a proper gentleman

i'd do the same!

Brick. Not.

Following the stunning developments of last Friday night where Reggie Bush was not picked first in the 2006 NFL Draft (Radio City Music Hall, NYC) by the Houston Texans, the Jets have seemingly seen the light and refrained from picking Nick Lachey ... i mean, Matt Leinart, or any USC product. I mean they could've traded up with New Orleans, who were picking #2, to get Bush.

No, instead, they stood pat at #4 and bolstered their offensive line by taking highest-rated tackle and Long Island native D'Brickashaw Ferguson. This means whoever is going play QB for the Jets has a greater chance of remaining vertical longer than what we've come to expect. I saw fans cheering the pick and pointing to their heads (the same collective whom everyone thought would go nuts and riot at Sixth Avenue if the Jets didn't pick pretty boy Leinart). Also, Kevin Mawae replacement Nick Mangold comes in at #24. Not to say he will be completely replacing Mawae's production and leadership, but its a new era for the Jets with new head coach Eric Mangini. At least someone in management has their heads screwed on right, and didn't draft for glamour, marketing glitz, and fear of fan backlash.

At #49, they also took Kellen Clemens, rated to be the best QB among potential 2nd round picks. That's good, which means they have insurance towards the future.

And it also means I keep my Chad Pennington jersey for at least one more year. And I can also wear my Texans with a little pride, if they win at least 8 games *s*.

Go Gang Green!

down and up in shanksville

managed to get through it.



i wonder how many in the audience were there that time? some of them clapped and cheered when the passengers made their attempt to take over the plane. by the end, a somber mood pervaded the cinema. some people were even sobbing, and others filed out slowly, perhaps both depressed and glad to get it out of their system. the last time i saw a movie that really affected everyone was maybe Se7en, and that was fiction.

now can i resume watching 7 Days in September? again, i don't know.

remembering

when i learned that they had made a movie out of the 4th hijacked plane during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, i resolved to not to miss it. it might have been your usual run-of-the-mill action thriller, if not for the unusual circumstances of the events it depicts. why not have high hopes for the action aspect - the movie is directed by Paul Greengrass after all (Bloody Sunday, the Matt Damon Bourne series). and it should be seen in a positive light, since it was the only hijacked plane that did not complete its mission.

an hour ago, i had second thoughts.

among the discs in my dvd pile was 7 Days in September, the critically-acclaimed documentary by TV director Steven Rosenbaum. i thought it would make a great bookend to United 93. dealing mostly with the aftermath of the destruction of the Twin Towers seen through the eyes of ordinary New Yorkers, the incredible footage is totally riveting and brings you right there in Lower Manhattan in those very hours. its also a powerful punch in the gut, as you see people reacting to a very extraordinary unexpected event, and trying to make sense of it in their own way.

5 minutes in and i'm already teary-eyed.




i gave up at 30 minutes and had to let my nausea settle down.



i don't know if i can watch United 93.

build

5 years later, rebooting WTC starts now.






if for anything, its also a huge middle finger aimed at terrorism. take that, Al Qaeda!*

* no relation to Al Coholic

nuts and bolts:
http://www.wtc.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Tower
http://www.projectrebirth.org/
http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/
http://www.nyc-tower.com/

rise from dead

okay, okay, just to make delphi happy ....

Official Survivor Congratulations! You scored 68%!

Whether through ferocity or quickness, you made it out. You made the right choice most of the time, but you probably screwed up somewhere. Nobody's perfect, at least you're alive.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 9% on survivalpoints

Link: The Zombie Scenario Survivor Test

no wipeout

good news for screensuckers!

-

Judge: Employee Web surfing not unreasonable
from CNN.com
Tuesday, April 25, 2006; Posted: 2:45 a.m. EDT (06:45 GMT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Surfing the Web at work is equivalent to reading a newspaper or talking on the phone, an administrative law judge said in recommending the lightest possible punishment for a city worker accused of disregarding warnings to stay off the Internet.

The case involved Toquir Choudhri, a 14-year veteran of the Department of Education, whose office computer had been used to visit news and travel Web sites.

"It should be observed that the Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper, providing a combination of communication and information that most employees use as frequently in their personal lives as for their work," Administrative Law Judge John Spooner said in recommending only a reprimand for Choudhri.

The judge noted that city agencies allow workers to make personal calls if it doesn't interfere with their work performance.

Choudhri's lawyer, Martin Druyan, called the ruling "very reasonable."

-

Huuuraahhhh! Now we can surf at will!


Oops, i'd better post this blog before the Internet Police come a'cruising.

round and round it goes

at least its never boring. you know, what if we didn't have Cruising Tom and Parasite Hilton to hate and laugh at? the latter was reportedly almost electrocuted when she fell drunk into a pool and someone threw in the hair dryer after her. shiiite. that bitch will survive a nuclear holocaust along with the roaches. why, God, why???

in other matters, Charlie "I Totally Deny I'm F**k'd Up" Sheen is trying to cover his dirty ass as he threatens soon-to-be-ex-wife Denise Richards not to blab about his indiscretions.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0424061sheen1.html


of course, hopes for a somewhat moral high ground were sort of dashed when Denise was found canoodling with Richie Sambora over the weekend.

