Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 3.5 (segunda-feira, decembro 7)
Mosquito bite count (revised):
-Hands: 3 / Arms: 1 / Shoulders: 2 / Chest: 1 / Face: 4 / Neck: 2
-Back: 0 / Legs: 0
Sunburn incident count: 1 (upper shoulders, mild redness, slightly sensitive but not painful to the touch)
It’s finally dawning on me how unspoiled Porto de Galinhas is in terms of tourism. The bulk of the tourists are other Brazilians and finding anyone who speaks any English is an exercise in futility. We are looking like complete gringos (even us Asians) as we are forced to consult with whatever Portuguese dictionary is on hand when we are looking for stuff. “Tem cartas de baralho pra lembrança?” (“Do you have souvenir playing cards?”) Apparently, the preferred term is “cartas de jogo.”
This is somewhat refreshing, as I’m getting a more authentic tourist experience than I would with some plastic wrapped tour in frequently visited areas such as Cancun or Rio De Janeiro. But on the other hand, it reminds me about how little of the outside world I know and it’s a very humbling experience. And we have a tendency to laugh at people when they butcher English too. Looks like the shoe’s on the other foot now.
It’s even more hammered in by distressing feeling of “One of these is not like the other.” Despite the large number of ethnic Japanese living in Brazil, I don’t know where they are, although we did see some Asian tourists. And while Mestre did warn the Other Vince and me that we’d be mistaken for Japanese (despite the fact that I look less Asian than most Asians), it’s still a shock when some random local kid walks up to us and goes, “Vou é Japonês?” and then bursts out laughing when I respond, “Não, e sou chinês.” Either I pronounced it wrong or an Asian person in Brazil is that much of an alien thing to them. The lack of fluency in Portuguese is hampering my efforts to blend in.
Thankfully, our senior student/instructor Camara has been our unofficial tour guide and translator. This is extremely helpful as we would otherwise not know what is good to eat or what the Brazilian instructors are trying to say to us. He is someone we typically look up to for instruction and advice. And then we are sometimes reminded that he’s actually younger than a lot of the less-advanced students.
The evening was spent taking a class taught by Professore Pitbull in the middle of the public square, which was followed by a roda. As we were finishing, a street vendor was selling this whistle that made this annoying “WAH-WAHH” sound. Camara, all excited, wanted the Other Vince and me to also purchase one of these whistles. We refused, not wanting to blow 10 R$ on something so frivolous and annoying. Camara then threatened to play with the whistle during tomorrow’s road trip to Olinda, but wouldn’t if we all bought a whistle. We still refused.
As we walked away in search of something to eat, we met up with another touring student, Açai. Camara comes up to us in a group, trying to get money from her. As a mom, we figured she’d know better, so Other Vince and I are doing our best to make sure that she does NOT relinquish any money to him. Possibly because we were sort of freaking out, we may or may not told her WHY it was a bad idea to give him any money, because she relented, reasoning that Camara was going to pay her back with interest.
Tomorrow’s road trip will to Olinda be buffered with a combination of Gravol, iPods cranked to the max, earplugs, and any other method of distraction.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 3.5 (segunda-feira, decembro 7)
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 3 (segunda feira, decembro 7)
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 3 (segunda feira, decembro 7)
Mosquito bite count:
-Hands: 3 / Arms: 1 / Shoulders: 1 / Chest: 1 / Face: 2 / Neck: 1
-Back: 0 / Legs: 0
Sunburn incident count: 0
I’m suspecting that due to my Chinese background, I’m more susceptible to mosquito bites than everyone else. Because you know how it is when you eat Chinese…an hour later you gotta do it again. I don’t seem to have any bites from last night, more from the previous night when I didn’t wear a long sleeved shirt to bed. Either that, or because my roomie left the A/C off for parts of the night.
Today was definitely a laid back day compared to the previous day. Even our Capoeira training was pretty lax, much of which involved taking us to a public square type area for Contra Mestre Brasil to give us a Q&A lecture on Capoeira Angola.
Oops, spoke too soon. Kayla just popped her head in the window and we’re training. NOW. As in, 7PM at night.
I really should’ve put the insect repellent in my checked luggage.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 2 (decembro 6)
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 2 (decembro 6)
Morning followed my first overnight sleep here, made possible with the use of custom-fit earplugs (thank you, Vivian). My roommate, the Other Vince, has “been told” that he snores and I have confirmed it for him, which I describe as being akin to moving furniture (at which point the earplugs went in). Someone, like a girlfriend or family member, may wish to procure an anti-snoring pillow or a year’s supply of Breathe-Right strips as a Christmas gift for him. Just saying, that’s all.
My time here has given me a better appreciation of life in general back home. Either that, or life as a Canadian has left me utterly pacified. The prospect of the locals being unable to speak the same language is somewhat unnerving, but at least I’ve gotten over my fear of toilets that fail to accept toilet paper. Not that it matters, as chronic dehydration may have minimized the possibility of Montezuma’s revenge. This comes in extremely handy as one of the places we visited today had bathroom sanitary conditions approaching biohazard levels. Somehow, the “Worst Toilet in Scotland” scene in Trainspotting comes to mind.
Breakfast consists of food that I can’t get back at home and the fresh fruit is especially welcome. I’m used to the idea of carving out a pineapple and the centre is usually discarded as it’s so fibrous that it can only be chewed on until the juice is removed, and then spat out. I’m still waiting to sample agua de coco (coconut milk), which has been recommended for staving off dehydration. I don’t think I’ll need an excuse for drinking agua de coco.
The main focus of the day was one of the Batizado ceremonies that we are attending. This involved a looooong drive out to Xexeu (near Palmares). Some of these Capoeira students are good and the academies are much larger here. I’m guessing that the training regimens are a little bit different here, or at least the mentalities are different, given the large number of higher-ranked students than the ones back at home. Even though Mestre is largely operating in Canada these days, his base is still back home in Brazil.
