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I'm sitting in 90 degree weather half way around the world and yet I still get to experience the funny that is the US elections! Check this out!

Was reading a forum and someone posted this - We're Screwed! That is so true

Really? If you really have nothing to hide and everything was done according to law with proper documentation, then why be afraid of the probe?
Palin sues to stop probe.

Sarah Palin is obviously delirious if she thinks she has the experience to deal with foreign countries. I sure hope to god McCain and her does not win this election. Here's a little cliff notes from her interview on 9/11 - ABC interview with Sarah Palin

Now with the financial disaster unraveling on Wall Street - Lehman Brothers a 158 year old institution filed for bankruptcy, this financial institution predates the Civil War! Then Merrill Lynch got bought by Bank of America. BoA seems to be buying up all these failing companies, I hope they have enough capital and smarts to keep afloat through this crunch. I think in 2-3 days we will hear AIG filing for bankruptcy. Seriously doubt they can find enough backers for capital to stay afloat.

Went out to the Olympic Peninsula over Labor Day weekend and had quite a bit of fun hiking.

Pics - Weekend gallery

Stayed at Kalaloch Lodge on the Western side of the peninsula and got to watch a gorgeous sunset. Then hiked up Hurricane Hill for a nice 360 look around We went to the hot springs at Sol Duc springs but it was so busy we decided not to take a dip.

I recently realized that my Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi doesn't seem to have any 3D sound support. So I started searching the web and found that if you have 4GB or more RAM, you won't get 3D sounds in XP64 (apparently it affect Vista also but since I don't use it I don't know). Later I found that Creative was actually actively blocking access to features of some cards in Vista and actually lying about the support. They say it's not possible but then some dude who called himself Daniel_K (no relation to me, the guy's in Brazil) actually enabled a bunch of the features. And what does this company do? They threaten him with legal actions - http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20080331221922_Creative_Technology_Threatens_SoundBlaster_Driver_Developer.html

That just means Creative has just lost another customer. You should read their forums, it's a flame fest there The Creative moderators are even deleting and editing threads. How fun

Went to the Tulip Festival recently up at Skagit Valley. Unfortunately we went up towards the end of the season so most of the pretty tulips have been topped. You can check out the pics here - Tulip Festival

And some taken by my friends who went with me - Shirlene/Jeremy's pics

Got a real good deal on a Canon Rebel XTi last week when I noticed someone making a pricing error on Meritline marketplace. I made sure it's being charged by a reputable billing company which in this case is Amazon, so lucky me! Ordered the entire kit for $599+shipping=$604.99! From all the places I can find, the cheapest is $677 for the kit and $596 for the body alone. So I placed an order knowing I'm not exactly being ripped off on the price if it was just the body but since Amazon is charging, I could still complain and get the lens if something goes wrong.

Today the package arrived and I saw only 1 box. I was disappointed thinking only the body came until I read the small print on the box - "EF-S 18-55mm kit". YAY!!! The lens is inside!

Here's a pic of the box -

Obviously I can't take pics of the camera itself since my old SD110 can't take clear pictures in the dark and my condo is fairly dark

This weekend if it doesn't rain (no rain??? fat chance!) it's photo day at the Arboretum and the Olympic Sculpture Park! I can't wait!!!!!!!

I read this in a forum today and I thought it was hillarious!

