JoeQuality

Android Fragmentation is Real

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:23:00 +0000

I never believed in Android fragmentation until now.

One would think that a high end "Google"phone with the latest and greatest Android OS would be able to download any app on the Android Marketplace.

It doesn't.

One would think that the most recent Android OS would run smoothly with no lag on a phone specially optimized for the Ice Cream Sandwich release.

It doesn't.

One would think Verizon would have the most comprehensive and fastest network that would not keep constantly buffering while trying to watch Netflix.

It doesn't.

One would think Samsung and other manufacturers would have nailed the 4G battery drain problem, since 4G has been out for over a year.

They didn't.

Recently, performance and lack of certain apps on my Verizon Galaxy Nexus has led me to fully understand the issue of fragmentation in Android and question the future of this mobile operating system.

I bought my first Android phone — the Nexus One on T-Mobile — over two years ago. It was amazing after having had a Palm phone back in 2004 and a Windows Mobile 6 phone in 2008.

I had very few problems with the hardware of the Nexus One: the trackball became ineffectual after a year and the soft key touch zone was a little off. These were very minor gripes and I was surprised at how much coverage T-Mobile had in Southern California. I guess all those Verizon "network" ads and T-Mobile's reputation of being cheap and crappy put doubts into my head. But after using the N1 for some time, I had no regrets and changed my tune about T-Mobile.

Having the N1 meant I had instant Android updates and access to any app on the market. No limitations. I bought the phone straight up from Google at full retail — it was less expensive on a no-contract month-to-month plan.

I paid no heed to Android users complaining of fragmentation: my N1 got 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, etc. If people didn't want fragmentation, I thought, they should just buy the Google-branded phones like the HTC Magic, N1, Nexus S, etc. Problem solved.

That is until I had to switch phones and get a new family plan.

Unfortunately the next Google Nexus phone after the Nexus S was going to launch on Verizon. The Galaxy Nexus can work on T-Mobile, but you have to buy it unlocked and the no-contract month-to-month pricing I had is no longer offered. Plus with a good corporate discount on Verizon, the price was good and I didn't think it would be a big deal to have the latest Nexus phone on VZW.

It was.

Ok, let me just cut the crap and get to the points.

Abysmal Battery Life

Battery life on the GNex is atrocious. Even when 4G isn't available (like at my work), the battery drains fast: usually my phone doesn't last longer than 12 hours. My N1 at least got through a day and a half. I can understand the first phones to have 4G will have shitty battery life (HTCThunderbolt), but Samsung should have learned since they've had time to get it right.

Apple just launched their newest iPad with 4G and I'm sure the next iPhone will have it as well. Most likely Apple has nailed it with respect to good battery life and 4G because they take the time to make everything work well, without being dictated to by the carriers or holiday shopping times. It seems as though Samsung and Google rushed the GNex out too quickly, saving these major problems to be fixed later.

Verizon is not the Best

I've always believed that network coverage depends on your location, not on catchy commercials.

I don't really mind that 4G is not where I work in the Inland Empire, but what I really do care about is maintaining a constant data connection.

Sometimes I'll watch Netflix on my phone if I eat lunch at my desk, which is usually twice or three times per week. With T-Mobile and the N1, I encountered buffering maybe about once or twice a month. With my GNex, Netflix usually buffers once or twice per day. Numerous speed test confirm crappy 3G speeds of 138-554kbps.

I've complained to Verizon, but the best they can do is to put in a trouble ticket and say they see no known problems with the coverage in my area.

Thanks, assholes. Thanks for not believing me and not following up on my legitimate problems.

(4G in Downtown LA, however, is amazing: just under 30Mbps!)

Lag

Now this is probably temporary, I hope.

The N1 launched with Android 2.1 and it was very slow and laggy, which is what I'm reminded of now with my GNex. When 2.2 was launched, my N1 became lightning fast.

Hopefully, the same can happen once the next ICS upgrade hits.

But why should this even be an issue? I thought the GNex was supposed to be optimized for ICS. Even with no animated background, my GNex is super slow half the time I'm using it. I'm constantly using that task switcher button to close apps. Come on!

Slow Adoption of Upgrades / Fragmentation

How many phones have Ice Cream Sandwich? Less than 2%.

That's pathetic. More importantly, that means app developers and phone manufacturers don't really care about programming in the latest OS version or updating their existing apps and firmware. This is where it hits home:

The Hulu+ and March Madness apps are not avaiable for my phone.

Are you serious, Google??? The flagship Android phone, the Galaxy Nexus by Samsung does not support two very popular apps?

This is simply unacceptable. Fragmentation has reared its ugly head in the Nexus phones and I'm seriously considering jumping ship once my two years are up.

My patience is wearing thin.

Rethinking High Speed Rail in California

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 22:18:00 +0000

The California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) project has certainly drawn a lot of attention within the past year, especially with their revised business plan. After actually reading through the plan, I'm now skeptical of several things yet am pleased at some progress they've made. Plus, I'm starting to agree with the local tranpsortation agencies who say money should be diverted from the Central Valley to the more populous regions of LA and the Bay Area.

First, let's review the good parts:

Project Phasing

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA) has taken a better approach of explaining how to build such a monstrous project: in phases. The Initial Construction Section (ICS), which is where the first tracks will be created, is still the same route between Fresno and Bakersfield. People still need to calm down and realize no high-speed trains will be ferrying anyone between these two cities; it is merely the place where the first tracks will be laid. I think people get confused because these high-speed tracks could be used by Amtrak's San Joaquin corridor trains if the CAHSR does not get built. (Although Amtrak would have to acquire updated and electrified trains to fully take advantage of the tracks.)

