Market Value

Craigslist is full of preposterous photo equipment ads. Some examples:

Sony Cybershot DSC-F828 for $1,000
Seller claims it was "$1,500 new" which doesn't really matter when the camera is six years old... Surprisingly, the fair market value appears to be around $250, which means it's held its value quite well.

Canon EOS-1D for $1,400
Again, the price when new doesn't matter at all when the camera is this old. Fair value is under $500. It also appears that 1-series owners selling on Craigslist are mostly retarded, as the camera name is listed erroneously as things such as "Canon Mark 1D," "Canon 1D Mark," and "Canon Mark." Note that nowhere on the first-generation 1D does it say "Mark."
"Canon 1Ds EOS Mark" with the description: "Canon 1Ds EOS Mark thats what it says on the camera in gold. I really don't know much about it, just old and I got it from my Uncle for Christmas."
Uh, no it doesn't say that, you blithering idiot. The gold emblem either says "Digital" if it's the original 1Ds or "Mark II Digital" if it's a 1Ds Mark II. In white, it says "Canon" and elsewhere, it says "EOS-1." There is a separate gold emblem that says "Ds."

Canon EOS-1D Mark II for $2,000
In this listing, the seller said, "I challenge you to find one cheaper." Of which there are plenty, since they sell for about half that.

Nikon N6006 for $700
The most ridiculous one yet; KEH can provide you with one in decent condition for just $12.

Image Blocking

I'm very annoyed that Internet Explorer 8 blocks some images on websites and as far as I can tell, there is no way of making them visible. AdBlock on Firefox only blocks ads. Internet Explorer seems to let ads pass and block random images that are part of the website.

The Future is Bleak

The comments for YouTube videos and phone apps (iTunes, Android Market, etc.) are home to the stupidest people in the world. They pop up in Facebook groups and to a lesser extent, special interest forums, but in terms of the sheer volume of ridiculous comments, video and app comments are unrivaled.

For instance, one of the comments on the "Metal Detector" app for Android reads, "the way this app works is by using the camera and looking for a reflection." Umm, right, that's why it works when it's set down on a table with the camera pointing downwards.

Why is it that people also seem to lose grasp of the English language when they comment? "...2 people told me da sam thin" is just incomprehensible.

Then and Now

I thought this was pretty clever.

[Just after the election] Read from top down
Democratic Party of Japan: The day we have been waiting for has finally come!
Constituents: Will you be giving voting rights to foreign nationals?
DPJ: No way!
Constituents: You have proper plans about how to fund your agenda right?
DPJ: Of course!
Constituents: Would you ever betray the people that voted for you?
DPJ: We would never do such a thing.
Constituents: You're going to improve the economy and raise employment and income levels right?
DPJ: Yes, we'll increase them by a lot!
Constituents: Are you going to be issuing debt bonds?
DPJ: Never!
Constituents: Please make this a country in which we're happy to live.
[Present day] Read from bottom up

Indecision

See, America is becoming angry with Japan.

The Secretary of State pretty much never meets with an ambassador unless there is something to complain about, which is the case here.

Apparently part of the issue was that Hatoyama disclosed the discussions that went on between him and Clinton in Copenhagen last week, leading Clinton to have serious doubts about Hatoyama's diplomatc abilities.

Anyway, note Hatoyama's response:

"I completely understand the basic stance of the United States."

This is pretty much what he says about every issue, yet no concrete solution is ever presented. I mean, politicians are notorious for this kind of stuff but this is quite ridiculous; he only ever seems to say "I understand," "We may need to consider that," and "We will discuss that at a later time."

Environmentally Responsible

A study has shown that owning a dog does more harm to the environment than owning an SUV.

Okay, if someone want to own a cat or dog or gorilla or whatever, I'm fine with that. Some excerpts though:

"Everyone should work out their own environmental impact. I should be allowed to say that I walk instead of using my car and that I don't eat meat, so why shouldn't I be allowed to have a little cat to alleviate my loneliness?"

Fair enough, but that makes it seem like people that don't drive and don't eat meat are more lonely than normal people that do those activities.

"Sylvie Comont, proud owner of seven cats and two dogs -- the environmental equivalent of a small fleet of cars -- says defiantly, 'Our animals give us so much that I don't feel like a polluter at all.'"

I take issue with this one. Environmentalists are always going on and on about how socially irresponsible it is to be driving something other than a Toyota Prius (despite the production process and the overall carbon footprint of the Prius being much dirtier than a Mercedes S-Class or a Range Rover). But by this logic, if I love my Ferrari and feel that revving it to 9,000rpm gives me utility (not necessarily in a practical sense, but in terms of enjoying the experience), then I should, by all means, be allowed to drive it around without being made to feel "like a polluter at all."

"Get a hen, which offsets its impact by laying edible eggs, or a rabbit, prepared to make the ultimate environmental sacrifice by ending up on the dinner table.

'Rabbits are good, provided you eat them,' said Robert Vale."

I would venture to say that it's a bit impractical to have a pet hen in the living room. The final line of the article is particularly epic; if aforementioned Sylvie Comont wants to be socially responsible and have pets, then she should at least be prepared to eat her seven cats and two dogs.

Globalization Gone Too Far

I hate websites that detect my operating system's language settings and take it upon themselves to translate into Japanese. I know how to read English, and the automatic translation makes the site utterly incomprehensible.

Besides if I wanted Japanese search results only I would have specified that.

At the bottom it says "Translation Powered by Google" but literally so: 翻訳によって電源

Trickery

There is an article about how retailers are "tricking" consumers into spending more.

The points mentioned:
-Distributing gift cards to customers who spend a certain dollar amount in their stores.
-Free shipping offers.
-Free shipping to a nearby store.
-Packaged deals.
-[Designing] their stores so that shoppers first have to walk through more expensive sections.
-Offering discounts for those who spend a certain amount of money in one visit.

The consumer is always a victim, isn't it? Having worked in retail, I absolutely loathe the "the customer is always right" attitude, and I'm sick of people being all butt-hurt because companies are supposedly taking advantage of them.

I mean, seriously, how is any of the above a "trick"? Sure, they are strategies to generate more income, but what part of them is deceiving? I mean, if your willpower is so weak that you can't walk through the expensive section of the store without being able to resist picking up things that you didn't plan on buying, then quite frankly, you have other problems you need to worry about. Does this mean you will cheat on your wife if presented with a line of twenty-somethings? Does this mean if you pass by a Mercedes dealer on the way to buying a Toyota Corolla, you will end up with an S-Class instead?

Should retailers not offer free shipping? For instance, Amazon.com has free shipping year-round if you buy $25 or more. Should they get rid of that option so you have to pay $5.95 ground shipping every time you order something? What if I'm buying an item that is $24.99? Wouldn't it be cheaper for me to tack on something really cheap? Isn't ending the price in ".99" a devious tactic to you feeble minded consumer advocacy groups?

Isn't a sale of any sort designed to get you to spend more money? Or at least, to get more people to spend money? Retailers have a job--to make money. It is their social responsibility to make money; otherwise who is going to pay the workforce? Haven't we seen enough of the grief that pops up when a retailer goes out of business because, surprise, it's not making enough money? Would you rather have higher prices and no deals, ever?

An Appalling State

Things the Democractic Party of Japan said during the election campaign this summer, and what has happened since:
-Abolish the temporary tax on gasoline -> Said tax will be replaced by a permanent tax of roughly the same amount.

-We will make highways free of toll -> Postponed. Except in Hokkaido, which is where the prime minister's election base is located.

-We will give money to families with children and provide subsidies for high school education. We will do everything without raising taxes or issuing bonds because sufficient funding (20.5 trillion yen) can be gathered by making the government more efficient. The Liberal Democratic Party will cause problems for future generations because they issued bonds for a MASSIVE 33 trillion yen -> We couldn't find 20.5 trillion yen, so we'll have to issue bonds but we'll try to keep it under 44 trillion yen. We might have to raise the sales tax.

-We will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 25% compared to 1990 levels -> It will cost about 360,000 yen per household = new taxes.

-We will resolve the issue of whether the U.S. base in Futenma, Okinawa, should be moved -> we can't make up our minds so we'll deal with it later -> America is very unhappy.
It seems the only things the current government is capable of doing are "cancel" and "postpone." Is it ethical to claim unfeasible things to win votes in the election? And since when did the Japanese populace become so stupid that it couldn't figure out such barefaced lies wouldn't work out? Why were they so easily swindled by the media?

