Only felt like yesterday that I was like.. Ah summer, summer hours at work, scheduling time to go to the beach, lazy weekends working in the yard or just doing nothing... Where did the time go?
Well reflecting back on it, it seems like I did manage to squeeze in some adventure during my summer ( No comparison to the craziness of last summer and the 3 weddingsI managed to attend) I did manage to make it out to the beach a couple of times…. Ah Santa Cruz with the family. Building sand castles with the nephews, riding rides with them. Never thought trek out with all the family would turn out to be a nice day..
Also had a chance to visit Discover Bay... The old Marine World (which I haven't been to in 20+ years), it reminded me of a trip to the Sacramento Zoo that was just a fun day at a place to be fun and silly ( The butterfly room was crazy) ... The animals, the rides, the food, just the random playfulness of it all.
Also made it out the San Joaquin County fair… Ah my farmer brother with his chickens, goats, pgs, horses and rabbits. But my niece won a ribbon for her rabbit ( I believe a best in show) and Chucky sold off his livestock and bought some in return.
Also was able to see a crazy 4th of July show in Concord. Who would have thought a picnic in the park sponsored by the local church would be this festival ofskits, singing and fireworks. I was definitely impressed. I must remember this event in the future called“The Singing Flag”
Of course a couple of trips to LA would have to be included.., not as much as I use to, I guess m life in Stockton is beginning to take more and more of my time, but with football season fast approaching, I'll be in LA more often than not..
But at least on one of my trip to the So Cal, I did stop in Santa Maria to go to a Rodeo for a day, which was darn cool and definitely an unexpected fun weekend before making it to LA. Also havinga nice dinner in the Malibu Hills with my sweetie wasn’t bad at all, the week included sitting in the audience at a TV show taping and visiting the Grove , which Stephanie has never been to, was a fun way to spend the day.
But alas, the summer is closing in, back to the craziness of emails, applications, more emails, website changes and less and less sunshine, I hope to squeeze in more pool time and some drive with the top down before the fall and the rain take over for the rest of the year.
Jennifer Aniston sat down with Jay Leno at The Tonight Show yesterday to chat about The Switch. She's kicking off a press tour for the film ahead of its release in August, and Jen also had time yesterday to prerecord an interview with her good friend Chelsea Handler at Chelsea Lately. Jen's currently battling it out with Brooklyn Decker in the final round of our Summer Bikini Bracket — make sure to get your votes in before the contest ends tomorrow! The actress didn't talk about her famous body with Jay, but she did open up about whether she'd ever use a sperm donor like her character in the movie.
I remember my special birthday with I got it ( my 29th ;-) )
It was the first new game system since the Original NES.(I swore of video games for many years for an education instead). Still have it around and fire it up once in awhile. Even the MOD chip still work and use XBMC from time to time...
Ah the XBOX will hold a special spot in my heart...
It's April 14. If you own an old Xbox and play online with it, or still play original Xbox games on Xbox Live via your 360, you should know this is the last day you'll ever be able to do so.
As Microsoft promised earlier in the year, at midnight tonight the plug will be pulled on the world's first truly successful online gaming service for consoles, which first set up shop on the original Xbox all the way back in 2002.
While Xbox Live itself will obviously live on for the Xbox 360, the games that got the service its start - those for the original Xbox - will tomorrow no longer be supported, nor will online play via the original Xbox console.
The move paves the way for a brighter future for the Xbox 360, one where friends lists aren't capped at 100 people, but the celebrations for the future will be marred by tears for the dearly departed, as today we bid farewell to clasic multiplayer titles like Battlefront 2, Crimson Skies and of course the original online juggernaut, Halo 2 (though with its singleplayer campaign it's at least still useful).
Will any of you be marking the occasion with one last game, for old time's sake? I might dust off Halo and Battlefront, send them off in style.
Sprint 4G Network in Stockton? Cool... No Really.. We've had wimax for some time so about time the integrated into the phone.
A road map for the first 4G phone,Sprint HTC EVO 4G now beginning.Sprint plans to roll out the 4G network to even more places.Sprint and their partnerships ; Comcast,Clearwire and Time Warner Cable will provide Sprint customers with access to 4Gnetwork and subscribers to the cable services will now be offered mobile internet in their service plans. Clearwire will deal exclusively in mobile internet services.Here is 18 cities where will get 4G in this summer :
Merced, CA Modesto, CA Stockton, CA Visalia, CA Rochester, NY Syracuse, NY Tampa, FL Jacksonville, FL Daytona, FL Kansas City, KS Nashville, TN St. Louis, MO Salt Lake City, UT Wilmington, DE Grand Rapis, MI Eugene, OR Yakima and Tri-Cities, WA
Hum.... the day I hated, loved and hated is coming this Sunday.
I wonder what will be in store for me this year. Looking back at 7 years of them, I wonder about the choices I made in life and how I got where I am today.... But as the day come closer and closer, I think about the times when it put a smile on my face... with the hopes of cookies, candy and jelly beans. It also reminds me of one year where I was scrambling around looking for the perfect gift while stuck at a conference and how I could call on my favorite place in the Lincoln center in a pinch.. (Which I learned will NOT be selling chocolate-cover strawberries this year :-( )
Well it seems I do not update as much as I use to. I use to post random stuff I would find around the web, but as it seems I have been quite preoccupied in my life these day. Going to sleep on time, waking up on time, I guess this is a part of getting older or something new in my life. I haven't totally been sold on it but it getting pretty close. I will see how the next weeks go and finally decide..
As least this weekend I get to be at home and not traveling to some crazy place, doing crazy things...
I guess I should have mentioned that I could NOT swim at this point, but luckily, no one fell out of the boat all day. Thank you to Mario from American River Recreations for an awesome trip down the Middlefork of the American River. I would definintely suggest them for some fun white water rafting trips.
Sac -> NYC -> Boston -> Charlotte -> Pensacola -> Atlanta -> Vegas -> Stockton. What started off as a crazy trip the night of the 4th of July turned out to be unique and crazy as my own life. Great weather, awesome food (Will be posting pictures and stores about my travels in Boston and Pensacola soon!) , meeting new people, reconnecting with one ones and learning that robot do indeed NOT live 2 blocks form me was amazing but was actually someone really cool and as I am was a bonus... What does the next 10 days have in store?
WASILLA, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abruptly announced Friday she is resigning from office at the end of the month, a shocking move that rattled the Republican party but left open the possibility she would seek a run for the White House in 2012.
Palin, 45, and her staff kept her future plans shrouded in mystery, and it was unclear if the controversial hockey mom would quietly return to private life or begin laying the foundation for a presidential bid.
Palin's spokesman, David Murrow, said the governor didn't say anything to him about this being her "political finale." He said he interpreted Palin's comment about working outside government as reflecting her current job only.
That is an interesting term. One would think that all thing misunderstood would be complicated, but in a way its the opposite for me. I have no idea what is going on, so saying it complicated explains nothing. I have to say that wasn't something I expected to hear as I would have greatly preferred "Oh, hi how are you?" But when someone is purposely closes all the doors and windows and rebuild that wall I tried so hard for so many years to take down. Such a pity becasue I doubt what's on the other side of the wall is so much better even if it so much more familer. one would think with all the years of shared experiences that I would be at least someone could have lunch or more than a 30 second conversation...
I know I am a horrible typist, so I really do need to practice. So one of my co-workers found this fascinating site that helps you with typing and I thought I give it a whirl. It basically times you on these lesson of random paragraphs that you must type, but I assume they write them (or the computer automatically generates them) to not be predictable and give more accurate results, but the result is some the oddist paragraphs you would ever read / type...
