Absurd Singularity

Took this past Friday & weekend off to take Erin around Philly. Lots to write about but feeling too tired at the moment. I think I need to take a day off to recover from the trip. ;-p

Happy March 1st!

Oh boy, more taxes. Nineteen states (including NY, NJ & CA) are adding a field in this year's income tax form that asks you to pay sales tax for everything you've bought online this year. I shit you not.

If you don't have the receipts handy, they'll just take a likely amount based on your income.

The "Oddly Enough News from Reuters" always has some interesting tidbits here and there:

This guy has some huuuuuuuggeee cojones.

On the one hand, it's an Asian in the national spotlight. On the other hand, talk about perpetuating a stereotype. This is bad. Reaaaal bad.

On a very tangentially-related note, my 2nd Pepsi/iTunes giveaway song (I'm 2 for 2!): Locomotive (Complicity) - Guns N' Roses.

SonyEricsson just unveiled their 2004 lineup. I want them all.

I never thought I'd ever say this but I need a break from reading about all these gadgets. With the launch of Engadget.com, which is by one of the founders of Gizmodo.com, there's just waaaaay too much gadget news to keep up with. Granted most of the entries on both sites are duplicates but still, too... much... information... And do we really NEED 2 gadget blogs? They seem to be competing or something cause after engadget was launched both just started spewing out postings like crazy. Ugh.

So the UPS guy delivers me a new phone yesterday. It’s my “free, no strings attached, upgrade” to my Sony Ericsson T68i courtesy of AT&T.

Why are they so “generous?” Maybe to kick me off the 1900MHz band onto the 850MHz band. (another North American GSM band that’s incompatible with Europe and Asia?)

It seems all their replacement phones for the 1900MHz models they’re phasing out are in fact downgrades. In my case, they’re replacing the first mass-marketed Bluetooth phone in the US (I put up with the slow, crappy, menus solely for this) with a NON-Bluetooth phone.

But I get polyphonic ringtones as consolation. Woohoo! :-p

Why is it that it always feels better when someone washes your hair than when you do it yourself? Is it kinda along the lines of not being able to tickle yourself?

Almost caught up posting my pics from the last 3 months. Still got a big chunk from our Philly trip left to sort through though. Ugh.

Saw a really good movie this weekend. Maybe some of you have already seen it. If not, please go. It's always good to support independent filmmakers. I haven't seen any Hollywood films that were at all satisfying lately. This particular one's very accessible - I could see it with a date, with my parents, with friends - and they don't even have to be Asian! Learn all about it here.

I bought two of these lexan Nalgene bottles for my recent Kilimanjaro trip. I bought them because they're durable and good for carrying water, but lately, I've noticed a lot of hipsters around New York carrying them too. Or am I just imagining it?

Ran out of videos tonight, and only reruns on TV ...

So, I decided to give the Physical Attraction Test on Match.com a try, just for laughs.

So, has anyone seen my Ms. Right around? :-)

Seems like snowstorms in March is pretty much obligatory on the East Coast these days. Just when the temperature had reached the 50s for a few days, now it's dumping about 2-4" in the city. And Erin had already put away our winter clothes. Good thing I finally picked up our scarves from the dry cleaners last night.

Finally brought my Powerbook in to Tekserve for repairs this morning. One sure way to not have to wait for hours for service there is to go right when they open (at 9 am) on a weekday. I guess that works better if you have a job with a flexible manager and/or work schedule.

Apparently I'm passing through my Chinese film section of my Netflix queue cause I received the following in order: Beijing Bicycle, The King of Masks, and Shower on successive days.

Beijing Bicycle was a rather long, drawn out, peculiar affair that was supposedly a look into the Chinese mindset. Definitely a bit of a foreign mindset if this movie is any indication. Apparently determination (or stubbornness, depending on how you want to look at it) and hard work doesn't bring you fame and fortune (as would be the case in Hollywood films), but half-assed compromises, a lot of running, a slew of severe ass-kickings, and an abused bike. Supposedly traditional Chinese thinking bases your chance of success in life on the social class that you were born into. At least according to the director of this film. Bit more of a fatalistic view of the world. I'm not entirely certain I would recommend this flick. The second main lead's love interest is rather attractive however. Might be worth a look if you're interested in social commentary I suppose.

Education is good for you kiddies, let there be no doubt.

slow day at work today, can't you tell? ;-)

These things are actually kinda geeky cute.

