Christmas Shopping Procrastinators Pack the Malls

I have to admit, I'm a procrastinator...so instead of shopping i procrastinated even more and went to visit Funworld, and see the great folks I used to work with at LCS Telegraphics. Christmas Shopping Procrastinators Pack the Malls. I had a great time talking to my colleagues, and they seem to be happy enough. All the kids had grown up a little, and it was nice to see everyone doing so well.

Silurian Border Morrismen

Wes sent me a link to the Silurian Border Morrismen. Reminds me of Xmas in Ledbury. :) Thanks Wes!

Honda (UK) Multimedia - Video section

Honda (UK) Multimedia - Video section. Check out the IMA video.

The Globe and Mail

The business behind the Pop business.
His use of Six sigma, one of those absurd, high-concept "continuous improvement" management tools.... hahaha

I like my teddy smooth....

Takeo Igarashi's SmoothTeddy drawing interface.

Forward thinker, Muriel Cooper

AIGA > Muriel Cooper: "'We were in this big room with these teletype machines doing Fortran and there was nothing visual about anything. You had to translate any idea you had into this highly codified symbolic language that didn't make any goddamned sense to me, and I was crazy.' " A lot of people at the lab were lucky enough to have had some influence from her. Reading this article makes me wich I had been around the field earlier.

Monzy's Amazon Reviews

For a laugh, you can get Beluga Caviar or a one-of-a-kind pearl necklace. Even funnier are theseAmazon Reviews by Monzy

Wrentham Village Premium Outlets

JoonWoo told me to check out the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets. Knowing that Christmas is around the corner, maybe I could take a weekend day trip.

I Can hardly wait for Golden Fool (The Tawny Man, Book 2) to come out!!!!

Amazon.com: Books: Golden Fool (The Tawny Man, Book 2)

A weekend in Arizona

This weekend, Jim and I joined Shwang in Arizona for Janet's wedding. It was great fun! We got to see a beautiful bride get married in both American and Mexican custom. Later, we also climbed Squaw Peak in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, Phoenix, Arizona. Squaw Peak!

For Thanksgiving, my folks came to Boston, so it was very nice to see them. We definitely did Dim Sum and ate at the Hong Kong Eatery, for a taste of the old homeland. :) It was funny that we had a table of four sets of roomies. We also got to have dinner at 'tucci's with Sopps, Shen, Nick, and Zahra.

True Spin: My new favorite show

Doesn't everyone want to know why artists write their songs? It's nice to know the meaning behind the lyrics, like the Police's Every Breath You Take, Duran Duran's Rio and U2's One. My favorite show for the moment is VH1.com : Shows : True Spin. I want to know who Gloria was, and why She Works Hard for her Money! :)

This is too cool!

cell phone jammer, personal mobile phone jammmer - Buy on-line now

Volkswagons are nice.... and versatile

Autos: "You get an extra point if you can say it. The hot new Volkswagen SUV is called the 'Touareg.' It's pronounced 'tour egg.' The 'a' is silent.

What does it mean? It borrows its name from a nomadic Saharan tribe. Word has it that VW wanted to name it the 'Colorado,' but that had already been trademarked by General Motors. So instead of naming it the Arizona or the Delaware or the Minnesota, it went with the name of that old Saharan tribe."

Okay, I'm impressed

The FOMA network in Japan seems to have it all.

I just bought my plane tix

I'm going to go to Miami for Xmas, and then on to London for New Years! I can't wait to see my friends Jackie and Barbie, hang out with my cousin Joyce, and go to the beach. My friends Rich and Virginia are also going to be there, so it should be a blast. Now, onto the Christmas shopping...

For New Year's, I'll be joining the Gouldstones for their annual bonfire. My mom may come, too! Should be an exciting time! :)

Bridgeport Port Jefferson Ferry Schedules and Information

We visited Andrew this weekend. We drove to Bridgeport and took the Bridgeport Port Jefferson Ferry Schedules and Information It was fun. The weather was a bit chilly, but it was an adventure. Sopps is a good driver.

