Just a Cup of Hot Chocolate

March 30th, 2008

I was in my kitchen last night making a cup of hot chocolate when I had a revelation.

But first, let me back up a little bit to touch on the finer points of the art making hot chocolate. If you’ve made hot chocolate from a powder mix, then you’ll know that it isn’t always easy to get the powder all mixed in. When you drop the spoon of powder into the hot milk, the outside of the clump of powder turns into this gooey mess that seals the milk away from the dry powder inside the clump. So to get it all mixed in you have to smash the clump and do all kinds of other strange contortions to expose the dry parts to the milk. Something that at first glance seems to be a simple process ends up being quite a bit more dramatic.

That’s when it occurred to me. There could be some deep philosophical meaning hidden in the art of stirring a cup of hot chocolate. (Plus I haven’t written anything on my blog in forever, so I could really really really use some new content!) Simple things being not so simple… or that powder hidden inside and protected by a layer of gooey mix… there must be some deep thought that could be connected to this. So I stood there mindlessly stirring that cup while trying to uncover the truth hidden beneath those mesmerizing brown swirls of chocolate.

But nothing came to me. It was late already, and stir as I might, my brain was just too tired to put together a coherent thought. As the last brown islands of hot chocolate mix surrendered to the swirling sea of milk, it finally struck me. I had my big revelation of the night.

Sometimes it really is nothing more than just a cup of hot chocolate.

Today is one those days…

August 16th, 2007

Today is one of those days when I just can’t wait to get back into my car.

Why, you ask?

Is it because I secretly long to cast off these chains of routine and to drive off over the horizon with no destination in mind… to see where the winds of fate will carry me… and even if I am met with disaster and ruin, at least I would have stepped out from the mires of the here and now.

Mmmm… not really.

Or is it because I grow weary of toiling within this tangled weave of existence where not even the best planned threads run true for very long… oh if I could only escape to my car where the destination is clear and the way forward is as simple as pressing a couple of pedals and twiddling a wheel.

Mmmm… nope, don’t think it’s that either.

It’s actually quite simple… two words, really: Air condition.

Yes, air condition. Lately my car has been the only place where I can escape from the heat. Like any good cheap asian, I try really hard not to turn on the air condition at home. When I was younger I used to complain that my parents would never turn the AC on. But now that I have my own place and pay my own bills, I’m doing the exact same thing… if I’m not passing out from the heat, it’s not hot enough for the AC yet! (well okay, slightly exaggerated)  And then there’s the office where I work at. The AC is on full blast, but it’s completely overwhelmed by the big fat server that’s pouring out heat in the back room. Trust me, 80 to 85 degrees is no fun for an office.

So that leaves my car. It’s the one refuge where I can turn the AC on and escape from the heat. Ah… blessed air condition… if my commute could only be longer on days like this…

Fat friends make you fat?

July 27th, 2007

There’s this research study that’s been showing up in the news recently. It’s about how having fat friends increases your chances of being fat. Here’s a news articles about the study:

Find Yourself Packing it On? Blame Friends (New York Times)

So was your first reaction the same as mines? I thought it was just so plainly obvious… a study of which was completely unnecessary. I mean seriously, all it boils down to is that your friends tend to influence your behavior. And there’s no good reason why this doesn’t include lifestyle decisions that influence obesity. Did we really need a research study to figure this out? A little common sense would have saved loads of research dollars (or perhaps pounds would be more appropriate in this case…)

So go find yourself some skinny friends! Maybe they will make you skinnier. That is if you care about that sort of stuff. I don’t particularly care… but I guess my opinion doesn’t carry too much “weight” on this issue. :-)

Blasphemy!

July 12th, 2007

This is blasphemous! A bottle of two-buck-chuck is named as California’s best Chardonnay?!

