Monday, November 30, 2009

Movement under way in California to ban divorce - Inside Bay Area

Movement under way in California to ban divorce - Inside Bay Area

The effort is meant to be a satirical statement after California voters outlawed gay marriage in 2008, largely on the argument that a ban is needed to protect the sanctity of traditional marriage. If that's the case, then Marcotte reasons voters should have no problem banning divorce.

"Since California has decided to protect traditional marriage, I think it would be hypocritical of us not to sacrifice some of our own rights to protect traditional marriage even more," the 38-year-old married father of two said.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Reality TV Shows

I am a reality TV show junkie. I won't say I watch ALL of them; there's not enough time in a day to do that, but I have and am watching quite a few of them. Some observations I've made when it comes to reality TV shows.

(1) Unless it's the first season, you have no excuses to not have any clue what to expect on the show. For Pete's sake, you should have done all the research before the audition, or at least after the audition when you know you have been selected. Sheesh!

(2) Of the ones that involve a group of people living together and being eliminated over a relatively long period of time, people always seem to lose the perspective that no matter how you form alliances and identify your enemies, at the end there can only be one winner. Choose your friends wisely; choose your enemies wisely; and most important of all, know when to break your alliances. I've seen many morons who'd form alliances with players with questionable ethics for strategic purposes, then made the mistakes of sticking to the alliances for a little too long and ended up being screwed over. After all, every thing can be lumped under the big umbrella of "It's just a game!" Do it when it's to your advantage.

(3) Inevitably one of the folks will at some point said, "I am going to channel my anger (from losing so many challenges) to win this game." These folks invariably never made it to the end.

Sure, I might not be able to do any better than any of those folks if I ever get onto a reality TV show (I am really going to have to need the money desperately), but everybody can be a critic, right? =)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

More Notable Quotes from Contact

So what's more likely? That an all-powerful, mysterious God created the Universe, and decided not to give any proof of his existence? Or, that He simply doesn't exist at all, and that we created Him, so that we wouldn't have to feel so small and alone?
From: wikiquote.org

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Notable Quotes from Contact

Notable quotes from the movie Contact.
Ellie Arroway: Occam's razor. You ever heard of it?
Palmer Joss: Hack-em's Razor. Sounds like some slasher movie.
Ellie Arroway: No, Occam's Razor is a basic scientific principle and it says: All things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one.
From: Explore-Science-Fiction-Movies.com (what a long name!)

Here a good article on what is Occam's Razor.

Everything Is Better with Music

I was hoping I could find a better version, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

Web Site Story: CollegeHumor’s Epic Internet Musical

Friday, November 20, 2009

The Meaning of Life -- Distractions

People like to ask, "What is the meaning of life?" Perhaps a better question to ask is, "Is there a meaning?" Or better yet, "Should there be a meaning?" After all, who ever promised that there is necessarily a meaning? We are not only searching in the blind, we don't even know if what we are looking for exists. Even man-made so-called religions did not promise a meaning. Western religions (gross generalization) stresses what's important is life after death. It still baffles me how "being with your creator is all the hype." In any case, if you want to portray a Heaven, I'd imaging "heaven" will be very different from people to people. To me, Heaven will be a place where we are immortal and I can be with my husband forever. Some people think it will be HELL if they have to be with their families for all eternity. Then, there are the one-sided love -- what if HE wants to be with her forever, and she'd much rather not to see him again for all eternity? Seems to me the only way to fulfill all the criteria is for us to go to "sleep" and stay in hallucination land forever. Perhaps that is what life after death is. Who knows?

Eastern religions (Buddhism) stresses reincarnation. Again, neither one of them touches on this life time. Is that ironic or what? Are we living in the unknown future, or are we living in the present? Science/evolution is the way of how things work, doesn't even touch upon the meaning of life by any stretch of imagination. The earth is round is not a meaning. The earth revolves around the sun is not a meaning. A man and a woman can copulate and create offspring, though amazing, is still not a meaning.

That said, I can safely come to the conclusion that life is all about distractions. Yes, you heard me right -- distractions. The "meaning of life," or lack thereof, is all about how to occupy your free time. There are the essentials, which I would think its fair to say it's the same for everyone -- food on table (or just food, no table), roof over head (or just a place to sleep at night, I'm flexible). Once those are satisfied (i.e. working 8 hours a day to achieve that), you are left with the free time... to ponder about the meaning of life, which doesn't exist. I think the best support I can throw out there to support my point is the rich and famous dying from drug overdose. Is there explanations other than they can't find enough distractions to keep them from noticing how empty life really is? How about all sorts of stupid stunts that people pull just because they are bored?

