One of the popular obituaries currently making the rounds is that of David Caminer, who is credited with inventing the first business computer. He created it to provide accurate accounting for a large tea company in England.
The statement that stuck out for me was an old gem from the popular science publication NewScientist: “In today’s terms it would be like hearing that Pizza Hut had developed a new generation of microprocessor, or McDonald’s had invented the Internet.”
Not to minimize his inventiveness, but as Plato’s old saying goes: necessity is the mother of invention.
For instance:
- To manage its call centers and ginormous network infrastructure, AT&T developed Unix, the core operating system underneath Mac OS (BSD) and one that heavily influenced Linux as well as Windows NT… the core kernel that runs every Windows OS since 2000 (WNT was created by the guy who made VMS for DEC — and yea, Unix arguably influenced the design/structure of later variants of VMS). In fact, thirty years ago, you could purchase a terminal made by AT&T. It certainly would seem weird if they developed one today, right? (the Supreme Court essentially forced them to exit that market place).
- Nintendo has been around for over a hundred years. It started as a card maker (like Poker cards) and evolved substantially over time.
- Flickr, is known as a popular web-based photo portal. However, before its web 2.0 days the development team originally created tools for an online role-playing game. They shelved the game and a few years later made bank when they were bought by Yahoo.
In fact, everyone knows at least a handful of other inventions that took odd twists and turns before becoming common place in kitchens. I mention several of them in Urban Legends of NASA: What They Did Not Invent.
Sticky notes have a colorful history too. As do submarines and dynamite! (hint: the modern developers saw their potential fulfilling peaceful, civilian matters).
The motivation behind my latest Mises piece was spurred on by Joe Dunsmore, a fellow traveler in the English expat scene. One of the questions he asked me a couple months ago dealt with why most of OPEC sells in terms of dollars, despite a weakening dollar.
While my article is hardly the most authoritative research on the matter, according to at least one email it was a “nice little history of oil markets.”
I’d also like to give a shout out to Bob Murphy who provided a useful critique to a draft copy I sent him and B.K. Marcus who stood his ground regarding gold-dollar exchange rates.
Also, while I’m fairly desensitized to receiving odd email from random readers, I just received one from “Lenny” who states, “I’m sure that there is a statue of Chaing Kai-Shek somewhere in Taiwan. Leave a flower on it for me.”
Perhaps he is a child of the ’50s who still remembers the political talking points of the Nixon vs Kennedy 1960 presidential election… in which Taiwan played center stage. For instance, the RoC controlled the islands of Matsu and Quemoy which were a few miles off the coast of mainland China.
During this time the PRC military was continually bombarding the islands with artillery shells and made several (failed) attempts to storm them by amphibious assault. And starting with Truman, every US administration had pledged the support of the US military to aide ol’ Chiang and the RoC who were now holed up in Taiwan.
For instance, in his mind, to prevent a cold war from going hot, Mao apparently phoned Eisenhower and asked that the 7th Fleet be dispersed from the mainland coast, saying that he would only shell Kinmen (Quemoy) every other day. Neither Eisenhower nor his successors felt obliged to comply and an annoyed Mao proceeded to lob volley after volley of shells, filled with propaganda leaflets, onto Quemoy — for 20 years.
The pissing contests between Mao and Kai-shek remind me a lot of those in Korea, between Syngman Rhee and Kim Il-Sung (father of today’s Jong). In fact, there are lots of similarities between these guys, but that is a story for another day.
I have no plans on laying a flower on any of Kai-shek’s statues, he was hardly Santa Clause and even massacred a number of indigenous Taiwanese tribesmen. And ironically, it looks like the party he founded (KMT) will end up being the party of peace during the future integration with the mainland.
I could be completely wrong, but some friends and family members were wondering why I don’t think the PRC will swim across the straits in September.
- 2009 Deaflympics will be hosted in Taipei
- 2009 World Games will be hosted in Kaohsiung
- 2010 World’s Fair will be hosted in Shanghai
- 2010 Asian Games will be hosted in Guangzhou
- Dozens of other international expos, tournaments and festivals will take place between large cities across the Straits throughout the next several years (who can look past the 2009 International Wine Expo hosted in Taipei?)
There is an old parable attributed to Frederic Bastiat which states that when goods and services do not cross borders, armies will. One of the underlying reasons for why this observation typically holds true is that businesses and patrons can pressure the political class and military brass to be more diplomatic in negotiating with foreign states.
As Hollywood films portray each year, if voluntary cultural exchange continually takes place, even superficial friendships and relationships can illicit a strong desire to protect the life and limb of others.
Why?
Because at the end of the day, the owner of a foreign business does not want his building destroyed or employees sent off to the refugee camps.
And just as the PRC has come under scrutiny for its recent crackdown of protests in Tibet, any similar encroachment on Taiwan’s turf would amount to a huge media circus and an outcry from some of the largest, influential companies in the world (namely semiconductor firms).
