I have Final Fantasy X and X-2 for the PS2. The newest game in the series is FF XIII for the PS3 but it's not out yet.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Final Fantasy VII
I'm finished with inFamous for now so I bought Final Fantasy VII online for $10. It's running on my PS3 in some kind of PSOne emulation mode. The graphics are chunky and it looks/feels like the original. I actually played through the game on a PC. Elim lent it to me many years ago... so long in fact that there are a lot of surprises since I've forgotten most of it.
I have Final Fantasy X and X-2 for the PS2. The newest game in the series is FF XIII for the PS3 but it's not out yet.
I have Final Fantasy X and X-2 for the PS2. The newest game in the series is FF XIII for the PS3 but it's not out yet.
She must be from Shanghai
Either that or she is a high-ranking CCP member. The arrogance and self-righteousness is appalling.
WTOP.com
WTOP.com
Woman charged with kidnapping 5-year-old boy
ROCKVILLE, Md. - A woman has been charged with kidnapping a kindergartener at a Rockville elementary school.
Xuhua Huang, 39, and her husband were called to Lakewood Elementary School on Tuesday to pick up their sick daughter. As the husband and daughter were waiting in the family's van, Huang returned to the school.
Rockville City Police say Huang didn't think her daughter was being treated well and decided to leave with a different child to test how the school would react.
Tell Me Your Wish - Live Performances
I think I mentioned before that there are three major Korean TV networks (KBS, MBC, SBS) and each has a weekly music performance show that typically features the same artists each weekend. The shows are on different nights:
Friday - KBS Music Bank
Saturday - MBC Music Core
Sunday - SBS Inkigayo (Popular Song)
Each show is only an hour long but can take up to six hours to tape due to multiple takes and set changes. It must be a busy weekend for groups that are promoting their album. The video above is a mix of SNSD's performance of their new single 소원을 말해봐 (Genie). They must be using the same background track each show since the audio matches perfectly.
==========
OK, I'm going to be a sound nerd and complain about the audio quality again. They obviously spend a lot of time and money on the stage set each week. What I don't understand is why the sound quality, as heard on the TV broadcast, is so bad. Even though it's a "live" performance, the broadcast is not; the many hours of taping are edited into an hour-long show. The most glaring example for SNSD is when Jessica sings her solo parts; I think her singing voice is softer than other members. The audio level in the mix for her is always low, often barely audible over the backing track. Why? Don't they sound check each mic before the performance? I know there are a lot of groups performing and they have to share mics, but they should have a digital sound board where you can store level settings for each group. Maybe they don't keep track of which wireless mic each vocalist uses so they're all set to the same level... unlikely but extremely sloppy if true. Although the scale is much smaller, I think we do a better job with the sound mix at NewSong each week.
Also, they should be using a least two sound boards, one for live sound and the other for broadcast/recording. If I ever travel to Seoul, I want to check out their sound setup. Since these are music performance shows, you would think that there would be an emphasis on sound quality. The audio engineer on the broadcast sound board needs to pay attention and balance the different channels in the mix through headphones. Since they're going to edit the broadcast, they also should be recording each channel separately and remixing the sound during the edit. I'm not sure if they're doing all this; it sounds like they're just using the final house mix, which is rarely suitable for broadcast or recording. In the past, I've talked with the sound coordinator for Promise Keepers and they use at least 5 sound boards for their live events: house mix, stage monitors, live broadcast, recording for CD/DVD, and something else (can't remember).
소원을 말해봐 performance on SBS Inkigayo (6/28/09). Jessica is the 2nd solo singer... see, can't hear her at all. This seems to be true for different TV networks, which is really weird.
Friday - KBS Music Bank
Saturday - MBC Music Core
Sunday - SBS Inkigayo (Popular Song)
Each show is only an hour long but can take up to six hours to tape due to multiple takes and set changes. It must be a busy weekend for groups that are promoting their album. The video above is a mix of SNSD's performance of their new single 소원을 말해봐 (Genie). They must be using the same background track each show since the audio matches perfectly.
==========
OK, I'm going to be a sound nerd and complain about the audio quality again. They obviously spend a lot of time and money on the stage set each week. What I don't understand is why the sound quality, as heard on the TV broadcast, is so bad. Even though it's a "live" performance, the broadcast is not; the many hours of taping are edited into an hour-long show. The most glaring example for SNSD is when Jessica sings her solo parts; I think her singing voice is softer than other members. The audio level in the mix for her is always low, often barely audible over the backing track. Why? Don't they sound check each mic before the performance? I know there are a lot of groups performing and they have to share mics, but they should have a digital sound board where you can store level settings for each group. Maybe they don't keep track of which wireless mic each vocalist uses so they're all set to the same level... unlikely but extremely sloppy if true. Although the scale is much smaller, I think we do a better job with the sound mix at NewSong each week.
Also, they should be using a least two sound boards, one for live sound and the other for broadcast/recording. If I ever travel to Seoul, I want to check out their sound setup. Since these are music performance shows, you would think that there would be an emphasis on sound quality. The audio engineer on the broadcast sound board needs to pay attention and balance the different channels in the mix through headphones. Since they're going to edit the broadcast, they also should be recording each channel separately and remixing the sound during the edit. I'm not sure if they're doing all this; it sounds like they're just using the final house mix, which is rarely suitable for broadcast or recording. In the past, I've talked with the sound coordinator for Promise Keepers and they use at least 5 sound boards for their live events: house mix, stage monitors, live broadcast, recording for CD/DVD, and something else (can't remember).
소원을 말해봐 performance on SBS Inkigayo (6/28/09). Jessica is the 2nd solo singer... see, can't hear her at all. This seems to be true for different TV networks, which is really weird.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Co-op Laundromat
Every so often, I need to make a trip to the local laundromat to use their large capacity washers as the home/apartment washers are too small for comforters. Since my parents are coming this week and won't have their furniture until the following Monday, I'm setting up an air mattress in the new apartment. I haven't washed the sheets, pillow cases, and comforters in quite awhile, so this was a good excuse.
Laundromat in a strip mall. I probably should have drove the 4Runner to draw less attention. I've been here a couple of times already to wash the same comforters.
The place was quite busy. I didn't know there were so many apartments (I'm assuming none of the customers owned a house) do not have a laundry room. About 90% of the people were Hispanic.
I brought two comforters to wash so I used the largest washer; you can see my $400 Lauren Ashley comforter (wedding gift) in the left washer. The cost was $4 for each wash and the sign said that it held six loads. That works out to be cheaper than my apartment's $1.25 per washer load. The wash took 25 minutes and about 20 minutes to dry (using two dryers). Some white guy came in after me and used the other machine to wash a sleeping bag. Hmm... I need to wash my sleeping bag as well.
The entire operation took about an hour. For most of the time, I was sitting in some chairs next to this young "couple"... I wasn't sure if they were married, dating, or related. Anyway, the girl was dressed normally in a tank-top and shorts but the guy had the wannabe gangsta look: huge white t-shirt, baggy shorts, and a wife-beater cap. He had trouble walking since the top of his shorts only came up to the middle of his thigh (boxers on underneath). The girl spent the entire time folding clothes while he just sat there on his ass complaining that it's taking so long. Most of the t-shirts coming out of the dryer were his and they were size 3XL to 5XL. Fashion (non)sense aside, I overheard one of his phone conversations and he sounded retarded; maybe his fashion IQ is correlated with his actual IQ.
I actually had some deep thoughts while waiting for my comforters to dry. What keeps a family poor generation after generation? I assumed that the guy in question was not a recent immigrant from Latin America since there wasn't really an accent; he just spoke like a sixth grader. Is it the neighborhood? Is it some sort of cultural aversion towards education? Why did he talk like an uneducated fool... to impress his GF or his homies? I can understand if the first generation has language barriers but why are the 2nd and 3rd generation still poor?
Laundromat in a strip mall. I probably should have drove the 4Runner to draw less attention. I've been here a couple of times already to wash the same comforters.
The place was quite busy. I didn't know there were so many apartments (I'm assuming none of the customers owned a house) do not have a laundry room. About 90% of the people were Hispanic.