>> What am I doing wrong?
>>
>>
>> Okay, I'm tired of beating around the bush. I'm a beautiful (spectacularly
>> beautiful) 25 year old girl. I'm articulate and classy. I'm not from New
>> York. I'm looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a
>> year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is
>> middle class in New York City, so I don't think I'm overreaching at all..
>>
>> Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives?
>>
>> Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around
>> 200 - 250. But that's where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won't get me
>> to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an
>> investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she's not as pretty as I am, nor
>> is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?
>>
>> Here are my questions specifically:
>>
>> - Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars,
>> restaurants, gyms
>>
>> -What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won't hurt my
>> feelings
>>
>> -Is there an age range I should be targeting (I'm 25)?
>>
>> - Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east side
>> so plain? I've seen really 'plain jane' boring types who have nothing to
>> offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I've seen drop dead gorgeous girls
>> in singles bars in the east village. What's the story
>> there?
>>
>> - Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer, investment banker,
>> doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they hang out? Where
>> do the hedge fund guys hang out?
>>
>> - How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE
>> ONLY
>>
>> Please hold your insults - I'm putting myself out there in an honest way..
>> Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I'm being up front about it. I
>> wouldn't be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn't able to match them -
>> in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a
>> nice home and hearth.
>>
>> * it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other
>> commercial interests
>>
>> PostingID: 432279810
>>
>>
>> THE ANSWER
>> Dear Pers-431649184:
>> I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully
>> about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament.
>> Firstly, I'm not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your
>> bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here's how I
>> see it.
>>
>> Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple
>> a cr@ppy business deal. Here's why. Cutting through all the B.S., what
>> you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I
>> bring my money. Fine, simple. But here's the rub, your looks will fade and my
>> money will likely continue into perpetuity...in fact, it is very likely
>> that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't
>> be getting any more beautiful!
>>
>> So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning
>> asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation
>> accelerates! Let me explain, you're 25 now and will likely stay pretty
>> hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins
>> in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!
>>
>> So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a
>> buy and hold...hence the rub...marriage. It doesn't make good business
>> senseto "buy you" (which is what you're asking) so I'd rather lease. In case
>> you think I'm being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were
>> to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out.. It's
>> as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.
>>
>> Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets.
>> So, I wonder why a girl as "articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful"
>> as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to
>> believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K
>> hasn't found you, if not only for a tryout..
>>
>> By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then
>> we wouldn't need to have this difficult conversation.
>>
>> With all that said, I must say you're going about it the right way.
>> Classic "pump and dump."
>> I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of
>> lease, let me know.

Bought a fancy LCD TV after my last tube box died. It was not a pretty death, nice loud pop and smokes included. Anyways, here's the new TV Nice TV the LN-T4065F, best black in a LCD tv I've ever seen. The 4061F is an identical TV but with a matte screen instead of a glossy one. Best Buy has the 4066F which has a nicer looking shell but identical interior to the 4065F, down to the screen! It had a major issue in the beginning though. Unfortunately the HDMI ports had an issue where there's handshake issue with HDMI sources. One would see pink and green flashes leading to a sudden drop of picture. A call to Samsung solved it though. The nice lady on the phone sent a tech to my home 2 days later, replaced the motherboard and all is good.

Well, take a look here - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925528/en-us

If you are having issues with Vista recognizing your USB devices install this update. I don't see either error on my nForce4 SLI motherboard, but it refuses to recognize my Kingston flash drive. Once installed it works fine.

Now, how do you install the driver if 1) USB not working and 2) no networking ? Beats the shit out of me.

Guess you'll have to waste a CD to burn the networking drivers on to then do the update. Why? Because the geniuses at MSFT made the update check for an update online before updating. Imagine that I suppose they never thought of newer hardware out there that they don't support and causing the "Chicken and Egg" conundrum.....

Ok so I've slacked of for almost 3 months not updaing the blog. But who can blame me? Was working Christmas week and a short trip to Washington DC for New Year's. Other than that, it's been skiing, skiing, Chinese New Year and more skiing. Well, guess I'll write something up about the skiing and Chinese New Year events, but in the mean time don't hold your breath. However I do have a little UNIX tip for you people out there. This little AWK script (written by some guy on the web) takes 2 files. Compared the stuff in one file with the other file and remove the stuff that's already in file one and dumps the stuff not removed into a different file. In this example file one is '', file two is '' and the diff output file is ''

----
awk 'BEGIN{ \
while ((getline < " <smaller>") > 0) \
listfromfile[$1] = 1} \
!listfromfile[$1] {print}' <larger> > <newfile>
----

This was tested in Linux with Bash shell, so if you run into issues, well, install Bash

So Seattle's friggin snowing now... Dammit, I thought I left Nebraska so I don't have to deal with this shit. Not to mention waiting 45 minutes for a bus that never came. Apparently there was ice and they weren't running this morning!

Anyways, so skiing. It's great fun! Went out with a friend on Saturday to Snoqualmie Ridge and boy was the conditions good. This year I bought a pair of ski boots. The rental stuff never quite fit as well and made it harder to turn. Bought a pair of Salomon Performa Blast and it fits snuggly. So snug that my feet went numb after the first run, had to loosen it up a bit. Uh huh, much better now Man the powder was so good and soft that day it's like having hot butter knife cutting into ice!

Of course with the entire week of snow fall, we're heading out there again this weekend. Steven's pass here I come!!!

Came across this and laughed my ass off...

Damn, that was a long job. 4 hours of hard labor but all in all, it wasn't too bad. Replaced rotors and pads on all 4 corners.

Total cost of parts ~$300.

The rotors I got from www.zeckhausen.com and pads I got from www.eap4parts.com before they went out of business.

For instructions, I used this site - http://m3.madrussian.net/diy.shtml but since that was for an M3, I had to improvise some.