« May 2006 | Main | July 2006 »
June 30, 2006
Speak your heart, not your image.
A while ago, SB helped me come up with the saying "Speak your heart, not your image." However, for some people the meaning is not clear. To understand, one must first understand the ego.
Freud had a rather complicated interpretation of what the ego is and does. The simple way to think of the ego is as the image of ourself that we present to others. Everyday we fight to keep this image constant. No mater what drives we receive internally or externally, we will hold on to this image because it is fundamental to our identity.
An internal conflict starts when the drives, feelings, or emotions that break the image start to surface. When that happens there are two options; one can express the drives and threaten the self image or keep the drives hidden. The latter of the two will produce significant mental stress and fatigue. This can lead to all kinds of problems. So it is better to let strong drives out, to say what you fell without letting your ego get in the way. For some this is very hard to do. They cling to their image as if to lose it is to lose themselves. That is a different discussion.
Those who are happiest have already resolved this conflict. What they feel inside is the same as what they present outside. True freedom of expression.
Of course this is not a excuse for verbal belligerence. Controlling temporary emotional outbursts is something else completely.
Posted by binhqx at 2:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Medacast cast
It seems that every week more and more people join the the Medacast. Last night we recorded Medacast 16 with no fewer then seven people.
Here is the credits for Medacast 16: Jesse, Pedro, Jack, Devin, Mike, Jen, and myself.
They say that too many cooks spoil the broth. We will need to see if how this comes out.
Posted by binhqx at 1:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cold water morning
Being the man of the house, I am supposed to intuitively know how to fix things. For example, this morning I could not get hot water out of the shower. So I trundled down to the basement where the furnace is to figure out what is wrong.
While I could explain you you how a furnace works in a theory down to calculating heat transfer coefficients, I do not know how this particular furnace exactly operates. However, I do know that the little red button on the front of the furnace is normally pushed in and makes a clicking sound like a circuit breaker.
This particular morning the button was popped out. I pushed it in and the furnace roared to life. Once again hot water flowed through the house and hot shower could be had by all.
Not bad for having no idea what I am doing. The moral of the story: when something is not working, feel free to push buttons till it works.
Posted by binhqx at 8:57 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 29, 2006
with security code too
I added the scode plugin to this installation. Now to submit a comment, you will need to type the digits in the security code image. it is a bit of a pain, but it should get rid of all the spam.
Posted by binhqx at 11:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Blog software upgrade
I have upgraded my blog software to Movable Type 3.2. I did this after finding out six apart has a free addition of Movable Type. The only proviso is it lacks official support from six apart.
So I have upgraded with the hope that I can re-enable commenting. Hopefully the new spam filtering will keep my work to a minimum.
Posted by binhqx at 3:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 28, 2006
Finally figured out how to set my watch.
One Christmas I received a very nice Citizen Eco-Drive Skyhawk watch. However, it did not come with a manual. Sure I could have looked for directions on line, but that would ruin the mystery.
The nifty feature of this watch is its power source. It is solar powered. The back of the watch face is a solar panel. So I never have to wind it or change the battery. I just need to remember to keep it out in the light.
The watch its self was easy enough to set. The problem was its multi time zone functionality. After setting the time on the local time zone, the watch face would not display the correct time. I have been playing with it off and on for a few months now and eventually figured it out.
Here is a good example of bad UI design. The largest time indicator on the watch is not directly set. Instead the user must set the time and then choose the timezone offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
No wonder it took me so long.
But I really do like this watch. It think it has to do with my taste for stainless steel jewelry.
Posted by binhqx at 11:40 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Getting a new bed.
I have been thinking about getting a new bed for quite a while now. However, I have never had the motivation to do it. Now that I plan to move to anew place I have a good window of opportunity. Instead of moving my old bed, I should go buy a new one.
I have never purchased furniture before. If anyone has some good advice on the subject, I would be happy to hear it. There are so many questions about getting the right type of bed and paying the right price for it. It is hard to know where to start.