Different people uses different things as their distractions -- shopping is a good one; eating, video gaming, having hobbies are a few other good ideas. Among them, having kids are probably the most effective of it all. What else can suck up every single free minute of your life for 18-years or more other than a child??

Thursday, November 19, 2009

'Digital dirt' can haunt your job search - CNN.com

'Digital dirt' can haunt your job search - CNN.com

See also my earlier entry on this subject.

Inspired by this article, I think now it is a good time to set up a "fake" blog and a "fake" Twitter account. Well, not really fake fake, but something neutral and work appropriate. That way my future employers (fingers crossed) won't find it odd that I have no online presence.

Better yet, I am going to port my fake blog and fake Twitter into my Facebook account. Ehehehehe. I am such a genius.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Quitter

Okay, I'll come clean. I'm a quitter. Things go south, I quit. Relationships go south, I quit. Jobs go south, I quit. (This is exactly why I keep my blog anonymous in the hope that my current and future employers will never find it.) Ever seen those generic thrillers where you start out with a group of people, ranging from 8 to 15, and they'll inevitably get killed one by one (sometimes in couples) until the last one or two? Well, if I am ever in a situation like that (and have a say in it), unless I am one of the last ones left, I'd much rather be one of the first to go. Preferrably the ones who didn't even know what hit them. Why spend all the energy run ning around and being scared if the end result is the same? Ever read in the news how a building collapsed and they still found survivors after 7 days? That person will never be me.

Even though being a quitter have so much negative connotation, there's certainly a positive way of looking at it too. Life's too short, seriously. There is no reason to stay in a relationship or a job that just makes you reasonable. Trust me, things are going to get better. So let's just mask this one of my weakness by calling it "pragmatic" or "efficiency." :)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Dream Job

Dilbert.com

I knew people before who love mundane jobs, truly love them. They embrace the knowledge of knowing exactly what to expect everyday when they go into work. I just wish I could feel that way. Not that my job is meaningless, just getting boring after being in the same position for three years. Then again, I feel ungrateful to even complain about my job when so many people can't even land one in this economy. Is a meaningful job really too much to ask for when all else are going well in my life?

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Standards

Finally sold this stupid game on Amazon, after dropping the prices twice. Just to give you an idea, a normal DS game goes for $24.99, this one was going for $11.99 on Amazon, brand new, mind you. Then even Amazon dropped it by $2 more to $9.99. Ack! Being an avid money spender on Amazon, I know the formula for a successful sale as a third part seller on Amazon:-

For new goods:

your price + $4 (S&H) < Amazon's price (because Amazon offers free S&H, you need to factor that into your pricing)

For used goods:

your price = the lowest price (of an item of equal condition) + a reasonable reduction

I was about to think that the game can fall into the you-can't-give-it-away-even-if-you-offer-people-money-to-take-it category when it finally sold for a whopping $5.75. Yikes!

Just like my co-worker A had once said, "Everyone can find a boyfriend/girlfriend, just lower your standards." Wisdom.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Famous Quotes From Movies

Okay, now I am finally convinced that you can literally find everything on the internet. I was hoping to find Steve Buscemi's dialogs in both Armageddon and Con Air without having to physically look through the movies themselves. Thanks God for the internet! Alleluia!

In my humble opinion, best quote in Armageddon was by Steve Buscemi as Hound Dog:
Hey Harry, you know we’re sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has two hundred thousand moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good doesn’t it?
[Found on InnocentEnglish.com (Innocent English? Movie Quotes? Whatever...)]

Something similar that he said in Con Air as Garland 'The Marietta Mangler' Greene (referring to the song Sweet Home Alabama):-
Define irony. Bunch of idiots dancing on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash.
[Found on IMDB Notable Quotes from Con Air.]

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Under God: The Archdiocese's ultimatum - David Waters

Under God: The Archdiocese's ultimatum - David Waters:

Just awesome.
"In a surprisingly bold and seemingly unbiblical move, the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is threatening to discontinue its social support for nearly 70,000 people -- including a third of Washington's homeless -- because of its opposition to a proposed same-sex marriage bill."