Howtoons

Two guys associated with MIT -- Saul Griffith and Joost Bonsen -- have been working on a new way for kids to learn about science and engineering through one-page comic strips. Howtoons. Reminds me of a certain someone who always had some scheme going on, be it gigantic dinosaurs or ballistas.

A cool costume, by Ari

A Cool Halloween Costume worn by Ari. I think he got plenty of good licks. Funny bit about Mary Chung's not delivering. One wonders how they stay in business! There's a joke about that...

I started learning about Buddhism....

Metta @ MIT

New Motorola MPx200 With Microsoft Windows Mobile Extends the Power of the Desktop to the Wireless World

If only Orange was a provider in the US... New Motorola MPx200 With Microsoft Windows Mobile Extends the Power of the Desktop to the Wireless World

Dean for Howard Dean for President

I was walking out of Harvest with Zahra the other day when I ran into Dean, of Dean for Howard Dean for President. Go Dean, good luck on your generals!

Real Pirates!

CNN.com - Ocean pirate attacks surge: report - Oct. 30, 2003
Aargh! Ahoy matey! Who woulda thunk that there are real pirates, and that they actually a problem in this Day N Age. You would think that that pirates would be gone by now (in the age of radar, gps, etc.) But Pirates are cool, because they talk funny. Arrgghghghh! Matey!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

yay! mike duff is coming to Boston so we can hang out tonight. In the meantime, I went to work as a "street punk", with shiny pants, tight sweater (with orange edging) and a knit cap. I was keeping it real, racing up and down the office in my sneaks.

Nick made Squash Soup

Last week I tried Squash soup for the first time. I have to say, I really liked it. He used butternut squash and also made some chicken with bacon. I can't say that I've had such a great meal in a while. :) It was finger-lickin' good! 'Specially with a side of Joe Schmoe to go with it.

Green Street Studios

Zahra was nice enough to point me to the Green Street Studios -- Current Schedule. It's just down the street from me, so perhaps I can fit in a Taichi or dance class. Thanks Zahra!

Badger, Mushroom, Snake

Some of you know that I wake up early during Mushroom Season to get mushrooms in Animal Crossing. Nick, who is awesome, sent me this Badger, Mushroom, Snake flash animation in celebration. It is too cute! MUSHROOM, MAGIC Mushroom! Hahahahah! Today I woke up too late to get the mushrooms, but I did try. :)

Linksys: WMA11B - Wireless-B Media Adapter

Linksys: WMA11B - Wireless-B Media Adapter is nice for your parents, maybe! :)

Splat Professor

Just ran across Andrew Gouldstone's research page. I didn't know you could be a professor of Splat. Can't wait to see their lab group t-shirts. :)

Just as I thought!

I am addicted to Animal Crossing... Right after trekking all the way to Downtown Crossing for a sausage and pepper, minute maid, and mixed nuts, I went right back to playing.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I am 28 today! Yay! I had dimsum this morning with the coolest people, and got a card from Nick and my mom. Yesterday I went to Rain's party and also got a card from Ela & Arrin. I also got the coolest birthday Card from ->IAN<-, another from Barbie, and another from Shawn. Then we went out to eat Brazilian Barbeque with Roo, Sopps, Jim, Virginia and RIch-- all in all a satisfying way to ring in the 28th year of my life. Oh, and I got a beautiful bouquet of yellow-red roses (14!) that smell great, along with a Borders books gift certificate. Then we chomped down on the most delicious Hiz Biz cake, designed by Sopps. Then a mad dash home to play with the NGC Animal Crossing game I got. Ohh, wee, I was playing until around 3AM, and my eyes were almost shut. Such a cute game!!!!! I know, I am going to be addicted. :)

MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team

Go MIT! The new MIT Solar Car is out. I remember my freshman summer, riding with the Dane Hovey Racing Team and helping out alongside the Manta (the MIT solar car back then). This year, the team is in Australia, and I am sure they will make us proud. The name of this year's car is Tesseract.

