The Brown Woods

A song of ice and fire

2011-09-12T23:32:00.002-05:00

I cannot get enough of this. Please write faster, ~~you fat bastard~~, I mean, I totally love that beard. Did you lose weight?

Is this the end of tyranny?

2011-05-30T18:36:00.001-05:00

Coach Tressel of tOSU resigned today. Is this the end of the dark ages for Michigan? Will sweatervest be forever remembered for the sanctions tOSU will eventually end up with?

2011-04-23T00:17:00.003-05:00

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Rebecca Black's Friday's lyrics analysis: "Kicking in the front seat, Sitting in the back seat", pays homage to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It depicts the injustice of the segregationist laws in some states in the 1950s. Rosa parks, was asked to leave her seat and move to the back side of the bus by a white man, which at the time, was required by law.

Rebecca Black attempts to capture the struggling emotions of a female minority in making the tough choice: To give in to a discriminatory law, or to uphold her own belief despite the legal pressure.

Prophets.

2011-04-22T03:34:00.002-05:00

On Good Friday, we think about this: Moses, Jesus, Mohammad, Joseph Smith Jr.

Seems like the prophets are getting less impressive as time passes. Does this mean god is running out of miracles?

Race for Japan

2011-03-17T14:14:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine decided to start an initiative to "Race for Japan". Go check it out here and support him and maybe make a donation.

Things I learnt or wish I learnt when I was in primary school

2011-03-12T02:47:00.004-05:00

I haven't been posting so a supah long one for anyone who bothers. TLDR if you don't care but I don't care if you don't care.

1) To give it your best

When I was 5 or so, I just learnt how to write and I was doing working hard on my homework. It was to copy some sentences or so for the teacher. When I showed it to dad, expecting his approval and amazement at my amazing, never seen before work of art, his reaction was a meek "Why is the lines so squiggly, and what is this mark here and what is this annoying arrow sitting at the end of the page?". Well, maybe I just spent the last 10 minutes trying to perfect the curve of each of the "f" I wrote. Maybe the mark was left by the eraser the 20th time I tried to erase it to fix the crooked "I" that I just can't seem to get right, and maybe the arrow means there is more on the next page that he didn't care to read. I was young, and perhaps in hindsight, it really wasn't a piece of work,

Repeat, and rinse with the repeat discouragement in school, where "passing" generally means you don't get beaten by a cane. (In modern standards, that warrants a child abuse sentence and perhaps jail time). You got to wonder what would come out of education systems like that. So in the end, students try to hit a "safe", "good enough" level, so that you would "pass", and there is ABSOLUTELY no encouragement for you to excel above your classmates, and no encouragement to differentiate.

Time travel 20 years into the future, I'm working at college or at a company, my teammates would give encouragements when I do well, and perhaps then I started believing that maybe "doing my best sometimes would be enough". I got to say, sometimes even when I did something at 80% I would get a pat on my back, and that makes me want to go the full length in the future. Maybe this time you can try your best, and try for good, instead of good enough. I need to be reinforced that there's a lot more potential past the "good enough" boundary, and that if you try your best, sometimes, just sometimes, it's okay even if it's not good enough.

Sometimes I feel like there is something missing in me. That when I am leading by 18-9 points in a 21 point ping-pong game, I can somehow find a way to lose 21-19. That I'm afraid of giving my all just in case it still wasn't enough.

2) To use your resources wisely

I've heard stories where students were required to mug the logarithmic/root table, or that some students were required to memorize the periodic table of elements, or even worse, the pin-out of an Intel 8086 chip that has already been obsolete even before they started school. Whenever I hear stories like that, I immediately know how terrible the education system is. So your sole purpose in learning is so that you can spit it out chunks of utterly unoriginal information?

What I did learn when I was 9 was this - If you had to do something, you need to use the right tool with the right resources. I was given tasks to do, approximately with crude underestimation, 500-1000 questions per session. Students were routinely required to complete 10-20 pages of math questions of approximately 50 questions a page. Sure, they were simple multiplications. some of them just 2 digits x 2 digits multiplications.

What I didn't learn is to power through those questions with "blind RAGE and DETERMINATION". In the speed of what it had taken me then, probably an entire day, and I don't think the problem was me being lazy, the problem was the math questions being uninteresting. And I think when a 9 year-old is being bored, he's probably not learning.

I don't see what I could have learnt that a mere 10 questions could not have taught. So what did I do? In fearing punishment, I found a calculator. Then, there is also resource, and in learning to save a valuable resource in this case, all my play time. I learnt how to "imagine up awesome houses, beautiful childhood fictional plots and pretend I'm eating ice cream and candy", instead of pouring all the useful brain power into some eventually, as I think you might agree with me, mindless grunt work. :)

So what I really do nowadays, is to use a machine, and when I write code, well, as all engineers do, we use specific softwares. And when we do it, we try to take out all the grunt work by writing scripts/buy software/hire interns do the boring ones. And when we're lost, we ask the wise Mr. Google, instead of trying to duke it out with the various enigmas of quantum mechanics on our own. To realize that the power of one is limited, and that great knowledge can be stored and replayed on machines. Then, a calculator, and now the internet.

I sometimes pity those kids who did spend their time trying to do a 4x4 multiplication by hand. All several hundred of those questions, each of them taking half a page of work. So you can see that when math becomes somewhat more theoretical, kids that used to excel in math no longer does so. And that's because they can no longer rely on drills and mindless mechanics.

In short, humility that a there is probably someone out there with an elegant solution to your problem, and reaching out to them. And avoid doing grunt work, like washing your dishes.

3) To ask for help when needed

For some reason, I have in the past asked for help from a friend when I forgot my exercise book. In primary school, that equals to the death. And I don't remember the exact details, I think it involved me buying a new exercise book during recess, and I don't remember what I did, but in the end I recalled that my friend and I both got punished.

Eventually I somehow made it through secondary school, and that really took a toll out of me in college. To go through calculus 1 without asking for help from the lecturer or other classmates really was the toughest thing I could have done. Granted it's a weeder course, but I guess things somehow changed. Ask for help when you need them. Always.

Also thank the inventor for Dish washers.

Other little anecdotes:

Joe Montana was asked how he became clutch in games. His response is "through practice", essentially mindless repetitions. What he was doing is essentially an athletic response, do something a million times, and you're less likely to make an execution mistake. So what do you do when everyday you're faced with a different challenge? The answer is to go through not doing mindless repetitions, and solving each problem with nimbleness and flexibility.

Anecdote 2:

Multiplications. In college back at Malaysia, there's a lecturer of mine that does multiplication really fast. He has never taken those commercialized arithmetic classes. However, he also does not do his math through regular multiplications. I think he might have developed his own technique somewhere, but he can do multiplication of 2 3-digit numbers faster that the students can punch it into the calculator, and that without writing anything on the board (all in his head). Sometimes he makes mistakes though, but at that speed you gotta make some concessions :). Plus a certain floating point unit we know makes mistakes too. (Sorry for those of you who don't know the reference. Computer Geeks who didn't know this please return your licenses at your nearest geek office). The thing is, he never told us how to do it, then after a while, my classmates and I refused to use the calculator, but try to match speed with him, each of us devising our own multiplication strategy.

At one point, I tried to multiply to the nearest 10/25/50/100/150 .. etc big round number , whichever was easier to handle and I can get a quick answer, then from there we refine what I call "the remainder", which is the overcount or undercount of that approximated answer.

Essentially I simply the 3-digit or 2-digit numbers into 3 problems, a multiply of 2 larger, easier 3 digit number, a subtraction/addition, and a multiplication of 2 simpler numbers (usually 2-digits, occasionally 1 digits). And the wonder of all that, is that every question has a different optimal solution, and you don't have to be a super genius to think of the method. But I don't think anyone could still match his speed. After all, he's been doing that for many years.

Other rants.

Tiger Woods. He's not special, he is just slightly more gifted than us in golf. But I'm not here to talk about golf, I don't give a mouse's donkey about golf. Yes that's right, I am here to talk about his scandal.

When you think about it, it's almost a given fact that he's going to falter, he's young and successful in company of fame and wealth. When he had the first affair and it went unreported for years, it's only giving him more reasons to be braver, and this probably induced him to think he's untouchable. At that point, there's no limitations for him, and even if he knows it's wrong, it's just hard to stop. You can say it's wrong to murder, but anyone can tell you that "you have not been starving for 5 days and there's an old lady with a loaf of bread". That's probably a bad analogy, maybe trying to quit smoking is easier :), cheap, accessible, and you regret every one of it - also it's almost impossible to quit.