I brought two comforters to wash so I used the largest washer; you can see my $400 Lauren Ashley comforter (wedding gift) in the left washer. The cost was $4 for each wash and the sign said that it held six loads. That works out to be cheaper than my apartment's $1.25 per washer load. The wash took 25 minutes and about 20 minutes to dry (using two dryers). Some white guy came in after me and used the other machine to wash a sleeping bag. Hmm... I need to wash my sleeping bag as well.
The entire operation took about an hour. For most of the time, I was sitting in some chairs next to this young "couple"... I wasn't sure if they were married, dating, or related. Anyway, the girl was dressed normally in a tank-top and shorts but the guy had the wannabe gangsta look: huge white t-shirt, baggy shorts, and a wife-beater cap. He had trouble walking since the top of his shorts only came up to the middle of his thigh (boxers on underneath). The girl spent the entire time folding clothes while he just sat there on his ass complaining that it's taking so long. Most of the t-shirts coming out of the dryer were his and they were size 3XL to 5XL. Fashion (non)sense aside, I overheard one of his phone conversations and he sounded retarded; maybe his fashion IQ is correlated with his actual IQ.
I actually had some deep thoughts while waiting for my comforters to dry. What keeps a family poor generation after generation? I assumed that the guy in question was not a recent immigrant from Latin America since there wasn't really an accent; he just spoke like a sixth grader. Is it the neighborhood? Is it some sort of cultural aversion towards education? Why did he talk like an uneducated fool... to impress his GF or his homies? I can understand if the first generation has language barriers but why are the 2nd and 3rd generation still poor?
"New" Apartment
I'm hanging out in my parent's empty apartment, waiting for my laundry to dry. They are moving here next Friday... actually, their furniture has already been picked up by the moving company. To make things easier, I got them an one-bedroom apartment (almost directly) downstairs from me. It's a slightly bigger floorplan which they will need to store their furniture and boxes of stuff.
Right now I'm borrowing someone's wireless signal. From my apartment, I can see about a dozen access points and this was the only non-secure AP. My 802.11n router shows up with about 2 bars of signal and drops quite often. I know my parents like to watch Chinese TV streaming over the web so I bought another Netgear wireless-N router, which I will try to configure as a repeater. This way, they can share my 10Mb cable modem connection and save some money. I don't know how to share my cable TV signal so they may have to get their own cable account.
I've been too lazy to really cook for the past 3+ years. Now that my parents are right next to me for the next six months, maybe I'll get some home-cooked food. I probably should also learn how to cook Chinese food from them...
Right now I'm borrowing someone's wireless signal. From my apartment, I can see about a dozen access points and this was the only non-secure AP. My 802.11n router shows up with about 2 bars of signal and drops quite often. I know my parents like to watch Chinese TV streaming over the web so I bought another Netgear wireless-N router, which I will try to configure as a repeater. This way, they can share my 10Mb cable modem connection and save some money. I don't know how to share my cable TV signal so they may have to get their own cable account.
I've been too lazy to really cook for the past 3+ years. Now that my parents are right next to me for the next six months, maybe I'll get some home-cooked food. I probably should also learn how to cook Chinese food from them...
Friday, June 26, 2009
K-pop Beatbox
Awesome! SM should have got him to perform live with SNSD at Hollywood Bowl. I can't figure out what he's blabbing about at the end though... "Asianese?"
SNSD - Gee
2NE1 - Fire
SNSD - Gee
2NE1 - Fire
Michael Jackson is Dead
I'm sure everyone has heard the news. As someone that grew up in the 80's, it's hard not to know about MJ. He wasn't high on my list of favorite artists but he had a good voice and was a great performer. It was kinda sad watching his gradual meltdown over the past decade.
Be The Voice - Rock With You (Michael Jackson)
Winterplay - Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
I actually have some of his songs on my iTunes. The person doing live sound training thought Thriller was one of the best produced albums and told us to listen to the tracks as an example of good mixing. Even though it was a studio recording, the stereo mix gave the listener a 3D mental image of the band.
Be The Voice - Rock With You (Michael Jackson)
Winterplay - Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
I actually have some of his songs on my iTunes. The person doing live sound training thought Thriller was one of the best produced albums and told us to listen to the tracks as an example of good mixing. Even though it was a studio recording, the stereo mix gave the listener a 3D mental image of the band.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
New Mini-Album from SNSD
Heh, when they released their first mini-album (Gee) back in January, it hit #1 in Korea the same week. I think it's going to happen again. Not sure I like the military costumes though. Here are more pictures; I think there was a comment about short skirts in another post.
Teaser video for title song. I wish they could have found someone with a better English accent (though I heard it's the song composer).
Audio - first track: 소원을 말해봐 (Genie). 120k+ views on YouTube in three days. Crazy!
Audio - second track: Etude.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Chinese Bigfoot
One of the more popular TV stations in China is Hunan TV (Chinese website). When I was sick in Chengdu this past March, I spent a lot of time watching TV. There were a lot of CCTV stations as well as Sichuan and Chengdu stations but their shows were lame. It was either news programs, historical dramas, or movies of brave Communist troops fighting the evil Japanese and/or Nationalists. Yawn.
The shows on Hunan TV were more interesting. They had lots of variety shows and dubbed Korean dramas; I watched many episodes of Famous Princesses in Chinese. Hunan TV also hosted the Super Girl/Happy Girl competition.
Anyway, using software from TVU Networks, I can watch a lot of Chinese channels streaming from the web, including Hunan TV with only about a 30 second delay. I was talking to my friend in Chengdu today and she told me to turn to Hunan TV. They're showing a "documentary" about this guy claiming to see a 2m hairy human-like animal running around in the mountain forest... basically a Chinese Bigfoot. She kept asking me, "Do you think it's real?" I tell her it's probably fake since we have lots of stories about Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti, and other wild humanoids here in the US and none of it has been verified. I don't think she believes me.
The shows on Hunan TV were more interesting. They had lots of variety shows and dubbed Korean dramas; I watched many episodes of Famous Princesses in Chinese. Hunan TV also hosted the Super Girl/Happy Girl competition.
Anyway, using software from TVU Networks, I can watch a lot of Chinese channels streaming from the web, including Hunan TV with only about a 30 second delay. I was talking to my friend in Chengdu today and she told me to turn to Hunan TV. They're showing a "documentary" about this guy claiming to see a 2m hairy human-like animal running around in the mountain forest... basically a Chinese Bigfoot. She kept asking me, "Do you think it's real?" I tell her it's probably fake since we have lots of stories about Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti, and other wild humanoids here in the US and none of it has been verified. I don't think she believes me.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Same BS, Different Country
Right before the Tiananmen anniversary, the Chinese Communist government blocked access to a lot of Internet sites, including Twitter. Now the same thing is happening in Iran where there is a lot of protests against vote fraud during last week's election.
Telegraph
It's quite easy to spot the dictatorships and political thugs. They're always the ones trying to restrict journalists and media reporting.
Telegraph
Iranians warned not to use sites such as Twitter
Iranians who have been using websites such as Twitter to record every twist and turn of the political crisis faced the threat of state retribution yesterday from the country's feared Revolutionary Guard.
The elite military force issued a statement alleging it had identifed websites run by companies it charged were backed by the US and British secret services.
It warned that it would take action against people stoking "tensions" using new media, such as the micro-blogging website Twitter, which has been a key tool in the dissemination of news at a time of upheaval and censorship.
The Revolutionary Guard, set up in the wake of the 1979 revolution to defend the Islamic Republic from "internal and external" threats has struggled to contain an explosion of news and comment published on websites.
"We warn those who propagate riots and spread rumours that our legal action against them will cost them dearly, especially since some of the youth of this land were killed by the thugs' action, so we urge them to delete such material from their sites," its statement said.
It's quite easy to spot the dictatorships and political thugs. They're always the ones trying to restrict journalists and media reporting.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Total Solar Eclipse in China
I blogged about solar eclipses way back in 2006, about a year before I started traveling to Chengdu. Looking at the map of eclipses, I though that Shanghai may be a good place to visit in 2009. However, since then, I've made seven trips to Chengdu and in 5 weeks, Chengdu will be in the path of totality. My first thought was, "OK, how much are plane tickets at this point?" Then I checked the calendar and our Q2 earnings call is on the following day. That means I have almost zero chance of taking off from work to experience the eclipse. BTW, plane tickets are about $1800.