An example is below...
" Here is a simple experiment that will teach you an important electrical lesson: On a cool, dry day, scuff your feet along a carpet, then reach your hand into a friend's mouth and touch one of his dental fillings..Did you notice how your friend twitched violently and cried out in pain? This teaches us that electricity can be a very powerful force, but we must never use it to hurt others unless we need to learn an important electrical lesson "
[Updated at 3:15 p.m.: Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.]
[Updated at 2:46 p.m.: Jackson is in a coma and his family is arriving at his bedside, a law enforcement source told The Times.
Jackson was rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center this afternoon by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics.
Fire Capt. Steve Ruda said paramedics responded to a call at Jackson's home at 12:26 p.m. He was not breathing when they arrived. The paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and took him to the hospital, Ruda told The Times.
[Updated at 2:12 p.m.: Paramedics were called to a home in the 100 block of Carolwood Drive off Sunset Boulevard. Jackson had rented the Bel-Air home for $100,000 a month. It was described as a French chateau estate built in 2002 with seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and a theater.
The home is about 2 1/2 miles, about a six-minute drive, from UCLA Medical Center. An earlier version of this post incorrectly described the time to travel between the home and hospital as two minutes.]
The news comes as Jackson, 50, was attempting a comeback after years of tabloid headlines, most notably his trial and acquittal on child molestation charges.
In May, The Times reported that Jackson had rented the Bel-Air residence and was rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out shows in London's O2 Arena. Jackson had won the backing of two billionaires to get the so-called "King of Pop" back on stage.
His backers envision the shows at AEG's O2 as an audition for a career rebirth that could ultimately encompass a three-year world tour, a new album, movies, a Graceland-like museum, musical revues in Las Vegas and Macau, and even a "Thriller" casino. Such a rebound could wipe out Jackson's massive debt.
This is an interesting blog article I ran across today, but what is even more interesting is the comment left about what is REALLY wrong with the system.
If your TV went blank, then you really haven't been paying attention for the last year have you? (you know all those commerical tellign you to do something??) The world has NOT ended, but its time for you to get cable or one of those boxes at Best Buy... (I bought mine on amazon actually... a Channel Master and Tyvex.)
Not sure what I was thinking but it was not as bad of a drive back as I was expecting. (I stopped a few times to break up the time on the way back!) The weather could have been a little warmer. Other than that, a 7-hour trek was probably one ofthe longer drive I've done in a long time. I forget sometimes how relaxing a nice drive is. So treking across the Mojave Desert wasn't so bad. Oddly enough I've benn out that way before and had to ask my dad why the place looked so familer. He says he remember us all taking a trek out that was years ago...
I was in Vegas for my friend Carlos' bachelor party. The offical word is that the Vegas was Lovely and the weather was nice. (Knew I should have found a tiger and baby before heading out there!) Vegas is still Vegas, and alwas nice place to go when you want ot get away. I stayed at hte Luxor, which is a first for me and was surprise how nice and inexpensive the hotel was, plus the pool was nice. Played too much blackjack and roulette, and no luck at either, but the bachelor seem to hold his own and that what was important!
Sounds like the next party is just white water rafting, I gues I better learn how to swim before them :-)
So watching one of my favorite show in TV, the following is a teaser that shows up at the end of the show. This one in particular caught my attention and wanted to quote it here...
"Live to see a highly educated, deeply thoughtful, articulate, cool, biracial President who is not overly crippled by childhood wounds and capable, in no particular order of freeing the nation of oil dependence, restoring its international standing, creating universal health care, resurrecting the economy, ending two wars, rebuilding the public education system, finally bringing about the end the mindlessness of racism, encouraging science and technology, firmly addressing environmental issues and global warming, and uniting the nation - and the world - in a giant cultural tipping point leap forward...
I knew it was good, but didn't think it was going to do that good!!
-------------------------
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Star Trek" beamed itself up to the top of the box office, earning $76.5 million in its opening weekend.
Paramount Pictures had estimated that the movie would make about $50 million for the weekend, but figured that strong reviews helped carry it to the bigger opening.
Yep.. that's pretty much it. Not giving away any plot or anything, but something that even no-trekkies and kids to see and enjoy. I like the blend that will hopefully satisfy the hard-core trekkies, the average 30-somethings who remember all the older episodes/movies and the next generation of star trek fans. This should bring new life to the original episodes as it allows new fans to be able to watch some of the TV shows and movies and understand the dynamics of all the characters right away..
Its also a movies that I would go and see again! Definitely something not as I expected, but was actually better. I hope this turns out a couple fo sequels as if they are anything like this I would go see in a heardbeat.
Man so much has happened in the last couple of weeks I cannot even begin to explain and still do not have enough time to right now, but felt looking at my blog had to write something down.
Beginning with Easter, Multiple Birthdays, my birthday, trip to LA, seeing Camille the first time in 5 years, birthday lunch on the beach, being visited by the Sheriff's at midnight, CPK, cougars, non-working monitors, smarites, peeps, Joan Jet, missing driveway, asparagus, valley brew, all nighters, ice cream cake, birthday lunches, Ed Hardy martini glasses, fun easter baskets and tweeter and text messages galore!!
CONGRESS PASSES WIDE-RANGING BILL EASING BANK LAWS
By STEPHEN LABATON Published: Friday, November 5, 1999
Congress approved landmark legislation today that opens the door for a new era on Wall Street in which commercial banks, securities houses and insurers will find it easier and cheaper to enter one another's businesses.
Sometime you wonder how we survived it and yet we always do.. As a child of this era, I am curious what the children of thie are think about our crazy youth. Here is a prime example of how life as a child was like when I was little.Out of the list, one of the things I missed it that ride in the back of the pickup..
Anyways I wonder if its the current state of parenting today that requires us to minimize the risk and to what mean? To not be sued? and if so what will this generation of kids learn if everything is taken care for them?
Anyways.. here a fun list of fact for years gone by.
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.
Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?
Because we were always outside playing...that's why!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. If YOU are one of them? CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.
While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?
For the last 3 days I made it a point to get around to watch some movies that I've had laying around for awhile. Between BluRays, Netflix and online movies I have to do a better job of keeping up with movies
So Saturday night started with some random documentaries from the Netflix online movies:
No End in Sight - A documentary to the Iraq war. The Busines of Being Born - a documentary about pregnancy in America.
Finished the Sunday night more more main stram movies with Wall-E, My Best Friends Girl and House Bunny, and The Cutting Edge 3
Tonight was Burn after Reading and Lies and Alibis.
Seeing a photo my sister that she posted of my 2 year old nephew in a ballpit reminded me of a photo of myslef in a ballpit back in my youth and after some hunting through some old photo albums ( do people even kep albums anymore??) I found it! Yes, in my youth I had a serious hair issues, no wonder I spend so much money on haircuts now!
My Nephew Christopher... ( he was crazy excited about it ball pit...)
and me (Oh the hair and the short-sleeved shirt...)
Students around the country have posted videos online documenting their reactions to Barack Obama's historic victory last night in the 2008 presidential race. Much of the footage features students screaming, smiling, and searching for words to describe the moment.
Wow... I am listening to McCain speak as his concession speech congratulating Obama on his win and to hopefully bridge differences to make the next generation better....
and yes I am probably going to solve this at work tomorrow :-) Ah I missed being an engineer sometime. Pretty rare, that I get to practice even my basic algebra in my current profession..
