I love trains. I really love trains. Just imagining the power of those engines, feeling the rumbling vibrations through your body as they roar past, tugging car after 50 ton car in an endless tail behind them.
I love hearing the warning horn of the diesels approaching a grade crossing, the two longs, one short, and one long. Even when I'm not nearby, the horn in the distance evokes the same feelings inside.
That is, until Sunday.
On Sunday, I rode Amtrak's Capitol Corridor passenger train from Sacramento to Fremont, California, about a three hour ride. I was in the second car from the engine, in a four car consist.
(Not my picture - it was dark when I got to the train.)
I don't know if it was possible to get far enough away from the engine, but car two was not it, because every single grade crossing for three hours I heard that damned horn. AAAARRRGH!!!
I hope eventually my love for the feelings I get hearing train whistles and horns will return, but for now, give me some earplugs, please!
It seems stupid to write about everything going wrong, but I'm hoping that getting all this off my chest will help me calm down, and also that some time in the future we will be able to laugh at all this. Not yet though.
Yesterday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
To start with I had to mail a package. I looked up the post office hours, and one of them opened at 8am. I could get there, get my box sent, then get to work not too late. However, when I got there, it turned out that it opened at 9am instead. Stupid post office.
Then, driving up San Tomas Expressway, a six lane road, I watched a squirrel attempt to make it across. He managed three lanes, the median, and my lane, and then got smashed by the car next to me. Why does this bug me so much? They're just hairy rats, right? Stupid squirrel. :(
Then, we had a quarterly event at work, which was an off-site lunch and bocce ball game. First, someone called me right before I left, and wanted to look at some layout, because she thought it was wrong. It wasn't. I knew it wasn't. I told her it wasn't. She insisted on discussing it a while. Finally, I was able to leave, but I was very late. Stupid co-worker.
Then, Google Maps was WRONG. It's the strangest thing. I got the address directly from the Campo di Bocce website, but Google Maps steared me to a DIFFERENT bocce ball court, on the same road. The spot on the map was absolutely perfect, for the wrong court. Considering the scarcity of bocce ball courts (I only know of two), the chances of this happening must be miniscule. Anyway, I called a friend and he guided me to the right place. Late, of course. Stupid Google Maps.
Oh and I found that I totally suck at bocce ball. Stupid bocce ball.
After the team-building event, I stopped at another post office to send my package. The postage was $25!!! WTF? For a small box??? That was way more than the stuff inside was even worth! I could have sent $25 and told the other person to just buy the things where they lived and keep the change! Stupid post office.
It was only 3pm, but it would be wasteful to drive all the way back to work and then back home again, so I came home and started working. However, apparantly when I'm at home, it means I'm supposed to help with homework and music and everything else. Excuse me for being on the clock.
Kira and Jordan had a Christmas concert to sing and play at that night, and Kira had a violin lesson beforehand. So, Sue took Kira to her lesson and then directly to the concert. I was to take Jordan. I left dinner on the counter for Alex and then left with Jordan.
Of course, as soon as I left, Kona, our chocolate labrador, went after the big bucket of soup and dumped it all over the floor. Alex cleaned up most of it, but I had to do the rest when I got home. Two meals worth of soup, gone. Stupid dog.
I was pretty sure the concert was at Vallco Mall at 5:45, so I took Jordan there and arrived about 5:35. We couldn't find anyone, though. We walked the entire length (maybe a quarter mile?) of the mall SIX times. I found a friend Christmas shopping, but never found any singers. I called Sue a million times, but no answer. Finally, at 6:00, I was getting very worried that it was really supposed to be Valley Fair Mall (Vallco, Valley Fair.. why do they name malls so similar?). So, we left and drove across town to the other mall. This mall is a compete maze, but we walked almost the whole thing, but didn't hear any singing. Keep in mind that this was the Christmas shopping season so the malls were totally packed, and it was at rush hour, so the roads were totally packed. Finally, I get the idea I should have had long ago and call home to ask Alex if Sue had written anything on the calendar. "Vallco Mall, outside JC Penny". Well, I was right the first time! But we never saw anyone! And now we're across town... So, I drive back there even though it’s a lost cause now, and walk every square foot of JC Penny inside and out. Nothing. Finally, I gave up and let Jordan check out some RC racing tracks in one of the stores. Later, as we leave, he thought he saw someone from his singing group. Wha..? So we look around some more and find the group packing up, BEHIND A DIVIDING WALL BY THE FOOD COURT. WTF? Who sings BEHIND a wall?
