Breaking: The state of the union is strong.
Let's see what the street reacts tomorrow. I guess the market will go down further.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Google tumbled in after hour trading
Google closed at 432.6601 and then tumbled down to $381.10 in after hours. Look like the beginning of the end of irrational exurberance of all things Google.
Let's see what's going to happen tomorrow. My guess it's going to go down more, perhaps like $20 more.
All right, let's see what our President has to say...there we just have it
The state of the union is strong ....With war in Iraq going on, even though we sort of declared victory, and Google lost $15 billion in a few hours, I am not so sure about the strong. I long the days of Clinton.
Let's see what's going to happen tomorrow. My guess it's going to go down more, perhaps like $20 more.
All right, let's see what our President has to say...there we just have it
The state of the union is strong ....With war in Iraq going on, even though we sort of declared victory, and Google lost $15 billion in a few hours, I am not so sure about the strong. I long the days of Clinton.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Portrait
DSC_4191_hsv_compose
Originally uploaded by rnj97.
Shot using my old Nikkor 50mm f1.4, mounted on my D70, manual exposure and focusing. Post processing: UFraw using D70 input curve opened in GIMP, decompose hsv, USM 3, .03, 0 and compose back.
The New York Times Don't Care About Chinese New Year/People
Yesterday was Chinese New Year.
I don't expect the Times to have an article on the front page, but I do expect a picture, maybe the size of a postage stamp about the New Year, on the Metro Section. But guess what? Nothing. I am going to cancel my freaking home delivery, now that they are raising the price and don't give a $hit about Chinese people. The 7-day home delivery price is $9.65 effective February 6.
The Chinese New Year parade is as far as I know only limited in downtown Chinatown around Mott Street, a few blocks here and there and in some other Chinese enclaves in Queens and Brooklyn. Perhaps the Chinese should take up a whole freaking section of the 5th Avenue just so we get some attention and press coverage. Perhaps not.
Updates: I searched the nytimes.com online edition, no coverage either.
To read about the Chinese New Year, you have to read the free newspaper like amNewYork or the New York Post or the New York Daily News. Good things I was actually there to enjoy the festival, because you just can't read it on the Times.
I used to not care about the Chinese New Year. But now I am converted. Perhaps I have gotten older and have two children. I plan to go to Chinatown on every Chinese New Year as long as I am in the city.
I don't expect the Times to have an article on the front page, but I do expect a picture, maybe the size of a postage stamp about the New Year, on the Metro Section. But guess what? Nothing. I am going to cancel my freaking home delivery, now that they are raising the price and don't give a $hit about Chinese people. The 7-day home delivery price is $9.65 effective February 6.
The Chinese New Year parade is as far as I know only limited in downtown Chinatown around Mott Street, a few blocks here and there and in some other Chinese enclaves in Queens and Brooklyn. Perhaps the Chinese should take up a whole freaking section of the 5th Avenue just so we get some attention and press coverage. Perhaps not.
Updates: I searched the nytimes.com online edition, no coverage either.
To read about the Chinese New Year, you have to read the free newspaper like amNewYork or the New York Post or the New York Daily News. Good things I was actually there to enjoy the festival, because you just can't read it on the Times.
I used to not care about the Chinese New Year. But now I am converted. Perhaps I have gotten older and have two children. I plan to go to Chinatown on every Chinese New Year as long as I am in the city.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Coffee maker and other kitchen goodies
I have yet to find a good French press of some other good coffee maker. So we bought one of these from Pearl River on Broadway. They have some good Chinese stuff there.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Wall Street dishing out 21.5 Billion on Bonus
Don't you want to be part of it? You know you are in the wrong profession, don't you? You know you are in the wrong industry when all you got is "verbal bonus" like thank you you have been doing a good job, or worse, hey you are just doing what you are supposed to do. What bonus? You out of your freaking mind? You are lucky just to have the job.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Untitled
D70, 50mm AIS. Home grown basil in the back. Harry discovered the hand in the pocket cool look. Shot in NEF and converted to JPEG using GIMP and UFraw pluggin. Not that I know what I am doing. The image isn't all that sharp as I probably focused wrong and have a relatively slow shutter speed. It's not that easy to do manuel focusing looking through the D70 viewfinder.