The government has also brought the Emperor of Japan into politics by circumventing rules to arrange a meeting between the Emperor and the vice president of China. This is unconstitutional, improper, and disrespectful.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has been accused of evading taxes on more than 2.2 billion yen, but he claims he is not at fault because he was "unaware" of the money because he left that stuff to his secretary. Aside from the concept of how one can be unaware of such a large sum of money (including contributions from his own mother totalling 1.26 billion yen and illegal contributions listed as being from individuals who were later found to be already deceased), he has said in the past that such problems are the responsibilities of the politician, not the secretary. Of course, that was when he was accusing members of another party of similar issues. Now, he is claiming he will pay the taxes and everything will be fine. That's a bit like getting caught shoplifting and saying, "look, I'll give back what I took and let's forget about this."

The Secretary General of the DPJ has also been accused of laundering money received illegally through construction companies that were rewarded with contracts.
 
Why doesn't everyone just evade taxes until someone finds out, at which point you just apologize and pay what you owe?

Stronger Deep of Field

Something I read on the internet today:

------Begin Quote------
Hi all,

Today I spoke with an ex Canon user who moved to Nikon and told me a strange story about the Canon Camera.
Seems that the Canon camera made for the US market have a stronger deep of field so the pictures are sharper then Canon camera bough in UK that are softer.
He told me that if I take the same portrait picture with a nikon 300s with a f2.8 to have the same sharpness with a canon 5d Mark II I need to use a f10.

If this is true (difference between US and UK market) I suppose that all the Canon Camera are made in the same place "China" so the difference should be in the software so the firmware.

Is this true? Which is your view?
I want to buy a canon 5d Mark II so I am very worried.

Thanks

 ------End Quote------

God, I don't even know where to begin. If Canon has created software to alter the physics of light, that's a major breakthrough. A time machine can't be too far behind, so I guess it's time to buy some Canon stock.

Besides, Canon doesn't make DSLRs in China. 

Just another reason to not trust Nikon users, I guess.

Data Plan Pricing

Dear Verizon,

Perhaps you may want to revise your pricing scheme.

Naming Woes

In regards to an article about the 10 worst car names of all time.

10. The entire Lincoln lineup
I can't agree more. When you say "Mark" something, that something ought to be a number because it's typically used to denote the generation number. For instance, I have a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. The camera I currently want is the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. Jaguar made cars like the Mark IV, Mark V, etc. MKS, MKX, MKZ don't make any sense.

9. Hyundai Equus
The article mentions something about Harry Pothead, but I couldn't really care less. What bothers me more is that the front of the car, like the Genesis, looks exactly like the W221 Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

8. Toyota Yaris
I'm not entirely sure why it's called the Yaris. In Japan the hatchback is called the Vitz and the sedan is called the Belta.

7. Kia Forte Koup
I've never even heard of this car, but the front end sure looks like a carbon copy of the Honda Civic. It also makes me cringe when Americans say "coupe" without the accent aigu over the "e." Apparently Koreans do this too? Why don't they just call it the Fort Coop?

6. Subaru B9 Tribeca
Like the author of the article, I'm not sure why it needs to be called both B9 and Tribeca. Subaru calls the Legacy sedan the B4, but I always thought that was some kind of differentiation between it and the estate car.

5. Volkswagen Touareg
Come on people, it's not that difficult.

4. Ford Probe
Uh, yeah, no.

3. Subaru Brat
Come on Subaru...

2. Isuzu VehiCROSS
The name is not as bad as the car itself.

1. Ford Aspire
The result of crushed aspirations.

I think they could have done better though. Things like "Daewoo Nubira" sound like something directly out of Star Wars. It could be a blue, three-headed slimy creature that makes unintelligible noises. Other names that come to mind include the Plymouth Reliant, Austin Princess, Austin Freeway, Toyota Succeed, Mitsubishi Starion, Mitsubishi Toppo BJ, Kia Cee'd, and so on...

However, no "bad car name" list is complete without the Mazda Bongo Friendee.

Dictatorship

According to Ichiro Ozawa, party members should agree with everything the party proposes (in this case, giving voting rights to foreign nationals) even if they disagree with what is being proposed.

Japan is going to turn into a totalitarian socialist regime. I am absolutely sick of this.

Starlight

Joshua Tree National Park is a rather unremarkable place, compared to places like Bryce Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone. It doesn't really look any different from the surrouding desert, and there are surprisingly few Joshua Trees. I was told that it is a very nice place if I visit during the wildflower season, but that can be said of anywhere else in the desert.

However, it is the closest national park to Orange County. Furthermore, it is remote from any large cities yet easily accessible. Not many people drive through, and it is eerily silent. At night, even fewer people are driving through. This makes it a perfect place for stargazing.

Well, almost perfect, if you discount the sub-freezing temperatures encountered at night. A bit cold for lying outside at night, but at least the temperatures keep the rattlesnakes in hibernation. Coyotes don't hibernate though...

Last week, it rained everywhere in California. People were treating it as if the end of the world was coming, but after five days it eventually cleared up.

Joshua Tree National Park cleared up one day early, and it appeared it was the only place in the area to do so. Everywhere else I looked, the forecast for Sunday night was either "rain" or "cloudy."

Why did it have to be Sunday night? Well, the Geminid meteor shower was paying a visit, so I wanted to see them somewhere with minimal light pollution. Hence, my visit to Joshua Tree.

As you can see in the photograph above, the sky was brilliant. There were hundreds of meteors to be seen per hour, and it was the most amazing meteor shower I have ever seen.

However, a clear sky in Southern California is not without a significant problem, especially for photographers such as myself.

Joshua Tree National Park's proximity to Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego means that the nearby Interstate is relatively well-traveled. This is fine because unless you're at the southern edge of the park, the Interstate is relatively distant. However, when it comes to air traffic, aircraft that you would normally not see become visible. This means that at any given moment in the evening, there are at least five planes visible, sometimes more. Even as I sat outside shivering at 1:30am, there were planes flying overhead.

This means disaster for astrophotography. It's relatively easy to edit out an airplane if it is flying through an area with few stars. The longer the exposure, though, the more difficult it becomes to edit out the airplane. For one thing, the trail that it leaves becomes longer. Worse, however, it the fact that when the airplane's trail overlaps the trails that the stars leave, it becomes pretty much impossible to edit it out of the photo. Next time, I need to budget more time and go somewhere more remote.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Last week, I had a package delayed because UPS didn't feel like moving my box from Ontario for a few days.

This week, again, I had a package that was supposed to be delivered today (Friday) and again, it wasn't delivered despite being within fifty miles of my home on Thursday.

It didn't arrive.

This time though, UPS gave me a reason on its tracking site.

"Rescheduled due to weather conditions."

Now, I'm sorry, but a little bit of rain is not sufficient to warrant rescheduling delivery. People everywhere else in the world have to put up with snow, hail, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. Just because Southern California hasn't seen water falling from the sky since March doesn't mean business has to come to a halt.

In fact, I'm sick of people in Southern California making such a big deal out of rain. I like rain and I appreciate it because it doesn't rain much and we have a water shortage just about every summer. I know about the political and legal struggles that were fought in order to supply my area with water. Rain is good.

However, most of the other people that live here don't seem to think so. Unless you live in the Sahara, rain usually doesn't make headline news unless someone's house is being washed away. In Southern California?

"TONIGHT: CRISIS IN THE SOUTHLAND. RAIN is falling everywhere, causing MILLIONS to flee. People are advised to STAY INDOORS to avoid getting WET."

Go on Facebook and everyone will have a status related to the rain or how "cold" it is. Yes, it is a bit cold to be walking around in a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals, but apparently this is all anyone has to wear.

Perhaps natural selection will weed out the weak and unfit.

The Only Thing in Common is Happy Gilmore

I don't care if Tiger Woods had an affair. He will always be known to me as the man that publicly dissed hockey, and for that he will never have my support.

Hockey players can be hit by an SUV and think nothing of it. Everyone's favorite golfer has not had much luck lately when it comes to SUVs.

Problem Solving

The headlights on my 280Z were not working, so I did some investigation. I eventually discovered that the problem was in the indicator switch, which as you can see in the photo is an utter mess. The one on the right is what I pulled from the car, and the one on the left is the replacement part. I can't even begin to comprehend what the previous owner was thinking here. The ground wire is missing entirely, which is why the headlights would not turn on. Did he not realize that when he put this back together?

If I were to buy the part new, it would cost $450. Considering I paid $700 for the entire car, this is a ridiculous amount of money. Fortunately, I was able to source the part used for $35.

Also, some of the things that were removed  by the previous owner include:
-Air conditioner compressor
-Both horns
-Fuel filter

Going Postal

Dear man with Bluetooth headset at the the express counter at the post office,
The express line is for people buying stamps or sending one item. Please do not walk up with three items. You can draw a number instead and wait like everyone else. Furthermore, please fill out all addresses and forms before you go to the counter. That's ten minutes of my life that I'll never have back thanks to you, philistine.
Also, to the workers at the post office, if someone comes up to the express line with three items, kindly tell him to bugger off.
Thank you.