Richie. Freaking. Sambora.

Yes, he played guitar for Bon Jovi, which means he gets to get a lot more chicks than you do. Nyahahahaha.

the same Sambora whom Heather Locklear (yes, that Heather Locklear) left for David Spade.

yes, that ugly little man.

why, God, why??

saranghamedabo.

'tis the season ... pt. 5

What European City Do You Belong In?

You Belong in Paris

You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris. You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe.

diva ako'y tao lang ...

If Wolverine could really pop his claws ...

-

Hugh Jackman has revealed one of his ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ co-stars is a complete diva.

The actor says one precious cast member had a specialist coffee maker flown in to make just one cup of the hot beverage each day during filming.

Jackman, who will not reveal who the diva is, said: "This person liked an ice-blended drink, so a specialist was flown up and stayed on set for this person to have one cup a day.

"I used to talk to the guy because I felt sorry for him. He had to stand around all day and make one drink."

-

lemme guess ....

Ian McKellen/Magneto? (could be diva-ish, with pilantik ng daliri, to boot)

James Marsden/Cyclops? (just like the comics, Logan and Scott have this tension going on ... but Marsden doesn't seem like a ice-blend kind of guy, more like a Dr. Pepper kind of guy)

Shawn Ashmore/Iceman? (what? can't he make his own ice blend drink? lazyass.)

hey, why are we assuming its a "he"? it could be Becky Romijn, ferchrissakes! but hell, you know Jerry "I Used To Be Fat But How You Like Me Now, Loser" O'Connell is gonna be fetching her those drinks.

ah well, let's wait for the tabloids to report on who it is. nyhahahahaha!

'tis the season ... pt. 4

The Animal Personality Test

Your Animal Personality

Your Power Animal: Deer Animal You Were in a Past Life: Panda You are a fun-seeker - an adventurous, risk-taker. While you are spontaneous, you are not very rational.

have you scene me

PEOPLE WHO SHOULD NOT BE IN A McDONALDS

i shouldn't be in a McDonald's either, but hey, i gots the camera!

IT WAS INEVITABLE ...

somebody bothered to actually mass-produce these stickers

ford fieri

GUY wins!

'tis the season ... pt. 3

What American City Are You?

You Are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
You're totally weird and very proud of it.
Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way.

Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

I Am A Witness.

-
photo from ESPN.COM

'tis the season ... pt. 2

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Erotic Thriller

You've made your own rules in life - and sometimes that catches up with you. Winding a web of deceit comes naturally, and no one really knows the true you. Your best movie matches: Swimming Pool, Unfaithful, The Crush

'tis the season ... pt. 1

How Evil Are You?

You Are 36% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

balla 2

so after 5+ months, here we are again for the NBA playoffs. didn't watch any during the regular season (nyuknyuk), but hey, what's the Internet for? anyway, looking back at my opening post on it, my East teams had a higher success rate getting into the playoffs than my West ones.

Orlando doesn't make it, but has high hopes for next season. the real bummer is the state of the TWolves, with the spectre of KG being traded looming this summer. the Rockets just sucked, and the Jazz has officially been cursed by the presence of Booger, i mean Carlos Boozer.

and the hometown team? stuck with the second-worst record in the league. their lottery pick goes to Chicago. still saddled with salary albatrosses like Starbury and Not.Franchise. Isiah Thomas is still breathing. Larry Brown gets hospitalized. joy, joy, joy.

EAST		WEST
DETROIT	MILWAUKEE	SAN ANTONIO	SACRAMENTO
Puh-leaze. Bucks lack the experience; they'll be lucky to win 1 game. They're even lucky to get into the playoffs with only 40 wins. On the opposite end is the 64-18 Pistons. Quo vadis, Larry Brown?		Will Ron-Ron's prediction come true? Will the Spurs survive a thin bench? Should the Kings move to Vegas? Will Tony Parker marry Eva Longoria? In Vegas? In a Maloof-owned hotel? Abangan.
MIAMI	CHICAGO	PHOENIX	L.A. LAKERS
If there's going to be a 1st-round upset, this is the one. Heat barely beat Da Bulls in 2 out of 3 regular season games. DWade needs to shine. Without stockings.		If there's going to be another 1st-round upset, this is the one. Phoenix is vulnerable without Amare, and you know the Black Mamba is waiting to prove everyone wrong. Everyone.
NEW JERSEY	INDIANA	DENVER	L.A. CLIPPERS
Pacers barely squeak into the playoffs, and will leave just as quickly. Expect Larry Bird to break up this crew soon. Damn Ron-Ron. The other half of the news is how far will the Nets go? Vinsanity rules!		The Clippers? In the playoffs. Better believe it. By quirk of new rules, Clips get homecourt advantage despite Nugs getting #3 seed. Imagine Sam-I-Am and Melo trading clutch baskets. OMG.
CLEVELAND	WASHINGTON	DALLAS	MEMPHIS
You want a shootout? You got a shootout. It will be King James' coming-out party, with Gilbert Arenas waiting to spoil it. I need to watch this series, dammit! Where's it on? Call the cable guys!!!		Torn between two teams. Reborn Spanish balla Pau Gasol and his Grizz can't hang with Dallas' firepower, but if Dirk Diggler goes down in any way, look out. AJ should be Coach of the Year.

