Gymastics and Diving are not Sports

After watching the Olympics the last few days, I can say without hesitation that neither Gymnastics or Diving are sports. They are great and entertaining competitions, but neither of them are sports. How can I say this.

I define a sport to be the following

• There must a a physical activity involved which requires strength, speed, or endurance and which would quickly lead to exhaustion
  
• There must be a competition between two or more individuals or teams
• There must be a clear and OBJECTIVE winner

The last part is what dooms Gymastics and Diving as not a sport. It just is not objective enough. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt this Olympics. I tried to believe that the judges used objective measures in order to deduct points from each of these events, but it simply is not true.

I watched as China's Fei Cheng landed on her knees and yet somehow ends up with a bronze medal. I don't know a lot about Gymnastics, but I know you shouldn't be able to land on your knees and still be considered one of the three best in the world.

I watched diving and saw one dive which recieved a 4.5 from one judge and a 8.0 from another. How objective can an event be when two people, supposedly looking at the exact same thing, come up with such radically different results?

To be fair, other sports have their subjective elements. Baseball has an umpire call balls and strikes, and basketball has refs who blow calls all the time (whether for money or just being plain blind). But this is not the main focus of the game. You winning or losing is not, in general, dependent on someone else's subjective call.

So sorry fans of Gymastics and Diving. I know you love your competition. I agree, it can be fun to watch. But it just isn't a sport.

Phelps Phan

The story of the Olympics thus far has to be Michael Phelps. The guy just won eight gold medals and in the process set seven world records. It's a feat I'm sure won't be surpassed in at least a generation if not longer.

I could go on and on about how awesome he is as an athlete, but others could do a better job than I. This is especially true given the fact that I can barely swim as is. I blame my Asian genes for not being able to swim, I didn't see that many Asian people in the water. It is most likely due to just how my body is. I try to explain to people how my feet just sink in the water. I tell people this and they try to give me tips on how to float. I tell them, "I just sink, you don't understand", but people who can float just don't understand how someone who doesn't float can't.

Interesting enough, following Michael Phelps throughout the game, they had a piece on why Michael Phelps was born to swim. They described how he had short legs but a long torso. I probably have the exact opposite problem. My legs are long for my body and my torso is short. As almost everybody's legs naturally sink, and you use your torso as a buoy to float the rest of your body, this very much explains why I have more trouble swimming than the average person. Guess I won't be winning any gold medals in swimming any time soon.

But how awesome would it be to have "Greatest Olympic Athlete" on your resume? I mean, what employer isn't going to want to talk about that? What employer isn't going to at least grant you an interview? The hardest part of getting any job is just getting in the door to get an interview but having something like this would just be crazy. it probably would be of bigger benefit outside the swimming world than in it.

2008 Opening Ceremonies - The Chinese Rock!

Wow!!!!!!!

That about sums up what I thought of the 2008 Opening Ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics. The amount of creativity, artistry, and imagination was off the charts. This seriously might have been some of the best blending of art and technology that the world has ever seen. The ceremony itself was just beautiful. The costumes, the performances, and the props were all outstanding. The highlight, for me, was most definitely the movable type performance where they simulated blocks of Chinese characters making up a movable type system. I thought it was amazing before I saw the ending, and then when it was shown that it was all human driven, it drove the whole thing off the charts.

But in reality, I'm not at all surprised that this was easily the best Opening Ceremonies of all time and probably will be for quite some time. Being Asian, and Chinese specifically, I learned one indelible truth growing up, face is everything.

"Face" in Asian culture is quite difficult to understand unless you grew up in it. While Western civilization also takes how others perceive you to be important, the Asian culture takes it to a whole other level. It is often why certain stereotypes exist for Asian people. You have your children do well in school because it is a reflection of what a good parent you are. It is why being a hospitable host is so crucial to the culture.

So the Chinese, with the rest of the world watching, went over the top. They made sure that others would look at these games, and remember it as the best ever. They spent $300 million on the opening ceremonies alone. They practiced it for years and every detail was thought of. They wanted to be sure that everyone else in the world knew what an amazing country China was, is, and will someday become. Boy did they deliver.

Staying Out of the Friend Zone

I've actually had this conversation twice in the last few days, so I thought it would be a good idea to most my thoughts on the subject.

Growing up, I was very "popular" with the ladies. My problem was that this popularity did not translate into dates, it translated into me having lots of female friends. For some reason, I get getting stuck in the "Friend Zone". Much like the Phantom Zone, once in the Friend Zone it pretty much is impossible to get out. I actually was able to do it twice, no small feat, but admittedly I was never great friends with the two girls to begin with.