After the ICS, the Initial Operating Segment (IOS) will be built as one of two different routes: the first option would connect the ICS to the Bay Area (IOS-North): Bakersfield - Fresno - San Jose; the second would connect ICS to Southern California (IOS-South): Fresno - Bakersfield - Sylmar (San Fernando Valley). One of these two options (ICS-North or ICS-South) would then begin revenue operations.

Once the IOS is up and running, the third phase, the Bay to Basin, would contruct the second IOS that wasn't built previously. For example, if IOS-South is built, the IOS-North route would be constructed. Therefore, this Bay to Basin (a clever name, I think) would connect the Bay Area (San Jose) to the Los Angeles Basin (Sylmar) via the IOS via the ICS. Regional commuter rail would then allows passengers to travel to the rest of the Bay or Basin using Caltrain or Metrolink, respectively.

Blended System

Then, the next phase would have CAHSR trains running the full length to LA Union Station or the Transbay Transit Center in SF. They might not have their own dedicated tracks, but rather would use the local tracks of Metrolink or Caltrain (upgraded and electrified, of course). This would be known as a Blended System. This would quell some of those rich people in Menlo Park.

This blended approach would lessen costs and add a European touch to things. CAHSR trains would not stop at every station in the Bay Area or LA; this would be done by the local trains. It would require increased coordination between agencies, but lead to greater efficiencies as well.

Back to the phasing part, the last phase would be to extend HSR service to Sacramento and San Diego.

Now let's look at the bad parts:

Ridership/Revenues

Well, my main beef is with the ridership and revenue projects. Essentially, CAHSRA is saying the system will start paying for itself, even at the IOS phase! According to their numbers, either IOS will make at least $200M three years after opening (at least $122M in the first year).

I could see the Bay to Basin making money... after at least ten years. But for a segment from Fresno to Sylmar to churning out money after only a few years? In the United State, only the Amtrak Northeast Corridor, which includes the Acela, generates an operating profit regularly. The current San Joaquin Amtrak from Bakersfield to Oakland loses money. Even if you speed up that slow train, I highly doubt it could be generating that much. Maybe breaking even. Maybe.

Conclusion

I'm not saying HSR would not work in California. I'm just saying the CAHSRA assumptions about profitability are little off. Once you connect the actual cities of San Jose and Los Angeles in the Bay to Basin plan, people will start using it. Until then, be prepared to have subsidies ready to go to help out the growing system.

So what should they do instead? Initially, constructing the ICS in the Central Valley seemed good because of lower land values and perceived view that people out there wouldn't mind as much as people in the Bay and LA. The first assumption holds, but the second? Well, people are getting peeved.

Therefore, if you're going to piss off some people you might as well do it in a place where people actually have transit infrastructure in place already. Plus, public sentiment is quickly turning against the entire project and the likelihood of it being abandoned is increasing. So would you rather have a really nice railroad track built for HSR used by Metrolink and/or Caltrain where more people commute, or have it used for one lonely Amtrak line?

We may need another proposition in November to change the rules on where the HSR money can be spent.

(My six month experiement on Metrolink made an impact on me. Two hours to go sixty miles? Granted, it was the reverse commute, but that still is ridiculous. Get more capacity, cut more deals with UP to run trains through their ROW so we don't have Metrolink trains sitting in the middle of the 10 waiting for train traffic to clear.)

Harvard Cheaper Than Hayward? No Way!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:30:00 +0000

All the recent buzz over an article claiming Harvard was cheaper than any Cal State school is for nothing. The article compares CSU-East Bay's tuition PLUS room/board, fees, books of $24,000 to Harvard's tuition ONLY.

Look what happens when you add in room/board, fees, books, etc to Harvard's tuition: $56,750. Also, you really have to work that Harvard calculator to get something so low as $17,000.

Hmmm... $24,000 < $56,750.

Gee, now the Cal State seems like a much better choice, doesn't it? And just maybe, if one is accepted to Harvard, one would be expected to receive scholarships to any state school, which would further erode that cost of attedance.

Sure, the rising costs of California state schools are terrible, but shame on the San Jose Mercury for putting page hits over actual reporting and research.

sabbatical

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:28:00 +0000

UCLA: 108 Championships, but No One Cares

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:15:00 +0000

UCLA recently got its 108th NCAA championship from the women's volleyball team, although I'm sure no one really cares. That's because UCLA needs to get its revenue sports (basketball and football) back into the realm of winning. Especially after the 50-0 rout from USC, drastic actions need to happen. Hopefully Jim Mora Jr. can achieve this and Howland can salvage whatever is left of our hoops season.

Because of that 50-0 horrorshow, I'm not wearing any UCLA gear for fifty days following that game. (Unless of course I take the Expo Line to see the basketball team play at the LA Sports Arena.)

Now here's yet another Downfall parody, but it's a good one:

My Final Wishes

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:23:00 +0000

After watching a particularly gruesome American Greed on CNBC where mortuary owners removed bones and other parts from bodies without permission to make some extra coin, I got the idea that I should make my final wishes before it's too late. Originally I was thinking cremation is the way to go, especially since I could make instructions to sprinkle my ashes in various, hard to get to places.

But that's a little passe.

You know what's not passe? Throwing your lifeless corpse out of a helicopter.

You heard right — once I'm dead, I'm planning on having my old, rigor mortis ass be tossed out of a helicopter over the Pacific Ocean to be eaten by creatures of the sea. And not just any helicopter, I want one of those giant, Chinook ones that the Marines use.

