Sunscreen: Boon to Bane?

According to a "new study commissioned by the European Commission" (can any hack write for AFP now?), common sunscreens can damage and kill coral reefs even in small amounts. That's just great. So I'm in a tropical area, trying to limit skin damage, and now I can get guilt-tripped for getting in the water. Well, hopefully someone will quickly develop some new environmentally-friendly sunscreens.

Diet Coke has never been more disgusting

1500 Belgians simultaneously dropped Mentos into Diet Coke bottles causing the above scene...

Nerdtastic Reference Page

Sorry for this book-keeping post. Just a reference page for myself.

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Think you know toilets? You don't know SQUAT!

Have you ever seen a squat toilet? If you haven't, it's basically a rectangular piece of porcelain, like an extraordinarily tall tile or something, with a ovoid hole in the middle. The ones I've seen have "convenient" textured areas on either side of the hole to provide better traction for your shoes. I'd never seen one prior to my visit to China in 2001. In some of the touristy areas, the public restrooms would be equipped with them. To say I was "relieved" (haha! me so funny) to be staying in hotels with sit-down toilets instead of the squatting toilets would be an understatement.

Well, China's potty training has come home to roost. Apparently after doing test-runs (zomg "runs"! I kill me) in Olympic venues, the Chinese organizers have decided to add some sit-down toilets after receiving numerous complaints that the only facilities available were the squatting toilets. Apparently they won't all be replaced, but every venue should have some seated toilets. "The percentage will depend on the situation of each venue. We are doing our best to improve on the current circumstances." Sounds pretty lame to me.

I guess I shouldn't impose my expectations on bathroom facilities on other cultures, but having traveled extensively throughout the world, I can say that aside from a surprising Italian highway rest stop, I can't remember ever seeing those squat toilets outside of China. To be fair, I have used ditch latrines in less developed countries, but none of those are hosting the Olympics!

P.S. I also considered calling this blog entry, "Did Mao Have a Wide Stance?" but it didn't seem as descriptive of the real controversy.

L2Read Ks n00b

I was watching a consumer-oriented news report on the local CBS news tonight and it concerned car title loans. Apparently you put up the title to your vehicle as collateral on a loan. Sounds pretty straightforward right? Well the catch is that the lenders tend to charge huge interest rates on the loan, which is completely understandable considering that a the collateral loses value at a huge rate. If you don't have decent credit, the annual percentage interest can be something like 90%. The example shown was an $8500 dollar loan that over three years would incur $15,000 in interest.

The problem is, if someone needs money from strangers that urgently and doesn't have the credit rating to cover a more conventional loan, that person tends to be, shall we say, under-skilled at financial management. In fact, I would go as far as to say they could foreseeably "forget" to read contracts with 90% APRs in black and white and large letters.

I don't know what "predatory lending" is, technically; I would think it's some statutory term. But in a dictionary sense, it seems these kinds of loans are definitely predatory on people who most likely don't understand loans. That said, the upside is that the number of these kinds of loans can't possibly be very high considering that most people won't hold valuable cars free and clear if they don't understand money. In any case, I found myself with little sympathy for the lady who screwed herself over by agreeing to the loan based on her Cadillac Escalade she received as a gift from a relative who paid CASH for it. Come to think of it, has she paid her gift tax on that Caddy?! Someone call the Board of Equalization.

And yes, I'm being uncharacteristically vindictive in this post, but I was uncharacteristically annoyed by the stupidity being fostered by the story.

What Fengshui means to the Golden Arches

Golden? Too electric. Lemon Cream arches? Cornsilk arches? Muted earth tones and an open watery dining area seem to be the prescription for a Fengshui McDonald's in Hacienda Heights near LA. As a tangent, I think that's where this cool Buddhist temple is that serves a very decent veggie lunch for a very reasonable price. But if you don't want to go the vegetarian route, you can now get your zen on at McD's.

They mention that they're putting a McCafe in the new McDonald's. They tried a McCafe at my local McDonald's here, and it didn't do so hot. It was actually a pretty decent little coffee shop, but I never saw anyone go in. I think they may have been intimidated by the swanky decor compared to the tile floors and plastic swivel chairs of the McDonald's. It definitely threw me for a loop. Well, best of luck to them; may their feng blow and shui flow freely.