Here is more info on the upcoming eclipse from NASA. Chengdu is a bit north of the centerline but still in the path. From the map, it looks like Chengdu will get about 3 minutes of totality. Further east, Wuhan is going to be very close to the centerline and will experience 5 1/2 minutes of darkness.
Eclipses are rare and to have the path of totality cross over millions of people is even more rare. The next time we can see a total eclipse in the US will be in 2017. Sigh... maybe Leon will be there in July to take some pictures for me.
Here is more info on the upcoming eclipse from NASA. Chengdu is a bit north of the centerline but still in the path. From the map, it looks like Chengdu will get about 3 minutes of totality. Further east, Wuhan is going to be very close to the centerline and will experience 5 1/2 minutes of darkness.
Eclipses are rare and to have the path of totality cross over millions of people is even more rare. The next time we can see a total eclipse in the US will be in 2017. Sigh... maybe Leon will be there in July to take some pictures for me.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
WINTERPLAY
OK, it helps if you put in the right search term. The jazz group's name is WINTERPLAY, one word. Here's their website and they even have a MySpace page. The vocalist's name is 혜원 (Haewon).
Men Are No Good
W&Whale
Looks can be deceiving. Part of the hype around Susan Boyle is that she doesn't look the part of a Broadway singer. Likewise, when I first saw Whale on Star Golden Bell, I was surprised at her voice and her name. I cut out the relevant 60 second clip:
(from: ahboo.wordpress.com)
Luckily, there is a bit more info on W&Whale on the web. The name of the band is W and her name is Whale. I haven't found the backstory of why she chose that stage name. They have two albums out in Korea and a couple of quirky MV's.
W&Whale - R.P.G. Shine
I just noticed at the beginning of the MV it says W&鲸 which is whale in Chinese/Hanja. She also looks different in the MV compared to the Star Golden Bell clip.
Say My Name (Destiny's Child)
Hmm, she looks different here too. Maybe she went for a stealth no make-up look on the Star Golden Bell. Here are more HD videos on Youtube.
(from: ahboo.wordpress.com)
Luckily, there is a bit more info on W&Whale on the web. The name of the band is W and her name is Whale. I haven't found the backstory of why she chose that stage name. They have two albums out in Korea and a couple of quirky MV's.
W&Whale - R.P.G. Shine
I just noticed at the beginning of the MV it says W&鲸 which is whale in Chinese/Hanja. She also looks different in the MV compared to the Star Golden Bell clip.
Say My Name (Destiny's Child)
Hmm, she looks different here too. Maybe she went for a stealth no make-up look on the Star Golden Bell. Here are more HD videos on Youtube.
Winterplay (K-jazz)
If you search SNSD using Google, it returns about 4.57 million hits in 0.09 seconds. Since everything is connected through the Internet (except North Korea), there is a lot of K-pop info on the web. However, it is still hard to find stuff for less popular artists, especially when I can't read Korean. I found a couple Youtube videos by a Korean jazz group called Winter Play Winterplay (one word). Other than the two videos, I couldn't find any more info on the web.
Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
The singer looks a bit like Shu Qi, the Chinese actress in The Transporter. Her English is not too shabby.
Come Together (The Beatles)
Here she is joined by Horan of Ibadi/Clazziquai. Trumpet solo!
I can't find any info on Winter Play from online stores as well. If Sunny (ex-coworker) goes back to visit Korea this September, I'll ask her to see if she can find any CD's in music stores.
==========
UPDATE: 1/14/2011
I managed to find a lot more on Winterplay, including replacement YouTube links to the dead ones above.
Billy Jean (Michael Jackson) - Winterplay
Come Together (The Beatles) - Winterplay + Horan
Quando Quando Quando - Winterplay
Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
The singer looks a bit like Shu Qi, the Chinese actress in The Transporter. Her English is not too shabby.
Come Together (The Beatles)
Here she is joined by Horan of Ibadi/Clazziquai. Trumpet solo!
I can't find any info on Winter Play from online stores as well. If Sunny (ex-coworker) goes back to visit Korea this September, I'll ask her to see if she can find any CD's in music stores.
==========
UPDATE: 1/14/2011
I managed to find a lot more on Winterplay, including replacement YouTube links to the dead ones above.
Billy Jean (Michael Jackson) - Winterplay
Come Together (The Beatles) - Winterplay + Horan
Quando Quando Quando - Winterplay
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Street Sound - Brown Eyed Girls
OK, enough about China... Blogspot is blocked over there and nobody cares anyway. Back to more K-pop.
I found this video on YouTube. The show is call Street Sound Take 1 and features various bands performing live. The concept is pretty cool, and requires that the singers have some talent. The group in this video is Brown Eyed Girls and they perform three songs. I think they're one of the most underrated groups in K-pop. All three vocalists are really good, and although I'm not a fan of rap in any language, I like Miryo (the one playing guitar in the Street Sound video) too.
One of the complaints about the Korean pop industry, especially when it comes to idol groups (SNSD, Wonder Girls, Super Junior, SS501, etc), is that it is dominated by a few entertainment management companies, and they have a lot of sway with music performance shows and radio programs. As a result, independent artists and those from smaller companies that have more "talent" do not get as much exposure. Maybe that's why there are so many similar sounding groups of mediocre talent and lip-syncing is so prevalent at live shows.
I found this video on YouTube. The show is call Street Sound Take 1 and features various bands performing live. The concept is pretty cool, and requires that the singers have some talent. The group in this video is Brown Eyed Girls and they perform three songs. I think they're one of the most underrated groups in K-pop. All three vocalists are really good, and although I'm not a fan of rap in any language, I like Miryo (the one playing guitar in the Street Sound video) too.
One of the complaints about the Korean pop industry, especially when it comes to idol groups (SNSD, Wonder Girls, Super Junior, SS501, etc), is that it is dominated by a few entertainment management companies, and they have a lot of sway with music performance shows and radio programs. As a result, independent artists and those from smaller companies that have more "talent" do not get as much exposure. Maybe that's why there are so many similar sounding groups of mediocre talent and lip-syncing is so prevalent at live shows.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Green Dam Youth Escort
A lot has been written about China's edict that all computers sold in China must have an Internet censoring software pre-installed beginning on July 1, 2009. It wasn't very well received, either by foreign PC manufacturers or Chinese netizens.
Yesterday, a CS professor at the University of Michigan published a report that details a lot of flaws with the software.
In addition to being a piece-of-crap software, which the Chinese government is paying $millions (can you say guanxi), it appears that portions of the code is either open source or stolen from other commercial Internet blocking software. Epic fail.
Nobody is buying the lie that the goal of the program is to block pornography from children. Obviously it's another way to control information flow within China. In the version UM tested, there is already a complex filter to block all references to Falun Gong.
Sigh... you'd think they would be better liars with so much practice. Maybe this is satire?
Oops, he said "public's democratic rights"... maybe he needs some 劳动教养 (re-education through labor).
Yesterday, a CS professor at the University of Michigan published a report that details a lot of flaws with the software.
Our brief testing proves that Green Dam contains very serious security vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, these problems seem to reflect systemic flaws in the code. The software makes extensive use of programming techniques that are known to be unsafe, such as deprecated C string processing functions including sprintf and fscanf. These problems are compounded by the design of the program, which creates a large attack surface: since Green Dam filters and processes all Internet traffic, large parts of its code are exposed to attack.
If Green Dam is deployed in its current form, it will significantly weaken China's computer security. While the flaws we discovered can be quickly patched, correcting all the problems in the Green Dam software will likely require extensive rewriting and thorough testing. This will be difficult to achieve before China's July 1 deadline for deploying Green Dam nationwide.
In addition to being a piece-of-crap software, which the Chinese government is paying $millions (can you say guanxi), it appears that portions of the code is either open source or stolen from other commercial Internet blocking software. Epic fail.
Nobody is buying the lie that the goal of the program is to block pornography from children. Obviously it's another way to control information flow within China. In the version UM tested, there is already a complex filter to block all references to Falun Gong.
The new rules say all PCs sold in China after June 30 must include special software — designed by a company with links to China’s military and security agencies — to filter out pornography and other “vulgar” material. Beijing claims that it is trying to protect children. Don’t believe it.
