Saturday, February 11, 2006
Friday, February 10, 2006
Season (Series?) Finale of Arrested Development Tonight
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT :: FOX Broadcasting Company
The ad wizards at FOX decided to dump the last four episodes of Arrested Development tonight against NBC's broadcast of the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony. In another brilliant decision, FOX's AD website has no mentioning of the tonight's two-hour block of the show. Instead, it simply says "All-New Episodes Coming Soon!" Way to market the show. What a douche-network.
Oh yeah...I have never forgiven the way FOX treated Married with...Children in its last season. Married was FOX's first hit and how did FOX thank the cast and crew of the show that has the network reliable ratings since the 1980s? By cancelling it without a proper series finale. No conclusion. No party. No thank yous. What a douche-network.
The ad wizards at FOX decided to dump the last four episodes of Arrested Development tonight against NBC's broadcast of the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony. In another brilliant decision, FOX's AD website has no mentioning of the tonight's two-hour block of the show. Instead, it simply says "All-New Episodes Coming Soon!" Way to market the show. What a douche-network.
Oh yeah...I have never forgiven the way FOX treated Married with...Children in its last season. Married was FOX's first hit and how did FOX thank the cast and crew of the show that has the network reliable ratings since the 1980s? By cancelling it without a proper series finale. No conclusion. No party. No thank yous. What a douche-network.
Angels Win Name Dispute Against Anaheim
Jurors reject Anaheim's claim in Angels name change dispute - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
Personally, I was on the side of the Angels. The Angels stayed true to the word of the contract which said the name Anaheim would be included in the team's name. No where in the contract said that Anaheim would be the only city named.
As for the general criticism that it is stupid for the team to have two cities in its name, I admit it's silly, but I support it wholeheartedly. If team owner Arte Moreno had his way, he would have changed the entire name to just Los Angeles Angels, without the Anaheim (I know it means "The Angels Angels," but "Dodgers" and "Lakers" don't make any sense in LA either.). However, he's legally bound to have Anaheim in the team's name. Thus, the whole silliness of "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim."
So why add LA to the name? It's all about advertising. Moreno built his fortune on the advertising business and he's using his talent to market his team and make more money. He wants to connect the team to the second biggest media market in the country. TV advertisers will pay more for ads during Angels broadcasts if they know more LA residents are watching the game, which they are. The LA moniker reminds advertisers that the Angels are part of this huge media market. Moreover, advertising the Angels as a "showtime" team, like the LA Dodgers, NY Yankees, or Boston Red Sox, makes them more popular. Thus, more merchandising revenue and more ticket buyers. In the end, it's all about getting more money to create the best team possible. Granted, money doesn't equal a championship (Yankees, anyone?), but it really helps.
This whole name case is also part of this recent movement in Orange County to differentiate itself from LA and portray the county as something unique.
This movement is futile. No matter what, we're always near LA, thus we're part of it. I've been around the country in the past and everytime somebody asks me where I'm from, I simply say LA. Saying anything else, like Orange County, will either draw a blank stare or questions about The OC, which I know little about.
While shows, like The OC (yuk) and Laguna Beach (yuk), have given Orange County some popularity, it means little because I doubt many OC fans outside California know where Orange County is located geographically anyways. They'll probably know that it's close to LA, at least.
The fact is Orange County, as a whole, is not any more unique than any other county in Southern California. Every county in Southern California has its opulent, upper-class communities (even in Riverside!). And every county has its "ghettos" (which are populated by any combination of dirty Mexicans, fobby Asians, lazy Blacks, and White Trash). So get over yourself, Orange County. Nobody knows where you are on the map.
Personally, I was on the side of the Angels. The Angels stayed true to the word of the contract which said the name Anaheim would be included in the team's name. No where in the contract said that Anaheim would be the only city named.
As for the general criticism that it is stupid for the team to have two cities in its name, I admit it's silly, but I support it wholeheartedly. If team owner Arte Moreno had his way, he would have changed the entire name to just Los Angeles Angels, without the Anaheim (I know it means "The Angels Angels," but "Dodgers" and "Lakers" don't make any sense in LA either.). However, he's legally bound to have Anaheim in the team's name. Thus, the whole silliness of "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim."
So why add LA to the name? It's all about advertising. Moreno built his fortune on the advertising business and he's using his talent to market his team and make more money. He wants to connect the team to the second biggest media market in the country. TV advertisers will pay more for ads during Angels broadcasts if they know more LA residents are watching the game, which they are. The LA moniker reminds advertisers that the Angels are part of this huge media market. Moreover, advertising the Angels as a "showtime" team, like the LA Dodgers, NY Yankees, or Boston Red Sox, makes them more popular. Thus, more merchandising revenue and more ticket buyers. In the end, it's all about getting more money to create the best team possible. Granted, money doesn't equal a championship (Yankees, anyone?), but it really helps.
