Blogger Changes

Ugh. For some reason, I thought Google stopped supporting and improving the Blogger platform a long time ago, and it's just running old cold. Well, I went in to post about some J-pop song a minute ago and everything is different. Are they trying to revamp the platform to complete with Wordpress? I started a Wordpress blog as well and I like it more so far, except that I can't upload videos for some reason. Also Wordpress keeps spamming me with premium account emails.

The last post had a few links to Wikipedia and YouTube and it was very difficult to get those set up. Initially, I was in the wrong editor mode (HTML vs. Compose) so there wasn't even a link button. Then I tried to embed the YouTube video code manually like I did for hundreds of times before and couldn't get it to work. I have to edit the HTML code manually since my template is too narrow for the default video size. First the preview just showed the code and no video. Then I tried Compose which has an insert YouTube video option except you have to search for the video instead of just pasting in the hyperlink. Arg. Of course the search did not turn up the video I needed, even when I copied/pasted the actual video title into the search bar. I then converted the post back to HTML and it inserted a ton of <tags> that confused the platform. I had to re-paste the embed code and manually edit out all the extra tags, then go back to Compose mode to complete the edit. WTF?

Do they have too many programmers? Software companies seem to like to add "features" to their stable software platform that end up being more like a "bug" than something users want. Maybe they got requests to make the system harder to use. Sigh.

XXX

No, not the movies with Vin DIesel or porn but a song my Soulhead. They are a Japanese duo and this song also features Koda Kumi. For some reason, this song made it into my K-pop playlist. I was listening to it a few days ago and had the display on lyrics. Man, this song has pages full of lyrics in English and Japanese. I don't know how you can understand the lyrics unless you are fluent in both. The English by itself doesn't even make much sense; maybe you need to combine it with the Japanese.

Here's a YouTube video:

XXX featuring Koda Kumi - Soulhead

Lyrics that were embedded in iTunes. It's really long.

Three lines stand for Deep, Sexy, Cool

uh..Stimulation is good

甘くPerfectなTemptation

Shake da body like jelly!uh!uh!uh!uh!uh!

Heyみんな!

How are ya doin'?

HEAVYなSHOW TIMEを

Listen up, baby

This timeは特別

《Oh~what?》

「多分」とか「~かも知れない」

なんて気分じゃなくて

3 minds are right!

《No doubt!》

視線を合わせてhola at me

歩き出したらcome on with me

いきなりはダメ!Take your time ＆ go slow

ふざけるのはやめてSERIOUSに・・・

movin'をstopして君に

PerfectなTemptationを

DEEP, SEXY, COOL受け止めて

【BRIDGE】

We don't need no tools to make you feel higher (feel higher)

全てこのNaked body からfly out (fly out)

We don't need no spotlight, cuz' we got the fire (got the fire)

When the show begins, I be the girl you've never met.

【HOOK】

いつだってPerfectなTemptation

手に入れたら

Never Let'em GO

Never Let'em GO

甘く息ふきかけて揺さぶるの

刺激 is so Good

すぐにWe'll make you feel good

Rise from Diamond

違う光のfusion

Crazyにやらせて

《We'll work it!》

SizeはXXXのfeeling!

Hand signはコレ★

we come in Triple

SUPER HIGH!な

《Three MICS!》

keep keep dope dope dope

《yippy yippy yi ya!》

deep deep more more more

《yippy yippy yi yo!》

[yippy yippy yi yai

yippy yiyo!]

[yippy yippy yi yai

yippy yiyo!]

Go! KUMI go go go!

《yippy yippy yi yai!》

Go! SOULHEAD go go go!

《yippy yippy yi yo!》

[yippy yippy yi yai

yippy yiyo!]

[yippy yippy yi yai

yippy yiyo!]

【BRIDGE】

We don't need no tools to make you feel higher (feel higher)

全てこのNaked body からfly out (fly out)

We don't need no spotlight, cuz' we got the fire (got the fire)

When the show begins, I be the girl you've never met.

【HOOK】

いつだってPerfectなTemptation

手に入れたら

Never Let'em GO

Never Let'em GO

甘く息ふきかけて揺さぶるの

刺激 is so Good

すぐにWe'll make you feel good

[It's perfect Tempation]

この道を歩いてきたのは

きっと君に出会うためだったんだね

1＋2 be scandalous

3 come together be endless

nobody can stoping this or step in this

cuz' we are girl with the "guarantee"

We be the Diamond Digger Digger

話題かっさらう最強のDiva Diva

常にHOTなGOSSIPをGiver Giver

Come with us, if you can feel us feel us

体の奥が欲しがってるnew flow

誰かやるの待たずにwe go

never wanna go slow

見せてあげる初めてのZONE

本能むくまま1、2、3、and go

Only we got the Key to the next stage

一度聞いたらsure you gonna miss me

二度目からはyou'll be addicted

I be hear everybody say"gimmissamo"

【HOOK】

いつだってPerfectなTemptation

手に入れたら

Never Let'em GO

Never Let'em GO

甘く息ふきかけて揺さぶるの

刺激 is so Good

すぐにWe'll make you feel good

いつだってPerfectなTempationa

手に入れたら

Never Let'em Go

Never Let'em Go

さあ、今一緒に歌ってほしいの

強く受け止めてほしい

that the way we do, yeah!!