From Chinatown to Hong Kong
I know they have this New York - Boston bus, but I have never heard of a van running from Hong Kong to New York.
The sign reads Hong Kong. A van running from Chinatown all the way to Hong Kong. Hey this could be my next ride to Hong Kong. Maybe this van would fly, just like this one here. Cool $hit in Chinatown, every day.
Canal Street, Chinatown
This is probably the biggest Chinatown in North America. The most authentic, dare I to say. The neighborhood has a lot of characters. Once in a while I like to check the place out.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Horie-mon got arrested.
Takafumi Horie, otherwise affectionately known as Horiemon, a reference to a cartoon cat Doraemom many Japanese and Asian children grew up and fell in love with, was arrested by Japanese investigators on securities fraud charges on Monday evening. This was kind of expected so the market didn't react by panic selling. His arrest was seen by some as "the revenge of the establishment."
Plant, night shot
Nikkor 5omm f1.4 AIS, f8, 6 seconds manuel exposure. Some rescale and USM using GIMP.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Panoramic
A panoramic view of the living room. The stitching wasn't done quite right, and of course that's my fault. But you got the idea of how things lay out. It's done with my Canon G3. Broken tripod courtesy of Fung Chan.
Thanks to Ming Ming and Wheelrover
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my emails. I really appreciate that. I hope all is well with you guys in Taipei.
As to pictures of New York, I haven't really gotten around doing it, anyway, I know most people prefer looking at crappy pictures to reading crappy blogs.
I hope I can post a little bit more pictures in the very near future.
This blog is all mine, so I will take all the credits and all the blames for all the errors and shitty grammars you find here.
Oh, yes, thank you all.
As to pictures of New York, I haven't really gotten around doing it, anyway, I know most people prefer looking at crappy pictures to reading crappy blogs.
I hope I can post a little bit more pictures in the very near future.
This blog is all mine, so I will take all the credits and all the blames for all the errors and shitty grammars you find here.
Oh, yes, thank you all.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Shitstorm arrived in New York Today
My advice and opinion are free and your money is probably not, so read and heed at your own risk.
The Dow went down more than 200 points.
Google fought government subpoena to surrender search data. Google lost almost $37 and closed below $400 today on 4Q concerns. MSN, AOL and Yahoo, one way or another compiled somewhat to the government's request for search data. Google believes we have the right to search, porn or otherwise, in strict confidence.
Now that Apple and Intel are bedfellows, both stocks sink today, well most stocks sink today. And there are talks that Steve Jobs may run the micky mouse company.
New York Transit workers reject deal that ended the 3-day strike in December last year. Look like I have to get my sneakers ready.
The Dow went down more than 200 points.
Google fought government subpoena to surrender search data. Google lost almost $37 and closed below $400 today on 4Q concerns. MSN, AOL and Yahoo, one way or another compiled somewhat to the government's request for search data. Google believes we have the right to search, porn or otherwise, in strict confidence.
Now that Apple and Intel are bedfellows, both stocks sink today, well most stocks sink today. And there are talks that Steve Jobs may run the micky mouse company.
New York Transit workers reject deal that ended the 3-day strike in December last year. Look like I have to get my sneakers ready.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Stock Market Analysis
My advice is free and your money is not. So read and heed at your own risk.
The 2-day stock market shitstorm in Japan is calming down. The panic selloff was probably sparked by a raid on LiveDoor on possible securities frauds. LiveDoor is an Internet highflyer founded by 33-year old college dropout millionaire entrepreneur Takafumi Horie. The company denied any wrongdoing. Investors got back on Thursday to pick up any perceived undervalued stocks.
AMD got all the momentum now. Look like Intel is not getting the halo effect from Apple despite the fact that Apple ceased to Think Different, and chose to use Intel. You would think Intel would get a boost on the stock price, no, not this one anyway. Actually, Apple's price goes down too. I wonder how many iPods can Apple sell. It's a nice neat MP3 player. Yes, it plays video and acts as a harddrive, but it doesn't do my dishes or laundry.