So after hearing a rumor earlier this week, Sarah Palin does make an appearance on Saturday night live. I have to personally say that was a rather good idea, even if the media is rather liberal and such sine SNL has bee ngetting amazing rating after TIna Frey's first impression of the vice-presidental candidate.
I think she did an awesome job and the writers, but you can see how she kind of kept her words short, whicvh I was kind of disappointed to see, if she wants to stop the buzz about her ability to not communicate well and answer some of the hard question, but over the appearance helped her campaign...
Instead of being glued to my television tonight, I was attending a fascinating lecture of Technology and Sustainability at Pacific. In my hast, I forgot to set my Media Center PC (a tivo for nerds) to record the 2nd presidential debate this evening. So being a technologist, I figured that I would just find a copy either on NBC or something on YouTube once I got home. After 3 hours since its airing, I still cannot find a copy. I am sure I will find some bootleg copied by tomorrow, but it seems that main stream media still doesn't get it. Think of the amount of lost opportunity to the current generation of internet savvy citizens and involvement in the political process.
Take a look at the two blurry images below. Can you see an object hidden in each one?
. Before I give the answers, here’s another question: Do you feel a certain lack of control over events right now?
These questions are not unrelated, according to a report in the new issue of Science by Jennifer Whitson and Adam Galinsky. The researchers found that when people were primed to feel out of control, they were more likely to see patterns where none exist. They would spot an object in each of the images above, even though only the image on the right contains one (the outline of Saturn and its rings). If you thought you saw something in the image on the left, don’t be too hard on yourself — your feeling may be perfectly understandable given the chaos on Wall Street.
Washington Mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators on Thursday night, in what is by far the largest bank failure in American history.
--------------
I would have never thought that one of the largest banks (well a savings and loans) the size of Washington Mutual would be seized by the government and sold off in pieces in a matter of hours. And even more odd, that they sold he best part worth billions of dollars to the company for pennies on the dollar. I don't understand how the government can take the good parts and sold it off to a company and left sharholders like myself left with all the bad part and now stock that is now absolutley worthless. Does seem very fair in the context of business.
I hope someone takes a good hard look at this and find that the government acted inappropiately and restore some sense of fairness in american business.
Congressman Ron Paul lectures Bernanke on the flaws of the bailout plan and the hazard of the attempt to fix prices versus letting them correct naturally in the free market at the Congressional Hearing today (9/24/08). Ron also questions Bernanke's authority and constitutionality of using the printing press to generate all this extra money needed for the bailout.
Its amazing the random movies you find on TV late at night or in your Netflix queue.
A couple worth mentioning are:
August Rush
Not really sure how this movie ended up on my netflix's queue, but this was definintely a movie that I enjoyed watching. If you liked Serendipity, you shoudl love this movie.
and
ESL - English as a second Language
Not sure how to describe this so I'll steal the IMDB's synopsis:
"Bolivar De La Cruz, with a baby on the way, has just made the treacherous journey over the border from Mexico to Los Angeles, California, home of the beautiful and restless Lola Sara, whose parents made the same journey some twenty years ago. Now two people from very different sides of the same culture find themselves on a collision course with the events that will change their lives forever."
I am not a fan of minority pseudo docu-dramas, but this one seem somewhat engaging. The lives of two mexican immigrants and how life turns their lives in circles. I like movies that have a tendency to remind us that llife is rather random and in some way we have very little control over its outcome, but given those odds, to still try make you life better.
and finally
10 items or less
I was about to go to sleep and noticed that my Media Center PC recorded this movie. I was like "whatthe heck... I'll watch it" and I am so glad that I did. Another genre of movie I love is the exposure of hollywood and all its smokes and mirrors and how actors and actresses are just people like the rest of us and how they have the some of the same issues and problems we all face. Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega were great. I love her character as a shoot from the hip, no-none sense women working as a grocery teller.
humm.... I wonder who actually coined that phrase. That would an interesting experiment in Viral marketing... creating work that people start searching for looking for an answer...
CERN will make the first attempt to circulate a beam in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). But don't woory as many reports say it will not trigger a blackhole and suck the Earth into itself. (well I hope anyways...)
But you tech nerds, check out the news on Google as even they are making it a big deal today!
Found this interesting cool article from the LA times back in 1998 of my sister Florence when she was on the Track and field team for UC Irvine..
I love the opening lines.
"UC Irvine’s Florence Sterni is deceptive.
Other sprinters must look at her and think, no sweat. At a shade taller than 5 feet, by her count, Sterni just doesn’t look threatening in such power-and-muscle events like the 100 and 200 meters."
Simply awesome. If you didn't see it, you missed out. I am sure hoewever you can find it on YouTube. Amazing what 1.3 billion people can accomplish when they put their minds to it..
I am no Photoshop expert, but in response to an email chat, I had to make is funny cartoon of my friend Margaret and the infamous Sprinkle cupcakes. I was teasing her I have a white, red and green present for her with a fork? I was of course was saying a sprinkle cupcake from Beverly Hills, but he mentioned something odd and then I replied a leprechaun, wearing a USC T-shirt holding a folk, but of course I had to make the leprechaun her and wanted to show her a photo and this was the result!
Sometimes too many things get in the way of work, but I like to look at it that work gets in the way of life sometimes. Work, to me, isn't just the 9 to 5 (well 7:30 -4 here at Pacific), but its all the other stuff you have to do, either out of necessity or but volunteering you time that I constitute as work.
Lately I have suffered from both . As you can see from my lack of blog entries, I have a little swamped in project. It is finally beginning to mellow out, but it also feels like I have slack in making my own contribution to my blog.
I am sure the number people who read this is in a single digits starting with 1 but I want I feel if I do not update this is yet another thing gone unfinished. Even though I learned that alot of things in life go unfinished, it still doesn't mean I should life such a life.
Anyways, August is fast approaching, school will be back in full swing, a bunch of other project at USC should be complete and I hope to go back to going home at a decent hour and getting a BBQ or two before the end of summer. Also I will force myself to buy some USC football tickets this year so I can make a trip to LA for not just work, but for fun.
I need to follow the mentality of my favorite neighbor (Ms. Tiger Yogurt), she works hard, but she makes sure to enjoy life. She loves to remind be whenever she doesn’t see me get home from work till 7-8pm, so yes I will try to get home and to sleep at a decent hour and finish working on my front yard :-)
nytimes.com —Under its chief executive, Roger Ailes, Fox News and its public relations apparatus have waged a permanent campaign on behalf of the channel that borrows its methodology from his days as a senior political adviser to Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
ifehacker.com —Once I bought my 360, however, I've been able to get rid of my home theater PC, my DVD player, and even my cable box, so that my entire entertainment system runs through my Xbox 360. It's convergence at its best. The 360 is not perfect by any means, but it's the best multimedia device I've ever used.
Van Nuys, Calif. (PRWEB) June 16, 2008 -- Digital Playground (www.digitalplayground.com) has started filming with RED digital cameras, a new camera more brilliant than 35 mm film, with 4 times the resolution of the best HD cameras, and the best cinematic look available. Digital Playground was recently in the news for its commitment to simultaneous release new movies on DVD and Blu-ray™ and to re-release its entire library on Blu-ray. Now Digital Playground is allowing a new color to make headlines--the color RED. In the past two months, Digital Playground has already used the RED One cameras to shoot 10 movies. The addition of RED digital cameras allows Digital Playground to match the quality productions of mainstream entertainment studios, while remaining the world-wide leader in adult entertainment.
