HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!

Wow, would you believe I haven't posted anything here for more than I month? It's been a busy time, and I guess there just hasn't been too much to post.

I hope everyone's had a great holiday season, and I'm sure you're all dreading going back to work. Fortunately, I don't share those feelings, because we don't take breaks here during the Christmas/New Year's holidays. Ok, not true. We had Jan 1 off.

My New Years was spent having a late hot pot, going to Taipei's City Hall to see the fireworks (watching the Taipei 101 fireworks, that is), and playing MJ until past 4am.

Since I couldn't be with everyone back home (nor everyone here in Taipei) to bring in the new year, let's do the countdown together right here, right now.

10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

[kiss kiss kiss] [drink drink drink]

Blacktooth

I like simplifying my life. I don't need fancy gadgets because they usually involve unnecessary complexity. Things like music libraries (iTunes, etc), PDAs, Bluetooth this and that, etc.

Alright, so I came around to thinking about Bluetooth. I normally wouldn't think I'd need something like that, until I'd thought of a good use for it. And finally, I did. Instead of plugging my Creative computer speakers into my 3.5mm headphone jack (which gets in the way because the jack sits at the front of my Asus F3Jp laptop), I could lose the cables by getting a Bluetooth USB dongle for my computer and a Bluetooth receiver on the other end which my existing speakers can plug into. AirLive makes such a little doohickey like that, which is shown in the photo.

So I looked online for a USB dongle - something that would Bluetooth-enable my notebook. Checked out some prices. And went to the computer district in Taipei to snoop about. I was pretty much settled on an Asus Bluetooth USB dongle, but decided to wait until I could find a Bluetooth receiver first, since I would have no use for a Bluetooth dongle otherwise. I couldn't find any AirLive resellers. AirLive even replied to my email, but told me they don't sell in Taiwan - or that the minimum order is $3000 (presumably USD). So my idea was dying.

...Time passes...

While using my laptop over the weekend, I noticed the a stickers near the keyboard was starting to peel at its corner. You know, one of those stickers introducing features included in your electronic product that you NEVER peel off - just like for camcorders, VCRs, etc. I digress. Anyway the peeling sticker was starting to annoy me, so I decided to take a couple of them off. As I peeled away at the first one, I read: Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR. Oh yeah! My laptop, which is only 6 months old, already supports Bluetooth! But as I've never used it, I just plain forgot.

"Well THERE'S your problem." - Adam Savage, Mythbusters

Fantasizing...

I joined a Fantasy Basketball league this year. Yahoo! Basketball

For those who don't know what that is, you can consider it a statistical game. A league consists of 15 managers (like me), and on a set draft date before the current season starts, we create our rosters by drafting NBA players. In our league, we have 10 positions and 3 spots on the bench. Our teams are evaluated based on nine statistical categories: field goal %, free throw %, 3-pointers made, points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and turnovers. So as the season progresses, the averages or sums (depending on the given category) is accumulated based on how players play in real life. This makes your team susceptible to injuries, inconsistent play, etc. And of course, we can make trades with other teams in our league, pick up players from the free agency, and all that good stuff.

So what does this all amount to? A lot of wasted time.

Since figuring out how to play the game (because there's a very, very slight learning curve), I've been staring at stats and reading news like crazy. Most of these guys, other than the superstars, I'd never even heard of. But now I'm hooked. It's a very day-to-day thing. I started off around 8th place out of 15 teams in my league. Then it's been a roller coaster ride 8th -> 5th -> 6th -> 4th -> 8th -> 12th -> 14th. After all this time I've spent looking at player statistics, reading news and expert advice, I'm in 14th place out of 15. Just horrible.

One big reason is that I've got no bona fide superstars. I have some good players, but they're not going to consistently put in double-double. I don't have people who can regularly drop 30 points on a night. And that really hurts. It hurts me inside.

All in good fun, right? Only when it doesn't mess up your mood. But it's a long season, and like mutual funds, we're in for the long run. Let's go, team MadMen!

A Meal For One - Photo Entry (Part II)

Title: A Meal For One

He misses her. The old man misses the 42 years of companionship, of memories, of life that was supposed to last forever. And so he sits in the shadows that hang over his loneliness, concealing the tears in his eyes. He has no thoughts. Just sadness.


Photo taken in Yokohama, Japan - January, 2007

Facade - Photo Entry (Part I)

As posted earlier, my entries came in second place in our company's photo contest. So, I thought I'd post a few here. These are my submissions under the category of "People". The judges said there would be extra points given to title and any added effort. So I wrote stories for each of my photos.

This first one is called "Facade".


Photo taken in Tokyo, Japan - January, 2007

Childhood Memories (Part 3)

Leaving some kids unsupervised for any amount of time can often lead to disaster. Looking back, I could have been one of those kids. But heck, I turned out alright.