Google and Yahoo take a beating as well. Google is morphing from a search company to an advertising company and a search company and into anything that's techologically underserved. We got tons of services from Google and Yahoo for nothing, and they run the company based on advertising revenue, I wonder how long it's going to last. I click the banner ads once in a blue moon but I don't recall buying anything from them .... But advertising is not about immediate sales anyway, I do subject myself to ads, and that's the point anyway.
Jeff Skilling, one of the big two or three defendents on the Enron case was featured on today's NYT. I don't know what responsibility he had for the collape, I guess there got to be some, whether criminal or just plain ignorant, a court of law will have to decide.
The 2-day stock market shitstorm in Japan is calming down. The panic selloff was probably sparked by a raid on LiveDoor on possible securities frauds. LiveDoor is an Internet highflyer founded by 33-year old college dropout millionaire entrepreneur Takafumi Horie. The company denied any wrongdoing. Investors got back on Thursday to pick up any perceived undervalued stocks.
AMD got all the momentum now. Look like Intel is not getting the halo effect from Apple despite the fact that Apple ceased to Think Different, and chose to use Intel. You would think Intel would get a boost on the stock price, no, not this one anyway. Actually, Apple's price goes down too. I wonder how many iPods can Apple sell. It's a nice neat MP3 player. Yes, it plays video and acts as a harddrive, but it doesn't do my dishes or laundry.
Google and Yahoo take a beating as well. Google is morphing from a search company to an advertising company and a search company and into anything that's techologically underserved. We got tons of services from Google and Yahoo for nothing, and they run the company based on advertising revenue, I wonder how long it's going to last. I click the banner ads once in a blue moon but I don't recall buying anything from them .... But advertising is not about immediate sales anyway, I do subject myself to ads, and that's the point anyway.
Jeff Skilling, one of the big two or three defendents on the Enron case was featured on today's NYT. I don't know what responsibility he had for the collape, I guess there got to be some, whether criminal or just plain ignorant, a court of law will have to decide.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Dental Adventure
For those of us who follow my blog, that's to say, a total of 2 or 3 or 4 of you out there, the root canal treatment on my second molar wasn't a "success." The molar cracked.
After all the pain, money and false hope, the second molar or number 15 was extracted. A tooth that had been with me since I was twelve (according to Sid, that is), so I do have good reason to miss it, for sentimental reason in addition to more obvious ones like chewing.
That being a second molar on the left maxilla, perhaps I can get away without getting an implant. I did some Internet research on dental implant, and I don't think it's that straightforward, particularly on that area, just reading it seems scary enough, sinus lift, bone grafting, it's definitely not a pleasant thing to undergo.
After all the pain, money and false hope, the second molar or number 15 was extracted. A tooth that had been with me since I was twelve (according to Sid, that is), so I do have good reason to miss it, for sentimental reason in addition to more obvious ones like chewing.
That being a second molar on the left maxilla, perhaps I can get away without getting an implant. I did some Internet research on dental implant, and I don't think it's that straightforward, particularly on that area, just reading it seems scary enough, sinus lift, bone grafting, it's definitely not a pleasant thing to undergo.
New York City Weather Report
Rainy, warm, and windy.
Something from the Sunday New York Times
In the States, we have Indigo kids; in Japan, they have hikikomori.
In the Spirit of MLK (as in Martin Luther King, Jr.), there is also an article on the Times Magazine regarding the pressure to cover up. Essentially, the author alleges that our society, after all these years of civil rights movement, is now protecting imutable traits, like race, gender or genetic makeup in general, but not protecting mutable traits, like behaviors. The author sees a need for a shift to liberty based protection on an individual level.
Something from the Sunday New York Times
In the States, we have Indigo kids; in Japan, they have hikikomori.
In the Spirit of MLK (as in Martin Luther King, Jr.), there is also an article on the Times Magazine regarding the pressure to cover up. Essentially, the author alleges that our society, after all these years of civil rights movement, is now protecting imutable traits, like race, gender or genetic makeup in general, but not protecting mutable traits, like behaviors. The author sees a need for a shift to liberty based protection on an individual level.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Readership doubles in 2 days
My readership doubles in two days, from one to two, thanks Sid and William. You are da men. Tomorrow I will be off then I will have Monday off.