OK, next post about this will be after conclusion of each round. For now am putting my money (all 69 cents of it) on: Pistons, Heat, Nets and Cavs in the East, with the Spurs, Suns, Clippers and the Mavs moving up in the West.

Game Time.

unsubtle subliminals

as they say, it ain't hard to read between the lines.





yeah, you just have to stop, take out your cellphone and fire away. thanks to manhattan ministorage for the laughs.

WHO AM I?

I am the latest in the assembly line of "jerks who make James Bond's life miserable yet fulfilling."

I was left alone by family as a child. Twice. Or was that thrice?

I hate my parents.

____________________________________



I don't believe in medicines, and use my good looks and clout to act like an idiot IRL.

I just became a proud papa of a baby alien, and now I will eat my wife's placenta.

Watch my new movie on May 5, or else I will lock you up with Xenu!

I hate my papa.

____________________________________



I am on trial for being the only man who didn't succeed in my mission.

I am happy that Comedy Central refused to show images of Allah on that evil show, South Park.

I could still escape justice because i might, "just might" ... be crazy.

I was not loved by my parents.

Word of The Week: Hippocampus

Hippocampus. Of course, its a school for those river horses that are on the endangered species list.

Seriously. The hippocampus is a part of the brain located inside the temporal lobe (humans have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain). It forms a part of the limbic system and plays a part in memory and navigation. The name derives from its curved shape, which slightly resembles a seahorse (Greek: hippocampus).

In Alzheimer's disease, the hippocampus becomes one of the first regions of the brain to suffer damage; memory problems and disorientation appear amongst the first symptoms. Damage to the hippocampus can also result from oxygen starvation (anoxia) and encephalitis.

Role in General Memory
Psychologists and neuroscientists dispute the precise role of the hippocampus, but, in general, agree that it has an essential role in the formation of new memories about experienced events (episodic or autobiographical memory). Some researchers prefer to consider the hippocampus as part of a larger medial temporal lobe memory system responsible for general declarative memory (memories that can be explicitly verbalized).

Some evidence supports the idea that, although these forms of memory often last a lifetime, the hippocampus ceases to play a crucial role in the retention of the memory after a period of consolidation. Damage to the hippocampus usually results in profound difficulties in forming new memories (anterograde amnesia), and normally also affects access to memories prior to the damage (retrograde amnesia). Damage to the hippocampus does not affect some aspects of memory, such as the ability to learn new skills (playing a musical instrument, for example), suggesting that such abilities depend on a different type of memory (procedural memory) and different brain regions.

Role in Spatial Memory and Navigation
Some evidence implicates the hippocampus in storing and processing spatial information. Studies in rats have shown that neurons in the hippocampus have spatial firing fields. These cells are called place cells. Some cells fire when the animal finds itself in a particular location, regardless of direction of travel, while most are at least partially sensitive to head direction and direction of travel. In rats, some cells, termed splitter cells, may alter their firing depending on the animal's recent past (retrospective) or expected future (prospective). Different cells fire at different locations, so that, by looking at the firing of the cells alone, it becomes possible to tell where the animal is. Place cells have now been seen in humans involved in finding their way around in a virtual reality town. The findings resulted from research with individuals that had electrodes implanted in their brains as a diagnostic part of surgical treatment for serious epilepsy.

The discovery of place cells led to the idea that the hippocampus might act as a cognitive map - a neural representation of the layout of the environment. Recent evidence has cast doubt on this perspective, indicating that the hippocampus might be crucial for more fundamental processes within navigation. Regardless, studies with animals have shown that an intact hippocampus is required for simple spatial memory tasks (for instance, finding the way back to a hidden goal).

Without a fully-functional hippocampus, humans may not successfully remember the places they have been to and how to get where they are going. Researchers believe that the hippocampus plays a particularly important role in finding shortcuts and new routes between familiar places. Some people exhibit more skill at this sort of navigation than do others, and brain imaging shows that these individuals have more active hippocampi when navigating.

Does this mean that women in general do not have fully-developed hippocampi? Okay, okay, put that frying pan down.