Chuck Norris was Here

Hockey players are the most badass people in the world.

"Witt was crossing Arch Street to get a cup of coffee when a gold Yukon truck made an illegal turn and hit the 34-year-old. Newsday says Witt tried to jump on the hood of the vehicle before being thrown to the ground as he was struck.
'I'm okay,' Witt told the crowd as he dusted himself off, according to Newsday. 'I've got to go play some hockey. I'm a hockey player. I'm okay. No big deal.'"

No further proof is necessary.

Exorbitant

Hmm, I don't think I'll be going to New Caledonia for holiday.

Waste of Time

I absolutely cannot stand it when UPS does stuff like this. I have a package sitting 50 miles away since Thursday afternoon. Today is Friday, and they could have easily delivered it today. Instead, it's going to sit in Ontario through the weekend and be delivered on Monday.

Resistance is Futile

You want a Lamborghini Gallardo. Your wife wants a Smart. You don't want a Smart at all, but since you can't actually afford a Gallardo, you suggest a Dodge Challenger as a compromise.

But it's no use. You end up buying the Smart.

Oh Giulietta

Rumor has it that the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta will be hitting the U.S. market in 2011. I'm kind of skeptical about this, because rumors have said the same thing for the 159, the Brera, and the MiTo, but nonetheless, the Giulietta looks amazing. I want one quite badly.

However, one of the captions in the slideshow mentioned this:
"2010 Alfa Romeo Giulietta; note lack of door handle on rear door, perhaps a rear-hinged door with an internal release?"

This is a serious fail. If the writer had been paying attention to the 156 or the 147 he would know where the rear door handle is. In fact it looks like an even better integration job than the one on the older models. Then again, he is American.

Mobile Carriers and Dishwashers

I hate my wireless provider, Verizon. I am constantly in a state where I have little to no reception, and my friends and I are getting fed up with the amount of dropped calls. One time, my call dropped ten times in fifteen minutes. I have reason to believe my house is a dead spot and it's one of the areas on that map in the ads that isn't covered in red.

I also hate Consumer Reports. My problem with them is that they publish scores based on what the "average Joe" thinks. Unfortunately, I have found that average Joe is an idiot. Consumer Reports also has no idea what it's doing when it comes to categorization, as I've noticed in their camera ratings. Sometimes, two models that are identical in every way except megapixel count will be in different size categories. Sometimes, a within the same manufacturer, a smaller model will be in the bigger category. But more on that later.

An average person can only tell you average things. I am an average person in many ways. It is therefore wise that you not ask me to rate a dishwasher. I can't tell you much about it, or whether it's better or worse than other models in the range.

One time, the Lotus Elise was rated very poorly because the interior was cramped, the suspension was stiff, and the boot was small. I'm not sure if average Joe was expecting a sports car or a Crown Victoria.

Anyway, the lastest survey from Consumer Reports has concluded that Verizon is the best wireless carrier in the U.S. by ranking first in all 26 cities surveyed. AT&T, which Verizon has claimed on its ads to have spotty coverage, finished last in 19 of 26 cities.

As much as I don't like Consumer Reports, when the sample across 26 cities and they all say the same thing, there must be some truth to it. Cell phone providers are rather easy to rate, so hopefully average Joe hasn't made a hash of it. Can I hear you? Can you hear me? Good. I'm not so sure about the customer service categories, because I've never contacted them.

Likewise, I'm not sure how you can rate messaging to be significantly better than average, which is what average Joe has done here. The other day in Washington, D.C., I was able to place calls without issue but I everything incoming didn't get through for some reason. I missed a text message, a phone call, and the subsequent voice mail. When I finally got the voice mail, I had flown to New York, having been unable to meet up with a friend in Washington that day because I was unaware that she had called me to tell me she had some free time.

For that, I'd probably dock off a point but on average, I expect all of my messages to be delivered, whether incoming or outgoing. Therefore, I will never rate that service to be above average.
Anyway, there has been lots of press lately about how Verizon's ad campaign has been targeting how much AT&T sucks. The sad truth is, bad though Verizon may be, it's not as bad as the other choices. This is why I shouldn't rate a dishwasher; I may hate it with all my heart but maybe it's still better than everything else out there.

I don't hate my dishwasher; I find it distinctly average.

"Without question the surest indication of customer satisfaction is churn, or turnover. For the last quarter, our postpaid churn was just 1.17 percent.”

Let's evaluate this statement. If I have a contract with AT&T, no matter how terrible it is, I am unlikely to switch because they will slam me with a hefty early termination fee. When the contract is up, I may want out. Because I am not an iPhone user, I would be able to leave without hesitation. But if I were an iPhone user, I wouldn't have a choice. This is one factor for a low churn rate; the fact that I don't like the iPhone isn't going to change the fact that the general public perceives it to be in style.

Now, I'm not sure if they mean to say that the 1.17% of customers that do leave AT&T are replaced by an equal, if not greater, number of new customers. Given the expanding market, I would assume the answer to that is yes.

Peace at Gunpoint

I won a Nobel Peace Prize, so let's celebrate by sending 30,000 troops to Afghanistan!

What a joke. WHAT. A. JOKE.

On Shoe-Throwing

Shoe-throwing is quickly turning into a slapstick comedy act, as someone threw a shoe at the man who threw a shoe at George Bush last year.

"Al-Zeidi's brother, Maithan, chased the attacker in the audience and — what else? — pelted him with a shoe as he left the room."

War is silly. Why don't we just resolve conflicts with a pillow fight instead?

Rail Fares

The PATH train from World Trade Center to Newark Penn Station costs $1.75. It's roughly a ten-mile trip and it takes 22 minutes. At 27.3mph, this is rather slow, but the cost per mile is rather cheap 17.5 cents.

The NJ Transit train from Newark Penn Station to Newark Airport Railroad station costs $7.75. It's roughly a three-mile trip and it takes six minutes. At 30mph this is about the same as the PATH train, and the cost per mile is a ridiculous $2.58.

You could take the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Shinagawa, one station away, and it would cost you about $8.50 for a five-mile trip. It takes about six minutes because the train can't accelerate to 180mph and then stop in a five-mile span. This is still only $1.70 per mile. In fact, for the Shinkansen trip to cost more, you'd have to take the green car, which is like the equivalent of first class on an airplane. Incidentally, the NJ Transit train doesn't have such accomodations.

I bet a ferry between Lower Manhattan and Newark-Liberty International Airport would be cheaper and faster than the train if such a thing existed.

On Auto Mechanics

It's a relatively well-known fact that auto mechanics try to sell you on services you don't need. In fact I was surprised when I took my car in to get an oil change and new tires mounted, because the guy that called me up said, "the brake pads will probably need to be replaced after another two or three oil changes (read: 6,000-9,000 miles, given that they want you to come in for an oil change every 3,000 miles)" and not, "your brakes are dangerously low and they should be replaced right now." This is especially true because that's what they said when I took the car in for an oil change 6,000 miles ago. Apparently my brake pads have grown in thickness. At this rate I might have to shave them down by hand.

They also seem to always indicate a need for new coolant. Now, a week before this, my car was at another shop having repairs done to fix a misfire issue. They had replaced the coolant at that time, so you can imagine it was rather difficult to not break out laughing.

Dreamliner

Somehow this blog has turned into a news article commentary. This was not the original intent.

I had a dream the other night, in which I was asleep, and having a dream. A metadream, if you will.

Anyway, in my dream within my dream, I was on an airplane, and it crashed. I then woke up, within my dream. In reality I was still asleep at this point.

When I woke up I was on an airplane. That is, in my dream, I was on an airplane and dreaming that I was on an airplane, and I had crashed.

After I woke up, the plane proceeded to crash.

That is to say, after waking up (within my dream) from a dream in which I was involved in a plane crash, I was again involved in a plane crash.

At this point, I woke up for real. no more dreaming, everything back to normal. When I woke up, I found myself on an airplane. Which then proceeded to crash.

Actually, scratach that. I woke up and went to work. I have no plans to board a plane anytime soon.

Like, OMG

Miley Cyrus on Twilight:

"'I think it's like [a] cult... I think it's a cult,' Miley told Sirius XM's The Morning Mash Up in an interview that aired on Tuesday. 'I think it's bad. I think it's like, just people get too into it.'"

She's using some big words there; looks like she's been steadily building her vocabulary.

Perhaps I'm being unfair; I guess the target audience, average age 7, needs to be able to comprehend what is being said. Ironic though that she should issue a comment about people "geting too into" something.

Fines for Funds

On fines imposed against Airlines for leaving passengers stranded on the tarmac aboard a plane...