Indigo Child
Here is my daily NYT digest:-"Are They Here to Save The World?"
Everyone is special, you are special, I am special, and everybody is gifted.
And hence for children who are, for whatever reason just seem a bit off in the school, we now, ladies and gentlemen, are called indigo children. That's like the biggest B$ I have ever read in my morning commute. And they are the saviors of our universe? That's just great. And to make matter more interesting, some parents, indigo or not, decide to home-school their special indigo kids, that's just a recipe for success.
The article is by John Leland under the Thursday Styles section, which I find odd. But just maybe considered as a lifestyle. Live big, live indigo. That must be it.
The picture has nothing to do with what I write here. It's a target billboard in Times Square.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Where are the jpegs?
My loyal and probably only fan tatmengpoon is asking me the question. I haven't gotten the chance to shoot something I want to post.
Alleged Frauds and misunderstandings
Daily digest from my read of the New York Times
Look like some people would do anything to get published on dead tree. Or one can just blog for the sheer pleasure of writing garbage.
- Online shoppers got sweet revenge on online camera seller(s) ... in Brooklyn. It's almost common knowledge that plenty of online camera dealers are not what they claim to be. And we thought New York Attorney General Office would get involved, no, not likely as Mr. Spitzer spokesman, Brad Maione says, "It's just not something we have the resources to pursue." Right there, Mr. Spitzer won't get my vote if he's running for New York Governor. Mr. Spitzer's office is going after Wall Street, that I am aware of. Online camera dealers, no, not likely.
- "In a Filmmakers' Debut, The Day of the Virus Bombs." And I thought a movie by the name "The Day of the Virus" bombs at the box office. I really need to work on my English. Instead, I believe (don't believe a word I say) the article gives pretty good review on the soon to be released on Sundance film by first time director Chris Gorek. And the film is not called "The Day of the Virus," it's called "Right at Your Door."
- After the JT Leroy expose from yesterday, todays' Times follows with another article, the alleged fabrication of events passed as real life events by James Frey on his autobiograhy, "A Million Little Pieces."
Look like some people would do anything to get published on dead tree. Or one can just blog for the sheer pleasure of writing garbage.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Apple closes at 80.86
You read it here first.
No, you could have read this from techdirt or news.com.
On the day Steve Jobs unveils its Intel based computers, Apple's share price closes at $80.86.
There must be some cosmo mystic force at work here.
The Dow reached 11,000 was news yesterday. But I think this is more interesting.
On another iPod development, Chrysler is offering full iPod integration for most of its 2006 models. Will potential buyers base their car buying decision on iPod integration, probably yes ... to some iPod hipsters.
Update
Levi's just announced that it is churning out iPod-ready jeans: Levi's RedWire DLX line, that is. It features "a joystick in the watch pocket to operate the device." The line is available this fall. I would buy any Levi's jeans as long as they are 501. I don't need a joystick in my watch pocket ... because
No, you could have read this from techdirt or news.com.
On the day Steve Jobs unveils its Intel based computers, Apple's share price closes at $80.86.
There must be some cosmo mystic force at work here.
The Dow reached 11,000 was news yesterday. But I think this is more interesting.
On another iPod development, Chrysler is offering full iPod integration for most of its 2006 models. Will potential buyers base their car buying decision on iPod integration, probably yes ... to some iPod hipsters.
Update
Levi's just announced that it is churning out iPod-ready jeans: Levi's RedWire DLX line, that is. It features "a joystick in the watch pocket to operate the device." The line is available this fall. I would buy any Levi's jeans as long as they are 501. I don't need a joystick in my watch pocket ... because
- I like gameboy better
- I don't like joystick in the pocket
- ... I already have a joystick.
How to brew coffee
I have yet to find a satisfactory way to brew coffee at home. Perhaps I shouldn't drink coffee.
