Weekend Update - February 19th
Happy New Year
Happy Chinese New Year everyone!
I know I am a bit late but it is better to be a day or two late than to ignore the event altogether. I hope everyone enjoys the Year of the Boar or Year of the Pig, depending on how you call it.
Weekend Update
Let’s see what happened this weekend.
I graded homework and advised students on their paper structure and content. I’m not certain that I reached some of my students who seem bent and determined to write their papers in their own style and ignore the school’s writing standards. In the end, I do not have the desire to fight with them. Next term, they will be taking another writing class from an instructor who is much more demanding than I was this term. They will have to work much harder to earn their grades.
I enjoyed being able to wear shorts and a golf shirt for most of the weekend. I think Monday is sort of out for shorts since the weather forecast is calling for rain in the morning.
We did have some rain overnight and on into Monday morning. No shorts today. I was sleeping so I missed most of the overnight rain. The water on the pavement will make the Pathfinder a little dirtier when I go out today.
Visitors
We had visitors from Singapore [4], Korea [2], Japan [3], United Kingdom [4], Texas [3], Australia [3], Poland, South Africa, India, Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Canada, and Portugal.
There were no curious visitors [stayed more than ten minutes] or lookers [view many pages in a short time] this week.
I do appreciate all of you who visit the blog and thank you for stopping by.
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
Doug asked me, rhetorically, one day, why is it that young Asian women always seem to want to give Sir Winston Churchill’s famous “V for Victory” symbol when they are photographed?
The photos are of Mao Kobayashi, a young Japanese actress, who was in DELICIOUS PROPOSAL for a few episodes. She will also have her own Weekend Bonus Feature series in a couple of weeks.
I thought that was a very good question and it was one that I could not answer.
Do any of you readers out there know why this is the case? I know that are readers from Japan, Korea, and China who visit the blog regularly who may be able to answer the question.
Microsoft Patch Tuesday
Tuesday was supposed to be the day for a major Microsoft security patch download. It must have either been a huge download or else it was delayed because I didn’t receive my patch until late on Friday night or early on Saturday morning.
I wonder how long it will be until Microsoft sends out its first patch for any version of the new Windows Vista operating system?
Woman of the Moment
This is the last of the Gong Li Woman of the Moment features. Tomorrow, we will have a new Woman of the Moment and I think you will enjoy her appearances in the blog.
Dae Jo Young
The show is moving along nicely now that the evil Chinese have mobilized a 700,000 man army to invade Korea. There were some large continuity problems with Saturday’s show. At one point, Dae Jo Young was suffering from a snake bite fever. He had passed out and his hostage, who he saved from the snake, had a chance to escape but she did not. The next scene for Dae Jo Young had him riding a horse and acting like he was completely healed. Of course, the female hostage was nowhere in sight.
I think I ought to explain the transition from where I left off with the story narrative. Dae Jo Young had left his home to escape being killed or executed. He was headed for his father’s small frontier fort that was right in the path of the Chinese army.
That reminded me of Leonidas and the 300 Spartans.
Moving on.
On his way there, he is captured by the daughter of a local nomadic chieftain [khan] who claims him as her slave. Fast forwarding the plot line a bit, he grabs the daughter as a hostage and escapes with the loyal supporters in hot pursuit. As if by miracle, they escape capture only to have a snake bite the daughter – hostage.
Dae Jo Young sucks the venom out of her leg and gets a slight dose of the venom, making him ill. He dragged or carried her as far as he could to where he collapsed in a large cave. Instead of leaving him, the daughter nursed him back to health I suppose.
Either this is love or a very early case of Stockholm Syndrome.
Meanwhile, back in the Korean capital city, the less than honorable noble families are nervous about the possibility of losing their fortunes. They demand the king do something; not an unreasonable demand, given the situation. The battle hardened veteran and warlord who has twice defeated the Chinese invaders volunteers to lead the Korean army north to meet the Chinese.
Not surprisingly, the nobles objected and said he should remain at the capital. Militarily, that was the wrong decision. Instead of sending the battle hardened veteran, they send his son who has never led an army in combat before. They do send along two, seasoned, subordinate generals to help him.