"Continental Airlines and its regional airline partner ExpressJet, which operated the flight for Continental, were each fined $50,000. ExpressJet spokeswoman Kristy Nicholas said the airline can avoid paying half the fines if it spends the same amount of money on additional training for their employees on how to handle extended tarmac delays.
The department imposed the largest penalty — $75,000 — on Mesaba Airlines, a subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, which was acquired by Delta Air Lines last year."

Okay, so hundreds of people were unable to disembark for hours, and the government collects money from airlines for causing such inconvenience? Now, I can understand if the government ordered such an amount of money to be disbursed among those that were on board, but why should the government pocket this money? I don't understand what justifies this; were government officials in discomfort as they slept through the night not knowing this was happening somewhere hundreds of miles away?

"Besides the fine, Continental also provided a full refund to each passenger and 'offered each passenger additional compensation to tangibly acknowledge their time and discomfort,' the department said."

This is fair enough. If the government is going to pocket $175,000 then they had better put it to good use. I mean, are they doing this to make our lives better, or to gather some extra department funding?

Retailers Face Impossible Demands

Today, an article about how Black Friday ads are full of "dirty secrets."

First, a man complains that the fine print says how quantities are limited.

Now look here, America is a capitalist society. Retailers aren't cutting prices because they're in a jolly holiday spirit and feel like giving everyone a discount. They're trying to lure consumers into stores and make money. The reason why companies provide "customer service" is not because of humanitarian reasons, it's because they want you to come back for more business. If you can't even grasp that simple concept you might as well move to North Korea or something and see how you like it there. If something is advertised on a Black Friday and it's actually a good deal, I don't expect it to be left on the shelves half an hour after the store opens. I suspect I might not be able to grab it even if I'm standing in line at 4:00am. That's just how this game works, so stop the bickering.

"'I am old school,' said Johnson. 'If a retailer is advertising a juicy deal and they are not prepared to have in sufficient quantity, don't advertise it. Or give consumers a raincheck.'"
Right, you're old school. Get in tune with the times. This is not the "good old days" where people wore top hats and rode in horse carriages. It's not even the other "good old days" where the TVs advertised in the Black Friday ads were black and white and not 1080p.

Imagine, for instance, if next year, all the retailers got together and said, there will be no Black Friday deals this year because some people find that it is unacceptable to place quantity limits on items. You'll hear the same people arguing that retailers are anti-consumer for not offering discounts to shoppers for the holidays.

A man then complains about something called "derivative models."

"Dworsky cautions that retailers usually don't advertise these models as derivatives. 'There's no way the average consumer will know that the TV model they are buying is not the standard one unless they are savvy enough to compare their model numbers,' he said."

Consumers, it's time to get savvy, then. Fortunately there's a novel invention called the internet which will give you all of this information if you bother looking. This is not the "good old days" when each manufacturer only offered one TV model.

He then complains about some deals being offered online, but the manufacturers won't disclose which ones. Again, retailers would rather you come to the store than shop online.

And then a word of caution for those shopping online.

"Case in point: Sears. Last year, one of Sears' hottest Black Friday doorbuster deal was on a Kenmore washer-dryer pair for $600.
Even though the retailer advertised that deal to be in 'limited quantities,' the company decided to honor every customer order made on that deal last Black Friday.
Big mistake. The manufacturer could not ramp up production fast enough. Some customers waited months before their order was shipped. Others were sold a substitute model, that was 'comparable or even better' for the same deal price, said Sears' Aiello."

Right, so people like old-school man at the beginning of the article complained, so Sears goes the extra step to actually sell at a lower price even beyond the limited quantity that they had on hand. Perhaps they were in a jolly holiday spirit. The result? More complaining, this time because they sold things they didn't have.

So let's recap. If you're going to put something on sale, it shouldn't be in limited quantities because consumer advocacy groups will complain. However, you damn well better make sure you don't sell beyond the unlimited quantity that you don't have because then consumer advocacy groups will complain.

I used to work in retail. It's a job where most people complain at you because "the customer is always right."

Persecution in New Jersey

There has been an outcry in New Jersey over a proposal that would levy a fine every time a student gets sent to detention. Argue against it all you want, but I think this is a brilliant idea. I mean, I never got sent to detention in my K-12 years, despite there not being a fine. It's not something particularly difficult to avoid.

What is not acceptable, however, is the following line: "You get detention for like forgetting you're ID and stuff. It makes no sense," student Dan Lopez said."

There should be a fine against the writer of the article for being unable to use the proper your/you're. This is actually a rare instance where "you're" is inappropriately used; typically the problem is "your" being used in the place of "you're."

Or perhaps this comment was provided in writing, in which case I would suggest denoting it with a (sic) or something.

Now, I'm not familiar with the way things go in New Jersey schools, but why one earth would anyone be checking ID in the first place? Either there is a Holocaust going on, or the student didn't bring his ID on a day he had been told to do so. If it's the former, a fine for detention is probably the least of the parents' worries. If it's the latter, try remembering to follow directions next time.

Why We Travel

I pretend that I'm well-travelled. In reality, I've been to far fewer places than I'd like to believe, particularly when it comes to the realm outside the Southwestern United States and certain parts of Japan.

This means that on Lonely Planet's list of the top 10 countries to visit in 2010, I've only been to... One. And it's the U.S.

Anyway, I'd make comments on the destinations if I had actually been to any of them, but since I haven't, I'm going to talk about the article itself. Specifically, on Malaysia.

"Malaysia often gets criticised as being mild in comparison with its grittier neighbours, Thailand and Indonesia. It's true, natural disasters and coups only seem to happen across its borders, the roads don't have too many potholes, buses and trains have air-con and plush seats, and hotels are of international standard."

So what they're saying is, if you're a masochist, don't go to Malaysia. Realistically speaking, though, do people go on holiday hoping to be shot, come down with a case of Ebola and food poisoning, and then drown when the typhoon hits?

I have some paid vacation time that I can use, so maybe I'll go to Iraq and if I'm lucky, I'll be kidnapped by insurgents and beheaded on the internet.

Words of the Times

It has been announced that the New Oxford American Dictionary has named "unfriend" its word of the year. Which, I suppose is perfectly fine, as it is something not previously in the dictionary and a word that is increasingly used today.

In fact I unfriended about twenty people the other day, because I didn't actually know them at all. I receive random friend requests from all over the world and I used to just hit "Confirm" but I decided that was a stupid idea. So I removed the people I've never talked to, and I've been ignoring all other such requests for quite some time now. Actually, I haven't actually clicked "Ignore" so they keep accumulating. I currently have 93 friend requests on hold from people I don't know.

Anyway, either I'm really out of tune with the times (very probable) or someone at the Oxford University Press has been hanging out with people that use eccentric lingo, because pretty much all of the other finalists are words that I've never heard in the past.

Hashtag (n) - The hash sign added to a word or phrase that lets Twitter users search for tweets similarly tagged.
Fair enough, I don't use Twitter.

Intexticated (v, past tense) - When people are distracted by texting while driving.
I live in California, where people drive everywhere and text all the time (though legally, not at the same time) and I have never heard anyone use this frankly embarrassing word.

Sexting (n) - The sending of sexually explicit SMSes and pictures by cellphone.
Same as above.

Freemium (n) - A business model in which some basic services are provided for free.
I can just picture the typical American consumer demanding that things be provided for free. That doesn't mean I've heard the word before.

Funemployed (n) - People taking advantage of newly unemployed status to have fun or pursue other interests.
Now, I'm sorry, but why didn't you just quit your job earlier? These people are living off my tax dollars? Again, never heard it used anywhere.

Birthers (n) - Conspiracy theorists challenging President Barack Obama's U.S. birth certificate.
Okay maybe I just haven't been following the news. I know the Japanese Prime Minister and his wife both claim to be aliens.

Choice mom (n) - A person who chooses to be a single mother.
Umm... So she says, "I'm filing for divorce because I'd rather be a single mother than a married mother"? Or is it a way of feeling better after guys turn her down because she has children from a previous marriage?

Deleb (n) - A dead celebrity.
Okay now that's just idiotic.

Tramp stamp (n) - A tattoo on the lower back, usually on a woman.
This is actually the only one I've ever heard used outside of this article, aside from "unfriend."

It strikes me that none of these is actually a completely novel word, just a combination of others, and mostly what a second grader would do. Portmanteaus, if you will, but not particularly sophisticated ones.

An Alarming Situation

I drove to a local shopping center for lunch today. As I parked my car and walked, I heard a fire alarm going off. So I went inside and got a burrito at Chipotle.

Do fire alarms actually have a point? I mean, a smoke detector could be useful if a fire breaks out while you're asleep. But when a fire alarm goes off at a shopping center, certain assessments are made before running for the door:
1. Is there smoke to be seen anywhere?
2. Are there people screaming and running away?

Invariably, the answer is "no," which is why I proceeded to walk into the building where the alarm was telling me to "exit the building."