Not his only crime...

I was waiting in the doctor's clinic reading my favorite newspaper, The Palo Alto Daily News. It's my favorite mainly because it's FREE, but also because it gives local news not given by most internet providers. Anyway, the story I read this morning was that a local restauranteur, Simon Yuan, was sentenced to four months in a "detention facility," four months of home confinement, and a year of supervised release.

I hadn't seen the reports that federal tax agents had busted into his establishment 3 years ago; the article says they blew open the front and back doors of the restaurant. I wish I could have seen that. Tax evasion seems like such an attractive crime. A criminal could almost convince themselves that there's no victim or at least see themselves as some sort of small-scale Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to give to themselves. However, it's still a crime of theft with the motive of greed and personal enrichment. Simon used the proceeds to fund trips for his wife and luxury automobiles.

Perhaps the biggest crime against our Palo Alto Community itself, however, is related to the so-called Hunan cuisine they serve there. Having been taken to eat at my white friends' "favorite Chinese restaurant" and being served the "Hunan" food there, I feel violated.

I really don't have much against Americanized Chinese food ~ if I know that's what I'm gonna get. PF Chang's? Get me some Pepto-bismol and I'm gtg. Panda Express? It probably saved my life when I was living in Virginia. But the problem isn't the Americanization of the menu (which is obvious from the cocktail bar, upscale decor and smarmy white-tablecloth service). It's that the food tastes genuinely WEIRD. I mean... it's weird. I order a signature Hunan dish ~ Hunan spicy pork, and it LOOKS like Hunan spicy pork, but what's that flavor? And the flavor extends across the menu (that I've tried) ~ it's like they have a "special" sauce going on back there that they douse everything with. I'm guessing it's polyurethane. That, or semen (which I've never tried and could explain my inability to place the flavor).

To add insult to injury, just a few miles away is Hunan Homes restaurant, which while far from being my first choice in Chinese restaurants, serves very credible Hunan food without the weird taste.

Nothing to write about

Actually, the title of this post is inaccurate. It would be more accurate to say there's a lot to write about, but nothing that I want to write about. There's actually a ton of stuff going on in my life atm ~ people moving all over the place, politics, health issues, and of course my nephew and niece (so cute!) - but none of those topics seems like something I want to put in this meaningless blog. Apparently, my posting criteria are (a) pithy and (b) insignificant.

I mean, seriously, my last few posts have been about Wii-mote modifications, a comedy painting near a bathroom, and the SMURFS.

The Wii-mote Mino-wity Wii-port

I saw a link to the webpage of this guy, Johnny Chung Lee, while reading my tri-weekly dose of profane humor at penny-arcade.com. In it, he describes how he's used the Nintendo Wii's controller to create different input devices, for instance, tracking the fingertips a la Minority Report, albeit in 2-D. It's pretty rudimentary, and actually somewhat elementary once you understand the basics of what he's working with, but considering the ease and and common availability of what he's talking about - he points out that there are more wiis out there than tablet PCs, making it one of the most common electronic input devices - it really makes me wonder why I'm still using a mouse and keyboard. Or at least a mouse.

He does note that he's planning on working on 3-D tracking using the "Wiimote" with the same principles ~ something that would mainly be constrained by the infrared camera's resolution, I assume. Anyway, it's fun watching his well-presented videos.

I'm embedding a youtube video where he uses the wii to track the head for a virtual-reality-type display.

Colbert's portrait hanging in the National Portrait Gallery

Stephen Colbert has successfully managed to get his portrait into the National Portrait Gallery, there to hang next to other important images like portraits of the founding fathers and the sign saying "all employees must wash hands before returning to work."

The article is pretty funny as it cites Colbert's "sack work" as very persuasive and instrumental in getting his portrait hung there.

Of course, the portrait is only there for six weeks and is NOT joining the gallery's collection (not YET, as we hope).

Oh noez! They be takin' mah Scrabulous!

OMG. It's happening. Hasbro and Mattel, who split ownership of the Scrabble trademark, have asked the Indian developers of Scrabulous (or the Faboo Scraboo as I call it) to remove Scrabulous from Facebook!