While I’m aware of the level of violence that can escalate in some public rodas, we’ve been shielded from that. This is something I’m somewhat grateful for, as I really don’t know what public healthcare is like here in Brazil. If I was in Cuba, I might not be as worried (thank you, Michael Moore), and regardless of travel insurance, getting injured when you’re a long way from the comforts of home is a very frightening thought.
Despite my apprehension, I am able to hold my own against some very high ranked students and instructors, managing to do movements in Capoeira and actually fool them into believing that I’ve been training really hard for the past 7-odd years. I’m still working on the language barrier and the cultural differences, so they may actually be saying that I completely suck, though.
The cultural differences are a challenge and it’s further cementing the fact that I’m definitely not from there when I can’t say anything beyond Eu nao falar Portuguese. But at least they don’t do the American thing about saying things louder and slower even when they don’t understand the local language. However, this has somewhat increased my drive to learn a foreign language prior to visiting another country. I should probably get Cantonese down (being Chinese and all), although if I’m apprehensive about using non-toilet paper accepting toilets, I don’t know how I’ll be able to deal with the infamous squat toilets.
Generally, the people here are quite friendly (the extent of which is to be determined, as I have no idea what they are saying). Coming from Canada is interesting as we’re almost treated like mini-celebrities (either that, or not a lot of Asian people pass through Pernambuco), which is fun for a while. One of our group, Camara (also a student instructor at the academy) has visited Brazil several times before and indicated that it gets old after a while. With some of the street kids visiting the roda, I can see how. They also threw fruit at the van as we left.
The long-ass drive home was somewhat worse than the turbulent flight over Miami, as we were encountering a lot of road work, poorly lit roads, and unpaved roads. There are a lot of speed bumps that I can’t explain, and for some odd reason, we couldn’t take the same route home that we used on the way there. I could’ve sworn that there was a road that was there when we left, and NOT there when we came back. But I’m here, typing away, contemplating jumping in the pool, and missing my 24/7 wireless connection. But at least I don’t miss TV.
Yes, still no consistent fast internet, although Mestre has managed to obtain a wireless internet card, which I will need to procure at some point so I may e-mail my girlfriend, wish my mom a happy birthday, upload these entries to my blog, and get some photos up on Facebook. I may need to find an internet café. Probably tomorrow.
I’m slowly getting used to the time difference here…although it’s 12:41AM local time, my body still thinks it’s Vancouver time (5 hours behind, 7:41PM), so I’m actually awake, although I’m more than willing to sleep after a shower at this point. We’re scheduled to have a Capoeira class tomorrow morning, which will give me my first actual exposure to outdoor sun.
I’ve been able to stave off sunburn by virtue of the fact that I haven’t actually gotten out under the sun yet. And yes, sunblock is very expensive here. I’m hoping SPF30 is sufficient, although I am very capable of burning under the right conditions. Those right conditions could be met while I’m here, at which point I’ll have to bite the bullet and spend some 50 R$ (about $30 CDN) for SPF 60. With an SPF rating like that, I’d better be able to survive at ground zero when World War III occurs.
Why did I not put the sunscreen in my checked in luggage?
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 1 (decembro 4-5)
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 1 (decembro 4-5)
The lack of a constant internet connection has made real-time updates somewhat impossible and goes to show how disconnected from the outside world I have allowed myself to become. So now, after successfully pissing away an entire day on air travel, I am finally landed in Porto Galinhas in Ipojuca, Brazil (near Recife) in the Pousada (“bed & breakfast”), blogging in non-real time, being forced to do the copy & paste thing to blogger.com when I can. And I still need to find a way to drop a line to my significant other at home. I wonder if she got the text I sent her while I was passing through Miami. It’s also my mom’s birthday today and I haven’t been able to send out any emails or texts without receiving a nasty surprise from Fido the next month.
This is an annual tour organized by my academy, where we visit the various Aché Brasil academies operating in and around Brazil (specifically Pernambuco). In the process, we get to stay at the Pousada, visit and tour Porto de Galinhas, eat some really good food, listen to live music 24-7, and train Capoeira almost every day.
So, why does wanderlust kick in now? In a lot of respects, the opportunity has always been there, as this is an annual trip held by my Capoeira group, but for various reasons (lack of funds, lack of motivation, fear of the unknown) kept me from going, but after some (read: a lot of) urging from my girlfriend, I took the plunge, and now I’m staying warm in the sun, which comes especially welcome after the crappiest November for weather in memory.
Everything up until getting here has been a little more stressful than I’d like…taking two weeks for vacation means that deadlines are pushed up two weeks in advance, while packing takes time, as does the wait for documentation, vaccinations, and everything else. The price of the ticket is extremely volatile in high season (the quote actually went up by $100 in less than 24 hours), there isn’t any sort of direct flight (had to make separate stops in Dallas Ft. Worth, Miami, and Salvador), and there’s the ever-present fear of my luggage still going to Boston. Luckily, I still have all my stuff, except for my sunscreen, which they confiscated at YVR (more than 100mL).
But after successfully losing about day in travel (flying out of Vancouver 8:45AM, arriving in Recife the next day at 11:00AM), I’m running on very little sleep, maybe about 3 hours (which may have been induced by popping a Gravol on the plane). Losing 5 hours across time zones may have helped, as even though I’m dead tired at 16:46 Pacific standard time (actually 21:46 local time), I might be able to fall asleep when I’m supposed to. We’re supposed to be getting up early tomorrow as we have a Batizado (belt ceremony) to attend, which involves a lot of Capoeira training.
Coming to Porto de Galinhas, I feel very out of my element. I haven’t seen any other Asians around (save for Kayla and the Other Vince…and Kayla’s only half Chinese), they don’t cater as much to non-Portuguese speakers, and the conversion rate from CDN to R$ is not as favourable as I would’ve hoped. But on the plus side, I’ve so far managed to avoid Montezuma’s Revenge 4 hours after my first Brazilian meal (a lot of meat and chicken) and I’m with friends, some of whom are fluent in Portuguese. Plus, this part of the city doesn’t seem as dangerous as the travel websites like to warn.