To call the Samsung Instinct an iPhone knockoff would be an understatement of grotesque proportions. Seriously: Even the packaging looks like it came straight outta Cupertino.
With its buttonless face and black monolithic look, the all-touchscreen Instinct is immediately familiar: It's virtually the same weight and size as the iPhone, only about two-tenths of an inch narrower. Most of the expected specs for any 2008 handset are here: 3G, GPS, 2-megapixel camera (with video recording), and full e-mail and web browsing features. But the Instinct doesn't stop there; it tries to stake a claim on new ground by adding features its arch rival (even the upcoming version) skips: Haptic feedback buzzes below your fingertip when you work the touchscreen, and voice control lets you do certain tasks sans typing.
I am still debating on replacing my fancy PDA-phone with the instinct, but $130.00 cannot be beat... ( I see they waited till apple announced the pricing of the $199.99 iphone :-)
I was wondering what was going on when I was in LA this week. Diana and I were going to Morton's for lunch and decided to take the DASH bus. We look over and saw all kinds of caziness at the new Nokia center with TV guide signs and solar panels but neither fo us must be hard-core American Idol fans since we were kinda clueless.
As you may have noticed, I have a big ole list of social networking things on my homepage. I am pretty sure Google is dinging my ranking because of it.. Not that I am trying to increase my ranking, (but it nice to have a decent one) it was mainly to illustrate the fact that this Web2.0 world we live in today..
I was reminded of this as I try experimenting with YET another social networking mechanism, twitter. Yes I know its been out a year or so and I actually created my account 6 months ago, but after getting back to listen to some episodes of TWIT I took another look at it.. Oddly enough still has that small following feel and that’s why I still actually spend the time to listen to it.
But that also brings me to another point . Sometimes I wonder if I should be living in the bay area since my life is so web-based. I fell sometimes I am behind the curve and that being part of the cool kid crowd, I need to be there.. But then I feel that sometimes most people in SF/silicon valley forget why people have embraced the web. It was suppose to break this notion of physical place and importance. Someone in Stockton can do the things people in "BIG" city can...
But as we see what the living expenses in those places are, it is still REALLY important, and I am reminded why I don't live there. I live near my nephews, because they are important and I hope to re-embrace why the web was such an important turning-point in society in my mind and how talented, experienced "web-guys" don't necessarily have to live in SF/silicon valley...
Say you’re out for a photographic stroll, taking pictures of that cool old power plant on the edge of town. Suddenly seventy security guards swarm you and demand you hand over your camera.
“What is this,” you ask yourself, “a Michael Moore movie?”
You’re sure you haven’t done anything wrong, but you don’t know whose side the law is on. Fret no more- we’ve got a list of things you can and can’t do, and it’s a lot more permissive than you might think.
Now grab your camera back from that Rent-A-Cop and let’s hit the books.
Who would have ever though that you would hear technology no more than 5 years old mentioned in a national debate? Also, that these technologies would change the way a politician would alter their strategy of a campaign.. Here is a snippet from the Democratic debate in Pennsylvania.
Wow, not that I am against making cheesy video for marketing purposes, (check out some videos created for us at Pacific to attract students) but wow, the microsoft one does really takes the cake. I know enough marketing people in various industries to know that many of these are pretty cheesy and internal and that it is suppose to rally support for selling products and services, but man you are suppose to be toting this as a serious product.
No way I would trust my enterprise to a product form a guy dressed up in a bitlock superhero suit...
I was trying to think about I could do for April Fools 2008, but working 2+ jobs has really beeen cutting into my free internet time. (Which I hope will soon be resolved with me getting that web manager job) but anywho, I have seen this new internet phenomemon called "Rick Rolled" and how April fools day is a perfect day to mention it...
What is being Rick rolled, is basically to be trick to see some unique or amazing...
Urban dictionary says.... "The process or act of posting a link or attatchment to a Rick Astley video such as "Never gonna give you up" Then by you clicking on it, you have just been Rick Rolled" http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=rick+rolled
Well as I thought David’s first blog post titled "Sterni, whose interests include 'puppies, monkeys and cows,’ mulls candidacy" was interesting, the second one definitely made my head turn.
Yes that was a very traumatic and dramatic time in my life that pretty much turned it upside down. Many people ask many questions about it, what would have you don’t differently, how has effected your life etc, the list goes on and on.
Did I learn a whole lot from it? Yes. It’s a part of my life history. Do I think I may have missed some opportunity because of it? Of course, but I have learned from it and one could argue become a much better person than if this never happened. But the question I wished was asked more often than not with issues with this is …Is this 18-year old the same 33 year old today? Or so are you a better person today? In some way I feel people are all a little sadistic in a way that we like watching people fail more than we like watching people succeed. Thankfully, my family and friends at the time where there for me and could look past the mistake of a person just becoming an adult.
I have moved on from it. Yes it “has” to be mentioned in the grand scheme of things, but I hope people who look at things like this look at it in context as a whole and not dwell on one little point to death. If you really want to know what I about today, then maybe some more related questions to be of the present may be in order. You may ask anyone I know what kind of person I am. I would be confident you would get a positive answer.
I have ideas on how to make Stockton a better place, and to also keep the excellent work that has already happen from being wasted. I hope I will be able to have the opportunity to express that and affect chance in the town I grew up in.
Farming is a way of life in San Joaquin County, and so is destroying farmland. A schizoid land use that must change.
San Joaquin paves over more high-quality farmland than any other California county, says a new report - 14,888 acres from 1990 to 2004, an area half Stockton's size.
"The fears of those who worry that the San Joaquin could become the next L.A. appear to be justified," warns "Paving Paradise" by the Amer-ican Farmland Trust.
"Unless," the report adds, "the state's premier agricultural region grows 'smarter' than in the recent past."
We can dispense with the "next L.A." idea. This region won't have the beaches, Holly-wood, the glitz, the defense industry, Philip Marlowe, even the porn industry.
It's barely starting to look like spring, but it's already feeling like summer - when you reach for your wallet to fill up the vehicle gas tank.
California gasoline prices have hit a record high, according to the latest gas price survey by AAA of Northern California.
The statewide average price for a gallon of regular has hit $3.50, up 38 cents per gallon of regular in the past three weeks, with the average price in Stockton slightly less, at $3.48, a 41-cent jump over the same span.
Are you happy with the results people get back when they Google your name? If not, there are easy ways to monitor and guide what information is published about you online. Two years ago we covered how to have a say in what Google says about you, and more recently, and how to track down anyone online. But a rash of social media sites have arisen that give you more tools to help you manage your online reputation and become more findable. Let's take a look.
Why Reputation Management's Important
Anyone can create a web page that describes you inaccurately or criticizes your performance at a company. Web sites have emerged to trash bad dates and insult company representatives—and those pages are not what you want potential dates or employers to find when they Google you. If making a good name for yourself online is a priority, it's time to take a proactive approach to getting your name out there the way you want.
So it looks like that I just made it into David Siders blog about thinking about running for city council. Man, I never really realize how oddly whimsical and unserious I sound in most of my online content.
So to help the citizens of Stockton better understand me and what I find important, you may want to start off with an article that I found in 2006 about Stockton and how the LA times thought it was the next up and coming city. This really gave me hope that this city really was changing from the time I left in 1995. I have also included a couple of other note worthy ones...
The inside jokes about cows, monkey and puppies can be put aside for a minute..