Perhaps one day, this will kill me along with all the other skeptical people at Chipotle.

Fire alarms, however, are useful for cutting lectures short in school. If you're sitting in a lecture hall, you can't tell if the other side of the building is on fire, so everyone has to evacuate. I used to rejoice on the rare occasions that the fire alarm would go off in the middle of a dreary lecture.

One time, someone set off the fire alarm at a building to attempt to force the professor to reschedule an exam. That didn't go particularly well because everyone just had less time to complete the test.

Vehicle theft alarms fall into the same category. I hear them go off more often than fire alarms, but never because the car was actually being stolen.

Statistics show that on average, there are just over 500,000 structure fires in a year, and about 1.2 million cars stolen per year in the U.S. In other words, one is about twice as likely to have his car stolen than be in a building that is on fire.

However, I come across a car alarm going off about once or twice a week, as opposed to once or twice a year in the case of fire alarms. Now, some of this is inevitably due to user error. I know I've set off the alarm of my car by accident several times, but I stop it right away. Sometimes, though, you come across the alarms that go off for a minute or two, stop, then go off again. And again. And again. And again.

This is particularly annoying if you're in your car in a parking garage trying to catch a brief nap before your next class. Feelings of violence and hatred are normal.

Car alarms have so many false positives that I don't even look in the direction of the alarm anymore.

I'm actually not sure what the point of this post is anymore, so I'm going to stop.

Purple is the New Red

The new Yahoo! front page has some good ideas that have been implemented quite poorly.
Integrating applications such as Facebook to enable a quick glance from the front page is a brilliant idea. Integrating the competitor's mail system by throwing in a Gmail application? Even better. This means if I have an account with both (which I do), I can view everything on one page.

One thing that really annoys me about Google is its inability to remember my language settings, even if I'm logged into my account. This means if I'm on a computer with a Japanese operating system, everything is displayed in Japanese, as if I've suddenly lost the ability to read English. It's at its worst when it comes to maps, because all street names are also displayed in Japanese, and it's not necessarily correct. Kind of like how my satellite navigation is unable to properly say many street names.

Anyway, back to the new Yahoo! page. I've been hitting "Return to Yahoo! Classic" for a while now because I didn't like the layout of the new page, but they've taken that option away and I'm left with no choice. To be honest, I still don't really like the new layout.

Now, I think the "My Favorites" bar at the left is fine, except it only allows for a limited number of favorites to be displayed on the front page. Ideally, I want to be able to display as many items as my heart desires, without having to click to go to the next page. Furthermore, the bottom third is wasted with "Recommendations" which do not interest me at all. There needs to be a way to get rid of these and replace them with something more useful.

On mouseover, each "My Favorites" application overlays a smaller window that displays the relavant information for that application. For example, if I hover my mouse over the "Mail" icon, it displays the contents of my inbox. However, it is far too sensitive because if I'm just moving my cursor across the window, it will open something up and then I have to go close it to see whatever it is that I wanted to see in the first place. I don't think it's necessary to have everything open on mouseover; I think on mouse click would be just fine.

I think it would also be nice if I could drag and drop the icons instead of having to go into a separate "edit" page to rearrange them. Also, new additions to the list should be added at the bottom, not at the top.

There is also one glaring problem with the Facebook plugin: it's littered with spam from applications that I would otherwise block.

I remember when Yahoo's company color was red. Apparently these days, it's purple.

Customer Relations

Roughly three hours after my previous post, the blog got a hit from someone searching blogs on Google for "Continental Airlines." The origin? None other than Continental Airlines headquarters in Houston, Texas. I hope my comments will be passed on to higher levels of management.

Too bad they didn't leave a comment.

Dear Customer Service: If you do come back here and see this again, I have to say I appreciate the free WiFi access I was able to obtain at Newark.

Travels

When I go on holiday, it usually consists of waking up really early, driving really far, and lots of hiking. Then, when I come home and it's time to go back to work, I'm more exhausted than I was before setting off. Physically, anyway.

This was not the case on my latest vacation. I had a $250 certificate from United Airlines because they had previously cancelled a flight and wanted to apologize for the inconvenience. So this was a trip for the sake of using that certificate, and visiting a couple of friends.

As a result, I flew to the East Coast pretty much without purpose. There is a benefit in doing so, which is that without plans, just about anything is an option. The downside is that there is nothing to do if I can't think of something interesting on the spot. After all, I didn't go to New York to see the Statue of Liberty. In fact the only reason why I even saw the Empire State Building is because it's rather big and you can't not see it.

All of this resulted in a vacation like none other I've experienced. I stayed one night in Washington, DC, where I had booked at the Sheraton Hotel. This marked the first time I'd chosen to stay at a hotel because I don't really believe in paying more for a hotel when a motel will do, especially when traveling alone. However, it still happened to be the cheapest option. At any rate, because the bed was so large and comfortable, I actually ended up spending most of the first afternoon taking a nap, and then I slept in the next morning. Most people don't fly 2,500 miles to have a nap...

Typically, my vacations are road trips. I enjoy driving around, and I find a road trip to be much easier and more convenient and flexible than flying somewhere. However, without a car, I am forced to get around using either my feet or public transport. Then again, it's not like I would actually want to drive in New York City, just like how I hate driving on the Las Vegas Strip, and how I wouldn't fancy driving through Tokyo.

The Las Vegas Strip, however, is short enough to traverse by foot. In Tokyo, one is never more than a five-minute walk from a station. Neither is the case in DC or New York, but whatever. Ignoring the ticket vending machines in Washington that I was never actually able to figure out, and the fact that trains don't come nearly as freqently as they should in either city, I only have one major gripe. It's not the fact that there appears to be no published schedule in New York, because I found it rather amusing that people were peering down the tracks to see if a train was anywhere in sight. No, it's about trains that don't go where they're supposed to.

Allow me to elaborate. I needed to get from Penn Station to Fulton Street Station in Lower Manhattan, so I hopped on the A-train displaying "A // Fulton St. Local" on the LCD displays on the side. Little did I expect that such a train would not be stopping at Fulton Street, or indeed traveling on the A-line at all. No, instead it went down the F-line, and I found myself deposited in Brooklyn. This marked the first time ever that I had been lost on public transport. The train that eventually took me to my destination was one that said, "Not in service."

I complained to some friends about this and they said it happens a lot, especially on weekend nights and that I should have paid attention to the in-car announcements. Now, I'm sorry, but when I get on a train that says it's going to a particular place, I damn well expect it to actually take me there regardless of whether it's a weekend, night, both, or neither. Besides, how am I supposed to figure it out before I get on the train when there is no schedule to be seen and the train comes down the track marked "A"? The in-car announcements really aren't any good since they are barely audible and not spoken until after the train departs. It didn't help that this was Halloween night and the trains were full of rowdy partygoers.

Apart from that incident, though, an overall positive experience. Made a new friend, had amazing food, took lots of pictures, the lot. And then it was time to go home.

My return trip would leave out of Newark-Liberty International Airport, on a United Airlines flight that would take me to Chicago-O'Hare, then connect to another United flight that would take me to John Wayne Airport (Santa Ana). This was all part of the $250 certificate deal, and while it would take longer than a direct flight, Santa Ana is much closer to home than LAX, so I had chosen that.

And then United Airlines delayed the flight to Chicago, which would cause me to miss my connection. I inquired, and United Airlines was unable to accomodate me and rebooked me on a direct flight from Newark to Los Angeles on Continental Airlines. Unfortunately they did not give me another certificate for the inconvenience.

A direct flight meant that I had much time to kill at the airport. Had I known this, I would have spent a bit more time in New York, and I probably would have flown out of JFK instead. At this point, though, nothing I can do, so I went to the pub.

I had never flown on Continental Airlines in the past, but my perception was that because its tickets always tend to be more expensive than others, it would be a slightly more upscale experience. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Earphones are free on Continental Airlines. This is not the case on many other airlines these days. I have my own, so I never buy them. However, use of the television is not free. Plainly, this is ridiculous. JetBlue may charge $2 for headphones but at least they don't charge $6 to watch the television.

Food is also free on Continental Airlines, even for domestic flights. This is not the case on many other airlines these days. The idea of a cheeseburger that comes wrapped in a plastic package is not particularly appetizing, but fair enough.

My biggest complaint, though, was the legroom. It simply did not exist, so I was essentially standing. I don't expect much out of coach, but if I sit up straight and my knees are still touching the seat in front, this is a problem. It also means no one can recline seats because the knees of person behind make this physically impossible.

Coupled with the two kids in the row in front that would not stop whining and asking every fifteen minutes how much longer it would be, this was possibly the most uncomfortable flight of my life. It got so bad that the parents of said children were forced to shell out $6 to turn the TV on.

