In memory of...

"The Genius" Bill Walsh 1931-2007

Fin

I have a tendency to juggle 4-5 books at the same time. And I usually end up finishing none of them.

Last night, I officially finished the novel, Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, all 1130 pages of it. This venture started back in 2005 when I went on my first Honeymoon to Hong Kong / China. I got about 10 pages into the book during that trip. On my business trips to/fro the East Coast, I'll get maybe 100-200 pages in. But 80% of the reading was done on my 2nd Honeymoon to Europe. I slept a total of 2 hours on the entire plane ride (roundtrip). The rest of the time was spent reading. In the end, it wasn't so much finding out what happens at the end that matters... it was just proving to myself that I can finish something I started.

Now that I'm down to just 3 books to juggle, I'm deciding whether to add on Gone with the Wind or War and Peace as the fourth. Both are probably long and boring and a mountain of a novel. But both novels, I once promised myself I'll be done reading prior to graduating college.

某一個夜...

獨自在家, 晚餐只是冷飯和隔夜雞. 今晚與往晚不同, 家裡欠缺一把笑聲. 聲音是離自偶然路過的車輛和收音機中的講波伯伯. 唉…Giants 又輸緊. 台頭望向牆上的鍾, 望望窗外的天空. 天色已晚. 愛妻還未歸家. 跟姊妹在進行自古不變的女性活動…去shopping. 一定是玩得不亦樂乎. 不知不覺會想, 愛妻會否買樣小禮物送給丈夫呢? 不會抱很大的期望.

從下班到歸家, 都不斷做家務, 做過不停. 坐下來看看做了甚麼, 又看不出有甚麼成就. 不知不覺又會想想, 愛妻會否怪我只懂做自古不變的男性活動, 放工歸家看電視. 想起有點心酸, 就立即做一點容易被觀察的家務.

打完成篇日記都未返. 應不應掛心呢? 心信主耶穌一定會保守她. 唉…Giants 真的輸了.

From Power Point to Bathroom Jabbers...

Why does management insist on adding animation on Power Point Presentations? One or two pop-ups serve a nice purpose... making the next Pixar Full Length Feature is questionable at best. But who am I to second guess....right?

My boss is putting my name in for a Special Recognition Award. I'm not much for awards unless it's a team award or unless I was seriously an individual contributor of something. I really detest it when it's a collaborative effort and I'm left on the podium or trophy stand. Even worse, I had to write my own Award Caption... how lame. Needless to say, I went a little sarcastic on it... and also needless to say... the humor will probably NOT make the final cut.

Onto the subject of Bathroom Jabbers... had a very weird dream last night. Dreaming about bathrooms are already weird all in itself. But last night, was yet another time that I dreamnt I walked into the ladies room!! The details of the dream will be left undocumented for the sake of a PG rating.

Goodness gracious....Barry is 2 away from tying, 3 away from breaking it!!! And I have tickets for Monday night!!

What's next?

All my life, the only thing I knew how to do and was semi-good at doing, was go to school. But Santa Clara's Graduate program left such a sour taste in my mouth, I am completely disgusted with nearly any form of education. So....what's next?

Culinary school, guitar lessons, marathon training, dance class or reading War and Peace ~ as that was my goal during undergrad. Playing and passing Zelda on the Wii, rediscover my golf game. Overhaul my yard - by me or should I pay a contractor? Blah blah blah... it's not like I don't have any ideas.

Joyce says I should rest. What does rest mean? Does rest mean lounging around with an umbrella drink at hand while listening to reggae? Does rest mean to sit on my couch, with a book in one hand, a glass of Chianti in the other with Mozart in the back? I get tired from resting, as ironic as that sounds. The late Danny Chan once quoted Woody Allen in saying: Humans are like sharks, we must keep on swimming forward, otherwise we will die. Now I'm certain I won't die if I stop and rest...but how I empathize with that quote.

I actually don't like yam...

...and why is the water at Raging Waters - salty?!?!?

How to be a better writer?

Writing is not just a skill...it is an art. So unless you're in the realm of Abraham Lincoln, the unofficial greatest writer in the last 200 years, a writer really shouldn't write beyond his/her capability.

