Category: Personal

I may have missed out on dirt cheap hotel stays in Japan, but UCLA beat LSU, giving me the edge over B-Dawg in our basketball pool for third place.

The only thing surprising about the idea of a Simpsons movie is that it took 17 years to come about.

I’ve been humming the theme song to Duck Tales, part of the old Disney Afternoon programming block from the late 80s-early 90s, off and on for several weeks now. So today before I left I gave in to the urge to search for a download of theme song.

And, damn, it craked me up to hear it. It’s been YEARS since I’ve listened to this stuff. And how could anyone forgot that classic Duck Tales video game for the NES? So far I’ve tracked down Gummi Bears, Chip N’ Dales Rescue Rangers (I knew about the “other” meaning even back then), Darkwing Duck, and Gargoyles. Tale Spin appears to be a real challenge to find.

And for those who care, Gargoyles is available on DVD. I was surprised and will likely pick up a copy. Arthurian legend mixed with the Illuminati and other cults and myths in this surprising “children’s” show.

So the first day of Sweet 16 games wrapped up, and I just checked in on the brackets. The wheat is finally being separated from the chaff in the pool, with several people falling down hard over the Gonzaga, West Virginia, and Duke loses. Crazily enough, I apparently changed things up at the last minute before the tourney started, picking UCLA to be in the championship game after beating Duke in the Final Four game. I didn’t even realize this until after the ridiculous comeback to beat Gonzaga.

Good stuff – I love this time of year.

So, Kansas loses in the first round of the NCAA tournament, knocked off by Bradley. That makes for one of the larger upsets in our tournament bracket, knocking a few people down significantly in their best possible scores. Yet while more than one person had Kansas in the Final Four, only one person had Bradley winning the first round game (Rizzo, you bastard). Thank you, Big East bias, for helping me select Pittsburgh to win in round two.

I don’t discuss this in great detail with many people, but it’s a significant part of the answer to one of the most common questions I am often asked by friends and family. The question, “Why do you like Asia so much?”

The answer lies largely in the dynamism that is exhibited throughout most of the Pacific rim. I often say that when you visit one of the cities, if you go back in two years entire neighborhoods may have been demolished and re-created during your absence. As Susan aludes to, their investment in infrastructure, in a basic layer of services, from mass transit to new construction to high speed fiber optic networks and mobile phones that can stream video in real time that are affordable and common. Throughout Asia this is ongoing and breathtaking in its speed. For those who aren’t living and seeing it firsthand, it’s hard to comprehend.

I’m convinced that the short-term emphasis, on profits over true research and investment, on public policy that makes little to no sense over the long term in order to support short term goals are all contributing to these factors. I won’t say public policy is equally good in all locations throughout the region, but I see a willingness to experiment and invest that is lacking in quite the same way here. We’re too invested in what we have to think about what may have tomorrow, if only we’re truly willing to throw caution to the wind.

Dare to dream.

I just finished last week’s episode of the Amazing Race, and I’m willing to make a few adjustments.

The “hippies” came across as significantly more fake this time. Their reaction to coming in first was irritating as hell. The mom + daughter team I found even more endearing this time, and I’m getting over that initial cringe factor with the nerds.

Still, there’s just so much nerdiness I can handle.

Updated to add: I’m really pleased with Fran and Barry still hanging in at the end, while the fall of the two sisters doesn’t disappoint me much.

One of my favorite sites turns 10 years old (though I’ve only known about it for about 2 years now). It’s hard to believe how quickly time passes.

This had me do a look up on some of my web domains, and I realized I’ve had sandsmg.com since 1998 and cdymek.com since 2002.

I’m watching Tuesday’s season opener of the Amazing Race, and I’m making my first impressions of the teams.

Hope to See Stick Around
The hippies
The mom + daughter

Don’t Know Yet
The nerds
The best female friends
Slacker guys
The old couple
Ray + Yolanda

Can’t Wait to Go
John + Scott
Gen X Married Couple
Sisters

The nerds would be great, if they just weren’t so…nerdy! Augh!

Now that I’m back home, I was able to get the site back up.