We all know that he will never follow their advice because he craves glory so he can marry the king’s niece. The king’s niece said she will marry the bravest and best warrior in Korea.
That will be Dae Jo Young.
I think the son will take his tactics cues from Publius Quinitilius Varus who managed to suffer one of the worse military defeats in recorded world history when he blundered into the Teutoburg Forest in 7 AD and promptly lost a running battle with the Germanic tribes. The XVII, XVIII, and XIX Legions, one third of the entire standing Roman army at the time, were destroyed and were never reconstituted. Some historians believe this loss was a cause of Emperor Octavius’ insanity.
One of the fascinating events from Saturday’s episode was the Chinese empress, who had real power in an age when women were not even seen or heard, organized the supply program for the invading army by resupplying them by sea. This is an effective and efficient method so long as you have control of the sea.
I can see what will happen when the Chinese lose control of the sea. It happened to the Persians after the Battle of Salamis when the Greek navy destroyed the Persian fleet. When what was left of the Persian army finally reached home, it was shattered as a fighting force and probably less than one man in ten returned alive.
Sunday’s episode was interesting. Dae Joyoung came up with a plan to evacuate the isolated fort and save the soldiers there. At the close of the episode, most all of the soldiers had been evacuated in a very orderly and silent retreat. The garrison walls are manned with straw dummies to confuse the nomadic tribes.
Dae Joyoung and one other man had remained behind to hold the fort against the nomadic army long enough for the troops to make their escape. Then, the two men were instructed to join up with the column.
I was reminded of a classic John Wayne – John Ford cavalry film, SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON, where Wayne, playing the part of Captain Brittles, tells young Lieutenant Cohill to take two squads and hold the position and deny the use of the river ford to the hostiles long enough so he can get the column with settlers and wounded soldiers away.
Of course, no one did a film like this better than John Ford.
The Sunday episode ended as the nomads discovered the fort was garrisoned by straw dummies and they are about to attack. Dae Joyoung and the other warrior are about to fire [shoot arrows at] on the nomad commander when the khan’s [chieftain’s] daughter arrives to tell the nomads to with draw. Dae is ready to release his arrow but stops at the last moment and tells the other warrior to not fire.
I guess he must have some strong emotional feelings for the khan’s daughter.
I am a little bummed out about missing next Saturday’s episode because of the Douguary Dinner. I want to see how they will escape. Hopefully, there will be a catch up on Sunday night.
Southern California Real Estate, Dutch tulips, and other investment follies – Part II
I saw that there is another unit for sale in my building yesterday.
I think it is a bit smaller than my unit but not by much. Judging from the photos I saw, it is on my side of the building, overlooking the park, and I think it is not on the top floor. It is priced at USD$480,000 for a two bedroom and two bathroom flat of about 900 square feet or 83 square meters.
This seems like a more reasonable price but it is still a lot of money to pay for a small, by Southern California standards, flat in a building that is aging rapidly.
Theater
I was going to go to the theater last night [Saturday] but my back was bothering me something fierce. It was very difficult to sit or stand up. I decided to not put myself in a period of discomfort and suffering. This was a wise decision on my part.
I also started to come down with a sinus cold and that was even more discomforting for me. I ended up the evening all bundled up in a sweatshirt and my flannel pajamas. I did sleep well and I felt much better in the morning.
El Gringo
As usual, I went to El Gringo for my dinner on Sunday night. Jess the Server wasn’t working tonight so the conversation with the first time for me server was almost non-existent beyond the meal order.
I had a carne asada tostado. It is a pile of carne asada [spicy beef strips] that is covered with a mound of shredded lettuce, diced tomatos, and shredded cheese. I washed everything down with an Arnold Palmer [half iced tea and half lemonade].
Yummy meal.
Monday Lunch
I had lunch today with some old co-workers from the company that I had a long term consulting project last year. We went to a local sandwich shop – restaurant for lunch. One of the others had recommended it for the large portions and freshness of the food.