London's taxi drivers must learn a large number of places and know the most direct routes between them (they have to pass a strict test, The Knowledge, before being licensed to drive the famous black cabs). A study at University College London showed that part of the hippocampus is larger in taxi drivers than in the general public, and that more-experienced drivers have bigger hippocampi. Whether having a bigger hippocampus helps an individual to become a cab driver or finding shortcuts for a living makes an individual's hippocampus grow is yet to be explained.

New York taxi drivers, in the meantime, have been proven to have large hippocampi, but are fairly empty. In fact, the comedian Jerry Seinfeld has mostly stated that to qualify as a NYC Taxi Driver, you merely need to have a face.


Why all this discourse on hippocampi, you ask? Well, it started with this article on BBC about Duke Nukem and memory.

Studies of the brain using the video game Duke Nukem have shown how sleep affects long-term memory. The Belgian team used MRI scans to see how volunteers stored spatial information from the game. Sleep-deprived gamers recalled information from a different part of the brain to those who slept.

"If you move to a new town, you have to think about where you are going," said Pierre Orban of Liege University in Belgium, one of the authors on the paper. "But with time, once you know the city, you don't have to think about your route anymore."

This automatic behaviour may be enhanced by sleep, the researchers believe. It mimics patterns of memory formation seen when a task is repeated. The work also explains how the brain is able to file and store this information.

Scans showed that the hippocampus, an area of the brain known to be involved in memory and direction, was most active when the gamers had to retrieve memories to reach their destination.

The volunteers were then split into two groups: those that were allowed a good night's sleep and those that were not. Over the next two nights, both groups were allowed to sleep.

Volunteers were then asked to play the game again, navigating the streets between two landmarks as quickly as possible while the scientists watched their brain activity with MRI. The closer a gamer got to the final landmark, the better the score. The researchers found that the group who had slept recalled information from an area of the brain known as the striatum.

Storing these memories allowed them to make automatic decisions about the direction they had to travel. Sleep-deprived gamers, who still relied on the hippocampus, had to think harder about their virtual navigation. "If you have slept, you use a means of navigation that is less thoughtful," Mr Orban told the BBC News website. "You somehow know that you have to turn left, or right or carry straight on." This work shows that sleep promotes memory reorganization from the hippocampus to the striatum.

Moral Lesson: "Make Sure You Get Lots of Sleep Breaks When Finishing That New PS2 First Person Shooter", or better yet, "The Game Will Still Be There When You Wake Up."

-
selected texts from BBC News Service and Wikipedia

let the love begin

this week, Toshiba fires the opening shot of the new DVD Format wars, as their new HD-A1 HD-DVD player hits the streets. this collision has been brewing for the last few years, and now the consumers get a front-row seat, and the choice to make which side they're on.

more likely, they'll be getting both (especially those who need to have to the latest and greatest gadgets as soon as it becomes available - yes, am talking about you cellphone nuts. ok, its not just them cellphone nuts.

the only fly in the ointment here is you need to have a huge screen HDTV anyway to take advantage of playing HD-DVDs (whose library is of course still in infant stage). but of course, those who are gadget nuts already have freakin $#%!@*$&$& HDTVs. boo hoo hoo simple minimum wage-gardener-errand boys like me.

in a nutshell:

HD DVD	BLU-RAY
Toshiba, RCA, Microsoft, Intel, HP, LG, Sanyo	Sony, Philips, Samsung, Pioneer, Panasonic, HP, Apple, Dell
Universal, HBO, WB, Paramount, Weinsteins	Sony Pictures/MGM, Disney, Lion's Gate, Fox, Paramount, WB
Blue Laser	Blue Laser
15 Gb dual layer disc capacity	25 Gb dual layer disc capacity
Available right now	Available Summer 2006
$500 + +	$1,000 + +

and we can see that there fence-sitters on both sides anyway (Paramount, WB, HP - producing discs in both formats) who don't want to go the way of the Betamax losers, and will be exclusively producing whichever type wins down the road.

as for me, since i aim to get a PS3 anyway later this year (but not going to line up at 12 AM), that will have Blu-Ray technology, which would free me up later to get an HD-DVD, especially when prices drop. Microsoft though, is talking about an XBox add-on which would allow HD-DVD capability. all signs point then to waiting. and getting both. yep, fence-sitter. me. care to make something out of it?