However, the trick should be never to get into the Friend Zone. It should be avoided at all cost. You know what I'm talking about. You meet a great girl. You go out a few times. You think things are great. But when the subject comes up of you in a romantic relationship, she looks at you incredulously and says, "Oh, I don't think of you that way. I thought we were just friends"

It took me a while to finally get the hang of this, but now I can tell you for sure how to never ever be put in the Friend Zone unless you want to be there. Here is what you need to do.

• Go into the relationship with the full intention of NOT being friends with this girl. Accept the fact that if you aren't going to be dating the girl, you will have no relationship whatsoever. You have enough friends already. It's OK if you don't make a new one. There is no need to be the "nice guy".
  
• Not sure how interested she is in you? Simple test during your first date. Plan your first date earlier in the day. Make sure it is short. Make sure you have a plan which can extend the date but do not tell your date about it. Say you go out to play mini-golf on your first date. After you play, suggest going out for drinks or a bite to eat. If she agrees, you are good to go. Girls will end the date if they are not interested. They will find a way to extend the date if they are interested.
• Make sure during the course of conversation, you bring up the fact that you are on a date. Call it what it is. Just talk about how you are having a good time on the DATE. Maybe share a horror story of another first DATE that you had. Mention what you think would make a great second DATE.
  
• Get the kiss. Nothing says you are not friends like kissing her. Seriously, get the kiss on the first night. If she pulls away from the kiss, you pretty much have your answer. No need to attack her with your tongue hanging out, but make sure you get a kiss on the lips from her. This will ensure you are not put in the friend zone.
  

Simple as that. Follow these simple rules, and you will stay out of the Friend Zone, and hopefully find yourself a new girlfriend. Do you have any tips for people on how they can avoid falling into this dreaded trap?

The Problem with Hyped Movies

I went to see the Dark Knight today. Don't worry, I'm not about to give any spoilers away, it is not at all what this post is about. Despite my recent comments about the local second run movie theater, I went to see the movie at the local multi-plex. I did so because I wanted to see the movie sooner than later for a couple of reasons.

• Everyone was saying how great it was
• Everyone was talking about it, and I wanted to stop people from ruining the movie for me

So I walked down to the cinema to watch it. The conclusion? It was OK. Not bad, not great. I think I seriously would have enjoyed it more if I just had heard nothing about it. So many people were saying how great the movie was that my expectations were quite high. I even tried to temper my expectations to avoid this exact problem, but alas I think I failed.

Not much I could have done about this one though. There was almost no way to avoid the constant talking by everyone about this movie.

Noah's Bagels - No Tip Please

I went to Noah's Bagels today in Pasadena. Much to my surprise they had a sign next to the register informing customers that they no longer took tips. They stressed that they were there to make sure that you had the best experience possible there and that they were happy to provide you with great service at no charge.

Sounds kind of like my idea which I had several years ago where I would start up a restaurant and refuse to take tips. Seriously, I love this idea. People just doing a great job because they should. Those who do the best, should get paid for it, so I only hope that Noah's bagels is finding some other way to properly compensate their employees for providing great service. Otherwise, it would just be the same crappy service (if not worse), just patrons aren't paying as much for it.

Which Way Should the Fan Blow?

On a cool summer night, when you have a hot room, which direction should you point the fan? Should you point the fan so that the cool outside air is coming into the room or should you point the fan so that the hot air is leaving the room?

Up until last night, I would have said you should point the fan so that the cool air is going into the room, but now, I'm not so sure. It just made more sense to me that you would want to force the cold air in. Maybe this is because I'm thinking of something that works more like an air-conditioner which forces cool air into an area.

Last night, I couldn't actually point the fan into the room, the cord wouldn't reach, so I pointed the fan pointing outward. Much to my surprise, the room became quite cool. Cooler than I would ahve expected. Just right now, I had the fan pointing into the room, right at me. This was cooling me off great, but when I got up and walked around the room, I felt it was still stuffy. I turned the fan around, and then walked around the room again, the room felt much cooler.

I can't find any definitive answer on the subject, but right now, I have to say I believe it is better to push the hot air out. What are your thoughts? What has your experience told you is the better way to point a fan?

Second Run Movie Theaters

I went to my local second run movie theater this afternoon. I hadn't been to one in quite a while, and I have to say I rather enjoyed it. I have been meaning to go see The Incredible Hulk for quite a while, but had not been able to as of yet. When I noticed it was at the local second run movie theater down the street, it piqued my curiosity.