This is my first attempt at an authentic vacation, non-sullied by the constant tourists traps, penetration of American imperialism (haven’t seen a Starbucks yet), lack of authenticity, and plastic wrap sheen. And it’s warm. Really warm. Not blistering hot, but then, we arrived some time in the afternoon and I spent most of the time in an air-conditioned van as we made our way from the Recife airport over to the Pousada, so that is likely to change tomorrow.
So far, I’m liking the weather, the really good food (although watching my sodium intake may be an exercise in futility at this point), and the quaint little hand-craft stores, although the little benefits of home like potable tap water, toilets that will accept toilet paper (the converse is simply unthinkable at this point, having flushed with every wipe since the days of toilet training), and high speed internet are missed.
It’s a little bit frightening and exciting at the same time, with everything from the language barrier to the cultural differences to the possibility of getting mugged making it challenging and worthwhile (although I may have gone a little overboard with the “decoy” wallet). Less-than-rudimentary Portuguese isn’t helping matters, although it makes for an interesting time when I’m attempting to ask for the driver how long something will take, but the only intelligible Portuguese I can muster is “Quanto tempos?”, which comes out as me asking for the time. At least I know how to find the bathroom (“Onde é o banheiro?”).
But when it feels too much like home, then it isn’t truly a vacation, now is it?
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Saving lives by solving cubes
Saving lives by solving cubes
Puzzle enthusiasts to donate blood and solve puzzles simultaneously
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August xx, Vancouver, BC - On Saturday, August 29, a group of Rubik’s Cube enthusiasts led by Vancouver residents Hong Chen and Vince Yim will be rolling up their sleeves for Canadian Blood Services, in an effort to promote Vancouver’s second annual speedsolving competition, while also raising public awareness of the need for blood donors.
“For most people, solving a Rubik’s Cube is difficult enough, let alone one-handed and while donating blood,” says Vince Yim, an active member in the local speedsolving community. “But this is a way we can improve our speedsolving skills while helping our community.”
The Labour Day long weekend is one of the most difficult times of year for Canadian Blood Services to collect blood, as many regular donors are on vacation or busy with outdoor activities. However, blood is needed everyday of the year.
“We want to remind people that many people can give blood and make it an enjoyable event!” says Yim.
Both Yim and Chen have been solving Rubik’s Cubes for several years and can easily solve the cube in less than 30 seconds under normal situations. The duo will be joined by three other members of their local speedsolving community at the Oak Street blood donor clinic, 4750 Oak Street, at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 29th.
While donating blood, the group will be promoting Vancouver’s second annual speedsolving competition, Vancouver Open 2009, to be held on September 12, 2009 at The Crystal Mall, 2819-4500 Kingsway Ave., in Burnaby. This competition is hosted by canadianCUBING (canadiancubing.com), which was co-founded in 2006 by Rubik’s Cube enthusiast Dave Campbell to promote the speedsolving community by connecting fellow Rubik’s Cube enthusiasts and hosting official competitions across the country.
The Rubik’s Cube was created by Hungarian inventor Erno Rubik in 1974, where it went on to become one of the world’s best selling puzzles. This iconic toy of the 1980s has seen resurgence in popularity in the 21st century thanks to the Internet and international speedsolving competitions. The current official world record for fastest Rubik’s Cube solve is 7.08 seconds, set by Erik Akkersdjik in 2008.
Canadian Blood Services is a national, not-for-profit charitable organization that manages the supply of blood and blood products in all provinces and territories outside of Quebec. Canadian Blood Services also oversees the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, and provides national leadership for organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Canadian Blood Services operates 40 permanent collection sites and more than 20,000 donor clinics annually. The provincial and territorial Ministries of Health provide operational funding to Canadian Blood Services. The federal government, through Health Canada, is responsible for regulating the blood system. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.blood.ca.
Call 1-888-2-DONATE to book an appointment to donate blood.
Visit www.canadiancubing.com for more information on Vancouver Open 2009.
###
For more information, please contact:
Vince Yim
Phone: 604.338.2011
E-mail: vancubers@gmail.com
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sub50
The same cannot be said for this poor chap who I encountered on the Burrard Street Bridge who had a very distinctive brown wet spot that extended to his knees. At first I thought he was some homeless guy who somehow stumbled onto the Sun Run, but when I took a quick look at him, he had a Sun Run registration number pinned to his shirt. The overwhelming stench of fecal matter encouraged me to run a little faster. This alone probably allowed me to shave 5 or 10 seconds off my final time.
It's not completely unheard of for triathalon athletes to lose control of bodily functions while in the middle of a run and he did have an extremely dazed expression on his face, suggesting that he was really not doing well. However, this was only 2km into a 10km run and this guy was walking. The fact that he was wearing jeans strongly indicates that he was very unprepared for the Sun Run and probably shouldn't have been on there in the first place.
I have no idea what was going through this guy's head (although we already can guess what went through his pants). Rest stops were spaced out at fairly reasonable intervals, and even still, he could've found some bushes or a dumpster somewhere.
But really, I do feel for the guy. Sentient and civilized control of our bodily wastes is one of the few things that separate us from animals. But even when we have our occasional little slip ups, we do whatever we can to keep them hidden. Heck, even dropping out of the race to go find a cheap pair of pants and then a public washroom to clean up would be the most logical solution, but not for this guy.
Maybe he's just the most stubborn Sun Runner in existence.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Broken Window Theory
The Broken Window Theory suggests that failure to clean up any sort of building defacement will eventually result in the said area eventually degrading into a complete crap-hole. Okay, not quite in such terms, but it seems to suggest that small little things, allowed to accumulate, eventually snowball into something much larger and harder to contain. Conversely, fixing small problems immediately puts a stop to that.