And for those who are morning shower-ers and don't have time to suck down a steaming cup of joe, I present to you, Shower Shock Caffeinated Soap. Don't spend too much time in the shower now. Unless you really want to become a twitchy prune.

How depressing. And true.

Funny.

I've been putting off closing my Visa card account with BankOne cause I've always found it to be a bit of a hassle to deal with credit card companies and they'll usually try to get you to not cancel the card. Decided to bite the bullet this morning and do the deed. Entire phone call took like 2 minutes, no questions asked. What in the world? I think I'm going to go lay down now...

An old article, but it amuses me nevertheless. Especially considering the country it involves. I guess everybody has a thing for racial purity.

Can anyone tell me what the site is that tracks the current most popular blogging topics? I remember seeing it before but can't remember the name. Argghhh!

Well the last 2 days has certainly been interesting in Taiwan. For starters, the day before the presidential elections were to take place, the incumbent president, Chen Shui-Bian and vice-president, Annette Lu were shot at during a campaign trip. Chen suffered a relatively minor stomach wound while Lu had a grazed kneecap. The ever so gracious presidential candidate of the opposing KMT (aka Republican) party Lien Chan, had this to say then:

"The target of the bullets were not specific persons, but democracy, but I believe the Taiwan people won't let the incident, whose real cause has yet to be found out, influence the election."

Of course, now that he's lost the election by about 30000 votes, he's been singing a different tune:

"Such a thin margin is the result of the uncertainties left by yesterday's gunshots the truth of which has yet to be clarified."

Adding:

"It was an unfair election. Therefore, we will file a lawsuit against the election result. We demand the CEC seal all ballot boxes nationwide immediately and wait for the authorities to recount the ballots."

Gracious loser he is not. So I guess Mr. Chan was pretty much just talking outta his ass and didn't really believe that the Taiwanese people were smart enough to not let the shooting influence the vote. And I guess in order to make it a fair election, the government should have gotten someone to shoot Mr. Chan and his running mate as well. Leaving a bigger wound preferably so that they could get more sympathy votes.

Just spent the entire afternoon doing my freakin' taxes. My eyes are bleary and I feel sleepy, and that's even after I had a nice 9 hour sleep last night. Would be in a better mood if I didn't owe MORE taxes (hey, where the hell's my tax break Bush?!). But that's Qwest's fault. Damn lump sum they gave out as severance pushed me into the next income bracket and needs to be taxed to boot. At least they're supposed to repay me for it. They better since it's not exactly chump change.

And now I can't file my federal file electronically cause it's asking for my gross income from LAST year's return which I don't have a physical copy of since I believe I actually have it in PDF form in my Powerbook, which is still in the shop for another week, and on my external hard drive for my Powerbook, which can't be read by my PC desktop because MS SUCKS! At least I'm not doing this at the last minute.

I need a cold compress for my eyes.

Looking for a good joke for your next cocktail party? Read on ....

(not mine, sent to me from a friend.)

One night, George W. Bush is tossing restlessly in his White House bed. He
awakens to see George Washington standing by him.

Bush asks him, "George, what's the best thing I can do to help the country?"

"Set an honest and honorable example, just as I did," Washington advises,
and then fades away.

The next night, Bush is astir again, and sees the ghost of Thomas Jefferson
moving through the darkened bedroom.

Bush calls out, "Tom, please! What is the best thing I can do to help the
country?"

"Respect the Constitution, as I did," Jefferson advises, and dims from
sight.

The third night sleep is still not in the cards for Bush. He awakens to see
the ghost of F. D.R. hovering over his bed.

Bush whispers, "Franklin, What is the best thing I can do to help the
country?"

Help the less fortunate, just as I did," FDR replies and fades into the
mists.

Bush isn't sleeping well the fourth night when he sees another figure moving
in the shadows. It is the ghost of Abraham Lincoln.

Bush pleads, "Abe, what is the best thing I can do right now, to help the
country?

Abe replies, "Go see a play."

Very interesting article on a newly invented, more eco-friendly magnetic/electric motor that can produce the same amount of horsepower and torque as conventional motors but consume only 20% or less power. There are doubts as to whether this thing actually works as advertised. Guess we'll see when it hits those Japanese convenience stores.

Damn, I wish we had this water taxi plying the waters between Jersey City and Manhattan. I'd be on it every freakin' day.

Say goodbye to assassinations and robberies in underground parking lots.