And in terms of politics and sporting events, there are several examples of how these tournaments have been thrust into the spotlight. For example, in response to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the West boycotted the 1980 Olympics hosted in Moscow. Likewise, the Soviet-bloc boycotted the 1984 hosted in Los Angeles. (Not to mention the politically charged 1936 games in Berlin or the 1974 Munich hostage crisis)
Changing their tune
Based on the results of the 2008 legislative election, the pro-independence movement were swept into minority status. This in turn has given momentum to the reunification politicos (primarily the KMT) which is believed to be a shoe in for the presidential election in 6 days.
One of the current theories that has gained traction with coworkers, expats and Taiwanese nationals I have met in the last few months here in Kaohsiung is that when the KMT comes back into power, they will ultimately create a blueprint for political reunification along the lines employed by Hong Kong and Macao.
This is ironic in part because 60 years ago Chiang Kai-shek (”Cash My Check“) and others involved with the creation of the KMT were opposed to a PRC-led China. Must be the fluoride in the water…
Shooting satellites
I have mentioned elsewhere that the PRC does not appear to have the military capability to defeat Taiwan or the US in a conventional warfare (primarily because of the analysis by professor Geoffrey Forden: 123).
However, seeing as the current neoconservative administration has bled the US economy to a standstill and overcommitted its imperial armies, the next administration may be unable to properly fund or field a rested and fully-equipped naval task force necessary to counter the PRC in the straits — which by treaty, the US government has pledged to protect. [Note: this is an odd occurrence if for nothing other than the fact that the US government spends more than $1 trillion on the military budget, or the combined total of every other military budget by a nation-state. Be sure to also read "Why the US has really gone broke" by Chalmers Johnson]
And one last twist. Remember the brouhaha back in April of 2001 between the US spy plane that crashed into the Chinese jet fighter? Guess what the American’s were trying to locate and study?
The PRC navy operates several destroyers that employ the Russian-built SS-N-22 Sunburn anti-ship missile which is capable of destroying nearly any vessel in any surface fleet. Guess where one of the ships was located relative to the spy plane? [As an aside, be sure to read Gary Brecher's finest: 12. More on cross-strait wargames: 12].
With all of this said, I still am bullish on a peaceful coexistence for the near-future and recently wrote about this in “The Vatican Still Recognizes Them, Right?” In the words of Lew Rockwell, commerce and trade can ultimately trump the state. And in 2007 alone, cross-strait trade grew 16% to more than $100 billion.
That’s a whole lot of entrepreneurs, salarymen, and stockholders to piss off.
You may be familiar with Richard Feynman’s commencement speech to Caltech three decades ago regarding cargo cults.
In a nutshell, cargo cults gained their name for building a mythical, sometimes religious set of rituals to recreate and summon the cargo ships and planes that landed on their remote Pacific islands during World War II.
And while most of them have gone the way of the dodo, some have developed increasingly intricate theologies.
Two years ago Smithsonian Magazinedetailed one such tribe in Vanuata that not only has thrived, but has also spawned a splinter group.
It includes a messiah, John Frum, an nebulous if non-existent American soldier who promised he will return one day with wealth and opulence. Many even still pray to him and believe he will return very soon.
Among othe quotes, a zinger can be found at the end. The journalist notes that even though many islanders pray that Frum and others will return, this has not occurred:
As we look down into John Frum’s fiery Tanna home, I remind him that not only does he not have an outboard motor from America, but that all the devotees’ other prayers have been, so far, in vain. “John promised you much cargo more than 60 years ago, and none has come,? I point out. “So why do you keep faith with him? Why do you still believe in him??
Chief Isaac shoots me an amused look. “You Christians have been waiting 2,000 years for Jesus to return to earth,? he says, “and you haven’t given up hope.?
Way too funny, yet for proponents of any religion, it underscores many of the flawed thinking behind their own belief systems.
- Olympic Greed at U.S. News & World Report. How government corruption has manipulated the Beijing Olympic games of 2008. See also: Smog and Mirrors at Wired.
- The funeral is the cannonball run speed record. This past fall, both the NY Times and Wired magazine put together detailed articles on the most recent attempt at breaking it. And Alex Roy did.
Like many children in industrialized countries, most of them have an MP3 player of some kind and all of them have a relatively new computer at home.
Yet, unsurprisingly, none of them could explain how Giant magnetoresistance (GMR) has changed their listening or viewing habits.
GMR, of course, is the quantum effect that was discovered twenty years ago and whose productive applications involve playing with fuzzy dice: within the world of electrons and magnetism.
It is essentially the parallel version of Moore’s Law applied to the world of hard disk space and is named after professor Mark Kryder of Carnegie Mellon University.
Of bits and bytes
Geordie Rose recently linked to a story about several old disk drives and other computer gizmos made over the past 50 years.