It's tough to put yourself in a perspective that is fair to Tiger, almost. I'm not endorsing his actions that's because I'm not. What he has done to his family was wrong and indefensible. Just that as a person, he's no better or worse than anyone else. Is he any more evil than the CEO that lays off thousands of employees just so that he can afford a better yacht? Is he less evil than the dictators that gassed subjects not loyal to him? I don't have the answers to any of this, I have not been in the company of power or fame or extreme wealth, I don't know if and when I'm in such positions, I have the clarity of mind to do the right thing.

But if you say "I'm never going to slip up, no matter what" today, then you probably will someday. The only defense is to realize that human will has a limitation and everyone will falter at some point, and we have to be prepared to face the challenges and temptations.

Will you be able to always make the right decision? For me, the answer will always be a resounding "No". I will not fall under the impression that I can always make the right decision, A decision, no matter how much I think it meant brilliance, good, and fair for me and for the world, can be of sheer stupidty, evil, and injustice. I have to know I'm capable of making the wrong decision, before I deserve to make the right one.

10 things to do in 11

2011-02-26T01:10:00.002-05:00

Let's start with just a few and see how far it goes.

1) Write an android app.

Doesn't have to be anything fancy or approved by google. Something that prints "Hello World" counts.

2) Go to a sushi place and converse/place order with the waiting staff entirely in Japanese.

Seems tough but maybe I need someone to teach me how to speak Nihongo properly. Seems like good practice.

2010 Report Card

2011-01-08T16:41:00.003-05:00

1) Finish my artwork
Not really done, it's always the last part that is the hardest when you run out of gas. Drop this one.
B-

2) Learn a new song on guitar
Failed big time. F

3) Play FFXIII
Done.
A+

4) Learn how to use game engines
Barely pass. Should have spent more time on this. C-

5) Blog makeover
Made some changes, but not nearly as close as I wanted. B.

~~6) Buy a house.~~
6) Finish Japanese level 2 and level 3 on Rosetta Stone
was halfway through level 3 when PC broke down. A-

7) Go camping at least 2 times
- Blah. F.

8) Play Football for at least 15 weekends.
Maybe 5 times? C+

9) Go hiking
F.

10) Build my own computer

A+.

Overall grade = B-
Thank you world, happy new year and another year of broken dreams and unaccomplished resolutions.

I've got no push ups left in me.

2010-11-20T01:55:00.001-05:00

None. Zilch.

Yay. Bowl Bound. Please be on the west coast, I wanna go.

2010-11-06T20:43:00.001-05:00

Title.

Making a case for Sprint.

2010-10-28T03:54:00.004-05:00

Sprint fell close to 10% to 4.30 and for once I was glad I didn't have them, even though they were just 3.25 just a few months back. (I was this close to buying them ugh).

Anyway, to make a case for Sprint, we need to look at a few things. First, all communication companies have an expanding wireless consumer base and a shrinking wireline business. This is to be expected as we go to the 3G/4G world where smartphones are the up and coming "thing" in the new decade.

And we see that Sprint has a growing user base of 3G/4G smartphone users. 60% of new users on the Sprint network signed up for a smartphone. This translates into consistent long term income for the company and in the long run it might afford them some infrastructure upgrade to expand their 4G network.

The nations largest 3G network still belongs to Verizon, and bad news for Sprint, the big red folks at VZ are planning to crash the 4G party by launching their own version of 4G LTE network in 38 major locations. (10x bandwidth, what up?)

And if rumors were true, VZ would be adding the much coveted iphone to their lineup sometime early next year. If so it might steal customers away from T, as well as S, since it would be the first company to offer the Apple iPhone and 4G network at the same time.

But all is not lost, with the bump to 4G network, VZ looks to be spending multiple billion dollars over the next few years to increase market. How long will it take for them to make the money back?

If we're looking for an immediate cell provider that has the infrastructure readiness to service a broad number of customers, look no further than sprint and their already mature 4G markets.

I do wonder why Sprint has their 4G networks set up in the most remote locations though.

Google Voice

2010-09-18T21:29:00.002-05:00

I got google voice, but I'm not going to let you know what my number is. If you have me on your google contacts, lucky you, you can go ahead (all the way at the bottom right), use your google voice application on your desktop to call me. It's that easy.

Or, if you don't have a google voice acc, and if you are in the U.S. and have a number, use the google voice app to connect the call. :)

Snowman rendered

2010-06-06T01:28:00.001-05:00

Blender Tutorial here: http://biorust.com/tutorials/detail/81/us/

Phew.

Scrabble

2010-06-05T20:36:00.002-05:00

Sometimes when I play scrabble, I pretend to be checking my email, but secretly I go here.

10 things to do in `10 update IV

2010-05-11T03:52:00.002-05:00

4 months and 10 days have elapsed.

1) Finish my artwork
Got a tablet, and gawd life became so much easier. I've posted an update on this.

2) Learn a new song on guitar
Scratch Colbie Caillat, in comes Stephen Lynch. Easier songs, and probably more useful if I were to perform in front of people.

3) Play FFXIII
Done.

4) Learn how to use game engines
- I borrowed 2 books and took a day to go through most of the basics, but now I'm going to have to put it to use.

I also drew my first character in photoshop, I can just port it to blender and it should just work.

5) Blog makeover
- Dear blog, fortunate for you, I've gotten a lot better at drawing stuff, and also I learnt how to use some of the HTML5 plugins, that means making you pretty is not going to be that much harder that it used to be. You should be thanking me, you ingrate.

~~6) Buy a house.~~
6) Finish Japanese level 2 and level 3 on Rosetta Stone
1 units of 8.

7) Go camping at least 2 times
- Blah

8) Play Football for at least 15 weekends
- Current Progress 2/15. Long shot getting this done. this year, this is probably the one I really wanted to do, but it's out of my damn control. I'll either have to look for a new gang of people to play with or give this up. Life's a bitch, sometimes.

9) Go hiking
Lalalala...

10) Build my own computer

Yeah, if it makes you feel better, this probably could be done over a weekend, so, plenty of time.

Incomplete, but close.

2010-05-01T16:36:00.002-05:00

-1506.86

2010-04-30T23:56:00.003-05:00

That's the one day delta on my portfolio value.

Last Friday, it's the same thing. -1.5 k, just over a week ago. In just over 2 weeks, I lost 2+ k in portfolio value. I was up 4+k then, only up 1.7k now.

Sometimes I wonder why I skimp on the 2 extra dollars I could tip the waiter and make his/her day.

10 things to do in '10. (update III)

2010-04-10T20:45:00.002-05:00

I was thinking, #1, 4, and 10 goes directly towards making a new MMO. How about that? Anyway, this is my first update since we cross the 1/4 of the year line, have I done 1/4 of the tasks? No. Am I on track? Likely not. Sucks, but I'll keep trying.

1) Finish my artwork
- Yes, yes, finish my artwork. stop bugging me, I am looking at tablets.

2) Learn a new song on guitar
- Was thinking of playing Colbie Cailat's new song, "I never told you", but it's kinda weird if a guy plays the song.

3) Play FFXIII
- DONE!. Finally something is done.

4) Learn how to use game engines
- Alright, some movements here. I've looked at Blender, and I've downloaded it. It has a little game engine thingy built in but it's not as flexible as a real game engine. Blender is mostly a tool to do 3D animation, which is okay by itself. There is another game engine called CrystalSpace, which I have not seriously looked at yet, but seems like it should have more functionality that blender, and there's a crystalBlend project that ports Blender stuff to CrystalSpace. Looks like that's the way to go. End goal at the end of the year is to get something on HTML5 that is runnable.

I've also discussed some of my game designs to some of my colleagues/friends/random people. Don't think any of them took me too seriously, but once I get something laid down, I think I can count on them helping me out.

5) Blog makeover
- Shuddup damn blog, I have no time for you.

~~6) Buy a house.~~
6) Finish Japanese level 2 and level 3 on Rosetta Stone
I've slashed off "Buy a house" because it is no longer a good idea. Instead I've decided to learn Japanese. Fair? Maybe not, but it's either I drop something of the list or I substitute it with something else. Gotta be realistic sometimes.

7) Go camping at least 2 times
- Blah

8) Play Football for at least 15 weekends
- Current Progress 2/15. "Nobody wants to play with me!"-Ace Ventura.

9) Go hiking
Looking at trails near SF city. Stagnant.

10) Build my own computer
Got to at least wait for a good DX11 card to market. I have no $$$. Donors?

Easter Atheist Conference

2010-04-03T14:36:00.000-05:00

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/03/easter.atheists/index.html?hpt=T2

Sounds interesting, but I think it's going to end up people talking about things they don't believe in, so...

Browser Quake

2010-04-03T06:48:00.001-05:00

http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/01/google-html5-quake/

Imagine playing WOW on your IE/Firefox/Chrome.

Sweet. A lot of money to be made, no installations, nothing. click click click...