I'm picturing my family in the back of the chopper, that is several hundred feet in the air, being all mournful and whatever. After some sad words are said, the alarms go off and the back ramp opens up. My wife will kick my corpse to get it rolling, with gravity slowly doing the rest.

But before my body hits the water, BOOM!

Explosives that were hidden inside of me suddenly go off, probably detonating about halfway down. I want this to be surprise to everyone, because it is going to be so damn cool!

Thus, bits and pieces of my corpse will litter the waves, giving back to the Earth and giving back to my family with such a one of a kind show.

(Pictures by me, of course.)

Engineering and Math = Low Grades? Duh!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:00:00 +0000

This article does not surprise me one bit.

How can a student stay motivated if the the class average for midterms is routinely below 40%? Most math, physics, and engineering professors do not teach to the regular student, nor do they care: their target is the hardcore nerd who will eventually get a PhD in math/physics/engineering. The remaining 90% of students are there because their majors force them to take these ridiculous prerequisites.

Does a civil engineer really need to prove the convergence of a limit? Do computer programmers need to know how to do triple integrals? Do any doctors know about invisible numbers?

No, no, and no.

The moment when your linear algebra teacher spends the entire fifty minutes of lecture talking about useless concepts, with you walking out of there with glazed eyes, a headache, and no retention of what he said is when you seriously reconsider what the hell you're doing with your life.

"Research confirmed in the 1990s that students learn more by grappling with open-ended problems, like creating a computer game or designing an alternative energy system, than listening to lectures."

Bingo.

All throughout college I knew I wanted to create computer applications, yet I was forced into taking dozens of classes that had no meaning in anything related to programming. The only math or computer science class that was useful and interesting was Math 157 - Software Techniques for Scientific Computing. The professor engaged us and gave us a project that had real-world applicability: build a computer program that graphed equations for use in a medical or engineering office (or something like that). He didn't simply lecture on and on without caring who understood. He made the class fun and gave everyone an idea of how it was like to be an actual programmer. All other CS or math classes were shit. (The Program in Computing, or PIC, classes were good since they taught you how to program in C++ and explained concepts of object-oriented programming.)

I understand the concept that taking these difficult STEM classes increases critical thinking and quantitative analysis, but when your professor gives you 1 out of 50 on a test because he didn't like the way you proved a theory (which, by the way, was exactly how the TA explained it), you just want to tell everyone in Boelter Hall to go to hell. Seriously, how many demoralizing classes does one need before s/he understands how to think critically? (Hint: not that many.)

I applaud the rethinking of these curriculums and hope the South Campus programs at UCLA take note.

Metro Expo Line to UCLA BBall Soon?

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:14:00 +0000

The Expo Line has been plagued by delays (originally set to open to Culver City last year), but it might still be on track to start revenue operations in a few months. According to this Curbed LA post, the most recent plan of opening it to La Cienega is still current.

It better be, because I want to take it to see UCLA play some basketball at their temporary home in the LA Sports Arena!

And, Howland, your new twins better take the Bruins to a championship soon.

100th Concert!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 20:00:00 +0000

It took nearly fourteen years, but I finally saw one hundred concerts. That's right, one hundred. Even though I'm sure many people out there have seen way more than me, according to my friends I am amazing. (In seeing concerts, nothing else.)

What's even more amazing, though, is the 100th show itself. It was a band that I never thought I would see: Erasure.

Frankmusik (concert #99) opened to the sold out crowd at the House of Blues in San Diego on Sunday, October 2. We were both beat from a weekend of incessant traveling around the state, but were excited to see such a fabulous show.

And boy, was it fabulous!

Andy Bell came out in such a memorable outfit that I might just have to copy it for Halloween: he had on a shimmering, red-sequined jacket and what only could be described as a black, Spartan helmet hat that matched his black pants.

Whoa.

Vince Clarke matched him in color, wearing a similar red jacket that did not quite sparkle like Andy's (no helmet either). He pretty much stayed behind his keyboard/gargoyle except to bring out the acoustic guitar for a couple songs.

The crowd — which was of a completely different demographic than I'm used to — was enthralled by Andy's wacky 80s-style gyrations. They pretty much sang along for all the songs.

Another thing I wasn't expecting was Andy's simple question to the audience: Who here is a homosexual? Seriously, who says that at a concert? Erasure does! Obviously most people raised their hands and clapped their approval.

Fabulous!

Setlist:

Sono Luminus
Always
When I Start To (Break It All Down)
Blue Savannah
Fill Us With Fire
Breath of Life
Drama
You've Got To Save Me Right Now
Ship of Fools
Chorus
Breathe
Victim of Love
Alien (acoustic)
Hideaway
Love to Hate You
I Lose Myself
A Whole Lotta Love
Run Riot
Chains of Love
Sometimes
A Little Respect
--------------
Oh L'Amour
Stop!

Kindle Gets Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:10:00 +0000

Back when I was talking about e-readers/tablets, I said the main reason for getting the Nook over the Kindle was the latter's lack of checking out ebooks from libraries. Well, Amazon finally caught up.

It was recently reported that the Kindle's test ability to borrow books from the library is getting rolled out nationally. This is good news, especially with the announcement that Amazon might debut a Netflix-style service for ebooks. Also in the recent news, Sony's e-readers will now be able to get epub library books directly from the webste bypassing Adobe Digital Editions on a computer. (Yes, I read Engadget a lot.) Clearly, e-readers are on the up-and-up, which is good for consumer.

Now if only there was a tablet with color e-ink that could switch to LCD. That would a must have tablet for me! (And maybe sporting Windows 8...?)

Soundgarden!