Oh well, too late now, so we drove home. While I was driving, my phone buzzed for a message. It had been left by Sue before the concert, saying where it was. Stupid AT&T didn't get the message to me until it was too late.
Sue had called from someone else's phone, because she didn't have hers. Of course, when she saw Jordan didn't show up on time, she could have borrowed someone's phone, or gone to a pay phone. But noooooo.
So, Jordan didn't get to sing, and I missed seeing my daughter play her violin, only her second public performance of her life. This kills me.
When Sue got home afterwards, she was furious at me for not bringing Jordan. Of course, I was furious with her for not calling me. So, that conversation didn't go well, to put it mildly.
I took the dog for a long walk just to get away for a while.
At 9:00, Alex tells me he needs a gift for Secret Santa the next day. Hello? I was just at TWO malls and passed about THREE HUNDRED stores, and NOW you tell me, and HOUR before bed, AFTER most stores are closed? No. Hell no.
Oh, and my Christmas cards still aren't done.
Stop the world, I want to get off. Life sucks.
Well, my story is done, but I don't think I'm any calmer than before. I'm still stressed, angry and depressed all rolled into one. Oh well, here's hoping that we can laugh about all this some day.
Back in my day, we didn't have "avatars". There were no graphics; just text. So we didn't have a visual stand-in for our real life self. Instead we had "handles", a name we would use online. Mine was Radagast.
I don't do any online gaming, so I haven't ever had an avatar, or even pretty much ever used the word before. Two upcoming events have changed that, though:
Two "Avatar" movies are coming out soon. Both are completely unrelated to eachother. But both appear to be about a conflict/war, in a sci-fi/fantasy setting. Both look visually stunning. Watch and see:
Avatar:
(Go watch on YouTube in fullscreen HD.. it's much better!)
Avatar: The Last Airbender:
(Go watch on YouTube in fullscreen HD.. it's much better!)
I never watched the Nickelodean cartoon series that "Avatar: The Last Airbender" is based on, and I have no idea what the first "Avatar" movie above is based on, but both look like they could be amazing movies. I can't wait. :)
And just to continue the Avatar motif, here is a music video called, "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar":
(Go watch on YouTube fullscreen.. it's much better!)
Of course, that video is only funny if you've watched The Guild (http://www.watchtheguild.com/), a video series about a group of online gamers. The main character is also the main character in this video. I highly recommend watching the whole series.
How weird that "avatar", a word I've used less than 10 times my whole life, has become the word of the day.
Hello everyone. I'm just back from Thanksgiving vacation. The grand plan was to drive to Joshua Tree National Park and do some rock climbing over the 5-day holiday. I had really high hopes for this trip, but that was not to be.
First of all, if you don't know what Joshua Trees are, see below. They are Yucca plants, part of the lily family. These exist only in the Mojave Desert area of the United States.
(Click to enlarge.)
The fun started when we were ready to leave Wednesday morning and the truck wouldn't start - battery was dead. I took it down to Kragen and they wanted to test it before giving me a pro-rated discount on the next battery (since the bad one was only 2 years old). I was already late, so waiting an hour to see if it will charge was frustrating. I explained this to the lady so she courteously checked it after only 5 minutes and declared it dead. I don't know if it was, but I only paid $40 (about half price) for the new battery, so I guess I don't care. So, after I installed the new battery, we were only an hour late or so.
