A Glimpse Inside

:: What's New in the World ::

Quote
"I hate you."
-Event Staff

In The Off Hours
Books :: None currently...
TV :: Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, The 4400, Entourage
Anime :: Naruto, Bleach, Gundam SEED Destiny, Sousei no Aquarion
Music :: DHT - Listen to Your Heart

happiness is... • Annoying Event Staff • No More Work • Night Pictures • Winning at Poker

unhappiness is... • No income • Expensive gear • Integrating flash and DBs • Driving long distances

Of Things to Come...
While everyone was in LA partying it up at Century Club this past Saturday, I was at home, BBQing for my sis' 26th birthday where she dropped a bombshell on everyone by announcing that her boyfriend, Hector, of the last 3 and some odd years proposed to her on Friday night. She obviously said yes. So it looks like there's a wedding in the making and some new additions to my ever growing family. All my love and best wishes go out to the both of them and their future together.

:: posted by Z [1:46 PM] ::
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Life in the Slow Lane...
I realize that might be one of the longest spans I've gone without blogging an entry on this site. But lately I haven't done much I've felt was worthy of being recorded, at least not publically. I've spent a good deal of money over the last several weeks on building my new server, though it's not the only contributing factor, and as a result I've been reluctant to go out and spend money on activities such as clubbing which has come to account for the majority of stories and posts on this site. I realize it use to not be that way. There was a time, not so long ago, or maybe it was a very long time ago, time seems so murky these days, when I use to post more on my thoughts and less on my happenings to this site. Maybe this will be the beginning of a transition back to that, maybe not. Who can say? I should be able to but that might require more forethought than I'm willing to invest at this particular moment. For those who read, please stay tune. This site, as is life, is far from finished yet.

:: posted by Z [11:34 AM] ::
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Matrix Thoughts...
This is an interesting post I found on Matrix Essays, another blogger site.

From History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire -- Volume 1, by Edward Gibbon, comes this account of emperor Augustus (underline added):

He wished to decieve the people by an image of civil liberty, and the armies by an image of civil government.

[. . .]

Augustus was sensible that mankind is governed by names; nor was he deceived in his expectation, that the senate and people would submit to slavery, provided they were respectfully assured that they still enjoyed their ancient freedom. A feeble senate and enervated people cheerfully acquiesced in the pleasing illusion, as long as it was supported by the virtue, or even by the prudence, of the successors of Augustus.

Augustus did not need electronics and software to create his Matrix -- the "world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth" as the first movie puts it -- he crafted his with words.

posted by Tom at 8:50 PM

Definitely an interesting take and one worth a little contemplation.

:: posted by Z [2:50 PM] ::
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1999 Nostalgia...
For some reason, last night I decided I wanted to listen to trance while programming today. Since my collection of electronic music at work is lacking to say the least, I rummaged around my drawers and found some old spindles full of mp3 archives from back in my raving days of 99. I spent the day listening to CDs like Christopher Lawrence's Temptation and BT's E.S.C.M. The memories came flooding back instantly like opening a door to a room you use to spend hours in as a child but haven't entered in years. I closed my eyes and let the progressive melodies and fast bass rifts pull me years into the past. And as the the music cuts off, the wind chimes sound in, and the melody begins to build again in Flaming June, I remember exactly how it felt back then. The power of music I guess.

:: posted by Z [2:01 PM] ::
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How To Tell Your Friends From The Japs...
This is an article that appeared in TIME magazine two weeks following the attack at Pearl Harbor. My friend showed it to me after seeing it in an Asian American history class at UCSD. Just goes to show you that human stupidity knows no bounds.

Virtually all Japanese are short. Japanese are
likely to be stockier and broader-hipped than
short Chinese. Japanese are seldom fat; they
often dry up and grow lean as they age. Although
both have the typical epicanthic fold of the upper
eyelid, Japanese eyes are usually set closer together.
The Chinese expression is likely to be more placid,
kindly, open; the Japanese more positive, dogmatic,
arrogant. Japanese are hesitant, nervous in
conversation, laugh loudly at the wrong time.
Japanese walk stiffly erect, hard heeled. Chinese,
more relaxed, have an easy gait, sometimes shuffle.

Anyway, it gave me a good laugh and brought back some memories of the days I took Ethnic Studies at UCSD. I don't know about you but I will definitely be checking to see if my Chinese friends have an "easy gait." LMAO.

:: posted by Z [1:05 PM] ::
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Friendster and Frivolous Spending…
So months ago Vicky sent me an email for some new web service called Friendster. It’s basically an online database that does six degrees of separation (or Kevin Bacon) on you and everyone in your list, but as Carrie accurately observed, with Asians it’s more like two degrees. So I signed up for and never gave it another thought. They’d send me the occasional spam but I’d just delete it. Until yesterday, Carrie IM’s me about how it’s her latest online addiction and it seems that this whole phenomenon is quite contagious. Yes Friendster is evil, but I think have enough online activities for Friendster to take a back seat. But if you happen to be on Friendster, ADD ME ADD ME!

Moving on, my monitor died on Sunday. At least I think it was Sunday. Never actually had that happen to me before. Anyway, it’s still covered under warranty but that means I have to send it back to Viewsonic, wait for them to analyze it, fix it, and then ship it back to me. Who knows how long that might take – weeks, months, years? So I implemented the obvious solution, I bought a new monitor of course. But I figure since I’m buying a new monitor, I might as well upgrade right? No point in spending money and getting the same thing. Then I think, well since I’m buying a new monitor, might as well buy a new system. Can you feel the snow ball, now about the size of a small house, rolling down the hill? Spending is evil, I should really stop. Oh well. Why make money if not to spend? I am a shining beacon to consumer culture. =) This is week is going to be expensive.

:: posted by Z [3:59 PM] ::
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A Brief Blog...
I got a chance to see Find Nemo last night with a bunch of very high girls - namely Lan, Helen and her friend Rachel and it was everything Alberto said it was. I don't remember when the last time I saw an animated movie with a story and characters as well done as this one. So if you get a chance, go and see it.

Next, I’m sure everyone has look at the images on my imagery page before. Unlike some people who use programs such as Thumbnail Express, I, in my inexcusable idiocy, code all those pages by hand with a text editor. This can start to be extremely time consuming, especially when some pages get into the 50+ pictures range. Luckily I won’t have to endure this any longer because during my frequent fits of boredom at work, I’ve written a little nifty windows-based program that does it for me. I know, pathetic. It’s the first time I’ve ever programmed something for myself. I’m still coming to terms with it. Anyway, I just thought I’d share what geek I am. Oh well.

:: posted by Z [2:22 PM] ::
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