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:00:00 +0000

Well, my 97th concert was a good one. (Missed seeing Anthrax and Megadeth at Big 4, which would have made it 99.) I never saw Soundgarden back in the day, so I was pretty pumped to see them finally. Were they kind of old? Yes. Are they as good as they were back in the heyday? Probably not. Did they have ridiculous pyrotechnics like Rammstein? No. But did Chris Cornell scream like it was 1994? Yes.

Better late than never.

It wasn't some semi-reunion gig where the front man brings other, non-original people in to play (I'm talking to you, Bush). It was real, live Soundgarden, just like how they were in the 90s. Just older, of course.

I had floor tickets, which was pretty nice. What wasn't pretty nice was The Forum still is a convoluted mess when trying to find the right entrance to get to the floor. I ended up walking halfway around and waiting in a long line just to be searched. Thankfully, I made it in right as those wonderful guitars began.

Setlist

Searching With My Good Eye Closed
Spoonman
Gun
Jesus Christ Pose
Room a Thousand Years Wide
Blow Up the Outside World
Loud Love
Big Dumb Sex
Ugly Truth
Fell on Black Days
Flower
Outshined
Black Rain
Rusty Cage
The Day I Tried to Live
My Wave
Burden in My Hand
Black Hole Sun
Head Down
Superunknown (with Mike McCready)
4th of July
-----encore-----
Beyond the Wheel
Hunted Down
Mailman
Slaves & Bulldozers

Jesus Christ Pose, Blow Up the Outside World, Big Dumb Sex, Blackhole Sun, Head Down, and 4th of July really stood out. Fell on Black Days just was incredible, since they perfectly nailed that eerie, cool intro riff. Seeing Mike McCready (from Pearl Jam) come out for Superunknown was pretty sweet, too.

Surprisingly, Outshined and Burden in My Hand didn't sound as good as I had hoped, which sucks because those are two of my top Soundgarden songs. Oh well, as stated above, FOBD was perfect and that made me wish I could have seen them fifteen years ago.

I saw A Perfect Circle for the 5th time that following week and I've already got tickets to see Erasure in San Diego in October. Plus, the LA County Fair has a buttload of old 70s bands that are just screaming to be seen (The Doobie Brothers and Michael McDonald!). My 100th concert looks like it will happen soon!

The Cell Tolls For Thee Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000

(Originally posted August 8, 2008)

Once again, no one is going far enough with cell phone restrictions. Recently a congressman introduced the HANG UP Act, which would ban cell phone use on planes over 30,000 feet. This proposed law does not even come close to protecting everyone from everyone else.

We have to have these extreme measures, because look over there in Europe: those liberal people are doing the opposite! Imagine the consequences of having to listen to loud talking on a quiet plane flight!

So I am proposing a new law (similar to the old one) that would curtail cell phone usage in other places.

First though, let's make airplanes a better place to relax and conduct business.

If you're going to ban talking on a cell phone, you'll have to ban talking to other people on the plane. This is obvious. Of course, the flight attendents will be able to talk to you, but you will not be able to talk back. You can only nod yes or no, or write down what you want to eat or drink on a napkin.
No more listening to music. That means no iPods, no in-flight music, no music of any kind. You want to know why? Many times you can hear the music of the person next to you through their earphones. You could just tell them to turn down the music, but we cannot trust others to make that kind of decision on their own, so no music.
No children under 10. Let's face it, kids are annoying. They cry, laugh, run up and down the aisles. No thank you. You're banned.
No movies. Similar to the no music rule, movies are banned. Both in-flight and on your laptop. If I don't want to watch Night at the Museum , I certainly don't want to hear the laughs of others who are watching it.

Now let's move on to banning cell phones outside of the plane.

No cell phones in restaurants. A restaurant is just like an airplane: it's quiet, there's lots of people, and there's lots of opportunity for someone get passively aggressive against someone talking on a cell phone. Restaurants are for eating, not for talking. Shut it.
No cell phones in parks. You think you would get some piece and quiet in an outdoor setting when someone rudely answers a cell phone to see how their dying grandmother is doing. Such selfishness. Banned.
No cell phones in government offices. What's worse than standing in line at the DMV, than being subjected to another human's voice? Just think the horrors if you were on a desert island with another person. Oh my god, they would be talking constantly! Banned.
No cell phones in buses, trains, taxis, and all other forms of transit. Similar to the no music rule, cell phones are banned in public transportation. I'm on a quiet bus, going to campus, and the last thing I want to hear is another human being. Please, do us all a favor and be a conformist. Banned.

So there you have it. If someone next to you is bothering you, please take the passive-aggressive approach and get your congressman to pass an unnecessary law.

Carmageddon

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 07:01:00 +0000

Seriously, what are free train rides going to do for an area without trains?

New Data Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 23:01:00 +0000

Verizon Wireless recently confirmed rumors about their new data plan with tiered pricing. This new system imposes restrictions on bandwidth, thereby exterminating anything "unlimited". Is this a wise move? Probably not, for I have seen my own data usage jump since the realization of how cool the Netflix app is.

Thankfully I don't have Verizon, but since AT&T might swallow up my lovely T-Mobile, who knows what will happen to my unlimited data plan. Consider that before I began to religiously watch episodes of Parks and Recreation and South Park on my phone during lunch at my desk (the latter show not on Netflix, but rather at South Park Studios), my average data use was around 350MB per month. My latest bill since downloading Netflix showed a huge jump to over 2.8GB!

So going back to what VZW is now offering, $30 can only get you 2GB. You could pay more, but that $30 per month has been the standard across all networks for unlimited data for quite some time. Seems silly to make such a radical change, especially since people will most likely use more and more data on their phones. Hopefully is a temporary thing and is just the result of some straining on their network infrastructure.

