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By N2H

Archive for the 'Random' Category

 

Christmas Shopping 2008

Sep 07, 2008 in Random

(If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS/Atom feed. Thanks for visiting! - Michael)

It’s never too early to plan gifts, especially for yourself.

Since I live in Vietnam, the only time I really buy stuff is during Christmas, when I return to the US.

Here are some things I’ve been looking at:

  1. Lightsaber Construction Kit: these recently went on clearance, would be interested in in for around $40 (original $100+), but I hear there not quite the same super quality as normal Master Replicas. My feeling is I will not be getting one.
  2. Dark Knight DVD: well, of course.
  3. Mcfarlane Halo Master Chief Figure: just want one, probable end up getting Series 2 or 3, though I like 1 the best.
  4. X-Box 360: price cuts are imminent, and I hope rumors of a holiday pack-in are true. Like Halo 3.
  5. X-Box 360 HD DVD Addon: It’s possible to get a new one around $40 already, and I’m hoping it’ll go cheaper around December, hopefully just people/retailer finally clearing the stuff out, maybe even with cheap movie bundles. Especially with Black Friday.
  6. On HD DVD:
    1. Battlestar Galactica S1 (this is still pretty expensive)
    2. Harry Potter HD DVD Set or just: ($60 on Amazon, and less than $10 per title seperately)
      1. Order of the Phoenix
      2. Goblet of Fire
      3. Prisoner of Azkaban
    3. Transformers: not sure if I really want this. Like Kyle, I wasn’t a fan of the movie so much. If it’s $5, probably will do it since it’s supposed to be a great example of hi-def.
    4. The Game: this isn’t supposed to be so great on HD DVD, but it will be much better than the non-animorphic DVD
    5. The Matrix Collection
    6. Sopranos S6 Part 2 (less than $30 on DeepDiscountDVD, HBO series are always closer to $100)
    7. Batman Begins
    8. Bourne Ultimatum
    9. The Prestige: I loved this movie, already own it on DVD. This version would be an import, so price would be an issue here.

Pictures of the some of these things are below:

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Rapper Turns Scholar - San Jose Mercury News

Aug 24, 2008 in Music, Random

Who over 21 doesn’t know this song? Back in the day, when I was young- I’m not a kid anymore, but some days I wish I was a kid again. And that’s all I know of the song, but it was a damn good song.

This post is for Kyle, who was gracious enough to give me the “Ahmad” album for my iPod before I left for Vietnam.

One thing to note: the article tries to make it sound so hard for someone to get into Stanford by transfer. This is in fact true, but you have to remember, Ahmad is a former music star, and can probably afford the tuition. And black. With all the academic qualifications. Who doesn’t want that story among your alumni?

 

Rapper turns scholar

HE HAS NEW HOME ON STANFORD CAMPUS

By Larry Gordon
Los Angeles Times

Article Launched: 08/24/2008 01:37:13 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES - Ahmad Ali Lewis made a deal with his mother back when he was a high school student: He would go to college unless he got a recording contract for his upbeat rap music.

It was a big if. But Lewis, 17, an honors student and top football player, skipped the college entrance exams and signed with Giant Records. “I said S.A.T. - whatever. I want to R.A.P.,” he recalls.

His 1994 album, called “Ahmad,” included a hit single, “Back in the Day,” a nostalgic riff on his south Los Angeles childhood. In it, he rapped:

I miss those days, and so I pout like a grown jerk

Wishin all I had to do now, was finish homework.

It’s true you don’t realize really what you got til it’s gone

And I’m not gonna sing another sad song, but

Sometimes I do sit and reminisce then

Think about the years I was raised, back in the days.”

Looking back, Lewis said he does not regret his teenage decision, even though his early success was followed by struggles in a music industry he criticized as promoting violence in the black community. Now 32 and the father of a 4-year-old son, he is still recording songs but he is also finishing homework.

Ahmad the first-name-only rapper has become Ahmad Ali Lewis the Stanford-bound scholar.

Lewis enrolled two years ago at Long Beach City College and graduated in May as valedictorian, with a 4.0 grade point average. He was accepted as a transfer student by several universities for this fall and chose Stanford. “When I stepped on campus, something in my gut said, ‘Dude, this is where you belong,’ ” said Lewis, who plans to double major in sociology and African-American studies. He expects to get a doctorate in social work and become a professor.