This whole name case is also part of this recent movement in Orange County to differentiate itself from LA and portray the county as something unique.
This movement is futile. No matter what, we're always near LA, thus we're part of it. I've been around the country in the past and everytime somebody asks me where I'm from, I simply say LA. Saying anything else, like Orange County, will either draw a blank stare or questions about The OC, which I know little about.
While shows, like The OC (yuk) and Laguna Beach (yuk), have given Orange County some popularity, it means little because I doubt many OC fans outside California know where Orange County is located geographically anyways. They'll probably know that it's close to LA, at least.
The fact is Orange County, as a whole, is not any more unique than any other county in Southern California. Every county in Southern California has its opulent, upper-class communities (even in Riverside!). And every county has its "ghettos" (which are populated by any combination of dirty Mexicans, fobby Asians, lazy Blacks, and White Trash). So get over yourself, Orange County. Nobody knows where you are on the map.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Mohammad pictures
Here's the pictures that everyone's been rioting over. Seems pretty silly to me, but then again i'm not a Muslim. I espeically like the one saying "Stop we've run out of virgins!"
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Euro(pa)trip
So, it appears that the 2007 NASA budget has removed all signs of a robotic mission to Europa, the 2nd moon of Jupiter. Europa has been deemed the second highest priority for exploration after Mars due to the high probability of a deep sub-surface ocean. For those who don't know, my senior design class was tasked last year with developing a mission to Europa, and I agree that it's of extreme importance.
Previously, JIMO (the Jupier Icy Moons Orbiter), part of the Prometheus nuclear power program, was to be launched sometime after 2015, exploring Jupiter's moons and bringing along surface probes. JIMO was scrapped last year due to being "to ambitious." However, as Mike Griffin stated:
“It remains a very high priority, and you may look forward, in the next year or so, maybe even sooner, to a proposal for a Europa mission as part of our science line,” Griffin testified. “But we would not—we would, again, not—favor linking that to a nuclear propulsion system.”
While this may seem promising, I should point out that NASA has done several mission proposals for a Europa lander since the 1990s, and none of them have followed through.
It now seems that with President Bush's "vision" for space exploration, the necessary increases in funding for manned spaceflight have all but crippled the scientific exploration capacity of NASA, as most of the knowledge we actually gain from space missions are from robitic missions such as the MER rovers, Spirit and Opportinity, the Saturn-bound mission Cassini, and the Hubble telescope.
As an aerospace engineer, I admit that landing on the Moon or Mars seems fun and adventurous, and may stimulate my industry with new technologies, but overall I feel that scientific gain is more important than bragging rights. It's my hope that sometime in the future funding will again be emphasized on scientific gain again so that we might uncover more mysteries like Europa.
Previously, JIMO (the Jupier Icy Moons Orbiter), part of the Prometheus nuclear power program, was to be launched sometime after 2015, exploring Jupiter's moons and bringing along surface probes. JIMO was scrapped last year due to being "to ambitious." However, as Mike Griffin stated:
“It remains a very high priority, and you may look forward, in the next year or so, maybe even sooner, to a proposal for a Europa mission as part of our science line,” Griffin testified. “But we would not—we would, again, not—favor linking that to a nuclear propulsion system.”
While this may seem promising, I should point out that NASA has done several mission proposals for a Europa lander since the 1990s, and none of them have followed through.
It now seems that with President Bush's "vision" for space exploration, the necessary increases in funding for manned spaceflight have all but crippled the scientific exploration capacity of NASA, as most of the knowledge we actually gain from space missions are from robitic missions such as the MER rovers, Spirit and Opportinity, the Saturn-bound mission Cassini, and the Hubble telescope.
As an aerospace engineer, I admit that landing on the Moon or Mars seems fun and adventurous, and may stimulate my industry with new technologies, but overall I feel that scientific gain is more important than bragging rights. It's my hope that sometime in the future funding will again be emphasized on scientific gain again so that we might uncover more mysteries like Europa.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Memo
Blogger.com has a cool tool for those who want to blog without having to go blogger.com.
BlogThis!
Just put the BlogThis! link into your browser's Link Bar and click on it whenever you want to blog. A small window will pop up, type in your post, choose which blog you want to post on (if you have multiple blogs), and click "Publish Post."
Also, there will be a scheduled outage of blogger.com and blogspot.com from 7:00PM to 8:00PM PST for maintenance.
BlogThis!
Just put the BlogThis! link into your browser's Link Bar and click on it whenever you want to blog. A small window will pop up, type in your post, choose which blog you want to post on (if you have multiple blogs), and click "Publish Post."
Also, there will be a scheduled outage of blogger.com and blogspot.com from 7:00PM to 8:00PM PST for maintenance.