The drive to Joshua Tree is about 9 hours. The only way to make it bearable is to have the kids watch videos on a portable DVD player. Unfortunately, we found that the cigarette lighter power cord no longer worked. So, we next made a trip to the local Radio Shack. Despite appearing to have every power cord known to man, they did NOT have a cigarette lighter power cord. However, they did have an insanely expensive power converter, which converts a cigarette lighter into a normal plug outlet. In the interest of getting moving, I shelled out $45 for that. However, the plug-in power cord for the DVD player was back at home, so we had to go back again to pick that up. Another half hour late. But, Sue and the kids were in the back watching movies and Kona and I in front, so all was well. "Dog is my copilot." (religious dyslexics' motto)
(Click to enlarge.)
On the trip down, we stopped about half way and found a cheap flea-bag hotel. Their sign said, "Rooms from $25.99." Our bill ended up being $45. I'm not sure how that worked, but was in no mood to argue.
Thursday we continued our drive and made it to our hotel near Joshua Tree and unpacked. Kira decided to check out the pool, while Jordan and I went for a bike ride. There are a lot of dirt paths to ride around there, so we had a lot of fun. Until I got a flat, that is. One of the hazards of the desert is that every freaking plant is covered with spikes. I ended up with quite a few in my tires, one of which went through to the tube. I had been planning to ride the Geology Loop trail inside the park one day, but now that was dashed, unless I found a bike shop. I was in no mood to go shopping, though, so scratch that. Oh, and Kira reported that the pool water was ice cold, so she didn't have any fun either. At least Jordan had a blast riding his bike in the dirt.
(Click to enlarge.)
In the evening, our friends Karen, Lewis, and Lewis' daughter Georgia, who were camping inside the park, came to the hotel room for dinner, which we cooked out in the parking lot. We got some very strange looks from people coming out of the Sizzler next door. I gotta admit, I was pretty envious of them. But we had fun anyway. Lewis' wine may have helped.
(Click to enlarge.)
Georgia and Kira are about the same age, so of course they had to have a sleep-over that night. Poor Jordan got picked on all night (and the next day and the next...).
On Friday, we arranged to meet at a rock outcropping called Thin Wall. The name really fit.. it was seriously like someone erected a wall of rock, straight up on both sides. It was really cool. Unfortunately, it was about a quarter mile from the car. Normally, not a problem. But today, Sue woke up totally sick and couldn't move far from the car/bathroom, and also a ranger came around to enforce the rule that dogs are not allowed more that 100 feet from the road (which we knew about, but had never seen enforced before). While Lewis and Karen finished up their route on Thin Wall, the rest of us drove to Trash Can Rock, which had some decent climbing and was right next to a parking lot. Sue managed to put up a couple easy routes for the kids before collapsing on Kira's crash pad and going to sleep. The kids were having a blast scrambling over rocks, so weren't really interested in climbing. And the bees. There were hundreds of bees flying around freaking me out. They were even bothering Kona, who tried snapping at them with her mouth, thankfully always missing. Lewis and Karen eventually arrived after a couple hours trying to free a stuck rope and put up a couple more routes. I got three good climbs in, and everyone seemed to have a good time, except for Sue. But even she managed to get two climbs in. Even sickness won't keep her from climbing! We ended the day back at the hotel cooking dinner again, then heading to bed.
Saturday, we woke up to a light rain, and Sue still feeling sick. Hoping it would clear up, we met at another climbing area. There were some great rocks, but it was cold and a little wet. Sue, Lewis and Karen scouted out some good climbs, while the kids scrambled on the rocks, and found a cool cave.
(Click to enlarge.)
Kona and I went for a hike, exploring the area. She had a lot of fun, although a few times I had to pull cactus thorns out of her paws.
(Click to enlarge.)
It finally cleared up a little, so Lewis put up a route.
(Click to enlarge.)
Unfortunately, as he was finishing up, it began raining again. But Sue couldn't resist and had to try the route, while the rest of us stood in the rain.
(Click to enlarge.)
We figured we had to adjust the difficulty of this 5.10a route a bit due to (1) rain, (2) temperature below 50F, and (3) climbing while sick. Sue fell once, but kept going and managed to finish the route.
(Click to enlarge.)
Around noon we finally gave up, went into town for lunch at Santana's, and then explored the climbing and gift shops around there. Finally we went back to the hotel and spent some time at the nearby park. Dinner was leftovers and peanut butter tortillas. Uugh. Kira and Georgia had a sleepover party again.