“I love teaching,” said Lewis, who tutored at an elementary school. “Rapping and teaching are not that far apart. You’re rapping, you’re talking. You’re a professor, you’re talking.”

Compact but broad shouldered at 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, Lewis still has the build of the running back he was in high school. His head is shaven and he has two tattoos: on his left shoulder, a map of Africa containing a woman’s face and on his right forearm, “4th Avenue Jones,” the name of the soul-rock-rap band he co-founded with his former wife, singer Tena Jones. When he talks, he waves his hands in the open-fingered style of rap performance.

He speaks of his Christian faith and academic ambitions with enthusiasm, humor and what he jokingly concedes is the “egomania” of a well-loved child. His mother, Paulette Holt, inspired him by starting college when she was a divorced mother of three and also “brainwashed me,” he said. “I always thought I was better than average, that I was handsome, smart and talented. It was a trick,” he said. “Being black in America, from the ghetto, you need that extra little bit of confidence. So that’s kind of my mission to give other kids that kind of confidence.”

The odds were against him at Stanford, which accepted just 20 of this year’s 1,200 transfer applicants. But Lewis was admitted and offered a financial aid package that will cover his tuition, room and board, which total more than $47,000 this school year. He’ll also receive funds for books and living costs each year through a highly competitive grant program the Virginia-based Jack Kent Cooke Foundation offers community college students transferring to four-year schools.

“Ahmad was really a standout in all the areas,” said Vance Lancaster, a Cooke foundation spokesman. “He is truly a scholar and a humanitarian who just happens to be a chart-topping rapper.”

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10290698?source=rss

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Moving to Saigon (And other News)

Aug 15, 2008 in Random, TV

I’ve hit a lull in blogging, but things have been happening.

Dark Knight comes here (finally) in 2 weeks. I’m moving to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), essentially, right now. It’s ….a bit sad for me, I actually wanted to stay in Hanoi, well, I didn’t want to leave, since I just really, really love Hanoi, especially my apartment. It’s a good move for my work, and may make me happier with work, which is an extremely important part of my life.

Other:

  • Went to Hue a few weeks ago for 5 days, checking out Thuan An (a beach that’s only 15km away from Hue and Lang Co, a more isolated beach town 75 km away from Hue). Very fun trip, plan to make a post on the trip with pictures…just need to get to it.
  • My eldest uncle on my Dad’s side died a few days ago. I hope my Dad is doing ok. I’d met my uncle a few times, but don’t really have a connection to my relatives on both sides since I didn’t grow up nothing them. But essentially all my relatives live in Saigon, and now I’m moving to Saigon….so that’s a bit awkward and stress for me. I know for anyone reading this, you probably think I’m a bastard who doesn’t care about anyone, which I suppose is true, but most people are used to relatives and a sense of extended family. I, however, am my sister, and my parents, cousins from Indiana (1 family), and that’s it.
  • My Metal Gear Solid and Hoang Thuy Linh posts, are by far, the most popular posts on this web site. I almost feel like I should upload the sex video on here to amp up this site’s page views, but that really wouldn’t be right. Incidentally, Hoang Thuy Linh is an active user of Cyworld Vietnam.(She marks her stuff private)
  • It was #1 for a good amount of votes, but it was inevitable that it would fall: I’d be lying despite my grand claim that I thought it would be that good. I think it can stay top 10 over time.
  • 2008-08-15_15-28-42-641
  • Not playing basketball at all
  • Don’t have a place to live in Saigon yet, which worries me, especially since I loved my Hanoi place so much, but once I’m in Saigon and accept it, I’m sure it’ll be fine.
  • Top Gear is such a ridiculously good TV show. Took me forever to start watching it, but oh, is oh so very good. Just damn funny.
  • Starting a English club on Cyworld, club.cyworld.vn/VNEnglish. Me and my friend Henry are joining up to help people learn English, but it’s not just on us helping people. We’re creating a club where Vietnamese students join, teach, and help each other, collaborative discussion and learning. I think it be a big success as long as there are a few dedicated people (like me and Henry) to start it off.
  • Interested in the Olympics, but have not been watching
  • Vietnam played the Brazil Olympic team in Hanoi right before the Olympics started. I didn’t know Ronaldinho was going to play, and that really drove up ticket prices here. I wanted to go, but didn’t. I turned up sick that day anyway. Almost a lock that it will be the only time Ronaldinho comes to Vietnam in his life.