Take my building, for example. Unfortunately, people in my building a very poor sense of etiquette when it comes to properly disposing of large items of trash like furniture. The corridors of the building are being used as trash dumping grounds, leaving others to take care of the problem. I'll occasionally pick it up, like if someone leaves a few bottles and cans, from which I can get a deposit. But lately, it's been getting ridiculous and the items being dumped around are getting progressively larger and larger.
As of this writing, I count two televisions, three chairs, two bed frames, two mattress/box spring sets, a dresser, and two couches that have been just DUMPED there with no one to claim them or take responsibility for them. I have half a mind to take each of these items and set them on fire in the middle of the night. All I know is that because one person is willing to dump something there, everyone else feels free to, in spite of a sign saying "No dumping, fine $1000". With no surveillance, who's going to know?
With all of this happening, I suddenly feel less and less motivated to clean up after the dog after she does her business on the lawn behind the building. I mean, the dog's leavings will eventually biodegrade after less than a week, plus they will also add to the compost and help encourage grass growth. That old television? It'll biodegrade too. After about a thousand something years.
We really need to move.
Monday, February 16, 2009
2.0
I've had an interesting relationship with computers, being that I'm far from the most tech savvy around (there's a reason why I switched my major to arts), although I can now comfortably say I'm capable of building my own computer from scratch. Well, yes and no.
Since getting that old upgrade in 2004, quite a few things have happened to that computer's hardware setup. The motherboard decided to commit suicide about a year and a half in (possibly due to a power surge). The cause of this was unknown, so I took it to the shop to get it swapped out. Then in 2007, the CD-R drive stopped working, but being that the part was simple enough to replace, I just went to the local electronics store to get a DVD-RW. And then, due to some sort of hardware conflict, the computer just kept rebooting itself after I got to the Windows loadup screen.
Not knowing what to do, I went back to my original computer dealer and asked him to check it out. What he reported to me was that my video card wasn't seated properly, which he fixed. He then proceeded to upgrade my RAM, which would supposedly address some performance issues. So, I get the bad boy home, fire it up, and lo and behold, it still reboots itself when Windows loads up.
After trying a multitude of quick fixes, I just try something random and decide to uninstall Norton SystemWorks (no, it doesnt!), which I was contemplating doing anyway (that, and it didn't prevent me from getting a nasty piece of spyware), and suddenly I'm able to boot up my system.
Flash forward to 2009. The computer is getting kinda slow from years of internet build up, stuff that I never got around to deleting, and generally just being 4 years old. So, the missus and I decide that we're just going to clean out our hard drives and start rebuilding the file systems from scratch. Backing up everything (well, almost everything...), we clean off the slate, but I'm still not satisfied. Despite repeated attempts at cleaning out the computer case and fans with compressed air and vacuuming, it's still noisy as hell. Asking my friend who provided tech support, we collectively determine that the main source of noise in the computer is the power supply.
So, $100 or so later, I run home with a new power supply and promptly install it, which takes less than a few minutes. And, it doesn't take care of the problem. Understandable, as there are three sources of noise in the computer, namely the case fan, the CPU heatsink fan, and the fan on the graphics card. Going in order of cheapness and feasibility of things to replace, I go case fan (under $10), CPU HSF (under $50), and at a last resort, graphics card (the newer of which wouldn't be compatible with my motherboard).
With the newfound confidence that comes with being able to install a power supply really quickly, I proceed to take apart my computer and have my motherboard in my hands, where I am trying to figure out how the heck I remove the stock heatsink fan. Looking at the new heatsink fan, I follow the instructions, thinking that my motherboard utilizes an Intel LGA775 socket. Without a second thought, I proceed to remove the mounting bracket, popping out the anchoring pegs and squeezing together the pins with a pair of pliers, but one is particularly problematic to remove, so I start twisting a little more aggressively.
I then take a quick look at the motherboard wiring diagram that I'm viewing on my laptop. Much to my slight disappointment, it turns out that the motherboard utilizes Socket 478, which has a different set of instructions for mounting the heatsink fan. Much to my horror, I realize that the pliers left behind a noticeable gouge at the bottom of the motherboard, leaving one or two connections exposed and severed. Oops.
Disheartened, I already know the result of this, but put the computer together anyway. I don't even get as far as the BIOS screen.
Lesson learned #1: Double check beforehand to ensure that I'm following the correct set of instructions.
Lesson learned #2: Metal tools do not often mix well with sensitive electronics.
Feeling pretty stupid and a little bit crestfallen as a result, I try to justify it to myself by reminding myself how old the computer is, and that I was probably going to upgrade it anyway. But the fact remains that the upgrade must occur sooner than I was originally planning (it was going to coincide with the release of StarCraft II). Checking my finances as to what I can realistically afford, I go to the local NCIX to see what kind of package I can get for the money I can scrounge up from the ole change jar.
Of course, what I already suspect is confirmed - very little of the machine is salvagable, although I will be saving some money on the stuff that I can salvage (the case, the hard drive, the DVD-R drive, the power supply, the fans). But, I can't even salvage the DDR on my old system, as is has since been outmoded twice, although I can think where it can go when I'm done with it, provided that it's compatible. After waiting until I have sufficient cash flow, I head back and pick up my loot, and it's even dropped by a couple bucks. Gotta love how technology outpaces the inflation rate.
The entire installation and configuration process starts in the morning for preparation (getting packages opened, planning attack), and then quickly realizing that I'm also out of thermal paste (interface material between the CPU and the heatsink fan) and the new motherboard has rendered two PCI devices obsolete, which will leave behind two expansion slot holes.
Lesson learned #3: Make sure that all materials are in hand before proceeding with install to avoid running around town to obtain parts.
Luckily, both materials are readily available. Not working on the computer until the evening, the install takes well into the wee hours of the morning, partly because I want to take my time and do this properly (ie: not have a repeat of the pliers vs. motherboard incident), but mostly owing to the fact that this is the first time I'm doing hardware replacements on this level.