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

OCD

For those unenlightened, OCD stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Unless you are someone with a severe lack of sense of humor and go strictly by the DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition) definition -- those who compulsively count the tiles, close the door 15 times, check that the stove was, indeed, shut off 21 times -- usually in our daily speech it just means someone with some kind of a quirk.

By now most of my dear readers should already know that I purchased Hubby off an online dating site. It is worth mentioning that when I was signing up for the site (free trial), it still required you to fill out the entire questionnaire before they let you browse, to speed up the process, I randomly typed in the first thing that came to my mind, which, interestingly enough, might not always be the same answer you'd have given if you have spent the extra few minutes to reflect upon. Regardless, that was not the point of the story. One of the question was: what are some of the deal breakers for you? I randomly typed in OCD. Yeah, totally double standard, you don't need to tell me. Hahaha.

Get this, some guy actually wrote to me and said that it's a horrible disorder blah blah blah. Um... strike for having no sense of humor! Again, still digressing from my point. What I was trying to say in this entry was: I just realized that I LOVE peeps with OCD. Perhaps not as a partner in life, but definitely love, love, love working with them!! They are 100% lovable!! OCD people always so organized! Ducks are always in a row. Information are always readily available. There's just short of a flow chart for everything.

"Can I please have the list of your clients/charge codes/[fill in the blank here]."

The only obstacle lying between the person and me getting the information is the time it takes for the email to transmit!

So, yes, OCD, a very good thing to have at a work place!! Personal life, on the other hand... well, that's a different story. I don't hang out with these people after work. :)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Tournament (The Movie) - Warning! Contain Spoiler!

As if it's even possible to spoil a movie like this...

Since it is not even worth my time to write my own synopsis on this one, I am just going to copy-paste what's on the back of the DVD box:
Every seven years, thirty of the world’s most deadly assassins face off against one another for an outrageous cash prize. There’s only one rule: kill or die. As dozens of wealthy gamblers watch via closed-circuit TV, a city is overrun by brutal assassins - all aiming to be the last one standing. Starring Ving Rhames, Kelly Hu and Robert Carlyle, The Tournament is an explosive, action-loaded thriller where the winner takes all.
I must have watched waaay too many of movies of this type. There was another one with a very similar premise, except they get death row inmates to do deadly car races. I think it's call Death Race or something. Let me put it this way, this movie has the exact same twist in the end as that one. Man! It's almost less insulting if they'd just skip the twist altogether. I guess it makes no difference one way or another, we all know how the movie is going to end from the get-go (to find out the survivors in the end, see the cover of the box. I did warn you about spoiler!). Peeps who watch movies like this (me) really are just watching it for the blood and gore anyway, not the non-existing plot line.

Best line in the movie? When the Asian chick yelled at the thick-headed priest: "Was it my accent? Did I stutter?" Good one! I am going to use that from now on. LOL.

(This post barely made Tuesday's entry! :)

Monday, November 9, 2009

How Many Computers Do Two People Need?

Answer: 6 (SIX)

Hubby's desktop (1)
Hubby's laptop (1)
My laptop (1)
Both of our work laptops (2)
My old laptop that's now designated for our VOIP phone (1)

And this is NOT counting Hubby's old laptop that's permanently on loan to a friend AND the home theater PC that we recently disconnected (well, that I recently noticed that Hubby disconnected a couple of months ago. :P)

And Hubby is contemplating it's time to get a new laptop! What are we? Made out of $?? :O

Friday, November 6, 2009

Maybe It IS Time to Switch to a Mac

Watching this commerical while waiting for HOURS for my 8-month new Sony Vaio to backup so we can wipe my entire harddrive and reinstall everything in the HOPE that my VERY LEGITIMATE copy of Microsoft Office will WORK is really, really making me start considering switching to a Mac, after my Vaio dies a natural death, of course.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Sloppiness

So occasionally I talk about bizarre (entirely subjective) American traits, maybe I should talk about something I like about the American culture (other than white men!) for a change. If I have to pick something to say that I like about the culture, I'll have to say it's the "sloppiness" of it. Let me define that, I don't mean the college bachelor dirty dishes and laundry and empty pizza boxes strewn over the entire apartment kind of sloppiness, but more the people's ability to break out of normal rules. Know that I come from a culture that is not known for their sense of humor, and Hong Kong, at least back then, being British territory, doesn't help matters any.