In any country, such vague terms would be a frightening license for government intrusion. China’s government, which fears the free flow of ideas, already vigorously restricts Internet content, including blocking access to Web sites on Tibet, human rights and other politically sensitive subjects.
Chinese bloggers, dissidents and even some state news media outlets are right to worry that the new software could be used even more nefariously: to collect personal data and spy on consumer Web habits.
The contract for the software, meanwhile, was awarded without industry input. There are serious questions about whether the product will even work.
Sigh... you'd think they would be better liars with so much practice. Maybe this is satire?
What is controversial about the filter software controversy?
by Yan Bingguang / Xinhua
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's requirement that all computers come pre-loaded with the Green Dam-Youth Escort Internet filtering software has garnered quite a bit of attention of late, and one interesting thing about it is that while support largely stems from end users, opposing opinions primarily come from a minority of media outlets and businesses.
...
You may notice that the MIIT's measures are first met with skepticism, but after ministry spokespersons explain in detail, the skeptical voices gradually fade away. This says that public apprehension is largely due to a lack of understanding and trust. It reminds us that the when the government brings forth measures that concern the public interest, it must fully respect the public's democratic rights and act within the scope permitted by the law, while at the same time making a public explanation of the situation as soon as is possible, to answer any doubts the public may have. This is how to win the public's support.
Oops, he said "public's democratic rights"... maybe he needs some 劳动教养 (re-education through labor).
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
More Bad Drivers
Avoid this car!
On my way back to work from lunch today, I was cut off again at the same on/off-ramp. This time it was a black Porsche Cayenne Turbo trying to take the MacArthur exit. There's really no good reason for him (yes, another white guy) to cut me off from the left, especially when there is no one behind me. I think he gains two or three positions on the exit ramp, saving about... 5 seconds? At least I didn't get the finger this time.
My entire commute was about 6 minutes so I'm only posting the relevant 30 seconds. The exit lane is quite long and there was a lot of room behind me to merge in and exit. I was probably going ~60mph when Mr. Cayenne suddenly sped up and cut into my lane. You can't see the front of my car but it was really close, probably only about 2-3 feet of clearance. I guess if you spent $100k on a 500hp SUV that you never take off-road, you have to show off somewhere. I should have rammed him to see how much the bumper costs... oh well, next time. :)
==========
On a techical note, the original 6 minute video clip was a 471MB Quicktime movie (848x480 30fps). That seems ridiculously large. I saved the short 30 second clip as an AVI file using Quicktime Pro and it was only ~8MB. I think I'll delete the original file since there's nothing else intereting in the video clip.
Muslims invented compass and printing?
Barak Obama gave a long speech at the Cairo University on June 4th. I dropped the entire text of the speech into MS Word and it counted 5,802 words. I think that's way too long; perhaps Obama should have cut down the length and hired better fact checkers.
It is pretty well established that Chinese people invented the compass and printing. I know that Obama likes to pander to his audience, evidenced by his campaign promises, but I'm not sure what he gains here? Even worse, he begins this section by saying, "As a student of history" then goes and screws up historical facts.
Ahem, I thought he was the smartest guy in the world...
As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam. It was Islam – at places like Al-Azhar University – that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed.
It is pretty well established that Chinese people invented the compass and printing. I know that Obama likes to pander to his audience, evidenced by his campaign promises, but I'm not sure what he gains here? Even worse, he begins this section by saying, "As a student of history" then goes and screws up historical facts.
Ahem, I thought he was the smartest guy in the world...
Monday, June 8, 2009
Bad Driver
The exit right before the one I take to get to work has a long exit only lane that is connected to the previous on-ramp. In the morning, cars get backed up in the exit lane so some people wait until the last minute to cut in, often obstructing lanes, making it dangerous for people in the normal traffic lanes. In addition, people just pulling on the freeway also cut into the traffic lanes early, going much too slow, so they avoid the row of cars trying to exit. Anyway, due to the road design and poor/inpatient drivers, I'm surprised there are not "accidents" every morning.
This morning, I came to work a bit later than usual so there wasn't any traffic on this on-ramp/exit lane. However, old white guy in a new MB C300 decides to cut into the traffic lane without looking. As he was cutting me off, by no more than 2-3 feet, I honk my horn to warn him since I was still going ~20 mph faster than he was. Without glancing back and while still cutting into my lane, he flicks me off. Since we're near the Newport Back Bay, some people use the on/off ramp as part of their local commute. Unless the driver uses their signal lights, who knows if they want to merge into the traffic lanes or not... and no, he did not use his signal lights.
For the past few weeks, I had my mini tripod mounted inside my 4Runner and sometimes I would take videos of my drive to work. Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera this morning so I missed it.
This morning, I came to work a bit later than usual so there wasn't any traffic on this on-ramp/exit lane. However, old white guy in a new MB C300 decides to cut into the traffic lane without looking. As he was cutting me off, by no more than 2-3 feet, I honk my horn to warn him since I was still going ~20 mph faster than he was. Without glancing back and while still cutting into my lane, he flicks me off. Since we're near the Newport Back Bay, some people use the on/off ramp as part of their local commute. Unless the driver uses their signal lights, who knows if they want to merge into the traffic lanes or not... and no, he did not use his signal lights.
For the past few weeks, I had my mini tripod mounted inside my 4Runner and sometimes I would take videos of my drive to work. Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera this morning so I missed it.
1000th Post
So says the Blogger Dashboard for this blog. I still have a few draft posts that are probably included in the 1000 count but close enough.
I mentioned to some coworkers that if I ever look for a new job, I'll need to delete this entire blog. I probably need to do it weeks in advance so all the cached pages have time to be refreshed too.
I mentioned to some coworkers that if I ever look for a new job, I'll need to delete this entire blog. I probably need to do it weeks in advance so all the cached pages have time to be refreshed too.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Strange Dream Revisited
Thinking back to my first strange dream, the one with Tiffany, it was in color. Until now, I thought all my dreams were in black & white and didn't have sound, kinda like an old Charlie Chaplin movie. Anyway, I'm pretty positive there was color in my dream from two nights ago. Still not sure about sound though.
Also, I did see SNSD in concert last month, though it was from quite far away. Tiffany is the one in the middle (pink pants) singing. Hmm... I not even sure if I see people's faces in my dreams or if I just know who they are. All this is giving me a headache; I'm going to take a nap.
Also, I did see SNSD in concert last month, though it was from quite far away. Tiffany is the one in the middle (pink pants) singing. Hmm... I not even sure if I see people's faces in my dreams or if I just know who they are. All this is giving me a headache; I'm going to take a nap.
Another Strange Dream
I usually don't remember my dreams after I wake up. However, I still remember the one from last night. Does this happen more often as people get older?
I'm driving my SUV somewhere to either go hiking or camping. After a long drive through a college campus, I arrived at a old building to spend the night with some other people. However, a volcano has erupted nearby so ash was falling down the entire time and I was worried that the ash would collapse the roof of our building. Then it started to rain heavily and muddy rainwater started to leak through the ceiling. The last thing I remember was trying to get out of the building, getting my socks wet, and some strangers with dogs and cats (leashed) trying to help me remove my wet socks. Unfortunately, none of the members of SNSD showed up.
Maybe dreams are not so random after all. I'm going hiking with some coworkers tomorrow morning though I certain there are no volcanoes around here.
I'm driving my SUV somewhere to either go hiking or camping. After a long drive through a college campus, I arrived at a old building to spend the night with some other people. However, a volcano has erupted nearby so ash was falling down the entire time and I was worried that the ash would collapse the roof of our building. Then it started to rain heavily and muddy rainwater started to leak through the ceiling. The last thing I remember was trying to get out of the building, getting my socks wet, and some strangers with dogs and cats (leashed) trying to help me remove my wet socks. Unfortunately, none of the members of SNSD showed up.
Maybe dreams are not so random after all. I'm going hiking with some coworkers tomorrow morning though I certain there are no volcanoes around here.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Strange Dream
I had a dream last night that Tiffany from SNSD (K-pop group) was at my house (when did I buy a house?). She needed to use my computer to typing something in Chinese. I was typing in pingyin and she was picking out the right characters... then I woke up. Good thing she's originally from California because I don't speak Korean. :)
Perhaps I've been watching too much Korean TV and listening to too much K-pop.