The Cell Tolls For Thee Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000

(Originally posted February 19, 2007)

Recently states are jumping on the bandwagon to pass laws limiting or banning talking on a cellphone while driving. Similarly sagacious people are considering banning the use of phones and music players while you cross the street in New York. Progressive? Totalitarian? Stupid?

Hardly.

These laws do not go far enough.

In this day and age, driving becomes more dangerous each hour. With all these iPods and cellular telephones and portable phonographs, there's no way any person, smart or stupid, can do more than one thing at a time, including driving. There here's a list that our wondeful congressman should enact into law to protect the interests and vitality of this nation's motorists.

No more visor mirrors or any kind of mirror. This is obvious. Don't put on makeup, don't shave, don't look at anything behind you (even if that person's license plate says they are a crazed follower of a particular religion and they are not really but didn't think too deeply about the choice of getting those plates). If you're so wrapped up in yourself or your kids in the back seat, you should not be driving.
No radio. If you're going to ban talking on phones while driving and then ban listening to music while crossing the street, it's only intuitive that you ban any kind of radio in a car. You wanna listen to KCRW and think you're better than everyone else? Nope! You wanna rock out to the In Utero tape you've had for twelve years because that's the only tape you can find now that you're CD player is busted? Nope! If you can't focus on driving while talking, you certainly can't focus on driving while listening. C'mon! The government knows what's best for you!
No heater or air conditioning. Anything can be a distraction. Even air that is a different temperature than the air outside. You even have to push buttons to get them to work, so there's no way you can concentrate on driving.
Windows always rolled up. Related to the above rule, this makes sense. If you have your windows rolled down, that means you get more noise, smells, and wind rushing into car, causing you to freak out and crash. Safety first.
Age limit: 25 through 55. This is a no brainer. Anyone under 25 is obviously too immature to do anything, and anyone over 55 either has Alzheimer's or dementia.
Wooden bench seats. Remember bench seats? The one's that you had in your family station wagon? That old Plymouth that eventually started shaking went your dad went over 40? Yeah, those long, bench seats are going to be in every car. No more comfy leather. No more adjustable seats because all cars will be equiped with 90-degree-angled bench seats. And they will be hard and wooden. You'll pay more attention and have good posture.
Silent turn signals. Let's face it. That ticking sound when you're making a turn is not only annoying, but incredibly dangerous. It's almost like a ticking time bomb before driving right off the 90 into Fox Hills Mall. Oh and get rid of those small blinking lights too, because colors can be distracting.
All cars gray. Speaking of colors being distracting, the most obvious thing here are the many colors of cars. Graphite pearl? Ruby red? Cobalt blue? No way, that's so distracting and unhealthy! All cars will now be gray. Sorry, MAACO.
Pedestrian uniforms. You really can't protect everyone from everyone behind the wheel, but you can try. If you're not in a car and not inside, you must now wear a bright red jumpsuit. And it's going to be really fucking red, really fucking bright. You won't be safe unless you stand out (and you will with all those gray cars around).
Automated eye-open system. A simple system to make sure motorists have their eyes wiiiiide open. No more sleeping, no more blinking. Full concentration. See below.

Rammstein at The Forum

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Tue, 31 May 2011 04:00:00 +0000

One of the bands I have been dying to see for quite some time is Rammstein. This industrial/metal group from Germany has not toured much in the US, but finally returned in a blaze of glory. Really, though, it was several blazes of glory. And when I say glory, I mean fire and metal and fist-pumping.

So read it as being blazes of fire and metal and fist-pumping!

After parking in the neighborhood seeing some young gentlemen rolling dice on the sidewalk, we walked into The Forum right in the middle of Combichrist's set. Not wanting to be exhausted from too much metal, we grabbed some expensive, crap beer and people-watched for some time. We had decent seats, which were at the railing that separated the seats from the ground.

Rammstein was right on time and began with a bang: singer Till Lindemann and the two guitarists, Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers, entered from large, coffin-like boxes. How did they enter? They had chainsaws, of course! Pretty damn cool especially since they went right into the badass first song off of Liebe Ist fur Alle Da, Rammlied. It's similar to the Rammstein song from Herzeleid but more energetic and refined.

I was a little skeptical of how much pyrotechnics Rammstein was going to bring, since rumors from years ago said they were prevented from bringing all of their equipment through customs due to safety and security reasons, which is apparently one of the reasons why they do not perform in the US much. With this in mind, I was blown away (and could feel the heat from the fire) by the antics and fire and everything they did. Throughout the entire set, there was an abundance of fire spewing from various places: from the stage, from the air, from Till's mouth, from his flame thrower, from the guitarists' guitar straps that had small flamethrowers on them, etc. Till even had a crossbow that shot fireworks over the audience during one song.

At one point Till had a microphone/mini-flamethrower that was strapped to his face, which also allowed him to breathe fire and sing simultaneously.

I want one.

During Weiner Blut, there were about fiffteeen or twenty suspended babies with green lasers shooting out into the audience. (At first, I didn't even realize they were dolls but thought they were just some regular lights.) Then the wires holding the aforementioned babies each exploded at the end of the song, dropping them onto the stage.

At one point, poor Flake was carried by Till and placed into a tub on stage as punishment for kicking him. Till did not stop there, for he took a mysterious barrel and stood on a cyclindrical column that rose almost 30 feet into the air. With no railing to hold on to, Till sung and poured liquid fire and sparks into the tub. Flake later emerged wearing a sparkling, sequined suit, and then proceeded to go back to this keyboards. From then on, however, he was constantly walking on a rotating treadmill while performing his musical duties.