 

Employee Stock Purchase Offer

Our company has these employee stock purchase offers every so often. This is when investors will purchase employee stock. Since we're a private company (not traded on a stock exchange), this is basically the only way employees can cash in their stock options and restricted stock units. Since my experience with stock at the previous company wasn't that great (stock went from $142/share to $275 to $9), I have been selling some shares during each purchase offer. It locks in any gains you have accrued on your stock holdings but if the price continues to increase, you lose out on potential gain. It's a game to see how much risk you can tolerate.

Anyway, we had a purchase offer in March of this year for $220/share. Thinking that's pretty good, I sold off a bunch of shares. Well, four months later, we managed to negotiate another offer, but now at $270/share. I just "lost" $50/share. At the time, I didn't think we would get that much more in four months. In hindsight, I should have held off but there's always risk that the stock price may go down. Oh well. I'm still glad that I was able to make some money off the stock.

I did lose out on the equivalent of a very nice new car though. :(

AOA Bullying

More K=pop sad news. Recently, two of the artists I listened to (and even saw in concert) committed suicide. The first was Sulli from f(x) followed by Hara from KARA. I think Sulli was depressed from the pressure of being an idol. She started in f(x) while she was very young. For Hara, I think it was abuse from her boyfriend, who was recently sentenced to only 1 year in prison for a whole bunch of crimes.


Sulli


Hara

Now the focus is on Mina from AOA (Ace of Angels). I followed them since their debut since they had a live band subgroup. Mina was my favorite since she was the bass player and us bass players have to stick together. They've had a lot of hits but in 2016, the lead singer ChoA left the group citing mental health issues. then in 2019, Mina left the group as well to focus on acting. However, recently she posted a bunch of text about how she was bullied by the group's leader, Jimin, for over 10 years. She even included a photo of scars on her wrist from suicide cutting attempts. It's really sad. Even though I like the music and the spectacle of K-Pop, the business practices are disgusting. From slave contracts to working their artists non-stop, K-Pop agencies don't have a good reputation.


AOA - Mina is third from the left

All the text is in Korean but here are translations from several Reddit posts:

In an Instagram post, former AOA member Kwon Mina reveals she left the group because she was bullied for ten years and considered committing suicide

Kwon Mina apologizes for worrying fans + reveals that all AOA members visited her house and Jimin gave her an apology

It was hard reading her posts since I can imagine her committing suicide. I'm glad all the members went to visit her, even Jimin, though Jimin's apologies don't seem sincere. Hopefully Mina can get some counseling help so she can be in a better place mentally.


AOA Black (band) - Front row is Mina, ChoA, and Jimin

A-Mei, Queen of C-Pop

I listen to a lot of female artists in K-Pop but my first "love" will always be A-Mei. Her Chinese name is 張惠妹 and she's been singing for 24 years. She has many famous songs. When I'm forced to sing something at karaoke in China, I usually sing one of her songs. Here is one of her latest singles:


Full Name 連名帶姓 - A-Mei 張惠妹

The song's been out for a bit over two years and has ~67 million views. The lead in the music video is Selena 任家萱, who is one of the three members of S.H.E, another famous C-Pop group.

零七年 那一首定情曲的前奏
要是依然念念不忘 太不稱頭
早放生彼此 好好過 都多久

你怎麼像標本 杵在我心裡頭
後來的那幾個 又沒做錯什麼
他們口中自私的我
犯了偷竊時間的錯 複製貼上你的愛

也很精彩的你 不甘寂寞
這圈子不太大 多少聽說
欣賞你流浪 像是種信仰
我真這麼想

再被你提起 已是連名帶姓
謊稱是友誼 卻疏遠得可以
多少人愛我 偏放不下你 是公開的秘密
只剩你沒拆穿我

再處心積慮 終究事不關己
哪來的勇氣 我就是不灰心
我且愛且走 其實在等你 是僅有的默契
你會不會又錯過 我沒有把握

算不清 多少個跨年夜一起過
要是依然念念不忘 太不稱頭
早放生彼此 好好過 都多久

你怎麼像標本 杵在我心裡頭
後來的那幾個 又沒做錯什麼
他們口中自私的我
犯了偷竊時間的錯 複製貼上你的愛…

Steven L Glasgal

I'm not really sure what to write since this is a new experience for me.

