'm just mellow right now. I'm more worried about not having a camera on hand rather than the fact that I just rendered a 1000$ camera useless. I'm totally Zen right now being immaterial, or I'm a complete idiot.

Free energy?

http://donklephant.com/2007/05/28/video-more-on-saltwater-into-fire-technology/

It's an interesting experiment which has the potential to change the world in limitless capacities...if it works.
If it doesn't, then well, maybe he's just found something that looks cool and help introduce more kids into science.

Feelin good

I'm ecstatic.
This was an awesome weekend.
I'm really lovin these new shoes my sis got for me at Aldo.

I'm havin a blast in general. I went for dinner with friends at Banana Leaf on Friday, dinner at Mad Greek with family on Saturday. Went sorta shopping with my sis this afternoon. Just chillaxin and relaxin for my b'day. I'd post some pics up of my shoes, but I can't find a pic of it online, and I don't have my camera on hand to take a shot of it. Urgh. I'll do it tomorrow! (if I remember to bring my camera home)

Rules

"Although being bound by constraints was tedious...
I couldn't bring myself to accept a life free of them.
In the end, it made no difference whatsoever."

A quote from Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society

Ghost In The Shell always delves into interesting issues of politics and psychology. It's a little deep for the majority of people, but that's alright. It is like my own little private treat to be able to think at a much more intellectual level.

The above quote makes me think of people who are unsatisfied in their life. Stuck in a crummy job, having to go to school, bad financial situations, or anything where they feel like they would be better if X happened, or if Y didn't happen, or if they were Z. I believe the truth in the quote is that even if we change those factors, we would still be the same. You're more likely going to make the same good decisions, the same bad decisions, and be the same person even if your situation changed in that one aspect.

You can't play the blame game, because it's not going to move you anywhere. Believe in yourself. Mistakes aren't fatal if you use them as steps rather than poring over the fact that they occurred. A masterful painter does not stop each time he makes a mistake, he weaves it in to his masterpiece.

(I think I'm somewhat of a hypocrit. I don't completely believe in what I say here. But by saying it, I am making myself believe in it a little more every time)

Yummm...

I picked up some of those Anna's Ginger Snaps from Costco. Odd though, this is the first time I've seen it being sold elsewhere, i thought Ikea was the only place selling them.

Tonight's Simpsons was hilarious. The 400th ep spoof of 24 has been one of the best eps I've ever seen. Especially with the Jack Bauer lines, hahaha. The split screen zooms! Ah, I can't believe how masterful of editing techniques used in 24 were genius.
The Family Guy ep was pretty funny too. It was a spoof of Back to the Future. Agh.
HAHAHA. OH right, The random chicken fights! They finally introduced how it started. Hahaha.

The most exciting week on television!

This has got to be one of the best weeks of television I've seen because it's Season Finale week!!

CSI NY, Criminal Minds, CSI, House, and Numb3rs had some crazy episodes, some which aren't done but are leading up to the final ep for next week. Bombs, Drugs, Terrorists, Serial Killers, Jerks, Espionage, Codes and Ciphers. WOWWWWWWWW!

I can't wait for Monday's ep of Heroes. How are they going to stop Syler? Will they even be able to stop him? Zomgwtfbbq!

What is Technorati?

I've heard the name, but I'm not actually sure what Technorati does. I'm too lazy to wikipedia it right now. Haha.

Technorati Profile

Who says bosses are nice?

I do! From buying pastries to doughnuts on a semi-daily basis, the boss(es) at our office are always buying stuff for everyone to eat. Just today, our boss brought in Tim Horton's Iced Cappuccino's for everybody!

Haha, hooray for bosses who like to feed! Too bad my conscience isn't smiling, it's going "tsk tsk tsk. Calories". Oh, did I forget that I mentioned that out loud? I said "Thanks!" to my boss. I then began shaking my head and actually said "Calories!" and my boss had a good laugh. =D

Haircuts x2

My sister commented on how long my hair was, so I dared her to cut it. She did... Except she only cut it on the back. Because she didn't know how to cut the front or sides. I was looking pretty silly with long hair from the front but it was nice and short in the back. Haha. That was Sunday, and so I kept my hair like that for the past day and a half to make her feel guilty.

I finally went and got it cut today. I went to some barbershop/salon on Lonsdale Ave half a block from work. Now my hair is all nice and short. And I look like an Azn gangsta again!

Here's a random pic of me, my sis, and her daughter Elle:

Popular in absence

I really haven't paying attention to my portfolio site at all. I created it mostly just to display my work and maybe give my resume that needed web edge. A friend of mine just recently talked to me about site traffic and I strolled on over to see how much traffic I was getting.

I haven't done anything on the site in over 3 months. Yet, my traffic keeps increasing on a progressive weekly basis. I'm guessing all the buzz is based on Metronomic, my metronome Os X widget. I also checked my site referrals and I guess it didn't hurt that I got mentioned on a widget watch somewhere: http://www.applelinks.com/index.php/more/widget_watch_friday_february_23_2007/

I'm pretty sure that the majority of the users are still flooding in from the Mac OS X Widget site. But still, it's amazing, I'm getting an average of 1574 UNIQUE visitors each day. That number is accurate as of today. Some other useless statistics that seem pretty silly considering I haven't updated the site, so it's ALL about that widget.

