Yep. I called it in the last post at half-time of game four of the Western Conference finals. I already knew that the Lakers were going to win games 4 and 5 and voila! We are back in the NBA Finals. Finally, I don’t have to hear any more about the Spurs.
As for who the Lakers will face? I personally think it would be an easier match up against the Celtics just because even though they got the ’supposed’ Big 3; they choke. Only when they are playing at their best, they are really good and quite a scary team. However, their inability to win on the road in the first two rounds gives me assurance that the Lakers can win easily in a NBA Finals match up with them.
Continue reading ‘Welcome back to the NBA Finals, Lakers!’
Its halftime, the score is 53-47 with the Lakers up by 6. Kobe just made a jumper over Ginobili. One thing is for sure, the Spurs are one of the most annoying teams. Just watching a single half; I cannot stand the team. They are too sheltered by the media where all the broadcasters just seem to love the Spurs. All game long, all the analysts and commentators talk about how poised these Spurs are, how Parker is unstoppable, how Ginobili is due for a great game because he is a competitor and how Duncan has been bored in the regular season and needs a challenge that comes with the playoffs. Screw that! The Spurs are just protected by the referees and the NBA organization.
I mean, I watched game 3 on Sunday when Ginobili miraculously started draining 3’s. Three pointers are such a crucial part of the Spurs game. Just look at how they beat the Hornets in game 7, nothing but three’s! The fascinating thing is how the ref’s keep protecting the Spurs. First, we got the horrible and blatant traveling done by Ginobili every time he gets into the lane. Call the travel dammit! And it is contagious because just now, in game 4, Duncan supposedly dunked from the top of the free throw line. That is TRAVELING! There is nothing exciting about the Spurs except to see how much they are able to get away with. Just because they are the defending champions which is bullshit because technically, they should have lost to the Hornets already.
Continue reading ‘Ref’s deteriorating the game, screw the Spurs!’
Having more bandwidth is costly, having a lot of bandwidth is expensive! For this one week event, I brought in a 6 mbps link through Covad Wireless for $3,000. The $3,000 gives me this 6 mbps ethernet drop off with a full Class-C of IP’s for one month. What type of speeds did I actually get?
Continue reading ‘$3,000 = 6 Mbps’
I was fortunate to get an inside look at the annual ICRA event, known as the International Conference on Robotics and Automation. It is a gathering of about 1200 engineers, about 98% male is the demographic, who spend an entire week listening in on intense workshops based on published essays, a couple nice lunches and dinners combined with a student party and a gravel pit where you have robots perform on the terrain. I was a bit let down because the robots at the conference were more about education or the Mar’s rover type of robotic vehicle. I was hoping for more artificial intelligence robots like the Honda Asimo of sorts.
Nonetheless, there was a couple cool things that I did see. Such as the supposed robot from the YouTube hit, KeepOn.
Continue reading ‘Annual robotics competition, ICRA 2008′
For about $60 to $80 per month, you are able to get high speed internet access at home via DSL, cable or now FIOS through Verizon (limited to certain areas). To the right, you can see a speed test I conducted on a DSL connection at home. Sure it is a decent download speed but the upload is a bit slow. That’s the problem with most home connections, the download is fast but upload is slow. Even with typical cable providers of internet access, you have this as well. I think most DSL and cable access have download speeds of about 5-6 mbps and upload speeds up to 1 mbps.
Now let us compare that to true T-1 lines as I see at work. As a service provider, we get T-1 lines from AT&T, MCI, Qwest, Verizon, etc. A single T-1 line gives you exactly 1.544 mbps download and upload (no more, no less). You always have the option of adding to the bandwidth by adding T-1 lines, thus introducing NxT1, which N = number of T-1 lines. So for a 3xT1, it just means 1.5444 mbps times 3 or roughly 4.5 mbps. Of course you will get about three T-1 drop offs and need an enterprise router like Cisco with multiple interface cards to get these T-1’s bonded together. The cost for a T-1 circuit can range from different providers but a safe bet would be about $1,000 per month. (This number could be less now with many different LEC’s (Local Exchange Carriers) selling T-1’s now.
Continue reading ‘We all need just a bit more bandwidth!’
When I typically walk into the Apple store, I spend no more than five minutes; browsing to see if they got any new accessories for the iPhone. However, I was stuck in the store this afternoon as it suddenly started pouring hailing rain. The store actually is quite interesting, when it is not crowded on a weekday. I can hop onto any Mac or laptop and actually figure the system out. The OS is nice, a bit dumbed down from the Microsoft XP, but I think thats the appeal. As a hardcore PC user myself, I would probably have trouble adapting and learning a Mac but for a new user to computing, I would recommend a Mac as they will pick things up that much more quickly. Sure, Vista is going for that approach, but its just a faulty crappy OS at the moment. I’m still sticking to my XP SP2.
What I am most impressed with the new iMac is display monitor. It has a glossy finish and photos appear to be that much clearer. That monitor, whether it be the 20 inch or 24 inch version, is just far superior than most other LCD/Plasma displays out there.
Continue reading ‘What’s in a display?’
Photoshop! What a wonderful software that lets you have complete control and being able to manipulate a photo. I have been playing around with Photoshop and air brushing images. Sure, it is cheating but how is that different from using make up and the correct lighting for normal photography? Its just the end product that matters. I see photos of Britney Spears of US Weekly that are photoshopped to the extent that it is so obvious that any novice can pick up on it. However, I must admit, she is very photogenic and is a perfect model to play around with.
Some other photoshopping techniques I have been tinkering with are just normal lighting and color levels to balance a photo. Also using the stamp/clone tool to remove unwanted elements in a photo. I will share some soon, but at the moment, I am still learning and really getting used to it. I must say, I have received some positive praises and a lot of wonderment on how many other people out there that actually photoshop their image to put up on social or dating websites like MySpace, FaceBook, eHarmony, etc. I am assuming a lot. However, I think I will use these skills for the better and maybe use it as a side gig; perhaps for photo retouching for wedding occasions.
Continue reading ‘Heal, Duplicate, Blur, Paint…’
By now you may have already heard of Kahlil Fong and his fantastic R&B style to sing Chinese songs. I heard lame attempts in the past but I think this guy actually got it. If you have not heard of him, then you will be in for a treat because this guy has got talent. His second album, Love Song, was released earlier this year and this was my initial impression of his musical style. His R&B style is almost reminiscent of John Legend; the vocals are probably less soulful but he does have good range and a good sense of the rhythm. Overall, I think his songs are enjoyable and will definitely stand out and attract more listeners ranging from the traditional Chinese pop fans crossing over to fans of other genres including people that don’t typically listen to foreign music.
I want to note that after listening to his second album, I found that his first album to be more light and it tries bit less on striving to sound too R&B or too forced in having soul. The tone of the first album, aptly named “Love Love Love”, is quite good altogether. He sings a single English song, Peter Cetera’s “If You Leave Me Now” and does a good job at it. I personally like the overall feel of his first album better than the second. Enough for me to actually want to introduce Khalil Fong and share with you his songs.
Continue reading ‘Nerdy Love Song - Khalil Fong (方大同)’
Yep. I called it in the last post at half-time of game four of the Western Conference finals. I already knew that the Lakers were going to win games 4 and 5 and voila! We are back in the NBA Finals. Finally, I don’t have to hear any more about the Spurs.