Final Fantasy XIII

2010-03-24T02:03:00.002-05:00

So. I'm done with the game. Well, not done with the game as a whole yet, but I've finished the main storyline.

Thoughts?

I am about 100 dollars poorer. (Got a fantastic deal at Toys R us for the game. Got a 13 dollar gift card + Prototype (game) for extra 20. I also got the Official Game Guide for another 13)

The graphics is really, really good. Square hit home with the design of the game world. I've played other 1080P games before, but nothing even remotely comes close to this.

And when I think back on what I was playing before Final Fantasy XIII, I drew a blank. I recall that I'm not done with Valkyria Chronicles, or Madden, or Assassin's Creed. Those felt like a lifetime ago. Nostalgia sets in.

Gameplay was okay. I loathe the fact that I can't control the other party members directly, that affected some of the strategy up to a point. But I guess that's what the game wants you to do. I can't make a super high powered offense + ultra high HP and expect to win the game like that.

I recall the hours I spent grinding away at the training room in Balamb garden to make an invincible team. But in FFXIII, no matter how well trained your party is, you still need to master the art of Paradigm Shift to win. But once you get the gist of it, you can take on monsters waaay too tough for your crystarium levels, saving you the hours grinding at the Ruby Dragons. But not being able to control the party members directly cut away some of the satisfaction.

Story was, well, it was deep, with backstory of most characters. There are some parts that you kinda cringe at, but there are some that really hit the spot. Cheesy dialogues are part of the series, so don't expect it to go away in this installment.

Chocobos are back. So are the summons. Odin was fine, but he's a horse, or is he a man? Brynhildr is a car with hot wheels. Hecatoncheir (He-Kah-To-uhn-Keir) is a Magitek Armor, Alexander is a castle and Bahamut is a Bahamut.

After listening to the final cutscene with Leona Lewis's song, My Hands, it felt weird, it felt out of place. It's a good song, don't get me wrong, but it felt like it was forced into the scene, and it just didn't belong. I think Square made a bad call getting her song there, it just didn't have the right vibe. Kimi Ga Iru Kara by Sugiwara Sayuri provides a much better mood for the story.

Toyota

2010-03-22T23:40:00.003-05:00

Despite Toyota's stock price dropping $20 per stock from a bit above 90 to a little above $70 several weeks back, it has not seen as much of a selling craze as I'd expect. So here's why we cannot buy Toyota right now.

1) We have no real clue how much money they're losing.
8.5 million vehicles recalled. How much are they spending per vehicle? 3000 dollars? That translates into 24 billion. Plus litigation fees, and a lot of other potential losses, we could only expect the worst.

2) Sharp equity losses for the next few quarters.
Taking losses is a given, but what is the stock valuation is currently at? As of March 2009, stockholder's equity totals 113 billion. That translates to approximately 64 $/share. Taking a multi-billion dollar hit, is going to push the value down even further.

Considering that everyone expects the company to take losses, the price per book should realistically be less than 1, but we have not seen the case. That means some people still thinks that Toyota could be making money in the short term.

3) Bleak outlook for the next few years.
Would you drive a new Toyota Camry next year?

4) Competition
Why buy Toyota, when you could get other troubled automakers for cheap. GM is coming out of bankruptcy, Ford is gaining momentum every day.

5) Non adjusted expectation
No matter how mild the financial hit is going to be, Toyota is bound to lose money, and when the results come out, you could almost guarantee a drop in stock prices due to adjusted outlook. For some reason this has never ceased to amaze that the stock price didn't adjust to the expectations as far as its fundamentals indicate.

It might take years before Toyota gets back to its current foothold on the auto industry. But don't short it on my account. People might be willing to forgive the world largest automaker overnight, but I don't see it happening.

Status Report: Project 2010

2010-03-06T15:30:00.003-05:00

Between work, play and hanging out with people over CNY, I really hasn't made much progress in my goals.

1) Finish my artwork
- Don't even have a mouse. 1 thing at a time. Need to buy tablet.

2) Learn a new song on guitar
- Blah. Obviously.

3) Play FFXIII
- in 1 week, I won't be updating my blog.

4) Learn how to use game engines
- Wow, nothing I've ever done loses so much steam over such a small amount of time.

5) Blog makeover
- Blah

6) Buy a house.
The objective of buying a house drifts further away as I look at the stock market going up. Property tax is 1.125% of property value. Loans are 5% APR. 6.125% of 400000 is more than double of what I pay for a year worth of rent. Unless I have like 200k down payment, the interest rate is going to hold at 5% and 5% of 400k isn't fun to pay every year.

7) Go camping at least 2 times
- Blah

8) Play Football for at least 15 weekends
- Current Progress 1/15. Something I'd really like to do, but sometimes it's not up to me. Probably will gain traction when summer comes in town.

9) Go hiking
Looking at trails near SF city.

10) Build my own computer
Got to at least wait for a good DX11 card to market.

Updates on stuff I wanna do.

2010-02-21T01:50:00.003-05:00

From this post:
1) Finish my artwork
- not much progress here, despite this being the easiest task. Did some skin shading up to this point but that's it.

2) Learn a new song on guitar
- haven't even decided on what song I wanna do. 21 guns by Green Day? Something by Taylor Swift?

3) Play FFXIII
- the closest thing to FFXIII right now is the pre-order from Amazon and also my effort to learn Japanese.

4) Learn how to use game engines
- Looked at websites describing OpenGL and also watched instructional video at work about history of OpenGL and direct3D. I need to look into this more.

5) Blog makeover
- Blah

6) Buy a house.
- Looked at houses, nothing is screaming good deal so far. And no down payment money yet.

7) Go camping at least 2 times
- Blah

8) Play Football for at least 15 weekends
- Current Progress 1/15

9) Go hiking
- Yosemite? Big Sur? Somewhere in Palo Alto? Mount Tam again?
- Maybe I should make the Half Dome Hike a yearly thing.

10) Build my own computer
- Blah.

I hate the DMV

2010-02-10T01:29:00.002-05:00

Today I found out that my driver's license expired.

I was trying to renew my auto insurance, which expires on the 26th this month. However, I was looking at my California driver's license and I got a shock. It has been expired for over a month!

Last year some time in May, I changed over to my California license. During the process, it had my Michigan license invalidated. Had my Michigan license still be valid, it would not have been expired. What is this deal about a license that only last several months?

Turns out that it's the day that coincided with the end of my opt period. This is terribly inconvenient for me.

The DMV sucks and there is no wonder why California is so deep in depth. Schwarzenegger should go back to making movies.

This video makes me want to develop a game

2010-01-26T01:59:00.002-05:00

10 things to do this year

2010-01-18T06:31:00.002-05:00

1) Finish my artwork
2) Learn a new song on guitar
3) Play FFXIII
4) Learn how to use game engines
5) Blog makeover
6) Buy a house.
7) Go camping at least 2 times
8) Play Football for at least 15 weekends
9) Go hiking
10) Build my own computer

Pfft

2010-01-15T05:11:00.002-05:00

I slept from 9pm to 2am. Now I'm wide awake.

There's going to be a FFXIII bus in the south bay on Saturday. I really wanna go check out the demo.

Some people do dumb stuff

2009-12-28T18:33:00.003-05:00

Like setting themselves on fire, and I lose money

AMR 7.75 -0.39 (-4.79%)
LUV 11.45 -0.10 (-0.87%)

Transportation remains the worst hit sector today.

Dancing with the dark side

2009-12-11T03:43:00.004-05:00

This is an exclusive interview with InFamous JukeBox, the alter ego of JukeBox that was recently unearthed while playing InFamous.

J: So, how did you end up doing all those bad things?
IFJ: Bad things? Like what?

J: Like blowing up pedestrians, draining them of their life force, and basically wreaking havoc as you rampage down the road.
IFJ: Look, I don't blow up pedestrians for no reason, most of the time they're just in the way and I was trying to electrocute the dustman they're blocking. They're the reason why the dustmen controlled the warren in the first place. Draining them of their life force? Well, I gotta recharge my energy in order to save the city, and power's gotta come somewhere right?

J: You could be more careful with the lightning bolts, and also can't you just suck the juice out of a parked car or something?
IFJ: Look, those dustmen were shootin' at me, I'd like you to say the same when you're getting shot at. Also, they're were gonna die either way, and I'm just relieving their pain. Also imagine you're the owner of the parked car and you came back to find that your car won't start just to extend some sorry bastard's already long life. Man you'd be pissed too. Now, draining someone's car battery, that's evil. Plus the poor bastard's been shot or something anyway, I'm not responsible for that.

J: But I saw that you sent a car flying at him.
IFJ: If I sent a car flying at their face, it's also a way to tell them to get the hell outta my way. Plus I'm probably aiming for a dustman nearby anyway. They're own fault for not looking where they walk.

J: That's terrible, how could you do such a thing.
IFJ: This interview's over.