Sweet Deep Fried Ice Cream with Noga and Zahra at Thai Basil

There we are, at Thai Basil on Newbury. Dinner was great, and the atmosphere was quiet. Then the fire alarm went off a few times. We stayed for ice cream, and then headed to The Other Side Cafe on the other side of Newbury. The Other Side was playing rap and hiphop at full blast, until around 11PM, then they mellowed out.

Winners of the Ig® Nobel Prize

Winners of the Ig® Nobel Prize is a great read! Nothing like fun and science in one.

Jim Gouldstone's Artwork

A coworker of mine commented on how nice pictures were. *sigh* It's hard to pick a favorite! I like them all so much.

Nick is AWESOME!

On Ziondanch, he's posted a song about MY FAVORITE SHOW, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. COOL SONG!. I have it on my playlist and can't wait to see the show tonight!

Wheelchair products from Independence Technology, a Johnson & Johnson company

I really think iBotis a cool invention, because it uses gyroscopes to enable types of motion not possible in current wheelchairs.

Animal Crossing

I am addicted to The Animal Crossing, it's just too cute. Aw-aw-aw-aw! I just got 30,000 bells from my friend >IAN< and was able to pay off my mortgage. I also got to run some errands and send letters to my pals in the village. :) Its totally cool!

MonoCulture critic down the block: Geer Says He Knew What Was @Stake

Geer Says He Knew What Was @Stake.

The Philippines is one of the world’s largest messaging markets.

RCR Wireless News Wow, 750 phonebook entries... let's go to Manila and sms all day!

King Richard's Faire is a rip-off, don't go!

This weekend we went to King Richard's Faire. My review:

Nickel and dimed at every corner:: It was quite a ripoff! You pay $21 dollars (incl. $1 discount) for the privilege of shopping at the expensive stores that sell Medieval merchandise. The offered merchandise was very good handmade quality (leather masks, carved staffs, fairy wings). However, for that amount of money, I would have expected that the shows were free. I mean, after every show the guy passes out his hat and you give extra money (on top of what you already paid). They heckle people too, to make them feel guilty. I was quite surprised the bathrooms were free.

Food::The second thing is the food coupons. You can't buy food with regular money. You can only buy food coupons of 50 cents each in $5 denominations. This is so that parents lose track of what they are paying for. We found a pork sandwich for 12 coupons ($6) and a large drink for 7 coupons ($3.50). This "meal" was worth $9.50-- and there were no fries included. The pork sandwich was also very sweet-- so sweet I couldn't eat my half. Anyway, with the bare necessities (tickets and food) being so expensive-- it was hard to have any money to spend on the things in the shops, even if I could afford any of the nice things... like a leather mask ($100 average, or wings $75 average).

Disappointments:: The Mud show was a BIG disappointment. This mud show didn't really get muddy (they had a handful of dirt at any one time, they didn't really get dirty, and the plot sucked!) The only part we really enjoyed was the joust, but that was kind of confusing and the plot wasn't that great. It was also the only show that we didn't get asked for money at...

Something nice to say:: I guess the thing with Medieval fairs are that there's some good stuff to look at. We took some cool pictures of the different garb people were wearing. That's about it all the nice stuff I can really say.

Recommendations-- go to the Renaissance Festival in Miami instead. Tickets are much cheaper (~$10), and you can spend your money on cool stuff, not feeling ripped off at every turn. Their mud show is a lot better, and funnier too! At that one, I was also able to buy an ocarina for $35, and a friend got a turkey leg for $1 (at deep discount on the last day)! Anyway, we got the impression that King Richard doesn't really care about the medieval stuff, he just wants to make a fast buck out of unsuspecting people. It could have been just a fun time, but King Richard is Greedy! I felt bad for the families who were trapped with the kids who wanted amusements/candy/toys. Be forewarned, there are better places to go for a medieval show (for starters, Medieval Manor...). I definitely won't go to this show ever again-- I felt burned.
Just a small donation requested...

all you need to know about robots

all you need to know about robots. Many of the robots were too cute to be taken seriously, while others were too scary-looking to feel comfortable around. The only exception was Honda's Asimo, but it wasn't listed here. I look forward to more work by Cynthia Brazeal's robotic life group to make robots look less strange, and more "natural".