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3372578

Oh well, to make myself feel better after this great travesty, I’m going to go swing by Trader Joe’s a buy a few bottles of Chuck. ;-)

But with all kidding aside, I’m of the opinion that a lot of this wine tasting “science” is just people trying to sound all cultured and classy with all these mysterious wine tasting words. I mean seriously, do I really want to taste leather or truffles in my wine? Mmmm…. nah, I think I’ll pass. Just give me something that I personally enjoy. That’s probably impossible to figure out from reading somebody else’s review… so I guess that gives me a great excuse to go try out more wines! ;-)

Almost died today… twice!

June 25th, 2007

So I almost died today… twice in a row! What a day.

Well okay, so I didn’t really almost die… my car almost got hit twice today. Twice in the same intersection by two different cars running the same red light. It’s one of those funky five way intersections that people get confused by if the don’t drive through it every day. So I guess the first car got confused, and the second was just following without looking at the stoplight.

So anyway, lots of tire smoke and adrenaline and whatever, but thankfully nothing crashed together. Normally I would have some choice words about the stupid people in our society and the problems they cause… but I’m just so tired today that I don’t feel like ranting. Yah… I’m really really really tired when I’m not ready with a stupid people rant. ;-)

So instead of ranting, I’ll just leave you with a parting thought:

A kitten dies every time a stupid act is committed. Please… Think of the kittens!

Save the kittens!

Time Waster of the Day #2

June 5th, 2007

I’ve got another great time waster! (I’m starting to notice a disturbing trend with what I’ve been posting here lately… :-) )

Go here to get the Democracy Player: http://www.getdemocracy.com/

For you gearheads out there, it’s a RSS aggregator combined with a Bittorrent client combined with a video player.

In plain English, it’s like Youtube… but less of a disorganized mess… and with fewer dumb videos of cats playing pianos. The idea is that it automatically downloads lists of (legally) free videos/podcasts/etc out there and organizes them into categorized lists/channels. Then you pick what interests you and download and watch them. And if you must, you can also search for Youtube videos and watch them or save them for later.

You can think of Youtube as something like the bargain bin at Kmart — it’s mostly full of crap, but once in a while you’ll find a gem. I’ve found that the Democracy Player at least has things categorized onto different shelves. There’s still crap on there, but at least now you’ve got a fighting chance of avoiding it.

One thing to note is that it’s not streaming video like Youtube, so you’ll have to wait for the whole video to download before you can watch it. So it’s best done where you have a fast connection… not that I’m suggesting that you try this at work or at a school library. Oh no, I wouldn’t advocate such gratuitous waste of what could have otherwise been a productive use of your time. But hey, those are still great places to try it. ;-)

So anyway, give it a try… It’s free, so what can you lose? Or you could always go back to watching your cats playing pianos. It’s up to you.

Time Waster of the Day

May 18th, 2007

Well that was a good waste of an hour. ;-) I came across this silly little Flash game that’s surprisingly addictive. You make a little maze to defend your desktop against little invading creatures. It’s actually more fun than it sounds! Check it out here:

Desktop Tower Defense

I’m still tweaking my strategy, but here are my scores from my first few tries:
My Scores

Good Behavior

May 17th, 2007

Normally I try to avoid giving any additional attention to celebrity news, but this one was too good to pass up:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/11/paris.hilton.ap/

So the old news is that Paris Hilton is going to jail (yes, I laughed too when I first heard about it). Now some judge is cutting down her sentence for good behavior. No surprise there… but the funny/ridiculous part about this is what they cited as giving her credit for “good behavior”:

Officials considered several factors in calculating the credit, including that she appeared for her latest court date, he said.

Huh? Since when did just showing up to court constitute “good behavior”? It’s what’s demanded of you! Otherwise the cops are going to come looking for you. Oh wait I almost forgot… this is Paris Hilton we’re talking about. Acting like a normal person qualifies as “good behavior” for her.