Anyway, enough bickering. I had fun and I think I've come back with a much more positive outlook. But the next vacation is going to be a road trip.

On Change

The same thing is happening on both sides of the Pacific. A new guy comes in touting change, and the media showers him with endless praise, particularly over things that haven't even been done yet or things for which the previous administration would have been criticized.

In Japan, former Prime Minister Aso was heavily bashed by the media for going out to expensive bars in the evening. Hatoyama goes to expensive dinners night after night, and he is treated as a celebrity. Imagine the outrage if Aso had gone to fashion shows, film festivals, thrown the first pitch at a Major League game, gotten drunk and started yelling nonsense out of a window, or said, "screw you America, we're going to be friends with China and Korea now."

In fact, we're such good friends that we're going to remove all reports indicating the Korean cargo ship was at fault in an accident in which said ship collided with a Japanese frigate.

And then we'll give them voting rights, even if they're not citizens. Erm, right...

Cutting greenhouse emissions by 25% compared to 1990 levels sounds great, but it will result in a burden of about $3,000 per household. But they've also said they won't raise taxes.

They have claimed they will make all highways free of tolls, but this has met intense opposition from the public transport lobby. And arguably, Japanese public transport is the best in the world. Not to mention, making highways free would go against cutting emissions by 25%. So it looks like the DPJ may be changing its mind on this one.

An upstanding party/candidate wouldn't put something on their platform and then change its mind when they realize it can't actually be done. Such research should be done before it even gets put on the platform. Again, the media isn't being helpful by not criticizing things like oh, I don't know, lack of funding in a poor economy. The DPJ has all of these wonderful plans for making Japan a socialist wealthy country where everyone is happy and has lots of money, but people didn't seem to question where the funds for distribution would be originating.

In the United States? Well, this article sums it up conveniently. Throw in a Nobel Peace Prize for good measure.

Change for the sake of change is worse than no change at all.

On MSRP

This is probably not a bad watch. The "list price" of $2,500, however, is ludicrous. If everyone is going to sell the watch for just under $400, then it seems like the list price is only there to attempt to add nonexistent value to something. It's not as if you're actually getting a particularly good deal, and you can't turn around and sell it on eBay for anything close to $2,500. In fact you'd end up losing money on it.

For $2,500 I can buy an Omega Seamaster and pretend to be James Bond.

Some Restrictions Apply

A Best Buy Coupon that I found:

10% OFF
ANY SINGLE ITEM
Excludes Bose/audio products; Polk Audio, Power Price items; Sony OLED, XBR7, XBR8, and XBR9 TVs; Home Theater Delivery; Apple iPod; Microsoft Zune MP3 players; laptops and desktop conmputers; monitors; projectors; internal hard drives; computer software; computer subscription software; in-home Geek Squad Services; VoIP; broadband; desktop packages (packages include computer, monitor, and printer); Wacom accessories; Harman Kardon/JBL computer speakers; HP ink; SONY DSLR cameras. lenses, and flashes; unlocked phones; contract cellular phones; Fender and Squier musical instruments; video game hardware; Electrolux major appliances; Magnolia Home Theater products; Bose, Speaker Craft, Vienna Acoustics, MartinLogan, BDI furniture, Magnolia Guaranteed Performance Agreement and special order merchandise, gift cards; taxes; prior purchases; Outlet Center items.

Um, right, so that means you can use it on any single item as long as it's the bottle of Pepsi they sell by the cash registers.

Questionable Questions

People in America really worry me sometimes. It's bad enough that they obviously don't know how to write in English, but their behavior and the fact that they should be asking such questions is disturbing.

"Is it illeagle to shoot someone you dont like ?"
"theres this guy that's really getting on my nerves and i just get so mad is it against the law to pop a cap in his ***"
Even if you have the mentality of a five-year-old, you can still buy a gun in the U.S.

"I got a broken jaw after i was assulted, for telling this couple to break up, can i file criminal charges?"
"I was at the laundrymat and i overheard this couple say there ages, He was 22 and she was 16, I walked upto them, and told them to break up, and he should be beaten for going out with a girl that young, i told them to break up right away, and to never talk to her ever again.I grabbed the guy, and he punched me out, breaking my jaw.He took off, when the police came, and his gf went with him"
Ok, let's get this straight... So you walk up to someone, insinuate that he should be beaten, and then grab him. That can't end well.

"Can someone give me a complete list of laws in canada as well what someone has to do to become a citizen?"
"i want to move to canada or any place where weed is legal but it's not the easiest thing to research any help would be great if you can send me an email with a list thank you for your input"
Talk about being lazy.

California Dreamin'

Is Forbes owned by Yahoo! or something? They seem to have articles on the top page very frequently.

Anyway, an article on the 20 Prettiest Towns in the U.S. and surprisingly, I've been to three of them: Cambria, Monterey, and Crescent City, all on the California coast.

Cambria is... uh... quaint. Downtown Cambria cannot be seen off the main road (CA-1) and it feels like it is stuck in 1880, except for fuel prices which seem to be a prediction of what they would be like elsewhere in 2050. It has more antique stores than people living there and has, for some reason, become the subject of an inside joke where a friend and I yell "CAMBRIA!!!" at the top of our lungs each time we pass through the town. I'm not sure where it originated and it sounds incredibly daft when I write it out like that, but that's how all inside jokes are, I suppose.

Monterey is unarguably a nice place, although I tend to think of it more as a city than a town. A "town" would be like nearby Carmel. There is a shack on Fisherman's Wharf that serves excellent clam chowder.

Crescent City is a surprising inclusion. It is situated at the northern end of California, among the redwoods. I really love the surrounding area and the Battery Point Lighthouse adds an item of interest for photography. Out here, on a clear night, the sky is absolutely staggering. I have some pictures posted on my other blog.

However. Crescent City is by no means what I consider to be a "pretty town." Forbes described it as "quiet," but I think a more fitting description would be "depressing" and "kind of creepy" It's usually dark and very grey, and there are few people to be seen. I've had some odd experiences with the people that were seen, though. There was an SUV that stopped at the Crescent City overlook viewpoint just outside of town while we were there taking pictures at night, and it just pointed its headlights at us for about ten minutes. And then it turned its lights off, which was worse. We scampered off. Several moments later, as we pulled into our motel to check in, a truck blasting very loud music stopped in the middle of the road in front of the parking lot entrance and just sat there for about five minutes before driving off. This prompted the innkeeper to ask if "they were with [us]."

I want to go visit the redwoods again, but I'm not so sure about staying in Crescent City. I've stayed there twice, so maybe somewhere else next time.

19. Don't Read This

I think this article on how to save time is mainly intended for women, but it showed up on the top page on Yahoo! and I read it so I guess I'll comment.

4. Keep scissors in every room so you won't waste time trying to find them if you have to open a package, cut a tag, or wrap a gift.
Uh, okay, while I'm at it, why don't I keep a computer, TV, stereo, printer, refrigerator, utensils, microwave, phone, toilet, and bed in every room so I don't waste time walking over to them? Alternatively, you could have a designated place for your scissors. Maybe they wouldn't get lost if you always kept them in the bathroom or something.

6. When you find a useful number in the phone book, highlight it so it pops out the next time.
People don't use phone books. But if you're 85 and you do, you should keep one in every room so you don't waste time looking for it.

9. Stash lint rollers in lots of places (the laundry room, closets, your car's glove compartment) so you can zap fuzz and pet hair in seconds.
Again, one for every space you occupy.

10. Keep note cards, envelopes, and stamps in a zip-top plastic bag in your purse so you can dash off a thank-you note while standing in line at the supermarket or waiting in the school parking lot.
That doesn't seem very sincere... And believe me, if you write while standing in line at the grocery store, people will look at you funny and the writing will be semi-illegible.

16. Wear a cordless headset when you're on the phone so you can multitask.
By multitask they mean "talk on the phone and look silly at the same time."

Pink was the New Black

Wait, you just noticed?

Having worked in a shopping mall, the amount of pink you see everywhere is quite annoying. I mean, I'm all for supporting research for preventing and curing a disease. However, when I see a product with a pink ribbon on it I know immediately that someone is essentially trying to make some money on someone else's misery. Slap a pink ribbon on a can of tuna, and it sells more. It's a much cheaper solution than an extensive ad campaign or product improvements.

As a result, I won't be spending my money on these products. I might as well just go out and donate my money directly, rather than contribute to some lazy company's bottom line.

The market became oversaturated with pink merchandise, so some companies have switched to (RED) which is supposed to promote awareness for... something. I won't be buying any of that either.

I'm not sure what bothers me more: that companies are taking advantage of disease "awareness" to make money, or that some people seem to view such items as a fashion statement of some sort. They seem to think it's some kind of social status to have pink this and pink that but really, it just makes you look like a fool for doing exactly what these companies were anticipating.