*Red lightning flashes hitting Jukebox square in the chest*

J: AARRRGGHHHH..... ugh....... heh heh heh....

Still In Chicago

2009-12-01T04:15:00.001-05:00

My PS3 that is. Fedex still has it in Chicago, scheduled to arrive on FRIDAY!

Rumors has it that Donovan Warren is coming back.

2009-11-23T23:26:00.000-05:00

This might be the best news I've heard in a long time. We're so thin at the Cornerback position right now, and if our best Corner (also doubles as one of the best players on defense) comes back...

:)

I'm thinking roses

I'm an atheist because

2009-11-22T20:31:00.003-05:00

Click on pictures to for wikpedia links

It's unfair

2009-11-21T16:24:00.001-05:00

Some criminals get away without the punishments they deserve. There is no justice in the world

OSU 21-10 M.

I lost a pint of blood today

2009-11-19T21:31:00.003-05:00

Call it blood sacrifice to the football gods, or karma or whatever. But with this pint of blood, we're going to beat Ohio State.

Also for the cookie, I guess.

Photoshop 2

2009-11-11T02:21:00.004-05:00

From my last Photoshop project. I've already abandoned another one. It's not my fault that what I wanted to draw is harder than I thought it'd be.

Anyway, I started another so that I could have something that actually goes somewhere. Sketch phase. I didn't even clean it up.

Oh how low we've stooped.

2009-10-31T18:38:00.003-05:00

Every football program falls on hard times. Michigan is no exception. Despite the fact that we still have the most National Titles, most Big Ten Conference wins, highest winning percentage of all-time. most wins all time, as well as the most awesome players and head coach, we still have our woes.

But 2-3 years ago I would never imagine myself saying this. Go to a bowl game, and it'll be fine. Every extra win is a bonus. Go to a bowl game, and it'll be fine.

Beat Purdue

Wow, since when the government has a right to confiscate literature?

2009-10-31T13:33:00.004-05:00

Main Article

If you read my blog, which I don't think you do, you probably know I have as much regard of the Christian faith as the next stray dog behind a dark alley, which is none. But with the recent seizing of the bibles because it translated "god" into "allah", it makes me ponder again.

How can something like this be justified at all?
*I thought we agreed on the freedom of religion? People can believe in anything they want, and yet they can't publish anything related to it. Come on, if they so wish to believe that Jesus H Christ is the immaculately conceived son of allah then let them be.

Why are we spending tax payers money to undertake something as pointless as this?
Again. Why are we banning fiction? Maybe the next thing you know they're banning fan fictions of Harry Potter because they claim that Dumbledore is gay. Maybe he is, I don't know, but it'd be funny.

Since when the word "allah" has been trademarked?
I think it's the same as any other names, Tom, or Dick or Harry. Do religions get corporate protection for their TMs? Maybe christians could file a patent on how to fight a crusade?

*only applicable to non-muslims

Fried Chicken of Defeat

2009-10-24T23:59:00.002-05:00

In reference to this

I was 9 years old

2009-10-24T00:56:00.001-05:00

The last time Penn State beat Michigan in the Big House.

Go Blue!!

Thank you,

2009-10-17T14:39:00.001-05:00

63-6. Now we just need to find another win and be bowl eligible. :D

I woke up and still find myself a broken man

2009-10-11T02:56:00.006-05:00

Just a little bit more

The dreamer. When he runs, he inspires.

If football is won with clutch alone, this field will be my kingdom; the crowd my court; the endzone my throne.

If you feel your car vibrate

2009-09-19T20:15:00.003-05:00

When you brake or when you drive at high speed, it might be that the alignment is out. I didn't realize that, and thought my car was already busted, but turns out after I changed my tires (and redid alignment, of course), it all went away. It's way too quiet sometimes and I wonder if my car is actually moving. But of course all signs points to yes, except for the noisy tires and the annoying vibration.

EDITOR: Also I won a raffle, I have a new michigan tee. Another one to my many others. :)

If I had my doubts, they had since been answered

2009-09-12T21:03:00.003-05:00

Michigan 38 - Notre Dame 34

Tate Forcier looked cool, poised in the pocket, and I got to say this game looked a lot like the 4th quarter meltdown I was half expecting, but eventually "the Force" overcame his interception and cleaned up after himself.

Now, I'd like to see Nard groomed up as a backup QB. In this game, I think Tate saw a lot more time that I'd like him to. That is absolutely not a criticism of his performance, because he was stellar. The reason being that spread QB, who runs the football half the time they pass them, attracts a lot of attention from the defense. That said, they're more prone to injuries. The easiest way to prevent them from being injured is to rotate in another QB more often.

Today Shoelace didn't get to play much, about 3-4 plays? I'd like to see him get more time. And Sheridan too. Although Sheridan = Death. And I hope he didn't forget his scythe this season.

Ban lifted on Black Eyed Peas Concert

2009-09-02T05:06:00.001-05:00

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5glRmzr4anECqAOtcScWQOpUaZClQD9AEV1N00

Just thought some of you might be interested

Happy Birthday Malaysia!

2009-08-30T21:05:00.003-05:00

Happy 52nd Birthday!

I wish you a prosperous year, and hope that everything will be better this coming year.

However, sadly, even on the eve of possibly the most important day of the year, there were many things that were happening. First there is the cow-head incident. Some idiot think that trampling over a cow head is fun, apparently. I think the one thing Malaysians should have learnt over the years, is to engage in peaceful interfaith dialogues. Freedom of religion, and interfaith tolerance is still a big issue. That aside, where do atheists stand? Can I spread Pastafarianism back home? Will it become a real religion? Where do we draw the line between what's acceptable and what's not? Can I poke fun at other's religion, asking reasonable questions without insulting them? We can call ourselves a multicultural society (masyarakat majmuk) as much as we want but we all know it's not true, unless we can embrace the freedom of religion with open arms. Reform the Judiciary system. Abolish the Syariah courts. That should be the first step.

And then there's the ban on black eyed peas concert for Muslims and anyone under the age of 18. Don't get me wrong, I think they make horrible music, but that doesn't mean you could just ban them. Their new songs "Boom Boom Pow" has no melody to it and you could hardly call it a real song. The lyrics to "I got a feeling" has the vocabulary of a 6-year-old. Why are they banning it? Because it is sponsored by Guinness. How much more hilarious can this be? If you put a age limit on a concert, it has better be a good reason for it.

Those are social stand point on what has to change. There are a lot of other things that we should be looking out for either. Healthcare, Education. We have a lot of things that are lacking, but who are we to ask questions? In their eyes these are simple things that does not matter. For many years the only movements in terms of education is moving Math and Science subject from being taught in Malay -> English+Malay -> Malay. The last time I checked, this means there has been not much of an improvement.

Then, there was Proton, and its botched attempt 20 years in the making, to enter the Auto market. Is Proton too big to fail now? We've been giving them bailouts, tax protection (on competitors), subsidies, and still no cheese? While protecting an infant industry is a common thing in terms of economics, where do we draw the line? Do every single hard-working Malaysian out there who wants a car has to keep paying for this? Perhaps we got our pride in the way one too many times when VW came knocking?

Politically, this year, there's been a change in management. If you haven't heard, we had a new boss in the form of PM since March. Well, there are a lot of allegations of him being connected to a certain high profile murder of a certain model from a certain north asian country. And also allegations to corruption during his term as defense minister. I don't know which is worse. Nevertheless, he promised to change things around, maintaining "principles of intransparency and accountability". Lets see.

Anyway other tidbit.
1) Malaysia Truly Asia?
2) 1 Music in Malaysia - Yes to sugar, no to Petrol. We had enough, and as Najib said, cheaper petrol isn't the right solution. We should put a different mindset to this.

I try to not read all those "Proud to be Malaysian" fluff. "oh how we've came such a long ways since 1957 ... bla bla bla". I think of them as trying to rub the ego the right way, while ignoring all the wrongs that is happening. Perhaps, a little too idealistic, a little too perfect? One day, maybe, I can read it and feel the same. Not today, not now, reading them is akin to listening to a self-aggrandizing megalomaniac, and I feel sorry.

Anyway, Let us all strive for a better Malaysia tomorrow, and Selamat Hari Merdeka.

Jukebox's Guide to defeating the undead scourge

2009-08-23T14:34:00.002-05:00

1) Cremate your dead. Zombies, Vampires, Skeletons, and countless other abominations are spawned from dead human carcasses. Cremating them is the simplest way for them to stay dead. However there are spawns of other undeads, such as wraiths, ghosts, phantoms and so forth that could not be so easily handled.

2) Take down the source. Be it the original vampire, or a warlock practicing death magic, taking it out means saving the entire city. It takes kill 1 save a million to another level.