The Political Compass

The Political Compass
I'm close to Nelson Mandel and The dalai Lama. :) Economic Left -5.50 and Libertarian -5.18. Hmmm...

Cosplay.com

Cosplay.com Costume Play for adults.

Boy meets world and Madrid Pics

Nick forwarded this link about the inale viewing party for Boy Meets World". I was intrigued but not jealous-- since Carson Kressley did not show. He also had some pictures of Madrid was helping in research.

Bromopnea

This week's weird word is Bromopnea, and is from the root of bromo (Gr. a stink) and pneo (Gr. breathing ... from Gr. pneumon meaning lung).Causes of Bad Breath, Detailed cuases. I went to look up this curious word and found this cool site that had gif animations and scientific explanation. Makes learning fun!

Natalie Jeremijenko

Natalie Jeremijenko's projects archive shows some of the inspiration for the Tangible Media Group.

I'm A Cap'n according to the pirates test

Talk Like A Pirate Day - Sept. 19: "You are The Cap'n!

Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any man that stands between them and the mantle of power. You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate. Not that mindless violence is the only avenue open to you - but why take an avenue when you have complete freeway access? You are the definitive Man of Action. You are James Bond in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. Your swash was buckled long ago and you have never been so sure of anything in your life as in your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off their head if they show any sign of taking you on or backing down. You cannot be saddled with tedious underlings, but if one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not.

What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!"

Talk Like A Pirate Day - September 19

Talk Like A Pirate Day - September 19 I can't wait! Arrrgh!

Daler Mehndi

i came across this link and it brought back memories...Daler Mehndi is awesome.

Cache: (GCA31C) Catch The Brass Ring - Local History Cambridge by Love2Cache and GeoBird

Cache: (GCA31C) Catch The Brass Ring - Local History Cambridge by Love2Cache and GeoBird

Let these truckers roll

Reminds me of a great Sifl n' Olly rendition of the Convoy song. Is The Push-To-Talk going to make a comback?

Weird WordsIndex

Chris mentioned having a tontine the other day and we laughed and laughed. I found the history at Weird WordsIndex.

Dating service creator accused of harassing students

*sigh* Its sad that MIT alums are so unhappy and desperate. I wish that the Fab5 could take them aside and give them some sensitivity training. The problem in this article outlines how far some people will go to try and meet other people--- and the methods they use are not only unsuccessful, but illegal and harrassing. MIT should focus some on teaching ethics to their students.

If the Shoes Fit...

Now reading some books by Noel Streatfeild: If the Shoes Fit... Xanga is down....

Camping at Intervale Cabin

A group of 9, organized by my friend Ela headed to Intervale Cabin last weekend. My first time cabin camping. I do miss the running water, but it was nice to get away. It rained, but that didn't dampen our campfire. we made smores, hiked around, and played boggle. I saw tons of Mushrooms (mostly yellow and red ones), but there were also some black flowery looking ones that were cool. The outhouse wasn't as horrible as i thought it would be, and if only we hadn't to worry about the car, finding the cabin and jim's tum, it would have been much nicer. Anyway, its good to be back in civilization. I have yet to go car camping or learning to drive a manual....

Certain Obligations

Finally! I finished this albatross with the help of TurboTax. Now on to finishing up some more tasks...

WeBWorK News

WeBWorK News

Miami

Jim and I went to hang out for a brief trip to see my parents in Miami.

Google Search: Oleta river

Went Kayaking this weekend in the Oleta river, and it was AWESOME!