I was browsing the Wall Street Journal app and saw an article about Twitter's CEO and Elliott Management. Many years ago, while I was still in graduate engineering school, I helped out a couple of guys with their startup companies. One of the guy's dad loaned us some money through his company but it turned out to be Elliott Investments LLC. Anyway, I thought I'd Google the two guys and to my surprise, searching for Steven returned some terrible news. It turned out he committed suicide back in 2016. Here's is a newspaper article about him and his tragic family history. At first I thought I had the wrong Steven since nothing ever happens to people I know. However, the article give a quick biography and i had work for/with Steven at Social Awearness Clothing Company from 1996 through 1997. Before that, there was a apartment newsletter company and I was their main graphic design contractor. I haven't talked to Steven or Jon (the other partner) after I left the company in 1997 so it's been almost 23 years. I don't know if the clothing company is still in business or what Jon is doing now.

It was pretty shocking to find out that someone you worked with daily for over a year took his own life. The tragic story about his parent's murder happened in 1983 but I didn't know anything about that when I met Steven. Here is a newspaper article about the trial of his brother Russell in 1984.

Usury Laws

I saw a commercial on TV for Speedy Cash on KTLA. They were offering payday loans for $100, and you would have to pay fees of $17.65. In the ad, they showed the period as from payday to payday of two weeks. If you do the math, that's 17.65% for a two week loan, or an annualized rate of 459%! How is that legal when we have usury laws in California that limits personal loan interest to 10% APR?

Hmm, how are interest on credit cards of 19% legal either?

SKYTRAX World Airline Awards

Top 100 airlines for 2019. I've been on the following:

2, Singapore Airlines
3. ANA All Nippon Airways
4. Cathay Pacific Airways
6. EVA Air
10. Thai Airways
11. Japan Airlines
19. British Airways
23. Air France
31. Air Canada
33. Cathay Dragon
34. China Airlines
40. jetBlue Airways
47. Southwest Airlines
54. Alaska Airlines
68. United Airlines
74. American Airlines
84. American Eagle
99. Air China

I guess Sichuan Airlines didn't make the list.

The Toll Roads

My account with the Toll Road is on credit card autopay. I guess whatever credit card I used expired. Instead of notifying their customers like every other reputable business, the Toll Road decided to suspend my account, charge me a $20 fee, then call me on the phone to tell me to update my account. They have my credit card info on file and could have easily given me a few days notice to update my credit card info. Instead, they do nothing then charge their customers $20 for their neglect. Maybe some asshole in their finance department thought of this to scam $20 from their customers every few years. I wanted to switch to autopay from a bank account but of course, that's not an option. Since all credit cards have an expiration date so unless you go online each month to check whether or not the card expired, chances are you will get hit with the $20 fee again and again.

It would be interesting to see what % of their autopay customers get hit with this bullshit fee. I sent in a dispute since I did not receive notice prior to the fee. That sounds like basic customer service unless you are looking for additional revenue from fees. I don't expect them to give me my $20 back. If not, I am going to cancel my account and pay as you go in the future.

Most Racist People in the World

Chinese people, of course.

LA County Courthouse

I was subpoenaed as a witness for a criminal case. This was actually the 4th subpoena; there was a continuance at each of the prior court dates. All this just for a preliminary hearing. Basically there was a fraud case at work where an employee stole cash from the company. My team finally found this after several years and since it was my responsibility as the Treasurer, I was providing information to the police and the district attorney so now that the case is going to court, my name is listed as the primary witness. Typically they inform you when the case has been delayed but I guess either they forgot or I didn't get the message.

Since the hearing was at 8:30 am at LA Airport court, I left the house at 6:00 am to make sure I wasn't late. Of course I get there way too early at ~7:30 am so I sat in my car for about 20 minutes reading the subpoena, making sure I read all the instructions. At about 7:50 am I show up at the juror/witness parking structure and was told it was full. It was also the employee parking lot and they get preference, even for disabled spots. I was directed to the pay lot outside the court building where they charged $6.00 per hour. Luckily my disabled placard was still valid so I parked for free. I then got in line, waited for the building to open at 8:00 am, and went through the metal detector along with hundreds of people: jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and defendants.