3) Install U-V lights throughout the inhabited cities. As seen on the movie "I am legend", many zombie-vampire hybrids, and also other undead beings doesn't fear light itself, but instead are vulnerable to the U-V rays. Each U-V lamp post should have its own internal power source that recharges in one way or another, and should the main power lines are cut, it should still work. We could connect every block to an underground nuclear reactor that never runs out. Or we could use a solar panel to keep it charged.

4) Beware of the fallacies that might cost you your life.
- As we all know, undeads of the 21st century are not affected by crosses, or holy water (because obviously, god is not real). It has seen no effect on the coven of vampires in "underworld'".
-They don't need your invitation

5) Evacuate and abandon the city once it's out of control. If the zombies are killing people faster that the people are killing zombies, you know you're in trouble. You can run, but you can't hide. station military troops on the outskirts of the town to prevent any outflow, and get a nuke down there immediately.

Half Dome

2009-08-23T14:26:00.002-05:00

My legs hurt.

But if I am to go again, I'd need
1) Boots
2) Harnesses / Caribineri
3) Helmet? Not sure if it'd help if I fall 4000 feet
4) More Water supply, 6 bottles at the least.

The Virtual Godfather

2009-08-05T22:28:00.003-05:00

“Piracy, counterfeiting and other intellectual property rights violations not only cost U.S. businesses jobs and billions of dollars a year in lost revenue, they can also pose significant health and safety risks to consumers,” he said.

link

I don't know too much about computer game developers, but I know a threat when I read one. Watch out, the software mafias are after you, pirates.

The Pre-shot ritual

2009-08-04T22:43:00.002-05:00

I used to have a pre-shot ritual when I'm playing tennis. The little things I do to keep focus, but when I'm frustrated, I stopped doing it and all my serves go wherever they'd like to.

Life is like a marathon

2009-07-28T22:21:00.000-05:00

and you can't quit.

Dang it

2009-07-15T22:36:00.001-05:00

I don't know how to fix some of the bloody formatting on blogger.

Movie Reviews

2009-07-11T12:34:00.003-05:00

I don't do this that often. But here goes:

Yellow hat, pants and suspenders are IN!

Bruno - vulgar, insightful and very funny. After watching this, perhaps the world would be a little less homophobic. Depicts Bruno as a normal, fame seeking, fashion designer/celebrity (wannabe), and the homophobic world as corny, weird and generally having the misconception. I'd recommend it to anyone unless they're allergic to irony.

Universal Studios claim that it tries to promote understanding of the gay community but this also happened. I'd say everyone should just chill out, it's a comedy and no one takes it seriously.

Summary: You'd enjoy it as long as you're not homophobic, or it'd be funny to see you watch it.

Megan Fox's bigger than Optimus and wearing a revealing low cut dress to attract teenage boys with hormone imbalance

Transformers 2- Haven't seen anything this bad this summer. I thought x-men origins set the bar pretty low, and yet Transformers 2 has found a way to suck more. An incoherent medley of stuff blowing up, yelling and screaming. Completely unengaging at times. Action sequences went on forever and there's always this mix of people who we don't care/don't know popping into the screen and yelling stuff we don't really care about.

There was a good scene where Optimus was battling several of the decepticons before getting blown up, but past that it's a waste of time.

Summary: Tries to bore you to sleep, then wake you up with constant yelling. Won't go back if Michael Bay makes Transformers 3. Don't watch it unless you want to be annoyed.

Whatever money you get in Vegas

2009-07-08T01:14:00.004-05:00

Stays in Vegas apparently.

At one point I was up by 100 dollars, in the end I lost 130 dollars at the BlackJack Table.

I was never a gambler, too cautious, too scared. And in my defense, it never was gambling when I never intended to win. The beauty of blackjack is how the Casino gives away the impression that people can beat the system, and yet people hardly do.

Anyway, you'll really need to learn how to count cards to do that, and even if you did know how to count, you still need lady luck on your side.

training for you guys: http://www.hitorstand.net/game_l.html

have fun!

I'm starting on my next photoshop project

2009-06-26T01:57:00.001-05:00

As usual it starts fast, but as always, it gets slower and harder as you go.

Maybe that's MY superpower.

Clutch

2009-06-23T00:35:00.003-05:00

I was playing tennis with my tennis buddy today. I was leading 6-5 in the second set. My serve, and I'm up 40-15. Good chance to close it out with a 7-5 win.

Long story short, I lost the game 6-7 (7-2).
I served an ace to make it deuce in the waning moments, just to serve 2 consecutive double faults, or something dumb like that.

You know how sometimes you have something sitting there for a couple of months,

2009-06-22T01:16:00.003-05:00

And then you fire up photoshop just to get rid of it, and it took you like one and a half hours.

A long overdue project from 5 months back. Anyway here's the final.
Sorry bout the bland background, I blame it on laziness and lack of skill/time/dedication.

Hmm.. World Cup at the big house?

2009-06-20T03:42:00.004-05:00

http://detnews.com/article/20090617/SPORTS07/906170383/1435/Ford-Field--Michigan-Stadium-possible-World-Cup-sites

Definitely something special. It's eventuality that the big house gonna get the recognition it deserves. People generally don't believe that Michigan stadium houses 100,000+ people when I tell them, but it's about time they do. It is probably bigger than any other olympics stadium you've ever seen.

link shows that we're #4, we used to be #3, until we reduced the capacity in the recent renovation. I think we might get to 110k capacity after the renovation though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stadiums_by_capacity

Yes, the list is world wide. IN THE WORLD! We're almost there. Penn State would probably be hit with the ridiculous ADA regulation to have at least 1% of disabled seating.

P.S. just to rant a bit:

To date I still think that's preposterous, since the wheelchair accessible seats has never been really filled during games. What motivation should there be to increase it? You can claim that the seats really isn't that accesible, but dude, if you can't fill 90 seats, you can't fill 1000 seats. And to add to it, for every 1 accessible seating that the stadium provides, it takes up space for 12 regular seating!

PLUS, the ADA wouldn't even settle for removable bleachers, if there were more demand for than necessary. Now that's just being obstinate and irrational. But what's done is done. If they wish so much for permanent seats that take away regular seating from fans that would definitely contribute to the atmosphere, and replace it with *gasp* 900 empty accessible seating, well, so be it. I seriously think lawmakers should repeal that law, since it unfairly discriminates against healthy, able people.

Bottom line is, having 12 regular enthusiastic fans (regardless of which team) not be able to get a seat because of 1 EMPTY disabled seat is just not fair. So unfair, it is stupid. Now that we've given you what you want, go find someone else to bug, after all, we don't have all day.

Crap, my post script message just got longer and longer. Anyway, until this law gets repealed, you'll hear no end from me.

Fanbases

2009-06-12T22:51:00.005-05:00

It frustrates me somewhat when people decides to compare Michigan Fans to Buckeyes. Buckeyes harass opposing fans, I am sure *some* Michigan Fans heckle Ohio State fans and all but we definitely know where to stop at, simply because as Michigan fans if we see other fellow Michigan fans physically assault someone else we would stand up and tell them to stop and go away. We got a good fan base, and a more importantly a good reputation to uphold.

Have I ever seen someone poking fun at Michigan St fans? Yes. Have I told Sparties and Buckeyes they can't read or write? Yes. But when it comes down to throwing beer over someone elses back in the middle of winter, you know it ain't cool. It ain't right throwing punches and shoving others. And you know what? Buckeyes they don't care, they don't mind a few opposing fans being roadkill.

Sparties are a rowdy bunch, and yet they still behave better than buckeyes. We'd be fine in Illinois, Purdue, and even Notre Dame, because at least fans there are cultured and will stand up to their own if anyone goes out of line. In terms of fanbases of all the sports school, Ohio State has got to have one of the worst. Maybe not as bad as some of the southern states school, but close.

Over and over again, I've heard bad things happening to Sports fans (in general, not just Longhorns and Wolverines) from Cbus, but never anything from East Lansing, South Bend, USC, Florida, and any of the big time football schools. I sincerely believe NCAA, Big Ten Conference or local authorities should incur penalties against schools with fan bases that becomes violent and endlessly harass its opponents.

I'd like to hear what fans of other schools that has visited Ann Arbor has to say about its fans.

Go Blue. We're the leaders and best.

I broke my tennis racket

2009-06-04T22:36:00.001-05:00

=(.

That means I get to buy a new one.

=)

But that racket IS a new one

=(

But now you get to buy a newer one

=)

The Stonecutter

2009-05-29T02:03:00.000-05:00

"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."
-- Jacob August Riis

3OH!3 Don't Trust Me

2009-05-25T02:55:00.004-05:00

This song scratches where it itches.

Techno - check
90s Pop song vibe - check
Amazingly sticky lyrics - check
Retarded music video to accompany it - wait... what?