I did have a large ham and turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich on rye bread. The ham and turkey were thick piles of sliced meat. But, there were only two thin slices of Swiss cheese in the sandwich which I thought was on the odd side. I almost had a cup of Navy bean soup but decided to pass at the last minute when I remembered about the large portions.
We talked about the company and how it is progressing since we stopped working there. The company has made some progress but it has not reached its full potential. It seems to lack some key management players in a variety of spots.
My Friend Sharon
My friend Sharon called me this morning. It was one of her “look how well I’m doing” phone calls. Sharon seems to be doing well at the new job. She wanted to tell me how bad things were at her old company.
Then, Sharon told me how several other companies were trying to recruit her to work for them. She said the only problems with the other jobs were the commuting distances. She would have to drive longer distances with the flow of traffic in each direction so her time to reach work and return home would be much longer and more disappointing.
I told Sharon that Doug and I would think of her when we go to Morton’s this Saturday for the traditional Douguary Dinner. I said we would each eat a Chicago style rib eye steak and Morton’s Godiva cake in her honor. Those are her two favorite dishes.
Life goes on and it sometimes balances out at the end of the day.
Bad Luck Bride
BAD LUCK BRIDE is the new limited series Japanese language program that is taking the place of DELICIOUS PROPOSAL on Sunday nights. I watched the first episode on Sunday and I will watch it again next week before I decide to stay or go.
The show stars Ryoko Shinohara as aging news anchor reader [middle thirties] at a Tokyo television station. Her news show ratings have been declining. The station is replacing her with a younger and minimally talented news reader who used to read the weather reports.
The station offered her a role in a reality television show where if she does well she will have a prime time program. The reality program is about becoming a fake, farmer’s wife; something that she knows nothing about. She has to find a farmer to marry for the show and then get the process filmed for television.
The only question that I have is will this be enough of a plotline to hold my interest for another ten or eleven weeks? I’m guessing that this will not be sufficient to hold my attention. But, time will tell in the end.
That was my long weekend gentle readers.
Be well and stay happy.
Happy Chinese New Year everyone!
I know I am a bit late but it is better to be a day or two late than to ignore the event altogether. I hope everyone enjoys the Year of the Boar or Year of the Pig, depending on how you call it.
Weekend Update
Let’s see what happened this weekend.
I graded homework and advised students on their paper structure and content. I’m not certain that I reached some of my students who seem bent and determined to write their papers in their own style and ignore the school’s writing standards. In the end, I do not have the desire to fight with them. Next term, they will be taking another writing class from an instructor who is much more demanding than I was this term. They will have to work much harder to earn their grades.
I enjoyed being able to wear shorts and a golf shirt for most of the weekend. I think Monday is sort of out for shorts since the weather forecast is calling for rain in the morning.
We did have some rain overnight and on into Monday morning. No shorts today. I was sleeping so I missed most of the overnight rain. The water on the pavement will make the Pathfinder a little dirtier when I go out today.
Visitors
We had visitors from Singapore [4], Korea [2], Japan [3], United Kingdom [4], Texas [3], Australia [3], Poland, South Africa, India, Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Canada, and Portugal.
There were no curious visitors [stayed more than ten minutes] or lookers [view many pages in a short time] this week.
I do appreciate all of you who visit the blog and thank you for stopping by.
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
Doug asked me, rhetorically, one day, why is it that young Asian women always seem to want to give Sir Winston Churchill’s famous “V for Victory” symbol when they are photographed?
The photos are of Mao Kobayashi, a young Japanese actress, who was in DELICIOUS PROPOSAL for a few episodes. She will also have her own Weekend Bonus Feature series in a couple of weeks.
I thought that was a very good question and it was one that I could not answer.
Do any of you readers out there know why this is the case? I know that are readers from Japan, Korea, and China who visit the blog regularly who may be able to answer the question.
Microsoft Patch Tuesday
Tuesday was supposed to be the day for a major Microsoft security patch download. It must have either been a huge download or else it was delayed because I didn’t receive my patch until late on Friday night or early on Saturday morning.