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Business Week: Shutting Down a GMAT Cheat Sheet (Chumps!)

Jun 30, 2008 in Random, Working

 2008-06-24_18-15-14-857

More than 1,000 prospective MBA students who paid $30 to use a now-defunct Web site to get a sneak peak at live questions from the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) before taking the exam may have their scores canceled in coming weeks. For many, their B-school dreams may be effectively over.

On June 20, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted the test’s publisher, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), a $2.3 million judgment against the operator of the site, Scoretop.com. GMAC has seized the site’s domain name and shut down the site, and is analyzing a hard drive containing payment information.

GMAC said any students found to have used the Scoretop site will have their test scores canceled, the schools that received them will be notified, and the student will not be permitted to take the test again. Since most top B-schools require the GMAT, the students will have little chance of enrolling. “This is illegal,” said Judy Phair, GMAC’s vice-president for communications. “We have a hard drive, and we’re going to be analyzing it. If you used the site and paid your $30 to cheat, your scores will be canceled. They’re in big trouble.”

Small Advantage to Test Takers

GMAC sued the operator of the site, Lei Shi, for using it to distribute copyrighted GMAT-related materials without GMAC’s permission. Shi, who has reportedly returned from the site’s base in Ohio to his native China, is under investigation by the FBI, GMAC says. Shi, who did not have legal representation for the GMAC lawsuit, could not be reached for comment.

While the consequences for students may be severe, the advantage they gained by using Scoretop is almost inconsequential. Unlike other GMAT test-prep sites, which use retired questions, Scoretop and others claim to provide access to “live” questions that test takers might encounter when they show up for the exam. Participants on the site would debate the proper answers. But the GMAT uses a computer adaptive format that generates a new test for every user based on responses to previous questions from a stockpile that contains thousands of possible questions. “Even if a site is illegally able to obtain some real questions, it is extremely unlikely that a test taker will see the same questions on the live exam,” says Larry Rudner, GMAC vice-president for research and development.

Scoretop has been in operation since 2003. Visitors to the Scoretop Web site before it was shut down would have encountered posts from happy users and a list of “test experiences,” users’ firsthand reports about the most recent test questions. But on June 23, they found this message from GMAC: “GMAC takes cheating very seriously, especially attempts to obtain access to live test questions in advance of an exam. We also take very seriously any unauthorized distribution of our copyrighted GMAT preparation materials. If you are caught disclosing, accessing, or using ‘real’ GMAT questions your GMAT score will be cancelled [and] you may be subject to a civil lawsuit or criminal prosecution.”

The news about the cheating scandal was the talk of the annual GMAC conference in Chicago over the weekend, where the organization’s President and CEO David Wilson described the latest developments for an audience of 700.

It’s unclear how individual schools will respond. More than 4,000 graduate management programs use the test as part of the admissions process, but many of those using sites like Scoretop seek admission to the most competitive programs. So the fallout is likely to be limited to top schools.

Several schools, contacted June 23, said it was far too early to determine what fate awaits students or prospective students whose scores are canceled. “It’s impossible to say at this point what that means,” said Ed Anderson, Duke’s associate director of admissions.

Some Scoretop Users May Have MBAs

Joe Fox, director of MBA programs at Washington University’s Olin Business School, said a lot depends on what information GMAC can provide about individual students, especially the frequency with which they used the site. “There’s an infraction, that’s for sure,” Fox said. “At a minimum it flies in the face of our code of professional conduct. We could do anything we wanted—from a slap on the wrist to expulsion from the program—and we’d be well within our rights.”

Since the Scoretop site has been in operation since 2003, it’s possible that students with tainted GMAT scores are in the application process, currently enrolled, or already graduated. For those in the application process, the applicants may be rejected, and for those currently enrolled, expulsion is a possibility.

Several years ago, when a Chinese national was caught taking the GMAT for dozens of prospective students, one Olin student who had the test taken on his behalf was dismissed before he could complete his degree, Fox said. That’s a possibility this time around, too. “I think it’s fair to say we’ll take this seriously,” he added. “It could be the end of the line.”

I’ve taken the GMAT twice, once in 2003 right before (like, days) coming to Vietnam on EAP, and then again in 2005, first getting 680 (90 percentile) with a perfect writing score, and then 720 (97 percentile) but a 5.5 (/6.0) on writing but 90+ percentile in both math and English.