What was even more enticing was the fact that a ticket inside was only $2 per person. So for $4, my girlfriend and I could go to the movies for the exact same price as renting a DVD. I went in expecting the movie theater to be rather small and uncomfortable but much to my surprise, the theater was a decent size, as least as big as some of the smaller theaters that the large complexes have, and it was equipped with stadium seating.

To me, the trade-off of watching the movie slightly later than everybody else is really no big deal. I almost never go to a movie opening weekend as I hate crowds and I hate waiting in line. I avoided "The Dark Knight" this weekend for that exact reason. So the difference to me is essentially watching the movie three weeks earlier or paying 500% more for the same product.
It's going to have to be one hell of a movie for me to want to spend 5x the amount of money.

The Starbucks List

Starbucks announced a few weeks ago that it was going to close 600 of its stores due to under-performance. They published the list of closing stores today. It doesn't come as a surprise to most given the struggling economy and the need for people to cut back a little.

But here is the thing. If a Starbucks closes, but there is one across the street, does anyone notice? The proliferation of Starbucks is amazing. The density of the stores borders on ludicrous in some areas. When I lived in Redmond, there were literally eight Starbucks within a 15 minute walk of me. Where I am in Pasadena, there is also about half a dozen in the same radius.

But what is even more crazy, is that there probably needs to be this many. America just loves their coffee that much. Everyday when I go to work, I marvel at the line that is forming outside of Starbucks. I figure most of the people who work downtown probably have some form of coffee available to them at work, yet all these people are willing to stand in line and wait to PAY for a cup. All of this despite the fact that there is another Starbucks just around the corner. And that one has a line as well!

An Epic Tennis Battle

I don't normally watch Tennis, I'm definitely not a fan of it, but I love watching compelling sports events. I was flipping through the channels today and stumbled upon the Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I don't know much about tennis but I do know that Roger Federer is unbeatable at Wimbledon. The guy might seriously be the most dominant athlete of his generation, yes even more so than Tiger Woods.

But when I got there, he was down two sets to one and looking like he might lose the fourth. So I watched just to see what would happen next. Sure enough, Federer rebounded and forced a fifth set. He eventually succumbed to Nadal who just looked stronger the entire match. Even though I was rooting for Federer (something about Nadal just bugs me. I think he just looks arrogant) I was happy for Nadal. It clearly was a very emotional win for him and he just deserved it today.

This is one of the things I love about sports. It's so exciting even to people who aren't really fans. Events like this are great. You don't have to know anything about the sport, but you just know two people (or teams) are facing off. In the end, there will be a winner, and it will be the culmination of one of the two combantants whole life. It's a fantastic action and drama movie rolled up in a 2 hour (in this case 4.5 hour) event. But it's even better because its real life!

Cat With the Hat

Don't have anything really clever or intelligent to say. My girlfriend just happened to take this picture of my cat which I thought was particularly cute. If you just look at it quickly, it looks like we made him a flower hat. It's one of her many advantages. She works at home. While there are many reasons I wouldn't want to work at home, I'm pretty jealous of the fact that she gets to hang out with the cat all day and gets to take pictures like this.

Gay Marriage Legalized

Today was the first day in California where gay couples could legally wed. Among the first of them was Former Star Treker George Takei, who will marry his partner of 20+ years.

I for one am glad this finally happened, it's been a long time coming. I've said for a long time, I'm not sure what the big deal about gay marriage is. If people want to get married, we should let them, I don't see any reason why government should make this distinction.

But I do wonder about one thing. I wonder how many gay relationships will actually be hurt by this. Here is the thing. I know for me, deciding to get married is a big deal. It has been a sticking point in my relationship as well as many others. For a lot of people, it is a very difficult conversation to have if you should get married at all.

For most gay couples, it hasn't been an issue, because it technically couldn't happen anyway. Even if they were living as if married, there is nothing quite like making it official and I could see it being the case that a lot of couples, now faced with the choice, find it difficult one to make.

What are you thoughts? Do you think this might have a negative effect of a few relationships?

The Dominance of Tiger Woods

Yesterday, Tiger Woods was "struggling" in the third round of the US Open. I put quotations around the word "struggling", because in reality he really wasn't. This morning ESPN wrote an article about Tiger Woods fantastic performance to close the round. An ending which saw Tiger sink two eagles and a birdie.

Yet the article ESPN wrote on Tiger's fantastic ending made it seem like Tiger was out of contention before the fantastic run started. In the article, the author writes:

Tiger just didn't have it. After 48 jaw-clenching holes of this 108th U.S. Open, that was the dispiriting realization sinking into the raucous Torrey Pines gallery, as well as the nation at large. The world's greatest competitor was trying like hell to stay in contention, but his aching left knee wouldn't permit Tiger to be Tiger.