Unbelievable

2009-05-23T00:02:00.001-05:00

UN-BELIEVABLE!

Game Seven

2009-05-15T01:47:00.004-05:00

I hate game sevens, for many reason. For fear that everything is decided on one basket. For one missed call. For one foul that wasn't there.

But this year's NBA was different. It was fun, exciting and good to watch, even though my beloved Pistons were out early. No doubt they were playing the tough Cavaliers. Billups' trade was proven to be the worst trade in a long long time. I hope Dumars know what he's doing. I'd like to see a Chauncey - LeBron showdown in the finals, but at the same time I'd like to see the Cinderella story of a Houston team with everything to lose to make it to the finals.

I'd like to see the arrogant Celts or the impertinent Magic get swept in the Eastern Finals by LeBron and people. I'd like to see Billups and B. Wallace playing on different side of the court.

There's so much that could happen. So much that are waiting to unfold. And yet, something is missing. After tonight, we can definitely say the Lakers are on their way out. Houston on their way in, Orlando in their way in, so are the Nuggets and Cavs, obviously. A completely different cast from several years back.

I hate it when the team I root for loses out early. Especially in one playoff season that is getting so exciting.

Teapot-ism

2009-05-04T22:05:00.004-05:00

Artist Rendering of the Magic Martian Teapot. This is also a proof that the teapot exists, beyond reasonable doubt.
I found it on google, but what google knows is far inferior than what the magic teapot does.

There's a teapot orbiting Mars, too small to be seen by any telescope, and yet everyone knows is there.

Why? because it's there, we can't see it because we're not good enough. We don't have the technology. The teapot is so small that it would take you 200 martian years in a space craft endlessly circling the red planet to find it.

The teapot is all powerful, and can read everyone's mind at any given moment. It knows everything, literally. Like from what's the favorite color of Abe to what Michelle Obama's gonna wear on July 4th this year. Hard to believe eh? but it's true. It also controls everything in existence, from whatever natural disaster it decides to put us through, or if the stock market will keep going down.

The psychic teapot isn't just any teapot. It would also exact vengeance on those who choose not to believe. It is said that upon death, those who didn't believe would have their souls sucked into the teapot, stuck to the ceramic inside like peanuts to a granola bar. Painfully, and slowly, the teapot absorbs the souls energy to fuel its psychic and magical prowess. And said soul would be suffering for eternity, in a gooey, cramped space with many other souls, with only one bathroom.

How do people know it's true? Obviously there had been some messengers in the past. about 200 years ago, the teapot sent a small version of itself to our lowly mortal world, part of itself, but not exactly itself. The little teapot made a huge splash in the mortal world. Some movies made references to it, such as Beauty and the Beast, and we all know that movie is the truest of all historical accounts. And if you foul, wretched a-teapotist ever dare to doubt the authenticity, the scriptures written on your everyday teapot, read by a knowing eye, would tell you everything you need to know. We can find remnant of the castle in the movie, and you can see everywhere the teapot has been to. And it is true that by drinking the tea from the teapot, it has restored sight to a blind man, and make the lame walk again.

The teapot is also not without compassion. It rewards those who believe. Once fulfilled the requirements, the devout could ascend to the teapot heaven, where the Detroit Pistons (or your favorite sports team) win every year. Up at the heaven, they serve philly cheese steak every Friday, and you don't have to worry about cholesterol at all. Of course, they also serve a variety of food, especially for people with exotic tastes. The particularly good ones include the very delicious Szechuan Tofu for the vegetarians, and they also have kiwi fruit sorbet and a host of other yummy delicacies for dessert. However, unfortunately while we're in our mortal shell we won't be able to go there yet. And we can't forcibly shatter the shell, because that, like intentionally shattering a teapot, is a big no-no. There are many requirements to fulfill too:

1) You must take care of your tea pots
2) If you make tea, you musn't waste it, unless the tea has been stale or something gross happened to it, or you really don't want to drink it anymore.
3) If you accidentally shatter your teapots, you must bury it and mourn for 3 days. Then you shall live 3 weeks of a teapotless life, then you will be allowed to get a new one.

I am trying to save you from eternal suffering. But I know many of you won't listen. Like Richard Dawkins once spoke out against us in his book. I hope he enjoys the smell of ceramic.

What happened to Heroes?

2009-04-28T02:53:00.002-05:00

I just watched the last episode of the season. Exciting? A little. Surprised? A little. But seriously what the hell happened?

Lol, and Ali Carter is back as Tracy Strauss, as expected.

It's OK!

2009-04-26T17:43:00.001-05:00

Losing to the hottest team in NBA is OK!

Next year, maybe?

New Zealand

2009-04-17T19:00:00.002-05:00

Kia ora!

Conversations with myself (GPS)

2009-04-09T22:48:00.001-05:00

Me: You need a GPS.
Me2: No I don't
Me: What if you got lost and can't find your way?
Me2: I'll call someone and have her look it up.
Me: What if your phone is out of battery?
Me2: Then I'll do the same thing I'd do if my hypothetical GPS ran out of battery.

* pause *

Me: And what would that be?
Me2: Cry.

Judicial System

2009-04-08T23:05:00.003-05:00

While I don't suppose every murder trial to be explainable what the motives are, like how 2 step brothers could just jest around and ending up having one kid being a lifer and the other dead, while it was definitely not by accident, it still does not justify locking that kid up for life.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/08/teens.life.sentence/index.html

and then of course, there are some trials in which some judgements has been passed to appease the blood thirsty public in the name of doing their job.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123924447581803965.html

How did 2 law enforcers, who were expected to keep the streets clean of criminals become cold blooded murderers themselves without any reason to do so? Unless the judges dealing them the death penalty card is a method of negotiating for them to come clean with who's the puppeteer, I don't see how this is even justified. They're just hired guns. Fodders. Sacrificial lambs to appease the media's lust for blood.

Pawns like them are what I would refer to as the limbs of the criminal organization. In fact by severing the limbs from the body, it could as well set free the evil to commit atrocities once again. Why don't they interrogate them? lock them up for 10 - 15 years, loosen them up in order to get more information on who/what motivated them in the first place. Plus, keeping them shackled puts weight over their "employers". Keeping them is like keeping their part of the siamese insurance, a deal in which either side could muster enough evidence against the other, in which both parties are joined together, inseparable forever, like a siamese twin. Lock one up and you'll have a criminal mastermind that can't sleep at night. Get rid of one, and you'll be doing the other a favor.

Unless the end result is to negotiate an appeal with the 2 cops, I still don't see why we need to put them to the axe. They don't deserve such a harsh punishment, the one who orchestrated it does.

People like to pretend

2009-03-23T02:22:00.001-05:00

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/03/20/concur-filings-falsely-claimed-ceo-is-u-of-mich-grad/

Easy to see why people like to pretend to have a degree from the U of M

How you can lose respect so quickly

2009-03-20T22:32:00.002-05:00

He's been in office for only 2 months, but Barack Obama has made such a grieve mistake, that will overshadow whatever achievements he would attain in the coming years.

Costly, costly mistake.

related:
http://michiganagainsttheworld.blogspot.com/2009/03/obama-picks-clemson.html

I'm back

2009-03-20T21:46:00.000-05:00

After driving for a loong time

Today, I bought a car

2009-02-27T02:40:00.001-05:00

I bought a car.

Ditto last post

2009-02-22T19:10:00.000-05:00

This has taken me an obscenely long time

2009-02-21T13:12:00.001-05:00

Obviously it's not done yet. click to get larger. I guess

Comments?

Headache la.

2009-02-09T23:31:00.000-05:00

Why so mafan one

Green gooey water tastes like Wasabi

2009-01-12T18:28:00.002-05:00

Dude, so there's this water cooler, that NO ONE has ever used. If anyone has ever used this water cooler he'd be as pissed and as grossed out as I am now. I have a pretty high tolerance for gross stuff. And this just ranked pretty high up in my list.

So I don't usually just drink water fountain without looking at it first. Usually I let the water flow for a while before drinking it. But the water cooler apparently is very familiar with my habit and decided to play a prank on me.

For the first 5 seconds the water is clear, and nothing odd came around. but when I put my mouth there and starting to take in some of the water, there comes the horror. Green, GREEN gooey yellow olive green colored HORROR!

it tastes like wasabi. Macha, moss, gross moss, tastes like goose poop.

If u tell me that's the elixir of immortality, i'd still not drink that.

The Lazy Blogger Syndrome

2009-01-12T16:48:00.004-05:00

For some reason, I don't feel like blogging in 2009. Or I really have no material. Regardless I finally thought of something to post. Tribute to this

I just moved. And I moved my teddy bear with me. And when I mean with me, I mean, with me on the flight, so I have something to rest my neck on.