These are UNIQUE, because the TOTAL one includes repeats is actually even higher at (Total Visitors for Year: 361710)
Total Visitors for Year: 212433
Total Visitors for Week: 2522 (more like for today, mon, May 14th + 3 hours tuesday). The actual count for monday is just shy of 2200.

Graph Summary:
Total Bandwidth for Year: 2 008.01 MB
Average Per Day: 14.87 MB

My widget is only 68Kb...

Deja Vu at Stanley Park

Most of my deja vu's have been from dreams I've had anywhere between 3months before to a couple of years before. Today's was probably the most closest period of difference I have noticed. I experienced a deja vu walking towards the ice cream shop at Prospect Point in Stanley Park. The moment that struck me was when I was thinking of going down to the shops to buy some ice cream.
I think I had this dream/memory about 3-4 days ago. I'm still trying to determine if I'm crazy or not, and if I can really dream into my future. The concept sounds absurd, in a rational mind of though. But.... you never know, right?

Colbert Vs Rain

HahahahA! That was one of Colbert's best throwdown videos ever. Subtitling "He's singin in Korean" when he was also saying that in English. Classic.
But! BEST OF ALL. His challenge "Rain, I'm gonna be all over you like egg on a bowl of bipembap!"

Hahahaha. GO WATCH THIS! May 10th ep!

Dazed

I'm a little knocked off balance right now. I went on a 1-night cruise last night from Vancouver to Seattle. Got back this morning. Basically we left around 6 yesterday, and then arrive in Seattle in the morning and take a bus back so we got back around 12. It's a really short trip, but it's something to do. Haha It's like a mini-vacation.
The fare was pretty cheap, it was only 120 CDN per person, including transfer and taxes. I'm not too happy with the cruise line though. The restaurants were closed pretty early. I usually expect some place to be open 24 hours since, well, that's what cruise lines are good for, food, food, and food, whenever you want. We rode NCL, or Norweigan Cruise Lines. The food is my only complaint since we didn't really get to try much of the other facilities. But as is, it's a cruise ship and if it fails on food, it fails in a very major way.

The cheap fare is good though, hopefully I can find some other ones like this but on other cruise lines, they're pretty fun as a weekend trip if you have nothing else to do. :D

Humidi-bucket

I can't believe Canucks lost tonight after starting with a 2-0 lead. Sigh, now they need to come back from a 3-1 deficit.
As you can see above, I'm trying to make a makeshift humidifier. For the past few weeks, I've been waking up sniffling and stuffed up. It's pretty much gone now after all the vacuuming and cleaning and almost dust-free in my room, but it's odd because I'm still waking up to nosebleeds. I'm guessing the dry factor now. I don't really have a humidifier, but apparently having water in the room works as well? Hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow not having to worry about my nose for once.

Irony

THE definition. I got my first paycheque. Woohoo! Guess what, the amount on it is a lot more than I was expecting it to be too. Double Wooohoo!?

Oh hell no. obviously not, I can't even cash it b/c they gave me too much. Is it so wrong to cash money I don't deserve? It's not my error, so, why not? Haha. Hopefully I can get this cleared up and get paid the right amount, or take an almost 2x pay increase, that would be Woohoo x3! =P

Cleaning Blinds SUX

I just spent more than 3 hours cleaning my blinds. I'm sure I didn't get all of it since one of the 3 sets is behind a table and I can't reach the top part, but I'm too tired to care right now.
My blinds are the standard aluminum ones, so I had to be pretty slow when I was wiping them.
Ungh, they're white so, yeah, the amount of buildup actually shows up when you're looking carefully. I didn't really notice since you can't really notice the white blinds darkening... geez.

So, remember to dust off your blinds even if they look clean, simple dust sweep can help you avoid loads of trouble later =/.

Hopefully this will help my allergies. If that's what is causing it anyway.

Soldier immigration

I just saw this on The Colbert Report yesterday. It's kinda funny and yet it's sounds like something that might hold some weight because it's so absurd. It's about the US' two major problems of lack of troops and the issue of illegal immigration. Well the concept was to offer legalized immigration for serving time in the military, but more specifically the current need of troops in Iraq. It's 2 problems that potentially could solve each other and make the US the benefactor at the end killing two birds with one stone.

It's a little silly, but the fact that Colbert brought it up just makes it even more absurd. But that's why it sounds so reasonable. The US can't possibly come up with that number of troops/new drafts, and there's still no way to control the influx of illegal immigrants from the Mexican border. There's also the existing illegal immigrants which still amounts to a lot. A lot of troops that is!

AHH YEAH

Been such a kickass week so far.

That intense game 7 against Dallas yesterday was so gut-wrenching especially after that terrible first period. But at the start of the second, the momentum shifted for Vancouver and never went back, and then started the parade of the Stars into the penalty box.

Anaheim game tomorrow night!

I left work early yesterday. For reasons that are obvious, I wanted to get home in time to watch the game. But, it was also fortunate that the phone grid in our area was down so no phone lines and no DSL = no work. So I got to leave early and even in terrible traffic managed to get home in time to watch the whole game.