Posted by binhqx at 10:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A tough morning for Thorin
My brother and sister-in-law are visiting for the week. With them they brought their son, little Thorin.
Thorin is still incredibly tiny. So I was surprised this morning when he was able to create such an incredibly loud sound. A sound he manages to sustain all morning long. When Thorin is having a tough morning, everyone has a tough morning.
Someone please remind me to never have a baby.
Posted by binhqx at 12:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 27, 2006
Finaly some news on the appartment.
So we gave our new landlord, Ann, the full 30 days to get her affairs on order with the previous tenants. On Monday we attempted to give her a call to get a date we could move in. However she was not there and did not call us back the rest of the day. That evening SB's and my paranoia started to get the better of us.
We speculated that Ann had taken our deposit and upfront rent and disappeared. All the credit-check forms we had given her contained plenty of information about our banking, credit, etc. If someone wanted to steal our identities those papers had everything needed to do it.
This morning I gave Ann another call and she picked up right away. Apparently the previous tenants where being slow about moving out and she did not want to face us until she had some firm information about them. After I got off the phone with her, Ann called the tenants and found that they will be moving out on Friday. So that put us on schedule for a move-in on Saturday!
There are some exciting times ahead. This ought to be a lot of fun.
Posted by binhqx at 1:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 26, 2006
Movie night: The Motorcycle Diaries
Tonight was movie night. This evening film pick was The Motorcycle Diaries.
The story follows Ernesto Guevara de la Serna and Alberto Granado as they travel South America by bike and on foot. As they travel, they lean of the hardship that class devision have brought to South America. En every country they travel Ernesto and Alberto wach as the poorest downtrodden by their fellow man. A trip of self discovery becomes a education of the dark side of humanity.
After seeing this, one understands why Ernesto became a political activist for a political party that denounced class devision. I did not realize this until the end, but Ernesto can more commonly be recognized as Che Guevara.
After seeing this movie, I can now better see the motivation for Che Guevara's actions.
The movie was great. It attempts to delve deeper then just what South America looks like. It expresses what 1952 South America feels like. I give The Motorcycle Diaries a positive review.
Posted by binhqx at 11:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 25, 2006
Digital luck
Jen has a interesting talent of finding four-leaf clovers without looking for them. This one was found this morning on our walk back to the cache.
Here is a experiment. Save a copy of the image and keep it with you. Perhaps good luck can be saved digitally then copied and transferred. Tell me if this image brings you good luck.
Posted by binhqx at 11:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Rob Dog
lol, Pedro named one of his Nintendogs after me.
The viking hat is a tribute to my Scandinavia heritage.
An interesting honor.
Posted by binhqx at 9:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Back to Pease
Apparently Matt did a real a$$hole thing on our last trip to the geocache at Pease. While we where looking for items to put into the cache in exchange for a little rubber ducky, Matt droped a card with Jen's name and phone number into the cache.
Matt fessed up to this indiscretion last night. This morning I get a call from Jen asking me to help her find the cache again so she could retrieve the card. She is traveling north this afternoon, so we had a three hour window to get to the cache and home again.
I am coming to believe that the paths in the Pease wildlife refuge are in a permanent state muddiness. We walked the full two mile loop and got the cache. Inside was the card just as matt had said. Jen grabbed that right way.
We also signed the log and put a few items in the cache. I added a small plastic spaceship and Jen left a oversized plastic spider. I pit the spider spider on the top of the cache just under the cover. I am hoping it will give a startle to the next person who finds the cache.
On our way out, we kept seeing signs for Pease golf course. Apparently a new golf course was created at the end of the runway near the bus station. It looks okay. You just have to not hit golf balls off planes that are too low coming off the end of the runway.
A warning to Matt: Jen is planning a harsh revenge for what you did. I do not know what it is, so you had just better watch you back.
Posted by binhqx at 3:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 24, 2006
What about Bob?