(Click to enlarge.)
The plan for Sunday was to meet up at 8am and drive to New Jack City to climb for a while there before heading home. However, we woke up Sunday morning to rain again. Are we in a dang desert or not? I mean, come ON!! Since the rocks were too wet to climb, we decided to bail and just head home. Traffic was slow in places, but not bad. We decided to take 99 north, instead of 5. As an added bonus, 99 parallels railroad tracks, so there were a couple trains to keep me interested.
(Click to enlarge.)
As a final kicker for this disaster of a trip, the DVD player failed before heading home, so the kids had nothing to do for 9 hours. So, to break things up, we made a couple stops.
One stop I've been wanting to do for years was at the famous Tehachapi Loop where the railroad track makes a complete loop up and over itself. Check it out on this map:
(Click to enlarge.)
Here is a train coming up hill, into the loop:
(Click to enlarge.)
Here it is exitting the top of the loop, where we were standing:
(Click to enlarge.)
And at a tourist-trap gift shop/restaurant/petting zoo:
(Click to enlarge.)
Despite all the above, the trip wasn't actually too bad. I didn't have anything I was dying to do, so I wasn't too disappointed. And we got to relax and hang out with good friends Lewis and Karen. Sue might have a different answer, being sick for 3 days, however. Maybe we'll try again at Christmas and hope for better weather and health.
Thursday, October 22nd:
I had arthroscopic surgery today to repair a torn meniscus in my knee. The torn part had been flopping out of my knee joint, causing a lot of pain when it came out, and again when I shoved it back in. No other pain otherwise, though. Here you can see the torn part of the medial meniscus:
(click the image to enlarge)
Anyway, during my original ACL surgery 3.5 years ago, both of my meniscuses were torn right in the middle of the C-shaped cartilage and were stitched back together. Unfortunately, there's very little blood flow in the knee, so it's often unlikely for cartilage to grow back. That's exactly what happened. In the following picture, the pen scribble is circling the spot where you can see the original stiches:
(click the image to enlarge)
Luckily, the doctor said he only had to take about 25%, so that's a huge relief for me. Losing a large amount of your meniscus will hasten the on come of arthritis later. Also, the meniscus is the cushioning between your leg bones, so losing it could cause pain while running. Hopefully, that will not be the case. Here is a picture with the torn piece removed. Again, you can see where the original stitching was.
(click the image to enlarge)
The doctor said while they were in there, they checked out the other meniscus and my replaced ACL "because I couldn't complain." Ha ha. The good news there is that everything else looked good. Here is a view of some dead guy's achillies tendon being used as my anterior cruciate ligament. Looking good! Thanks, Dead Guy! I owe you one.
(click the image to enlarge)
After surgery, somehow I have no pain at all, except where they shoved the tube down my throat. I can walk on the leg (gently) and I can bend it 90 degrees, all without pain. The only weird thing is the knee is filled with fluid, so it gushes stuff around when I bend the knee, like when your stomach and intestines gurgle when you're hungry. It's very unsettling.
I'm not sure how much of the above is the drugs talking, but I'm really optimistic about the recovery now.
Saturday Update, Oct. 24:
I got to pull all the bandages off my knee (except for the tape over the incisions). It looks really great - only two small cuts, and a single tiny poke hole. Unfortunately, the knee is starting to swell a lot, so it's getting very stiff and harder to bend. At least the gushing is starting to go away. And I can still walk on it without pain.
Monday Update, Oct. 26:
Went to the doctor this morning, who changed my bandages and cleared me to start doing exercises and bending the knee more than 90 degrees. Nothing weight-bearing and no impact, but things like leg lifts, biking and the eliptical trainer are good. I have a big packet of exercises to do. Unfortunately, the muscles in my knee are not working so good now, and it's getting painful to walk. Not painful in the area of the meniscus, but rather like something is out of place under the kneecap. This scares me a lot. On the good side, I was able to get on my bike today and gingerly ride to meet my kids walking home from school. It was a little painful bending the knee, but not bad.
