another pet peeve

I hate when people misquote Google's company motto. It's not "Do no evil", and it's not "Don't do evil". It's "Don't be evil". C'mon guys, it's three words. Yes, it matters.

maybe I'm not a city person

A couple of weeks ago I went to check out the new California Academy of Sciences. It's a nice museum. The living roof is a cool concept, the rainforest part is nice, I'm always a fan of penguins, there are some very timely environment-focused exhibits, plus a really decent aquarium in the basement.

However, I did not have a good time. First, we stood in line for twenty minutes to buy our (not inexpensive) tickets. We were told the planetarium was already full for the day, but decided to proceed anyway. Then we stood in line again to get into the museum. After getting in, we found a huge line for the rainforest, so we decided to look at everything else first. The aquarium was full of people, so we couldn't sit down to listen to the show. At one point I was looking at some fish, standing about two or three feet away from the glass. Three kids ran over and arranged themselves in front of me, blocking my view. Two of the kids were on the small side, one was definitely not. Their parents (or adult minders, whoever they were) did nothing. Anyway, we finally did manage to see the rainforest, as well as most of the rest of the displays, but I was just not that psyched about the whole outing.

Maybe this is why I live in the Peninsula and not in the city...I'm not a fan of crowds, especially ill-behaved ones.

some things never change

My mom's brother lives in Tokyo, so I don't see him very much. I think I haven't had a conversation with him longer than five minutes in over ten years. Anyway, last month he came to visit, and during a family dinner he suddenly turned around and asked me (in Chinese), "Do you still like Pocky?" I thought that was pretty random but I answered in the affirmative, and thought that was the end of it.

Wrong! Two weeks ago, I received a shipment from Japan. It was a giant box of assorted Pocky from my uncle. Pretty sweet.

Taiwan quick update

At first I was following the recent events in Taiwan pretty closely, but then I went "onduty" at work. Since then, things have been crazy, and they're likely to stay that way through the weekend.

Fortunately, there are still such a thing as good journalism, and Newsweek in particular has been kicking ass with their Taiwan reporting. Two of last week's articles were particularly good at describing the current situation: Fallout from Chen Shui-Bian's Dramatic Arrest and Strait Talk: So Near And Yet So Far.

I did manage to drag myself to a meeting of a local Taiwanese organization on Friday night. I cut out after dinner ended, was in bed by 11pm, and slept for nearly 12 hours. Tired...

a real win

Wow, it's been two days and I haven't posted about the 49ers win against the Rams yet!

I was at the game on Sunday, and the first half was so great it felt surreal. I haven't seen a 49ers offense execute like that in...maybe ten years? It's too bad the second half was horribly boring due to the whole ball-control offense scheme which resulted in no points being scored by the 49ers after halftime. For part of that time I was still convinced they were going to throw the game away somehow (having been at the Eagles game earlier this season where they blew a 26-17 lead in the fourth quarter), but somehow they didn't. Of course, the Rams are a pretty horrible team, but it was still extremely satisfying to see a decisive victory against any opponent.

fondue night

Yesterday we had some people over for fondue. The cheese fondue was so-so; even though we used European wine, it still separated too easily, and required reheating every so often. I think next time I will try an even drier wine, and maybe more cornstarch or flour. The chocolate fondue turned out well; I added Grand Marnier to the chocolate, cream, and sugar, which I think worked out well. Nothing like fondue on a cold night, especially on a Thursday with two NBA games to watch. Okay, it's not really "cold" these days, but it is getting dark earlier so it definitely feels like fall.

lost in translation?

I've been following the recent petition and protests initiated by Taiwanese university students and professors, and I'm happy that there is a non-partisan effort to reform the Taiwanese government. What I don't understand is why the effort is being called the "wild strawberry" movement. I'm sure I'm missing something; it probably makes sense in Taiwanese or in Chinese.

random oddity

In my buliding here at work, in the women's bathroom, there is one stall which has a much narrower door than all the other stalls. As a result, it tends to be the last stall to fill.

One day last week, when the bathroom was particularly crowded, I ended up in that stall. I was curious, so I counted the number of bathroom tiles that fit between one side of the door and the other, and discovered there were ten. Each tile is maybe 1.5 inches wide (definitely less than 2 inches), which means that the door is about 15 inches wide.

I think I'm a fairly average-sized person, and if I walk through that door with my shoulders square, I will touch both sides. I wonder if anyone ever has any problems fitting through it? I guess one can always turn sideways to get through...

a different kind of Vegas trip

I went to Vegas a couple weeks ago with some people who hadn't been to Vegas almost ten years. I think I go there so often that sometimes I forget to look around when I'm there. To them, The Venetian, the Bellagio, the Wynn, THEhotel at Mandalay Bay; all were new and interesting and photo-worthy.

We wandered the shops inside the Venetian, stopping for gelato, ate lunch at a cute bistro inside of Paris called Mon Ami Gabi, and checked out the famous Bellagio lobby and fall/Halloween-themed display. We also stopped by THEhotel's lobby, just because I love their decor, and caught the Bellagio fountains by night. Other highlights of the trip included yet another visit to Samba Brazilian Steakhouse at the Mirage (I always forget how good they are), a morning workout at the Wynn Spa (available only to hotel guests), and brunch at the Pinot Brasserie, inside the Venetian (delicious but I was not fond of our waiter).

Some photos:








I always like to plan one special meal when visiting Las Vegas. This time, for dinner on Saturday night, we went to Daniel Boulud's DB Brasserie. Obligatory food photos follow...