Today was a random bit of everything. I was up very late last night. After Lindsey's party I still did my normal DDR session. I did not get to bed till 3:00 AM.
The day started around noon time. I got to play with my little cousin Ari and watch some of Dumbo. A few hour later my aunt went out the door with Ari and a suitcase and saying to take care of the cats for the next few days. That was out of the ordinary, but not strange.
I thought I would put the afternoon to good use and do some clothes shopping. I rang up Mike and Jen and we took off to Marshalls and Kohls. I found sme nice shirts including a Hawaiian one. New I will need to schedule a Hawaiian shirt day at work.
One the way back, Jen got a call from her friend Bob who happened to be visiting his folks at Hampton. So we decided to go meet him there. I dropped off Mike back at his house and picked up Pedro and Matt then drove to Hampton.
It was a good day to be at Hampton beach because they where in the middle of the sand-sculpture competition. The sculptures were extraordinary. It is hard to imagine sand being cut and sculpted into such exotic forms. Usually when one thinks of sand it is just that gritty stuff under foot that gets into your car over time. However, these artists had taken car grit and turned it into artwork. That is what a call working with a medium.
Bob had a late dinner with his folks so we had plenty of time to wander down the strip and get good seats on a restaurants second floor balcony. The spot was perfect later that evening when the firework show started.
Eventually we did meet Bob and his girlfriend. He was a nice guy. I learned that he had also been out Geocaching so we talked shop about GPS equipment. The only odd thing I found about Bob is his taste in drinks. He got a shot of Jack Daniel and kept sipping on it. I have tasted Jack Daniel before and likened it to wood varnish. Yuck! He says that one must develop a taste for fine whiskies.
We walked down to see the sand-sculptures again with Bob. It was late now and the crowds had cleared away. Without all the pushing and shoving, I finally could get a good long look at the works. I am still impressed with the way the artists used the way the sand natural breaks and crumbles to produce unique textures.
We got home late again. It was another late DDR night. However, Jen kept me company till the end. You might think she was being nice, but the truth is that I had given her a ride over and she was stuck with me till I drove her home.
Usually I play DDR with Matt on Saturday night, but something was bugging him. That is a problem with DDR, if you can not focus on the game it is useless to play. I will need to see if he wants to talk about it later.
Posted by binhqx at 3:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 23, 2006
Send-off pary for Lindsey.
Next week, Lindsey (Jacks wife), will be leaving for training. Apparently after putting her through West Point, the military wants something in return. So chances are that we will not be seeing her till the training period is over. After that we will still not see much of Lindsey as she will be station in Kentucky.
Tonight we celebrate her success, toast her career, and let here know how much we will miss her. So we got together a small group of 11 or so friends and went out.
We stated at Shooters Pub. It is conveniently located a few blocks from Jack's and Lindsey's current residence in Exeter. They had a live band and where doing a fundraiser for a breast cancer research charity. The place was not bad, but when the "regular crowd" stated showing up, they where 15 years our senior. They where nice people, but it was like some harsh look into our future and we did not like the way it looked.
Next we moved the party to Margaritas. It was a good venue, the place was quieter so we could talk, reminisce and share stories over fruity drinks.
At the end of the night we said our goodbyes. I will really miss Lindsey. I have so much respect and admiration for her and all she has done. Of course, I will not miss her as much as Jack will. Lindsey will not get proper housing till October, so Jack will be staying with us till then. That has to be so tough. Newlywed and now forced to be apart for four months. It will be my job to keep Jack as distracted as posable to make the time pass quickly.
Posted by binhqx at 2:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 22, 2006
Declaring my totem
I am officially declaring my totem to be the wolf.
Perhaps in a few days I will explain why.
Posted by binhqx at 11:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Medacast 14 is done, time to work on 15.
Mike finished editing and posting Medacast 14 today. After that we sat down to record Medacast 15.