Wednesday Update, Oct. 28:
Walking is slightly easier today, or else I've gotten better not bending my knee. I don't know. I'm still not pleased, though. I really hope this goes away soon. I can bend the knee about 100 degrees. I'm afraid to go much farther yet. At least I was able to ride my bike better today.
Friday Update, Oct. 30:
So the trouble with bending my knee seems to be something under my kneecap that's out of place. Hopefully this is just because of the swelling, and it will soon go away on its own. Tonight, though, we went to the rock gym for Halloween Headlamp Climbing (all lights out in the gym, and you have to climb by headlamp). I didn't climb, of course, but while the family was, I was stretching in the workout area. As I was trying to bend my knee, it, as usual, got really painful and then SNAP! Agony and then relief. Something moved under my kneecap. For a while after that, I could bend the leg easily. I'm up to about 135 degrees. Later, the pain in bending came back, but at least the breif relief gives some glimmer of hope.
Sunday Update, Nov. 1:
I was able to walk normally today, as long as I focused on the task. I've been walking for a week with my muscles tense keeping my leg straight so it wouldn't bend and hurt, so now I have that muscle memory to overcome, along with the fear of pain. I can will the leg to work properly, but as soon as I'm distracted, it goes back to stiff-legged limping. Pretty weird. I still can't go down steps at all. Unweighted bending, though, is fine, up to the point where I feel it at the incision points. Other than the scabs, there doesn't seem to be anything else preventing it from bending, which is great. Biking also feels good, so I would like to start getting exercise that way.
Thursday Update, Nov. 5 (2 weeks post-surgery):
I seem to have regressed quite a lot. I rode the stationary bike on Tuesday, and it felt ok on low resistance and slow speed. At about 10 minutes, something really started objecting in my knee, and I quit at 15 minutes. Wednesday and Thursday, I've been unable to walk normally at all, even with the mental concentration. Today I biked for 20 minutes at slightly higher resistance, without pain. So that's good. But I still can't walk. Going down stairs is out of the question. Bending the knee feels fine, though, and I'm nearly back to my pre-surgery flexibility. Took one of the bandages off today.. the cut looks fully healed. The other was wide open when I went to the doctor that first Monday, so I'm keeping it covered. It's being held on by some dried blood anyway, and I don't want to risk pulling the scab off. Hoping to do some outside biking this weekend.. wish me luck.
Tuesday Update, Nov. 10:
Biking with the family and three friends went great. I didn't push it too hard, but there was no pain at all, aside from the very first rotation of the pedals. I'm planning to do it again today. Also, Monday was the first time I was able to walk properly since right after my surgery. Still walking good today. So, other than not being able to going down steps, everything else seems to be progressing well, finally. I hope as the swelling slowly goes down, the final piece will fall into place.
Friday Update, Nov. 13:
I walked down the steps for the first time in three weeks today! Well, after my knee popped on the top step, the rest felt ok. So, I guess I just need to get used to the initial agonizing pop, and all will be well. Rich and I rode 15+ miles on our bikes yesterday, partly on gravel/dirt paths - great fun!
Thursday Update, Nov. 19 (4 weeks post-surgery):
Had a followup appointment with the doctor yesterday. He cleared me to start impact exercises, like jogging. He wants my leg muscles to get much stronger before I play soccer again, though. I wasn't able to demonstrate the snapping sensation in my knee, unfortunately. It's still doing it. Doctor said it might be scar tissue, but I don't know. I'm getting used to it now, at least, but I hope it doesn't last forever. In celebration of being able to jog again, I bought some new turf soccer shoes. Maybe it will be an incentive to work hard at exercising, which traditionally has not happened. I did run about 2 miles today, which felt pretty good.
Recently, the call went out to Intel employees in Santa Clara for volunteers to appear in an Intel commercial to be shown world-wide. If you know me, I am a total introvert when it comes to real-time, face-to-face communications. But, being famous on video - that is a completely different thing altogether. Plus, there was a free t-shirt involved, so that just sealed the deal. My friend Shawn would do anything for a t-shirt, so he was in, too.