The instructions found in the subpoena directed me to report to a specific courtroom the court building. Initially all the doors were locked but the courtroom was opened at 8:40 am. It was a large courtroom with room for 145 spectators. Interestingly, there did not seem to be a jury box. Maybe it was a courtroom for administrative proceedings like preliminary hearings. There were 30+ cases scheduled; mine was #2. To be sure, I asked the bailiff if I was in the right place and he told me to check in with the district attorney. When I talked to her, she told me that the hearing has been delayed again. The defendant's lawyer was at another trial so they asked for another continuance. The DA apologized that I wasn't informed and wasted my time by going to the courthouse. Since I had nothing scheduled, I decided to stay in the courtroom and find out the new date.

Unfortunately, the cases were not called in order. I think it depends on when the DA or defense lawyer showed up. They seemed to call cases at random so I ended up staying for two hours and heard about 10+ cases before my case was called. In each case, the hearing seems to be about picking dates for another hearing. Maybe something productive was decided in a case after I left but for two hours, it was nothing but calendar dates. Sometimes the defendant was on bail so they showed up in the courtroom like everyone else, other times they were brought through a side door in prison clothes and handcuffed. One defendant was a no show so the judge forfeited his $100k bail and probation, and issued a bench warrant for his arrest. Wow!

When my case was called, the defendant was already in the courtroom in the spectator area. I didn't even notice him even though we worked together for several years. I'm not sure if he recognized me either. Anyway, he went up with another lawyer and they chose another date next month. I did hear the judge say this is the last continuance so I guess I'll have to show up to that hearing for sure.

Since there were many cases on the docket, there was a lot of lawyers and spectators. I saw many families come to see the defendant, even if only for a minute. For one case, I saw a young girl come out in handcuffs and she waved towards her family. She was in court for about 60 seconds to pick a new hearing date, then she was walked out while waving to her family again. I kinda felt sorry for her until I looked up her case. One count of 187(a) and two counts of 451(b). Yikes!

187.
(a) Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought.

451.
A person is guilty of arson when he or she willfully and maliciously sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned or who aids, counsels, or procures the burning of, any structure, forest land, or property.

(b) Arson that causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property to burn is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or eight years.

The Farewell and China

I saw The Farewell with my parents in a theater. It was pretty good and I think my parents enjoyed it. I'm usually not into that Social Justice crap but it was good to see an Asian-American film do well in the box office.

However, I saw the following article in Inkstone, Inkstone publishes stories about China and is a part of South China Morning Post. The basic gist of the article is that the movie did not resonate with Mainland Chinese audiences, since they story was told from the Chinese-American perspective. I read the article and I was disappointed and disgusted. What's wrong with Mainland Chinese people (as presented in the article)? Not every movie has to be a Communist propaganda film, only showing China as a "perfect" society.

Jessica, a Chinese film editor based in Los Angeles, wrote on Douban that the Chinese-American director, Lulu Wang, portrayed the views of the Chinese-American characters as being more valid than their Chinese relatives.

“I was so upset after watching it. The director seems to think she is superior to Chinese people. Please do some research before you dump on Chinese people, don’t just put those stereotypes out there,” she wrote.

She told Inkstone by phone that the movie presented an unflattering view of China and perpetuated prejudice against Chinese culture. She refused to share her last name in fear of retaliation in the film industry.

I'm sorry, but that's f*cking pathetic. Chinese-Americans are not the same as Mainland Chinese. The culture and perspective on life is totally different. By comparing importance of cultural views, this Jessica is implying that the "Chinese relative's" perspective should be more important because after all, they are the "real" Chinese people. I felt this when I was in China. I felt like yelling, "I'm not like you. Stop putting your expectations on me." How am I supposed to speak fluent Chinese when I lived in America for 40+ years? I also see this cultural superiority online all the time. Probably due to Communist brainwashing, there's a lot of nationalist bullshit and Han superiority crap online. I think the Communist Party has screwed up Chinese culture in the past 70 years to further their personal political goals. I feel it's modern China that is out of step with the rest of the civilized world, where discrimination, genocide, and lack of privacy is seen as the norm.

So it's too bad that The Farewell won't do well in China, similar to Crazy Rich Asians. Mainland Chinese can't or won't look at Chinese culture with a critical eye, maybe because they will be seen as not "patriotic" enough.

iPhone Battery Replacement

I'm either too lazy or too cheap to follow Apple's never ending phone upgrades. Until a month ago, I was still using my old iPhone SE with a bad battery. That got replaced by my sister's old iPhone 6S with a bad battery. My mom is still using her iPhone 6S+ she got at the same time as my SE, and my dad was using an old 5S until my sister gave him another iPhone 6S with a bad battery. Oh, I forgot to mention that my mom's 6S+ also has a bad battery. This is why I hate Apple. I have a Samsung S5 and it's easy to change the battery. I understand that they have to waterproof the phone now but at least make it easier to service and replace the battery. Also, 4 out of 4 phones need a new battery after a few years? This smells planned rather than coincidence. This is coming from someone that has owned an Apple II+, Mac, Mac IIse, Macbook Air (battery replaced), multiple iPads, and whatever else Apple makes. Love their products; hate their battery policy.

