Mosquito bite count: (unchanged)
-Hands: 4 / Arms: 5 / Shoulders: 4 / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 / Neck: 2
-Back: 0 / Legs: 0
Sunburn incident count: 1 (completely healed, now peeling)
I can say with absolute confidence that Brazil is not a tourist destination for the germ phobic or those with constant hand-washing OCD. While this may be less applicable for areas such as Rio de Janeiro (which more caters to English-speaking gringos Americano), the non-TP accepting toilets, Kafka-esque public washrooms, and prevalence of winged bloodsuckers and creepy crawlies will have the OCD types substituting hand sanitizer with bleach.
Batizado day in Olinda had us training with both Mestre Eclilson (it was also his birthday today) and Mestre Derli. For this location, we ended up in a public theatre auditorium which was in a bit of a state of disrepair. We ended up cleaning up the floor with our feet, hands, and uniforms, which further cements how much I really don’t want to complain when the academy back home gets messy. The unfortunate bathroom facilities are even worse, causing one of our group to develop a sudden case of shy bladder until more suitable facilities can be located. In his words, "I took one look at the toilet, and my penis said NOOOOOOOOO!"
It may be more of a function of the weather and inadequate ventilation rather than our level of exertion, as I was dripping with sweat after and during classes. I was able to stave off dehydration with a litre of Guarana soda and 1.5 litres of water, made possible with the really cheap supermercado that was up the street. I was about ready to stock up for home, given that 1.5 litres of water is about 50% more expensive in Porto (1,29 R$ at the Olinda supermercado vs. 2 R$ in Porto), but they were shut down early, as were all the other businesses except for restaurants.
Lunch took place at a local restaurant that promised both Brazilian and Chinese cuisine. Having spent many a dollar at the restaurants in Richmond, I know what real Chinese food is supposed to be like, so my expectations were extremely low. Given that I was hungry, it was still adequate, although I would avoid a place like this if it was back home.
Batizado was a little more long and tedious this time around in comparison to the Batizado in Palmares. Many major landmarks were achieved however. Kayla received her first belt and apelido (“Jaguar”), while Contra Mestre Gordo and Professore Pit Bull were promoted to their next ranks (Mestre and Conra Mestre, respectively). We also made a few interesting contacts and a few friends.
The ceremony dragged on long enough that a small group of us had to head out to find a snack (preferably ice cream), but we ended up getting caught up in a drum parade. We still haven’t found out what the special occasion is, but it would explain why half of the businesses are shuttered. It may be for the Brazilian equivalent of the Day of the Dead, but I don’t see any decorations to that effect.
Overall, this Batizado is a disappointment compared to the one in Palmares, not only given the horrifying bathroom facilities and dirty floors, but the level of disorganization. Apparently, the original venue was changed at the last minute due to the group being bumped in favour of another. Supposedly, Brazil is a candidate for being an economic superpower. I don’t know if I want them in charge.
We end up at a pizza place for dinner and spend 10 R$, while Mestre’s extended family brings in birthday cake for Mestre. Para bens pra vocé, Mestre Eclilson. Before we leave, I take a photo of the locally produced liquid zero-calorie sweetener. The photo on the package has a provocative image of a woman drinking coffee while a man holds her from behind. The name of the product is “Assugrin.” I am so buying a bottle to take home when I get the chance.
With this being the month of December, businesses are gearing up for Christmas, although it’s easy for me to forget that, given that it’s summery weather here. Coming from Canada, I tend to associate Christmas with cold weather, the North Pole, snow, winter wonderland, and Bing Crosby (“I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”). I feel really, really bad for the local Brazilians that are tasked with dressing up like Padre Noel, given that they didn’t adapt the non-secular Christmas icon for warm weather (i.e.: Santa Claus still dresses up in the thick, fleecy, and furry Santa suit even in the sun).