Yeah, I know that doesn't make much sense, but it did happen.

There was an old-style gas pump brought on stage during Benzin, which of course Till used to spray fire. Towards the end of the song, a "fan" made it up on stage and was promptly lit on fire by Till and his gas pump. He had to be beaten by the crew to be put out, but not before knocking over a guitarist.

At the end of the main set during Pussy, Till rode a mechanical, flesh-colored canon that just happened to be shaped like a certain male body part that spewed fake "snow" all over people on the floor. Wow. What a way to end a concert.

Except that is was not over.

For the first encore, Rammstein played the powerful songs Sonne and Ich Will from Mutter. In between them was another single from the latest album, Haifisch. They then retreated back to prepare for the absolute finale.

Engel.

Till emerged wearing angel wings, which must have been about 20 feet across. And what do you think those angel wings did? They blew fire and sparked of course! It was a fantastic end to a memorable show.

I'm thinking this concert ranks up in the top five easily.

Setlist:

Rammlied
Bückstabü
Waidmann's Heil
Keine Lust
Weißes Fleisch
Feuer frei!
Wiener Blut
Fruhling in Paris
Ich Tu Dir Weh
Du Riechst So Gut
Benzin
Links, 2, 3, 4
Du Hast
Pussy

Sonne
Haifisch
Ich Will

Engel

First pic source: http://www.ocweekly.com/slideshow/rammstein-the-forum-33378988/2/

Pink Floyd to Reissue Albums

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 20 May 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Gotta start saving up my money for Pink Floyd's digitally remastered records being released this fall. Hopefully Gilmour and Waters will have a change of heart and tour one last time before someone else peaces out.

Unlocked & Loaded Liquour Cabinet

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 06 May 2011 07:01:00 +0000

Ever since I could legally buy alcohol over ten years ago, it was one of my fantasies to have a fully stocked liquor cabinet. It would ooze forth precious intoxicating liquids, dazzle all those who would gaze into its cavernous wonderment. Any guests could be offered any drink at any time.

Mojito? Gimlet? Scotch and soda? Prarie fire? Golden elk?

Not a problem, because now I finally have an unlocked & loaded liquour cabinet!

Well technically it spans two cabinets/shelves, because we have a lot of booze and the shelves are small. Nevertheless, it is quite satisfying and sentimental to open them and see the treasures peek back at you with such joy.

Liquor List

Whisky

Johnnie Walker Red Label
Maker's Mark
Chivas 12 Year Old
Glenlivet 12 Year Old
Johnnie Walker Blue Label*

Vodka

Russian Shot
Stolichnaya

Tequila

Siglo Treinta
Cazadores Añejo

Rum**

Palmera Coconut
Palmera Limon
Palmera Gold

Cognac

Grand Marnier
Rémy Martin VSOP

Liquer

Triple sec
Sloe gin
Sake
Crème de menthe
Cointreau
Baileys Irish Cream
Amaretto (Disaronno)
Absinthe

* Blue Label is kept hidden from the public!
** All rum was purchased from the Palmera Rum Factory in Aruba.

Hot Royal Babes

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:44:00 +0000

This was originally written on my old site on March 29, 2006. I figure it's more relevant now with all attention from the British royal wedding. Warning: versions of Internet Explorer might not display the upper portion of the page correctly when you click through to read; so either scroll down or use Firefox or Chrome.

If you don't know already, one of my lifegoals is to become a prince-consort by marrying (or probably the word "tricking" is more appropriate) into a royal family. In the many hours spent wasting away at my work, I came across a great website -- Netty's Royal Page -- that shows a list of single women who happen to be a princess or at least a member of the nobility. It's pretty thorough (it even has available princes, for the two chicks that read my website), yet it lacks a definite rating system. (I also got a couple pics from there just to prove that I'm not a stalker or taking away from her glory.) Hence this page.

Therefore, I present to you the Top 10 Hottest Royal (Or At Least Noble) Babes:

#10


	Rose Victoria Birgitte Louise
	Title: Lady Windsor
	From: England
	Born: 1980
	Comments: She's pretty damn hot. And she dresses to conceal it, which is sexy (check out the pic -- I like the hat)! Unfortunately she's only a Lady. Not a duchess, not a baroness, not a princess. If she was at least a countess or something, she would've been higher than coming in at #10. You know, I really like that hat. Not sure why....
Hotness: 8
Noble Rating: 2
Overall Rating: 4

#9


	Maria Anna Henriette Gabrielle Julis
	Title: Duchess in Bavaria
	From: Bavaria (Germany)
	Born: 1975
	Comments: The Duchess of Bavaria would seem quite a catch. Why all the way at #9? She's not a Lady but a Duchess! you ask. Well, because she's the Duchess of Bavaria. Bavaria hasn't been its own country since 1866, therefore that severly limits any husband-to-be. She is also is the second oldest on this list, which explains a lower than expected hotness rating.
Hotness: 6
Noble Rating: 4
Overall Rating: 5

#8


	Gabriella Marina Alexandra Ophelia
	Title: Lady Windsor
	From: England
	Born: 1981
	Comments: Wow. Look at her! I think that easily explains the 9. Yet like her friend Lady Rose, she is only a Lady and nothing more. Wow, okay I have to stop looking at the picture.... Anyway... according to her bio, she's got some sass in her, which I love so I put her up a few points because of it. (She snuck without permission to get some cigarettes and loves to eat waffles.... You naughy Lady, you!)
Hotness: 9
Noble Rating: 2
Overall Rating: 5.5