Anyway, I purchased a 2500 mAh battery for the 6S and my dad is replacing it now. He successfully changed out the battery in his 6S and my mom's 6S+ so I'm letting him do it. I did replace the battery for a 3GS a long time ago, and more recently in my Macbook Air, but my close-up eyesight is not as good anymore.

Yacht Crew Cabins

Following up on my superyacht post, I've noticed that some yachts have tiny crew quarters that are accessible from the back of the boat. I understand space is at a premium but some of the crew spaces are ridiculously small. If I was working on a yacht full-time, I would want to get on the biggest ship possible so the accommodations are more reasonable.

Looking at floor plans for Princess Yachts. it seems like 50' yachts do not have crew cabins while anything over 55' has something in the back. The 60-70' yachts seem to have two beds for crew. So is that the cutoff? I think the 50' boats are a couple of $ million. Can you afford crew if all you can afford is a smallish yacht? Or are people in 50-70' yachts hiring only part-time? If I owned a smallish yacht, I'd probably just learn to drive it myself.

Princess F50 - no crew accomodations


Princess F55 - one crew bed


Princess R62 - two crew beds


Princess Y78 - three crew beds



Aquaholic tour of the Princess Y78. He mentioned that this is probably the upper limit for not hiring a crew. I guess you have three more guest beds if you don't hire a crew. He also says this boat costs about £3 million which is ~$4 million.

Superyachts

I've been binge watching yacht tour videos on YouTube lately. I like the guy from Aquaholic channel. His tours are concise and he covers all sizes of yachts, from $50M superyachts to $200k small boats. He also shows the crew quarters which most other videos ignore.

I'm not sure why I'm watching these videos. There is no way I can afford a half-decent yacht, where "half-decent" means something >80 feet long. Those yachts cost $5M and probably require a crew of at least 3: captain, engineer, and stewardess. I saw another video that said annual operating costs of a yacht are ~10% of the cost so another $500k/year. Finally, most billionaire only spend ~8 weeks on their boats so for $500k/year, I can go on lots of cruises, staying in suites, and probably spend less money.


€155 million yacht tour

Way Maker

Way Maker - Leeland

You are here
Moving in our midst
I worship you
I worship you
You are here
Working in this place
I worship you
I worship you
You are here
Moving in our midst
I worship you
I worship you
You are here
Working in this place
I worship you
I worship you

Way maker
Miracle worker
Promise keeper
Light in the darkness
My God
That is who you are
Way maker
Miracle worker
Promise keeper
Light in the darkness
My God
That is who you are

You are here
Touching every heart
I worship you
I worship you
You are here
Healing every heart
I worship you
I worship you
You are here
Turning lives around
I worship you
I worship you
You are here
Mending every heart
I worship you
I worship you
Way maker

Miracle worker
Promise keeper
Light in the darkness
That is who you are
Way maker
Miracle worker
Promise keeper
Light in…

Migrationology

I've been watching a lot of YouTube lately and most of the views are related to street food. I found this one channel called Migrationology that has pretty good content. He also has a website with city guides on travel and food. The best part of the videos is his reaction when he eats something good. You have to watch to see.

He visits a lot of cities in Asia. There are series of videos for Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, etc. I recognize some of the places he visits in Taipei, especially the night markets. Very cool.


First video in the Taiwan series

AirPods

My nephew from China send a gift to our house but doesn't include a note telling us who it's for. The "it" in this case are new Apple AirPods. Since my parents don't really listed to music using earphones and most of their calls are via speakerphone, they gave the AirPod to me. I've used them for several walks and really like them, though at $160, I don't know if I would have bought them for myself.

Whoa, I just realized there is a $200 version and a $250 AirPods Pro. Apple makes great hardware but everything is more expensive than you expect.

Chinese Parents Game Trailer

Huh? What the heck is this? Doesn't look like it would be fun to play but Steam reviews are "Overwhelmingly Positive." Maybe all the reviews are from bots in China.

CABG

Sorry that I haven't posted in awhile. On November 11th, based on the recommendation of my doctor, I drove to the ER because my heart was beating fast. It turned out I had heart damage, possibly even a heart attack, and needed bypass surgery. On November 14th, I had a seven hour operation to bypass four arteries in my heart. Since then, I have been recovering at home. I also took a short-term disability leave from work.

I started another blog that chronicles my recovery and struggles with medical issues. Since surgery recovery is a huge part of my life now, all my posting has been to the other blog. Once I'm better, I will post here more.

Thanks.