The van ride home is uneventful as half of us are asleep through it. I’m crashing early tonight too. Next up: Berimbau workshop.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 9 (domingo, decembro 13)
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 8 (sabado, decembro 12)
Mosquito bite count: (unchanged)
-Hands: 4 / Arms: 5 / Shoulders: 4 / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 / Neck: 2
-Back: 0 / Legs: 0
Sunburn incident count: 1 (completely healed, now waiting to peel)
The various spurts of Internet goodness have indicated that things at home are going as well as can be...when I left, things were kinda going to hell in the apartment (mouse infestation), but to hopefully soften the blow, I made sure that there would be a gift waiting for the girlfriend on her birthday. I know this won’t make up for the mouse infestation that was there when I left, but I have to try.
The only infestation I am dealing with is mosquitoes and tiny ants which are just about everywhere. Last night while chewing on sugar cane, I discovered ants made their way to it, so to protect my precious sugar cane, I tossed in the bar fridge. Now I’m chewing on ant-free sugar cane while spitting the fibres out into a bag while blogging. Life is good.
On the other hand, I’m just wondering if I’m getting a negative return on energy investment, as I have chewed through about 4 inches of sugar cane in the past half hour, which is less than a teaspoon of sugar. The mosquito bites on my arms have radiated redness to the surrounding area, which has made my arm slightly puffy.
Today has been relax day, where we had no set agenda (i.e.: no 2-hour road trip to Olinda or Palmares), except for music class with Professore Pit Bull. Lots of lazy going on here, with us just walking to town in search of a beach towel, but the language barrier makes stuff difficult. We still haven’t found a suitable beach towel.
We had pizza lunch with Julia, one of the Pousada hostesses. We’ve unofficially given her the Capoeira nickname Bacalhau (“cod”), based on the number of times she’s attempted to get us to pronounce that word properly (“Bola… ba… ba… BA… BA… KA… LEEYAO”). While she attempts to teach us Portuguese, we attempt to share English as well.
After lunch, Julia was going to help me find a beach towel, but not in the stores we came across (“Tudo não tem!”). While the women in the group were checking out a place for wraps and sarongs, Julia suggested that I buy a gift for the girlfriend at home. I understand enough to realize that she is trying to get me to tell her which dress size. I have to go with the typical guy response: Eu não sei (“I don’t know”). She then goes onto compare various sizes, pointing at me, indicating esbelto (slender) and The Other Vince as mas forte (not so slender).
I’m not sure if in Brazil there are consequences for buying gifts of clothing for wives and girlfriends of the wrong size, but I attempt to explain it. “Eu compra ‘mas forte’ pra minha namorada…” I start. I then point to myself and make a choking and punching gesture. Maybe it’s easier to say, “Ela me mata.”
After an emergency run to the Pousada restroom (not actual traveller’s diarrhoea, as far as I can tell), we hit the beach. I come to an area where some of our friends have already rented some chairs and umbrellas. This is handy, as this allows me to check my bag with some of our Pousada neighbours. The Other Vince stays out in the water while I alternate between poorly-motivated Capoeira movements and jumping in the water.
I am greeted with another reminder of business practices in Brazil when Kirk, one of our travel companions, has the misfortune of getting stuck with a bill for chairs that were supposed to have been paid for. The problem of the language barrier rears its ugly head yet again, which leads to our young adoptee to attempt to diffuse the situation with his additional two months in Brazil (and therefore better understanding of Portuguese and Brazilian culture).
Realizing that he’s not going to win this battle any time soon, Kirk produces 20 R$, muttering, “They need it more than I do,” and dropping it on the ground in front of the vendor before storming off. The vendor says words to the effect of, “You don’t rip people off in Brazil.” After yesterday’s lunch incident, this is somewhat ironic.
The odd cultural differences have gotten The Other Vince and I saying f***-it to the Brazilian public infrastructure and we have decided to flush the TP down the toilet, partly on the advice of one of the English speaking tourists we ran into last night. This is us exacting our karmic retribution for being forced to pay for lunch.
Today Mestre went off to pick up Mestre Derli, a Capoeira mestre who spent time in the actual Cidade de Deus (“City of God,” a notorious favela which was immortalized in the film of the same name). I met him at our previous Batizados and have had several classes with him.