Kinda drab and dreary out today which rather sucks since it's relatively warm. At least it stopped raining. Sent out my "pay me back you punks" package to Qwest just before. Finally found out what the hell certified mail was (recipient needs to sign for it).

Thank goodness payday comes 3 times in April. Unfortunately that won't happen again until September.

It's nice to be able to listen to 80's tunes all day at work. It's been ages since I've heard "Carrie" by Europe. Occassionally popping over to the anime station.

Altoids has a new sour flavor: Apple, that comes in a red tin. I think I still prefer tangerine best though.

Had an interesting discussion at work the other day where my boss said that the US should take a page from China's book and just learn to butt out of foreign affairs for awhile. You rarely hear about China in the news when it comes to foreign issues right? And I don't think it's because their media is state-owned. Sure there's the ongoing Taiwan thing but in the realm of international issues, that's like a teeny weeny blip when compared to anything in the Middle East. Heck the only times you ever hear a peep out of China is when the US gets involved. And I don't quite buy the idea that because we're currently the primo superpower in the world that we need to police the world and/or actively look out for our own self-interests abroad. Especially since it seems like the US has a pretty bad track record when it comes to meddling with affairs abroad. Someone convince me why isolationism would be a bad thing for the US at this point in time. Clean house first fer cryin' out loud.

China, shut the fuck up.

You might as well move into the city... you're not saving much.

Friday afternoon turned out to be a heck of an emotional rollercoaster ride for me. Mostly my own doing really. First off I was looking forward to getting my Powerbook back from Tekserve after it had been gone for 2 weeks.

Come 2pm, no call yet from them to let me know whether or not I could pick it up so I decided to give them a call to check up. Was forwarded to the service dept where no one picked up so I left a voicemail. A bit after 4, they finally called back to say that the bottom case had been replaced but they were still waiting for the screen replacement. I said no problem, I'll just pick it up and leave a deposit for the screen. Girl on the phone said ok, lemme go check with your tech if you can pick it up. After a couple of minutes she comes back and says she'll have to call me back cause she can't find my tech.

5:30, still no call and I was ready to go home so I decided to just drop by since it was on the way and you usually have to wait for awhile to pickup anyway. Finally received a call at 6 while I was already in the store that it was ok for me to pick up. Whew, I would've been pretty darn annoyed if I couldn't. For one thing, how does it take 2 weeks to just replace a bottom case? Prior to this I had usually had 2-3 day turnarounds with these guys so this 10 day wait was a bit of an anomaly and I was getting pretty antsy without my primary machine. I never know how much I depend on this thing until I lose it for awhile. Even with my PC desktop at home, pretty much all of my data is stored on my laptop so I'm pretty damned lost without it.

So anyway, the whole laptop situation turned out fine after a few hours of anxiety. Hopefully they won't make me wait this long again when the screen actually comes in and I have to take this thing back to have it swapped.

But that's not the end of this story...

to be blogging? Been poking around Ricebowljournals for a while during the week and it seems like the majority of bloggers are in school. Granted, I usually feel and act 10 years younger than I actually am but still, should I not be spending so much time on this?

Anyhoo, I finally figured out a problem that's been plaguing my Palm T3 for a while now. Well, not really fixed it, just discovered what was actually going on. Every now and then the T3 would not turn on and it'd only come back to life after I plugged it into an outlet and charged it for a little while which led me to believe that it wasn't turning off properly. Adding to that was the fact that all my data and apps would be gone and I had to reinstall from my backups. But I have it set to shut off automatically after 2 minutes of inactivity so even if I had forgotten to turn it off it should do so anyway. So I figured it was a bad battery but the battery seemed fine most of the time. Got back home the other evening and discovered that the Palm was on and had crashed. So obviously once the darn thing crashes it's not going to be turning off automatically after 2 minutes. Which accounts for the battery drain and the hard reset that happens which wipes out the data. Gotta continue to keep an eye on this.

Clarke rules. I love how he's giving the Republican attack machine the big fat finger.

by a woman who likes to ride her bike (no, not the pedal kind) in and around Chernobyl. Site could be down occassionally due to high traffic but it's worth a look. Her commentary can be a bit funny at times.

And the concept behind this site is actually pretty neat. Use GPS to navigate your way to a point where a latitude and longitude intersects and snap a picture or two.

And so it begins.

Decent start, remains to be seen if it'll last.

Also put up some more photo galleries.