Consumer Reports New Cars

I found a copy of Consumer Report's New Cars guide and they have an article on electric vehicles. The article reviews six models and makes recommendations:

• Tesla Model S (78/97)
• Hyundai Kona Electric (78/76)
• Chevrolet Bolt (71/76)
• Tesla Model 3 (65/82)
• Nissan Leaf (64/62)
• Jaguar I-Pace (58//76)

Out of the six cars, the Model S was rated the highest with an overall score of 78 and a "road-test" score of 97. However, CR did not recommend either of the two Tesla models: the check-mark went to the Kona and the Bolt. Huh...

In the vital stats section for the Model S, CR listed the following as a "Reasons to Skip":\

• Interior fit and finish doesn’t match the price
• Below-average reliability
• Distracting controls
• Autopilot may give drivers a false sense of confidence

Huh... points #1 and #3 are matters of opinion (I agree with the fit/finish but I'm fine with the car's controls). I can also see point #2 though my 2016 w/AP2 has been great. I totally disagree with point #4. Autopilot has been the most awesome feature of the Tesla and for me, the best "Reason to Buy" the car. I have a long daily commute to work and Autopilot is on for >95% of the time. It helps make the 2.5 to 3 hours in the car much more bearable. The system is not perfect nor even complete but it's light years ahead of competitors.

You know how you read articles and investment analysis on companies? It all seems legit until you have more information they the authors. This happened all the time at my previous (Fortune 300) company: the "expert" comments were typically full of nonsense. One has to assume that all their analysis is likewise crap. Same goes for the rest of CR's car guide. They have reviews for 248 car models but after reading their comments about the Model S, I'm not sure if I trust anything they write.

P.S. They do recommend my previous car, Nissan Maxima, though it only rated an overall scored 80 and a road-test score of 81. I don't understand their criteria.

P.P.S. I found the Q1 2017 version of the same guide. In it, CR gave the Model S an overall score of 88 and a road-test score of 100. It was also recommended. I feel Tesla has made a lot of improvements on their cars since 2016, especially the driving computer and software. I really don't understand how the newer models can be rated lower by 10 points. The older review also says"

The 85-kWh P85D that we tested had a 220-mile range and can be fully charged in about 5 hours on a dedicated Tesla connector.

Again, huh? What charger are they talking about? A Supercharger will charge up much faster then 5 hours and a leve-2 charger will take much longer. I don't know if this 5 hour charging option. 

Qing James

Ugh. LeBron James, possibly the greatest basketball player of all time, has sold out to the Chinese communist party. When asked about the controversy over Daryl Morey's tweet about Hong Kong, Le Bron basically put money before free speech and democracy.

NPR

He could have just said nothing but that would maybe jeopardize his merchandising revenue in China. There's been a huge backlash in the US regarding his comments, and rightly so. I think a lot of the outrage comes from his past efforts to portray himself as some kind of social justice warrior, speaking out about injustice and supporting charitable causes. Now it looks like it was all fake. LeBron should have taken a lesson from Michael Jordan: be an asshole all the time so expectations are low.

-Injustice Anywhere Is A Threat To Justice Everywhere- Our Lives Begin To End The Day We Become Silent About Things That Matter- #ThankYouMLK50

-LeBron James (Twitter), 2018

Pathetic.

Sulli, RIP

News from Korea that Sulli, an ex-member of K-pop girl group f(x), committed suicide.

https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20191014008500315

I followed Sulli on Instagram for awhile, before I unfollowed a bunch of people. It does appear that social media abuse played a large part in her suicide; she received a lot of criticism for not behaving like a regular "idol" star. The lack of attention on mental health and super toxic online community in Korea contributes to having one of the highest rates of suicide in a developed country. Sad.

I hope she finally found peace.

Apple Card and Apple Pay

Being the tech geek I am, I went out and got a Apple (credit) Card as soon as they were available. It took several tries since everyone else was trying to do the same, but I finally got an account with $20,000 credit limit. I've also been using Apple Pay for online food orders but it was linked to another credit card. Since Apple pays 2%-3% back on Apple Pay and Apple stuff, I switched to the Apple Card as the primary Apple Pay method.

Anyway, I left my wallet at home today but ended up having to pay for some prescriptions. I ended up using Apple Pay with my iPhone to pay the small amount but it was the first time I used my phone to pay. If I can somehow get a legal "digital" driver's license on my phone, then I likely wouldn't need a wallet at all.