Because this stuff is really tiny and delicate, it's to maneuver my hands into the chasis to put things in like screws, leading to much trial and error, until I realize that the largest components are easily movable.
Lesson learned #4: It's much easier to navigate around the inside of a desktop PC when you take out the power supply.
After reading and re-reading the wiring digrams, I hope and pray that I have everything right and then I run into another stumbling block. The old motherboard had two ports for IDE devices, which were once occupied by the DVD-R drive and the hard drive. The new motherboard has ONE port for an IDE device. And of course, the DVD-R drive and hard drive don't have ports for SATA, of which the motherboard has, like, half a dozen.
Looking at my collection of IDE cables, my initial fears are calmed by the realization the IDE cable can actually hook up two devices to it. But unfortunately, the three plugs are the same shape and spread out along this ribbon-like cable, and they aren't spread out evenly, which means two plugs are really close together and the other one is really far apart. Looking at my current set up, my DVD-R drive and hard drive are 10 inches apart, but the hard drive is relatively close to the IDE plug, so I hook it up that way.
Thinking I have it all set up and ready to go, I proceed to spend the next 5 minutes reaching behind the computer to blindly plug in every single device. Like, every single one. Even the network cable, which unfortunately is a little bit shorter than I'd like. And then I boot it up, and then get error message about a bad boot disc. Okay, try it again. Same error message. So, maybe I should just reinstall Windows? I use the BIOS setup to boot from the DVD-R drive. Nothing happens. I then proceed to unplug everything and crack the system open again to see what went wrong.
Lesson learned #5: Do not hook everything up until you're sure the thing works properly.
Thinking it might have something to do with my jumper settings, I double check to make sure that the DVD-R is set to "slave" and the HD is set to "master," which it is. I then swap out the IDE cable, thinking that it is faulty. I then go back, try to hook in a few more devices (because really, I just love staying up past midnight), and then I get the same error message.
Not quite ready to give up and go to sleep, I unplug everything, and this time I decide to move my monitor, keyboard, and mouse to my work area. With my last IDE cable, namely the one that came with the motherboard, I take a closer look and realize that the plugs are actually colour coded and the end that goes into the motherboard matches. Of course, that presents an additional problem as to how to plug in two devices together, which I solve by simply moving the DVD-R drive to the lowest drive bay position.
Lesson learned #6: Just because the plug will physically fit, doesn't mean that it's supposed to go there.
With the new physical hardware properly installed, I then attempt to boot up my computer, and doesn't quite recognize the new hardware yet, because it reboots itself each time, but at least it acknowledges the hard drive, meaning it's at least hooked up properly. Safe mode doesn't quite cut it, so I decide to repair my Windows installation. And as I already am aware, I have to verify that I'm the legitimate owner of Windows, as they immediately assume that because the hardware changed, that I obviously pirated it.
With that out of the way, I crack open the case again, ensure that everything is hooked up properly (even lights that don't light up properly), and then finally hook everything up, confident that it'll work this time.
Lesson learned #7: Unless the drivers are properly installed, do not assume that plug and play is going to automatically save you.
Of course, nothing is working like it used to, since the software is expecting a 4-year old hardware set up. And, I have no internet, which means I can't download patches and drivers, but thankfully, I have the driver discs in front of me. Eventually, the internet starts working again, but I still can't hear anything, even though I supposedly installed drivers (choosing the "install all" option). I reboot several times, no results. So, I take a closer look at the install disc and then select the audio set up, and lo-and-behold, it works.
I look at the time and it's now 2AM and I don't have any current games installed on my system. I was contemplating holding out for a PS3, given that games for PS3 are guaranteed to run on PS3, whereas games for PC will require you to drop several times the dollar equivalent of a PS3 on your PC so the games will run, but being that my system is now capable of running current games, I go for it. Not wanting to put my system at the mercy of draconian DRM (Digital Rights Management) that will put a limit on the number of installs and make it harder to use, I log into the Steam network, where I purchase and download Left 4 Dead, which I know is on a 50% off sale, going for $24.99. I set it up for download overnight. Amazingly, this is the easiest part of the whole computer installation thing.
Lesson learned #8: Always leave time for computer games.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Crashing Through the Snow
Does anybody remember the movie Lost World: Jurassic Park? If you blocked it out (because really, that movie is kinda embarrassing), there's a scene where a T-Rex nudges a couple of trailers towards a cliff, so a quick thinking hero hitches the trailers onto the back of his truck and he floors the gas pedal so that he can pull the trailers back onto safe ground. And of course, the truck is hydroplaning on muddy ground from side to side, but somehow manages to his goal.
I sometimes wonder if that film was used in lieu of proper driver's ed.
Vancouver residents are usually used to two types of weather: rain and sunny periods. However, the tendency seems to be that a single flake of snow hits the ground, and all the lessons of driver's ed are spontaneously forgotten. It's not complete rocket science. Drive slowly and leave plenty of room behind the vehicle in front of you.
It's quite simple, actually. If your wheels are spinning, it means that they aren't getting a proper grip on the road, so you aren't going to be moving that fast. And to avoid that, you lightly touch the gas pedal so that your tires get a proper grip on the snow and move you forward. I don't even consider myself a "great" driver, yet I was able to get home safely without sliding or spinning, and all without the benefit of snow tires and chains. And yes, the road conditions on Granville street were pretty horrendous.
And of course, I encountered at least three drivers that managed to completely forget the basic rules of driving in adverse road conditions. I could make a few concessions for the guy in the Ford Mustang GT. It's a rear wheel drive vehicle, which makes it more difficult to climb up steep inclines. We watched as he slid completely off to the side.
The guy in the Mazda 3 fared slightly better, as he was able to at least sort of keep up with traffic. I'm assuming that he had decent tires, even though he was spinning his wheels the entire way. He also had front wheel drive. but I still made a point of giving this guy a clear path.