We were supposed to have roda in the public square, but the general lack of organization (i.e.: put together by the lower belted students including myself) means that the likelihood of it occurring is put into question, up until the point that we find some other group members. Not the best roda by usual standards, partly because it’s completely casual (no one is in full uniform, only a few instruments), also because Mestre wasn’t here, but we manage to attract enough attention that some of the locals want to play, and we even get a tourist from Australia to come out as well.
Tomorrow is Batizado day in Olinda and we’re leaving as soon as we’re done breakfast.
Food report: we were told to budget approximately 45 R$ per day, and other Vince and I have consistently kept our food costs at under 35 R$ per day on average (even including when we got stuck with a padded lunch bill yesterday). We finally breached that today with pizza at lunch (9 R$ each) and steak dinner (31 R$).
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 7 (sesta-feira, decembro 11)
Mosquito bite count:
-Hands: 4 / Arms: 5 (+4) / Shoulders: 4 (+2) / Chest: 1 / Head: 8 (+2) / Neck: 2
-Back: 0 / Legs: 0
Sunburn incident count: 1 (completely healed, waiting for it to peel)
It’s like my computer has been with a Brazilian prostitute, as my computer is now up cybercreek without a paddle. I’m now unable to connect to the internet, so this post will have to be put up retroactively. For whatever reasons, nothing is working properly on my computer, the antivirus programs have been disabled, and I can’t even install any new programs. Microsoft Word is only usable program right now.
They’re asking me to compile all of the photos onto DVD, but now that’s looking impossible, as doing so would produce a DVD more virus ridden than Paris Hilton. I don’t know where it came from, whether it was from the two people that viewed files on my computer or the internet connection key. I strongly suspect that it was Dragão.
Today started out pretty well, all things considered. Class was held out in Riberão, where we went to what looked like what used to be an airplane hangar. Bathroom facilities were non-existent, so I ended up using the great outdoors as the urinal (at least I’ve long since gotten over my fear of that). Class was taught by Contra Mestre Jean, who previously operated an independent Capoeira grupo, but joined Aché Brasil.
We saw a lot of students that we met in the previous week and I’m slowly learning everyone’s names, although it’s really tough. I like that they’re making an honest effort to make us feel welcome (attempts at English are always fun), although the use of the interpreter (read: Camara) is always important.
The class in Riberão was pretty good, although relatively short compared to the roda that followed. Despite the disparity in skill levels, I feel like I can hold my own, although it’s still intimidating when you got some guys who are really skilled and some guys who are really strong. Maculele was especially great to watch as they actually broke out the real machetes for that. I mimed slicing off a hand to Contra Mestre Pequeno, much to his amusement.
Regardless, it’s an incredibly energetic roda, probably one of the biggest ones we’ve been to so far. Some incredible acrobatics, strong games, and I’m liking meeting all of the people. My Portuguese is slowly improving bit by bit, although it’ll be a while until I’m considered fluent.
A highlight was hanging out with our favourite resident Capoeira man-whore, Superhomem. Attempting to explain him to an outsider is kind of tough, as he’s someone who’s extremely obnoxious and abrasive, speaks broken English, is not someone you’d bring to a proper function (like a funeral), and yet somehow, he has incredible luck with women. Basically, if you gave Borat incredible martial arts skills, tattoos, and rogue-ish charm, you’d have Superhomem. I haven’t decided if we’re actually laughing “at” or laughing “with” him, as just about everything he says provokes a reaction.
With his broken English, Superhomem told us about the problems he’s had with the language. “When I first learn English, I had someone ask me if I wanted to go for coffee, but I only heard ‘Go fo’ coff.’” Why does he want me to go f*** off?" Always a good time with Superhomem.
Then I spontaneously had my first off-day of this vacation. We ended up at this one restaurant with some really good food, but much to the disappointment of the eight of us who shown up first, we realized that the table filled up by another eight people (native Brazilians) who ordered more food, and left us with the bill. I bring this to the attention of Camara, who shrugs and merely says “That’s probably going to happen.”