However, one that did not make the cut was the IBM 305 RAMAC.
It weighed one ton and had a capacity of 5 MB. That product is just a tad bit different than the 4 pound, 750 GB drive you can pick up at the local computer store for under five benjamins.
Speaking of rapid changes, last week Popular Mechanicspointed out, that capacity of drive space has increased 50 million times over the past five decades.
And as mentioned above, Mark Kryder was also interviewed last week by PM and he noted that capacity increases a whopping 40% each year.
So where does this all lead?
As Charles Stross predicted this summer, probably to the digitally powered omnipresent world in which every person uses a lifelog, that chronicles every second of your life in full high definition audio and visual. All in a device smaller than an iPod.
I guess that will make you think twice about looking at the low-cut v-neck or midriff of your female coworker. Or maybe you will do it that much more…
[Note: back in 1997, my brother brought home a new 2.7 GB hard drive. He asked me how on earth he would fill it up. Suffice to say that the typical installation of Vista requires ~15 GB]
If you follow the semiconductor industry, you may be interested in the thoroughly detailed interview with David Ditzel.
He’s a 30-year industry veteran who worked on engineering projects at Bell Labs, Sun, and Transmeta.
The most interesting part I found was the discussion on RISC as well as the difficulties of introducing a new ISA for the mainstream market.
Also, Ditzel notes at the end that he is currently looking for “holes in the marketplace” to see what products he could help provide for customers. Is that not the textbook definition of entrepreneur in action? Fantastic.
One of the many questions that I am frequently asked by other Westerners here in Korea, pertains to my status as a native Texan. On several occasions inquiring minds wanted to know my thoughts on the North versus South.
To their surprise, none of my ancestors had reached the shores of the New World by the time of the Civil War had commenced. In fact, once they landed, just about everyone on both sides of the tree migrated far West, to the Pacific coast. Thus, all I can really discuss is historical minutiae.
Devilish details
For instance, did you know that a number of the Indian Nations actually seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy? In October of 1861 the Cherokees, Creeks, Seminoles, Choctaws and Chickasaws join “to make common cause with the South and share its fortunes.”
Or how about this, George McClellan, who at one point was general-in-chief of the Union army, ran as a presidential candidate in 1864? As a Democrat. Against Lincoln. On an anti-war platform. And, with a firm desire to negotiate a treaty with the Confederacy.
That didn’t get many elementary schools named after him.
And like the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812, the last major battle of the Civil War also occurred after the ceasefire agreement had been signed. And fortunately for the stereotype, the Battle of Palmito Ranch took place in Texas.
From Russia with love
In the fall of 1863 Czar Alexander II of Russia sent two battleships to America. One to New York City and the other to San Francisco. These were sent as a symbol of support, of solidarity by Russia, as they themselves were fighting a war with the Polish. Lincoln is even reported to have said that he supported the Russian pacification of Poland, and justified his invasion of the South for similar reasons (e.g., “save the Union, free the peasants”).
The ships were also believed to have been sent to eventually help break the alliance between the South and England. Did you know that the English (including Lord Acton and Prime Minister William Gladstone) were generally staunch supporters of the rebellion?
The English were fans of the relatively cheap cotton they could purchase from the South and were not enthused with a rebranded Tariff of Abominations, enacted by the North, which increased the costs to import it. Thus, the British even built a modern fleet of naval ships for the CSN.
Perhaps the most interesting of these vessels was the CSS Alabama, which despite numerous battles, never saw the Northern coast.
Not quite the Oregon Trail
Believing they could unite with the fledging Bear Republic (California) - which itself was comprised of many Southerners whose desire to remain independent of the Northern tax man and worried Northern politicians - several regiments of Texas riflemen trekked across the wilderness of New Mexico and actually fought several real battles with Union soldiers in the northwest part of what was then a Territory.
However, even if they had won in New Mexico, the Union had sent several regiments to California, to prevent it from seceding and thus, would have probably have defeated the motley group of Texans.
In Exile
After Union troops arrested dissidents and those sympathetic to the rebellion and installed a puppet government, the remnants of Missouri’s original government fled to Texas and setup an interim capital in Marshall, in East Texas.
And despite being on the losing side of the war, Texas became the new home to displaced Southerners, who placed a simple sign on their former properties: GTT, Gone to Texas.
So where’d the Texans go? Mexico and Brazil, where they (along with other refugees) became known as the Confederados.
Prior to World War I the intelligentsia of Europe and most of the academic world spoke German. Yet, while hundreds of the greatest minds may have shared the same dialect, in some cases this seems to be the only commonality they had with one another — as their philosophical beliefs and theorems diverged in the most polar of ways. This of course is no different than with the lingua franca of today, English.
For instance, economist Ludwig von Mises, philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Adolf Hitler were all born and raised in Austria at around the same time (Wittgenstein and Hitler were a mere six days apart).