What really made the trip truly memorable was the young woman driving an Audi Quattro. It's times like this that remind me that there's a good reason why the Chinese are stereotyped as bad drivers, and as much as I would prefer to deny it, times like this make me hang my head in shame. And I'm Chinese, and I drive, which by definition, makes me a "Chinese driver."
For starters, she was gunning the engine, causing the wheels to spin in place, yet she wasn't going very fast. As a result, she was seriously impeding traffic, and I wasn't able to overtake her for a while, as traffic in the other lane was being impeded by another guy who was also spinning his wheels. What made it even better, was the fact that her passenger actually got out of the vehicle to kick snow out of the way. And yes, they were both Chinese.
It's bad enough that she's impeding traffic because she doesn't know how to drive in adverse road conditions, but the logic behind their alternative attempt at moving just boggles the mind. It's pretty certain that the vehicle isn't going to be moving very fast while the wheels are spinning, but there is still the off-hand chance that the wheels will catch a grip somewhere...while the guy is in front of her kicking snow out of the way. And then there also begs the question. For how long were they planning on doing this? There's a pretty good chance that they live in Richmond too. Do they plan to cross the Oak street bridge like that too?
I'm really anticipating tomorrow's morning news showing some guy got run over by an Audi because he was trying to clear the snow by kicking it out of the way.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Gold Medal in Complaining Goes To...(cue anthem)
The Olympic games has always invited controversy no matter what. Allegation of doping, bribery of officials, poor sportsmanship, and misappropriation of government resources to hold games have all been sources of controversy. The 2008 Beijing games are especially controversial, especially over China's human rights records and air quality. As to the games themselves, the Chinese women's gymnastics team has gotten controversy as they look a little bit young to be 16, the minimum age for competition. And of course, the Chinese team landed gold.
At one point, the words "never accepting defeat" usually meant taking your mistakes, learning from them, and trying that much harder in the next competition. Now, it seems to mean something else entirely. In certain cases, such as bribing of officials or illegal substances, the case is certainly legitimate. For example, in one swimming event, the Chinese winner came first, although was immediately disqualified after a false start.
So, when the favoured American team fails to land gold, it's nothing to do with training tactics of China being superior to Americans or their the Americans unable to focus under pressure. No, it's the stadium official's fault that Alicia Sacramone fell off the balance beam and didn't stick the landing during a floor exercise.
There is no doubt that athletic training is a very strict discipline, even more so in the Olympic levels. You literally eat, sleep, breath, live for the sport and have nothing else. However, in China, they take it a bit further. Chinese children are hand-picked from their homes and daycares when they are just able to walk, and are put to long training regimens, and if they're lucky, they get to see their parents once a year. Western countries have side-line parents that berate coaches and officials when their precious little snowflakes don't see ice time.
Simply put, the Chinese get things done, human rights and individual liberties be damned. It's a bit of a frightening way to look at it, with the notion that individual liberties and democracy are highly overrated, but look at the results. China's economy is a juggernaut with no signs of slowing and their athletes are cleaning up. Western countries place a lot of emphasis on individual liberties and freedoms, and are somehow shocked when these things don't come at a price.
Everything comes with a price, including the rigorous Chinese training regimen. Athletes training with rigorous pace can achieve excellence in sport, but once their bodies are no longer able to maintain the pace, what else can they do? Unfortunately, there are a lot more athletes than coaches, so they really have to come up with a new game plan. This is doubly the case for athletes in communist states, where they have zero skills in any other application. Look at Jackie Chan, one of the most well known actors from Hong Kong. He was inducted into the Beijing Opera School at a very young age and considered a great athlete in his day, but now in his 50s, he's functionally illiterate. And for Chinese athletes that are permanently injured, they're essentially treated like American war veterans, and no one ever remembers Chinese athletes after their glories have long past, because of the emphasis on the state over the individual. People still remember Mary Lou Retton.
Sometimes, you have to wonder if the Beijing Olympics are a metaphor for the direction the world is taking. China, not previously a strong medal contender, is a serious force to be reckoned with. America, previously strong in most events, especially women's gymnastics, is forced to take second, and can only complain.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Vancouver Open 2008, post mortem
After years of practice, I entered my first Rubik's Cube speedsolving competition...only to get schooled by a 7th grader.
The first official competition outside of Toronto, the event conformed to standards held by the World Cubing Association, complete with judges, scramble algorithms, and trash talking only done in the most light-hearted sense.
I've been eagerly awaiting this competition, even though I have yet to crack the sub20 second mark (one of the desired benchmarks is a 15 second average, and the world record is currently under 9 seconds), but was able to hold my own enough to make final round. Among the highlights of the competition:
- Top three places for Rubik's Cube held by newcomers Ibrahim Vajgel-Shedid (average of 15.47 seconds), Kristopher de Asis (average of 18.14 seconds), and Deseree Aune (average of 20.83 seconds), making her the fastest female Canadian cuber.
- Ibrahim Vajgel-Shedid winning at pretty much every event he entered - MiniCube (2x2x2), Rubik's Cube (3x3x3), and Rubik's Revenge (4x4x4).
- American Jameson O'Connor bringing his entire twisty puzzle collection, ranging from eBay rarities to custom pieces...many of which ended up getting broken. Oops.
- Organizer Hong Chen capturing the first place rank for blindfold solving, followed by Kristopher de Asis. Everyone else didn't finish.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Weird Eats
"Ancient people found that their clothes got cleaner when they washed them in a certain point in the river. Y'know why? Human sacrifices were once made on the hills above the river. Bodies burned and water seeped into the wood and ashes to create lye."
"Look at your hand. The first soap was made from the ashes of heroes. Like the first monkey shot into space. Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing."
In theory, upon consumption, the luak's digestive system enzymes partially break down the coffee beans, removing much of the bitter taste after the undigested beans pass through the system. Upon harvesting (a task destined for Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs, if there ever was one), these beans are cleaned, ground, and turned into the most expensive coffee in the world (never mind the fact that a 2008 Stanford study indicated that 1000 random taste testers couldn't tell the difference between that and the cheap brands).