Tiger is a victim of his own success. He is so good, he is expected to dominate each and every time. Golf is a hard sport. Most pro golfers are lucky to win a tournament once in their life. You need to be good for four straight days to have a chance to win, and for most, it's too hard to do consistently. Here is the kicker. Tiger was in third place before he made his run. THIRD!

It wasn't like he was in the middle of the pack or a dozen shots behind. The man was in third place. For any other golfer, being in third place at the US Open is a pretty good day. Yet people speak as if Tiger's tournament was a complete failure up until that point. That's how good I want to be. I want to be so good that anything less than perfection would be considered failure. I also wouldn't mind earning what Tiger earns.

Strange Watching Behavior

This past week, I watched two things I don't normally watch.



This past weekend, I watched the main event of a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight featuring Kimbo Slice. I stopped while channel flipping not because of the internet sensation known as Kimbo Slice but because I couldn't believe that there was a man on TV with an alien growing out of his head. Seriously, take a close look at the other fighter's ear. I'm warning you, it may make you ill.

The other thing I watched last night was Hockey. It was an elimination game five between Detroit and Pittsburgh. I'm not a hockey fan whatsoever but I saw that it was triple overtime. Like Jenny, I love a good overtime match. Triple overtime is 3x better so I stayed to watch. The good thing about Hockey overtime is that it is sudden death. I find it even better than Football because things can change so fast. In football, it is only likely that the team on offense is going to score. But in Hockey, it can change from defense to offense so quickly that it is immensely more entertaining.

Sport Superstitions and Jinxes

Despite this blog being about rational thought, I will admit there are times I'm deeply irrational. Most of those instances has to do with sports.

I love sports and I'm a hugely devoted fan. I actually get very upset when the team I'm rooting for starts to play badly. I'm also very prone to believing in superstitions and jinxes. For example, today I was watching the Lakers and Spurs in their playoff game. The game was back and forth throughout much of the game.

The Lakers were doing well at the beginning but at one point in the game, my host, walks into the room. Now mind you, I'm at my friends place and he is being kind enough to let me watch the game because I don't currently have cable TV. Sure enough, as soon as he walks in, the game starts going south for the Lakers. My friend, who is also a devout sports fan, kindly says, "I'm a jinx, I'm leaving." Later in the game, I realize that every time my girlfriend rubs my shoulders, the Lakers start doing better. Seriously. She stops rubbing my shoulders, and BAM, the Spurs go on a run. I point it out to her and ask her to start rubbing again, and the Lakers go back up by seven points.

Deep down, I know I'm being completely illogical. I know all these things are merely coincidence and there is no way any of these actions are related to the outcome of a sporting event. But when I'm watching sports, the rational side of me goes right out the window. If I have to stand on my head while wearing only one sock to ensure victory, I probably will.

Why do you think we are this way? Why do sports fans think that their inane actions has any bearing on a game that quite frankly doesn't mean all that much?

Athletes and Drugs

The other day, Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls was charged with possession of marijuana. Yet another story of an athlete doing something absolutely stupid. I could devote an entire blog on this subject. Whenever I read stories like this I have to think, "Really?"

I mean seriously, if you are a professional athlete why would you ever smoke pot? Is it really worth it? As an athlete, you have the ability to get paid several million dollars over the course of your lifetime. Are a few puffs of Mary Jane really worth that? Here are my big problems.

• Just don't do It - If I offered you a million dollars or some weed, which would you choose? Most rational people are going to take the million dollars. Some would argue that athletes don't deserve to be paid that much in the first place. Do you really need to give them another reason to be right?
• At least do the right drugs - If you have to do an illegal substance, at least do something that will help your career. I mean, at least if you do steroids, you will be improving your chances as an athlete. But a drug like pot? What possible reason would you do this? I could maybe even understand a drug like heroin, which would give you an intense high and is highly addictive. But Marijuana?
• Be smart about it - Noah was an idiot on several other levels as well. If you are going to do pot, at least do it in private. I mean really. You are going to get caught with it in your pocket while you are in public? He was caught because he was drinking a beer in public, another no no. How about when you have something on you that could end your NBA career, you don't do another illegal thing? Finally, is it really necessary for YOU to be holding it while in public? How about if you find it absolutely necessary to transport the pot from a private place you ask one of your friends to carry it. Offer him $1,000 to do it. Hell, offer him $10,000 to do it. It's much better than you being caught with it and your friend gets $10,000. It's a win win.
  

As much as I believe athletes get paid what they deserve, its times like this I think they deserve anything they get.