One day during elementary school (I no longer recall how old I was anymore), I was alone at home. I had just filled an empty Danish butter cookies tin with water and put the lid on tightly. Who knows exactly why I was doing that, but kids with copious amounts of time on their hands tend to do strange things.

With a shared fascination with many kids my age, it seemed only appropriate to learn about fire by way of experimentation. So in the kitchen, I decided to light a piece of letter-sized paper on fire to watch it burn. Tipping the flame downwards, I managed to grow the fire to a mini blaze eating quickly away at the sheet. So large was this fire that I started to panic. Cleverly I thought "I'll just throw this away into the kitchen garbage." Our kitchen garbage was usually a plastic bag doubled in a large paper Safeway bag. So, I tossed the sheet of paper on top of the garbage, you know, hoping somehow the flame would miraculously extinguish.

Yet for some strange reason, the flame not only didn't get smaller, the garbage caught fire. Of course, I panicked even further. I couldn't get water from the sink to the garbage, so I did the next best thing - I got my Danish cookie container that I had filled with water not much earlier to pour its contents over the fire. But, with my fast-beating heart and my shaking hands, I couldn't manage the lid off the tin. So, I shook the sealed tin over the garbage, hoping water would gush out between the tin and its lid, putting an end to the inferno building in my parents' kitchen. Well, water did come out, but they only in mere drips. So with the same intelligence that got me into Engineering school, I ran to the washroom to grab my towel. "That's it, I'll blow the fire out."

Back in the kitchen with my towel, I frantically flapped my towel up and down vigorously at my new-found fireplace. And wouldn't you believe it... IT DIDN'T HELP. Finally, after the fire had incinerated the garbage bags down to the floor, it decided that I had learned enough of a lesson, and it didn't need to continue to burn the rest of the house down. It stopped.

Now I'm not sure how the rest of my day went from there on, but I'm sure I got into plenty of well-deserved sh!t from my folks. Maybe they'll remind me after they read this blog.

Naughty to Nice

I've been reading a few Marketing books recently, and I'm pretty sure this online commercial for Axe Vice is a good example of unnecessary spending of marketing dollars.

But it's a funny ad, and I might be inclined to try Axe Vice body spray or Axe Vice deodorant or Axe Vice shower gel.



In case the embedded link doesn't work, you can go directly to their site: The Axe Vice Naughty to Nice Program

Take a cold shower.

For a couple of months during the summer, I'd turned to taking cold showers. In July, I started swimming in the mornings before going to work. The rinsing shower at the outdoor pool uses cold water, although the pool water is pretty warm. I quickly realized how refreshing cool showers are on a warm day, and made the decision to turn off my hot water at home. So, while the weather was good enough over about 1.5 - 2 months time, I was only taking showers with un-warmed water. By "un-warmed water", I mean that I wasn't using water from the cold pipe, but water that's been sitting in my hot water tank (that I turned off) for the day.

So, my method of showering would be to start from the legs to get the body used to the temperature, up to the thighs, and then to the torso and head. Work better than standing under the shower head and pressing Go.

After a while, I found I didn't even like hot showers - although warm showers I could bare.

The weather has gotten cooler now (somehow even 23 degrees seems rather cool now), and I've gone back to taking warmer showers. But I would encourage anyone to try out cool showers (or at least to reduce the temperature of their shower water).

Give it a try.

Canadian on the Loose.

There's a Canadian that's been naughty in a couple of countries I've been to recently. Here's the story.

And guess who it is?
Homer Simpson.

Childhood Memories (Part 2)

We never had babysitters come to our house when we were growing up. Although when we were smaller, we would be taken to an auntie's house after school until our parents could pick us up after work.

So, when my parents were out of the house, I was usually left unsupervised - save by my brother and sister who probably didn't pay much attention to me. Dad and mom would lock their room door when they left the house, and it was probably a wise idea with mischievous kids like me. Unfortunately, wedging a folded piece of paper between the latch and the door frame is usually enough to successfully commit 'B&E for Kids'. Then I would go into their abandoned room, sit on the floor and watch TV (sometimes with a bowl of afternoon cereal). From time to time, I would fish for a few coins from the ring dish my mother used for her jewelry which also doubled as a loose change Petri. Other times, I would sleep in their bed.

The sound of an approaching car in the back driveway or the rumble of an opening garage door was my 2 minute warning for a getaway. Then I would tiptop towards the bedroom window which overlooked the driveway, and lift a corner of the window curtain, careful not to create too much movement which might give away my position. Once I had confirmed that the Eagle had in fact landed, I would take quick quiet strides towards the door, locking it and closing it on my way out -- cereal bowl in hand.

The most important element to burglary is not to leave a trace.

I would like to assure my parents (who read my blog) that I don't steal anymore, and that I'm sorry for the atrocities I've committed. Ummm... Ben told me to do it.