I will give you an example. Way back when, I was hanging out with an English gentleman. English Gentleman and I went to a little remote town (I couldn't remember where it was to save my own life) that could not have had population over 3-digit. You get the idea. And we went to their little rustic downtown and into their little rustic one-man (woman, actually) operated post office. What I had that was so important that I had to mail it out before I return to civilization I also could not remember to save my own life, but I had to mail it out that day and it involved the filling out of some kind of a form. So we went inside said post office, a lady came out from the back to help us, she handed me the form and said, "Holler when you are done."

So I took my time and filled out the form and holler, "Hello! I'm done!" I said. To which British Gentleman was shocked, "When she said 'holler,' I didn't think she meant it literally!" he said. "But of course," I answered, "How else would she know I was done?"

I guess in the British polite and subtle way, we should have waited for her eventual return? :O That would just be silly, either we would have to keep waiting after we were ready OR she'd have to keep interrupting her job in the back and check on us. What a hassle! The US sloppy way, for lack of a better word (that I can think of), was a much better (at least a much more efficient) way to go. =D

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Softball Bat... Midlife Crisis?

So I have been on a crusade for the perfect softball bat. So who'd have thought that finding the softball bat is almost as difficult as finding the perfect mate? I thought finding the softball bat would most definitely fall into the category of issues-that-money-can-solve. I should be able to just throw money at this problem. I suppose it's all relative, if I am wealthy enough to find the right bat by trial and error, this will, indeed, be a problem that money can solve. Too bad we are not that loaded. I blame Hubby for not bringing home a 7-digit annual income. =D

Instead, I had to spend a week doing research online (and still haven't placed my order.) I was going to take the easy way out and just pick the brain of this expert guy at work, but lo' and behold he was on vacation last week. Whilst a week might not seem like a long time to a normal person (after all, it is just a softball bat we are talking about), to someone with absolutely no patience, you might as well have told me he won't be back for two years. To make matter worse, after an entire week of research, I came back to the same bat that was recommended to me on day one. Just why did I bother??? I guess I can now bluff to those even more ignorant on this subject than me as if I know anything about it. =D

My cousin asked, "Do you have the skill to utilize a good bat?"

My answer, "Does it matter?" Sometimes money can buy happiness. ^_^

I wonder if this sudden urge to spend globs of money on a fancy softball bat a sign of me going through my midlife crisis? I guess all things considered, the most expensive bat one can get is still a lot cheaper than a fancy sports car. =D Better place my order before el cheapo Hubby changes his mind. Hehehe.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Cat and Mouse



Photo Credit: Scientific American

Upon reading this article describing a parasite that is passed from mouse to cat and back to mouse and so on and so forth can also bring on chemical changes in humans causing women to act more moralistically, and men less so, I said to Hubby, "No wonder I have been behaving more and more moralistically over the years!" since I have cats.

Hubby's immediate response: "Because our cats has been going out there and eating infected mice?"

Way to bust my chops, honey!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Softball Updates

So the regular team's season has ended and there's not going to be a winter season. T.T Luckily there's always an unlimited supply of warm bodies on the internet, I have quickly secured a replacement group that gets together and plays on Saturdays. :) Arguably that might be a better option for someone who can't play worth a shit. =D

My coworkers think it's very odd that I look for random teams/people to play softball with on the internet. I don't get it. Not everybody has that many friends, and even if you do, it doesn't mean they all like playing softball. So what's wrong with looking where it will be most fruitful? I guess it's like the stigma ten years ago about online dating. Well, I happened to purchase a great husband off the internet. So there!

That said, there are meet up groups for almost any activities that you can think of. I am drawing my line at watching movies at a stranger's place and/or inviting strangers to my place to watch movies with... And I never did understand why watching movies is even a social event. I hate watching movie with someone who talks through the entire movie (unless it's a really horrible movie). Or was the goal to sit around and socialize while a movie is on in the background? Um... AWKWARD!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Jenga Pistol



They should make and sell this, but rest be sure, there will be morons standing on the other side, or generally doing stupid things and hurt themselves then sue for millions of dollars. Only in America can you make money off of being idiotic.

The Real Mafia War



Hardcore!

It is so sad that we've been desensitized by Hollywood for so many years that watching a real shooting scene would not produce a response stronger than watching just another TV show...