Maybe this Ingeniux thing is much more flexible than I imagine. Man that is alot of XML, XSL, stylesheets and CSS involved, but looks quite flexible.. I hope if/when I get this web marketing job that I will have the ability to utilize this additional functionality..
The page existed here before the CMS crashed and had to be restored and ths file is lost.
University of the Pacific- Alex G Spanos Arena 3601 Pacific Avenue Stockton, CA 95211 General Area:
Description
Join President Clinton for a "Solutions for America" rally in Stockton. Don't miss this chance to hear from President Clinton before Californians go to the polls on Tuesday, February 5.
The Dream Robbers What happens when a rat stops dreaming? In 2004, researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison decided to find out. Their method was simple, if a bit devilish. Step 1: Strand a rat in a tub of water. In the center of this tiny sea, allot the creature its own little desert island in the form of an inverted flowerpot. The rat can swim around as much as it pleases, but come nightfall, if it wants any sleep, it has to clamber up and stretch itself across the flowerpot, its belly sagging over the drainage hole.
All Linda Katz had to do was step outside of her house to make thousands on the Internet. Now the Midwestern entrepreneur is building a business selling a piece of the old west online: tumbleweeds.
By KEVIN SITES, TUE NOV 20, 3:54 PM PST
Linda started her online business, the Prairie Tumbleweed Farm, as a joke. It was 1994 and she wanted to teach herself how to design a website. Since she lived on the prairie in southwest Kansas, where rolling tumbleweeds are sometimes the only dynamic feature of an endless flat horizon, she invented a farm that sold tumbleweeds, listing prices at $15 for a small one, $20 for a medium and $25 for large.
"Quantum cryptology is the first cryptology that safeguards against passive interception. Since we can't measure a photon without affecting its behavior, Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle emerges when Eve makes her own eavesdrop measurements."
Back in September, All Pacific students were invited to sign the last steel girder that will be welded into the new University Center, slated to be opened next summer.
Kevin Federline will finally get to prove his mettle as Mr. Mom: Britney Spears has, for the time being, lost physical custody of her sons.
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon issued an order Monday granting Federline the sole right "to retain physical custody of the minor children." It goes into effect Wednesday at noon, "until further order of the court." (View the custody order.)
Please be reminded: For health, safety and liability reasons, pets are not permitted in University buildings, except when they are assistive animals for a person with disabilities or those being trained for such a purpose. Any exceptions have to be approved by the Cabinet.
Yes, this momentous occasion. The summit (our cafeteria here at Pacific) has been out of lids for like 3 weeks. Yes 3 weeks. Not only were we out of lids, the cups also started to disappear. First it was the medium cups, then the small cups.. We were left putting soda into coffee cups and using coffee lids, which surprisingly don't hold cold liquids very well after an hour or so...
Anyways, they are back and I hope they never leave again... I was " " close to going to Taco Bell and snagging some lids from there. Maybe I should has just brought my own re-usable cup...
Life-balance attracts Generation X, who were raised by workaholic Boomers. They were the first generation whose parents both worked and were likely to divorce. They invented the term “latchkey” children. For Gen X security is a primary value and self-reliance is very important to them. They saw their parents down-sized and outsourced, so they are not loyal to any organization. They are free agents who find security in managing their own careers—not in relying on a firm or others for support long-term. Generation X was not born with technology, but they are comfortable with it. They are a “bridge” generation in that they understand and usually adopt the work ethic of the Boomers, but they are closer in age to Gen Y and can connect somewhat with GenY’s culture and views. Boomers are much more comfortable with Xers than with Yers. Generation X will stay with an organization as long as it meets their needs. They do not plan to stay with an organization for the long-term. Work-life balance is a key value.
Man I need to work on making Stockton first a something better.
Welcome to Stockton: foreclosure capital USA by Zachary Slobig Thu Sep 13, 9:20 AM ET
STOCKTON, United States (AFP) - A town in central California has become ground zero in the wave of foreclosures plaguing the US housing market in the wake of the sub-prime lending crisis.
With a population of nearly 300,000, Stockton has acquired the unfortunate distinction of having the highest foreclosure rate of any US city, with one in 27 households left counting the cost of the credit crunch, according to Realtytrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure sales.
....And yes, Spears’ choreography, which used to really rock in a mechanical kind of way, was less than inspired. She kind of looked like a harpooned circus elephant that kept trying to move and groove because the show must go on......
So as Stockton finally begins to move up in the world, there are several new restaurants setting up shop here. On of them is call BJ Brewery. Living in Los Angeles for several years, I have been fortunate to eat at this establishment several time and enjoyed every visit.
It’s a combination pizza, micro brewery and is a welcome additional to the area. As part of their marketing campaign, they have been giving out the "pre-opening" VIP pass where you can have a chance to eat there before the official opening. Unfortunately since I just recently moved into the area, I was overlooked in getting on of those passes... I guess I am not cool enough... or there marketing department didn't get the memo that I move here.
Stockton recorded one foreclosure filing for every 27 households during the six months ended June 30, a 256 percent increase compared with the first six months of 2006.
Anyone that knows me, knows that over the years, peopel have come to assume that I have an odd fasination with monkey, midgets and cows, amonst other things.... So this is fitting.
Well only after a few months, I must say I've had a lot of good experience in Stockton so far. I picked a great neighborhood to live in, have the most awesome neighbors, close to work, food etc. I've ran into some old and made many new friends. But I must have I didn’t expect to meet someone new at 10pm on a Monday night. To add a new paragraph in to my bio, two young ladies that showed up at my doorstep seemly a little lost in their adventure through my neighborhood and afraid of “Bob the can guy” that comes through the neighborhood collecting cans before they are picked up in the morning. They looked fairly harmless, but you never know but I was more than happy to walk them to their car since they seem a little lost and a little freaked out!
Anyways I hope their impression of the neighbor was good, and that if need you can knock on a door for a helping hand. Back to some TV watching and late night work..
LOS ANGELES - It will be a week that Paris Hilton — and a celebrity-obsessed nation — won't soon forget. What started as a graceful attempt by the 26-year-old socialite to accept her punishment for violating probation in a reckless driving case ended Friday when a disheveled and tearful Hilton was ordered back to jail to serve out the remainder of her 45-day sentence.
So in a couple of weeks, I will be moving offices to make way for for a nw Dean and my boss moving on up to the second floor. I'll still have a windows and now will have an office all to my self! the only question was whether or not I get to keep my really cool nice leather office chair thatI have grown to love. While not a Aeon chair, but just as nice and didn't have to spend an arm and a leg for it, so I really didn't want ot see it go.
Summer Hours will begin on Monday, May 21 through Friday, August 17. Business hours are Monday through Thursday 7:30 am to 4 pm, Friday 7:30 am to 1 pm.
Man this is early, but hey, half day fridays aren't too bad.
I know I am oddly entertained by things. But the thing that I love the most is watching people getting busted for doing stupid, illegal, or just plain immoral things. (i.e. Cops, Cheaters, and a few reality shows)
Ashley Heyer is one of them.. Incase you haven't already heard, she is the "aspiring" policial career freshman from NYU who was busted for trying to use a fake ID at a bar in Manhattan and later tried to cover up her stupidity by forcing the bartender, Rachel Hyman, to take a scanned image of it off her blog. (Rachel post images of the fake ID she collects on her blog). Ashley claim its copyright infringment, but we all know is more like covering you butt so your name won't show up on google.
It really irks me when someone breaks a law, then tries to use it to cover it up...
If you don't bad stuff on the internet about you, then maybe you should be doing bad stuff.