Kinko's spy case

Got this from Ben. I think that people still don't know how to protect themselves because the tools we use have inherent security flaws, due to the "features" enabled by automatic updates, cookies, password savers-- in the name of "customization" and "ease of use". .CNN.com - Kinko's spy case: Risks of renting PCs - Jul. 23, 2003 tells of a man who installed keyloggers and used the info to create fraudulent bank accounts. There should be a "dumb" and "secure" OS for these public internet places, where no cookies are kept, and no "unidentified" software can be installed.

Gather and Hunt your food-lLnks Page

Gather and Hunt your food-lLnks Page speaks for itself. In my hunt for knowledge on mushrooms that spontaneously appear in my container garden, I decided to test if the mushrooms are edible... or whether I should get rid of them. Hmmm.... An even better site: Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms

Fungi Perfecti®: ready to grow Mushroom Patches™

Today I found a mushroom in my thyme and dill garden pot. I wonder if it is edible, but in the meantime found that people actually like to raise mushrooms as a hobby. You can get one of these Fungi Perfecti®: ready to grow Mushroom Patches™ and try it out... or you can come over and look at my mysterious mushrooms....

Consumer Whore

Consumer Whore

ASIMO at the Museum of Science

I would love to see ASIMO at the Museum of Science this weekend

International Coffee Lovers Meetup Day -- Join other Coffee Lovers near Boston, MA

Maybe the mayor of ZionDanch would join the International Coffee Lovers Meetup Day -- Join other Coffee Lovers near Boston, MA.

Engrish

After Fab5 yesterday, another friend forwarded some information about a brand of soap in Asia atEngrish.com! Just don't drop it in the shower....

Queer Eye a HIT

So, I was watching the 3rd episode of QE4SQ, and enjoyed the new GBL friendly Ads. The episodes were just great, too! :) I totally dug the makeover they gave the guy, and Carson ROCKS! I wish they would stop giving the same tips over and over. I already know about the messenger bag!

Fool's Errand

I couldn't resist the guilty pleasure of starting another of Robin Hobb's books. She had inserted the first chapter into the end of the last book, and I was hooked. So I picked up the copy of Fool's Errand (Tawny Man, Book 1) and have started reading. I have some work to do so don't know if it will take a while for me to finish. Then again, once the plot starts to fly, it is hard to put it down.

globe home

An interesting visualization of theglobe representation of different blogs by Headmap. org. something like XML and blogging unified.

MisterPlexi - Accessories and Attachments for Acrylic and Plastic Displays

This Weldon Glue is strong stuff.

another dog day

I realized that i hadn't linked to Nick's Jumbo Dog Raft. :) Good night!

Fools Errand

The next book in the series I MUST read is Fools Errand. I will wait to read it, though, as it would be best savored and enjoyed in time. I will just anticipate it being good for now, until I can't stand it any longer. I have thoughts of the last book to keep me occupied for a while, anyway.

Lazy Saturday

I woke up late, and stayed in bed finishing the Liveship traders trilogy I had been reading. I finally finished! It was great! Even better now that I've finished it. I read some of the other reviews and could only agree that it was a bit hard to get through the middle. My problem was that the characters had such tremendous hardships that it was, at times, discouraging to read about. After it was done, though, I admired the guts it took to write about such tough topics and also the heart of the outlook the book gave me on problems. Simply, there were highs and lows, and I was better for reading it. I couldn't help reading the bonus chapter for the Fool's Errand, her next book. We already have it, but I think I need a rest to think and ponder on the stuff that was in this trilogy. Hobb had a lot to say, and I think that the depth of the characters was so real that I actually felt their pains and triumphs.

Had lunch with Ian and Nick and Jim in front fo the city hall. We had chicken from the Rotisserrie house, and it was DELICIOUS. Later saw -- Terminator 3 -- and it was okay. I liked T2 so much better. I think it is hard to make a movie that would surpass it. Also, I thought the T-x looked kind of vapid, compared to Robert Patrick. Perhaps they miscast the characters. The girl from "My So Called Life" seemed smarter than John Connor, and John Connor looked really beatup all the way through. Arnold was good, as always, but that's about all that I thought was great. There were good chase scenes, and they did a lot of damage, but the cinematography wasn't as exciting as in T2... and the movie didn't have cool intros and exits (like T2). I guess it was good, but it wasn't great... then again, it is hard to live up to T2...