TNFNS

just goes to show how much i know ... Nathan (Lex Luthor!!) and Carissa just got knocked out of the Next Food Network Star competition. but no matter, Guy's the GUY. he's a lot more instinctive, creative and knowledgeable. plus who doesn't want a badass to spice up a tv show eh?

hong kong garden

if its Black Saturday, we must be in ... Chinatown!

the Brooklyn version, anyway, on 8th Ave. the unique smell won't distinguish the location.

looking for foodies to stock up, we managed not to get overpowered by the ah, stench, and getting as much as we could for less than $50. but part of the fun is looking at all sorts of "Engrish"-type stuff, and other oddities.


the favorite chocolate of specific car afficionados


there's always something fishy in ....


heaven. gunpowder. yep. got it.


i didn't know Mr. Ocampo was hawking his own brand


and beside the tofu jello, we have some turtle ass ... (okay, translation please)


everyone had one back in the '80s - and now it costs friggin' $93.00?!?!?


take us to your leader! but first show us the money!


just in case you want to go native (banana leaves)


why am i not suprised? they have both the coffee powder and substitute candy


eeewww


eeewwwwer


eeewwwwest


to take all that eeewww away, pastries and sago drinks were provided by the Dragon Bay Bakery. wait, was that before or after seeing all that ghastly eels and frogs? can't remember. we also had to burn our clothes thereafter.

still no alternative Pinoy store, except the one in Staten Island. damn. oh well, Brooklyn Chinatown is still a cheap source for foodies. but i still have a craving for Skyflakes, chicharon, ensaymada, cuchinta, and Chippy.

don't live on bread alone. bring some cash.

CNN/Money came out with its list of the (current) Top 50 jobs in America. within the site, you can further look up each job or go through their sortings. at any rate, i am sharing the basic list here.

(actually, this post gave me an excuse to fix the problem with using tables in Blogger. victory is mine! bwahahahahaha!)

it's actually ironic and fitting at the same time, that they came out with this on a Good Friday ... you scan the list and weep as you sacrifice being in a dead-end job. (ok. stop. bitter. rant. now. remember Jesus' sacrifice this day.)

despite a portion of the IT field being outsourced in the past few years, you still have 2 of those job positions in the Top 10. and surprisingly, nurses come in at #47 (though its supposed to be in high demand, and is definitely one of 2 easiest ways to get a green card - the other way is to marry a Yank).

some of the easier (relatively) jobs that are competitive with the IT profession are physician's assistant, chiropractor (!), veterinarian and an actuary. what's an actuary? something like a statistical analyst.

non-CEO professions that go into six-figure territory include financial advisors, sales and advertising positions, doctors and dentists, and of course, those sharply-dressed devils known as lawyers. that's right, sell your souls and tell lies for money and power! (ok, ok, am calming down)

as you can see, Hollywood and its denizens is not in the picture because those high-paying jobs are not really "jobs", in the real-world sense of Joe Schmoe, John Doe and Joe Q. Public. so, Oprah and Tom Cruise can go to hell for all i care. (ok, ok, am taking my pills now.)

by the way, for my documentation colleagues in Manila, look at #13. there is hope.

of course, all of these means jackshit if (1) you don't have a working visa; and (2) you work in a state with high income taxes (the downside of living in NYC. *sigh*)

rank	job	growth	avg. pay
1	software engineer	46.07%	$80,427
2	college professor	31.39%	$81,491
3	financial advisor	25.92%	$122,462
4	human resources mngr	23.47%	$73,731
5	physician assistant	49.65%	$75,117
6	market resrch analyst	20.19%	$82,317
7	computer/IT analyst	36.10%	$83,427
8	real estate appraiser	22.78%	$66,216
9	pharmacist	24.57%	$91,998
10	psychologist	19.14%	$66,359
11	advertising manager	20.34%	$107,049
12	physical therapist	36.74%	$54,883
13	technical writer	23.22%	$57,841
14	chiropractor	22.40%	$84,996
15	medical scientist	34.06%	$70,053
16	physical scientist	12.18%	$80,213
17	engineer	13.38%	$76,100
18	curriculum developer	27.53%	$55,793
19	editor	14.77%	$78,242
20	p.r. specialist	22.61%	$84,567
21	sales manager	19.67%	$135,903
22	optometrist	19.73%	$93,670
23	property manager	15.30%	$78,375
24	actuary	23.16%	$81,509
25	writer	17.72%	$60,519
26	social service manager	25.52%	$74,584
27	paralegal	29.75%	$61,204
28	health svcs manager	22.76%	$92,211
29	advertising sales agent	16.33%	$112,683
30	physician/surgeon	23.98%	$247,536
31	management analyst	20.12%	$63,426
32	occupational therapist	33.61%	$51,973
33	mental health counslr	27.18%	$53,150
34	landscape architect	19.43%	$50,383
35	biotech res. scientist	17.05%	$66,393
36	urban planner	15.17%	$60,891
37	lawyer	14.97%	$153,923
38	spch-lang. pathologist	14.57%	$58,329
39	meeting/conv. plannr	22.21%	$56,072
40	dietitian/nutritionist	18.30%	$52,244
41	biological scientist	17.03%	$61,317
42	financial analyst	17.33%	$66,203
43	dentist	13.52%	$122,883
44	accountant	22.43%	$62,575
45	environmental scientist	17.11%	$59,027
46	lab technologist	20.53%	$51,502
47	registered nurse	29.35%	$68,872
48	sales engineer	13.96%	$78,875
49	veterinarian	17.39%	$79,923
50	school administrator	14.55%	$73,767

renew. not.

if i go blind in the next few weeks, you know why.

and "MoistureLoc" sounded so cool.

well ... shiiiit.