I got off a little easy today too. I pretty much only did work half the time and spent the rest waiting for my boss to set up my next task, which he never did get running by the time I left.
At this rate, I'm going to be winning the lottery!

Wheee!

Stupidity

Is it fair to shout at people even when they deserve it?

After watching the Canucks play a terrible game and moving them into a bad position after leading the series 3-1, they're now tied up at 3-3 and risk elimination on Monday. It's bad enough watching your home team do badly, but afterwards, about 2 hours after the game, my friend messages me saying "we're winning". I try to explain that the game was over and Canucks already lost, oh but no... it continues, "no" "the show it's on tv right now" "and i was watching with my bro" "it does say Vancouver" "i'm not blind Jeff" "my whole family was watching" "it's still on tv!"

Tensions run high especially with sports, but even more so since it's national playoffs. Honestly going up to someone after the team just lost badly and say "we're winning", how do you NOT expect to be ridiculed and spoken to like an idiot?

She wouldn't acknowledge that the Canucks lost and defender her claim and told me to go watch the channel. she also tried to cover herself by claiming that she hasn't watched recently. Seriously, you could see clearly on the rink that it says "Giants" which is obviously not "Canucks" and why would they be playing "PG". Any somewhat aware Vancouverite would know we're playing Dallas. Someone who can't tell the difference between junior leagues and the NHL, and who are claiming to be a fan and to cheer them on get pity from me. You don't get to pose and pretend to be cheering for the hometeam when you don't even know what they look like. Poser. Just because you pretend to know what you are talking about doesn't mean you can run your mouth off. Ungh. I don't know why this is pissing me off so much.

CANUCKS LOST BAD. THEY WERE NOT WINNING AT ANY POINT IN TODAY's GAME. YOU DO NOT GET A RIGHT TO CALL YOURSELF A FAN IF YOU THINK THEY WERE WINNING TODAY. DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT 100$. YOU GO DIRECTLY TO THE LOSER BOX.

Yum Ensaymada!

I'm here eating a Goldilocks Brioche with CHEEEEEESE ensaymada. DAYYYYYAMN. So buttery and oily = So goooooood, and so badddd. I haven't had these in a few years so it's a little indulging. It's not as good as a true Goldilocks Ensaymada from Manila, but hey, this is close enough!

Canucks Lost =(

Though that was probably the best game I've seen the Canucks play. Over the whole series, I think this has been the only game where I've seen the Vancouver Canucks put pressure and play aggressive for all 3 periods + OT. Even though we lost, I still think Canucks will get far in the playoffs as long as they keep playing like this and Luongo keeps pulling ze magic rabbit out of ze hat. Unless he uses tonight's rabbit, then that's no good.

Hoping for Canucks > Dallas Stars 4-2 on Saturday. Game 7's are too stressful. yup yup

First day at work

I started today at Sentias. I'm still trying to get used to driving to North Van. The drive commute isn't too bad. It gets clogged in a couple of places, but it's relatively pretty fast and takes about an hour from Richmond.
Everyone's pretty nice there so everything is pretty relaxed. =)

Note to self: go abuse the free coffee machine

Lab Rats

Haha. I just watched last night's episode of CSI. I just LOVE the damn miniature killer storyline. Compound the fact that last night spotlighted the B-characters like Hodges. It was getting a little cheesy until the point that Hodges explains that it was lucky day.

With the corny happy music, then the episode felt truly alive. This is what makes the original CSI the most intriguing of all is its oddball writing and oddball characters. Definitely one of my fav episodes ever!

Now what's with the bleach?

4400

I just started watching the 4400. It's a really interesting show to say the least. The choice of Vancouver as a filming choice definitely weighs as both as a pro and a con for me. I love to see them filming here, but I really couldn't take the show seriously with all the different locations of the story when I know that they're all just different buildings at UBC.

The choice of music is pretty similar to what I listen to, a little bit of dramatic flair with Nara by ES Posthumous, but a little redundant. The acting seems like a second rate sci-fi show, but the writing is pretty captivating. I love the little choices of morality, and the decisions of regarding the 4400 as humans or not. The show just reminds me of the X-men cartoon so much. I'm somewhat hooked, and I'm a little disappointed at how few episodes there are.

Milk?

I really can't figure it out. Starting this morning, whenever I swallow my tongue and my mouth tastes like I'm drinking really creamy milk. It's weird but it tastes delicious. haha.

I had my second interview with Sentias today. It was a short interview with just the programmer/engineers. I think I did okay, I'm hoping I'll get an answer soon. Hmmmm...

On-the-fly blogging

I just heard about this concept. People are getting sick of myspace? Apparently they are shifting to something that's even more erratic and constantly messaging you now with new services where you can notify where you are and posting useless notes about what you are currently doing/feeling. I'm not just what type of social journalism society is going to create by exploring this type of technology, but I am certain it will be socially disruptive.

Sites like Twitter or even Google's Dodgeball has somewhat of a networking/community attraction. It's something that's never been tried before and truly brings people together, synchronize, and perhaps share a bubble of consciousness so that you always know what your friend is doing. I view this as destruction of privacy though, but then I guess this is what the users of those services actually want. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept, and I will concede that Google's Dodgeball is very useful if you just want to see if anyone is in your vicinity and invite them to come visit you. Yet, time will tell if social networking will actually advance society by integrating technology, or simply just creating another distraction that people will find a burden onto themselves.