So, the process went like this:
send in your badge photo
if you're selected from #1, come in for a screen test in front of a video camera
if you're selected from #2, come to the set location on the day of the shoot
Now Shawn and I are both white males, so we figured our chances of being selected were slim, presuming that Intel would want to show off its diversity. Also, Santa Clara is a big site, with thousands of employees, so even just random chance was not good. However, we dutifully e-mailed our badge photos.
Surprisingly, both Shawn and I were selected to audition at the screen test. Clearly, they didn't care about appearances!
For the screen test, we were instructed to go in five at a time, introduce ourselves, and sing the Intel "Bong, bong Bong bong BONG!" song, all on camera. I strategically positioned myself neither first nor last in my group, though that turned out to be a bad idea anyway. The lady next to me went first, choosing not to do the simple "name, where are you from, and how long you've been at Intel", but instead deciding to go on a long shpiel about where she was born, where she grew up, what college she wet to, what was her major, what sports teams she liked, when and where she lost her virginity.... ok, not that one, but still. While she's going through all this, I'm next to her thinking, "What the heck.. how am I supposed to follow this??" All I had planned was name, rank, and serial number. Anyway, when it was my turn I meekly told only what I was asked, hoping to get extra points for following directions, though it was extremely anti-climatic after Too-Much-Information Lady before me. Shawn decided to take the strategy that uncommon things were more likely to get you selected, so he mentioned growing up on a dairy farm in Illinois. Show off.
This is what the screen test at the Intel Studio looked like:
Following the introductions, we were to listen and lip-sync to a recording of the Intel bong song, the musical "signature" at the end of every Intel commercial. Although I would know the tune instanty after just hearing the first note, I guess I had never really concentrated on the song, because my timing was way off during the practices. Still the first time we did it for real, I got it pretty close. Then the lady filming said we did a good job and chatted a little.. talking right over the second round of bong lip-syncing! I was concentrating on her conversation and completely missed the cue. At least I nailed the last one, but I thought I was done for. Shawn and I had had some debate over whether we should be animated and happy-happy while singing, or if we should be serious. Absent any direction, I chose to take the middle road and shake my head around a little for each note.
Amazingly enough, despite my boring introduction and terrible timing, somehow I managed to get selected for the actual commercial shoot!
Inexplicably, Shawn did, too.
For the day of the shoot, Saturday August 8, 2009, our only instructions were to wear "business casual". Now at Intel, that means jeans and a t-shirt for my group, but I suspected that wasn't what they meant. I ended up wearing olive green slacks with an uncomfortable tan long-sleeved Oxford shirt. Shawn picked khakis and a Polo shirt.
The filming was to be done in the gym of a local high school. Shawn and I carpooled and arrived at our assigned time. As we signed in, Shawn was immediately whisked off to woredrobe and makeup, which I thought was hilarious, since he obviously picked the wrong clothes and they had to give him something else. Also, he was butt ugly. I, myself, was pronounced "good", and didn't need a change of clothes. "Oh yea, stylin' baby!" Little did I know, the whole reason for this was that Shawn was going to be in a front row and had to look perfect, while I would end up in the back where no one could see me anyway.
At long last, we were ushered into the Wilcox High School gym where huge white panels were set up along with thermonuclear floodlights and a camera on a large boom. The gym was supposed to be air conditioned, but clearly was not. The crew was immediately sent out to buy fans at the local Walmart or something. The lights were turned off between takes, but when they were on, the gym temperature quickly rose 10 or 20 degrees. It was torture.
Interestingly, the director was Stacey Wall, who has done lots of commercials for Nike, Heinekin, MLB, NBA, T-Mobile, etc, etc. The first assistant director was Miles Johnstone, who worked on the movie "Stomp Out Loud." So the bunch of us amateurs actually got to work with true professionals! I can only imagine what they were thinking throughout the day. "Why, oh, why, did I get involved in this?!"
As I mentioned, I ended up in the back. When I realized this, I jockeyed for position in the center, hoping this would give me the best chance of being seen. However, they re-arranged all us vertically gifted folk, and I ended up in the "tall corner". Not only that, but I was told to spread my legs so I would appear shorter. And this was even after removing my shoes, since black-soled shoes were not allowed in the gym!