I'm not even sure pink is the right color for promoting awareness about a disease. At this point I am aware of breast cancer, but it seems soft and cuddly because every imagery associated with it is pink.

Sure, some people have legitimate reasons for promoting awareness. Perhaps they or someone they know was diagnosed with breast cancer. However, their money would be better spent by a direct donation rather than buying a pink box of baking soda, which may just be pink for the sake of being pink. Furthermore, when I see someone clad in pink merchandise, it doesn't exactly make me think, "mmm, I should go buy some of that too." But then maybe it's different for people who buy pink stuff anyway.

And You Thought Obama Hadn't Done Anything Yet

Since the DPJ took over in Japan about six weeks ago, here are some of the things they have done:

-The prime minister went to campaign for bringing the 2016 Olympics to Tokyo, and failed. It should be noted that prior to the election, he was largely oppposed to the idea.

-The prime minister has been to some fashion shows with his wife.

-The prime minister has thrown the first pitch at a Major League game.

-The prime minister has claimed he is an alien.

-The prime minister has announced the country may need to issue debt bonds. Prior to the election, the party had criticized the incumbent LDP for issuing bonds and had claimed there would be no need for that if they just cut excess costs.

-The party has announced it will get rid of the system by which teachers are required to renew their credentials. This is because the party receives a large amount of funding from the Japanese Teachers' Union, which is more interested in making their jobs easier than in educating children.

Here are some of the things that haven't been done:

-Parliament still has not been called into session. In fact the only thing members of Parliament seem to do these days is be accused of money laundering, tax evasion, and spending public money for private purposes. This seems to be coming from both LDP and DPJ representatives, although the DPJ appears to have had more, including the prime minister himself and the secretary general. Investigations are ongoing but curiously slow.

-The prime minister has yet to make an address to the nation, although he has gone to other countries to make preposterous claims.

-A budget proposal is yet to be established.

Right, there's lots of work to be done. So what's next on the agenda? The prime minister will be re-releasing a CD of a song he made some twenty years ago. Why on earth would anyone with half a brain buy that? I don't know whether to be angry that he's not doing anything productive, or embarrassed about my country, so I'll be both.

On Stereotypes

Pepsi has been criticized for creating an iPhone app that some people find to be offensive.

I really don't understand why some people are way too uptight about humor. What good does it bring to be banging on about how the app is offensive anyway? Couldn't that time and effort be spent doing more productive things? I know I can spend my time doing more productive things than writing a blog post about it.

Perhaps it's just me, but I think as long as there is no malicious intent (in this case it's clear there isn't). it's all in good fun. They're generally true to a certain extent, anyway.

I am Japanese. That must mean I eat sushi every day. I am male. That must mean all I ever think about is getting some.

While neither of those is true, it doesn't mean I go up in arms defending myself against those claims when they are brought upon me; you have a good laugh and everyone is jolly.

Likewise, if I actually believed all vegetarians are socialists, I wouldn't be talking to them.

In fact you can get a list of stereotypical references to use the next time you're at the pub by typing "why are [group of people, i.e. men, Americans, Asians, etc.]" in the search box on Google. The auto-complete feature will give you a list of what other people commonly type.

They certainly don't have many nice things to say about Americans, Mexicans, Koreans, men, women... All of us, really.

Typing "why am I" will cause you to believe the world is full of people with low self-esteem. Perhaps they need to stop taking things so seriously and learn to have a laugh.

Door Locks

I'm rather annoyed that the previous owner of the 280Z has cut a large hole through the interior door trim to operate the door lock. Granted, it's very difficult to pull on the lcok without the little knob on the top (basically it looks like a toothpick sticking out and there's nothing to grip) but seriously, there's a hole about 6 inches in diameter on the inside of the door.

A replacement lock pull knob is five dollars. A replacement door panel is at least $100 if I can find one.

The New and the Old

I've just bought the Voigtländer Bessa on the right for the princely sum of five dollars. It has a Skopar 105mm f/3.5 lens. On the left is my Olympus E-P1 with a Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 MC, which is about 70 years newer.

It works (mostly) but even if it didn't I think five dollars is a good price for un objet d'art.

Victims

Another article found on Yahoo! today details how restaurants are cutting costs. Restaurants face rising costs and sagging demand because of the poor economy. This is perfectly normal.

However, the title of the article, "8 Restaurant Ploys to Watch For," makes it seem as if they're doing something deceptive. Okay, so I'm going to watch for these "ploys" and then what? Should I raise a ruckus when I find out that the basket of bread is smaller? Should I accuse them of trying to pull a fast one when they don't put a lemon in my iced tea?

It seems that in order to get by in America, one must be a victim. That way you can file a lawsuit against anything that moves.

On Peace

A Time article suggests that a Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded to nuclear weapons.

I'm sorry, but anyone advocating the mass-murder of hundreds of thousands should be sacked. Go to Japan, be exposed to some gruesome imagery of the aftermath of a nuclear bomb and see if you feel the same afterwards.

Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama is plainly ridiculous. On the same grounds as him, I should win an Olympic gold medal by announcing that I plan to run 100m in 9 seconds flat.

Suggesting that nuclear weapons deserves an award, however, is atrocious. First off, the author's argument is purely hypothetical, based on "what could have happened" if the nuclear weapons weren't developed. Introducing such hypotheses is dangerous and logically fallacious. It is easy to undermine such arguments by hypothesizing something else. Would the world be more peaceful if Hitler had successfully developed nuclear weapons before the United States?

The author contends that nuclear weapons are responsible for the end of murder on a grand scale. He suggests that on average, 3 million people were killed per year in the 30 years leading to 1945. Now, exactly how many of those people were killed in armed conflict between 1919 and 1938? I'm willing to bet it wasn't many.

Ideologically speaking, if you're involved in an arms race because you fear the Soviets will attack, that is not peace. If I hold a gun up to your head and you hold one up to mine, we are not at peace. This is merely an equilibrium.

So what should be done? The answer is simple. Get rid of the arbitrary award known as the Nobel Peace Prize.

On Financial Success

From a Forbes article:

"Forget everything your guidance counselor told you: You don't have to go to college to be successful. Close to 15% of the self-made American moguls on the Forbes 400 never finished college. Many of the list's drop-outs made their fortunes in tech, including Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Michael Dell (Dell), Larry Ellison (Oracle) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)."

Um, right. Let's consider the number people that didn't finish college that aren't multi-billionaires... Or even those that live under the poverty line.

Actually, statistics show that only 27.2% of the American population aged 25 and above, has attained a bachelor's degree or above. Consider that if 14% of the billionaires in question didn't finish college, that means 86% did finish college. At nearly 60 percentage points higher, this is a significant difference and with a sample size of 274, not within the margin of error.

This, then is another example of statistics being manipulated to create a perception that is different from reality. Those that are unable to see through these will be suckered into deals that are less than desirable and therefore will not be a self-made billionaire.

Snubbed

I've always been opposed to nuclear weapons, I don't have a military, and I don't like war. My "political views" on Facebook have beem "Peace" for a very long time.

Where is my Nobel Peace Prize?

Worst of the Worst

A Yahoo! article on the worst cars of the decade lists the following ten vehicles:

10. Pontiac Aztek
Scares away small children

9. Daewoo Anything
Later rebadged as Chevrolets and touted the slogan, "American Revolution."

8. Isuzu VehiCROSS
Yeah... Just say no.

7. Jaguar X-Type
The Ford Mondeo is a pretty decent car.

6. Pontiac Sunfire
So unremarkable I can't think of anything to say about it.

5. Cadillac Catera
Certainly doesn't look like a Cadillac. Probably because it's an Opel Omega. At least the Jaguar X-Type looked like a Jaguar.

4. Toyota Echo
Zzzzzzz

3. Jeep Compass
The only Jeep one should ever buy is the Wrangler, and only if it will never be used except in off-road situations.

2. Chrysler Sebring
For rental fleet use.

1. Smart ForTwo
Really, the worst car of the decade is the Smart? I mean, it's an ancient design from the mid-'90s and it doesn't handle at all but for all intents and purposes doesn't it do what it's meant to do?

I mean, I can think of plenty of cars that I think are worse. The Dodge Nitro, for instance, was the ugliest car of the decade, if not the ugliest car ever. That is, until Kia came round with the Soul, which is so ugly it is offensive.

Other lackluster cars include the Ford Thunderbird (Motor Trend 2002 Car of the Year), Chrysler PT Cruiser (Motor Trend 2001 Car of the Year), and Lincoln LS (Motor Trend 2000 Car of the Year). I'm not really sure what "trend" Motor Trend is talking about.

While we're on the topic, let's have a look at the list of cars they've chosen over the years. I can't help but notice the number of cars that make me think, "how much do I NOT want that car?"