According to the BBC article, they claim that Scrabulous is infringing their copyrights. Now, I have no idea why the BBC links Hasbro's and Mattel's Scrabble trademark ownership to copyrights, but I assume BBC means that Hasbro and Mattel (H&M) split ownership of certain copyrighted materials in Scrabble. I don't think there's really any question that the identical Scrabble board, game rules, tile values, and tile counts (and more) are copyrights.

One problem is if H&M think they can make their own online Scrabble game, they might want to choke off competition to open the field for their game. Another problem is the amount of control H&M could exert on licensees might be hard to negotiate. They might insist on name changes, design changes, advertising changes, etc. I hope that H&M is willing to give these guys a license. In any case, SOS ~ Save our Scrabulous!

Edit: Here's an interesting blog on this story from the BBC with an insightful quote: "my point is that, as Google has already found, the early dreams of being a happy-clappy, open-source, 'do no evil' kind of business soon fade when the realisation dawns that you are worth suing."

Edit: Here's a link from Yahoo to a video from ABC news. Basically the same stuff, but it does reveal that Hasbro sold a license to Electronic Arts a few months ago for electronic versions of its games. I'm guessing that means Scrabulous is going the way of the dodo. /cry

Smurfy 50th Smurfiversary!

Wow, the Smurfs are old. 50-years-old to be precise. I just remember watching them in the '80s and getting a Smurf Sing-Along LP album. In retrospect, I never really liked them, but it was better than watching the other stuff on TV. As much as I enjoy golf now as Saturday naptime TV, I despised it when I was ten.

So have a Smurftastic Smurfiversary... Now it's time to celebrate with 99 smurfs on 1 smurfette action.

Surf's Up in Half Moon Bay!

Wow ~ the world class Mavericks Surf Contest is going to be held tomorrow off Half Moon Bay, just over the hills from where I live. It must be amazing to see how that small community copes with the large number of people that show up for that event. It's bad enough on normal weekends with beach-goers and hikers, but with an international surf contest it must be craaazy.

Apparently, the Mavericks MySpace page will be having a live web-cast of the event, and the organizers are trying to tell people to stay away to avoid impacting the sensitive coastal flora and fauna. As the ninja turtles, who as denizens of the NY sewer are such poseurs for sounding like stereotypical surfer dudes, would say, the contest will be totally tubular, man.

Proposed closure of state parks!

I read in SFGate that the governuh's budget plan includes the proposed closure of 48 State Parks/Recreational Areas/etc. The full list is here, but the primary impact to me would be the closure of 9 in the Bay Area. To my relief, these closures would be temporary until the State budget situation improves, with reduced budgets going to patrols of the closed parks. In any case, I don't think I've been to the State parks mentioned, although I'm a big fan of the State Park system.

w00t ~ word of the year for 2007!

Merriam-Webster has named "w00t" the word of the year for 2007. Although I've been using w00t! for years ~ I remember using it during my Everquest days, possibly as early as 2001 ~ apparently the movement in the English language towards texting and computer aided communication has brought this celebratory phrase to the forefront.

I own (or pwn) this shirt. It's sweet and now has a culturally significant word on it.

Racial choices in ski resorts?

I just got back from a ski trip last week. The snow was a bit sparse and the temperatures never got out of the teens on the slopes. Still, it was good fun. But I'm not remarking on those subjects. What struck me this time was how at one resort, Mt. Rose in Nevada, there were large numbers (I'm talking like 50-70% of the people I saw) of Asian-Americans. By contrast, the next day at Squaw Valley, my brother and I were actively searching for Asian-Americans but could see only very few - I'm talking maybe 20-30 out of the hundreds if not thousands of other skiiers we encountered.

Let me reemphasize: there was a huge disparity between Asian-American attendance at Mt. Rose ski resort v. Squaw Valley USA. It was completely mystifying.

As the American Way(TM) would have it: In times of uncertainty, fall back on gross stereotypes. (Just kidding!) A family member of mine postulated that, based on the stereotype of Asians as "cheap" or at least bargain hunters, the Asian American attendance disparity could be explained by the pecuniary savings associated with staying in Reno, which provides (1) cheap lodging because of casinos, (2) cheap food, and (3) shorter drive from Reno to Mt. Rose v. Squaw Valley. However, I am skeptical of this explanation because Squaw is not inconvenient from Reno at all and is probably only 20-30 minutes further. As point of fact, we ourselves stayed in Reno and enjoyed the savings!