#7


	Alice Isabelle Marie
	Title: Princess of Bavaria
	From: Bavaria (Germany)
	Born: 1981
	Comments: Another babe from Bavaria, so you can see why she only gets number 7. (In case you forgot, Bavaria is not a country.) She does have an older sister though....
Hotness: 7.5
Noble Rating: 4.5
Overall Rating: 6

#6


	Auguste
	Title: Princess of Bavaria
	From: Bavaria (Germany)
	Born: 1979
	Comments: ...and here is the older sister. Can you believe all these babes from Bavaria? I was stoked that good beer came from there too, but hey when you make the top 10 list 3 times Bavaria turns into a paradise! Why would I make Auguste higher than her sister? I couldn't find that much info on her compared to her sis, and mysteriousness is definitely sexiness. Ja!
Hotness: 7.5
Noble Rating: 4.5
Overall Rating: 6.1

#5


	Caroline Marie-Constance
	Title: Princess Napoleon
	From: France
	Born: 1980
	Comments: Napoleon. That should sum it up right there. She's pretty damn hot, and she's related to Napoleon. Napoleon as in the Napoleon who conquered most of Europe and was a total badass. Even though France isn't an empire any more, if there is another revolution watch out for this young fox to take over as empress.
Hotness: 7
Noble Rating: 6.5
Overall Rating: 6.5

#4


	Olga Isabelle
	Title: Princess of Greece and Denmark
	From: Greece and Denmark
	Born: 1971
	Comments: She is the oldest princess on the list, however she is a smart architect in New York City. That translates to a hotness of 6. The noblity rating goes way up because she is linked to 2 countries, not just one (even though Greece isn't a monarchy, it's still pretty cool). You can eat gyros and... well whatever they eat over there in Copenhagen.
Hotness: 6
Noble Rating: 7.5
Overall Rating: 7

#3


	Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi
	Title: Princess Grace Clinic, Monaco
	From: Monaco
	Born: 1986
	Comments: Whoa! Schwing! Hello! Princess Charlotte is super-fine, and although she's from a smaller country she still gets mad props because Monaco is loaded. Also her father is the heir to an Italian oil fortune! Schwing-chaching! Sorry to appear greedy and selfish, but Charlotte deserves to be #3 due to her gorgeous looks and endless pockets! (And she's got youth on her side, too.)
Hotness: 9
Noble Rating: 5
Overall Rating: 7.5

#2


	Iman bint Hussein
	Title: Princess of Jordan
	From: Jordan
	Born: 1983
	Comments: Ok, she is one of the daughters of former King Hussein of Jordan (deceased). The kingdom passed to one of his sons through a different mother, but she still has some major political pull in the family hence the 8.5. Iman is also screamingly sexy. Look at her. Damn, I'd trek all through the desert to get to her oasis! (yeah that was lame I know)
Hotness: 7.5
Noble Rating: 8.5
Overall Rating: 8

#1


	Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée
	Title: Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland
	From: Sweden
	Born: 1977
	Comments: Two words: Crown Princess. This is as close to becoming a king as you're going to get! She will become queen of Sweden. That means, you will be the most sought, most looked at, most cool royal husband on the planet. Yeah, I know you won't technically be "king", but you can damn well pretend to be! I mean, think of it. Your wife is a queen of a nation. You do what you want. Game over. From what I've heard, she's a real person who wants to marry out of love not political power (like us). So she's not some Hollywood or Valley girl trash one finds every weekend. Victoria is solid as #1 in this list. (and isn't Désirée such a sexy name?) Crown Princess Victoria is the Hottest Royal Babe! She is the winner (and you too if you're smart)!
Hotness: 8.5
Noble Rating: 10
Overall Rating: 9!

Maybe some of you after reading this angrily shout into your computer, Hey stupid! These aren't the hottest princesses of the world! What about Zara Philips or
Queen Beatrix? What's wrong with you, you arrogant, dirty man?!

Fear not, my fine feathered friends. After doing this "project" I came to the realization that there are many, many more hot royal babes out there. If your favorite isn't on this
list, don't despair. This is only 10 of them, whom I've come across in my wanderings.

Side note: Ms. Zara Philips does not technically have a title, yet she is 11th in succession to the British crown. Also she is currently seeing someone seriously
at this time, hence no Zara.

Birthers and Bigfoots

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:00:00 +0000

A new bill that forces presidential candidates to show proof of US citizenship is about to pass in Arizona. This is a wondeful law and I applaud those fine folks for not going with mainstream views. However, this "birther" law does not go far enough to protect the sacred office of the President. I believe there should also be legislation in place to prevent sasquatches from being elected to the oval office.

Sasquatches — also known as bigfoots, yetis, abominable snowmen, and skunk apes — are well known creatures in folklore across the globe. Although there is no hard evidence they exist, there also is no hard evidence they do not exist. It is therefore imperative we institute laws to prevent them from becoming elected to the office of the President of the United States.

Lawmakers in Arizona have the foresight to embrace the birther movement and in doing so, they have set an excellent precent for other sane methods of thinking. After all, if they believe the President was not born in the U.S. despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, well why don't they go ahead and believe in sasquatches running around our nation's forests and mountains? Sure, the mainstream, pervasive thought among people is that these hairy and smelly creatures don't exist, but why should they believe that? They better make a law preventing sasquatches from being on the ballot, just in case.

Expo Line Testing

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:01:00 +0000

The Expo Line began some serious testing last week. Tenatively it opens to La Cienega this November, Culver City (Venice/Robertson) next year, and Phase II to Santa Monica (4th/Colorado) in 2015. Local bus service will be rerouted appropriately to take advantage of this new premium transit backbone in Los Angeles.