Before I took it in 2005, I probably prepared on and off for over a year, but hardcore for at least 5 months.

I knew virtually everything there was to know about the test, how to take it, the best materials to use, the best time and place to take it, and so on.

I can’t remember if I knew of Scoretop, however, but my guess is I had to have known. I know I didn’t pay $30 to access the site though.

The absolute best place for preparation is TestMagic: http://www.urch.com/forums/

Erin, the guy who runs the site runs a prep company out of San Francisco. I didn’t enroll with them (I self studied), but would have had I been in SF (I lived in San Jose).

The four simple keys to success:

  • Read TestMagic Forums
  • Participate and Help others in the forums (helping others really improved your own skills)
  • Use official GMAT questions to analyze your skills. Real questions are much different from simulated ones from Kaplan, Princeton, Arco, etc. The consistency isn’t there with 3rd parties, especially in the accuracy of the answer logic.
  • Sleep a very good amount (9 hours) before the exam (I virtually feel asleep the first time taking it, and the second time faded towards the end as well)

Then again, you could ignore me and be like my sister, who got a 750 (99 percentile) on her first try with half the amount of studying I did.

One more thing, for people who may feel “disappointed/angry” in the people who are going to get kicked for cheating, don’t. You yourself are probably full of it.

Just view the Business Week BSchool forums. It’s made up of a lot of egotistical and shallow a**holes who also happen to be getting into Harvard, Kellogg, Stanford, etc. despite their weaknesses.

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The “Live in Iowa” Dream Lives!

Jun 28, 2008 in Random

From: http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/105190/Best-Cities-to-Live,-Work-and-Play

As mentioned before, sometimes I think about the future, and think of Iowa as a reasonable place to retire to. Then, I saw the list above (content posted below) to confirm what I thought already.

One of the interesting things is that Houston is the cheapest place (among the below) to live. I don’t really like Texas (uh, hot), but it is big city (I’m not really small town) and has a Vietnamese population. I mean, if it’s cheaper than Des Moines (ranked 9th on this list), why wouldn’t I live there? Sacramento is also a possibility but that place is expensive. Not like the Bay Area expensive, but still very expensive. For some reason, I’ve just never been a fan of Sacramento, probably just South Bay bias.

A quick look at my hometown of San Jose:

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Population: 1,784,826
Cost of Living Index: 154 (100 is national average)
Median Household Income: 80,638

Also, San Jose/San Francisco are ranked #2 and #3 most expensive locations in the United States.

2008-06-22_13-04-07-802

Houston is 44% less in cost of living versus San Jose. Scary, huh?

——-

These ten great places will only get better.

Our approach this year to picking the ten best cities in which to live and work was simple: Look for places with strong economies and abundant jobs, then demand reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do. When we ran the numbers, some of the names that popped up made us do a double take at first. So we hit the road to meet movers, shakers and regular folks, experience the ambience and take in the sights.

More from Kiplinger.com:
Top Ten Best Cities at a Glance
Which City Is Best for You?
Take Virtual Tours of Our Top Ten Best Cities

We discovered that our numbers guru, Kevin Stolarick, hadn’t steered us wrong. Stolarick, research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute, a think tank that studies economic prosperity, says: “Our formula highlights cities not just with strong past performance, but also with all the ingredients for future success.” One key to a bright future is a healthy shot of people in the creative class. People in creative fields — scientists, engineers, architects, educators, writers, artists and entertainers — are catalysts of vitality and livability in a city.

The cities that made our list also represent larger surrounding areas. And because we understand that city living isn’t for everyone, we’ve highlighted some great suburbs, too.

Pack a bag and join us on a tour of the Best Cities for 2008 and prepare for some surprises.

1. Houston

Houston-story-pic.jpg

Population: 5,542,048

Population Growth Since 2000: 14.9%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 31.3%

Cost-of-Living Index: 88.1 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $50,250

Income Growth Since 2000: 13.1%

2. Raleigh

Population: 995,662

Population Growth Since 2000: 19.9%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 36.1%

Cost-of-Living Index: 99 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $56,150

Income Growth Since 2000: 10.3%

Omaha-story-pic.jpg

3. Omaha

Population: 821,356

Population Growth Since 2000: 6.6%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 30%

Cost-of-Living Index: 89.4 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $51,627

Income Growth Since 2000: 15.1%

4. Boise

Population: 568,086

Population Growth Since 2000: 18.2%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 33.2%