That voice

I gotta give props to Don Lafontaine. He has such a strong voice and a big sense of humour in that vid. Haha, I wish I had a voice like that. You could just narrate your own life and make people stare at you.

Kitchen Gadgets

I just found this article on CNN. I'm working on that recipe project right now, and hopefully I can interface it into that existing recipe app they have for ipod or even make my own.

Definitely take a look at those Tanita Digital Scales! It's not exactly a necessary piece of hardware, but they look so cool. Mebbe I'll go get one if I actually get serious about cooking more. Hehe!

Jerks

I just read this article in Time magazine. It's a nice realization if it is true that these types of people are being ousted because of their behaviour, because if they didn't, they wouldn't know or care, and they'd still be disrupting everyone else. But I guess the article may have some point (that it vaguely describes) of how you should keep some of the jerks.

They may be more valuable to you rather than handing them to the competition.
They may give your work environment a necessary foil to keep everyone in check.

But I really don't see the benefits of those 2 things (because I can't think of any other positives) outweighing majority of "jerk environments" that exist in the real world.

[I guess this argument could actually apply to non-work related environments as well, I was actually considering the entire discussion on any type of situation. People should definitely be assholes at work, and neither should they be anywhere else. Except in sports, everyone likes assholes at sporting events (unless you're sitting beside them). They provide free entertainment!]

Allergies

I've been feeling nauseous for the past week. Lethargic, and sneezing like hell. I'm guessing it's because of allergies, but didn't come to that until a while, I've never really been affected like this before.
I spent most of yesterday cleaning my room. Didn't realize how much dust there was... and changed all my sheets. I took some Claritin which helped alleviate my symptoms somewhat. I still feel a little bogged down, but I'm guessing it's probably not the dust anymore, more likely pollen or other Spring-related allergens.

A little Spring cleaning goes a long way!

Javascript Joy

I've seen many webpage actually have Lightbox to create their very interactive looking image loaders on websites, but I never actually realized what it was called and that it was a free toolkit until now.
So... based on some recent incentives to explore Javascript and AJAX, I am currently applying updates to my portfolio/website.

I've implemented a blogger RSS feed to my website as my home page news loader so that I can just post updates from my blog. I should have done it a while ago, and well, whatever, it's done and I'm happy as the site is a lot more easier to maintain now.

BUT, I have got to link you to my gallery page to check out my photos, but not only is viewer different, but I have also added, oh, about 60 more photos. It's my best work, in my opinion anyway. I'd like to see what kind of feelings my pictures evoke.

I'm not sure what to think of the unfolding hostage situation in Manila right now. It's a serious situation for sure, guns, grenades, children, hostages... But I'm tempted to chuckle and cheer for the hostage takers as they aren't the standard "we want money" or "free our compatriots" types. They aren't negotiating for money or ideological or even political reasons. No, they're arguing for a champion's cause, to ensure education for the children. (Okay, I guess this may fall under the political umbrella) Sure, terrorism isn't a RATIONAL means of negotiating, but it gets people's attention doesn't it?

Am I boring because I like to learn?

I spent most of yesterday night scouring and devouring wikipedia. The topic you say? Carl Jung. The psychologist.... well... psychiatrist who founded analytical psychology, or similarly, Jungian psychology

I've been meaning to read into psychology a lot sooner, but I just managed to do so now. I'm very interested in Jung's work based on what I've absorbed yesterday. His theories of archetypes, collective unconscious, duality(self vs shadow, and anima vs animus), and of course, dream interpretation. I could go into each of these topics for hours and delve into the specifics and interpretations, as I'm so fascinated by his work. From what I have noticed, Jung seems to be more focused in personalizing a person's psyche to be interacting with the collective unconscious and behaves differently each day depending on daily interactions, like dreams. His approach is contrary to the Freudian train of thought where each person is merely a definition of their past experiences. Freud's interpretation of dreams as merley an outlet for the subconscious really destroys the view that dreams can be a form of communication to other people.

Well, I'm a dreamer, in the non-literal sense. I have to go with Jung and seek spirituality in our dreams, to follow Freud and believing dreams are the mere musings of our subconscious would shatter my optimism for a deeper meaning in the subject. Besides, Jung's theories make much cooler plot devices in movies than Freud's Oedipus complexes or his crap of psychosexual development.

Sometimes what we need...

...is a new plan.

The last line from tonight's Grey's Anatomy could not strike closer to the heart of the matter.
My plans have so far fallen through, and am now thinking of shifting to my secondary, and tertiary plans.
I'm spending more time worrying about things than actually executing my current plans and thus forcing me to constantly re-evaluate what I'm doing. Counter-productive, definitely. Yet, how can you compel yourself to ignore your fears.

Plans are so much easier when they're nice and exclusive, but when they overlap, how do you decide which one takes priority when you don't even know if any will work.
Well, obviously banking on winning the lottery is still my favorite, it's probably the one plan I should stop counting on. =)

The next great idea...

...is so impossible to think of.