"I have lots of things, like all these Manolo Blahniks. I have all that and I think it's great. I'm not one of those people like, 'Well, we must renounce ourselves.' No, I have a closet full of shoes and it's a good thing. I was coming back from Africa on one of my trips. I had taken one of my wealthy friends with me. She said, 'Don't you just feel guilty? Don't you just feel terrible?' I said, 'No, I don't. I do not know how me being destitute is going to help them.' Then I said when we got home, 'I'm going home to sleep on my Pratesi sheets right now and I'll feel good about it.' "

- Oprah


when you read things like these, you feel like getting a murderous urge.

(serenity now!)

left behind

does this mean if we have to evacuate to Mars or another planet, those that can't have to be left behind?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/13/disney.world.death.ap/index.html

control

Synergy is cool. Allows you to use only one mouse and keyboard for multiple PCs. The fact that you are actually using more than one PC (in my case, laptops) at the same time is already frowned upon by the general masses and increases your chances for adult ADD, but hey - any usable software is cool in my book. now i can play Doom3 and Sims at the same time. OK, just kidding.

Can we add more PCs here, Mr. Sys Admin? I need 3 more for general surfing, email, and oh yeah, for my normal 9-to-5 job.

"No!"

-
thanks to a Mr. Jon Aquino for the info. i am now adding you to the geek list on the left.

golden jewel

finally revealed - US military ops naming generator.

bwahahahahaha.

tweak

darn. template changes can be time-consuming, especially for a moron like me. i still have issues with the Search tool i added on the sidebar, but this may be tied to the fact that i switched URLs not too long ago, and most of the stuff is still indexed under the old URL (which is now owned by some weirdo).

plus, i keep adding links and am running out of proper food to categorize them *lol*

btw, thanks for the shout-out at your blog, "dad". nyhahahahaha.

ugly bob

Man breaks Da Vinci Code, Now Has Money For Hairstylist. News at 11.

All Hail The King

yes, yes ... i know i didn't watch you in Cleveland when i had the chance. and now i'm gonna regret it for the rest of my life.

unless you bolt the Cavs and come to the Knicks.

now that would be .... whoaaaaa!

foodies

i generally don't like reality shows, but certain kinds of competition make me pay attention (first season of The Apprentice, Amazing Race). because of someone totally hooked with the Food Network, i got roped into watching the Next Food Network Star. and what do you know, we're already down to 4 finalists from the original 8.

last weekend, the contestants were asked to deliver a 3-minute pitch to the network executives/judges, if they were to have their own cooking show. Prior to that, school was in session when Alton Brown coached them on how to do the pitch, and tracked them with cameras around groceries and supermarkets when they were doing their video shoots.

by the way, the other week they had Giada De Laurentiis as their teacher of the week. you bet i didn't miss that.

so let's have a quick rundown:


Andy Schumacher

Brooklyn transplant started already getting more upbeat and less aloof with his audience interaction then his pitch got shot down, 'cause it kind of meandered around. too bad - he was a nice guy. you could see him tearing up as he walked out of the building and into a cab a-la ending of The Apprentice.



Carissa Seward

managed to survive the 2 previous weeks where she barely outdid the other 2 girls (who are now obviously out). Alton wanted her to tone down the glamour, but her pitch on things French was simple enough for the judges to like. as its shaping up, she will be in the final 3 with Guy and Nathan.



Guy Fieri

Mr. CookTech, the most affable and charming person in the bunch, and gets my vote to win this competition. now if he could just tone down his 'Cooking Insider' act and make things easy and understandable enough for us laymen (primarily cooking neanderthals - nay, amoeba, like me).



Nathan Lyon

i suspect his toothpaste smile and telegenic hunk persona lets him off the hook week after week, and now he's gotten to the final 4 - it'll be down the wire with Guy and him. if this were The Apprentice, he'd leave a trail of bodies in his wake. if he doesn't make it here, he can still audition for Lex Luthor in Superman Lives.



Reggie Southerland

gender jokes aside, Reggie is basically a baker who got lucky to get this far. his friendliness and sass is a plus, but then what the hell - i havent tasted any of his cooking (nor the others anyway). will be eliminated this weekend.

as the polling goes, viewers agree with me.



now if only i had the patience to cook (no, someone's spoiling me, thats why ...)
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photos from foodnetwork.com

screenings

what i learned from watching TV

- if the stink goes high up the Oval Office, you know you're screwed. but its a TV show so that means you can - can! - take down the freakin PUSA (that means President of the USA .... actually, it should be POTUS, but hey, PUSA sounds better).

- Jack Bauer is a cold-hearted sonofabitch (why leave a wounded intelligence source for potential capture - and death, after getting the info you want). that being said, i wish he existed so he can monkeywrench all the dirty gov't-backed black ops that hurt this great nation.