It was hot as hell in the studio for this one. Half because of the temperature, half because of the number of people we had recording. We has SB, Cap, Devin, Jen, Matt, Pedro and myself in on this one. With that many people clustered in a small are it gets hot. All we had to drink was hard lemonade, so by the end we where starting to get a bit sloshed.
So everyone check out Medacast #014.
Posted by binhqx at 4:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 21, 2006
Return to N 43° 05.447 W 070° 51.601
This afternoon the gang went back to a favorite geocache at N 43° 05.447 W 070° 51.601. The cache is in a nice spot on the edge of the by. We have a habit of taking group photos there just as the sun is setting. Here is a good photo of this summers group:
If you do not know who we are,here is a version with names.
Geocache runs are always so fun. We just need to keep moving to stay ahead of the insects.
Posted by binhqx at 3:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 20, 2006
Sometime we just randomly go out.
Jen and Matt are probably the two most incorrigible people I know. When I go out to do a simple errand with the two of them, it is not unexpected to end up somewhere completely different. So we went out to find a set of precision TORX drivers to fix Matt's laptop. We eventually found a set over at home Depot.
However one we had the tool, we decided that we wanted some buffalo wings at nearby Paddy's. The buffalo wings there are very good. I would say that they are the best I know of on southern New Hampshire.
I happened to complete one of my goals for the summer. When the waitress checked our IDs, she looked at mine and said "That does not look like you." To witch I replied "Yes!" Then I explained that I have lost a little weight since then. I use my license as my "before" shot in my "before and after" demonstrations of the value of DDR. It is not a pretty picture.
After wings, we decided to play some rounds of pool till Paddy's closed. Somehow after that we ended up at a karaoke place sipping Coca-Colas. But wait, the night was not done yet. We got back still full of vim and vigor so two hours of DDR where in order.
By the time that was over, it was very late and I went home for bed. You got to be careful when going out with those two.
Posted by binhqx at 11:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 19, 2006
Jury duty is over!
I had not mentioned this here but I have been serving on jury duty all this month.
I had two cases involving simple assault. One was due to a love triangle where a girl and her best friend got into a fight over her boyfriend. The other one was a depute between a a young adult and her grandmother and uncle. In both cases the state did not present sufficient evidence of the assault actions being committed so the defenders where found not guilty.
I have learned a lot from serving on these cases. The most important being to not call the cops over a simple fight unless it goes out of control and someone is out in real danger. Once the police are involved, the state has a responsibly to figure out what is happening and making it subject to public scrutiny.
Next I learned that all the police reports taken after a incident can not be used as evidence. These are considered hearsay. In fact, if a police officer does not actually witness the law infraction, their testimony has very little weight on jury decisions.
If you are in a place where a law infraction is about to be committed, it is in your best interest leave immediately. If you do not hear or see anything, you can not be a witness. Being a witness in a court case can end up taking a lot of time. Time that you would rather be spending elsewhere.
Over all it was a good experience. It was worth the time just for the education about court procedures.
Posted by binhqx at 1:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 18, 2006
New competitors have entered the DDR arena (part 2).
Now Jen has decided that DDR look like a bit of fun and has started playing. At this rate, I am going to need more DDR pads.
Posted by binhqx at 11:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Father Day
I was a bit bummed out this morning. This is the first Fathers Day that I have spent without seeing my father. Luckily he understands the problems of living so far way.
So instead I celebrated SB's farther day with a lunch at the Friendly Toast. It was fun and as usual the food was unusual and unusually good. After that SB, Pedro and I got some ice cream and walked through the parks.
Later that evening I called home and did have a nice chat with my father. I know he comes here to read up on my life, but it is good to hear a two way conversation once in a while.
Posted by binhqx at 7:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 17, 2006
A evening at Hampton Beach
We helped Jack move his stuff into storage today. Afterward he treated us to food from Generations in Epping. After ordering, Matt and myself headed to his house to remove the top from his Jeep. The weather was so nice it was a tragedy to ride around with the top on. IT took a bit longer then we thought it would, but we did catch up to everyone else at Hampton Beach.