The drive back to the Pousada also involved a stop off at a sugar cane plantation. This is where I received some extra bites on my arms and face. Just about everyone got bitten, and the ones I have are several times larger than the ones I received earlier in the week. Two on my arm have swollen to the size of dollar coins. We later end up at a public market, but hey guess what. We spent all of our money at dinner treating the Brazilians to lunch.
And then I come back to the Pousada only to find that my computer no longer works properly. I can’t even open Control Panel. Getting stuck with a bill and getting my computer screwed up have actually managed to get me mildly upset and now I’m starting to miss home. And unfortunately, there’s absolutely jack all I can do about it because I can’t even get on the internet to diagnose the problem, although I’m attempting to run Windows Defender and scan in safe mode. But, at least the sugar cane was nice.
Icing on the cake comes when the Other Vince and I head out into town to grab some snackage. We run into our travel companions to find a few of them drunk and our young adoptee getting pretty angry at them for being completely drunk. Babysitting drunks has never been my idea of a good time and sometimes it really sucks being the responsible adult. Given that this is one of three things that have gotten me ticked off today, I’m feeling particularly antisocial. However, I did get an apology from Dragao, and I did make a pre-emptive strike apology if it turns out that my computer doesn’t have a virus.
Tomorrow is our day off from training. The only thing this computer is being used for is as a paper weight and a word processor.
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 6 (quinta-feira, decembro 10)
Mosquito bite count (unchanged since yesterday):
-Hands: 4 / Arms: 1 / Shoulders: 2 / Chest: 1 / Face: 6 / Neck: 2
-Back: 0 / Legs: 0
Sunburn incident count: 1 (previous sunburn almost completely healed with no noticeable tenderness on my shoulders)
Over breakfast, Other Vince and I were discussing Asian stereotypes and one of my goals to do a short film comedy with that theme. One scene would involve the Asian stereotype about being especially gifted with fixing computers. As luck would have it, the Pousada employees were having complaints about the way the computer was running, so Mestre asked if I could do something about it.
The lack of maintenance and care is extremely evident to my (not really) slanted Asian eyes as well as those of Other Vince. I start by removing the add-on toolbars and pop-up generators while Other Vince and I switch off tag-team style and start searching for legitimate software cleaners (AdAware, Spybot S&D). We then realize that no one has emptied the Internet Explorer cache or the Recycle Bin. Ever. Given that software is going to take longer to install and take effect than realized, we end up missing a significant chunk of Contra Mestre Parana’s class (tourism building).
As it is, a computer with this level of neglect becomes an all-day project to fix when the wireless internet is coming through a 3G connection. Our day starts looking like setting up a specific computer task (downloading program, running virus scan, etc.), letting it run, then going off to do something else (hang out at beach, eat, train Capoeira). As I write this (1:31AM local time), it’s running Defrag. We’ll check it first thing in the morning, and thus further reinforce the Asian stereotype.
To ensure that this does not happen again, we had Mestre act as translator while we attempted to advise the staff on ways to avoid picking up viruses, malware, and Trojan horses. I still suspect that someone will have to do this again same time next year.
Training today was relatively light-weight compared to yesterday (partly because we were fixing the computer rather than training the first class). An hour or two after lunch, we took the trip out to Instrutore Matraka’s academy in Recife where we did a class for music and maculele. I’m noticing that I’m still having issues with properly stringing up berimbau consistently (it’s been a month or two since I last did it) whereas the teachers get it right the first time. But, at least the heat makes the wood easier to bend.
Matraka’s class was followed by roda and mini-class taught by Professore Kiko. Kiko is quick and agile, and seems to have a smile that does not go away, and was described by members of my group as one of the happiest instructors we’ve had.