Steak tartare appetizer (my favorite):


Mussels & fries (very generous portion, delicious fries):


Beef tenderloin (very tender, I preferred it to the ribeye):


Ribeye for two:


Profiteroles:

weddings of 2008

I'm going to a wedding this afternoon, the next-to-last of the year. The last is a destination wedding in Jamaica, in December. We're staying at a villa next to the beach for a week. Poor me, right?

Anyway, I think it's safe to say the wedding count for 2008 is complete? The final tally:
- Patty & Teddy: May 10th, in Warren, NJ
- Mike & Sophie: May 24th, in Sonoma, CA
- David & Boryana: June 7th, in Berkeley, CA
- Jen & Mike: September 13th, in Honolulu, HI
- Danny & Emily: October 4th, in Half Moon Bay, CA
- Henry & Paige: October 5th, in San Mateo, CA
- Amy & Tony: November 8th, in Portola Valley/Millbrae, CA
- Nina & Michael: December 8th, in Silver Sands, Jamaica

With the eight this year, I will have been to 41 weddings by the end of 2008. I thought that was a fairly large number, but then my coworker told me he went to 18 weddings last year. Wow.

conciliatory tone

I thought Obama's acceptance speech and McCain's concession speech were really good. Both were eloquent, gracious, and substantial. It's kind of sad how the election process turns everything and everyone negative and horrible. Now that it's over, people seem to be reverting to decency. For instance, this site seems like a nice gesture: from 52 to 48 with love.

asian parents

Someone sent me these links last week but I didn't get a chance to look at them until today. They've been cracking me up all morning.

this year's pumpkins

Another year, another pumpkin carving party. This year's was scheduled to coincide with the NBA's season opener, so that people could hang out and watch basketball before/after carving.

Due to not having found/drawn a template in time, I decided to freehand my pumpkin this year. I think it turned out okay:


Other pumpkins:



I thought the Houston Rockets logo on the center pumpkin in the first photo was especially appropriate for the first day of the NBA season. The "leaky heart valve" pumpkin at the bottom right was also clever.

Here's a detail of the most intricate pumpkin:


Apparently it's a "Black Mage" character from the first Final Fantasy. I never played the game, so I can't vouch for authenticity, but the carving skill is impressive nonetheless.

mixed feelings

I had 7:30pm dinner reservations at a nice restaurant last night. By that time, it was pretty clear that Barack Obama would be our next president, and this being the Bay Area, the mood both at work and at the restaurant was pretty jubilant.

It wasn't until I woke up this morning that I discovered Proposition 8 had passed, leaving me horribly disappointed in my fellow Californians. I wonder if the Bay Area can disown Solano County?

Other random election-related thoughts:
- I'm impressed and heartened that Obama took Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Virginia, and possibly North Carolina. I distinctly remember asking someone if it was normal for North Carolina to be close, because I was so surprised it was even a possibility for Obama to win there.
- California is predicting a turnout of nearly 80% (they're still counting early and absentee ballots). As disappointed as I am about the passage of Proposition 8, I *am* happy that people are at least voting. It's so silly for us to talk about democracy and then not to participate in it.
- The Wolf Blitzer hologram stunt was kind of stupid. Did anyone even care?
- News organizations like to call states really early. Last night they called some states with "0% districts reporting" (based on exit polls, I guess?) which seems awfully premature.
- It seems somewhat unfair that people can donate money to religious organizations and claim them as "charitable" donations and then get tax write-offs, even though the religious organizations turn around and pour the money into things like supporting Proposition 8. I'm fairly certain there was no way to sneakily characterize No-on-8 contributions as "charitable".
- My brother lives in Chicago and he says he heard it was a positive madhouse over at Grant Park, and even by his work (2 miles north) it was pretty rowdy, with people cheering and celebrating randomly all day. Must be amazing to be there, in the middle of it all, right now.
- I find it a little ironic that on this day, when we finally voted to elect an African-American president, that 70% of African-Americans in California voted to discriminate against gay people.
- There are some fascinating tidbits in this Newsweek Special entitled Highlights of the 2008 Election. As a techie, I thought this was pretty cool: The Obama campaign's New Media experts created a computer program that would allow a "flusher"—the term for a volunteer who rounds up nonvoters on Election Day—to know exactly who had, and had not, voted in real time. They dubbed it Project Houdini, because of the way names disappear off the list instantly once people are identified as they wait in line at their local polling station.

In some ways I'm relieved the election is over. It feels like it's been going on forever, and it's been a bit exhausting, constantly being deluged by the latest polls and attack ads and political analyses. I hope this is the part where we get on with fixing the country already. I'm cautiously optimistic.

you should vote

In case you've been hiding in a cave for months, here's a reminder: Today is election day!

Over the years I've spent a lot of time trying to convince various people that they should vote. This year, my college roommate is registered to vote for the first time ever. Yay! I'm not sure I can claim any credit but it's good news either way.

Last week I read an article about why women, in particular, should vote. I dislike the idea that women should feel more responsibility to vote because of the history of women's suffrage, but I do think it's good to remember and acknowledge the extraordinary contribution of the women who fought for that worthy cause.

I especially liked this part:

It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men:

"Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity."

yet another Taiwan post

After my grandparents left to go back to Taiwan to attend the 10/25 protest, I was curious about how it turned out, but not surprisingly, I had a lot of difficulty finding English news reports of any substance.

Today, as I was reading about the newest protests, I finally found a Reuters article reporting a turnout of "half a million". Impressive!

Less heartening were the more recent reports that Taiwanese protesters and politicians are being denied the right to wave Taiwan flags in their own country, and that they are being kept away from the visiting Chinese official using razor wires. It's like Taiwan, under Ma Jing-Yeou, is slowly creeping back towards martial law again. It's scary and creepy and generally horrible.