Sacramento developer, wife give $100 million to UOP
STOCKTON -- Sacramento real estate developer Bob Powell and his wife, Jeannette, have donated $100 million to the University of the Pacific, transforming the university's future, officials announced Monday.
The gift is the largest in the private university's history.
At 2 pm Today, May 7 in the Presidents Room on the Stockton campus, President Don DeRosa will hold a news conference to announce an important and very positive development for the University. The Pacific community is invited to attend or watch the conference via the University network. Please be aware that space is limited at the conference and there will be cameras, cables and other equipment being operated and moved around during the conference.
Violation of probation for reckless driving draws sentence recommendation
LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton’s life in the fast lane could slow down significantly.
The hotel heiress faces a hearing Friday for allegedly violating the terms of her probation for an alcohol-related reckless driving conviction. Prosecutors have asked that she be jailed for 45 days.
The computer guy is so prone to interruption that he rarely finds an opportunity to work on his own problems. This is because:
1. Computers never sleep. 2. Computer problems aren’t scheduled. 3. Every problem takes time to diagnose. 4. The computer guy can only give one problem his full attention. 5. Each user believes their problem deserves attention now.
Consequently, the computer guy has a 24/7 obligation to keep critical computer systems running, while simultaneously juggling everyone’s problems. He’ll often need to forfeit any opportunities to tend to his own needs for the sake of others — because at any moment, of any day, he can be interrupted by someone who wants to make their problem his problem.
It’s about time someone put some serious effort into this. Actually my old boss from USC mentioned this about 2 -3 months ago and to keep an eye out for it. Well I still haven't seen it make any news, but I did finally find out more about it.
As a Stockton/ Los Angeles person, I find it exceptionally difficult to find an efficient method of transporting myself and goods to and from there with out tons of hassle.
I am glad to see someone is looking into it.. I personally think it would be a boom to the economy here in Stockton, which I so want to see flourish..
Looks like it is part of the Air Resources Board, which is odd. Maybe it’s a group large enough to take on people who DON'T want to see this happen. I just hope they don't cave like they did with the whole electric vehicle push.
The Office of Enrollment is pleased to announce that Mark Welsh and John Sterni have joined the Enrollment team. They fill the newly created positions of functional analyst (Mark) and Web developer (John). Their Knoles Hall office is on the second floor, within the Graduate Studies suite. John can be reached at 209.946.7683 and Mark at 209.946.7684.
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.
Moral of the story: 1. Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy 2. Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend 3. And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut!
Digital creation from USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies advances artificial intelligence.
By Carl Marziali
Sgt. Blackwell serves as the public face for some of the most advanced virtual human research in the world.
For someone who lives only in a computer, Sgt. John Blackwell sure gets around.
Blackwell is the walking, talking showcase for virtual human research at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies. He has not yet achieved his mission – to teach, train or mentor Army recruits – but his enviable social life shows how human a virtual character can be.
“I consider him a close friend of mine,” said Army chief of research John Parmentola, who travels with Blackwell stowed in his laptop, ready to spring into action with a boot from his superior.
Most recently, Blackwell charmed teenagers in the Presidential Classroom, an honors internship program that brings high school students to Washington, D.C. And he has been chatting up visitors at the Smithsonian’s prestigious Cooper-Hewitt National Design Triennial exhibit in New York City.
Diane Piepol, a project director at ICT who admits to a years-long, platonic relationship with Blackwell, said, “I knew we had succeeded when at the Army science conference in 2004, there were people who were saying goodbye to the character before they walked away.”
The heart of downtown Stockton's comeback is the 16-screen multiplex, which not only brings 1 million people a year downtown, it actually makes money.
The multiplex is protected by one of the smartest city laws in memory, a 1999 ordinance prohibiting movie theaters of six screens or more outside downtown.
Now, developer Alex Spanos is proposing that the city change that law and permit a rival 16-screen theater as part of a "lifestyle center" at Interstate 5 and Eight Mile Road.
The first three months of the new Democratic Congress have been neither terrible nor transcendent. A Pew poll had it about right: a substantial majority of the public remains happy the Democrats won in 2006, but neither Nancy Pelosi nor Harry Reid has dominated the public consciousness as Newt Gingrich did when the Republicans came to power in 1995. There is a reason for that. A much bigger story is unfolding: the epic collapse of the Bush Administration.
Thanks for the link and photo... I soooo wanted that clock, but I am glad it went to someone who knew its history.. And when I look at the picture, I will also think of the times when my own personal gang from Stockton hung out at Naughty nicks...
And FYI, Matt has a couple of articles of how the old Stockton is no more..
A mechanical engineering curriculum is a rigorous course of study that will require discipline and hard work to complete, but it is well worth the effort. Having fun and keeping the bigger picture in mind will help you get through it.
Decide what type of school you would like to attend. Larger universities may offer a wider variety of coursework and the ability to specialize.
Smaller colleges or technical schools may offer smaller classes and more of a "hands on" approach to engineering.
While anyone may tinker and invent, working as a mechanical engineer, and particularly calling oneself a "professional engineer" or certain other titles may require a license.
Pay attention to safety. Use tools appropriately, unplug things before opening them up, and don't mess around inside televisions and CRT monitors. (The capacitors inside can hold a dangerous charge long after they are unplugged.)
The Department of Public Safety, Cowell Health and Pacific Dental Care Clinic are partnering to provide free goodies that include tooth paste and tooth brush, condoms and dental dams as well as a safety check of your vehicle.
Wednesday, March 7, between 10 am and 2 pm, you may drive your vehicle west down the frontage road toward the stadium. We will be happy to check your vehicle and provide the gift packets.
The University cares about their students and hope that your spring break is a safe one. For questions call Maryann, victim advocate, at 209.403.0250.
Two silly/funny girls from Frankfurt Germany, take the internet by storm... I think they are awesome, and no they are not lesbians. Wish the rest of the world could be as fun and silly.
Amazing what technology has done to the entertainment world. A $300 camrea, free someware from Microsoft and free uploading onto the internet via google videos/Youtube.. The world will never be the same again.
A photo of me and some fellow USC alumni, back from the ETTC days having a nice dinner at Natlie Thai in Beverly Hills.
I think I still have that shirt.. Thanks for the photo Ha.
This photo represents an annual pilgrimage that we all make to Los Angeles to catch up and not to lose touch with each other, name HaPaulooza. There is suppose to be a forth, Paul obviously, but he is a slacker.
Okay I understand how the whole EA sports lawsuit regarding exempt and non-exempt status employees, show how such a status can be abuse, but come on, what is the point of effecting everyone with any relations to IT work?
Actually not as mad as I expect to be.. (considereing it was an police officer that hit me...)
So I was coming back from my Tuesday ritual Chinese lunch and was coming down Pacific Ave and BAM!, a nice Ford Tauras with CA exempt plates decided to meet me up close an personal.
The damage wasn't too bad, but is going to have to replace the rear reinforcment Aluminum bar (again!) and probably the plastic bumper cover/rear-end piece (again!) and get it painted.
I just hope my neck doesn't hurt again inthe morning.
I still can't believe my dad went and sold his soul to the devil.
In my search for my own home, I am constantly reminded how so many American have gotten WAY over their head in mortgage debt, including my dad. For being decently intelligent and business savvy, I am so perplex on how my dad has manage to get himself into so much debt and have nothing to show for it. He tried to justify it wit ha new kitchen, a fence and some fancy windows and paying of some tax debt, but $250K... come on. Its not like I didn't go to school.