I wonder how long it will be until Microsoft sends out its first patch for any version of the new Windows Vista operating system?
Woman of the Moment
This is the last of the Gong Li Woman of the Moment features. Tomorrow, we will have a new Woman of the Moment and I think you will enjoy her appearances in the blog.
Dae Jo Young
The show is moving along nicely now that the evil Chinese have mobilized a 700,000 man army to invade Korea. There were some large continuity problems with Saturday’s show. At one point, Dae Jo Young was suffering from a snake bite fever. He had passed out and his hostage, who he saved from the snake, had a chance to escape but she did not. The next scene for Dae Jo Young had him riding a horse and acting like he was completely healed. Of course, the female hostage was nowhere in sight.
I think I ought to explain the transition from where I left off with the story narrative. Dae Jo Young had left his home to escape being killed or executed. He was headed for his father’s small frontier fort that was right in the path of the Chinese army.
That reminded me of Leonidas and the 300 Spartans.
Moving on.
On his way there, he is captured by the daughter of a local nomadic chieftain [khan] who claims him as her slave. Fast forwarding the plot line a bit, he grabs the daughter as a hostage and escapes with the loyal supporters in hot pursuit. As if by miracle, they escape capture only to have a snake bite the daughter – hostage.
Dae Jo Young sucks the venom out of her leg and gets a slight dose of the venom, making him ill. He dragged or carried her as far as he could to where he collapsed in a large cave. Instead of leaving him, the daughter nursed him back to health I suppose.
Either this is love or a very early case of Stockholm Syndrome.
Meanwhile, back in the Korean capital city, the less than honorable noble families are nervous about the possibility of losing their fortunes. They demand the king do something; not an unreasonable demand, given the situation. The battle hardened veteran and warlord who has twice defeated the Chinese invaders volunteers to lead the Korean army north to meet the Chinese.
Not surprisingly, the nobles objected and said he should remain at the capital. Militarily, that was the wrong decision. Instead of sending the battle hardened veteran, they send his son who has never led an army in combat before. They do send along two, seasoned, subordinate generals to help him.
We all know that he will never follow their advice because he craves glory so he can marry the king’s niece. The king’s niece said she will marry the bravest and best warrior in Korea.
That will be Dae Jo Young.
I think the son will take his tactics cues from Publius Quinitilius Varus who managed to suffer one of the worse military defeats in recorded world history when he blundered into the Teutoburg Forest in 7 AD and promptly lost a running battle with the Germanic tribes. The XVII, XVIII, and XIX Legions, one third of the entire standing Roman army at the time, were destroyed and were never reconstituted. Some historians believe this loss was a cause of Emperor Octavius’ insanity.
One of the fascinating events from Saturday’s episode was the Chinese empress, who had real power in an age when women were not even seen or heard, organized the supply program for the invading army by resupplying them by sea. This is an effective and efficient method so long as you have control of the sea.
I can see what will happen when the Chinese lose control of the sea. It happened to the Persians after the Battle of Salamis when the Greek navy destroyed the Persian fleet. When what was left of the Persian army finally reached home, it was shattered as a fighting force and probably less than one man in ten returned alive.
Sunday’s episode was interesting. Dae Joyoung came up with a plan to evacuate the isolated fort and save the soldiers there. At the close of the episode, most all of the soldiers had been evacuated in a very orderly and silent retreat. The garrison walls are manned with straw dummies to confuse the nomadic tribes.
Dae Joyoung and one other man had remained behind to hold the fort against the nomadic army long enough for the troops to make their escape. Then, the two men were instructed to join up with the column.
I was reminded of a classic John Wayne – John Ford cavalry film, SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON, where Wayne, playing the part of Captain Brittles, tells young Lieutenant Cohill to take two squads and hold the position and deny the use of the river ford to the hostiles long enough so he can get the column with settlers and wounded soldiers away.
Of course, no one did a film like this better than John Ford.