I've been thinking what I could do as a web-app project, that for now is just so I can flex my e-muscles and get acclimated programming in JavaScript/AJAX yadda yadda.

I had an idea last year to make that web-based photo editor, I mentioned it in an earlier post, and yeah, that was the only sound idea I had. Right now, I need suggestions so I can get on track.

I have a couple of ideas I'm working on right now, mostly silly because it's hard. It's hard to think of the future! :(

Idea 1: A personal recipe cookbook type blog.
I say "personal" because I thought of this concept when I cook. I like to print off a recipe, and then maybe take notes. These notes would consist of what I thought of the recipe, results, modifications, future alterations, and anything I guess you would write reminding yourself of what you would do differently.

You could actually do this on a blog, but I thought if you could organize it in a more efficient database, you could make notes after you cooked, and so you could reference it in the future. This is just an alternative to a possibly endless and messy paper trail since you could do all this on paper.

But... what if... You could also get comments? This web-service could be more of a community-based tool IF you can have friendly group discussion. Eg. People could post their comments on things you've tried, and what they've tried.

This could blow out of proportion though with people arguing that you've stolen their recipes, but that's not really the scope of this. It's more of a personal cooking blog, but scalable so that you can share what you've tried to cook with your friends.

Actually... this works exactly like a blog concept. But unlike most food websites, I actually want to be able to store recipe data, and notes. A digital cookbook. A digital recipe archive.

I'm not sure, I still think it's a silly idea, but I feel that it has some merit.
Would love opinions on this.

I wrote Idea 1 up there as if I had another idea, I did... but I've forgotten again.
What have you ever thought that "it would be nice if there was a website that I could ....". I need ideas! I need the future!

Lao Tzu

I've been reading up on Lao Tzu quotes. There are a lot of them and they are truly words of wisdom to those who heed it. Some are obvious, yet still enlightening because they simplify it into thoughts one never contemplates about.

For jumping into the tomorrow:

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." -Lao Tzu

An interesting documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBWOEdy_-qM

This is a clip Cam sent me. I saw the documentary this clip was from last year on Discovery Channel. I really wish I could find a copy of it since it's a really amazing piece on insight into the North Korean frame of mind. A rare glimpse into their obscure shadowed society. It really is a refreshing blast of realization that people still do think like that even in modern times. A little bit of 1984, some George Orwell, and definitely a lot of communism.

Edit: I guess I was wrong, it was History Channel. The documentary is called North Korea: A State of Mind

Although it's a little biased on what you see, I guess it's still an interesting view into what life is like for them.

DST

Daylight Savings Time is such a big joke. Who plays around with time when people have more important things to think about. Not to mention changing it to being 3 weeks ahead. It's so silly.

I thought bad news was "good" news?

I hadn't heard anything about any major events regarding the NBA all-star game, this last February in Las Vegas.
I only found a vague reference in another article on CNN regarding the rap industry. Following up on this, I searched on Google regarding events related to the NBA All-star game. Apparently, because of the young NBA fans, which consisted of "gangbangers and trouble makers", violence and crime in the city shot up the 5 days during the event. I pieced most of this from several articles and blogs. The high volume of traffic caused delays at airports. There were reports of fights, shootings, robberies and probably several more which I'm sure aren't as dangerous but still serious.

Is there a news blackout regarding this event? Or... do "they" want this to be kept under wraps?

Here are some links which I cobbled all my data from:
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/offwingopinion/archives/007206.php
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/02/19/070220031716.fq28ybhs.html

Miami pics

My Toronto/NY pics got overwritten b/c of Flickr's silly 200 picture limit on free accounts.

But my Miami pics are up, so take a looksee!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30752270@N00/sets/72157594563447696/

Empathy

I feel like I have rage issues, but it only seems like it happens when I'm around my parents. My consciousness is a magnet for the feelings of the people around me. Earlier today, when my dad and I parked in a spot at Costco, some girl told us she was waiting for the spot. This was obviously a stupid statement since we were waiting at the spot where the person came out as soon as she was leaving. Circumstances aside, my dad went ballistic as soon as the girl assumed the spot should have been hers. He cussed and swore at her and shouted as if she had done something morally wrong.

That rage manifested in me so quickly. I really hate people who go ballistic over nothing. Even though my anger was focused more on my dad being an almost total jackass (he was in the right, after all), it felt like the world was mocking my idea of reason and respect. I personally didn't really care about the incident, but rather had emotions stirring in my head of people striking each other down, fortunately only verbally in this instance. This feeling of raw rage is quite rare for me. It's only happened one other time when I was in Australia, and again, it revolved around my dad.

Suppressed rage. Empathic consciousness. Identity inheritance.
I honestly don't know what to think of this.

My first hockey game!

I was a really big hockey fan when I was younger. I collected cards, watched games on television, memorized names, and even wanted to play in the minor leagues. Unfortunately, I never got anywhere with my passion for hockey since my parents wouldn't let me take hockey lessons. What I really wanted then though, was to go watch a live hockey game. I know it's pretty sad considering I live in Vancouver that I've never been to a hockey game until now, but I am exhilirated after attending it. =D

Canucks 4 > Coyotes 3
We had awesome seats. Section122 Row 6. Right behind the goalie's right side.
That first goal by Jeff Cowan. Man, that was crazy since my line of sight was right behind Curtis Joseph.
I actually hoped for an OT/Tie since I wanted to see a shootout. The seat had a great vantage point especially for those types of setups. I'm still happy that Vancouver won though. Hehe
Best random fan shout of the night has to be "Hey Sopel, get a haircut you bum!" Haaaaahahaha.