Squaw Valley is of course more expensive (I payed 62 for my ticket at Squaw v. 45 for Mt. Rose), but it's a much more extensive resort with more varied terrain (imho).

And of course, Squaw Valley charges for non-skiing family members to get to some of the more convenient lodges (cable car and/or funitel rides), whereas Mt. Rose's major lodges are easily accessible. I know that some Asian matrons don't ski themselves but like to stake out tables in the super-crowded Mt. Rose lodge.

Even with these various factors, I am still curious about the day and night difference between the two resorts. The disparity is just so crazily glaring.

Is it that obvious?

So, I was talking to a police officer the other day, and within 10 minutes he looks at me, head askew, and asks me, "Are you a lawyer?" Apparently just the way I was answering his questions triggered that suspicion in his head. He said that I never answered anything in absolutes and seemed to consider what I was saying longer than most.

Is that police officer particularly astute? Obviously he's probably dealt with more lawyers than the average guy on the street, but it's not like I was being uncooperative and asserting arcane rights. I wonder if he's ever accused non-lawyers of talking like lawyers?

Book Burning for the 21st Century

The Vatican and many religious groups in the U.S. are urging Christians not to watch "The Golden Compass," a movie based on the first book of Phillip Pullman's trilogy, "His Dark Materials."

OK, so I admit the movie was not particularly engaging (although it looked amazing and some of the acting was quite good), but it seems that the Catholic Church should have bigger concerns than a children's book. Besides, far from advocating atheism, it specifically celebrates the soul and its gift of free will to humanity. Still, it definitely does bad-mouth organized religion as an attack on that free will and exploration of the human experience.

I'm just rambling here I guess. I found the books quite interesting, but the schizophrenia the movies seem to show between being a mature fantasy and a child's adventure is definitely evident and hampers the movie. I watched the movie a week after it came out and the 9:30pm showing had like only 20 people in it... I'm hoping the future installments (if there are any) will be more exciting.

Commodore 64, aye aye!

I was munching a hamburger and reading the Palo Alto Daily News on Monday and I saw an article reporting that a discussion panel marking the 25th Anniversary of the release of the Commodore 64 would be meeting that night at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View! Naturally, my mind raced and my bite of hamburger balled up in my mouth as I mulled the idea of 25 years (!) of Commodore 64.

Now I've never actually owned a C64 (my dad got me an Atari 1600, which I mainly used to play Pac-Man), but I recall it being a pretty big deal. I HAD to go to this event, if only because I wanted to hear stories and perspective from the pioneers of the personal computer business. We heard from Jack Tramiel (founder and head of Commodore), Steve Wozniak (the Wizard of "Woz" from Apple), Adam Chowaniec (who led the development of the Amiga), and William Lowe (who led the team doing the IBM PC).

Although much edified and entertained by these stars of the computer industry, I was perhaps most impressed by the benefits of Museum membership! I was thinking I would just head to the event and go listen to the people. But there were hundreds upon hundreds of people at the event, and apparently Museum members and their guests who RSVPed got reserved spots! AND they get access to the reception with posh food/appetizers.

It's a good thing my good friend is a member of the Museum. I called him up, hamburger still unchewed, and told him about my Nerd Emergency and he replied that he was already fully apprised of the Nerd Alert, and, in fact, he could add me to his "member guest" RSVP. Thanks, man, I owe you one. That reception was da bomb. I think I ate about 5 pounds of seared tuna (mercury be-damned!) and washed that down with a bushel of olives and a forest of chicken satay skewers.

The cake is a lie!

I love the end credits to this game, Portal, part of the orange box of Half-life 2. I don't really like puzzle games so I've never played this, but they take the cake as far as end credits that I've seen go (pun so totally intended). As far as I can glean from cursory readings of descriptions of the game, you are some sort of guineau pig at the mercy of an AI computer that is convinced it is doing important research and breaking a few "eggs" in making its omelette. Along the way, the AI baits you with the promise of cake, but graffiti left from (presumably) earlier subjects insists that "The Cake is a Lie!" In the end, you break the AI into pieces and incinerate those pieces. The song is just so catchy!