American Airlines Baggage Fee

There seems to be a lot of uproar about American Airlines starting to charge its passengers $15 for their first checked bags. They aren't the first airlines to charge for baggage, but they are the first to charge for the first checked bags. Others who have implemented similar policies normally only charge for the second bag.

This is in response to several factors, most notably of which is the rising cost of fuel. Just today, oil sped past $135 a barrel before coming back down to around $130. This is causing American Airlines, and others as well, to try and find new sources of revenue.

The thing is, I'm not sure why people are so upset. A few things make me understanding. First of all, I understand that companies can't run at a loss forever. Consumers seem to forget that companies are in business to make money. American Airlines is hemorrhaging cash. If they need to raise their prices to meet cost then that's what they have to do. This brings me to my second point. Consumers have a choice on whether or not to fly American Airlines. There are a dozen other carriers that don't charge this fee which you are free to take if you so choose. That's the beauty of capitalism. So long as consumers have choices, then it doesn't really matter what any one company does. If one company tries to charge higher prices than their competitors for the same product, consumers will eventually migrate to the other suppliers.

So let them charge whatever they want. Don't like it, buy a ticket somewhere else.

How to Fix the NBA draft ...

as well as the regular season. The problem with the NBA regular season is that by the midway point, half the teams have given up because they know they have no chance to make the playoffs, and the worse they do, the better chance they have to get a high draft pick.

Last night, despite long odds, the Chicago Bulls ended up with the first pick. Despite having one of the better records, the ping pong balls bounced their way. Most people might not like the fact that a decent team now looks to get that much better. I don't. Here is why.

There is a real easy way to fix the first problem and it is related to what happened to Chicago. Don't make the chances of getting the top picks increase by rewarding teams with the worse record. They should take the three teams that almost made the playoffs and give them the top three picks. The team who just barely missed the playoffs gets the first pick, the team right behind them gets the second pick, etc. Starting on the fourth pick, just put them in reverse order of finish so that the worse team gets the 4th overall pick.

Life is all about incentives, and this one creates the right incentives. The current system rewards those teams that lose at the end. Now, there is no guarantee that you will end up with the best pick if you continue to lose, as proven by Chicago, but the odds of it are greatly increased. Rather than incent teams to just lose, they should incent teams to win. If teams like the Bulls, through dumb luck, are going to end up with the high picks anyway, you might as well take chance out of the equation and actually make it worth a team's time to fight till the end. While the rich get richer, in this particular instance, I think its the right thing.

The Americana At Brand

I went to the new Americana mall in Glendale. It's a new outdoor mall with apartments that sit above the shops. Much like the Paseo Colorado in Pasadena. Overall, it was pretty nice. There weren't many shops open yet nor were there lots of places to grab a quick bite to eat, but I can see how this place will be successful for years to come.

Probably not such great news for the adjacent Glendale Galleria. I'm not much for the Glendale Galleria, something about the atmosphere just isn't right there so I prefer a place more like the Americana. A couple of things to note about it though

• It's a very open mall. This is good and bad. On hot days like today, there are very few places you can get away from the sun.
  
• If you don't like American Capitalism, don't come here. It is way over the top and excessive.
  
• Most of the stores are the higher-end boutique shops, so I'm not so sure they have a lot ot offer your regular joe consumers.
• The water fountain seems to have an hourly shoe set to music. Reminded me of some of the shows I've seen in Vegas. See second point.
  
• Paying for parking just sucks. You can get validated and not have to pay but it still is a pain in the ass.
  
• The number of workers there was unbelievable. There were people to help you everywhere. Valet, people guiding traffic, people helping at the pay stations. There was even this huge hotel lobby looking desk for what seemed like the residents of the mall.
  

Not so sure I will go back too often. Wasn't a lot for me there. But not a bad place to go see once.

Electric Drill - A Must Have

The older I get, the more I just want things to be easy for me to do. I find that I will now pay for things that are convenient or easy rather than just do the work myself. I think it has to do with the fact that the older I get, the less time I have and the more money I have.

Case in point, the electric drill. I bought an electric drill a few months ago to put together a dresser I bought. At the time I bought it because I didn't have a drill. I didn't realize that the best part of the drill would be the electric screwdriver attachment.

Today, I was putting together some furniture and was dreading how long it was going to take. I suddenly realized I had the electric screw driver and quickly went to grab it. What a lifesaver. I mean seriously, do you realize how much time and effort you can save with one of these things? Putting together furniture becomes a lot easier when you have an electric screwdriver. It's one of those things I can't believe I went so long without. Even though I don't use it a lot, the few times I do it becomes well worth it. So seriously, stop abusing your arms and go get one. You'll thank me later.