I told Melissa I wanted to see a shootout, and she told me that it doesn't happen here often, people in Vancouver are nice. As to what that has to do with shootouts, I have no idea. I have an idea what she interpreted it as, where people carry guns, but that wasn't the case either. haha

I definitely hope to go watch more live games!

It's a matter of perception

My left eye is swollen. As to how it got that way, I have no idea.

I am a little disheartened. I had an idea of a software product/service that hadn't been made yet and could have been my project to innovate the industry. Sadly, my friends never did get onboard so I never got anywhere, and now I realize that someone else came up with the idea at www.picnik.com.
The concept of a free browser-based photo editor. Easy to use. Portable. Free.
Oh well. It was an awesome idea. I hope they get their product up and running though.

Ginger Milk!

So, I tried cooking Ginger Milk today, and I'm pretty happy with the results. Made a little mess on the stove though since the milked boiled and spilled while I had my back turned for maybe 5 seconds.

Sweet and spicy. It's how I like everything. The one thing though is that I thought it had too much water, it wasn't solid enough.

I've uploaded some of my pics up on to flickr. However, they're mostly the photos from the Toronto/NY part of my trip. I'll organize the Miami ones tomorrow. Take a look at the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30752270@N00/sets/72157594538565916/

Back home

I'm more tired than when I left.
The past few days have been draining because of the travelling compressed into such a small time frame.

I'm so lost right now. I have a couple of options, too many worth considering, I need some kind of sign or something. Choices are never easy, and only seem so when they don't affect you directly. I have such a hard time trying to understand myself, what I should do, what I want to do, what I can do, what I will do. Each is an avenue of possibilities and deciding which path to take is hard, but acting upon them is even harder. The hardest paths are the most rewarding, I have no hesitation embracing the difficulties of whatever is ... okay no, that's a lie. What do I need to do to take the first step. It's like my feet are broken.

To - NyC - To in 52 hours

Yeah, So.... I just spent 16 hours in the last 2 days sitting in the car.

My parents + me + my aunt/uncle/cousin + other cousin drove down to New York City to visit our newly married cousin Ahya Clarence and Atsi Lisa. The drive itself was relatively straightforward. Well, we did stop at a really new casino in Niagara Falls called the Fallsview.
We started off from Niagara Falls around 1:00 at night, and we pretty much drove all night on I-90/I-87 and getting into New York City around 10:30 in the morning. We took a look at Ahya Clarence's new house in Queens. They have some home improvement issues to address, but other than that it looked like a nice neighborhood.

NYC Drivers
1. What are lanes?
2. Cutting? You mean switching lanes!
3. Who uses signal lights?

NYC has the worst drivers I've ever seen. I think I'd have a heart attack if I ever drove there. NYC also has the worst highway system. There's overpasses, underpasses, turnpikes, criss-crossed highways, and an absolute mess of a driving jungle. You need to make a minimum of 10 "exits" to actually get where you're going. There's no such thing as a straight-line route.
We went shopping as the first stop in our city adventure. We drove through the Holland Tunnel to visit the giant Jersey Gardens Outlet Mall in Jersey City, NJ.
It was packed so we didn't really spent too much time there, but I did get a new kickass pair of white Nike runners.
We got to try a pretty good Malay/Thai restaurant in Manhattan's Chinatown on the first night called Penang. The dishes we ordered were kinda... weird because multiple ppl were ordering, so it was half Malay, and half Chinese style food.

I got to go on a night tour around Manhattan with my cuz Charles' courtesy of his girl friends in the city. We ate at some place called Brooklyn Diner on 57th St. Their Strawberry Blonde Cheesecake was awesome! but I was too full and couldn't finish it.

The Apple store on 5th ave? YEAH. It looks so awesome at night! I didn't get a chance to see it in the day. I didn't realize it went underground, and the parking was really bad when we were going around that area so we didn't bother going in. The glass structure really just puts a lot of the other stores to shame because of the amount of space they took and how trendy it is.

Shopping mostly on day 2, but I got a nice walk around Battery Park. We missed the ferry to Liberty Island, so we mostly just checked out the antics of street performers in the park. "You'll see black guys run real fast! Without cops behind!" quoted from the performers themselves Lolz!
It was lucky we were going around on Sunday since there were less tourists, especially at the Empire State Building. I took some night shots from the 80th floor, but I'm not sure how they turned out yet. It was so damn windy outside on the walkway, I think I may have lost grip on my camera at least 5 times when I was taking pictures off the side of the building.
We had dinner afterwards at Carmine's, a popular westernized Italian place just off to the side of Times Square. I got to see the little post where they drop the New Year's ball!
After dinner, we started on our way back to TO. We left around 10:30pm and somehow got back to the border by 6:30am. Crazy non-stop driving. I'm still tired since I didn't get much sleep, although I nodded off quite a bit (No, I wasn't driving, or we'd all be in scraps of metal).