Feeling Special

[MV] Feeling Special - TWICE

New song from TWICE. In about a week, it has 68M views on YouTube. For most K-pop songs, I don't even bother finding English translation for lyrics since most are inane anyway. For Feeling Special however, I heard it was somewhat relevant to what's happening to TWICE. Girl groups, for some reason, gets a lot of hate, probably from insecure Korean girls but whatever. Anyway, Mina (one of the Japanese members) has been out due to anxiety and they weren't sure if she was going to participate in this song. Here are the lyrics for her part:

자꾸 숨고만 싶어서
마주 하기가 싫어서
모든 게 의미를 잃은 듯이
내가 의미를 잃은 듯이
가만히 주저앉아 있을 때

I just wanted to hide
Didn't wanna face the world
As if everything has lost meaning
As if I have lost meaning
I just sat there still

If you read it with what is happening to her in mind, it's kinda sad. I can't read any Korean yet I know the idols in girl groups are under a ton of stress. I understand liking some groups and not others, but there is never any justification for hate messages against certain groups.

Zimzalabim

[MV] Zimzalabim - Red Velvet

I guess the genre for Red Velvet is not having one. Unlike some K-pop groups whose songs all sound similar (Lovelyz, GFriends, TWICE), RV songs are all over the map. This one is weird. I'm not really into the song but like the bass during the Zimzalabim sections.

(Ha, until I wrote this post, I thought the song name was Zimbalazim.)

Abercrombie & Kent

Not the clothing retailer but a luxury tour company...

I couldn't sleep last night so I was browsing the available trips from Abercrombie & Kent. They advertise themselves as a luxury tour company and they're not kidding. Their flagship trip is a round-the-world by private jet where you fly around on a Boeing 757 with 50 first class seats. The trips are listed here. The trip next year is 26 days starting at $160,000 (double occupancy). Crazy!

They also have trips where they fly you between destinations on small chartered jets for about $35,000. They also have "normal" tour groups that are cheaper but still twice as expensive as similar trips on Trafalgar. Many many years ago, I went on a tour of Europe on Trafalgar. It was pretty cheap since it was mostly free time but the side excursions were pretty expensive.

Blackpink on Late Night

[Perf] Ddu-du Ddu-du - Blackpink [20190211]

Red California HOV Access Sticker

I received new carpool stickers for my car this week. I was a nit worried since the current stickers (white for EV's) expire at the end of this year, and only cars from 2017 are allowed to renew. I took delivery of my Tesla Model S on 12/17/2016 so I thought I missed by two weeks. Fortunately, DMV was looking at when the original stickers were issued and I didn't get mine until end of January 2017. For awhile i thought I had to sell my car and buy a new EV to get updated stickers.

The new stickers are bright red and there are now four of them instead of three. They want us to stick one on the front bumper of the car. Newer Teslas don't really have a front bumper so I need to figure out where to stick it. Also, I bought a white cars so the ugly white carpool stickers would blend in (they do a bit); the red ones stick out badly on my white car. :(

EXID Performance Compilation

OK, one more. MBC put together performance compilations for several K-pop groups. Here is the one for EXID since their debut to about a month ago (before "I Love You"). Thie video is a 80 minutes long, all in glorious 1080p. I downloaded it and the file was 2.4GB.



Originally EXID had six members but split into two groups after their first release. Solji and Hyelin later joined Hani, LE, and Jeonghwa to form the five member today; the other three girls added one and formed BESTie. I think they disbanded last year? The video also contain special stages and performances on King of Masked Singer. They only showed Solji, Hani, and Hyelin but all five have performed on the show which is pretty crazy for a K-pop girl group since usually not all members are good singers and you have to sing live on KOMS.

내 남자친구에게 (To My Boyfriend)

Ha, I just "found" this performance. I didn't know they did this special stage. The song is 내 남자친구에게 or To My Boyfriend by Fin.K.L from 1998. Along with S.E.S, Fin.K.L was probably one of the most famous girl groups in K-pop, ever.

Here is the special stage with Seolhyun (AOA), Tzuyu (TWICE), and Hani (EXID):



This is one of the original performances by Fin.K.L 20 years ago:



I think Lee Hyori is the 3rd girl to sing in the old video.

Here is another special by the same three girls in the first video, singing some Wonder Girls songs:



BTW, Tzuyu (first girl to sing in the last video) is not Korean. She is actually from Taiwan.

알러뷰 (I LOVE YOU) - EXID

New single from EXID with all 5 members after two long years...



[MV] 알러뷰 (I LOVE YOU) - EXID

Solji was out for almost two years with hyperthyroidism. She ended up having surgery done to fix the problem and came back to win 5x as King of Masked Singer (post below). EXID's single releases have been pretty good but their B-sides are better IMHO.

고백 - King of Masked Singer Episode 174

고백 - Solji from EXID
King of Masked Singer Episode 174

This was the final song for Solji on her comeback on King of Masked Singer after taking 2 years off to recover from hyperthyroidism. I've liked EXID since their debut in 2012 with six members (including members of BESTie). Solji was initially their vocal trainer but after the group split, she was added to EXID along with Hyelin. I'll link to the rest of her KOMS performances in another post.