The Cricket
I am currently sitting at a crowded internet cafe in Bangalore, India. Why is it crowded? There are a few dozen computers here and a big screen. But only a few of the computers are in use. Still, there are about ten people for every computer. What are they doing? They are watching the cricket on the big screen. Not watching cricket. Watching the cricket. Just sounds nicer that way. It's India versus Pakistan. India versus Pakistan in cricket is quite possibly the biggest sporting rivalry in the world. It makes all other rivalries all over the world pale in comparison. These two countries have 20% of the world's people and they hate each other and they have a small stockpile of nuclear arms pointed at each other. And they are mad about the cricket.
Over the last two weeks, I've gotten to watch a lot of the cricket. India are playing in Pakistan while Sri Lanka and South Africa are in Australia playing a triangular series. There are only ten countries in the world who play cricket and only about half of these countries are half decent. The game is long and you can usually predict the outcome of most matches. And I love it. I tried to get into it in England, but was distracted by the football. But here in Sri Lanka and India, it's cricket and nothing else. Maybe the odd game of elephant polo.
Why have I finally realized this genetic love for the cricket? Well, test matches, the ultimate and oldest and most respected form of the cricket, last five days. Another popular form, one day internationals (ODIs), last, predictably, one day. So when the cricket is on, what can I do? I can get up in the morning, switch on the cricket, and watch it all day. And I've done this several times already. Pham and I and I'm sure others share a love for sitting on our ass and doing nothing but watching the idiot box. No matter what crap is on, I'll watch. This is why cricket has done it for me. Imagine sitting on your ass for five days watching it. And if you go to the matches, imagine doing that and drinking the whole time. You can even do that at home. Say it's Tuesday and you get invited to some deal on Friday that you don't want to go to. Say a test match has just started. Nope, can't go, have to watch the cricket. Which game? This one. But it's Tuesday? Yes? The deal is on Friday. They'll play until Friday. This same game? Yes. It lasts for five fucking days, baby! All day, everyday, one can watch the cricket. Sit on your ass and just watch ball after ball after ball, run after run after run. So what are you doing next week? Watching the cricket? What time? All the time. What day? Everyday. Nothing interrupts the cricket. Except rain and bad light. It is a lot like baseball. Except fifteen times longer. That means fifteen times the sitting on your ass time. And fifteen times the drinking. Long live the cricket.
Oh, yeah, and last night I went to a Bryan Adams concert. Summer of '69 and all that jazz. Really random. I see that canuck in concert in South India of all places. Globalization, good and bad.
Over the last two weeks, I've gotten to watch a lot of the cricket. India are playing in Pakistan while Sri Lanka and South Africa are in Australia playing a triangular series. There are only ten countries in the world who play cricket and only about half of these countries are half decent. The game is long and you can usually predict the outcome of most matches. And I love it. I tried to get into it in England, but was distracted by the football. But here in Sri Lanka and India, it's cricket and nothing else. Maybe the odd game of elephant polo.
Why have I finally realized this genetic love for the cricket? Well, test matches, the ultimate and oldest and most respected form of the cricket, last five days. Another popular form, one day internationals (ODIs), last, predictably, one day. So when the cricket is on, what can I do? I can get up in the morning, switch on the cricket, and watch it all day. And I've done this several times already. Pham and I and I'm sure others share a love for sitting on our ass and doing nothing but watching the idiot box. No matter what crap is on, I'll watch. This is why cricket has done it for me. Imagine sitting on your ass for five days watching it. And if you go to the matches, imagine doing that and drinking the whole time. You can even do that at home. Say it's Tuesday and you get invited to some deal on Friday that you don't want to go to. Say a test match has just started. Nope, can't go, have to watch the cricket. Which game? This one. But it's Tuesday? Yes? The deal is on Friday. They'll play until Friday. This same game? Yes. It lasts for five fucking days, baby! All day, everyday, one can watch the cricket. Sit on your ass and just watch ball after ball after ball, run after run after run. So what are you doing next week? Watching the cricket? What time? All the time. What day? Everyday. Nothing interrupts the cricket. Except rain and bad light. It is a lot like baseball. Except fifteen times longer. That means fifteen times the sitting on your ass time. And fifteen times the drinking. Long live the cricket.
Oh, yeah, and last night I went to a Bryan Adams concert. Summer of '69 and all that jazz. Really random. I see that canuck in concert in South India of all places. Globalization, good and bad.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
APOD
This is APOD. It deserves a place on your bookmarks bar. Love it.
Examples:
Europe at Night
Earth at Night (click on the picture to zoom in. lawl @ north korea)
LL Ori and the Orion Nebula
The Tarantula Nebula
Examples:
Europe at Night
Earth at Night (click on the picture to zoom in. lawl @ north korea)
LL Ori and the Orion Nebula
The Tarantula Nebula