Toronto

Whew. It's freeeeeeeeeezin. Well not really. I feel okay, but apparently it's -11 outside. It's mostly the windchill factor. It doesn't feel that cold unless the wind is blowing, then.... it's REALLY cold. Haha.

I'm off to NY tomorrow, if the weather plays nice.

Shark Valley, Everglades

I'm still fighting off my cold. Still have a clogged nose. I'm still half deaf.

Today, I went for an excursion in the Everglades, particularly, Shark Valley. We took a 2 hour "tram" ride around the area. It was a peaceful ride. There were some small alligators, lots of birds, and... a lot more birds. The tour and the Shark Valley area itself is geared more towards birdwatchers, but it was nonetheless a really relaxing trip around the marshy Everglades.

I'm heading to Toronto tomorrow. Shhhwww!

Supahbowl Sunday!

Okay, I guess distances must really look closer on maps. It's actually 9.5 miles out to Dolphin Stadium from here. So it's not really a couple of blocks.

Miami

Today is my first actual day in Miami.
I've been gone for the past 5 days on a cruise in ze Caribbean on the Carnival ship, Imagination. We arrived on Monday in Ft. Lauderdale w/ a transfer from Toronto's Pearson, my god-mum picked us up from the aeroporto and we took a small lunch before going to the Port of Miami. That's why today's really the first day.

Itinerary:
Day 1/Jan29:
Depart
Day 2:
Day at Sea
Day 3:
Grand Cayman
Day 4:
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Day 5:
Day at Sea

Grand Cayman
Our cruise took us down to Grand Cayman to the city of Georgetown in le Cayman Islands! We took an island tour and I liked it! Though there wasn't that much to see. We didn't really get a chance to lie on the famous Seven Mile Beach (which is actually 5.5 miles, ask me later). The beach was beautiful! WHITE SANDS, plus the water looked so beautifully clean.

After that, we went to Hell. Literally! The city of Hell actually comes with its own post office so you can send postcards from Hell. It's kinda cheesy, but what else do tourists do? The name was derived from the local limestone deposits in the area which form up and create some very interesting rock crag formations which makes it look like you are in hell.

The next stop was my most favorite part of the trip. The Botswains Turtle Farm is a breeding farm for turtles. With a couple of varieties, but none that I can remember off the top of my head except for the green sea turtles which were the majority of the turtles in the tanks. The reason why this stop was my choisi favori is because I got to touch the turtles. I picked one out of the tank and, well... haha you had to be there... it freaked out. It kept trying to paddle away and slapping at my hands. These aren't the small turtles you normally think of either. The one I picked up was almost 2 feet at the longest diameter of the shell. Ah yeah!

We got to try out some of their local world-famous Tortuga Rum Cakes at the Tortuga Rum Company stores. It was just a little store with lots of rum products. So it was kinda meh.

We didn't really feel like exploring the shops in the area. There was definitely a lot to buy, but only if you have cash to burn. Grand Cayman is for the seriously rich and that's why all the high-end jewelry shops are there. Tax-free, and high-quality.

One interesting thing about the Caymans is that there is no property tax. If I have enough cash, I'd buy a property here. You just pay for the land + an initial 10% and then that's it. No more taxes to run you dry.

I'll post up pics later since I can't really upload on this comp. I'll post up my Jamaica experience tomorrow. I've been sick for today so... yeah, gotta crunch that cold for Super Bowl tomorrow. (I'm actually only a few blocks away from Dolphin Stadium. I'm wondering if I can hear the noise from here)

continued
Ocho Rios/Jamaica
We took the Prospect Plantation / Jitney Estate Tour which is probably one of the oldest plantations in Jamaica. We got to smell some really interesting leaves, like Lime leaves and Pimento (which is apparently different than the Pimento that you're thinking of reading this). We also got to taste some fresh sugar cane and some coconut with brown sugar. They grow lots of different fruits and it took a while trying to go through all of them.

At the end, we visited the Jitney Estate which was the house overlooking the edge of the water in the plantation. It's been visited by historical figures such as Sir Winston Churchill and some others. The location itself wasn't that interesting, but our tour guide and drivers were absolutely hilarious. Jamaicans will make fun of EVERYTHING. Yeah, mon.

Next! DUNN'S RIVER FALLS. This is one of those places that movie directors like to use. If I remember correctly, the most famous one was an old James Bond movie with Sean Connery. I didn't really understand what it meant to climb the falls when they told us. I only realized that when you get there, you are literally climbing up against the current of the falls. It's absolutely wonderful and majestic. It's so beautiful! But I wasn't able to get a picture since I was too afraid of losing my camera. I probably would have too since I dunked into the water a couple of times and I lost my glasses. We had to "bargain" with some of the locals to get it for us.
It ended up costing 40$ for some guy to get it for us. Oh wellz =/

There wasn't that much to shop for in Jamaica. Mostly souvenirs and junks.

Cruise related tidbits
Anyone who knows me knows I absolutely MUST TRY weird dishes. And that's what I did!
I gotta say the choice of soups was the most interesting...