That said, I found the following picture of interest:
I couldn’t tell you much more about Wittgenstein aside from the material gleaned from his wiki entry (although one of my “logic” professors was a proponent of ol’ Witts theories); to me he seemed like just another logical positivist and socialist — philosophies diametrically opposed to the a priorism and liberalism espoused in Mises’ Privatseminar.
It would be curious to know how the two men (Witt and Hitler) would interact with one another, say in 1940, 50 or so years after that picture was taken. Wittgenstein’s family was Jewish and eventually migrated to parts of the West (both America and England), and Wittgenstein himself was opposed to the Nazi regime. [Note: Mises, who was also Jewish and an ardent critic of Nazism, was forced to flee to Switzerland and America, and had much of his corpus confiscated by the Nazis and later the KGB]
And as an added bonus, here are two strange bedfellows:
The backstory on the image above can be found in the National Security Archive at George Washington University. It eerily foreshadows to the Cheney’s 1994 interview with C-SPAN regarding the aftermath of Iraq after Operation Desert Storm.
See also: Wittgenstein, Austrian Economics, and the Logic of Action (PDF)
Over the past week I had the chance to watch every episode of the Star Wars series. It’s not that Korea wasn’t cool enough to garner my attention, I just wondered what it would be like to see them in sequential order.
After watching all of them I am faced with a dilemma as to what order people should see them in.
For instance, if you watch the original trilogy, all of your focus is on the protagonist Luke Skywalker — the viewer is left without the colorful and all important backstory/history of why The Powers That Be existed.
However, if watch them starting from The Phantom Menace your appreciation and attention is exclusively focused on the life and times of Obi Wan and Anakin Skywalker — and how they react to the geopolitical rigmarole and manipulation by Palpatine.
In fact, I think I appreciate the saga more, having watched the original first, because there are some page-turning mysteries that are left to the imagination of all viewers. I mean, if you watch Revenge of the Sith, you already know that Luke and Leia are siblings whose father is Vader. And that would be lame to know beforehand.
Some other thoughts:
- The action scenes, specifically those involving lightsaber battles, are much more intense and believable in the prequel trilogy. I was fairly bored watching Luke trying to parry with Vader because he did not have the finesse of other Jedi’s his age from the prequels.
- Somehow the clone troopers lose their ability to effectively shoot bad guys between Episode III and IV. For instance, they do a great job eradicating massive droid armies and other misbegottens - like Jedi Masters - but are horrific when fighting against the Rebel Alliance. Perhaps the emperor changed out their Koolaid or added fluoride to their water supply. See also: Stormtrooper effect
- I’m not sure which thing I despised the most: the obvious CGI characters in the prequels, or the stupid puppets used throughout the original trilogy (like the rat thing that hung out next to Jabba the Hut). That galaxy was filled with some of the most retarded looking characters this side of the Oort Cloud.
- Yoda is completely over-rated. Sure he is old, but you would think he could do a little better against Sidious (Mace Windu even did a better job).
- The notion of Midichlorians ruined the supernatural, magical overtones of the original trilogy
- As much as I disliked like Jar Jar Binks, if the original series was released for the first time today, I would probably chastise Lucas for his inclusion of two childish androids
- When the graphical capabilities of machinima become impossible to distinguish it from “real” live-action it would be nice to remove the boy who plays Anakin in Episode 1, modifying it to suck less (the word “yipee” should never be uttered by a slave). A young Anakin should have been slightly less jovial and more macabre, like Boba Fett.
+ Overall, I liked Han Solo’s character the most (though Obi-Wan was pretty good in the prequel) and Episode V will continue to be my favorite chapter (I’m a fan of AT-ATs and Super Star Destroyers). And I’d give the prequels a D- overall, largely because it didn’t adequately explain why Vader went bad; his “turning” was difficult to swallow.
Picking up the pieces
So, the question is, what episode would you want your friends or family members to begin the series with?
And, would you prefer to see the prequels eventually remade without CGI, or rather, with “perfect” CGI? (The battle of Naboo was the most blatant offender)
What do Little House on the Prairie and Tops Drop have in common?
They were both filmed on location.
Seriously, South Dakota has not changed since 1866 — it is a window into the past: theme song and all.
[And in a weird unintentional kind of way, East Germany is a good example of stagnant growth. Located around the same latitude, it is the site of the infamous Plattenbau, which were erected en masse; standing as useless and unwanted public housing complexes that years later would ironically show Westerners "how the other half lived."]
Similarly, the classic rap video by the now dead Fat Pat must have been filmed during a Sunday lunch at the park (if you’ve ever been to Houston or Dallas on a sunny weekend afternoon, this can be a stereotypical sight). Good tune.
Bonus: Rose Wilder Lane (daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder) and I would have probably hit it off 50 years ago, just like couples do in the above music video…
So I took that advice literally two days ago and moved to Seoul, South Korea.