Cost-of-Living Index: 95.5 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $49,833

Income Growth Since 2000: 16.6%

Colorado-Springs-story-pic.jpg

5. Colorado Springs

Population: 600,444

Population Growth Since 2000: 10.5%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 34.1%

Cost-of-Living Index: 95.3 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income Since 2000: 53,486

Income Growth Since 2000: 16.1%

6. Austin

Population: 1,506,425

Population Growth Since 2000: 17%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 36.5%

Cost-of-Living Index: 92.8 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $52,882

Income Growth Since 2000: 12.2%

Fayetteville-story-pic.jpg

7. Fayetteville

Population: 419,455

Population Growth Since 2000: 17.3%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 31.4%

Cost-of-Living Index: 90.4 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $42,267

Income Growth Since 2000: 17.6%

8. Sacramento

Population: 2,067,117

Population Growth Since 2000: 13.1%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 34%

Cost-of-Living Index: 121.7 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $56,953

Income Growth Since 2000: 19.1%

Des-Moines-story-pic.jpg

9. Des Moines

Population: 532,425

Population Growth Since 2000: 9.6%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 32.1%

Cost-of-Living Index: 90.6 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $53,384

Income Growth Since 2000: 16.3%

10. Provo

Population: 474,351

Population Growth Since 2000: 20.6%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 32%

Cost-of-Living Index: 97.7 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $50,583

Income Growth Since 2000: 12.2%

For more places, tools and walking tours, visit Kiplinger.com’s Best Cities Center.

Copyrighted, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.

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Anonymity Because - Freakonomics - Opinion

May 01, 2008 in Random

But to my mind, the biggest deficiency is the failure of journalists to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate retaliation that might be visited upon an anonymous source.

The strongest rationale for granting a source anonymity is simply to protect the source from illegitimate retaliation or harassment for providing information.

For example, in one article “half a dozen tribal elders from Panjwai . . . spoke (about Taliban attacks on police posts) on condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation from the insurgents.” Illegitimate consequences can also be visited by employers who might retaliate against an employee whistle-blower.

But newspapers routinely grant anonymity to employees who misappropriate employer information. Often times these grants are given to sources who could be legitimately fired or disciplined for violating their fiduciary duty to their employer. The sources who steal — I mean misappropriate — employer information aren’t willing to directly disclose because they know they could be fired for the disclosure.

I’m all in favor of having a broad definition of whistle blowing. I think it is appropriate for both the law and newspaper-anonymity to protect workers who blow the whistle on corporate misdeeds.

But I don’t think that newspapers’ anonymity policies should facilitate employee malfeasance. For example, in 2006, it was reported:

N.B.A. executives — commenting on why Knicks head coach Larry Brown was really fired — were “granted anonymity because they are not authorized to comment on another team’s operations.”

Or last month:

“[P]eople briefed on the negotiations [concerning the Clear Channel buyout] were given anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deal.”

Misappropriation represents a big proportion of anonymity grants. I recently had a research assistant code just over 200 grants and found that 40 percent of anonymity grants were unjustified misappropriations (i.e. where the source was trying to avoid legitimate retaliation). In another 34 percent, the justification was unclear (for example, the employer might have allowed the employee to disclose information anonymously); and only 26 percent were clearly justified.

I, for one, would prefer not to read articles with misappropriated information. We’re all trading in a type of stolen goods.

One way to improve the situation would be for newspapers to only grant employees anonymity if the employee’s disclosure would be protected by the law’s definition of whistle blowing.

Indeed, it might even be a good idea to force newspapers that use anonymous employee sources to take on the employee’s potential liability for disclosing employer information. An employer who would have been able to sue an employee for an unauthorized disclosure could instead sue the newspaper for damages.

The newspaper could avoid liability by convincing the court that the disclosure was not in fact a misappropriation — because an employer doesn’t have a legal right to keep certain information secret. The first amendment is not offended by limiting newspapers’ ability to print misappropriated information.

Anonymity Because - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog

I’ve talked about this subject myself, it just feels like anyone can request anonymity and not have any responsibility for their actions yet have a power in terms of gossip, slander, etc. that can have a huge impact on the situation around them.

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Misreporting on Divorce - Freakonomics - New York Times Blog

Mar 23, 2008 in Random

“Historically high levels”: Yes. “Plateaus”? No way: the divorce rate in the United States is currently at its lowest level in twenty-five years, and has fallen nearly every year since 1979.