Overall, I’m enjoying the instruction we’re getting from the various teachers we have here. All of them have made an effort to make us feel welcome, have displayed a lot of patience, try to have fun with us and even take an interest in the things we like and pick up a little English. Instrutore Matraka, for all of his humour and jest (like jokingly threatening to throw my Rubik’s Cube across the room after being unable to solve it), is a very emotional guy, coming to tears when acknowledging Mestre coming all the way to visit the academy and students.
Stuff like this is why I get a little bothered when our resident adoptee gives attitude towards instructors and even Mestre. On this trip, I have witnessed two incidents where our resident adoptee has done exactly that. Those of us who have been here in Brazil for a shorter period of time are pretty put off by his behaviour, although the locals don’t seem to be bothered by it...although it’s pretty clear that he hasn’t gotten away with it.
Today’s incident involved the young charge swearing under his breath (but loud enough for Mestre to hear) and storming out after not being allowed to skip out on Instrutore Matraka’s class. As soon as he’s out of earshot, I go up to Mestre and say, “We’ll straighten him out.”
Mestre’s response was, “We’ll do it in the roda.” I was more thinking of a heart-to-heart talk myself, but obviously they do things differently here. Given that the young charge has been in Brazil for a few months already, he probably has a better idea of what’s going on than I do, although his attitude doesn’t always indicate that. I have seen him toss trash in the streets, which he dismissively justifies with, “someone else will pick it up.”
In a certain sense he’s right, although I’ve done my best to adopt a “leave the place nicer looking than when you leave” policy, where he says the way it’s done here, for everything you clean up, someone else will just leave a bigger mess. And in some respects, it is. It’s pretty rare when I can find a place to properly recycle bottles and cans (Kayla says, “It feels wrong!” Other Vince calls this cognitive dissonance).
Simply put, I don’t know how things work here and I sometimes feel like I’m better off not knowing. Capoeira is incredibly rife with politics and group dynamics change constantly.
And another comment on the major differences between training in Vancouver and training here. We are consistently violating fire safety codes everywhere we train (or at least we would be if they were worth enforcing) by filling rooms beyond capacity, but it goes to show that Capoeira can be done everywhere. And we HAVE been training Capoeira in some pretty random locations, some of which look fairly run down.
While I have had classes that felt much more intense back home, the perception may be based on the fact that it is harder to train in colder weather and we generally can’t train as often as we like due to various obligations (read: WORK). Either that, or the local instructors all know we are lightweights that need constant water breaks (“Não bebe agua!”).
Some of the skill and talent of most of the Capoeira students here is breathtaking and amazing. I’ve especially enjoyed games with one student (green/blue cordão) named Choque. He’s less than 5’ tall, looks small enough to throw Fastball Special style, and has a particularly twitchy style of play, but has energy and body control to spare. That, and he’s been picking up a few random words in English, which he’s been passing on to the other students. Unfortunately, the words they’re picking up aren’t the kind used in polite conversation.
The friendly and carefree attitude is a contrast to the rundown locations that we’ve been training, including where we had Professor Kiko’s roda. We would’ve totally violated fire safety regulations by being there, considering that the training space was less than that of a high school classroom. And the place looks old and poorly maintained. But, a fancy training facility is NOT a requisite for solid martial arts skill, and the skill I have seen is evidence of that.
Food report: breakfast and lunch at the Pousada, dinner (X-Tudo burger and acerola juice) was at a truck stop/gas station. We all stopped to eat and get gas. This proved to be some of the worst service I received so far as they managed to forget about me, so I ended up eating my burger on the bus because it came so late. The place was also a haven for mosquitoes, two of which I crushed.
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 5 (quarta-feira, decembro 9)
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 5 (quarta-feira, decembro 9)
Mosquito bite count (unchanged since yesterday):
-Hands: 4 / Arms: 1 / Shoulders: 2 / Chest: 1 / Face: 6 / Neck: 2
-Back: 0 / Legs: 0
Sunburn incident count: 1 (little time spent out in the sun today, mostly healed, although putting on the backpack sorta hurts a little, not peeling yet)
Today was probably one of the more tiring days on this trip so far, and it’s only Wendesday. A very short time after breakfast, morning class was taught by Contra Mestre China (yes, like the country), and then a short break followed by lunch, which was almost immediately followed by a road trip to Varga for a class taught by Professore Ratinho, a break for food, and then off to Olinda for Professore Pit Bull’s academy for class. And Dragão wants for us to wake up at 7:00 AM for morning training on the beach before we have breakfast. Uh, how about no.