Seriously.
I’m actually typing this message in one of their notorious PC bang (internet cafe) where all the guys play Starcraft and Counterstrike while their girlfriends sit next to them and use Cyworld (it’s like MySpace).
Anyways, I’ll be here for a year or so, teaching conversational English. I’ll discuss the motivations for moving in the next few days, after I finish eating lots of dog, which they really do eat as a cuisine.
Tangental tangents
Oh, and one of the odd parts about the flight was due how the earth turns, it is actually faster to fly through Canada, Alaska, and Russian airspace.
While I knew we would go through the first two, my brain raised a red flag regarding the Russian aspect due to remembering a not-so-awesome incidence during the ’80s in which a commercial jumbo jet, KAL 007, was “accidentally” destroyed by Soviet fighters.
And then our flight plan from Japan called for a northern approach to Incheon airport, which reminded me of the other fateful Sino-missle disaster 30 years ago: KAL 902.
The only disappointment so far is no one uses flying cars. What a let down.
The long story short, a dean was recently fired at MIT for lying about her credentials (she falsely claimed to have three non-existent degrees)… 28 years after being hired for the job.
While this was fraud in the first-degree, the thing is, she did a great job as a dean, despite lacking the training/credentialing.
The author notes that one of the kinks in the general labor market is the assumed need for a college degree in the first place.
However, he then suggests that degreeism has more to do with the ability for potential employers to indirectly screen for IQ, which is illegal for them to do directly in any form or fashion - so they use universities as a proxy.
If nothing else, this is a perfect example of the distortions regulations can cause in market transactions, the unseen effects of legislation — as the entire educational industry has been turned into something it is really crappy at doing.
The camera angles, vibrant lens effects, and motion blur will remind you a bit of Sin City (because it was produced by the same guy) — and that is a good thing.
The only thing I should warn you about: totally not a family-friendly movie. And I wouldn’t take your girlfriend to it if she’s super sensitive to nakedness either.
That aside, it really makes you want to settle disputes with daggers, shields, and fluffy helmet plumage.
Oh, and the script had some funny spots (the audience laughed several times); my favorite line was perhaps from Gorgo the Queen who said that only Spartan women gave birth to real men. [Note: the Main Boss was pretty cheesy]
My younger brother mentioned that none of his teachers let him cite or reference the popular online encyclopedia, due to published errors in various entries. This despite the fact that peer-review journals such as Nature have independently found that Wikipedia is about as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica (in at least the sciences). [Note: Britannica should have seemingly won this war years ago.]
While that is not unexpected, there are other ways to handle this conundrum.
The first, and perhaps most instructive would be to offer students extra credit to revise and correct the errors of an entry. Not only would the student learn some basic, potentially valuable web-based editing skills, but it will allow future readers to understand the material better.
In some ways, the teachers reaction to this resource and tool was similar to how many administrators reacted with MySpace, Facebook, and other social networking sites — by banning them and setting up strict consequences for accessing or having an account on them.
While social networking and encyclopedias are not the same thing, students can still learn valuable web-editing, time-management, and organizational skills that they can use later in life (e.g., Facebook has a very useful “Event” feature that makes it much easier to schedule specific social gatherings like service projects, reunions, and of course parties).
Embrace or ignore?
Earlier today I received a curt email from an Air Force officer with a little too many bones to pick. I had attacked his golden egg (NASA) and should among other things, give my parents a refund for the tuition and fees charged by A&M (because, you guessed it, I’m retarded).
He starts his letter by insinuating that Wikipedia was not a legitimate source for reference material:
Since you appear capable of using Wikipedia as a large source of your
learned and august “research,” I suggest you point your browser to…
He then links to a number of other online resources such as TheSpaceReview, Scientific American, and SpaceQuotes — sites that are completely foreign to me… [Note: he has since sent yet another email filled with a sundry of links proving his point: that he has a hard on for all things NASA.]
To be honest, in the past I’ve referenced journals, books, and many other professional periodicals for various projects and articles. However, for the topic at hand, the Wikipedia entries I linked to in the footnotes were not only concise and succinct, but also fairly accurate.
In addition, sprinkled throughout the footnotes were links to other mainstreampressarticles about the numerous problems, both engineering and economics-based, that the shuttle program has had and continues to have.
Completely succinct?
I received another email this morning from a different reader, who noted that the shuttle success rate should actually be even lower than the 1-in-50 that I cited.
There is also an abort to orbit mode, which was used on STS-51-F, evidently not one of the better missions. One of the shuttle main engines failed, and the _Challenger_ was told to abort to orbit. Obviously, this failure did affect the mission, and must be included with the two catastrophic failures.