Being so late, SB and Pedro wanted to head home. Matt, Jack, Lindsey, Mike and myself was no intention of wasting such a beautiful evening it home. So SB and Pedro left and the rest of us kept cruising the beach.
Eventually Jack and Lindsey found a Irish pub with live music and everything. It was nice and all, but I do not know the word to their songs making it a bit hard to participate. Matt, Mike and myself broke off and kept looking around the strip.
We found a restaurant/bar with a deck on the second floor. We got a table at the edge of the deck that let us watch the ebb and flow people up and down the strip. A bit later, Jenn caught up with us there. After that we just had a good time over drinks and potato skins shooting the breeze.
The only bad part was when Matt tried to hook me up with some random girl there. I was really not interested in being hooked up at the time. This lead to some embarrassment.
Other then that we had a good time, I would not mind going again.
Posted by binhqx at 6:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 16, 2006
Underworld: Evolution - A new B-movie
Tonight I watched Underworld: Evolution with the guys. I had not seen something this campy in a long time.
The movie starts out with a interesting flashback to 1200's where the majority of the plot is revealed. The rest of the next 90 minutes is just gratuitous violence and T&A of Kate Beckinsale. Toward the end things become so outrages the violence become humor. The to funniest bit where Michael Corvin tear to top of a werewolf's head off then shortly after the antagonist vampire is pushed into a spinning helicopter blade. There is something hilarious about charters meeting their end in preposterous and presumptuousness ways.
I wish the movie had spent more time exploring the relationship between Alexander Corvinus and his two sons. But that would have used up too much screen time that could otherwise be used for Beckinsale T&A.
I say skip Underworld: Evolution.
Posted by binhqx at 11:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 15, 2006
The downside of nice clothes
So I am continuing the wardrobe replacement project and have found a serious problem. Nice clothes can be easily ruined. Not that cheap clothes cannot be ruined, but when you get a stain on a freebee t-shirt, one does not tend to care. If on the other hand you have a favorite linen shirt that you payed $15 for and get it stained, it is a real downer.
My staining agent of choice is the black grease found in car doors or more specificity in the hinges. I hit the with my shoulder leaving a nice line of black spots. I did everything I could to remove the stain. I pretreated the spots this a stain treater. I used the OXYCLEAN stuff. I ran it through the wash twice. So far nothing works.
On close inspection, it looks like the black material has worked its way into the very fibers. I am not sure anything will get it out. My next step is using gasoline or a chemical solvent but I'm sure the cloth will discolor.
What a pain.
Posted by binhqx at 11:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 14, 2006
Punishing bandwidth hogs.
Sometimes users on the network at work forget to limit their bandwidth. Sure I could put some type of bandwidth limiting software to prevent this, but there are times when using the full bandwidth for a single task is acceptable. If a users wants to use the full bandwidth to batch download some files at four in the morning, why should I stop them?
So I let the users dictate their own usage and limits. However, sometimes they forget. Sometimes it is your boss who is using all the bandwidth but will not admit to the offense.
So I found a cool tool called iptraf. I installed this on our Linux router and could immediately tell what machine was doing the hogging.
then I just run:
iptables -I FORWARD -s xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx -j DROPWhere xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP of the offending machine.
Go back to iptraf and watch there usage drop to zero. LOL. I do not even need to know what user was the guilty party, I just wait for a call telling me that their Internet stopped working. The call ususly goes something like this:
"My Internet is not working!"
"Where you doing any excessive downloading?"
"No"
"Good, make sure it stays that way and it will be back again shortly."
Then I just reload my default firewall and everything returns to normal.
Posted by binhqx at 2:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 13, 2006
New addition to the binhqx network
Now that Jack and Lindsey are joind at the hip, they have a joint web page. Jack promises to blog there so I added it to my "Friends" list. It is also the place to find the latest Jack and Lindsey news.
