The Name Game.

My group at work is involved in developing a new product. So, over the last (long) while, we had a contest to "name that product". The winner gets an iPod (mini? 4GB? 6GB? I don't know.). I came up with a whole slew of names around speed and acceleration in verification, which is what our product provides to customers. Below's the list of some of my suggestions -- some are good, some aren't. I've removed certain acronyms to protect the nature of the product.

1) Farina - driver to win the first Formula One race in 1950 (Italian fellow), indicative of speed
2) Burton - chief of current world record Nascar pit crew, shows speed and allows the driver to get on their way quicker
3) Cheetah - for obvious reasons, fastest land animal
4) Peregrine - for the Peregrine Falcon, the fastest animal on Earth with speeds up to 175 mph
5) Cascade - out ability to speed up verification cascades through to quicker time-to-market
6) FICESS - [acronym]
7) REVE - [acronym] (also means "dream" in French, Reve with ^ accent on first 'e')
8) ICDREE - [acronym]
9) Presto - A direction in sheet music indicating the tempo is to be very fast.
10) Allegro - A direction to play lively and fast. === used by Cadence
11) Glissando - A rapid succession of notes, often played on the piano or harp by sliding the fingers quickly over the keys or strings.
12) Scherzo - Pertaining to the sonata form, a fast movement in triple time.
13) VESPA - [acronym] -- sounds good, but is also the name of a scooter company in the USA
14) VESPAS - [acronym]
15) Protexcel - Excel in Prototyping (pronounced "pro-tex-cel")
16) Delorean - The time travel car in the Back to the Future series of movies
17) Asimov - For Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992), a Science Fiction novalist and scholar
18) Fortengle - Forte___ (company) + "Engle", Madeleine L'Engle wrote a book called "A Wrinkle in Time" which is about cutting through time via a "wrinkle" (concept better shown in person), thereby getting from point A in time to point B in time much faster
19) Vitesse - French for Speed/Velocity
20) Arrow (System), Archer (Software), Crossbow (Hardware), Target (target board)
21) Derby (System), Stallion (Hardware),
22) RICESS - [acronym]

I think I narrowed this list down to 10 or so before submission. And then with all the suggestions of our group members, we narrowed it down even further before passing it up to the executives for a final decision.

The last word I got was that the race was between Presto (mine) and Forerunner (not mine). The company name that this will be marketed under is Forte____. I didn't even like Presto all that much as a name. So, in the interest of the iPod, I hope I win. But in the interest of the product, Forte____ Forerunner sounds much better.

Ah well, guess we'll just wait until the result is announced and hope I win. :)

Brilliant. Two weekends ago, when I returned to Hsinchu, I realized I had left my keys in Taipei. This left me in the rain until my sister could pick me up from my bus stop. So, with the spare apartment key I left with her, I had a place to stay, but was Scooterless In Hsinchu because, as it turns out, my spare scooter key was in the a locked drawer -- whose key, of course, was also in Taipei -- and whose spare key... was... in the drawer itself (of course).

So, I got my brother to courier my keys to me a couple days later, and I went to pick up my scooter from where I left it (in a parking lot). Low and behold, when I get there, I find that my scooter isn't. I knew it was towed and not stolen because that parking lot has recently been repainted with parking stalls and cleaned up. The way I had parked, squished in with other scooters in car stalls, would have been fine over the weekend, but not fine over the weekdays I left it there keyless. So, I had to walk in 30 degree weather to the Science Park Administration office, just a short 5 minutes, to find out where they would have towed my scooter. Then, I remembered I needed my scooter registration -- so I had to walk home first. In the meantime, I called my sister to pick me up to take me to the tow lot.

20 minutes later, she picked me up and with the map I got from the Science Park Administration office, we were on our way to the tow lot. On the road, something flashes by me, and I didn't immediately clue in. About 30 seconds later, I say "WAS THAT THE MAP?!" Sure enough, it was indeed the map. I had some idea of where the place was, but it still took 15 minutes to get somewhere only 5 minutes away.

The cost of towing was $250nt (about $10 cad), and the parking fine was $600. Wasn't a good day for me.

Here's something I hate. Any time I write a long email or blog, and my application dies, it just drives me up the wall. It's not the same as when I write a document for school or work, and I lose some work because my unsaved file crashes. That's a different kind of worry because the work HAS to be done.

Most emails and blogs are extra-curricular. Time doesn't need to be spent on them. I just write them because it gives me something fun to do. But all of a sudden, when I find myself re-writing the same content, that "funness" seems to disappear. The first time through, it's exciting, it's new, it's merry and gay. The second time through, it's repetitive and blood-boiling. Definitely one of the worst feelings I can have regularly.

Guess it was bound to happen: Adidas becomes the first company to put a computer chip into a shoe for mass marketing. The Adidas 1 analyzes the wearer's weight, speed, and surfaces and adjusts its cushioning support via a worm screw. Perhaps it was a matter of time before a shoe company decided to turn the traditional shoe into an electronic utility. There are only 60 of these shoes in Taiwan. I wonder how the market will take to it. Well... knowing Taiwanese people, in very little time, those 60 will be sold and there will be a line for the next 60. I wonder how much durability testing they've done. They can't claim "no moving parts" and wear and tear are always an issue with mechanical devices. Anyway, interesting stuff!

There's a line from Jay-Z's The Blueprint song "Takeover" I like:

A wise man once told me "Don't argue with fools. Because people from a distance can't tell who is who."