This is but one of the weird foods that have become delicacies in parts of the world. Others may be familiar with durian, a fruit with an extremely foul aroma that has gotten it banned in public transportation in South East Asia. The Simpsons episode "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Bluefish" taught the world about fugu, a Japanese pufferfish that has been known to cause fatal poisoning when prepared improperly.
The conversation turned to us speculating as to how certain things defy all logic and wisdom and somehow end up being turned into food. If it's excreted from an animal's bottom, we leave it where it lies or we put it in a bag and toss it in the trash. If it's prickly and spiky and smells like turpentine and raw sewage, we leave it alone. If parts of it are poisonous, we don't touch the things. So how do they fetch stupidly high prices at the gourmet supermarket and restaurants? And why did we end up eating them in the first place? And who thought it would be a great idea to go to all this effort just to figure out how to eat it safely?
My first theory is that it's to do with desperation. When people get really hungry, people start eating just about anything. It's been established that dandelions, often the scourge of proud lawn owners, are edible and can even be found in salads. Denise suggests that everything is so accessible, that we've got bored with everything else.
So, that leaves the next question. How many people had to die before they figured out the proper way to prepare fugu? Fugu has been around as a foodstuff since at least 2000 years, so they've had at least that long to get it right, which invalidates my original theory that the Yakuza was using it as a method to kill off their enemies, and the survivors figured out that they were eating the right portions of it. An alternate theory is that they studied what predatory animals left behind and figured that those parts were toxic.
Denise tells me of a specific type of nut that must be prepared in a very specific manner -- it must be mashed, chewed, cooked for an exact period of time. Anything else and it will be toxic. And apparently, this was a traditional type of dish too (ie: before the invention of stopwatches and egg timers and the use of laboratory animals in research).
And then there's another alternate theory...it was force fed to the peasants so that the rich would know what food to eat without dying horrible deaths.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Rubik's Cube Competition - Vancouver Open, June 14th 2008
(click to enlarge, click here to download a PDF.)
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Crisis? What Crisis?
While most people take comfort in knowing that they may be/are right, this is one case where I really, really hope that I'm wrong.
As of this writing, oil is over $126USD/barrel, the local gas station now charges $1.35 per litre of gas, food riots are occurring in Asia and Africa, global grain are increasing, leading to higher prices for staples here in North America and starvation and famine overseas, subprime mortgages are causing mass foreclosures and homelessness across America, and the world population just went past 6.666666666 billion people.
All of these are just ingredients to a perfect storm that will easily erode the global social infrastructure, leading to panic, chaos, civil unrest, and the downfall of western civilization.
This is something I've written about previously (see archives for more details) and I've realized that most people don't want to deal with it directly. Heck, I don't want to deal with it directly. The concept of the downfall of civilization is sobering and depressing. Who wants to think that their way of life is going to change for the worst? Who wants to think that all of humanity's great achievements will be lost and forgotten? Who wants to think about all of the mass employment that will result as the vast majority of industries dependent on energy will gradually become irrelevant? Aerospace, computers, film, electronics, robotics, automotive mechanics, airline travel, space exploration...all obsolete.
As much as I can hope and pray for a soft landing after our tumbling from the peak of civilization, I fear that it's not going to happen. Hurricane Katrina served as a horrible warning of what we can expect - the dissolution of social infrastructure leads to chaos. Katrina was evil mirror opposite of 9/11, where 9/11 was responded with an immediate outpouring of support, but the people of New Orleans were left to their own devices. So, when social infrastructure is completely powered by oil, what can we expect, except mini Hurricane Katrinas all over the world?
Ass-backwards approaches to the way we do things hasn't been helping matters along. In an effort to conserve oil, somebody thought it was a great idea to divert food stocks (ie: corn) and turn them into ethanol to power our monster SUVs and minivans, even though research indicates that the energy return on energy invested is negative. We regularly consume meat, even though we're essentially running at a fraction of energy efficiency, consuming 7 kilograms of grain to breed 1 kilogram of beef.
Many of our problems are indicative of a peak in oil production, given how much the price has increased lately (a gain of $30 a barrel in less than 5 months, $12 gain in less than a week), but we've been all focused on trying to curtail global warming and climate change. In effect, there's a strong possibility that the peak in oil production may essentially take care of the problem. With everybody priced out of the market and too poor to afford stuff, trucks will stop hauling our coveted Walmart crap across the country, China will stop spewing factory fumes into the air, and cars will be pulled off the road because no one can afford to fill up their tanks anymore.
Maybe, JUST MAYBE, after all the dust has settled, then we can work on rebuilding civilization to a more sustainable state. More emphasis on family, community, and the environment, less emphasis on consumption and individual achievement. The people will live healthier, happier, with less environmental toxins and pollutions and stress.
So will it be a soft landing or a crash landing? Well, at least if it's a crash landing, we'll recover faster.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
They needed a specialist for THAT?!
Over the past few months, I've developed a moderate case of eczema, which is usually a manifestation of impaired liver function or allergies. I bit the bullet and went to a dermatologist in November and was scheduled to undergo a patch test to determine what I'm allergic to. This appointment is booked for December 19th.
I receive a phone call two days prior, telling me that the specialist was going on holiday. On the day of my appointment. While I admit that it was my bad not giving the right phone number, which resulted in a delay in them contacting me. However, I really question the professionalism when they give such last minute notice that they're going on vacation. And, they even tell me that there are no other appointment dates within a day or two of the original appointment date, so I now have to wait over a month.
Flash-forward to January 25th. I'm not really looking forward to this because I know allergy tests involve them scratching allergens into your skin. Then I finally find out that a patch test only involves them taping strips of chemicals to your back and then you come back 48 hours later to see what induces a reaction.