We have the dripping type with hot plate and we have the french press. Right now we are using the French press type. I read some articles, and the portion of coffee to water is 2 tablespoon of coffee to 6 ounces of cool fresh water. By the time the water becomes coffee, the temperature is not hot enough for my taste.
Perhaps I should try harder. Some people believe French press coffee tastes better or the best. I am not so sure. I am not an expert anyway. I have to record Alton Brown's True Brew episode airing Jan 24 7PM ET to get some idea.
Fung makes pretty good coffee, but he is too busy nowadays.
We have the dripping type with hot plate and we have the french press. Right now we are using the French press type. I read some articles, and the portion of coffee to water is 2 tablespoon of coffee to 6 ounces of cool fresh water. By the time the water becomes coffee, the temperature is not hot enough for my taste.
Perhaps I should try harder. Some people believe French press coffee tastes better or the best. I am not so sure. I am not an expert anyway. I have to record Alton Brown's True Brew episode airing Jan 24 7PM ET to get some idea.
Fung makes pretty good coffee, but he is too busy nowadays.
Daily Aggravation
Waiting for the bus
All three buses arive at the same time, the empty ones passed you by, while the crowded one stops for you
Getting on a crowded bus
Driver keeps stopping to let more people get in a crowded bus.
Driver keeps reminding people to move to the back of the car.
Self-righteous passengers urge people to move to the back of the car.
Some cyclist zooms by you and curses at you while you are crossing 42nd steet when the WALK sign is on.
I feel like to kill somebody.
All three buses arive at the same time, the empty ones passed you by, while the crowded one stops for you
Getting on a crowded bus
Driver keeps stopping to let more people get in a crowded bus.
Driver keeps reminding people to move to the back of the car.
Self-righteous passengers urge people to move to the back of the car.
Some cyclist zooms by you and curses at you while you are crossing 42nd steet when the WALK sign is on.
I feel like to kill somebody.
Online ordering in 2006
Jcrew is pretty good at spamming its customers. Note, it's in a good sense. I think I must have signed up for their email spam list. Basically, their web site is pretty clean and easy to navigate. Well, it did go down when I tried to order something this past weekend. It's almost embarrassing to order from Jcrew, they are just hopelessly preppy and waspy, and the price is not that great. Except whey they are on sales. I ordered a jacket from them this past weekend. Though it promised an email notification. And I haven't received any regarding my order. So I have to check my credit card to track the order. I checked on my credit card and the shipment was charged. So much so for the evolution of online shopping. I love merchant keeps me informed every step of the way, I mean every step of the way, order received, order shipped, shipment tracking, you name it. Jcrew, you need to work on it.
UPDATE:
I received the item via UPS Ground today, Jan 11, 2006, just 1 day after the item was shipped. That's some speedy service.
UPDATE:
I received the item via UPS Ground today, Jan 11, 2006, just 1 day after the item was shipped. That's some speedy service.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Thursday, January 05, 2006
No More Adsense
I thought I am going to get rich by using adsense. Guess not. My account just got disabled because of what Google thought it's fradulent clicks. I thought it's OKAY to click the ads myself or have my friends' click them. Guess not. I think it must be some "over zealous" friend of mine who clicked the living daylight out of it.
Anyway, getting rich using Adsense doesn't work for me anymore. I need to have a Plan B.
I guess this Blog is going to get banned soon.
Anyway, getting rich using Adsense doesn't work for me anymore. I need to have a Plan B.
I guess this Blog is going to get banned soon.
SONY like.no.other(TM)
I was reading the New York Times on my way to work. And SONY's print ad caught my eye. It's on C11.
The print ad is a flow chart selling SONY's line of BRAVIA HDTV. Right in the middle of the diamond decision block, it says "A clear cry for something she can easily hang herself!"
That's disturbing. Is the wife looking for something to hang herself, like a rope, if then, the husband should get her a rope?
I believe SONY must have paid a lot for some ad agency to develop the ad. Money well spent. For half of what SONY paid, and a word more, I would say "A clear cry for something she can easily hang it herself." Or "A clear cry for something she can easily hang by herself." And no exclamation mark. There is nothing really exciting about it.