It's easier to point out mistakes (constructively criticize) than offer improvements. Here's a list of "Bad Writing":

• Be more or less specific
• Don’t be redundant; don’t repeat yourself for emphasis
• Don’t use more words than necessary; its highly superfluous
• One should never generalize
• The passive voice should be avoided
• Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are usually unnecessary
• Avoid clichés like the plague. (They are old hat.)
• Prepositions are not words to end sentences with
• Employ the vernacular
• Foreign words and phrases are not apropos
• Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
• Understatement is always best - Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement
• Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake
• Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed
• Finish your thoughts, not with ellipses...

I love...

I simply love rain in the middle of July. Something about the smell in the air that really tickles me pink...

Going...going....gone

Annual Mid-Summer Classic, the MLB All Star Game came to the City by the Bay this year. And the much anticipated Home Run Derby took centerstage at China Basin off of McCovey Cove. Since Pac Bell Park was erected back in 2000, people have always asked... can anyone hit the glove out in leftcenter? How many times will the ball find water a.k.a Splash Hits? And when will the All-Star Game come to San Franciso so the world can find out.

Well... in the 7 years since Pac Bell Opened, the name has evolved twice to what is now known as AT&T Park. And contrary to initial beliefs, Splash Hits are rarer than a Blue Moon - except in the case of Barry Lamar Bonds. In fact, prior to the park opening, Giants Officials even trained dogs to dive into the cove to retrieve Homeruns hit into McCovey Cove. That idea disappeared quicker a box of Krispy Kreme donuts in the office breakroom.

Tonight... once again... I had to work late. And though I work in the tech industry, at home, I'm still in the Stone Age. So instead of TIVO, I had Joycie record the HR Derby on VHS. (HA!) Boy was that a lifesaver... I get home and Joycie tells me the Derby was so long and boring, she even fell asleep!!

But seeing the Derby...one has to appreciate what Barry Bonds has done in a Giants uniform (and Willie Mays for that matter). Pac Bell is NOT a hitter's ball park. Candlestick was NOT a hitter's ball park. But for this pair of Giants Juggernaut to have as many career HRs as they do playing in these two parks gets less credit than it does. Ruth may be the Sultan of Swat...but Yankee Stadium has such a short porch to rightfield!

In previous HR Derbies...you see hitters smack 20+ HRs in one round. This year, the highest total was 17!! Instead of the booming, get-out-of-the-park HRs you saw at Minute Maid and Miller Park, these HRs were smacked into the gusting winds where HRs die and become mere flyballs. One must ask...how did Barry ever hit 73 in 2001?? (Moreover...how did Rich Aurilia hit 37?)

Credit is due where credit is deserved. There were some booming HRs...by righties...towards the arcade. In fact... Vladimir "Almost-a-Giant" Guerrero hit one that cleared the bleachers and smashed into the stairs leading to the Coke Bottle. I guess that's as far as players, nowadays can hit.

Funny how the most controversial element surrounding baseball nowadays, is the sole reason baseball is still around, ala 1998 McGwire/Sosa. Curiously, as to how the most celebrated record in baseball is now stigmaed by its own greed.

If the Mid-Summer Classic ever returns to San Francisco... if Pac Bell / AT&T is still standing, then maybe, just maybe someone will finally hit a HR into the glove. And maybe, just maybe.... Bonds will get another day in the sun. But until then... he along with all his career stats will go on under this shadow of a doubt....

(Wow...that was a long post.)

Scent of a Man

HA! For the 2nd time in nearly a month... a woman tells me I smell good. That's one compliment I would never expect to hear... Times have changed.

Workoholism

Friday morning I look up at the clock, see that it's still only 9AM....and I breathe a sigh of relief, feel glad that it's still so early in the day while thinking I still have at least 10 hours of time left to finish my work. Any thing wrong with the picture?

Mission 五虎將

MISSION FAB FIVE

We grew up together. We grew up separately. But regardless of
who we were, who we are, or who we will become. The five of us will
always be Best of Friends.