Apparently there were five other pad aborts, missions STS-41-D, STS-51-F, STS-51, STS-55, and STS-68, which cost taxpayers a bundle. So all told, between 8 or 9 partial and full failures in 117 missions — a ratio that is not yet in the Wikipedia entry. For shame.
Contrast this with Burt Rutan’s privately financed endeavor: SpaceShipOne. Because his company operates under a different business model (one not financed by taxpayers or manipulated by politicians), he has to break even or he will go bankrupt. Therefore it is in his best interest to succeed, or rather, not blow up his clients. Every time.
As a result, Rutan has had only one partial non-catastrophic failure in seventeen flights, of which sixteen were manned. And again, he had to build the engines, frame, and flight systems from scratch — on a limited budget.
Retrospecticus
This will probably not be the last time I will discuss this issue. In addition, the actual article wasn’t about comparing apples (airplanes) to oranges (shuttles) as implied by various Digg posters; it was more abstract and dealt with business models. And unfortunately, the casualities in this nationalized endeavor are the unseen opportunities stifled and prevented from ever taking place because of the mass diversion of scarce labor and capital.
In closing, there are several other references that come to somewhat similar conclusions of cancelling the shuttle project. In their words, its development is an “example of a poor quality national commitmentto a major technological undertaking” and “…even if the worst happens and the Shuttles are mothballed … the loss to science will have been negligible.”
What better way to start the New Year than to talk about last year?
One of the cheaper bonding activities I do with my siblings is watch movies. My younger sister in particular is a film-oholic, and has introduced me to both lemons and lemonade over the past year.
Here are a few that hit the silver-screen:
Cars: not nearly as funny and innovative as The Incredibles or Toy Story, but it still had that Pixar-level of quality/polish.
X-Men 3: I think they killed off too many of the characters too fast, but it was better than the first one. If nothing else, the special effects and fight scenes are pretty gnarly (in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle kind of way).
Superman Returns: a lot of people complained about the woman cast as Lois Lane, she was not a big turn off for me; though I think Courtney Cox would have been a better fit. Also, the ending seemed to drag on forever and I was expecting the kid to do some more fighting.
Ice Age 2: not as funny as the first, not a fan of Queen Latifah either; still it is good for kids who was their intended audience.
Over the Hedge: hey, stealing is not cool, even if it is done by a bunch of cute woodland creatures. The hyperactive squirrel was somewhat amusing though (especially at the end during “Bullet Time?)
Talladega Nights: had some of the best lines since Anchorman (”If we wanted us some wusses we would have named them Dr. Quinn and Medicine Woman”). It was not as funny as I thought it would be… and the whole gay Frenchman character was dumb/cliché.
Mission Impossible 3: I’m not a huge fan of Tom Cruise (unless he is on South Park), but I thought this was the best of the trilogy. Better plot, and the action was relatively more believable.
Borat: even if you have seen some of the sketches before on his TV show or on YouTube, this was funny from beginning to end. Great one-liners and totally awkward scenes.
Scary Movie 4: funny at times, although not nearly as good as the 3rd one. Still worth watching if you want a parody of horror movies like Saw.
Failure to Launch: to prove that I am versatile and not just a one dimensional moviegoer, I can watch chick flicks too. It was actually good, kind of like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and 40 Days and 40 Nights.
Nacho Libre: if you liked Napoleon Dynamite or enjoy Jack Black, you will like this one. I thought it was good for an entirely different reason: Mexican wrestling is awesome. Awesome, in the sense that it is totally unprofessional, completely unrehearsed, and entirely unchoreographed (sic). Seriously, watch it sometime and you will begin to appreciate the WWE, which is always a hard one to swallow.
V for Vendetta: if you liked Equilibrium, the Matrix, or lots and lots of action, then you’ll enjoy this. Oh, and it also has a pretty good plot (quasi-libertarian even) filled with a few decent twists and turns.
Step Up: can’t say that I watch too many dance/romance movies but I was forced at gun point by a local gang to see this one. At the very least, I learned why you shouldn’t let your brother carjack someone’s SUV. Oh, and that if you own a Mac laptop, it will magically create good autobeats at a party.
The Prestige: the trailers made it look like the typical man-versus-man rivalry, but this was surprisingly good. The plot twisted and turned like a patented Christopher Nolan flick (who also directed Memento). Plus the historically mystical Nikola Tesla makes an appearance or two (his device is kind of nutty though).
Firewall: The plot was not entirely original and the technological abilities of a scanner were bastardized. However, Harrison Ford was much more believable in his role than most of his others this past decade (Hollywood Homicide and K-19 equal no bueno).
Lady in the Water: the first 90 minutes were great. The ending sucked. M. Night Shyamalan should have ironed out more of the closing details with his daughters during their weekly bedtime storytelling sessions. Plus, he might want to add some more color and attitude to his own acting.