Perhaps I've been watching too much Korean TV and listening to too much K-pop.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Thunder & Lightning
There is some crazy loud, window rattling (literally) thunder going on outside right now plus huge flashes of lightning. No rain yet though. This is pretty odd since the average rainfall for June is pretty much nil.
==========
OK, the rain just started falling and it's pretty heavy. Good thing I didn't wash my car recently. LA DWP (Department of Water & Power) just announced Mandatory Water Conservation starting yesterday so this should help a bit.
==========
OK, the rain just started falling and it's pretty heavy. Good thing I didn't wash my car recently. LA DWP (Department of Water & Power) just announced Mandatory Water Conservation starting yesterday so this should help a bit.
Red Envelope
I just got off the phone/Skype with my friend in Chengdu. The judge in her divorce case accepted the ¥500 "gift" and has agreed to pass the paperwork up for approval. It will still take another 3-6 months since the government will publish the verdict (not sure where) for final public comment. The dinner "gift" is no longer required at this time.
The impression my friend got was that the actual amount didn't matter as much as the fact a "gift" was offered. It seems that corruption is so prevalent that it's almost part of the official process in getting things done.
In China, 有钱就没有问题！
The impression my friend got was that the actual amount didn't matter as much as the fact a "gift" was offered. It seems that corruption is so prevalent that it's almost part of the official process in getting things done.
In China, 有钱就没有问题！
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
20 Years
June 4, 1989. Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing and the CCP is commemorating the event by blocking Tweeter, Flickr, Hotmail, and others in addition to the usual list. I'm not sure why they even bother. Most of the younger generation in China don't know or don't care anyway, having grown up in a media blackout about the incident.
Here is an article from Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. -George Santayana
Here is an article from Richmond Times-Dispatch:
"Well, it happened before I was born," the 19-year-old said as the crowd shuffled out of the vast expanse of concrete on a balmy evening. "In any case, it's history. Why should we dwell on the past?"
It was 20 years ago that hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed by an army making its final push to crush a pro-democracy demonstration in Tiananmen Square, and the Chinese government has fortified its information blockade on the bloody crackdown. Anybody trying to search the Internet here for information about the square, one of Beijing's most popular tourist attractions, is likely to get the message, "This page cannot be displayed."
But the efforts may be overkill: Apathy as much as censorship has pushed the events of June 4, 1989, into the dark recesses of history.
The young Chinese, whom one graying activist calls "the stupid generation," remain willfully ignorant about the past.
...
"Our generation doesn't feel so much pressure as our parents. Even the global recession hasn't hit us much. It shows what a good country China is," said Hou Jue, 26, who is studying to be a bartender.
Although he lives only a few blocks from Tiananmen Square, he admits that he is "not too clear" about 1989's events and doesn't feel a need to learn more.
"If the government tells us as Chinese citizens we should not know about something and shouldn't be searching material, we should be responsible and obey," Hou said.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. -George Santayana
Monday, June 1, 2009
Human Flesh Search Engine (sorta...)
I've been connecting with some really old friends and acquaintances, mainly through Facebook but also through Internet search engines. There was someone I worked with at Alphagraphics back in 1990 and I haven't heard from her since she quit to become a flight attendant with American Airlines. Through Google and Yahoo search, I'm pretty sure I found her current home address but no phone numbers or email address. I think it would be too freaky if I just showed up at her door and said, "Hey, we haven't seen each other for 19 years... but how you doin'?"
I tried that with a high school buddy in Canada. I rang the doorbell to his house last year but it turned out his family moved 8 years ago and didn't leave a forwarding address with the new owners.
I tried that with a high school buddy in Canada. I rang the doorbell to his house last year but it turned out his family moved 8 years ago and didn't leave a forwarding address with the new owners.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Random Photos from Canada Trip
I now know why my dad didn't want to keep the Sony DSLR. It's kinda heavy and bulky and hard to carry unless you have a dedicated camera bag. In addition, I bought him a 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens; it won't fit it the camera bag along with the camera. Anyway, this time I only brought my Panasonic point-and-shoot so I didn't take a lot of pictures.
Welcome to New York! I didn't actually see much of New York since I didn't leave Terminal 8 of JFK Airport. This is the 2nd time I've been in New York State. My other visit was to Buffalo in 1984, trying to recover our impounded Canadian car from US Customs (I'll have to write about that later).
JFK Terminal 8. Quite modern and the bathrooms were amazingly clean and odorless. Maybe because I was the first user at 6am on a Sunday morning.
To get to the departure gate for my Toronto flight, I had to cross under part of the gate area for Terminal 8. It was a long escalator trip down then back up on the other side. I'd hate to be stuck here during a power outage.
The flight from JFK to YYZ was on American Eagle which means riding on a cramped ERJ-140. I had the single seat in the exit row but it was still uncomfortable.
I flew across three out of the five Great Lakes on this trip. This is Lake Ontario near Oakville or Mississauga.
I was one of the first person to go through Canadian Immigration. The airport wasn't that busy on a Sunday morning. My sister arrived the night before and said it was deserted at 11pm as well.
Since I can't sleep well on planes, red eye flights really suck. In addition, the guy next to me was huge and his fat overflowed across the armrest and into my personal space. How come I never get to sit next to the cute yet friendly young Asian female?! Anyway, as soon as my parents/sister picked me up at Pearson Int'l, we drove to East York to visit my 3rd aunt. We lived at her condo for a few months when we first moved to Canada in 1977. She lives on the 27th floor and this is the view from her balcony.
We went to a Chinese restaurant in Markham for brunch. For some reason, my mom ordered Peking Duck. It was pretty good but way too greasy, especially after 24 hours of no sleep.
Dessert made from fried egg whites with a sweet filling.
Train along the Gardiner Expressway. It's the first time I saw a Via train. Usually I see the green GO trains. They travel about 70-80 mph.
The next day (or the same day... I can't remember), we went to visit my 2nd aunt in Mississauga. They used to live in Oakville while we lived in Mississauga; now it's the other way around. They have a lot of pets in their house. Here's my sister taking a picture of their lizard.
They also have a cat and sometimes a dog, depending on whether they're dogsitting for my cousin.
Some time later, we went back to Markham to have lunch at a Mongolian BBQ buffet. This place is at the same location as Pacific Mall where I often bought dinner when I traveled to Markham for work. It was $15 per person and the selection was pretty good.
Meat for the Mongolian BBQ. Choose either beef, pork, chicken, lamb or mix and match.
They even had a shaved ice bar. Some old people at another table just spooned the ingredients into a bowl and didn't get ice. Not sure if they understood what the fancy machine filled with ice was for.
Waiting on the runway at YYZ. We had to wait until the Austrian Air plane landed since we used the same runway for takeoff.
Lake Huron...
... and Lake Michigan.
Since Chicago O'Hare is one of American Airline's hubs, there were a lot of AA jets. This was taken from one of AA's Admirals Clubs near Terminal H/K.
Driving home on the 405 freeway. I velcro'ed a small tripod to the A-pillar and took this using the Night Scene setting (2 second exposure). I stopped at an In-n-Out on the way home as I usually do when I drive back from LAX after a China trip.
Welcome to New York! I didn't actually see much of New York since I didn't leave Terminal 8 of JFK Airport. This is the 2nd time I've been in New York State. My other visit was to Buffalo in 1984, trying to recover our impounded Canadian car from US Customs (I'll have to write about that later).
JFK Terminal 8. Quite modern and the bathrooms were amazingly clean and odorless. Maybe because I was the first user at 6am on a Sunday morning.
To get to the departure gate for my Toronto flight, I had to cross under part of the gate area for Terminal 8. It was a long escalator trip down then back up on the other side. I'd hate to be stuck here during a power outage.
The flight from JFK to YYZ was on American Eagle which means riding on a cramped ERJ-140. I had the single seat in the exit row but it was still uncomfortable.
I flew across three out of the five Great Lakes on this trip. This is Lake Ontario near Oakville or Mississauga.
I was one of the first person to go through Canadian Immigration. The airport wasn't that busy on a Sunday morning. My sister arrived the night before and said it was deserted at 11pm as well.