This takes a total of five minutes. This also obviously required the expertise of a specialist, because there was no way they could get just about anybody else from the office to TAPE FOUR STRIPS OF MATERIAL TO MY BACK, because that's just so difficult and requires years of training and experience to do properly.
The upside is that I'll finally figure out what I'm allergic to so I can know what to avoid eating. The downside is that I can't shower until 48 hours after the patch test is administered and the chemical patches are removed.
Friday, January 11, 2008
1 Guy 1 Bowl
My old supervisor once said that whenever a civilization is about to go under, they start doing all sorts of messed up stuff like human sacrifices, Roman showers, vomitoriums, and cannibalism. Somehow, I don't think we're that far off.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
More (Mis)Adventures In Craigslistland
(originally posted at http://vancouver.craigslist.org/zip/466369142.html)
Reply to: sale-466369142@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-11-01, 6:14PM PDT
Hey, guys. It's me again. However, it seems like the message ain't exactly getting through, because yet again, crap with varying level of usefulness is littered where it really doesn't belong. C'mon. It's NOT THAT HARD. Regardless of its state, there are proper channels to get rid of your crap. If it's not usable, send it to the local dump or recycling facility yourself. If it's still usable, donate it to charity. Heck, even put up a notice on the community bulletin board. Or better yet, use Craigslist. Last time I did this, two out of three items were gone in less than 12 hours.
Yes, I'll admit that some of these items are quite sizeable, and without a car, it makes it a bit of a pain in the butt to cart around. But even still, local charities will actually pick some of this stuff up for you IF YOU ASK.
Look people. Even if your mom does live here (which she might), it's still YOUR responsibility to clean up after yourself. Dumping it wherever the heck you feel will not only raise the ire of your neighbours and the strata, but will also mean that the strata garbage pickup guys will charge us more for it.
Up for grabs is the following.
1. Bookshelf. It might be made out of wood, or it might be made out of particle board with paper covering to vaguely resemble wood. The thing is pretty tall and wide, so it'll hold a lot of books. Or, it'll hold a lot of picture frames and figurines. Or, you can take it apart and use it for firewood. I don't frickin' care, just get it out of here.
UPDATE: The bookshelf is actually made out of aluminum, painted to merely look like wood. But that's kinda moot because somebody already has picked this up, so it's gone. Thanks, Telly! You rock!
2. Cat exercise gym. I'm guessing this thing is used, and most likely has residual traces of whatever cat used it (I won't go into graphic details...this is a family website). If you Febreeze or bleach the hell out of it, it might be clean enough for your cat (but all those extra chemicals might give you cancer). But, you know how finicky cats can be. Failing that, you might be able to turn it into some crazy art project. Spray paint and sparkles not included.
3. Acer CRT monitor. I don't even know if this thing works. If it does, hey, free monitor. If it doesn't, you can convert it into a fish tank or you can use it as a prop in an independent student film if you're doing a remake of "Office Space" (although yes, I know that they used a copier). I don't care what you do with it, really. As long as it's legal (although if you're using it on your computer to download MP3s, I *GUESS* that's okay).
Like last time, I cannot and will not vouch for the quality or workmanship of any of this stuff, nor will I be held responsible for anything that happens as a result of you picking this stuff up. If your cat pulls up a random staple from the cat gym and requires emergency veterinary surgery, that is YOUR problem. If the bookshelf collapses and destroys a priceless China set, I don't care. If you actually attempt to turn the CRT monitor into a fish tank and you forget to unplug it and get electrocuted, lemme know so I can inform the guys who give out the Darwin Awards.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Survival of the (Un)Fittest
"Mensa membership exceeding, tell me why and how are all the stupid people breeding."
"The Idiots Have Taken Over", by NOFX
During my time on PlentyOfFish.com, between meeting people, I was on the message boards. One particular group was dedicated to profile reviews. Given my current occupation and school background, I took it upon myself to review people's profiles, partly for general appeal to target audience, but more often than not, for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
The most common spelling mistake I would point out is "a lot." The number of times I was correcting it was highly indicative of several things, one being the low level of spelling skills among an unfortunate percentage of the users on that site. The other being lack of motivation to read and do some level of edits before submitting for review.
I'm not sure if it's just overuse of spellcheckers that have caused this (why bother learning to spell when MS Word is going to automatically correct it for you?). Either that, or it's severely de-emphasized in the school system. However, I can still recall 10th Grade English class, where the teacher was STILL telling us the difference between "a lot" (a large quantity) and "allot" (to distribute or mete out).
Um...isn't that something that you're supposed to have nailed in THIRD GRADE?
Spelling gaffes are a surefire way to blow credibility in anything, whether it be a resumé, visual presentation, or advertisement. I'm still thinking of a public service ad on the bus where they actually used "who's" (contraction for "who is") instead of "whose" (possessive article).
Stuff like this truly makes me feel better about my level of job security, given the fact that there will always be a "need" for it. But, being that no one notices spelling until something is spelled wrong, it doesn't necessarily mean that anyone will appreciate it.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Previously, I was talking about inconsiderate neighbours who dump their unwanted furniture in the communal garbage area without any consideration for others who definitely DON'T want to have to deal with this crap. The situation finally came to a head when somebody dumped to large pieces of furniture (ie: too large to fit into the dumpsters) by the trash collection areas.
But, evidently, I'm not the only one who had a problem with it, as I found this note posted on top of an old chair that really needed to be re-upholstered.
These pieces of furniture have been there for the better part of a week without the said tenant coming to retrieve them, so I did the Robin Hood thing and I posted it up on Craigslist. Lo and behold, in less than 24 hours, I have 5 responses and they are gone. To demonstrate to the anonymous douchebag who decided to arbitrarily dump his crap there that there are proper channels for getting rid of unwanted crap, I printed the posting and tacked it on the communal bulletin board.
Unfortunately, the exercise bike is still there, while the note that was tacked on the bulletin board has since been removed.