My brother was telling me a story about a couple of parents he saw in Vancouver carrying a stroller (with baby) down a flight of stairs. The parents accidentally dropped the stroller, that flipped forward, and landed in such a way that the baby's head made met the ground and caused a bloody mess.

"F***!" I exclaimed as I heard this.

And my cousin, who heard me curse, said "Don't swear!" And then I went on to tell her why I think it's okay to swear. And I share repeat parts of that lecture here.

So, some people say that those who curse lack vocabulary. I beg to differ. I think these words are (necessary) additions to one's vocabulary. Selective use of such "swear words" emphasizes the emotion and impact of the message given. What word can you think of matches the intensity of words like "F***!"? Do "shoot!", "oh darn!", "shucks!", "damn!", or "crap!"? Not in my opinion.

Of course, I wouldn't say that I have a particular attachment to the word "F***", nor do I condone excessive use of bad language. It's not like I agree with how some F'ing people will, like, F'ing swear whenever the F they want. Then it becomes a dulling filler word that lacks meaning. I'm just saying that there are times that call for this kind of energy, where other replacement words wouldn't do your emotions justice.

So, that's my justification of swearing. That's why I think it's perfectly fine to, from time to time, launch an F-missile.

Fast forward 53 years to a movie called Ong-Bak out of Thailand, starring Panom Yeerum (Tony Jaa). In many ways, it's got similar traits as Singing In The Rain.

- Lots of action based on the physical abilities of its stars
- No wires or stuntdoubles (well, may not necessarily be true with a Singing in the Rain, but at least they did their own dancing)
- A weak plot... but who cares?
- A low budget (

Ong-Bak is Panom Yeerum's personal showcase of his talents. In this film, Panom does some VERY impressive stunts, maybe not as creative as Jackie Chan, but possibly requiring more power. In some scenes, I think the choreography plays too much into a string of single stunts, although I won't deny that I would have said "holy crap!" four times in a row. I think it's worth watching this movie just to see some Thai guy do some amazing high-flying death-defying stunts, mixed in with some slick Muay Thai action. And the fact that this film has the low budget feel (although it's actually a pretty good looking picture) makes Ong-Bak, like Singing in the Rain, a refreshing show. Very non-Hollywood.

I watched Gene Kelly's Singing In The Rain (1952) for the first time tonight. A completely ridiculously over-acted movie with unbelievable dialogue, cheesy humour, and some fantastic dance numbers. Movies back then seem to all share the same simpleness - making it an enjoyable and refreshing ~1h40min. I also like the fact the Special Effects team is two people. A much simpler time.

Spring's around the corner. The Taiwanese Climate Control Committee has turned up the heat and humidity dials. The weather, amongst other things, is keeping me in a good mood, despite being busy at work. It's nice to get off work and still have some a bit of the fading sunlight. It was even warm enough outside last night for me to wear a sleeveless, shorts, and slippers while steering my scooter with my right hand, and holding three bags of garbage with my left on my way to the garbage truck some blocks away from my home. I felt very "tai (台)", as they say, or Taiwanese.

It's great to have some warm weather after what has been called an usually cold winter for Taiwan. In no time, the heat with be high enough that the tissues I lay down to cover a toilet seat with will stick to my butt (from sweat) when I stand up. Now doesn't that paint a pretty picture...

We share something special, my brother and I do: we share the same sense of humour. So unique it is that when we're out together, regardless of who else is there, we act differently than at any other time - perhaps just to entertain each other. I could probably say that my best audience is my brother. He brings the dork out in me.

I think it starts from finding the same things, jokes and humour styles, funny. And from there, it can be as simple as rehashing an old joke or referencing even just part of a line. Even one word said in an accent is often enough for him to know exactly what I'm talking about. He could say one word of dialog, and I could immediately jump in and finish it. Or vice versa. It's very synergistic that way. So, it doesn't take much to get a laugh or chuckle when we're out. In a group of ten, I could make an inside joke, and as long as he gets it, it was worth making - because I know we're both laughing inside. And it's actually pretty unbelievable how far back these jokes go! Some of them go back to shows or movies we saw, or something someone said, 15 years ago. We also know exactly what will work, and what won't, with each other. Now, I'm not saying that we're the Smothers Brothers or anything, but "on s'asume bien". I probably wouldn't be wrong to say that when we're out with each other, we are at our most immature states. At least I am. I'm at my most comfortable when I'm around my brother (my sister as well, for that matter, although she doesn't get a lot of our jokes... we're still weird to her). It's probably because I'm not trying to impress them, and I've always been their younger brother - so I'm entitled to some dorky weirdness, and they don't bother judging (anymore).

I can think of so many references that we would both get that none of you would get (excluding Nel). Here are just a few...

"You like beef? Beef! -- and I'm gonna show you how it's done." (12+ yrs)
"That's quite hot. Make it hotter!" (12+ yrs)
"There's a baaaaaaaahhhmmm!!" (< 3 month)
"Tissue... Shoe?" (15+ yrs)
"Pigu pigu " (2-3 yrs)
"Pickles... more pickles..."
"Wiiillll..." "Phil!" (10+ yrs)
A couple pets behind the neck... (15+ yrs)
Adding "ies" to anything, like "drinkies" (~ 1 yr) -- anything Dane Cook
"1-2-Hump! 1-2-Hump!" (15+ yrs)