Roses are red

2009-01-01T23:37:00.002-05:00

Guess it wasn't meant to be for Penn State, after all. Better luck next year.

And Congrats to Iowa for winning the first Big 10 win in this post season bowls. The only other relevant game today.

No one cares about Dantonio and the spartinas. obviously. Who gives a damn.

Do me a favor and crucify yourselves, please?

2008-12-29T23:50:00.001-05:00

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,471764,00.html

At least I said please.

The true meaning of Christmas

2008-12-27T03:41:00.003-05:00

It's the time of the year again, where people don their festive suits and have a gathering, but many has mistaken the true identity of Christmas. Some preach that it's the celebration of Christ's birth, but history has a different take on it.

For example, a simple google search for the origin revealed this site which has almost all that you want to know about the origin of Christmas. To be fair, it's a jewish site instead of an atheist one.

but in summary, the details are like this:
1) No biblical references has an account on when Christ was born.
2) Historians and Catholic researchers have different opinions, most think he's born in September, but some says March.
3) Christmas was celebrated for other reasons;
- i) St. Nicholas (aka Santa Claus) - which I think should be a better reason to celebrate than the birth of Jesus
- ii) Roman Pagan Celebration
- iii) Celebration in accordance to the winter solstice
4) Irrelevant to this post, but apparently Jewish people has been "mistreated" by on Christmas day on many occasions. Which is interesting because I never knew that before.

Then, many other deities from other religions/myths claims Dec 25th to be their birthday. Hmm.. I smell a conspiracy of some sort. Link

And reason explained: To encourage conversion from Paganism to Christianity, Pope Julius 1 declared Christmas a day to celebrate the birth of Christ. Link: more background on Christmas.

some allegations and explanations from the bible (if it were any indication of anything true at all):
Luke 2:8 explains that when Christ was born, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Note that they were “abiding” in the field. This never happened in December. Both Ezra 10:9-13 and the Song of Solomon 2:11 show that winter was the rainy season and shepherds could not stay on cold, open fields at night."

But as a person of no religious affiliation, what does Christmas really mean?
Christmas, is a secular holiday, decreed by the Pope and Castro alike. Cuba, an atheist nation, has the allowance of letting her people celebrate Christmas . However the same gesture was not reciprocated amongst fundamentalists who insisted upon remembering Christ and not Santa on Christmas day.

Christmas is a day to celebrate generosity, instead of cruelty and religious dogmatism.

Christmas is more than a day to remember Christ, it's a day we can all celebrate, regardless of our religion (or lack thereof). Its meaning is simple, as Christmas is really a day to get together and relax, and we can all enjoy the Christmas spirit, without a hint of religion.

To all non-Christians friends, hope you had an enjoyable Christ-less Christmas. To Christian friends, hope you don't think Christmas is for Christ alone, and hope you had an enjoyable Christmas too. To my jewish friends, hope you had a good Hanukkah. To my African-American friends, hope you have a good Kwanzaa. To my pagan readers, hope you had a good Osiris, Horus etc day. To my Hindu friends, hope you had fun celebrating Krishna's birthday. And if I left anyone/anygod's birthday out, Happy Birthday!

Monkey Bailout

2008-12-26T18:58:00.003-05:00

Link << the author of the blog post said he found it on some chain mail

Once upon a time a man appeared in a village and
announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys
for $10 each.

The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 and, as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He next announced that he would now buy monkeys at $20 each. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each and the supply of monkeys became so scarce it was an effort to even find a monkey, let alone catch it! The man now announce d that he would buy monkeys at $50 each! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would buy on his behalf. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: ‘Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has already collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each.’ The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys for 700 billion dollars.

They never saw the man or his assistant again, only
lots and lots of monkeys!

Now you have a better understanding of how the
WALL STREET BAILOUT PLAN WILL WORK !!!!

Happy Holidays..

2008-12-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

Have a good Christmas, you pagans.

Sometimes it ticks me off when dumb people say dumb things

2008-12-23T14:49:00.003-05:00

"better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt" - Abraham Lincoln

Whenever I say that I predict a 9 win season, yes, it's optimism, but it also reflects a lot on how far the team has improved. It also has to do with strength of schedule, and recruits, and generally, the condition of the team.

Although I might change my mind since the season is still 9 months away, the prediction is based on what I see and what I know right now. Especially after the spring game, we can gauge first hand on what to expect from the football team. If you watched last year's spring game, you would KNOW, this year is going to be quite tough.

There are many who would just dismiss whatever I say, and retort sarcastically "yeah right, we'd be great to have a winning season." That's just indifference and ignorance. They gauge their prediction based on this year's squad, and that just not right.

1) We're Michigan, and anything short of a BCS bowl would be a disappointment, this year included.
2) We didn't hire Rich Rodriguez to bring down this program, he has built programs from the ground up many times, and has proven himself as a money coach.
3) We didn't have the personnel to run the offense this year, it will change next season, probably.
4) Defensively it's a disappointment, no doubt, but things are being fixed.
5) Generally, transition years are tough for head coaches, and that's a trend that doesn't change at all.
6) We have most of the rivalry games back at home, Penn State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. Does help the chances.. a lot.
7) Strength of schedule? First four games are gimmes, we got western, Notre Dame(they're not gonna beat us at home), Eastern, and Indiana. Iowa and Purdue are semi gimmes. We could win if we take care of business, and that's 6 already. Chalk up 2 of 3 from Penn St (home), Illinois, and Michigan State, and we have 8 wins. Plus we probably could win whichever school that's taking the open. And though it's really tough to win against Wisconsin on the road, and probably hard to win against Tressel and his Corvette, we could still muster a 9 win season, without too much difficulty.

And I am really not chalking up a lot of the win for us. seriously, only 2 of 3 against Penn St, Illinois and MSU? In recent memories, they're considered our personal punching bags. They're not that good, and will sink back into the background, faster than you can say "mediocrity".

It all doesn't matter, I would think we could at least muster 7 wins, that's the 6 gimmes and the open slot. even if we lose to all 3 swing games, PSU, Illini, and MSU, we still could get a winning season and go to a bowl game.

2008-12-18T20:37:00.000-05:00

k this is cheating but whatever, I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks, I gotta do something to keep my readership up, right?

lyrics?
lyrics

Lyrics:
We were both young when I first saw you.
I close my eyes and the flashback starts:
I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air.

See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns.
See you make your way through the crowd
and say hello;

Little did I know
That you were Romeo; you were throwing pebbles,
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet."
And I was crying on the staircase,
begging you, 'Please, don't go.'

And I said,
"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.
I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run.
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'

So I sneak out to the garden to see you.
We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew.
So close your eyes; escape this town for a little while.
'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter,
And my daddy said "Stay away from Juliet,"
But you were everything to me; I was begging you, 'Please, don't go,'

And I said,
"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.
I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run.
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'

Romeo save me; they're tryin' to tell me how to feel.
This love is difficult, but it's real.
Don't be afraid; we'll make it out of this mess.
It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'

Oh.

I got tired of waiting,
Wondering if you were ever comin' around.
My faith in you was fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town.

And I said,
"Romeo save me - I've been feeling so alone.
I keep waiting for you but you never come.
Is this in my head? I don't know what to think-"

He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said,
"Marry me, Juliet. you'll never have to be alone.
I love you and that's all I really know.
I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress;
It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'

Oh, oh.

We were both young when I first saw you..

nifty web trick

2008-12-03T21:05:00.003-05:00

If you are using slacker.com and you want unlimited skips without having to pay then:

1) whenever u want to skip a song, just switch channels.
2) then switch back

then the song that was previously playing will be skipped.

This worked on Firefox 3.0.1

I might be renovating, but it's still years too early...

2008-12-03T19:30:00.004-05:00

On the subject of Charlie Weis getting another year, another shot at being the Head Coach of the Notre Dame football. And why he deserves nothing less than a humiliating exit from his alma mater.

First read this

Now, I said: "I feel sorry for Irish fans, for they have to endure fat Charlie for another season", someone told me this "Don't throw bricks if you're living in a glass house". I beg to differ.

- He's been there for 4 years now, the first two years, he did pretty well, going to BCS bowl games on Ty Willingham's players!! And when his own recruits came in and tried to play, he went 3-9 and 6-6. And then he had the audacity to blame Ty for leaving the cupboard bare.

- And then, he published a book at the end of the 3-9 season, titled "No Excuse" and said "We'll beat Michigan and listen to their excuses" and the infamous "To Hell with Michigan". No doubt, he later retracted it, but it's no reason for firing, really.

- Two years back, after his narrow loss to USC, he was awarded a 10 year contract, with an undisclosed buyout amount. It has been reported to be higher than usual, and some said it was in the 15 million range, which is not plausible.