Since I can't sleep well on planes, red eye flights really suck. In addition, the guy next to me was huge and his fat overflowed across the armrest and into my personal space. How come I never get to sit next to the cute yet friendly young Asian female?! Anyway, as soon as my parents/sister picked me up at Pearson Int'l, we drove to East York to visit my 3rd aunt. We lived at her condo for a few months when we first moved to Canada in 1977. She lives on the 27th floor and this is the view from her balcony.
We went to a Chinese restaurant in Markham for brunch. For some reason, my mom ordered Peking Duck. It was pretty good but way too greasy, especially after 24 hours of no sleep.
Dessert made from fried egg whites with a sweet filling.
Train along the Gardiner Expressway. It's the first time I saw a Via train. Usually I see the green GO trains. They travel about 70-80 mph.
The next day (or the same day... I can't remember), we went to visit my 2nd aunt in Mississauga. They used to live in Oakville while we lived in Mississauga; now it's the other way around. They have a lot of pets in their house. Here's my sister taking a picture of their lizard.
They also have a cat and sometimes a dog, depending on whether they're dogsitting for my cousin.
Some time later, we went back to Markham to have lunch at a Mongolian BBQ buffet. This place is at the same location as Pacific Mall where I often bought dinner when I traveled to Markham for work. It was $15 per person and the selection was pretty good.
Meat for the Mongolian BBQ. Choose either beef, pork, chicken, lamb or mix and match.
They even had a shaved ice bar. Some old people at another table just spooned the ingredients into a bowl and didn't get ice. Not sure if they understood what the fancy machine filled with ice was for.
Waiting on the runway at YYZ. We had to wait until the Austrian Air plane landed since we used the same runway for takeoff.
Lake Huron...
... and Lake Michigan.
Since Chicago O'Hare is one of American Airline's hubs, there were a lot of AA jets. This was taken from one of AA's Admirals Clubs near Terminal H/K.
Driving home on the 405 freeway. I velcro'ed a small tripod to the A-pillar and took this using the Night Scene setting (2 second exposure). I stopped at an In-n-Out on the way home as I usually do when I drive back from LAX after a China trip.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Last Trip to Toronto
So I think this may be my last trip to Toronto for the near future since my parents are moving back to Los Angeles. The first time we moved from Canada to the US, I didn’t visit from 1987 to 2004. Maybe my mom will still visit my aunts and I can go back with her; I need to use up 100k of AA miles before they expire.
We visited a few relatives during this trip and I got to eat lunch with Cyrus. Other than family, I think I’ve known him for the longest period. We were in the same class in sixth grade and since we both joined the instrumental music class, we were also in the same class for seventh and eighth grade. We both then ended up going to Applewood Heights for high school instead of TLK, which is where most of the people went after The Valleys (junior high). I treated him to lunch so he has to buy me lunch next time in California.
I think my parents’ move is pretty much planned out. I need to go back and find them an apartment starting early July. All they have to do is to finish tossing stuff and pack everything for the moving company. They’ve decided to drop off the Camry in Buffalo to ship to California instead of driving it themselves. I thought I would have to meet them in Chicago in July to help with the drive. They’re still looking for a house/townhouse. Ironically, they found one they liked this morning on Redfin.com in NW Fullerton and it’s right next to the condo Shirley just purchased. Maybe my mom can cook for her… ok, maybe not. I’m still looking for a house too and it’s more and more likely I need a three bedroom house instead of a smaller condo. I really like the live/work lofts in downtown Santa Ana except that I don’t really need the storefront-like workspace and there aren’t enough bedrooms. I’ve been narrowing my search to houses built after 1980 and listed for less than $600k. Almost everything available near work is a short sale or bank owned.
The pilot just announced that we’re about 20 minutes out of LAX. All the flights on this trip have been pretty good. The exit rows are much roomier than regular seats though I’ve never had too many problems with AA. The old Cathay 747 seats are the worst, especially when the person in front of you recline their seat right into your lap. I watched one and a half movies on my netbook (no TV screens on a MD-80) and still have >2 hours of battery life left. I probably couldn’t have finished even one movie with my power hungry Sony Vaio or the huge Dell D820 I have a work now.
We visited a few relatives during this trip and I got to eat lunch with Cyrus. Other than family, I think I’ve known him for the longest period. We were in the same class in sixth grade and since we both joined the instrumental music class, we were also in the same class for seventh and eighth grade. We both then ended up going to Applewood Heights for high school instead of TLK, which is where most of the people went after The Valleys (junior high). I treated him to lunch so he has to buy me lunch next time in California.
I think my parents’ move is pretty much planned out. I need to go back and find them an apartment starting early July. All they have to do is to finish tossing stuff and pack everything for the moving company. They’ve decided to drop off the Camry in Buffalo to ship to California instead of driving it themselves. I thought I would have to meet them in Chicago in July to help with the drive. They’re still looking for a house/townhouse. Ironically, they found one they liked this morning on Redfin.com in NW Fullerton and it’s right next to the condo Shirley just purchased. Maybe my mom can cook for her… ok, maybe not. I’m still looking for a house too and it’s more and more likely I need a three bedroom house instead of a smaller condo. I really like the live/work lofts in downtown Santa Ana except that I don’t really need the storefront-like workspace and there aren’t enough bedrooms. I’ve been narrowing my search to houses built after 1980 and listed for less than $600k. Almost everything available near work is a short sale or bank owned.
The pilot just announced that we’re about 20 minutes out of LAX. All the flights on this trip have been pretty good. The exit rows are much roomier than regular seats though I’ve never had too many problems with AA. The old Cathay 747 seats are the worst, especially when the person in front of you recline their seat right into your lap. I watched one and a half movies on my netbook (no TV screens on a MD-80) and still have >2 hours of battery life left. I probably couldn’t have finished even one movie with my power hungry Sony Vaio or the huge Dell D820 I have a work now.
Admirals Club Lite
I’m sitting in AA’s Admirals Club at Chicago O’Hare airport. I received a one day pass to try it out; normally this would have cost me $50. So far, it’s pretty lame. Over the past few years, I’ve been in business class lounges at LAX and a few places in Asia. Most of them give you free food, drinks, and Internet access. All I can find at O’Hare is water and some snack mix. Even for the snack mix, you have to stand in front of a large dispenser and rotate a knob like a beggar. If you want real food or drinks, you have to order it at a bar/counter. Even worse, my one-day free pass does NOT include Internet access. For that, I need to pay another $6 or something.
I guess the free pass is for me to “experience” AA’s lounge and entice me to buy a membership. The chairs are more comfy than what’s down in the terminal but that’s about it. Unless I travel every week and need to connect all the time, there’s no way I would spend the $500 for an annual membership. There is a lot of people in here though. Maybe they’re writing it off as a business expense.
I see people walking around with vegetables and stuff. Maybe there is other “free” stuff hidden away somewhere. I’m going to walk around and check it out.
I guess the free pass is for me to “experience” AA’s lounge and entice me to buy a membership. The chairs are more comfy than what’s down in the terminal but that’s about it. Unless I travel every week and need to connect all the time, there’s no way I would spend the $500 for an annual membership. There is a lot of people in here though. Maybe they’re writing it off as a business expense.
I see people walking around with vegetables and stuff. Maybe there is other “free” stuff hidden away somewhere. I’m going to walk around and check it out.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Moving back to LA
After this week, my parents have only 4 weeks left in their house. Everything has been pretty smooth so far except for the new used car from Rebecca's dad. Their house sold within one week, they got rid of their old car, and most of the large furniture items are either sold or will be shipped to LA. We got a quote from Atlas Van Lines to move their stuff from Oakville to Costa Mesa for ~$4500 and another company to move the Toyota Camry from Buffalo for $1100. They still have to organize a garage sale during an upcoming weekend to see if any of the smaller stuff will sell. I think the main thing left to do is for me to find them an apartment somewhere close to me so the movers can have somewhere to drop off the furniture and they can stay while the house search in LA continues.
Chinese Bribery Update
My friend spoke to her lawyer again and it appears that the corrupt judge wants a cash handout and an expensive meal. The plan now is to give the judge ¥500 (~US$75) and hope that she accepts it, then take her (probably not her entire family) to a ¥300 meal along with the lawyer. My guess is that everyone working in the court know about this kind of stuff, including this judge's bosses, and it's business as usual.
