The Lobster Dribble

A few months ago, there was tremendous controversy about Lebron James and his "crab dribble". See the video below.



Believe me when I say this. I've played a lot of basketball in my life, and you can call it whatever you want, but Lebron James traveled. It was blatant and I applaud the referee for giving the proper call despite the fact that it might have changed the game. A travel is a travel no matter what the clock says.

But I had to laugh when I saw this video of Corey Maggette against the Atlanta Hawks.



The guy literally travels about six times in a six second period of time. For those who are not familiar with the rules, you can not pick up you feet as soon as you catch the ball or you come to a complete stop after dribbling. Since this is an even more blatant disregard for the rules, I decided to call it the "Lobster Dribble" since it is an even better version of traveling.

This is seriously one of the craziest things I have ever seen in a game. What makes it even worse is that the referee is standing right there. What the hell? And, to top it off, Maggette COMPLAINS about the non-call after he turns the ball over. No wonder so many people are disillusioned with the NBA

What to do with Power Adapters

I decided to clean out my closet today. There is a lot of junk there. Most of it, I have lugged around from place to place with me across the country.

One thing I noticed I had quite a lot of were various power adapters. You know, the thing that comes with every electronic device and has the big ugly wall wart on it? They come in all shapes and sizes, and they differ in the plugs they use at the end of them.

The thing is, I'm sure for some of these plugs, I no longer have the device it was meant for. I just keep the plugs around because I'm not sure. I keep these around for the one time I have a device with no plug, and I need one. I just go through all of them until I find the right one, and I'm good to go.

But really, shouldn't I just throw out these plugs? I don't often go back and use devices I haven't used in a while. It is just that one time I really need it, and therefore I really need the plug.

Is this just me, or do other people have lots of plugs which they don't know what they are used for or if they even still have the device.

Pro Sports Are Not Fixed

The Tampa Bay Ray defeated the Boston Redsox last night sending the Rays to the World Series. There they will join the Philadelphia Phillies in what looks to be the worse matchup in recent memory.

There is at least one thing we learned from this Baseball Playoffs. Pro Sports are definitely not fixed. When the playoffs started, there were plenty of intriguing matchups. We could have seen an all Chicago or all Los Angeles World Series with both the teams from those cities making the playoffs.

It would have been a very interesting series if the Dodgers would have met the Red Sox with all the drama that would have happened with Manny Ramirez returning to the city who gave him up. But instead, we have the worse possible matchup for Major League Baseball. Who outside of Tampa Bay and Philadelphia is going to watch the series? With all the great possible matchups, how the heck did we end up with this? Only one explanation, the two teams definitely earned their spots.

Women's Store and Chairs

How is it that not all Women's Clothing stores have chairs for people to sit on. I recently went shopping at an outlet mall and had to go into several stores with my girlfriend. Yet very few of the stores had any chairs. How is that possible?

Think about it, many of these women go shopping with their husbands or boyfriends. Most of them are bored out of their mind as their wife or girlfriend shops. These men could probably bear it if there was at least a chair to sit on. I know when stores do have chairs, all the men inevitably migrate toward them.

There have been many a time I hurry my girlfriend from the store simply because I can't bear to just stand there anymore. She probably could have shopped twice as long in the store if there was just a place for me to sit.

Now I'm not asking for a luxurious chair. A piece of wood on top of two cinder blocks would work just fine for me. All a store has to do is buy a few inexpensive chairs and this would probably increase the time their clientele spends in the store and in turn increase the amount of money they spend.

Smart Phones - Not So Smart

I am a big fan of my smart phone. I use it a lot and I'm quite happy with it. But today I found one big problem with my phone. The Blackjack 2 has a QWERTY keyboard. This is fantastic when I have to compose an e-mail or a text message. However, it isn't so great when I have to call a phone number which is given to me in letters.

Imagine you have to call 1-800-1NUMBER on one of these phones. How the heck are you supposed to know which key corresponds to the letter 'n'. You can't unless you just happen to know it. I had to do this today, and I had to borrow my girlfriend's phone just so I could look at the number pad. Now what if I didn't have another phone to look at. How the heck would I have known what numbers to push?

OJ Simpson Found Guilty

The number 13 is not a very lucky for OJ Simpson as it took the Jury 13 hours to find him guilty of robbery and kidnapping 13 years after he was found not guilty of double homicide.

Really? I mean how stupid do you have to be if you are OJ Simpson to go and rob someone at gunpoint to go get some lousy sports memorabilia? He got away with murder. After you do that, you should really try and stay low don't you think? I mean do you really want to tempt fate twice? Don't you think that if you get in front of another jury, they are going to be predisposed to try and balance the scales of justice no matter what they are instructed to do? People are human. There is almost zero chance that they are going to be able to separate what they know about you from the facts.

So seriously, if you get away with murder, try not to think you are superman here. You don't have some superpower where you can do whatever you want and get away with it. If you do get in front of a jury again, you better believe that you are going to be found guilty.

Dodgers Lose - And Celebrate with Champagne

The Dodgers lost their game against the Padres tonight 6-4, and celebrated it by popping bottles of champagne.

Of course they won their division tonight and thus are heading to the post season thanks to a loss earlier in the day by the Arizona Diamondbacks. So the Dodgers did have reason to celebrate. Still, it seems odd to see a team in such a happy mood after a loss. Maybe its just me, but I always hate losing, it just puts me in a bad mood. I would find it difficult to celebrate after a loss, even if the loss didn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things.

No Chinese Noodles in the Chinese Market

I wanted to buy some fried chow mein noodles recently. I only really like them on my salads; they add a nice salty crunch that I really like. Unfortunately, the variety that they sell in the normal market really suck. I remember the noodles I like from the days when my father owned his restaurant, and that was the variety I wanted to get.

So I went to the Asian market in search of these noodles, and I came up totally empty handed. How the heck can I not find Chinese noodles in a Chinese market. I get that these noodles may be a little bit "americanized" but even then, I would have expected to find them there.

Now where do I look ...

Disadvantage of Designer Jeans

Those who follow my blog know I love my designer jeans. However, there is one huge drawback in buying them. When you buy jeans from Seven, you can only buy them in one length. They make the jean the longest that any normal person would ever want. I'm sure they do this in order to make their inventory simpler to maintain and to keep their cost low since they do not have less variety to control for.

However, this tends to be a pain in my ass because I'm lazy. I have to go find a tailor to alter my jeans and hem the cuff. Since I'm lazy, this can take me several weeks to do. So I go and spend $200 on a pair of jeans, and I don't get any use of them for several weeks after that.

Still think it is worth it, but I really wish I didn't have to go through the additional hassle of getting them hemmed. Luckily, if you buy them from Nordstrom, they usually have a tailor on site who will do it for free. But when I don't buy them from Nordstrom, I have to wait to enjoy my purchase.

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.