Okay I promise, no more silly celebrity news. Well… at least until something really outlandish happens. Which should take about a month considering the current state of society. ;-)

Germaphobic Thought of the Day

May 4th, 2007

Normally I wouldn’t consider myself to be much of a germaphobe or a clean-freak, but this still needs to be said. You know how some people have really dirty mice? No not the four-legged type. I mean computer mice. Sometimes it’s just a bit greasy from people with a habit of maintaining less-than-clean hands. At least that’s somewhat understandable. It’s still gross, but understandable.

But some people take this much much farther. Have you seen those mice that have a visible layer of filth covering it? Not just visible, but a layer of filth that’s thick enough to give texture to an otherwise smooth surface. That’s not just gross… it’s so far beyond gross that words cannot begin to describe it. But I mean seriously, how can anybody tolerate that level of filth and still use that mouse every day? Sure it’s your own germs, but who knows what kinds of creatures are breeding and spawning new forms of uncleanliness inside that filth!

So for the sake of the children, please keep your mice clean! (okay that makes no sense, but it always sounds better when it’s “for the children”) And if you don’t care about the children, then at least do it so that you won’t annoy people because they have to wash their hands after using your computer.

Help me arrange furniture!

December 15th, 2006

So I recently discovered this really nifty program called Sketchup, which is free now after Google bought them (yes, I’m a Google junkie… they make/acquire such cool stuff ;-) ). It basically lets you create 3-D models of anything. Plus, people have created 3-D models of all sorts of furniture and scale models of Ikea stuff. So I went over to my new condo and measured out all of the walls and such… and now I’m using the program to do some virtual interior decorating. It’s sort of like that game… The Sims… but for real this time. =)

Unfortunately, I’m not exactly gifted with a great design talent (hey I’m an engineer… we scoff at aesthetics) so I need your help in helping me figure out how to arrange my furniture. Click on the small images below for bigger versions of the pictures.

Note that the exact look and color of the furniture isn’t really what we have or plan on getting… I just downloaded whatever models were approximately the right shape and size.

Living Room / TV Room:
This is the room with the TV… because it’s toward the inside of the complex and away from the prying eyes off any riff-raff that may walk by on the street. We’ll probably do away with that chaise lounge sticking out from the sofa because it’s getting in the way of the stairs.


Family Room & Dining Room:
There’s sort of two rooms here (according to the sales people at least…). The top part is the Family Room and the bottom part is the Dining Room. Oh, and that stuff in the middle is the kitchen and a “powder room” (a.k.a. 1/2 bathroom). The Dining Room area is still empty because I couldn’t find a suitable model on Google’s 3-D Warehouse. =)

My Bedroom:
So those other two rooms aren’t too difficult to arrange… or maybe they are and I just didn’t realize it yet… in which case you should let me know that my furniture arranging skills are horrendous. ;-) It’s my bedroom that I actually need the most help on. It’s a bit small so I have to make use of the space that I have.

The bedrooms are located up on the second floor… but I don’t have time to model everything, so I just did my personal section of the floor. The little curbs you see on the front sides are actually just walls… I cut them away so that you can see inside the room. The rectangular thing on the front right is a big window. The room attached to the left side is my bathroom, and the room attached to the right side is my walk-in closet. That door at the top of the room that opens out into the void actually leads out into a hallway and the rest of the second floor.

And again, the colors and styles of furniture are just place holders which happen to be the right shape and size.

I came up with four possible arrangements… let’s label them as:
A B
C D

So Option A is actually the one that I like best. But some people think that having the bed by the window is sort of weird. I don’t really see the issue… What’s the problem? Some sort of feng shui silliness? =)

Option B moves the bed away from the window, but then it feels like it’s making the path to the bathroom a smidge narrow.

Option C clears out space in front of the doors to the adjoining rooms, but it sort of blocks access to the window… how in the world am I going to open the window now?

Option D clears the space in front of the window, but the desk right smack in front of the door is sort of weird. Also, the network port is on the wall where the bed is… and I don’t want to go running cables over doorways to get over to the desk.

And then we have Option E… which is the one where you tell me how to arrange things. ;-) If you’ve got any better ideas, please let me know. Thanks!