Mogo
I saw an ad on Facebook for a company called Mogo that promised quick and easy loans for Canadians. I guess I'm seeing a lot of Canadian ads since I'm at my parents' house. Anyway, the stated goal of this company is to "save Canadians $1 billion" on consumer loan interest compared to NSF fees or payday loans or something. I checked out their site and it's very well designed with a lot of lower case text and smiling models. However, nowhere do they list the actual interest rate, only $x fee per $100 borrowed.
Digging deeper, one of their programs is called quick money which offers 2 week loans. You can borrow up to $1500 or 60% of your net pay, and the fees are $18.50 per $100. At first glance, that looks like 18.5% interest, pretty high but comparable to credit card interest rates. However, that's $18.50 per $100 per 2 weeks. If you just multiply that out by 26, it's equivalent to ~480% interest! I know you're not supposed to hold these loans for an extended amount of time but that seems really expensive. The website advertises that it's still "cheaper" than regular payday loans (really?) or bouncing a check and paying NSF fees. It even says you can use the loan to avoid credit card late fees. If you really had credit card debt, it's probably cheaper the pay the minimum amount due plus the credit card interest which is ~18%-25% APR.
Is unsecured short term consumer loan that expensive where 480% APR is cheap? Doesn't this just push people deeper into debt? I guess if it's truly an one-time cash flow issue, then paying exorbitant interest fees for 2 weeks is okay. Also, why isn't there consumer disclosure laws requiring companies to state equivalent APR? The $x fee per $100 statement looks like a way to hide the fact you're being charged 100x interest versus a secured mortgage loan. It would be really interesting to see Mogo's default rate and what their margins are.
Digging deeper, one of their programs is called quick money which offers 2 week loans. You can borrow up to $1500 or 60% of your net pay, and the fees are $18.50 per $100. At first glance, that looks like 18.5% interest, pretty high but comparable to credit card interest rates. However, that's $18.50 per $100 per 2 weeks. If you just multiply that out by 26, it's equivalent to ~480% interest! I know you're not supposed to hold these loans for an extended amount of time but that seems really expensive. The website advertises that it's still "cheaper" than regular payday loans (really?) or bouncing a check and paying NSF fees. It even says you can use the loan to avoid credit card late fees. If you really had credit card debt, it's probably cheaper the pay the minimum amount due plus the credit card interest which is ~18%-25% APR.
Is unsecured short term consumer loan that expensive where 480% APR is cheap? Doesn't this just push people deeper into debt? I guess if it's truly an one-time cash flow issue, then paying exorbitant interest fees for 2 weeks is okay. Also, why isn't there consumer disclosure laws requiring companies to state equivalent APR? The $x fee per $100 statement looks like a way to hide the fact you're being charged 100x interest versus a secured mortgage loan. It would be really interesting to see Mogo's default rate and what their margins are.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Chinese Corruption - Up Close and Personal
I just talked to my friend in Chengdu about her divorce case. She filed for divorce in China last May (2008) and finally had her day in court in front of a divorce judge a few week ago. The quick background story is that she got married to a lowlife jerk in Taiwan and they had a son. After marriage, the husband started staying out at night for days and weeks (probably having an affair), got into street racing and drugs, and her in-laws treated her like a servant. A few years ago, she came back to China with her son and she hasn't seen him or any child support money since. They agreed to divorce but since she doesn't have any proof from Taiwan, she decided to file separately in China.
Anyway, she spent about ¥5000 on lawyer fees so far and finally got her court date at the beginning of May. At the hearing, the judge went through her paperwork, asked some questions, and told her to wait for a decision. Since she was in Chengdu and the court was in Zigong (her hometown and where her houkou is registered), the court agreed to contact the lawyer. This morning, she received a call from the lawyer saying her case has been rejected. The reasons given by the judge was that her court was the wrong venue since my friend is living in Chengdu, and there was some affidavit that wasn't filed prior to the court date. Both are false since any government matter/petition needs to be filed in your "hometown" or houkou, and the judge never asked for the paperwork during the past 12 months nor did she mention it during the court proceedings. WTF?!
Pay Up Sucker! (credit: stigmata1967/flickr)
The lawyer then mentioned that this judge has a reputation for needing something extra on the side to decide cases in your favor. The lawyer actually suggested a "red envelope" gift or alternatively, my friend can take the judge, probably along with her entire family, out to dinner. My friend is headed back to Zigong tomorrow and had to withdraw some cash from her bank account in order to pay for this bribe meal. She's not sure how much she needs to spend but she has ~¥1000 on hand in case. That's a lot of money for dinner; last time I was in Zigong, a very nice 10-course meal for 6 only cost ~¥350.
The worst part about this whole thing, other than the delay and the extra cost, was the fact that my friend wasn't all that pissed off... just annoyed. It's as if she expected this to happen somewhere along the process. I guess corruption is so prevalent that it's just another problem people expect to deal with. She also said stuff like this is more common in smaller towns where local officials have more power. This seems to be true from news reports and my own personal experience with corruption happened in Zigong as well. My friend said I should blog about this (!) but we're both pretty sure it won't make any difference. Hopefully, this greedy judge will be satisfied with an expensive meal and won't drag this out like a Nigerian 419 scam.
I told my friend to take a photo with the "judge" during dinner so I can post her name and picture... after the court case is closed, of course. Unfortunately, even for a laowai like me, this level of corruption is not surprising. Despite the CCP's constant whining about Western media bias and "hurt" Chinese feelings, the Chinese people are being screwed by their own government. It's ironic to me that the most popular movie in China right now is 南京! 南京! Not to make light of the Nanking massacre nor all the atrocities during WW2 but who was responsible for the most Chinese deaths during the past 100 years? Not the Qing rulers, the Japanese, nor some other foreign invader. That "honor" belongs to Chairman Mao.
Anyway, she spent about ¥5000 on lawyer fees so far and finally got her court date at the beginning of May. At the hearing, the judge went through her paperwork, asked some questions, and told her to wait for a decision. Since she was in Chengdu and the court was in Zigong (her hometown and where her houkou is registered), the court agreed to contact the lawyer. This morning, she received a call from the lawyer saying her case has been rejected. The reasons given by the judge was that her court was the wrong venue since my friend is living in Chengdu, and there was some affidavit that wasn't filed prior to the court date. Both are false since any government matter/petition needs to be filed in your "hometown" or houkou, and the judge never asked for the paperwork during the past 12 months nor did she mention it during the court proceedings. WTF?!
Pay Up Sucker! (credit: stigmata1967/flickr)
The lawyer then mentioned that this judge has a reputation for needing something extra on the side to decide cases in your favor. The lawyer actually suggested a "red envelope" gift or alternatively, my friend can take the judge, probably along with her entire family, out to dinner. My friend is headed back to Zigong tomorrow and had to withdraw some cash from her bank account in order to pay for this bribe meal. She's not sure how much she needs to spend but she has ~¥1000 on hand in case. That's a lot of money for dinner; last time I was in Zigong, a very nice 10-course meal for 6 only cost ~¥350.
The worst part about this whole thing, other than the delay and the extra cost, was the fact that my friend wasn't all that pissed off... just annoyed. It's as if she expected this to happen somewhere along the process. I guess corruption is so prevalent that it's just another problem people expect to deal with. She also said stuff like this is more common in smaller towns where local officials have more power. This seems to be true from news reports and my own personal experience with corruption happened in Zigong as well. My friend said I should blog about this (!) but we're both pretty sure it won't make any difference. Hopefully, this greedy judge will be satisfied with an expensive meal and won't drag this out like a Nigerian 419 scam.
I told my friend to take a photo with the "judge" during dinner so I can post her name and picture... after the court case is closed, of course. Unfortunately, even for a laowai like me, this level of corruption is not surprising. Despite the CCP's constant whining about Western media bias and "hurt" Chinese feelings, the Chinese people are being screwed by their own government. It's ironic to me that the most popular movie in China right now is 南京! 南京! Not to make light of the Nanking massacre nor all the atrocities during WW2 but who was responsible for the most Chinese deaths during the past 100 years? Not the Qing rulers, the Japanese, nor some other foreign invader. That "honor" belongs to Chairman Mao.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
American Airlines Flight 10
I’m on the red eye flight from LAX to JFK and we’re about 90 minutes from New York. There is wifi on this flight and it appears to be a 11g wireless router. I’m not actually going to post this from the flight since I was too cheap to pay the $5.95 fee. It’s supposed to go up to $12.95 after a promo period. Without paying the fee, you can access AA.com and some stories from WSJ. Since you can’t use your cell phone on flights, it would be cool to be able to use Skype or MSN Messenger. If they offer this on Cathay Pacific, I’d definitely pay to use it now that I have a computer that can run 8+ hours on batteries.