The print ad is a flow chart selling SONY's line of BRAVIA HDTV. Right in the middle of the diamond decision block, it says "A clear cry for something she can easily hang herself!"
That's disturbing. Is the wife looking for something to hang herself, like a rope, if then, the husband should get her a rope?
I believe SONY must have paid a lot for some ad agency to develop the ad. Money well spent. For half of what SONY paid, and a word more, I would say "A clear cry for something she can easily hang it herself." Or "A clear cry for something she can easily hang by herself." And no exclamation mark. There is nothing really exciting about it.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story
This is a pretty good read.
Kurt Eichenwald gives a detailed account of what happened at Enron. And as someone who has to deal with Sarbanes-Oxley or SOX compliance, I am most interested to know who the heck led to all those stinky SOX compliance. Although it claims to be "A True Story," one has to wonder about the dialogues used in the book, was the author there, so he knows exactly what was said among the principals involved? I am just wondering aloud here. The irony is while the big law firm, accounting firm and top management messed up big time, the file and rank and middle management suffer the most in the aftermath SOX compliance. While Arthur Anderson messed up big time and ceased to exist, SOX actually creates a new revenue stream for other professional firms to do SOX compliance jobs.
Anyhow, the book seems to place Andrew Fastow, the CFO as the chief architect of the Enron failure. Ken Lay, a ph.D in Economics, and Jeff Skilling, a former star at McKinsey, were protrayed as too ignorant or even a cry baby on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
Ken Lay, I think, is scheduled for hearing some time soon later this month.
Kurt Eichenwald gives a detailed account of what happened at Enron. And as someone who has to deal with Sarbanes-Oxley or SOX compliance, I am most interested to know who the heck led to all those stinky SOX compliance. Although it claims to be "A True Story," one has to wonder about the dialogues used in the book, was the author there, so he knows exactly what was said among the principals involved? I am just wondering aloud here. The irony is while the big law firm, accounting firm and top management messed up big time, the file and rank and middle management suffer the most in the aftermath SOX compliance. While Arthur Anderson messed up big time and ceased to exist, SOX actually creates a new revenue stream for other professional firms to do SOX compliance jobs.
Anyhow, the book seems to place Andrew Fastow, the CFO as the chief architect of the Enron failure. Ken Lay, a ph.D in Economics, and Jeff Skilling, a former star at McKinsey, were protrayed as too ignorant or even a cry baby on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
Ken Lay, I think, is scheduled for hearing some time soon later this month.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Lazy Eye and Tai Shan
Something from today's Times:
- Lazy eye is curable, even after age 8. That's good news.
- Tai Shan, the cutie panda cub. According to the Times article it's supposed to pronounce like tie-SHON. I don't know where is that coming from. I think it should just be pronounced as Tai Shan, I think it rhymes close enough to both Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciation. And Tai Shan, other than just meaning "peaceful mountain" is actually a name of a mountain in China, sometimes called Mount Tai I guess. If you believe in Wiki you can check here.
- Investment Outlook for 2006. Basically, the advices dished out by the top brains are cautiously optimistic. The real estate market is slowing down, interest rates will go up a bit more. The advice is free but your money is probably not, so invest at your own risk.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Year 2006 is Here
Sometimes I turn on my webcam, and if you visit at the right time, you can probably see something. Most of the the time, the webcam is offline. So don't be surprised if you don't see anything. Plus the webcam page can only be viewed using Internet Explorer. What a bummer.
Munich
I saw the movie Munich. It was OKAY. I don't find it very exciting, maybe my expectation wasn't properly managed by the ad campaign. Anyway, the movie seems earnest and nothing is overly dramatized or stylized. The movie is close to 3 hours long, so be prepared. Eric Bana looks good, I guess he can't help it even the movie doesn't really kick up the cool factor considering he plays an assassin.
Munich
I saw the movie Munich. It was OKAY. I don't find it very exciting, maybe my expectation wasn't properly managed by the ad campaign. Anyway, the movie seems earnest and nothing is overly dramatized or stylized. The movie is close to 3 hours long, so be prepared. Eric Bana looks good, I guess he can't help it even the movie doesn't really kick up the cool factor considering he plays an assassin.
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