Check it out at jackandlindsey.com.
It does not appear that they have a RSS feed for the content. I will need to speak to them about it.
Posted by binhqx at 8:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 12, 2006
FPS night
Tonight was a first person shooter(FPS) night. Pedro showed some aptitude with PC FPSs so we got Unreal Tournament 2004 running on a some computers and played some domination comp-stomp (human vs. bots). Our team was pretty good, we had SB, Pedro, Matt, Jenn, and myself relearning how to work together.
I was surprised how well Jenn played. Apparently she has some FPS experience that she never told us about. Pedro is still learning the ropes, but is picking it up very fast.
Ir is great to be a team all in one room where we can yell at each other with updates, orders, question, etc. A few more night like this and we will be ready to take on other humans.
Posted by binhqx at 10:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 11, 2006
Cool movie: Cars
I went to see Cars. I really enjoyed the film. It is really the first Pixar film with a definitely overt cultural criticism of American impatience and apathy. I think this lent a lot more weight to the movie than previous films.
Graphically, Pixar is at the top of their game. One of the first thing I noticed is the scale of the scenes where enormous throughout the entire film. Toy Story took place in a child's room, Bugs life plays out in just a few meter of grass. In Cars, everything takes place in open spaces. Pixar had to render out entire valleys and stadiums inhabited by hundreds of thousand of individual cars.
That brings up a point about the creativity in the Cars world. The creative talent at Pixar created ant enter world inhabited by cars. The amount of work that must have go into figuring out how car live must have be astounding.
Over all good movie. I recommend it for everyone.
Posted by binhqx at 1:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 10, 2006
Agora VS. Japan... FIGHT!
Our favorite loli-loving French-Canadian is in Japan. Make sure to check his blog to stay current with his misadventures.
Agora's blog.
Posted by binhqx at 2:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 9, 2006
Hilarious Stuff: "Ask a Ninja"
http://www.askaninja.com
You got questions, Ninja got answers.
Posted by binhqx at 1:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 8, 2006
Craftsman hand tools warranty = very good
For many years I have seen "Craftsman hand tools are guaranteed forever." written on every Craftsman hand tool package. Today I decided to test that statement. I got a small pile of worn down Craftsman screwdrivers from my parents. All the tool been worn down so that all they did is strip screw heads.
I brought them all down to the local Sears and when to the hardware section. I told them I wanted to exchange these tools. The lady at the service desk to me to just pick out the equivalent hand tool from the store and she will exchange them. It is just as easy as that.
So I just brought a pile of junk tools and left with $16 worth of new tools.
Props to them, from now on I will be buying Craftsman for all my hand tool needs.
Posted by binhqx at 3:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 7, 2006
The Passage of Time
Da Vinci wants us to realize that human memory makes us masters of the passage of time.
Posted by binhqx at 1:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 6, 2006
Capitalism in a bottle: Second Life
I decided to checkout the social MMOG Second Life.
The game it's self is nothing more then a glorified chat room. It is very reminiscent of the old text based MUSHs where the users not only participate in the world, but help to create it. Second Life takes the next step, leaving behind the text and moving into full 3D environments.
What I find most striking about the game is its internal economy. Much like the real world everything revolves around the movement of money. It cost money to create objects in game. The player will add value to the objects by crafting them into useful items. This can be something as simple as piece of virtual jewelry to something as complicated a multiuser spacecraft. The value added items are then copied and sold to other players for profits. It is pure and simple capitalism.
There is a lot more to it as well. The game gives allowances to feed more money into the game and charges taxes to sink money out. It is a carefully balanced system much like out own economy.
The game connects to the real-world economy by allowing players to transfer real money into virtual money. Personally I suspect this will have some ramifications down the road. Real good are physical objects, but virtual good are just information. If that information is lost due to equipment or organizational failure people will become very upset. I am sure there are players that have invested thousands of real dollars into their virtual property. There is no FDIC to insure the stability of the in game economy in the real world.