Contra Mestre China has taken to nicknaming me Bruce Lee. This is somewhat flattering, as he is often considered by most to be among the martial arts greats. But I don’t know if it’s due to a passing resemblance and an extremely low body fat percentage, or because all Asians look the same. Other Vince got called Jackie Chan once, and even has the unofficial Capoeira apelido “Bolo” (after the actor who played the baddie in Bloodsport), bestowed upon him several years back.
For his morning class, Mestre allowed us to train in non-uniform clothes as to avoid dirtying our uniforms for the other academies. We went back to the community square in town where we train fairly often. The weather was hot enough that the guys went shirtless. Unfortunately, the large amount of sweat generated by all of the guys also meant a certain amount of suction was generated when we were on our backs doing leg lifts for abdominal strengthening. The end result was a constant farting sound that made it so no one could concentrate.
Second class resulted in a lot of driving around. We ended up at one gym facility and found that the class was actually bumped in favour of a yoga class. A frickin’ yoga class. Mestre (maybe half-jokingly) commented that Capoeira isn’t as important to them, so they allowed a yoga class to displace the pre-booked time that we set aside. This confirms my suspicious about how business is sometimes done here, or at least in terms of customer service standards. Providers of customer service are more than willing to sacrifice one customer to please a new customer that is offering more money.
Somehow, I’m not surprised…this reminds me of the time the Vancouver academy imported uniform pants from Brazil and had the order screwed up (the logos were placed incorrectly), yet the printer still wanted full payment for their mistake.
We end up at another gym and are able to have class, but it’s in a very small space, but thankfully sufficient for our purposes. We are all sweating buckets by the end and even Camara admits that it was one of the more intense classes he’s had to take since his arrival.
Short dinner break, and we hop in the van to Olinda to Professore Pit Bull’s academy (rented space at another gym). This is where my shirt gets the dirtiest, as there is a sufficient amount of rusted metal around (thank goodness for my tetanus shot) that leaning on any surface in the gym will result in stains that aren’t coming out (that, and the sunscreen washed off onto the shirt, leaving it orange). I have sweated several litres of water due to the heat and large number of bodies packed in the space. Upon completion of the class, I proceed to wring my shirt out on the sidewalk, generating maybe a quarter cup of water. I haven’t decided if I’ll get in trouble or not with the Mestre if I post the video of me doing that on YouTube.
Overall, the class is enjoyable, although the large number of attending students from multiple academies makes getting in the roda very difficult, as rank means that one cannot just cut in with anyone without showing disrespect.
All this training has left my uniform extremely dirty with minimal laundry services available (we’ve taken to washing our clothes with shampoo and in the shower). I will probably have to purchase an entirely new uniform by the time this trip is complete, although I may have to wait until the very last day.
Overall, I’m finding the instructors easy to get along with and they’re all offering a lot of great perspective and insight into Capoeira. I can’t really comment on certain aspects (mostly due to cultural differences), but they’ve shown a lot of patience and have a lot to offer.
In a lot of respects, this has been the least relaxing vacation I have been on, but on the plus side, I definitely won’t be out of shape when I come back (although the long-ass plane ride might change that), and I have something resembling a tan after a few days here. It’s beginning to take a toll on my body, however. My left hip is starting to do something odd, as well as my right ankle. I’m not even the oldest person on this trip either.
Food report: really cheap eats. R$5 for dinner, R$15 for lunch, and R$3,60 for two mangoes and a can of guarana soda.