The Sunday episode ended as the nomads discovered the fort was garrisoned by straw dummies and they are about to attack. Dae Joyoung and the other warrior are about to fire [shoot arrows at] on the nomad commander when the khan’s [chieftain’s] daughter arrives to tell the nomads to with draw. Dae is ready to release his arrow but stops at the last moment and tells the other warrior to not fire.
I guess he must have some strong emotional feelings for the khan’s daughter.
I am a little bummed out about missing next Saturday’s episode because of the Douguary Dinner. I want to see how they will escape. Hopefully, there will be a catch up on Sunday night.
Southern California Real Estate, Dutch tulips, and other investment follies – Part II
I saw that there is another unit for sale in my building yesterday.
I think it is a bit smaller than my unit but not by much. Judging from the photos I saw, it is on my side of the building, overlooking the park, and I think it is not on the top floor. It is priced at USD$480,000 for a two bedroom and two bathroom flat of about 900 square feet or 83 square meters.
This seems like a more reasonable price but it is still a lot of money to pay for a small, by Southern California standards, flat in a building that is aging rapidly.
Theater
I was going to go to the theater last night [Saturday] but my back was bothering me something fierce. It was very difficult to sit or stand up. I decided to not put myself in a period of discomfort and suffering. This was a wise decision on my part.
I also started to come down with a sinus cold and that was even more discomforting for me. I ended up the evening all bundled up in a sweatshirt and my flannel pajamas. I did sleep well and I felt much better in the morning.
El Gringo
As usual, I went to El Gringo for my dinner on Sunday night. Jess the Server wasn’t working tonight so the conversation with the first time for me server was almost non-existent beyond the meal order.
I had a carne asada tostado. It is a pile of carne asada [spicy beef strips] that is covered with a mound of shredded lettuce, diced tomatos, and shredded cheese. I washed everything down with an Arnold Palmer [half iced tea and half lemonade].
Yummy meal.
Monday Lunch
I had lunch today with some old co-workers from the company that I had a long term consulting project last year. We went to a local sandwich shop – restaurant for lunch. One of the others had recommended it for the large portions and freshness of the food.
I did have a large ham and turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich on rye bread. The ham and turkey were thick piles of sliced meat. But, there were only two thin slices of Swiss cheese in the sandwich which I thought was on the odd side. I almost had a cup of Navy bean soup but decided to pass at the last minute when I remembered about the large portions.
We talked about the company and how it is progressing since we stopped working there. The company has made some progress but it has not reached its full potential. It seems to lack some key management players in a variety of spots.
My Friend Sharon
My friend Sharon called me this morning. It was one of her “look how well I’m doing” phone calls. Sharon seems to be doing well at the new job. She wanted to tell me how bad things were at her old company.
Then, Sharon told me how several other companies were trying to recruit her to work for them. She said the only problems with the other jobs were the commuting distances. She would have to drive longer distances with the flow of traffic in each direction so her time to reach work and return home would be much longer and more disappointing.
I told Sharon that Doug and I would think of her when we go to Morton’s this Saturday for the traditional Douguary Dinner. I said we would each eat a Chicago style rib eye steak and Morton’s Godiva cake in her honor. Those are her two favorite dishes.
Life goes on and it sometimes balances out at the end of the day.
Bad Luck Bride
BAD LUCK BRIDE is the new limited series Japanese language program that is taking the place of DELICIOUS PROPOSAL on Sunday nights. I watched the first episode on Sunday and I will watch it again next week before I decide to stay or go.
The show stars Ryoko Shinohara as aging news anchor reader [middle thirties] at a Tokyo television station. Her news show ratings have been declining. The station is replacing her with a younger and minimally talented news reader who used to read the weather reports.
The station offered her a role in a reality television show where if she does well she will have a prime time program. The reality program is about becoming a fake, farmer’s wife; something that she knows nothing about. She has to find a farmer to marry for the show and then get the process filmed for television.
The only question that I have is will this be enough of a plotline to hold my interest for another ten or eleven weeks? I’m guessing that this will not be sufficient to hold my attention. But, time will tell in the end.
That was my long weekend gentle readers.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 2:21 PM
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