I know people are responsible for their own decision, but I have to plan "con" artist for selling these funny loan to people who have no business being in those loans. ( if you are young and can take the risk, yeah tits your choice) But that's as far as I am going to blame someone else, the rest, and most, goes to him and deciding to go against EVERYONE else in telling him that it was a bad idea.
Is it gambling debt, money to the Philippines, who knows.. All I know it gone.. bye..bye..., I would have been more happy if he just sat there on that white couch and lite $100 bills on fire..
So my New Years advise to him... Stop buying crap and going to Jackson with money you DON'T have.
Time to keep looking for a place to live before I end up on the street.
Consumer Reports' recommendations for safe, comfortable and reliable road-trip cars
Millions will travel the roads during the holiday season, including families looking for safe, reliable transportation. If your plans for the coming year include extended travel, one gift the whole family might enjoy is a new vehicle.
Consumer Reports auto experts compiled a list of 10 suggestions for families. It includes models that have done well in safety tests, in our reliability ratings, and that we've found to be comfortable, quiet, and spacious during our testing. Seats that are comfortable and provide enough support for a long drive were a prerequisite to make our list. Enough room to keep Mom, Dad, and the kids in a festive spirit was also required, especially since journeys this time of year often include the traditional holiday traffic jam.
Here are our picks. All 10 are CR-recommended vehicles, listed alphabetically along with their significant road-trip attributes. In some cases, we have noted the specific trim in which the features can make a significant difference to driver and passenger comfort.
Happy holidays, and drive safely!
Audi A6. This upscale family car is a good choice, with a comfortable, well-appointed, quiet cabin and excellent seats. The all-wheel drive version we tested has a controlled, steady ride and relatively good fuel economy while sedan models have a big trunk for hauling presents, and a wagon is available for larger gifts.
BMW 5 Series. Agile handling and a comfortable ride, excellent seats, and a quiet, well-crafted interior make the BMW 5 Series a good choice for long-distance travel. The available six-cylinder and V8 engines are all very smooth. The 5 Series is available as a sedan or wagon, and with rear- or all-wheel drive.
Cadillac CTS. The Caddy CTS strikes a good balance between sporty and comfortable. Like the Audi and BMW, the CTS has good handling and a comfortable interior with great front seats for less money than those European models. Two smooth V6 engines are available, both matched with responsive automatic transmissions.
The combination of Xbox 360 with a Nintendo Wii can become a gaming Nirvana for some, has the Sony crown been dislodged?
With new value packs and the addition of the HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360, coupled with the sheer enjoyment of the Wii experience, it may be that the PlayStation 3 will find it difficult to settle into a market niche.
We have received your item(s) and will be put on hold for 24 hours. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your special order, feel free to call us.
Nintendo Co Ltd sold 476,000 units of its new Wii video game console in the United States in November, more than twice the number of PlayStation 3s sold by rival Sony Corp, as the two consoles debuted mid-month, research group NPD said. Sonys PS3 sales came in at 197,000. Microsoft Corp sold 511,000 units of its Xbox 360 in November, according to NPD.
Martha Ella Sterni-Harrison, age 83, passed away Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at Wagner Heights. Martha was born in Stockton October 20th 1923. Martha was the oldest of five and survived Polio at 18 months old. She was 15 when she married her late husband, George Sterni who died in 1970. Martha worked for Alan Short Senior Citizens for 36 years and retired at 82 she also went back to school at 47 and received her high school diploma. She was an active member of Hiawatha Council Redmen Lodge #21 for over forty years, she enjoyed the meetings and the conventions with all the ladies. She never forgot anyone's birthday or anniversary and sent cards to all her friends and relatives. She would give them to all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren always with a five dollar bill inside. One of Martha's hobbies was to collect earrings and dolls for all the girls in the family. Martha was preceded in death by her husband, George; a son, Roger Sterni and three sisters, Lucille, Helen and Beverly. She is survived by a daughter, Gloria and son in law, James Juelch of Mountain Ranch. Sons, Richard and wife Mindy, George and wife, Margaret and Robert Sterni. A brother Dewey Tyler of Antioch. She has 12 grandchildren and 22 great- grandchildren, and companion, Wally Harrison for 30 years and loved his children and grandchildren as her own. Visitation will be held Saturday, December 16, 2006 through Monday, December 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Wallace-Martin Funeral Home with a Funeral service on Tuesday, December 19, at 11:00 a.m. at Wallace-Martin Funeral Home, 520 N. Sutter Street Stockton, and committal at Parkview Cemetery in French Camp.
Dec. 11, 2006 — Not a morning person? Take solace — new research suggests that "night owls" are more likely to be creative thinkers.
Scientists can't yet fully explain why evening types appear to be more creative, but they suggest it could be an adaptation to living outside of the norm.
"Being in a situation which diverges from conventional habit — nocturnal types often experience this situation — may encourage the development of a non-conventional spirit and of the ability to find alternative and original solutions," lead author Marina Giampietro and colleague G.M. Cavallera wrote in a study to be published in the February 2007 issue of Personality and Individual Differences.
The researchers, who are both in the Department of Psychology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, studied 120 men and women of varying ages.
The lights, the trees, the presents. Every year it always seems to sneek up on me and every year I am ALWAYS unprepareed. With all the craziness in my life, hopefully I can eventually get into the spirit.. hopefully..
Don't let this really cute photo of my nephew trick you... For like the second time, I have come up lumpia-less at a family function. Why does this happened.. What? Have I not been a nice enough person throughout the year? Did I not let the old lady get in front of at Ralph’s? Did I put the wrong socks on? you think it was my own sister that cooks these wonder pieces of heaven, that in some magical way one would find its way into my tummy. But alas, no taste of the deep fried morsals, no oily hands from it base, no crunch as you bite into it, no want to have another as soon as you finish one.. I sat there, niave of what happiness other were enjoying, as others touch what can only be described as the sense that you tastbuds knowing that it will be good and it actually happening.
I guess like USC season ticket, next year I will need to put my bid in early to reserve a these small slice of heaven..
Anyways, it was nice at least to see my family for Thanksgiving. Good eats as always, but seemed allot more relaxed this year. Bummer my grandmother couldn't make it out this year, but I hold hi spirits for her. Also learned that like all other things family gossip was in full swing and EVERYONE knew my current living situation even before I walked in the door. Not that I mind, but found it funny. Work spread faster than it normally does at the frat house, so I have to giggle.
Anyways I'll say hello to Kristin and Morgan since I seem to now have readership!.. Hope all is well with you guys and always awesome to see you!
I thought we were done for the season. S I am looking at the BCS ranking and I see USC at #3. Now only how fate works out for USC can be the tell tale to the ending of an interesting season..
That's a much better score.. Man was it a nice weekend in Palo Alto. The stadium was nice peoplewere nice, just got a little sore throat from all the yelling :-)
I've been sick for over a week now and finally feeling better to get out and wash my car, and watch a nice Saturday afternoon game of USC and Oregon St. I know its only the 3rd loss in like 4 years, but to Oregon St.? I hope USC does better the in the 4 game stretch of Oregon, CAl, Norte Dame and UCLA...
Man do I spend lots of time solving all kinds of random problems. From building a RSVP system with allowing only a 100 respondents, to developing an online reporting tools for work, seem like I spend allot of times writing code thatI never intended to, but I guess that is part of the development process.
Anyways I stumbled across this nify thing that I figure if excel couln't do then MSSQL couldn't but man was I wrong. Never knew you could multi sort in MSSQL.