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 4 (terça-feira, decembro 8)
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 4 (terça-feira, decembro 8)
Mosquito bite count (revised):
-Hands: 4 / Arms: 1 / Shoulders: 2 / Chest: 1 / Face: 6 / Neck: 2
-Back: 0 / Legs: 0
Sunburn incident count: 1 (some redness on upper shoulders, but not painful to the touch)
The more time I spend in Brazil, the more I realize that we have it way too easy in Canada and are spoiled in many respects. In Canada, classes are easier, we train on smooth surfaces made of laminate tile, and sometimes we have the opportunity to slack off. Those luxuries are gone here. For the past few days, we have trained on some pretty weird surfaces, with the last night being on brick road, today being on ceramic tile and later on cobblestone. But, relative to the fact that we actually are on vacation and are doing a lot of really interesting things, we could be doing worse.
The road trip to Olinda was long (involved passing through Recife, then driving for another half hour). Camara was gracious enough to keep the whistle blowing to a minimum, although the bulk of the trip was spent playing with Rubik’s Cubes and watching Up on the iPod.
We ended up at a market square where we met a street vendor who was attempting to sell us a berimbau pendant, although I am on a mission for one made of sterling silver and the ones he had were made of bamboo and other materials. Being one of the few locals that speak English, it was somewhat refreshing to hear (that, and he seems to like Canada more than the US). And I still can’t seem to find a souvenir deck of playing cards.
We were then followed by a couple of guitar players who then started singing about Capoeira (I’m just guessing…that word came up a few times and it was the only word I could understand). Mestre said they wanted money. Considering that the airport staff will expect a tip if they wheel your bags to the bus, I’m not surprised.
I finally got to sample agua de coco for the first time, immediately followed up by tapioca with guava jam (it’s a bit of a grilled sandwich made from toasted tapioca). This bit of downtime was nice, but it’s pretty fleeting as we’re training Capoeira at least twice a day now. However, I could think of worse things that I could be doing.
We ended up on the grounds in front of a church, where we were taught by Instrutore Jean, who gave us a lesson in the importance of paying attention and trying to remember. I’m really getting the feeling that the instructors are taking it easy on us here. After Camara, I am the highest ranked Canadian academy student (cordão azul escuro) on this trip (although this will change once Dragão arrives tomorrow, as he has the same belt), so if I screw up, I take the whole class with me.
We were taught 4 separate sequences which we were supposed to perform. After Monitor Camara was asked to stand aside (so we can’t follow him), I essentially had to lead the class in all the sequences. This was fine up until sequence 3, at which point I performed sequence 4 instead. Instrutore Jean had me do the requisite disciplinary push-ups and sit-ups and gave a speech (in Portuguese) reminding me of my rank (relative to the other students) and that in Brazil, things are going to be harder. As I’m doing my pushups, I say, “Yes, I can see that.” Camara translates, much to the bemusement of the instructor.
At one point, I was seriously contemplating asking Mestre to hold onto my belt for the duration of the Brazil trip, given the responsibilities that come with a higher rank. Higher rank does come with respect which has been earned, but it must be maintained. Slacking off and forgetting movements that a green belt could do is not behaviour becoming of a high-belted student. But, given that Mestre has his reasons for assigning rank, it would probably not be the wisest to go against his judgement.
The responsibility does tend to make one feel a little more important, though. We are tasked with looking out for each other, especially for the younger or less experienced students. One of the youngest students has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, but I know enough not to take the stuff he does personally. Sure, he’s a bit of a punk kid (which we’ve told him up front), but he has become unofficially “adopted” by the academy, so it’s kind of up to us to straighten him out. It’s still upsetting to see him act out, though. I only hope he gets straightened up before he becomes a real problem, for his sake.
Quick food report: today was a cheaper eat day than yesterday. 7 R$ towards pizza, 6 R$ for snacks, and 8 R$ for a “X-Tudo” burger (has everything…beef patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sausage, ham, egg, onions…) and ice cream. Yesterday, it was about 30 R$ for lunch alone, although that included a lot of steak. I like steak.
Onde é o banheiro? Blog de Brasileiro, dia 3.5 (segunda-feira, decembro 7)
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.
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.