Quote ESPN columnist Pat Forde
"After that last-second, three-point loss to Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, Weis declared that anyone expecting him to be happy with a moral victory would be wrong. After losing by 35 here, Weis sounded like a guy begging to be granted a moral victory. "I think one of the biggest aspects of today was whether we're going to play with passion and emotion," Weis said. "From the beginning of the game to the end of the game, we played with passion and emotion."

Very well. He deserves to go, but rumors say that his buyout is too expensive for him to be removed. He had worst record than Ty, had more talent on his roster, and yet he still failed to perform. Plus he had time for his scheme to set in. I guess, it's not plausible to run a 7 year plan on 4 year student athletes.

Now on Michigan

- Now, Rich Rodriguez has always asserted that the on-field performance of the players reflects the preparation of the coaching staff, and he said everything that has to go right has to start with him.

- 2 his contract states that he'll have 6 years, with 4 million buyout, with decreasing buyouts from year 4 onwards (2.5 million and 500 grand less every consecutive years). If you don't realize, if RRod doesn't do well for 4 years, he'd be out the door with 2.5 mil. If he does bring Michigan football to new heights, he'll be offerred probably better pay and a longer contract at the end of his 3rd year. That's planning, not a 10 year contract on an almost win against USC.

- Now. He is only in his first term, with virtually no talent at important positions. It's not Lloyd's fault so many players left, but these things are somewhat expected.

- So ND lost to syracuse, we lost to Toledo, I call it a tie, but with such difference in context, we can only call Weis a flop, and Rodriguez an occurrence. I am not saying this term is a success, because it isn't. Any year that we don't beat OSU isn't a success.

Now, if you tell me we should fire Rich Rodriguez after his first year, you got to be kidding me. YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. No glass houses here.

Microsoft Windows Update

2008-12-03T02:58:00.002-05:00

Is amazingly lousy. First they wanted me to install whatever genuine advantage blah blah blah, then I used it to install the new SVGA card driver, and then you know what happened? It completely disabled my video card.

Hey, geniuses at Microsoft, thanks for nothing.

When was the last time you engaged in...

2008-11-29T22:49:00.002-05:00

Adrenaline pumping sport? Rock Climbing? Skydiving?

I love the feeling of adrenaline, but unfortunately for me I have not have a chance to get my thrill. But I am thinking of taking up a sport like that, maybe that's why I always liked to play contact sports, like football, basketball, but unfortunately, team sports are not for everyone as there isn't a lot of average joe's league.

Well, I definitely hope to do something fun for a change...

I don't care by Fallout Boy

2008-11-28T18:36:00.002-05:00

http://www.falloutboyrock.com/falloutboy/blog.php

Lyrics

Say my name, and his in the same breath, I
Dare you to say they taste the same,
Let the leaves fall off in the summer
And let December glow in flames

Brace myself and let go,
Start it over again in Mexico
These friends, they don't love you
They just love the hotel suites, now

I don't care what you think,
As long as it's about me
The best of us can find happiness
In misery

I don't care what you think
As long as it's about me
The best of us can find happiness
In misery

Oh, take a chance, let your body get a tolerance,
I'm not a chance, but a heat wave in your pants
Pull a breath like another cigarette,
Pawn shop heart trading up, said no

I'm the oracle in my chest,
Let the guitar scream like a fascist,
Sweat it out, shut your mouth,
Free love on the streets, but
In the alley and I ain't that cheap, now

I don't care what you think,
As long as it's about me
The best of us can find happiness
In misery

I don't care what you think,
As long as it's about me
The best of us can find happiness
In misery

Said-a, I don't care just a-what you think,
As long as it's about me, you said-a
I don't care just what you think,
As long as it's about me, you said-a
I don't care (I don't care)
You said I don't care (I don't care)
Said I don't care,
I don't care
I don't care (I don't care), I said-a
I don't care

I don't care what you think,
As long as it's about me
The best of us can find happiness
In misery

I don't care what you think,
As long as it's about me
The best of us can find happiness
In misery..

K, that's an emo song from Fall Out Boy. And just trying to fit into the culture of pasting lyrics to a song to my blog and calling it a blog post. Wahahaha

For me? I don't care what you think, regardless of whether it's about me or not

Looking Back

2008-11-24T00:14:00.002-05:00

Utah - We only lost the game by 2 points against a BCS bowl contender.
Miami - First win of season
ND - Fumblefest
Wisconsin - Down 19-0 at halftime, we came back to beat the badgers 27-25
Illinois - Led early, lost in 2nd half, blown out
Toledo - Lost to unexpected MAC team
Penn State - Led early, blownout
Michigan State - Lost, heartbreaking
Purdue - So close, yet so far
Minnesota - At least we keep our brown jug
Northwestern - Led in the half, something to rejoice is that we only lost by a TD
Ohio State - what can I say? It's never a good day when we give up 42 points.

Mark my words, We will be back, And we'll pay them back in kind.

One more month.

2008-11-19T22:44:00.001-05:00

One more month. One. More. Month.

The best thing a presidential-elect can do

2008-11-17T14:52:00.002-05:00

Is to endorse a playoff system in the BCS.

http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/11/17/obama-said-he-will-throw-his-weight-around-concerning-a-colleg/

OSU week

2008-11-17T13:21:00.001-05:00

You know what it means. Go BLUE!

Drenched, Cold, and Proud

2008-11-15T16:42:00.003-05:00

In life, sometimes we are not given the credit we deserve. (Take my exam for instance. Unfortunately on that day, 2+2 isn't equal to 5, but seriously, 10 points? c'mon) There are many things we take for granted often enough, that you'll only realize the value of it when you lose it.

When we were down a TD late in the 4th, the marching band played "Don't Stop Believing", and I didn't stop believing. Didn't stop believing in every 3rd down, in every conversion attempt, in every play.

But alas, Sheridan's pass came incomplete, and sealed the fate for the Wolverines. The crowd wasn't in jubilation. It was probably my last home game as a student here in the U of M. But I felt somewhat peaceful, knowing that the boys in blue didn't stop fighting until it all ended. I felt like we're there, that's what football is all about, just keep trying. I wasn't frustrated like during the Michigan State game, I wasn't annoyed like the in the Illinois game, and I definitely wasn't crazy and all hyped up like after Wiscy. But it felt better, I applauded the team at the end of the game, for showing up, and I sang "the Victors" for the last time in the Big House before everyone left. I don't know when would I be able to come back again.

Sometimes, in order to move forward, we have to give all the credit for the little steps that we take. One step at a time. Don't say "at least you tried" or "sometimes your best is still not good enough", instead, say "Thank You"

I didn't think we should have won the game, the Wildcats played consistent football for 4 quarters and definitely deserved a win. But we played them hard, and for me, it's more than enough. I don't give partial credits for trying - I give full. They're a growing team, they are a good team, and most importantly, they're my team, and I'll always be proud of them.

Go Blue! Beat OSU!

Don't stop believing

The Chimpanzee God

2008-11-13T09:48:00.004-05:00

I find that Christian Evolutionist somewhat an oxymoron. Like you don't have a conservative liberal. Let me make my case:

If all beings came into existence through small evolutionary steps, then did god evolve too? Did he become something else through the Millenniums of human evolution? Then again, evolution is a process, where natural and environmental factors come into play, if god didn't reproduce and died many times over, he wouldn't be able to evolve.

Then the bible said "god created man in his own image". (Not women though, oddly enough, women came from a rib of Adam, apparently)

Because if god existed at the time of us coming into being, he would be a caveman. Wait, he'd be more primitive than a caveman. He would be a prehistoric primate.

Therefore, my conclusion is, god is a primate. And we should change the Hebrew scriptures, as well as all the bibles in the world. Every time there's a divine commandment, or when "god" said something, replace it with "ooh ooh ooh, aa aa aah" just like how a chimpanzee would sound like.

"And god said "ooh ooh oo, aa aa aah", and there was light"

(Even if it did evolve, we could never guarantee that it would be a human form right now, he could be a distant cousin of ours, like the Orangutan or something, and I'll have to change my post to The Orangutan God, or the Baboon God or something else)

Anti Corruption Bill tabled at Parliament

2008-11-07T14:57:00.002-05:00

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/7/nation/20081107195455&sec=nation

Guess, he's finally doing the job he's promised since before he even started his term. To run a clean government and to exact justice on the corrupt. Well, will it pass the parliament?

Nevertheless, if anything has to work out, it must get the support of the judiciary, assuming the chief judge is not being appointed...

Allen Iverson

2008-11-05T16:43:00.001-05:00

Allen Iverson to Detroit.

DEEETROIT BASKETBAAAAAALLL

So, what now?

2008-11-05T10:17:00.003-05:00

Do we brace for a international crisis that the world has never seen? An international crisis that will test the mettle, the very fiber of leadership of Barack Obama?

Heh Heh Heh