- the body count is getting higher. 24 hours in Jack's life is like a massacre. i can't even remember who died first (hint: its the actor currently shilling for State Farm insurance, having been written out of the series).

- Jack's PDA and phone must have a solar battery. they never die. imagine receiving important intel info from Chloe, and then Jack chokes on his spittle as he sees "Low Batt" blinking.

- speaking of Chloe, she did get some love from CNN. being the only competent tech in CTU (post-Edgar), she needs ice cold coffee in her veins. and some superconducting brain liquid. now that i think about it, she does fit the role - geek enough but not pretty enough to be a bimbo.

- i kind of miss Rudy, i mean ... Sam Gamgee ... i mean, Sean Astin. but then again, there's really no shortage of micromanaging let's-get-into-a-pissing-contest bureaucrats in this show. can we just take them all out in the back in the end and shoot them all?

- if the spineless PUSA is in cahoots with the Defense Minister, that will really suuuuuuuck!

what i learned from watching DVD

- actually i dont know which is worse, being a Cylon or being human. Cylons want to replace humans and that means they'll also have their own drama, backstabbing, bullshit, and general crap. they're even more confused than the humans (do you want to be metal or do you want to be flesh and blood?). is that an allegory for being gay? just asking.

- whether in the future or in another universe, religion is always an important factor. it could save you, or it could make you wander around aimlessly. but with their solar system based on the zodiac signs, i'm surprised the humans just don't wake up everyday and read horoscopes before going out ("Today avoid the Beta 2 sector; the stars are not aligned and you could run into pack of Cylons. If you can't avoid it, bring heavy weaponry.").

- what the frak is with all the frakking? i mean, despite not being from Earth, you all know 99% of the English language so why can't you say "fuck"? is this a kiddie show? c'mon!!

- i know i am way behind but please indulge me. tell me Apollo and Starbuck finally get it on in Season 2. inside a yucky Cylon Raider, no less. bad enough that Baltar got Starbuck in the sack, or the Chief shagging Boomer. well, it could be worse. they could have been shagging the reptiles in V.

OVERLY WIRED? THERE'S A WORD FOR IT
By LISA BELKIN, New York Times
Published: April 9, 2006

WAS there gridlock before there were automobiles? Was there jet lag before there were airplanes? Who was the first person to say "I Googled it" or "he's cyberstalking me"? At what moment did a "web log" turn into a "blog"?

Language makes things official. Change in the pace of life over the last decade can be measured by change in our vocabulary. We I.M., we get phished, we have PIN's. We HotSync, therefore we are.

Does a phenomenon fully exist until it has a name? Dr. Edward M. Hallowell thinks not, and he knows more than a little about naming a trend into existence. He was the first to name adult attention deficit disorder, or Adult A.D.D., back in 1995, and now he is taking on the rest of modern life in "CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked and About to Snap! Strategies for Coping in a World Gone A.D.D." (Ballantine Books, 2006). The frenzy of our wired world, he argues, is giving nearly all of us the symptoms of attention deficit disorder. To conquer the enemy, he says, we first need to name it.

So he has come up with the following suggestions, among others:

Screensucking, which he defines as "wasting time engaging with any screen — for instance, computer, video game, television, BlackBerry." He goes on to use his new word in a sentence: "I was supposed to write that article, but instead I spent the whole afternoon screensucking." That concept hits particularly close to home.

EMV, or E-Mail Voice. This, Dr. Hallowell writes, is "the unearthly tone a person's voice takes on when he is reading e-mail while talking to you on the telephone." Researchers at M.I.T., he tells us, have developed a program that can electronically measure how engaged people are in a conversation, giving scientific certainty to your suspicion that you are not being listened to.

Frazzing. Defined as "multitasking ineffectively." The term multitasking itself was originally coined to describe what a computer does during the microseconds between keystrokes. Then it came to mean something humans are proud to do. And when we crash (also a computer term) while trying to multitask, we frazz.

Gemmelsmerch. "The force that distracts the mind or steals it away from what it wants to do or ought to be doing." For example, "Accidents along the highway are high in gemmelsmerch, compelling drivers to slow down and gawk. A jackhammer outside your window is high in gemmelsmerch. Getting news that you will be audited by the I.R.S. is high in gemmelsmerch. ... As if covered in a radioactive cloud of the stuff, the world has never been as high in gemmelsmerch as it is today."

These are all good words. But Dr. Hallowell's list is far from complete. A world transforming itself at an almost cancerous pace requires an exponentially new vocabulary. Coined with the help of some friends — particularly my husband, Bruce Gelb, word maven extraordinaire, and Al Cattabiani, founder of Garagista Records and the best punster I know — here are a few of my own additions:

Spammified: to end up in your spam folder by mistake. This is becoming the new "check is in the mail" excuse for why we don't answer e-mail messages. "I am so sorry, but I only just got your message. It had been spammified."