So picture it: shoeless, legs spread, in a 110F gym, wearing dress clothes, trying to appear happy, perky, and excited while singing the Intel song over and over and over for six hours. In addition to all the above, you try smiling while making a "bong" sound. Go ahead, I'll wait. Not really possible, is it?
Shawn and the folks up front had a makeup person dabbing the sweat from their foreheads. The guy next to me had huge beads of sweat on his face. Eventually he had to wipe his face with his sleeves, leaving great dark spots. No one cared. Clearly, we were not visible on screen at all. I think at some point, everyone in the back realized this, spirits dropped, and we stopped worrying about following cues and such. This didn't change much, though, because while the director continually gave the "talent" up front specific instructions, those of us in the peanut gallery could barely hear anything anyway. I gave up spreading my legs and just stood normally. For one take, they threw out a few Santa hats for people to wear. Of course, there was no point in giving any to those in the back, since they wouldn't be seen, so there was much grumbling from the back rows. Finally, they threw one to the back just to keep us happy (or make us shut up), and there was much rejoycing!
For those of us in the back, the highlight of the day was lunch, which was actually pretty good. The rest of the time totally sucked, and it didn't stop at the end of the day, because I got to dream about singing "Bong.. bong Bong bong BONG!" all night long as well.
Our commercial debutted on September 20, 2009 during the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards show. Despite my extreme depression at never being seen on camera, I actually got incredibly excited as the time approached. I even called my family to watch for me in the commercial. The experience was even better than I'd hoped, because in fact you COULD actually see me! In fact, in high definition, you could actually see my face and tell who I was. I was amazed! I told all my friends and family and posted to Facebook.. I just went crazy. This is what I got all excited about:
(Watch it at YouTube, because it's too wide for this blog page!)
You didn't see me? Come on! Alright, here you go:
(Click to enlarge)
So it was only 2 seconds on screen, and you won't see me unless you know where to look. It was still awesome!! Here's pretty much how that evening went for me:
Oddly enough, of the four people I know who were in the commercial, I was the only one who could be seen in all formats. Suhanya got cut off the left side. Mitra got cut off the right side. And even Shawn got cut off the old 4:3 format. He can only be seen (in crystal clear hugeness, mind you) in the widescreen format.
All kidding aside, while the filming wasn't the most fun for those of us out of the action, I have to say, seeing myself on television was the most exciting thing ever! I can't wait for the next one!
This is why I've done my best to completely not care about football in the past.
1. Ohio State was playing #3 USC. Their defense was absolutely spectacular, taking a 15-10 lead into the final minutes of the game. After not being able to move the entire game, USC, starting at 2nd and 19 from its own 5 yard line, finishes it off with a touchdown to win it with 1:05 remaining. Granted it's no shame losing to a #3 team (unless you're #1 or #2), but still, we had that game in the bag, and we needed revenge for the beating we took last year.
2. The Cincinnati Bengals have been horrible for many, many years. But, it's the first game of the season and they're undefeated. They're playing the Denver Broncos, and their defense is unbelievable, holding Denver to only 6 points late into the 4th quarter. Unforunately, their offense is playing like usual, and hasn't scored a point. Against all odds, they finally manage to put together a scoring drive and take the lead, 7-6, with 0:38 left on the clock. Denver's last chance goes: sack, near-interception, and then a perfectly-defended tipped pass that just happens to be tipped right to a second receiver who runs it 87 yards for a touchdown with 11 seconds left.
3. The Philadelphia Eagles started the season off right, defeating the Carolina Panthers 38-10. A great start to the season, rigth? Wrong. Their starting quarterback, Donovan McNabb, left the game with a broken rib, and the best of his backups, Michael Vick, is suspended until the 4th game of the season. Having had a cracked rib in the past from soccer, I know how long it's going to take McNabb to heal.
My three teams, three games, three torturous disappointments. I hate that. I think I'm going to go back to completely ignoring football. Life will be far less stressful.