Ziondanch

I've always wanted to rave like they did in Ziondanch! Especially if Morpheus will make them play the bongos for me.

Jumbo Dog part 2

Why does Nick have so many pictures for Jumbo Dogs? Cute! Does he have a fetish?
HOT!

Jumbo Dog

Nothing better than a Jumbo Dog! Thanks Nick!

Derek

On Tuesday coming home I ran into Derek Tang. So nice to see him. Also saw Hong Ma. Had a chat, made lunch plans.

moblogging

HipTop Site for people who own Danger. I wonder if there is one for the T720i?

Straight Guys could learn a lot from the Fab 5

Last night I watched the best makeover show ever! It's BravoTV.com > Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. The results are really amazing and the tips are great! They really make a huge difference, and are totally helping people. Compared to Trading Spaces, the dialogue is better, and the results are totally sensitive to the needs of the straight guy. I also like that at the end of the show they have these great parties... :) The fab5 are soooo witty and genuinely good natured that its a hoot.

Maritime Pirates - Pirate Talk & Jargon & Phrases and so forth

Argh, shiver me timbers. I'm gonna go learn some Pirate Talk & Jargon & Phrases and so forth so that I can truly enjoy the movie.Pirates of the Caribbean

Mass DocFinder

Cool site that my friend Shawn referred to a while ago. Check the Mass DocFinder to see how your doctor fares.

New York Publicity Circle

An interesting article about young publicists partying in New York. It is interesting that this is reposted again here. Explains how the press is wined and dined into publishing for perks. No wonder why news seems like adverts these days.

the IXI - Products/vision

Does IXI really make any products, or is it just software? Anyway, interesting.

Mystery SOLVED- sea creature was a whale

Oops! Guess it wasn't as fanciful as I thought. Oh well. *sigh* I was kinda hoping it was a sea serpent or something fantastic. However, Ananova reports that the
mystery sea creature was a whale. Poor Whale!

CNN.com - Giant sea creature baffles Chilean scientists - Jul. 2, 2003

Henry forwarded me this note about a Giant sea creature. So very appropriate, as I am reading about sea serpents in the LiveShip Traders book. I wonder if it was a giant jellyfish or squid?

N.A.G.

N.A.G. is a new tool for finding the right matches on Gnutella.

Internet and the Chinese Rave Scene

I wonder if my cousins in China take advantage of the Internet for fun.

CNN.com - Up next: Watch TV on your cell phone - Jul. 11, 2003

Now you can Watch TV on your cell phone - Jul. 11, 2003. Wonder if people will really suffer through the small screens just to see television.

Ship of Destiny (Liveship Traders, Book 3)

I am still reading, even though I have work to do. Right now I'm in the middle of the book, but it is a bit upsetting. There is a lot of conflict and sadness at this point, and it has gone on for most of the third book. I definitely liked the Farseer trilogy better...

Amazon.com: Books: Ship of Destiny (Liveship Traders, Book 3)

DJs and portals

Related news article
http://www.kora.or.kr
Say Cast a portal site for Internet DJs.
www.saycast.com
Wired Article about Chinese Internet DJs.
http://www.wired.com/
I've always wanted to be an internet DJ, but I never get around to it. I am playing around with Cool Edit and a bunch of other looping software, but haven't quite got the time. I'm working on a techno version of sounds someone shooting a gun. You'll see oneday...

Live Ship Traders

Now reading Robin Hobb's Live Ship Traders Trilogy. have finished the first two books and will start working on the third. I highly recommend the story, though. I didn't think I would like it at first, being unaccustomed to books about magical ships (although I enjoyed Melville's many seafaring adventure books). The novelty of the magic ship, and the interesting writing style really drew me in. I MUST read the next one.