Cellopain: the jerk who talks loudly and obliviously on his cellphone in a crowd. There are other words for this person, but they are not printable.

Regurgimailer: people who forward to everyone they know everything that lands in their in-boxes. Warnings about techniques that rapists use in parking lots; photos of adorable missing children; heart-warming lists of why women and their friendships are so wonderful; jokes about, well, everything. The fact that most of the items either have been traveling the Internet for years or turn out not to be true, or both, does not stop them. A word to regurgimailers — check Snopes.com before you forward, please.

Reverberon: the kind of e-mail described above, which has been forwarded endlessly and everywhere.

Telamnesia: a condition that restricts you to talking only to people who are on your speed-dial list because you no longer keep phone numbers in your head. For me, this includes my own home, which I misdialed the other day.

Logonorrhea: a related condition that renders you unable to use certain online accounts because you can remember neither your screen name nor your password.

Bluetooth fairy: a person who walks around with the blinking glow of a Bluetooth headset permanently in one ear. I stand guilty as charged.

There are more, of course. Send me yours. And e-mail this to everyone you know. If it doesn't end up spammified, it can become a reverberon.

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i am an admitted screensucker with partial telamnesia, and i hate cellopains and regurgimailers.

it just takes awhile to travel ...

Imagine all the people
living life in peace
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

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photo courtesy (yeah right) of AP/BBC

Once Again, It's Time For Everybody ...

... to come aboard, the Quiz Train!

Quiz :: Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in?

You scored as SG-1 (Stargate). You are versatile and diverse in your thinking. You have an open mind to that which seems highly unlikely and accept it with a bit of humor. Now if only aliens would stop trying to take over your body. Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 75% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 75% SG-1 (Stargate) 75% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 69% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 69% Moya (Farscape) 69% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 63% Serenity (Firefly) 56% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 56% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 50% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 50% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 44% created with QuizFarm.com

tanging e.u. lamang

register, register!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/04/07/eu.domain.ap/index.html

we'll have

www.inlabsa.eu

www.galitsa.eu

www.eeeweeew.eu

dad??

my old man in beijing.


NOT.

well, looked like. *lol*

hustle n flow

from CNN.com

While final details were not available, in general, the compromise would require illegal immigrants who have been in the United States between two years and five years to return to their home country briefly, then re-enter as temporary workers. They could then begin a process of seeking citizenship.

Illegal immigrants here longer than five years would not be required to return home; those in the country less than two years would be required to leave without assurances of returning, and take their place in line with others seeking entry papers.

well .... sounds good enough. as long as they don't start arresting people via stings. i realize the minority that they were trying to catch (e.g., lawbreakers) might still slip through. and if there are foreign terrorists here, there are better ways to catch them without subverting the common good (hear that, Ate Glo?).

what th-!!

i just finished Black?? just like that??

delphi, you're up for loan for my PS2 and this game.

once in a lifetime

3 seconds after the 2 minute mark at this time

16th hour

whudathunk!? (ok, this is about 24)



... that this spineless, pathetic excuse for a US president, would be revealed as the devious mastermind for all the evil stuff going on this season? but it doesn't quite fit yet. i've hated the character for being a whiny jellyfish (the best he can do as terrorists are about to ambush the First Lady and the Russian president, is he goes down on his knees and prays? right, because he's the one who gave up the motorcade route to the bad guys in the first place) and making one wrong decision after another, and i was expecting that after all is said and done, he'd resign at the end of the day for bungling the job. there would be no reason to and then the writers throw us this curve. what, do you make up the script every week?

hey, wait ... given that the slant of this season's storyline (stiff bureaucratic idiots out of Homeland Security and hopelessly clueless "patriots" in the highest levels of government), President Logan is a cutout for Bush!

devious, huh? still, i expect a perfectly plausible explanation.

well da-da

i ordered baby burgers, not baby burgers!

room with a view

forgot to blog this last Wednesday, as i was conscripted to attend a SWIFT partner meeting with "Roddy" (a pseudonym for the only male colleague i have whose name doesn't start with a "ro"). since SWIFT has practically dominated interbank comms for the last decade or so (antitrust anyone? *lol*), its only right that they splurge for conferences like these (and they mostly do). even if i knew that i would need toothpicks to keep my eyes open for the whole time, i figured, free food = ok.

as i have feared, i needed to fight off the zzzs for most of the day (heh). but one thing i greatly enjoyed, apart from the lunchtime mingling-slash-joking with some IBM career professionals, were the spectacular views. too bad i only had my cellphone, cause it would really look ... unprofessional to have a real digicam (well, i could pretend i was taking shots of the speakers). so excuse the quality.

by the way, delphi, where was your posse?


something's missing ... and i dont know how to fix it


down broadway


across the hudson toward terrortown, er ... jersey



bryant park, NYPL and the lower east side



stark tower, er citibank building and the upper east side



the empire strikes back building and lower manhattan



"eyes eyes eyes yeah" - thompson twins