Asparagus Velouté - a creamy Asparagus soup
Not so good

Strawberry Bisque - I laughed when I saw this, but I was compelled to try it
It was pretty good! It tasted like a light strawberry shake.

Orange Sory - I wasn't all too surprised with this since trying the Strawberry Bisque
It wasn't that good at all, the bitter orange taste made it unsavory.

Kickass dishes?
Nothing really, except for the honey-glazed Confit Duck. Oh man. It was so soft and tender and the honey-glaze tasted like some Chinese style cha-siu sauce, but better than any I've tried. YUM!

I was really disappointed at the Chateaubriand on the last night. It was pretty dry. Boo-urns. I really was hoping for a blow my mind experience for this type of steak, but woefully disappointed.

I participated in some game-show style trivia. A three-way competition to answer questions. I managed to beat out two girls and winning myself a free bottle of champagne! I forgot to take a picture of it, doh!

Miami-bound

I got a Hoya circular polarizer earlier today at Best Buy. I wished I had thought of getting one earlier, then maybe I would have been able to find one of better quality. It's alright though, since the one I got was pretty expensive already, costing about 80$. This last minute rush was hope to be able to get some good sky shots while I'm in Miami.

I'm leavin tomorrow and I'll probably be out of reach for at least the next 4 days. See ya!

Re-plugged

I got my new adapter today, so I'm re-plugged and okay to use my lappy again.

I've included some photos here of what the actual damage was on the adapter I sent back. Pretty scary stuff. Actually, it's not so scary in the pics. The smell... definitely the scariest of all...

Countdown: 3 days. I'm leaving Sunday morning!

Macbook Pro trying to kill me

Both of my index fingers look alright. They physically look complete and unscathed. However when I put a little bit of pressure on it, my nerves feel like they've been singed.

So... the cord for my power adapter on my Macbook Pro, is well, rather defective. I didn't notice it until now, but the plastic cord end housing near the mag-safe end is starting to melt. I think I may have singed my fingertips trying to touch it. I didn't notice since the damage wasn't really visible from the top. There are wires sticking out now, and the end of the housing is pretty much "blown outwards" like an umbrella, and partly melted in a couple of different spots. There's exposed wiring, and I could smell ozone when it was plugged in earlier.

Hopefully I can go get this changed out rather quickfast, since I'm not too happy not being able to work on my lappy. I am rather getting quite attached to my work environment being on OS X.

Banana chips

These banana chips I'm munching on are awesome. Crisp. Sweet, but not too sweet. Flavorful slices of candied banana. Mmm. The only downfall that is the last batch that I have. My mom got these from some small city in the Philippines, and it's not likely I'll be eating these any time soon. So, I'm savoring the last of these. yummmm.

Hopefully, when I go down to Miami, I can find some plantain chips that taste like this.

ETA: 11 days.

Back on the Rails!

It's snowing.... It's... -11 degrees right now, I'm hiding and not going outside. Too cold, there's been some snow here in Richmond, but it's still assailable. The next snow storm will definitely send the traffic into shock, though I'm sure it already is in Burnaby and Vancouver.

I'm taking another crack at Ruby on Rails again. I think I'm doing a lot better this time because I was thrown off by initial shock the first time. Attempting another try with a project in mind really helps so I can actually apply things on the fly instead of blindly reading through the manual. I'm getting the hang of it. I really must admit that the framework is genius. But it's still a bit esoteric in the examples / tutorials.

They really need a step-wise objective-based tutorial system to apply certain changes. I'm using the Agile Web Development with Rails book and the straight run through approach that they do is really unhelpful. It only makes me scratch my head and think I'm stupid because they're doing all these things in a few minutes while I take a couple hours to try and understand what single steps are for, and why they do it.

Hrm....

Countdown to trip: 16 more days

YouTube Channel Surfing

College Saga is a live-action RPG parody. It uses themes, concepts, and music from all of the classic console RPGs with twists and oddities that look even funnier with actual people acting them out. There's also a couple of outright political commentary, but nothing that's not common knowledge. The genius of it is that they mix the nuances of RPG's and are somehow able to use "actions" and convey it with blatant disregard for American figureheads. Haha, well, since the current American politicians are easy targets and always seem to work their way into mainstream media in the form of comedy, it just seems appropriate. But, I digress, the video speaks for itself.

It is probably funnier for people who plays RPGs, but it's just hilarious in its own respect.

Poker's Eve

I was at River Rock Casino tonight with my parents. My mom was playing the slots while, my dad and I were playing something called Pacific Poker. It's a mix in-between Texas Hold Em, and Lottery. We lost on 9 of the 10 tickets, but we managed to actually win on our last live ticket. Drawed a full house and managed to win back the original bets and then some. It was a lot because only 3 people out of... I have no idea how many actually, beat the house hands.

After that, I went home and continued playing more Poker After Dark Freeroll Tournaments for a shot at a table spot on the Poker After Dark tv show to play with pros. I almost won a spot to round 2 qualifiers, but I managed to lose again. This time though was my best finish with an unbelievable 3rd place. Had I beaten one more, I would have earned that spot. Oh well... I got a couple more days to try again.

If you're bored, take a look at me boxing on the Wii.