Chrysler Cirrus? Cirrusly?

AMC/Renault Alliance?

In fact I'm surprised that most of the cars on the list were able to win given that they actually test for performance. I can't imagine that a Lincoln Town Car or a Dodge Caravan doing particularly well.

Wireless Charging

Dell has introduced a new laptop that supposedly has a wireless charging mechanism. This is great. Finally, a solution where I don't have to carry around a heavy, bulky AC adapter.

Or so I thought.

See, when I saw the headline, "New Dell Laptop Introduces Wireless Charging," I thought it was going to utilize radio waves or some innovative method where you plug something very small into an outlet and it magically charges the laptop across the room. However, this does not appear to be the case.

Instead, you get a dock on which you mount your shiny new laptop, and it charges via some coils. True, you're not plugging in a wire, so I suppose it could technically be called "wireless." Seriously, though? Seriously?

That's almost like buying a product that touts itself to be lead-free only to find it contains mercury. Practically speaking, it doesn't matter.

Moreover, what's the point if you have to carry around the dock anyway? Wouldn't a dock be more cumbersome than an AC adapter? I know that to be true for cameras, having sold many Kodaks and Casios some years back when they thought a charging cradle was a good idea.

But then I read on, and found this line: "a standard plug is also available when you're on the road and away from the dock." Uhh... Right, the dock isn't intended to be carried around. Perhaps I am missing the point, but I am utterly baffled. Looks like I have to carry the heavy, bulky AC adapter after all.

I use a laptop at work. It's pretty much always plugged in, unless I have to take the computer to another room. As a result, my AC adapter sits in a corner of my desk, plugged into a surge protector. If I need to move my computer, I just unplug the connector that is plugged into the laptop itself. The AC adapter does not move unless I'm going to be in the other room for more than the life of the battery charge.

Now, I can see how this can all be replaced by a dock. I don't see why I'd want to do it, but yes, it can be done. If I want to go to the other room, however, I have to find my AC adapter.

Furthermore, how does the dock receive power from the outlet? Do I dare say that it might be plugged in? Maybe with something like, a wire?

The bottom of the article mentions a completely separate dock that can be used to connect to USB devices and an external monitor without using cables. This means the laptop doesn't need to be plugged into the projector, printer, etc. This is very useful because it means there are fewer cables I need to remove when I want to move the computer. Also, if I'm giving a presentation, I don't need to be within 12 inches of the projector, being blasted by heat waves coming from the fan on the side

However, according to the author of this article, "It's probably less useful than some of the machine's other innovations (the range of the wireless dock is only 12 feet)."

At this point I have to dismiss any sort of credibility this man had remaining. This is the sort of person that is convinced into buying something for its cool new features that are actually worthless. This is a salesman's favorite customer. For him, novelty is more important than practicality. I mean, if the charging dock had a range of 12 feet, that would be excellent. Instead, "Getting the laptop situated just-so on the dock so that the two coils are in contact didn't seem as easy as it should be, but overall I found the innovation to be decisively cool." So this is not 12 feet we're talking for the wireless charging. We're looking at under 12mm here.

Rubbish.

On Aliens

Last night, the new Prime Minister of Japan became drunk and stuck his head out a second-floor window and yelled to the news reporters below, "I am an alien." Incidentally, his wife also claims she has been abducted by a UFO and taken to Venus.

As far as I am aware, aliens are not allowed to become prime minister in Japan, although that may soon change under DPJ rule. Anyway, the mass media in Japan, in reporting this, have portrayed him as a charming fellow, despite all the bashing they caused when the previous prime minister was drinking at an expensive bar.

I honestly don't know where this country is headed.

On Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is full of communists, anarchists, and lunatics.

And I'm not talking about Penguins fans either. Pittsburgh is hosting a G-20 summit this week, and there has been a massive protest. I have no problem with this. It is a constitutional right.
However, it must be done in an orderly manner. If they had bothered applying for a permit, they would have been able to protest peacefully for a longer period of time, and they wouldn't have wasted tax dollars as police tried to contain them.

I guess this sort of stuff happens. The resulting "violence" consisted of some rock throwing and rolling of trash bins, which I suppose is mild compared to shooting, assaulting, running over with a car, or setting on fire.

One man proclaimed in a speech, "To love democracy and to love the earth is to be a radical now." Now, I'm sorry, but if I'm not mistaken, anarchy is not democracy.

However, the best part of the article by a mile is the following: "Officers fired pepper spray and smoke at the protesters. Some of those exposed to the pepper spray coughed and complained that their eyes were watering and stinging." I can only wonder if they were expecting pepper spray to be a soothing experience filled with fairies and bunnies.

Anyway, this being Pittsburgh, they're probably all fair-weather bandwagon anarchists.

On Sportsmanship

Recently, I've read several stories about high school sports matches that ended up in lopsided scores. Oh well, it happens. During my sophomore or junior year, our school's football team lost 55-2 so we laughed about it from the stands.

It bothers me, then, that there are people that feel the need to complain on behalf of the losing team, that routing an opponent is unsportsmanlike, and that players and coaches of the winning team should burn in hell. Typically, in these cases, the losing team issues a comment defending the winning team's actions.

Now, my high school didn't exactly have a reputation for strong athletic performance. As a former high school athlete, I was involved in many games that involved blowout scores. Being on the losing end of this was pretty disappointing, but what I hated most about it was that there would be a "mercy rule" where the game would automatically end when there was a certain score difference. I didn't care if I was losing by one point or a hundred points, I just wanted to play.

When high school students lose a sports match, they don't need to be pampered and hugged and given some brownies. This is particularly true when the opponent is known to be a significantly better team. You were expecting a loss in the first place, so you just get on with it. Look at what (if anything) went well and learn from what the opponent did better. Going home crying because the other team beat you by a lot is unacceptable past age five.

In fact the only thing more humiliating than a resounding defeat would be to learn that your opponent played easy because they thought your feelings would be hurt if they didn't. In fact that would be quite the opposite of sportsmanship, which I think is playing fair but as hard as possible. To not do so would be disrespectful. Stop bickering.

On Diesels

I was driving to work this morning when I was cut off by an enormous Ford F-something or other with a Harley-Davidson badge on it.

Now, I know this whole deal has been going on for quite a few years but I've never understood why they put a motorcycle badge on a pickup truck. Yamaha, for instance, has made some engines for Toyota, but you don't see a big Yamaha badge on the back of a Celica. Just a logo on the engine block, if that.

And as far as I'm aware, Harley-Davidson had nothing to do with the engine manufacturing process on the Ford pickups. Somehow I doubt that they're experts on cabin design, given that a motorcycle, by definition, does not have such a thing. In fact the only thing I can think of that is in common between a Harley motorcycle and a Harley-badged truck is how obnoxiously loud they both are.

Anyway, that is not what I intended on writing about today. After the truck had cut me off, it sped off with black smoke billowing from its exhaust pipe. The resulting cloud was so thick that I lost sight of the road, and when it all cleared up I found myself just outside of London, circa 1825.

It baffles me that cars are allowed to do this. The truck appeared to be no more than five years old, meaning here, in the 21st century, Ford is still producing steam locomotives. My 32-year-old Datsun 280Z doesn't spew out black smoke.

I don't know if this particular model employs a regular petrol engine or a diesel engine, but unless it's a diesel and therefore exempt, there is no way it would pass a smog check. I went on Wikipedia to find out, and was unable to find out. What I can say, though, is that the article should be flagged with the line, "This article is written like an advertisement."

But I digress. Perhaps the particular truck I saw is a diesel, and perhaps it is not. Regardless, I have seen many diesel pickup trucks followed by category-five size black cloud of chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. This, apparently, is legal. Diesels sold in Europe that get 60 miles per gallon, however, do not meet emissions regulations in California.

It is said that diesels wouldn't sell in California anyway, because people have embraced the hybrid. Incidentally, manufacturing a hybrid vehicle is more polluting that manufacturing a conventional vehicle. It has also been said that "eco" versions of existing models don't sell as well as hybrid-only models such as the Prius because they are not immediately obvious to be hybrids. The commoditization of hybrid as a social status, then, is why everyone wants one.

This, I believe, is precisely the reason why no one has made a hybrid minivan available in the United States. You would think that a people-carrier would be perfect for turning into a hybrid. It would allow more people to be transported, and they aren't driven fast or off-road (not that people take their Escalades off-roading either, or that they are even capable of being taken off-road). People don't get excited over the prospect of a minivan as they do with a sports car. It is a utilitarian vehicle.

Toyota makes an Estima Hybrid in Japan, so it's not like it can't be done for some reason. However, in the United States, the minivan has been long eclipsed by the SUV as the vehicle of choice for soccer moms and camping dads, so no one will buy them. And a diesel van? That would be doubly unattractive here.