The number of divorces per thousand marriages has now fallen by 27 percent since the peak in 1979. The latest data suggest that the divorce rate for 2007 will be even lower still. And our own analysis of the stability of marriages suggests that those married in the 1990’s appear to be less likely to divorce than those married in the 1980’s, who in turn are less likely to divorce than those married in the 1970’s. As such, the divorce rate seems likely to continue to decline for some time yet.

Link: Misreporting on Divorce

Hoorah! And if you haven’t read Freakonomics yet, you should. It’s a great book.

Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

Read more about this book…

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And God Said, I will Grant Thee a Really Big Head

Mar 17, 2008 in Random

 IMG_2058re It’s not always easy to now when you’re irregular. In case of penis size, well, every man has porn to know that if you don’t have a 9 inch penis, you should jump off a bridge in shame. In case of height, you just have to get dunked on a few times to figure that out. In case of hands, I have a coworker who gets called out for banana-fingers. I don’t have those.

For head size, however, it’s a bit different. I don’t know of anyone who looks like Humpty Dumpty, so I can’t really say that I’ve noticed a lot of people with a bit-too-large of a head.

 2008-03-17_09-15-48-430

I assume the the top number in the chart above is your chest size, mine’s about 36 (I’m 5′6, 150+, smaller upper, larger lower body). My hat (from a new New Era 59/50 cap) is size 7 3/8, which is a 44 (US) or Large. I should be at most a 7. (Incidentally, 59 Fifty’s are so popular among travelers that you can get counterfeits in Saigon, with stickers!)

To compare, Barry Bonds, before steroids, was 7 1/4. After, he was 7 3/8. Remember: Barry Bonds is 6′4 and 240 pounds. I am almost a foot shorter, almost 100 pounds less. Also, I have seen Barry Bonds, post-steroids, in person 4 feet away.

He has a big head. But apparently, so do I.

We are the same head size. Only I didn’t use steroids.

So what can I do with my big ass head?

  • I’m not any smarter, apparently.
  • It makes motorbike helmets in Vietnam a very smug fit.
  • I can head butt others without feeling the worst of it. Or at least my sister would say so.

(Ah. Damnit. Now when I look in the mirror, I start to think, “You really do have a big ass head.”)

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Reaffirming I am the Best Gift Giver of All Time

Mar 10, 2008 in Random

 

2008-03-10_10-33-53-379

Yes, I am the best (this is half-joking, but half something I care about)! Gift giving is actually something I pride myself in, I spend a lot of time on them, mainly because I don’t have to give a lot of people gifts, but I do try. And I don’t like general gifts, like “Hey, it’s that one dude you don’t care about, let’s give him a bottle of wine.”

I absolutely hate giving gifts to people I don’t really want to give them to. It’s not about the money, I just don’t want to think about it. Just tell me what I need to get and I will pay for it. But I do believe in giving something personal, and not necessarily expensive.

This is also why I don’t like general gifts myself. If you get me something, and you don’t have to, give me something you truly think is relevant to me. Otherwise, don’t worry about it, I don’t care. Most things that I would want, in terms of general possessions, I can probably afford, so giving me a DVD or toy, or whatever, not really necessary. Just give me something meaningful to you.

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Commenting on Comments (Maria Ozawa’s bikini goes off)

Jan 24, 2008 in Random

# 1 machixxx19 Says:
January 11th, 2008 at 9:46 am

you look great maria…but i think you need to wake up now…the more you do this stuff the more you destroy yourself…yah, you can pose nude but why go to the extreme of PORN?!

I would link to where this post is but it’s NSFW (not safe for work).

Basically the site this comment is on features Maria Ozawa, a Japanese porn model. Not an official site, just aggregated photos and whatever.

But what I love (and this happens more often than you think) is the guy commenting on this random site who feels the need to comment as if somehow Maria Ozawa is paying attention to this site. As if he has the wisdom and knowledge (and this commenter is definitely a “he”) to pull Maria out of the terrible life that is porn and can give her the key to her freedom. Regain your innocence Maria! I am your savior! I am in love with you, and love can lead the way to you redemption!

Whatever. You know this guys loves all of it, nude, non-nude, porn, but he somehow likes to think he’s better than the rest of us.

Hey, I am not talking about myself, how dare you! :P

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