FROM SchedCalendar ORDER BY UserId, ForDate
That might come in nifty somewhere.
Also learned something about the Quary analyer to see if I am pushing my MSSQL server too hard.. Need to check on that.
What can I say.? What can I do? 4 years and counting, waiting, wanting. So I sit here wondering what in the world is going on. So many choice, goal and wants. A puppy, a home with a lawn, maybe some roses, and little kids running around. Who know? But what I know is this, you can't have it without making hard choices. Choices that you can only make once in a lifetime, choices of whether to stay or go, commit or not commit.. But choices are sometimes not your to make so you wait for that choice to be made. I waited, I must make my choice in life so I can go on.and wait not more. What will the next 4 years be like, I dunno, but at least I am not waiting anymore.
Gift continues filmmaker George Lucas' long-standing support of educational initiatives at his alma mater. The newly named USC School of Cinematic Arts will be announced at Oct. 4 ceremony
Humm, I dunno about you, but if I ponied 175 Million, I'd want my name on the school... But then again that's George for ya! I'll cut him a little slack since he is NorCal boy like myself..
So much happend that I don't think I can describe it other than this: flight, cinnabons, mental health, staring puppies, cookies, office chair, more flights, running, hospital, tow truck guy, scott, BBQ,USC game, crappy sprint cellphone, fred 62, cleaning, laundry, windows vista, new LCD display, new wifi, washing car, dinner and a drink.. but I did forget to vaccuum.
Oh and another one about the history of Microsoft. By the way, I am a PC using running Windows media center 2005 or don't lable me a MS hater, I personally like most of their products, but man you have to wonder about them sometimes..
My sister-in-law just old me that my 10 year old niece needs powerpoint and a laptop for her 5th grade class. Man, I better shaprne my web skills cuz I think my job as a powerpoint guru is coming to an end.
Mental.. note ... read about your past before trying to recite it under pressure. I found out the hard way that thing you may remember might not be what actually happen. Funny how the brain does that to people.
The long-disparaged Central Valley town is at the vanguard of the region's transformation from farm belt to the state's newest population center. It started with the little things.
By Sam Quinones, Times Staff Writer June 25, 2006
STOCKTON — Fifteen years ago, tiny Gleason Park told the story of this hard-luck Central Valley town: It teemed with hoodlums, hookers and crack dealers.
The city had battled to rid the park of its criminals but failed and ultimately gave up. For years, thugs and addicts freely shot, stabbed and robbed each other, blocks from the Police Department and City Hall. Nearby, pensioners huddled in houses they couldn't hope to sell.
Today, the criminals are gone. The city has razed the park's bathrooms, basketball court and benches, and plans to build a school and affordable housing in their place.
Gleason Park is one sign that a new attitude, like a sheriff with a tin star, has come to Stockton.
As the Central Valley grows away from agriculture into the state's next big population center, many farm towns are losing some of their rough edges. Stockton, a long-disparaged but once-vibrant city, is at the vanguard of the transformation.
Working-class Stockton (population 279,000) has California's highest crime rate and a long way to go. But if it once exemplified how a city could be overwhelmed by crack and gangs, defeatism and grime, it is now a case study in how small victories over blight, decay and criminality can refurbish a municipal image.
The city applied the "broken windows" theory, championed by Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton first in New York and then in L.A.: Clean up the minor blight — broken windows, abandoned cars, graffiti-scarred walls — and more serious issues of crime and decay will start to fade.
Stockton's homicides have dropped from 62 in 1990 to 41 last year, though the city grew by 70,000 residents. The overall crime rate dropped about 25%.
But most important, residents say, the feel of the city has swung from limp pessimism to the aggressive confidence of the city's early days.
Stockton has bet $126 million of taxpayer money on what officials believe is California's largest redevelopment project: a 5,000-seat baseball stadium and a 10,000-seat hockey, soccer and concert arena along the long-neglected delta waterfront. A Sheraton hotel and condominiums are under construction.
"It's absolutely amazing that Stockton is moving forward given the social challenges arrayed against it," said Robert Benedetti, a political science professor at the University of the Pacific in Stockton who has spent years studying the town and teaches a class on its politics.
Supply-chain managament... What in the world am I doing with this. I have no idea, but somoene wants me to learn more about it. Well for the folks that are like, "What the heck is that?", you can find some more information at: http://web.mit.edu/jsterman/www/SDG/beergame.html
My ten reasons why is sucks looking for a job (In no particular order)
Usually means you are unemployed.
You were too dumb not to have something lined up before you lost your job.
Less than half the HR people actually reads your resume, cover letter, etc that you spent hours on.
Most employers already have someone in mind for the job and are required to post it knowing they won't be hiring you.
Wondering if possible employers ever got you resume, cover letter, application.
NEVER getting a call back, email, smoke signal, even as a courtesy saying something about the job you just applied for. I thought we were suppose to be professionals.
Being told you are unqualified 90% of the time.
Being told you are over qualified 10% of the time.
No one is hiring when you are looking, but always when you're not.
Turned 32 and all is well and the world keeps spinning.
Actually I had a very nice and relaxing birthday. I decided that I did NOT want an xbox 360 for my birthday and that I should focus on finding a job before have such luxurious toys to play with, but I did get a game for the PSP, Me and My Katamari. I also that to update my PSP since I could not play Me and My Katamari without doing so. I however learned that Sony has some smart folk, just not a good leader. It seems like the fix that Sony always has on being a proprietor marketeer. This mentality is going to cause them to shoot themselves in the foot once again. They could save themselves in my opinion with a couple of simple things. Make recordable UMD's and stop the fight over home-brew apps on the PSP, they would sell more of those thing than ipods. You are already spending some time and effort on adding cool features like the ability to listen to RSS feed from the web and surf the web from anywhere in the house on this little portable computer for just 200 bucks, but why stopping the home-brew apps? SONY, Let the market drive the product and what it should do.. Let people put there DVD they already bough on these things, Let people listen to their content on these things, sell them the games, but don't hinder the ~100 of other uses for the PSP...
Anyways, back to my birthday. Since it seems apparent that I like strawberry cake, I was bless with 3 of them on my birthday. One from the gf, the other two of them came from my brothers at the Andronicus Chapter of APX and from Pam and the crew at LA SIGGRAPH. Thanks you SO much everyone. A special thanks for the dinner and the fun times and some cool socks, flip-flops, and pants! I always enjoy my time and hopefully soon live a little closer to each other.
wow... So my friend Brian and I went to lunch today and I finally got to sit inside a new Audi A3. Not a bad car in terms of exterior and interior fit and finish. Coming from an Audi TT owner, I know I am a little biased, but the TT is in my opinion one of the best interiors in the 21st century, but the most amazing part that warranted the "wow is the Audi MMI system ( to the lay person the fancy navigation/phone/MP3 player system.) I was totally impress by the fit and finish of the system. With blue-tooth it cleanly switches over to hands-free mode as you get into the car, the perspective on the screen was amazing. The only thing missing was a touch screen., but the controls were totally enough to navigate the system.
Now I get around to building my own integrated car infotainment system, I will use this as a model.
hello world. This is a test of my blogging software. I will be moving my existing blog on blogger.com to this site, so if you REALLY want to read some old articles, check it out http://sterni.blogspot.com
So as Stockton finally begins to move up in the world, there are several new restaurants setting up shop here. On of them is call BJ Brewery. Living in Los Angeles for several years, I have been fortunate to eat at this establishment several time and enjoyed every visit. 
Your Special Order has arrived!!!
.jpg)