Banana Allergy Monkey (?)

[MV] Banana Allergy Monkey - OH MY GIRL BANHANA

New song from a Oh My Girl subgroup. I haven't listened to the song or watch the entire MV yet. I posted this because in the first scene of the MV, she is typing on a Commodore PET computer. I used one of these in high school and haven't seen one in 30+ years. Also, they don't have color displays. I believe they had 40 character x 24 line green CRTs.

EXID Asis Tour - Seoul

EXID's management company (Banana Culture) put up the entire 1:40 concert on YouTube. They've been around for 5+ years but really became popular in the past 2 years. They've release many singles but I think their non-title songs are better. The group leader, Solji, has been out for over a year now due to hyperthyroidism. I believe she just had an operation to reduce the swelling in her eyes so hope she gets better.

There's a surprise at ~1:23 mark.

Only One - Solji & Hani (EXID)

[MV] Only One - Solji and Hani (EXID)

(Music video is missing some of the song)

I miss you so much, my love
So I called out your name like crazy
But there is no answer

Whenever I miss you, I follow your footsteps
Walking by myself
I wonder what you’re doing right now, do you even think of me?
I feel like I’ve lost everything, my love

You made me live
I’m so thankful that I got to know you
The only thing I can do
Is to reminisce you in the fading photo

i feel you are the only one for me
i feel you are the only one for me
You’re not by my side right now
But I still remain in that time
i feel you are the only one for me
You won’t be able to hear this
But I’m calling out to you alone in this place
you are my only one

I keep remembering
The words you said to me
(All of the feelings)
Forgetting them is harder than dying

You made me smile
I’m so thankful that I fell in love with you
The only thing I can do
Is to reminisce you in the past memories

i feel you are the only one for me
i feel you are the only one for me
You’re not by my side right now
But I still remain in that time
i feel you are the only one for me
You won’t be able to hear this
But I’m calling out to you alone in this place
you are my only one

I still long for you every day
No matter how much I call out to you, I can’t see you
The places we went to together
Now I remain alone in those times

i feel you are the only one for me
i feel you are the only one for me
You’re not by my side right now
But I still remain in that time
i feel you are the only one for me
You won’t be able to hear this
But I’m calling out to you alone in this place
you are my only one

I miss you so much, my love
So I called out your name like crazy
But there is no answer

From: Lyricsbuzz.com

덜덜덜 - EXID

[MV] 덜덜덜 - EXID

Auto Insurance Renewal Update

Well, today is my first day post-AAA insurance. We moved to the US in 1985 so it's been 32 years. The original quote I received from AAA was $4177 for 12 months. I ended up with Geico at $1123 every six months, or an annual savings of $1931. If it was a few hundred dollars, I would have stayed with AAA but a couple of thousand dollars is too much.

Auto Insurance Renewal

I've had AAA auto insurance for the past 30+ years but they finally screwed me. The renewal quote I got from them for 2 cars (my Tesla Model S and a really old Toyota 4Runner) was over $4000. I've checked online from a few other insurance companies and they are all ~$2000. This actually came up during one of Tesla's shareholder meeting/earnings call, and Elon basically told all Tesla owners to drop AAA as their insurance provider. Will do!

Slow Train Through Africa

Since I can't travel anymore (health reasons), I've been watching travel videos on YouTube, mainly epic train journeys and first class air travel reviews. One notable series is Slow Train Through Africa. I think it was filmed in 2014 and shown on British ITV in 2016. I've only found three episodes online: 1) Namibia, 2) North Africa, and 3) Kenya/Tanzania. The second episode includes travel through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Those are not typical American tourist destinations and reminded me of my 2 week trip to Tunisia. I didn't take the train at all but did visit both Tunis and Tozeur shown in the video.


Slow Train Through Africa S01E02


My photo of one of the old gates of Tozeur

Fresh Adventure

New favorite song for now. Song was released summer of last year. The tall pretty girl is Solbin and she's been on a few variety shows lately.


Fresh Adventure - LABOUM

I Can See Your Voice

ICSYV is a Korean TV show where a celebrity guest (usually singer/group) guesses whether contestants are skilled singers or tone-deaf. Round 1 is looking at visuals only; round 2 is lip-syncing; round 3 varies but currently other celebrity panelists are assigned to one of the remaining contestants and advocates for them during Q&A time. If a tone-deaf person manages to survive to the end, they win ~$5000; if it's a skilled singer, then they get to sing a duet with the guest artist. It's funnier than it sounds.

Season 4 Episode 8
Most recent subtitled episode


EXID and their final choice (Season 4 Episode 9)