However it is posable to play without putting real money in the game. Players will pay other players for services and there are charities available to new players. So if you do not mind living the life of a drifter (no property of your own) you can play for free.
Posted by binhqx at 4:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 5, 2006
New competitors have entered the DDR arena.
Over the last week, not just one, but two of my friends have started playing DDR. Both Cap and Matt have started getting on the DDR pad for some versus play. Cap stared playing on Thursday and Friday. Matt surprised me by asking to play on Sunday.
Cap reason for playing is a lot like mine, he wants to shed a few pounds. Although i am afraid that just playing two nights a week my not be enough to deliver the results in t timely fashion.
I have be surprised by Matt's progress. He started with essentially no experience on Sunday, but just a few days later he is playing 4 foot songs. Unlike me, matt is not playing to loose weight, he is already thin as a poll. Instead he wants the stamina buff that DDR players get. It should come in real useful when the Army gives it physical fitness test.
Posted by binhqx at 2:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 4, 2006
Meeting Tory
I announced the arrival of my first nephew a few days ago. Today I got to meet him in person. It was quite a event, the whole family showed up to see him. We had four generations of family in one house. That feels very special to me.
His name is Tory and he is just a few weeks old. I am not really into babies at this point in my life. However, it was good to see my bother and sister-in-law glowing with pride.
Posted by binhqx at 1:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 3, 2006
Jack and Lindsay are finally married!
Today was Jack and Lindsay's wedding. The weather was poor, but it did not dampen anyones mood. The ceremony was nice. It was goo to see every one of our shared friends show up in the same place at the same time. Lindsay also brought some new friends from West Point and they where assimilated into the group in no time. There was tons of family and other acquaintances there as well.
The event only lasted a few hours. After that all the friends including myself got together for a party in Jack and Lindsay's honor. To bad they did not actually attend it in person, it was a great party.
i am very happy for Jack and Lindsay, the two of them really are made for each other. My they alway be as happy together as they are now.
Posted by binhqx at 11:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 2, 2006
Kobe beef
The company gave the employees a celebratory dinner down at Molly Malone's. The place is real classy (classier then any of us). I noticed the appetizer menu had Kobe beef listed. It is expensive, but we are eating on the company dime.
If you do not know what Kobe beef is, its beef made from a cow that lives like i wish I could. Apparently the cow is beer fed and massaged with sake daily. The result is beef that is a perfect mixture of mussel and fat.
We where served it in this slices in a way similar to sashimi. The taste is unique. I can not say it is good or bad, because I have no frame of reference to compare it to. I just had it so say that I have eaten Kobe beef.
Posted by binhqx at 4:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 1, 2006
Will our "information" god feel?
The concept of a information god is a common concept in science fiction writing. It usually conceits of a information network like the internet becoming self aware. The entity formed has the combined knowledge of all humanity and the ability to apply it to some goal. The result is a supreme being born from the collective conciseness of humanity.
However, in these fictions, the entity is still a logical machine. It does not have the capability to feel or emote. The example of this is Skynet from the Terminator movies. In these cases, the entity and humanity end up in opposition where each is fighting to destroy the other. It is such a common story, it practically a cliché.
Recently I found a website that examines the mood of blogs. The site is called We Fell Fine. It attempts to examine the language used in the entry to ascertain the emotional state of the author. This made me realizes how emotional the internet is. Every time a key is punched it is done so with emotional intent behind it. Even in the most clinical technical documentation, the state of mind of the writer creeps through in the nuances.
So if the internet did develop a consciousness, it would be just as emotional and fallible as the humans that contributed to it. It would be a the mind of a meta-human, a the summation and average of all humanity now and in the recored past. So it would probity be rather moody depending on the current emotional climate of the globe. In the event of a natural disaster it would feel depressed. During times of festivities, it would be more cheerful. Popular opinion would be its opinion.
Kind of a odd idea, don't you think?
Posted by binhqx at 4:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack