Well, I lost another Western Digital drive today. It just kept clicking: click click click (read more »)

I was just taken out for 48 hours by an incredible bug. My temperature fluctuated between 103.1°F and 96°F, and I literally couldn’t get out of bed for 26 hours or so.

At least I made it home to New York before the nasty part hit (and given that my travels included a red-eye flight, it could have been much, much worse).

I’m sick of all this wireless hype. (read more »)

dead thresher sharks

Shark finning articles are becoming more mainstream. The NY Times has an article about shark fishing in Manta, Ecuador, a location I have been to and documented as well. It�s a well-written article, but I find it strange that it focuses on a place where the entire shark is actually used. In a large market area on the beach itself, virtually every piece of the sharks pulled up are sold to locals as inexpensive meat. Where are the mainstream articles that document shark-finning proper, where the live carcasses are discarded?

By the way, I think it’s funny that the article talked about Jackie Chan. While I was down there, a bunch of kids kept running up to me and chanting, “Jackie Chan! Jackie Chan!” I wanted to show them a bit of my own Jackie Chan, but their blood-smeared, knife-toting fathers were just around the corner.

Assorted photos from New York.

tony and nico

Had a low-key New Year’s celebration at Tony and Ai-jen’s place. It was meant to be a dinner stopping-point before New Year’s festivities, but a lot of people ended up staying to hang out.

Jee and Seku had some pretty classic moments involving voiced, racial observations, but I probably couldn’t write about them here without causing problems from random viewers. Out-of-context race jokes are dangerous. ;)

At the turn of the past year, I had just returned from a trip to Irian Jaya, and Vienna and some friends threw a New Year’s party at my place. I remember it as being the perfect welcome back to California, especially having narrowly missed the tsunami.

trouble!

What do you get when you pour alcohol down the throats of impressionable, young, physics grads from MIT? Trouble.

A few days ago, Peter took our team out for a few drinks at the Whiskey Blue. In addition to drinks with the group, we celebrated a 23rd birthday (he’s a mere baby!). The next morning, we learned of the devastation Peter had caused. (read more »)

joe and rachel

Joechang and Rachel Coleman were wed on December 17, 2005, at the Pine Hollow Country Club on Long Island. It’s great to see Joe so happy these days, and it was also nice to see a few friends from California whom I hadn’t seen since leaving for New York.

Also, inter-culture weddings are always very interesting. I’ve played a lot of Jewish weddings, but it was the first time I had seen an Asian groom being hoisted up above the crowd in a chair.