I’m in one of the exit row seats on a Boeing 767. I think it’s the first time I’ve been on this type of plane; usually I’m on a 737, 747, or Airbus A320. On the way back to LA, I’m on two consecutive MD-80 flights. I don’t think I’ve been on one of those either. I got a free pass for AA’s Admirals Club right before I left so I’ll probably use that during my 3 hour layover in Chicago. Interestingly, this is the first time I’ve sat in an exit row seat domestically. I usually select seats on my own and exit row/bulkhead seats are always unavailable. This time I called the AA Platinum phone number since I had to reuse a previously cancelled free flight, and the reservation person just gave me exit row seats on all 4 flights. I also had to pay $0.40 on my credit card since the international flight taxes went up a bit (I had to pay $40 when I initially reserved the flight).
Dang it. The flight map shows that we’re flying over Detroit. If I was on the direct LAX to YYZ flight, I would be there in another 30 minutes. Instead, I have another hour to New York, and won’t get to Toronto for another 5+ hours. At least it’s more bearable than the 15 hour flight from LA to Hong Kong. I think my sister is going to pick me up from Pearson Airport. I called her right after I cleared security in LA and she happened to just get off her flight in Toronto at ~11pm Eastern Time. I’m making her go back to the airport after ~11 hours but I’m returning the favor by dropping her off next Wednesday really really really early for a 7am flight back home. They need to make these airport things more convienent.
I’m in one of the exit row seats on a Boeing 767. I think it’s the first time I’ve been on this type of plane; usually I’m on a 737, 747, or Airbus A320. On the way back to LA, I’m on two consecutive MD-80 flights. I don’t think I’ve been on one of those either. I got a free pass for AA’s Admirals Club right before I left so I’ll probably use that during my 3 hour layover in Chicago. Interestingly, this is the first time I’ve sat in an exit row seat domestically. I usually select seats on my own and exit row/bulkhead seats are always unavailable. This time I called the AA Platinum phone number since I had to reuse a previously cancelled free flight, and the reservation person just gave me exit row seats on all 4 flights. I also had to pay $0.40 on my credit card since the international flight taxes went up a bit (I had to pay $40 when I initially reserved the flight).
Dang it. The flight map shows that we’re flying over Detroit. If I was on the direct LAX to YYZ flight, I would be there in another 30 minutes. Instead, I have another hour to New York, and won’t get to Toronto for another 5+ hours. At least it’s more bearable than the 15 hour flight from LA to Hong Kong. I think my sister is going to pick me up from Pearson Airport. I called her right after I cleared security in LA and she happened to just get off her flight in Toronto at ~11pm Eastern Time. I’m making her go back to the airport after ~11 hours but I’m returning the favor by dropping her off next Wednesday really really really early for a 7am flight back home. They need to make these airport things more convienent.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
2NE1
Another day, another K-pop group. This one (2NE1) is from YG Entertainment, which typically has more hip-hoppy artists.
2NE1's debut on Inkigayo... pretty elaborate.
One interesting thing about 2NE1 is one of their members, Park Bom Lee, actually went to Berklee College of Music here in the US (Boston). That's pretty impressive. Not sure why they didn't make her the group leader since she's the oldest. Probably because she hasn't been with YG that long and the actual "leader" trained with YG for 7 years. Still... Berklee! At least they made her the lead singer.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
2009-10 California State Budget
I read in the news that proposition 1A through 1E were defeated in the California special election yesterday. I'm not sure what Arnold and the rest of the legislator were thinking. Did they actually think people were going to vote for more taxes at this time? What a waste of money.
Since I basically do budgeting for a living, I wanted to take a look at the budget proposal. Supposedly there is a $42 billion shortfall on a budget of $135 billion. What kind of idiots submit a budget where the deficit is ~45% of the expected revenue? To quote our CFO, they're "spending money like a bunch of drunken sailors!"
The budget summary PDF file is 175 pages so it will take some time to read but there's an interesting chart on page 69 in the Revenue Estimates section. I'll need to figure out how to cut out the chart but here's the accompanying text:
So I fall into the >$100k category, along with most of the people I work with. We're already paying a huge portion of the personal income taxes, which makes up ~50% of all tax revenues. From the chart, people making <$50k (~65% of the population) pay zero state income tax. How is that fair? Don't they consume state government resources? I paid ~$25k in state taxes last year, not counting sales tax on stuff I bought. I'm 100% positive that I didn't cost the state of California anywhere near that much.
Since I basically do budgeting for a living, I wanted to take a look at the budget proposal. Supposedly there is a $42 billion shortfall on a budget of $135 billion. What kind of idiots submit a budget where the deficit is ~45% of the expected revenue? To quote our CFO, they're "spending money like a bunch of drunken sailors!"
The budget summary PDF file is 175 pages so it will take some time to read but there's an interesting chart on page 69 in the Revenue Estimates section. I'll need to figure out how to cut out the chart but here's the accompanying text:
Modeled closely on the federal income tax law, California’s personal income tax is imposed on net taxable income: that is, gross income less exclusions and deductions. The tax is steeply progressive, with rates ranging from 1 percent to 9.3 percent. Figure REV‑03, which shows the percent of total returns and tax paid by adjusted gross income class, illustrates the progressivity. In 2006, the top 15 percent of state taxpayers, those with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) over $100,000, paid 84 percent of the personal income tax. The top 1 percent of state taxpayers, those with AGI over $480,940, paid 48 percent of the personal income tax. Changes in the income of a relatively small group of taxpayers can have a significant impact on state revenues.
So I fall into the >$100k category, along with most of the people I work with. We're already paying a huge portion of the personal income taxes, which makes up ~50% of all tax revenues. From the chart, people making <$50k (~65% of the population) pay zero state income tax. How is that fair? Don't they consume state government resources? I paid ~$25k in state taxes last year, not counting sales tax on stuff I bought. I'm 100% positive that I didn't cost the state of California anywhere near that much.
Chinese Singing Show To Go On, With a New Name and Conditions
Sigh... I really don't get it. What is the CCP afraid of? Is it the public voting? Is the competition is not "patriotic" enough because they're singing pop songs? Or is it just a knee-jerk reaction to control anything that's popular?
Wall Street Journal
Maybe SARFT just don't want people to be entertained, or happy.
==========
I saw Jane Zhang in concert a few years ago in Pasadena with Leon and Fred. She finished in 3rd place in the 2005 Super Girl competition.
Wall Street Journal
After a two-year absence, the enormously popular Super Girls, China’s single-sex answer to American Idol, is back, albeit under a new name. This time, it’s called “Happy Girls” (快乐女声 in Chinese), according to Xinhua News Agency.
...
A spokesman for Hunan Satellite Television told the media late last month that a revival of the televised singing competition had been approved by the Sarft, though not without several conditions attached.
These conditions include the following: the competition may last no more than two months (about half the length of an American Idol season); episodes may only air after 10:30 pm; judges must be appropriately dressed and use proper language; competitors are not allowed to hug each other or shed tears on stage; and there must not be any fan groups cheering for contestants in the studio audience. Meanwhile, all forms of public voting for contestants, including mobile text messaging and online polls, will be prohibited, as reported by the Chinese-language media.
Maybe SARFT just don't want people to be entertained, or happy.
==========
I saw Jane Zhang in concert a few years ago in Pasadena with Leon and Fred. She finished in 3rd place in the 2005 Super Girl competition.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
No More Free Credit
I'm too disgusted to comment on this kind or crap anymore.
New York Times
New York Times
Credit Card Industry Aims to Profit From Sterling Payers
Credit cards have long been a very good deal for people who pay their bills on time and in full. Even as card companies imposed punitive fees and penalties on those late with their payments, the best customers racked up cash-back rewards, frequent-flier miles and other perks in recent years.
Now Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit.
Banks are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks, according to bank officials and trade groups.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Earthquake!
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