Qaddafi at AECOM

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:44:00 +0000

So the son of a despotic ruler can work for AECOM and not me? Maybe I should have stated in my application that I would not leave abruptly to go kill people in the desert.

Trump Trumped

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0000

Donald Trump shouldn't be running his mouth so much these days. For someone who's considering a run at the presidency, he should take a hard and long look at himself in the mirror. Many people buy their way into politics, but his situation is simply ludicrous.

Now he's trying to jump on the Tea Party bandwagon by aligning himself with the "birther" movement. Unfortunately, his pandering failed since the birth certificate he produced was not legit.

Way to go, dummy.

Want some more reasons why Donald Trump should stay away from any public office?

Inheritence

Trump inherited a fortune from his parents, who were already in the real estate business. He didn't make his own money; it was handed to him. If someone gave me millions of dollars and control of a lucrative family real estate company, I could buy and built fancy hotels and condos.

Multiple Bankruptcies

Trump has filed for bankruptcy at least three times, with personal debt almost reaching $1 billion at one point. With all the hoopla concerning fiscal conservancy these days, it's amazing the public isn't ripping him multiple times for getting his professional and personal finances into deep shit every few years.

Birthers

Really? People are still believing this trite? Are these the same people that think 9/11 was an inside job? Are these the same people that believe reptillian and grey aliens are living in underground tunnels experimenting on people?

Is Trump really serious about this? If he is, he is incredibly stupid and should be included with the abovementioned crazies who wear tinfoil on their heads. If he is not, he is pandering to the fringe. Either way this man does not deserve one single vote, although I'm not surprised about anything these days due to previous elections that made me lose hope in most of the American public.

Symphony of Termination

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:23:00 +0000

In honor of the show with the most metal. One month from today.

Time for a Tablet?

noreply@blogger.com (Joe) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 23:33:00 +0000

As the tablet bubble gets larger and larger, I often get asked if I'm going to purchase a sleek new Galaxy Tab or iPad. I thought about it for some time and considered the possibilities and realities of these new fangled tablet devices.

So, did I abandon my trusty Dell XPS desktop in favor of something less powerful but more cool? Did I throw away my wife's laptop for something without a physical keyboard?

No, but I did get an e-reader. A Nook, to be precise.

And it was not the Nook Color, but rather that other model with the black-and-white e-ink screen — the Nook Wi-Fi. Gasp!

That's right, I don't need all the fancy crap that makes ordinary people drool over the iPads, the Motorola Xooms, and the Galaxy Tabs. I just want to read books. Mostly library books, since hardly ever does my cheap self go out and purchase books. That is why I chose the Nook Wi-Fi.

Nook Wi-Fi (BN.com)

So why not the Kindle?

All current Kindle models do not support checking out library books, which is accomplished easily through the OverDrive eBook system. Many e-readers support this small yet powerful feature, including those made by Barnes & Noble (the Nook), Sony, and Kobo. Sony's offerings were pretty tempting, but — Sony being Sony — all are way too expensive for my tastes.

But why not a color, LCD screen? Why not the Nook Color?

For me, staring at my monitor all day at work strains my eyes. Combine that with staring at a smaller LCD at home to read some fine publications by Douglas Adams will eventually lead to a headache. The e-ink screen found on the Nook Wi-Fi, Kindle, and Sony eReader is rather remarkable in that it's just like a piece of paper; it doesn't look like a display at all and produces no backlight. You almost have to get used to the fact that it can change like a regular screen, albeit slower. And when I say "slower", it's not really that slow — about the same amount of time it takes to gingerly turn the page of a normal book. Therefore, getting eye strain from my Nook is almost nonexistent, unless I try to read all six original Dune books in one sitting under candlelight. Plus, e-ink displays last for days and days and days and days without a charge.

But you can't check email, look at ESPN, watch Youtube, or do anything cool on it!

I don't need it to. I have a smartphone that can do all of that.

Everyone has different needs, and for me, I don't need a tablet device that is in between my phone and a regular computer/laptop. Basic mobile functions like checking and responding to email, browsing the web, mapping things, and listening to music on the go is accomplished smoothly on my Nexus One (just got 2.3.3, btw). If I really need to do some heavy lifting, like writing up reports, editing video/photos, or playing real games like Civilization V, I go to a real computer.

These new tablets are damn cool, but I don't need them. If I had money to blow, it would be cool to fiddle around with the new iPad 2, but I don't see an everyday use for them. But that's just me.

One Possible Use

The only way I could see myself using one nearly everyday would be if I got a new car and needed something to replace the stock navigation device. My Accord navi system is great, but it lacks real time traffic updates and the audio system does not have auxiliary inputs for a separate audio player. My next car would benefit more from a tablet that is more versatile and less costly than a stock navigation system. But thanks to Japan's commitment to manufacturing superior automobiles, this will not happen for a very long time.

So How is your Nook?

E-readers are still in their infancy and thus have a long way to go. For the most part, however, the Nook Wi-Fi is a solid device. As mentioned above, battery life is superb, the display is fantastic, and the ability to borrow library books in addition to purchasing them through Barnes & Noble is sublime. The downside is that you must side-load books (connect the Nook to a computer and transfer via USB) instead of using the Wi-Fi connection. I suspect this functionality could be developed later, which would make things easier and smoother.

The only other downside is the Nook software on the computer is almost useless; the free program Calibre is much better. Still though, you cannot sync categories created in Calibre to the "shelves" system of organization on the Nook itself. One would have to create a "shelf" or category on the Nook and add books to it, regardless of whatever categories one made on the computer with Calibre.

The Nook isn't perfect, especially when it comes to the software/syncing side of it, yet I totally recommend it to those looking for a simple device to read books.