They are pictures of wafers and dice (plural of die, the individual chips) and various objects to help your mind wrap itself around the scale you're looking at. Can any of us really comprehend how many millions of switches (transistors) and wires we (Intel) have created on such a tiny surface? I sure can't, even though I draw these things every day. It's all magic to me.
I almost wet my pants when I saw the following video for the first time. The original Tron from 1982 is one of my favorite movies of all time, not because of the story, which was actually somewhat stupid, but because of the technology - the light cycles, the tanks, the Recognizers, and just the thought of an entire world inside a computer. For most of my high school and college years, I basically lived my life inside a computer, thanks to BBS' and the Internet. It pretty much killed my social life, but I loved it.
This concept video for the upcoming Tron Legacy movie looks like it will have the same flavor as the original, but with infinitely better graphics. I can't wait.
Do yourself a favor and click on the video and watch it on YouTube in high definition and full screen. You won't regret it.
This is the first poem I ever wrote outside of a school assignment. I actually didn't write it, but modified (improved?) an earlier version written by another user, Ice Angel, on a local BBS, so I'm not sure I can even take credit. Even so, it showed me that I could be creative, and turn out something interesting. Over the next 10 years, I wrote a number of poems, mostly crap, but a few that I'm really proud of. But this was the first. Thanks, Ice Angel, for getting me started.
When Will You Come?
With eyes that shine like the morning sun, My heart leaping, like a rabbit's run, When we touch, my sorrow ends. My shattered emotions, you slowly mend. To my cuts and wounds, former strife, You bring back the meaning to my life. Though your face, I know not yet, I hope these feelings I never forget. I stand here alone, waiting for you. When will you come? I wish I knew.
- Ice Angel & Radagast
It took about 10 more years for the "you" in that poem to show up. Though I didn't know it at the time, this one was for you, My Love.
Last December, I was rear-ended by some jerk while driving to work. (I'm ok, thanks.) The guy was around 20 and driving a black Lincoln Towncar, clearly not his own. The collision pushed my car into the car in front, so I got damage on both ends. He must have been stopping pretty fast, because my bumper isn't too bad, while his grill was destroyed, and the car had to be towed. That gives me some slight pleasure, but not quite enough to outweigh how angry I am.
My car is actually not in too bad a shape.. some cracks, lights out of place, and pieces that don't quite match up anymore. Definitely will need new front and rear bumpers, hood and trunk at least. My biggest concern is that the insurance company will just total the car (1996 Geo Prizm LSi, 113000 miles) and hand me $2000 to buy a new car.. gee, thanks... I go from having a perfectly good car that I love to being $20k in debt at least, thanks to some punk kid.
Anyway, while inspecting the damage, I noticed this rather concerning sight:
(Click image to enlarge.)
What the heck happened to my muffler? I guessed that he must have hit it and ripped it down out of the body of the car. But I didn't know there was a rectangular panel (some kind of firewall protection?) behind the muffler that the tailpipe went through.. strange.
Well, it's probably not good to drive that way, especially if I go over a speed bump, so maybe I can cram the whole contraption back up where it came from. So I get under the car and take a look.
First, I notice that the rectangular piece is just an old license plate. What the heck? I'm all for recycling, but I really don't want my car built out of old license plates! Then I notice it's a California plate, beginning with the number 6. When I bought the car, they were only up to 3, so this plate couldn't have been from back then. Then of course it dawns on me.
(Click image to enlarge.)
My car freakin' speared the other guy's license plate and kept it as a souvenir! Awesome! I love my car... :)
"The reason that we don't have "bear-proof" garbage cans in the park is that there is a significant overlap in intelligence between the smartest bears and the dumbest humans."
- Yosemite Park Ranger
We were camping in Yosemite National Park recently. The campground has these big metal boxes where you stash your food, called "bear boxes". They are a royal pain if you're with a big group and bring too much food, but there is a reason for them:
(Click the image for a larger view.)
This is why you don't leave food in your car in Yosemite. A brown bear helped himself to a snack found inside this guy's locked car, on August 15, 2009. Bears don't need keys!
Interestingly, our big, brave hunting dog, Kona, didn't make a sound while all this commotion was taking place. Thanks, Kona. You make me feel so safe!