Apocalypto: I do not plan on watching this movie again. Not because it was bad, but because it was depressing and extremely gory. Mix the Last of the Mohicans, Dances with Wovles, Apocalypse Now, and RoboCop and that just gets you through the opening credits. The only other minor quibble is that it was not entirely historically accurate which bugs buffs like me.
Strangers with Candy: my younger brother said this was really funny so I watched it the other day. While it had its moments, it was not filled with gut-hurting laughs. Also, I thought the Principal character was much funnier than the teacher portrayed by Stephen Colbert; and Matthew Broderick did a good job playing a total schmuck.
Night At the Museum: totally geared towards kids. It was original and creative, but not nearly as funny as I though it could have been considering the cast: Robin Williams’ character was very dull.
Fearless: this was supposedly Jet Li’s last action film and he went out with a bang. Decent plot (which is even historically sorta-accurate) with lots of back-breaking kicks, punches, and Judo-chops. Don’t make the mistake I did though, turn off the English dubbing.
Ultraviolet: way too similar to Aeon Flux (which was filmed after it). Some good action and interesting environment, but unsurprising plot revelations.
The Good Shepherd: if you enjoy history or like slowly developing drama’s, you might like this. Matt Damon does a great job playing the most boring, “by-the-book” character imaginable. One wonders if Damon has a part-time job as a tax accountant or had a lobotomy.
American Dreamz: Mandy Moore really knows how to play a stuck-up little priss, because she also did a great job as one in Saved! If you are tired of all the superficial razzle-dazzle surrounding the popular TV show, American Idol, then you will like this satire. Oh, and the combo of Dennis Quaid and Willem Defoe is good too (although Will Ferrell did the best Dubya impersonation with this ad).
Grandma’s Boy: The trailer made this movie look pretty dumb, which it was. But, the main character works for a video game company as a product tester. This of course, is every geeks dream. In fact, the writers do a pretty good job poking fun of all the stereotypical behaviors that many nerds have (like weird ticks/voices).
El Done
Anyways, that’s a wrap for now. WordPress ate the rest of my post, so you will have to settle for the aggregated reviews over at Rotten Tomatoes for more.
Oh, and even though they didn’t come out in 2006: Sin City, Lord of War, and Syriana were pretty good, original even.
For better and for worse, I watched a ton of college football this season. To top that off, both my roommates and many of my friends are football fanatics, so I hear more than my share of pig skin commentary. Here are my predictions of the various bowl games:
Emerald:
I think UCLA will handily beat a struggling Florida State team. Despite the long break, I do not think Bobby Bowden has his act together — plus UCLA still has their recent upset of USC fresh in mind. Margin by 14.
PetroSun Independence:
I think Alabama will give Oklahoma State a run for their money, but the recent firing of Mike Shula will effect the battered team. Cowboys by 7.
Pacific Life Holiday:
Call me biased, but I think this will be one of the better match-ups of the season. Cal plays in a West-coast style conference and never had to face the halfback option. In contrast, Texas A&M has faced several West-coast style teams during the year (e.g. Texas Tech), and uses the option as their bread and butter. I give Aggies the slight edge (see their close loses); winning by 10, but only if the J-train is given the ball at the goal line.
Texas Bowl:
Not even a competition, Rutgers is going to run all over Kansas State, winning by 21+.
Gaylord Hotels Music City:
I think Clemson is a better program athletically, and Kentucky does not have their 285+ pound quarterback to fall back on. Clemson by 10.
Brut Sun:
Missouri started off great this year, until they met the Aggies. I still think they are a great team but Oregon State has more confidence in executing the passing game. Beavers by less than 10.
AutoZone Liberty:
It would be fun to see a mid-major upset of a Spurrier team, but I do not think this is going to happen. In fact, I think the Game Cocks (perhaps the porniest mascot name in D-IA play) will slaughter the Cougars by more than 20.
Insight:
I think the strength of schedule serves as the best indicator of victory in this game. Minnesota sneaked in at 6-6, with wins over heavy weights such as North Dakota State and Temple. Texas Tech wins by 30+ and will bench their starters at the half. Note: I hate Tech.
Champs Sports:
Both teams did terrible against T-25 opponents, but I think Purdue played a better season against a harder schedule. Plus, William & Mary and Middle Tennessee State should not be on any back-to-back schedule — false confidence. Purdue by 10.
Meineke Car Care:
Aside from the dumb bowl name, this game will be lopsided in Boston College’s favor. Not only was their schedule more difficult than Navy’s, but they actually won games that mattered. The only wrench is the head coaching transition for the Eagles, yet they will still win by at least 14.
Alamo:
Even if Colt McCoy, Mack Brown, and the entire University of Texas student body keep whining about the crappy bowl they were invited to, their grade A athletes will still run all over Iowa — not even a close one. Longhorns by a million.
Chick-fil-A:
This game should not have been scheduled. Virginia Tech will remind Georgia of why the latter was originally a prison colony while the former yielded the creme-de-la-creme of society. Hokies by a constitution or two.
