yeeker's blog

Today, I recognize something that has been under our nose over some time but we have yet to stand up in protest. The Sesame Street Count and this supposed "Spelling Bee" would be most concerned with the apathy of this injustice. Whatever happened to the "e" in Internet startups? During the Net's heyday, the Internet dot-boomersscammers were busy adding a cute lower-cased "e" or "i" every word in the English dictionary (or is it now Nglish.com?). Look at eBay, eToys, eVite and eHarmony. Now that we are amidst a new dot-boombubble what happened to the English langauge's 2nd vowel? What does Web 2.0 know about grammar that the 1st net-genners missed out on? Though flickr, socializr, twittr and a number of other catchy web sites may not go the way of the buy.com (oh wait... they're still in business!), we are leaving a horrible legacy to the childrn (sic!) of tomorrow. Yes, take my words with a grain of salt - we are the same generation that went from "fat" to "phat" and created "bling" - but mark my words, more vowels and I daresay... even CONSONANTS may be sacrified at the hands of the next dot-startupsellout trying to be chic.

Inspired by Aneehs, I have decided to write about my new love interest. Her name is Melody and she is quite the comely one. Raised in Hawai'i, she looks almost half Korean, half Japanese... perfect combo. Heh heh. She is now slotted as No. 2 behind Hyori Lee now. [Japan Sugoi]

Only in the branding-ubiquitous United States and in Los Angeles, would even something as simple as the weather be branded. When the Los Angeles ABC affiliate felt the need to brand their weather report fitting of a Sunday motocross event, I chuckled at the "Live Doppler 7000" name. Why the "7000"? Is it because it matches the number of its channel on the dial? Were there 6999 other iterations before they got it right? At least "live Doppler" makes sense since it's the name of the technology and its constantly refreshed-thus "live"-but this is network news and how many people really know what Doppler means? KABC-7 recently rolled out a new version which necessitated a name that would add to its glitz. Should they go with "Live Doppler 8000?" No, putting me further down the road of laughter is "Live MEGA Doppler 7000." As if I wasn't already skeptical that network news is mere entertainment, they give me a chuckle every time Dallas Raines mentions that ridiculous name. Thanks for the laughs KABC-7.

I wrote a poem for a certain lady friend of mine today: "brrr...it's so cold!; i sit around like a toad; maybe you can warm me; to a romantic degree." She gave me an "A" for effort. Grr... that's not acceptable. Of course, a fifth-grader could've written a poem better than that but I live to entertain.

Some have described me as a Friendster-whore. While the misnomer may be true in the sense that I waste oodles of time on Friendster, I am by far NOT a whore. There will never be any illicit photos of my arse or boobage, nor anything provocative other than good travel photography and an occasional gal-friend wearing little on a night out. That being the case, I have managed to turn Friendster into a competition with my pal Clammy. Most women do better on Friendster simply because most of the viewers on Friendster are men and men want to oogle women. At the end of November, I had a goal of 300 hits to my profile. Unfortunately, I fell short at 299 midnight on the 30th and I wouldn't get my next hit until around 2AM. (Yes, I was still watching the profile hit count). For December, I continued in my endeavor for a popular profile and was joined in this by Clammy. We bet-for food, natch-that the winner would be treated to a scrumptious meal at Din Tai Fung by whomever had the least hits (around 370 to her paltry 326) by December 31st @ noon. Of course.... I won. Clammy is kicking my John David Booty this month but I've already secured my place in history. To the victor go the dumplings (TM-Yeeker) [Mmm... dumpling recipe]

Ah... two of the best posts of the year on How Stuff Works. First, a bit about beer and then... how to recover from the hangover. The latter came in quite handy post New Year's festivities.

Did I already mention the Mind Eraser ("Kahlua, vodka and soda water—if you’ve got a death wish, switch out the vodka for some 151—in that order, stacked")? I was quite enthralled with this particular drink on NYE and won quite a crowd over it. Credit where credit is due - OC Weekly - Skunk As A Drunk.

Wow, I just finished up a fascinating piece written by John Ghazvinian. I've had his piece sitting in Newsgator waiting to be read and I finally got around to it since I'm bumming around tonight. Writing for the Virginia Quarterly Review, he sets out for Nigeria to do a piece on the ups and downs (mostly downs) of oil in this destitute nation. While the capitol and senior government officials profit from multinational oil contracts, villagers and millions of ethnic minorities fight for survival each day. "Bunkered oil," is siphoned off the main pipelines or at junction points throughout the distribution network and has served both as a means for daily living, but also to fuel an armed resistance to the unity government and the multinationals. So while the oil can bring the comforts of industrialized life to some, most are too remote and too poor to have any participation in its benefits.

In a very interesting twist, a U.S. ethanol refiner realized that the same process that brings about the fuel additive and one way for us to kick the oil habit is also good for boozing up on those cold Minnesotan nights. In the end, they turn out a fine U.S. vodka that I'm ready to sample. I don't know whether the number of times a product is distilled amounts to be a better brew but if Grey Goose is good for six and Shakers is good for seven then please make mine shaken, not stirred. [Treehugger]

Well, I think it's a nice start. Last year's election might be a nice turning point for Asian Americans in politics. I do like how there are Asian Americans on both sides of the fence because that means there is a minority voice of Asian descent in both parties. While the State Board of Equalization (sets procedures for state and property tax administration) may seem as unglamorous as a minor league baseball team, it's a good start and hopefully it'll fuel more Asian American participation in politics. [Los Angeles Times]

I've been wanting to go to Africa for the longest time but it seems that much of the Dark Continent is filled with warlords, famine, and general strife. Even countries which I ounce thought to be safe harbor such as South Africa or Kenya have their share of troubles. At least now I can add another to my list of possible countries to see: Senegal. Not only can I see the beauty of Africa here but also the beauty of the Muslim world. [Christian Science Monitor]