MPC Computers:
Don’t forget the sponsor name because they bet the farm that you would buy something from them… oops. The third string water boy at Miami has more talent than the entire varsity squad of Nevada. Yet Miami players have attitude malfunctions like Texas Tech girls have STDs. Good thing there is something to do in Boise the night before, because Miami bench warmers might be too tired to start brawling on the field. Result: hung over and sleepless Hurricanes will somehow stay on-side long enough to run the ball the right direction every other drive. Heck, they might even win in the 4th overtime.
Outback:
This should be a good game. However, even though both teams played a tough schedule, I think Tennessee is ready and able to win the big game. Note: Joe Paterno is my hero, he walked it off like a man.
AT&T Cotton:
I would like to think that Nebraska will win it, but they managed to lose all the big games this year. Whereas Auburn at least can savor their wins against Florida and LSU. Auburn by at least 17.
Toyota Gator:
Another game that should not have been scheduled. The entire West Virginia team could fall into a well and still beat an overrated George Tech team by throwing their cleats whenever the Jackets passed; effectively downing it into the end zone every drive. The Mountaineers will win by 12 safeties.
Capital One:
I think that Arkansas is the better team talent and schedule wise, but that Wisconsin will come out of nowhere and beat them by 10.
Rose Bowl:
I really wanted USC to beat Texas last year, believing that Reggie Bush - our Lord and Savior - would lead the Trojans to the Promised Land. Unfortunately he did not and I do not think that Pete Carroll will be able to beat Michigan either. Michigan by 14.
Fiesta Bowl:
Uhh, this is why mid-majors are not in a BCS conference, because of match-ups like this. Stoops managed to take a scandal, drama, and injury-plagued team and managed to win almost all the big games this year. Adrian Peterson will win this by himself, by 34 (he kicks two field goals). Note: I think Rhett Bomar got the shaft.
Orange:
Wake Forrest will start off strong but Louisville will not choke like they did against Rutgers. Cardinals win by 14.
Sugar:
It is games like this that make you want to rewrite that automatic bid Notre Dame gets in the BCS contract. As big a fan I am of the Irish, I think LSU will destroy them in a crawfish-boiler fashion: by cooking them alive and dipping their carcasses in cocktail sauce. Tigers by 21.
Championship game:
I think Jim Tressel will sit down with Urban Meyer and will agree to face-off in a show down of rock, paper, scissors. Florida fans will be disappointed though, because rules are different in the Midwest: dynamite is allowed. Thus, the Buckeyes will win in a blowout.
Joe-blow bowl
For all the other bowls I did not mention: your bowl name was either not sexy enough or the opponents seemed about as exciting as watching the winners of the grueling Pilgrims Pride Junior College bowl face off against the winners of the Special Olympics badminton team.
The motivation behind my 
I could be completely wrong, but some friends and family members were wondering why I don’t think the PRC will swim across the straits in September.
Why?
Shooting satellites
You may be familiar with Richard Feynman’s 
Or so said a professor I had 8 years ago.
Of bits and bytes
So where does this all lead?
If you follow the semiconductor industry, you may be interested in the 
One of the many questions that I am frequently asked by other Westerners here in Korea, pertains to my status as a native Texan. On several occasions inquiring minds wanted to know my thoughts on the North versus South. 
Or how about this, 
The English were fans of the relatively cheap cotton they could purchase from the South and were not enthused with a rebranded 
After Union troops arrested dissidents and those sympathetic to the rebellion and installed a puppet government, the remnants of Missouri’s original government fled to Texas and setup an interim capital in 
Over the past week I had the chance to watch every episode of the Star Wars series. It’s not that Korea wasn’t cool enough to garner my attention, I just wondered what it would be like to see them in sequential order.
- I’m not sure which thing I despised the most: the obvious CGI characters in the prequels, or the stupid puppets used throughout the original trilogy (like the rat thing that hung out next to Jabba the Hut). That galaxy was filled with some of the most retarded looking characters this side of the Oort Cloud.
+ Overall, I liked Han Solo’s character the most (though Obi-Wan was pretty good in the prequel) and Episode V will continue to be my favorite chapter (I’m a fan of AT-ATs and Super Star Destroyers). And I’d give the prequels a D- overall, largely because it didn’t adequately explain why Vader went bad; his “turning” was difficult to swallow.
So I took that advice literally two days ago and moved to 
The Wall Street Journal 
Do you like kick-ass, chest thumping action?
My younger brother mentioned that none of his teachers let him cite or reference the popular online encyclopedia, due to published errors in various entries. This despite the fact that peer-review journals such as Nature have 
What better way to start the New Year than to talk about last year?
For better and for worse, I watched a ton of college football this season. To top that off, both my roommates and many of my friends are football fanatics, so I hear more than my share of pig skin commentary. Here are my predictions of the