The Wacky Chinablog

Shutting down the Wacky Chinablog

2010-10-11T01:46:00.000-07:00

As someone pointed out to me the other day, the title of this blog is a little strange, since I'm not particularly wacky, or even Chinese really. And of course, there's the whole racial slur thing...to be honest, I'm not quite sure how I arrived at this nickname...maybe there was some scotch involved...

Now that I've moved out to the West Coast and have started trying to figure out the next part of my life (not a particularly easy process), it seems fitting to shut down this space and start anew. Contact me if you want to keep following me on my new blog.

Day 17: Arriving in San Francisco.....tribute

2010-09-18T03:47:00.000-07:00

After a winding detour through the Pacific Coast Highway (much of it in the dark), we finally arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area. Today was easily the longest day of driving, but there was a lot of fun to be had doing random stuff along the way.

By the time we got to SF, it was 1am and super foggy so I could barely see 20 feet in front of the car as I was crossing the bridge. That doesn't make for a very good picture, so this is just a tribute (ya gotta believe it...and I wish you were there) to the road trip's final destination.

Day 17: Hot guys at the bar

2010-09-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Stopped into Lost Coast brewery to quench our thirst. We found a spot at the end of the bar and took advantage of happy hour.

There were a lot of people at the bar so in order to keep track of which tab belonged to whom, the barmaid had to write a little description for each customer in the system and it shows up on the receipt. I can't say I was surprised to see what her description of us was (the pic doesn't lie).

(ok ok, I might have ASKED her to type that in, but still....I like to think she would have done it anyway).

Day 17: Trees of Mystery

2010-09-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

Gotta love those tourist traps! This one featured some unique tree formations but perhaps the best part was the massive Paul Bunyan statue that talks to you. The guy inside with the microphone sounds like he's having a great time carrying on conversations with passers-by. I'd like to try out that job for a day or so...

Day 17: Pacific Ocean

2010-09-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

Seems somewhat symbolic to have reached the other coast, so it's worth a quick post here. As you can see, the weather is pretty crappy. Why am I moving here again?

Day 17: Final day

2010-09-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

Last day of the road trip. Starting it off right with some huevos rancheros n

Day 16: Crater Lake

2010-09-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

We managed to get here right before the clouds started coming in. There are some truly spectacular views here.

Day 16: Bend, OR

2010-09-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

A strong recommendation brought us to Deschutes brewery in Bend. What a good decision. Although the snotty dude sitting next to me at the bar complained that this was the "Disneyland of brewpubs" (ie crowded and overpriced), I thought it had great food and great microbrews.

Mac and cheese was super (those big chunks you see are giant prawns) and of the twelve beers we tasted, our favorites were the Oktoberfest, Black Butte Porter, and King Screamer IPA. Someday I'm going to have to find my way back here.

Day 16: Random stuff

2010-09-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

Spent last night in Portland, OR and caught up with an old friend over some beers at a nearby Scottish pub (and yes, haggis was consumed).

This morning we woke up early (relatively speaking) and started our journey to Crater Lake. Just outside of Bend, OR we took a small detour to visit the Peterson Rock Garden and Museum. Some dude built all these buildings out of small rocks nearly fifty years ago and all this stuff is still here today, even though it is in slight disrepair. It's actually really impressive, especially when you consider that he built it mostly by himself.

Day 15: Willapa Bay

2010-09-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

Ok. So we took a 3 hour detour to go to South Bend,WA which is the self proclaimed Oyster Capital of the WORLD. This excited me enough to head there without doing much research/planning.

While the oysters were friggin' huge, not a ton of flavor and not particularly cheap despite us going to the diviest dive bar in town.

If only I had thought to take a pic of the seedy characters smoking out in front of the joint.

Day 15: Mt Rainier, WA

2010-09-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Full day of driving across Washington state today, starting in Pullman, WA. Instead of driving I-5, we took the scenic route through the Yakima Valley and Snoqualmie National Forest.

Below is a nice view of Mt Rainier--not the clearest day, but the new iPhone HDR helps salvage the pic.

Day 14: Good eatin'

2010-09-14T23:20:00.001-07:00

Lots of neat little finds today. Firstly, a nice little homemade ice cream stand in Missoula. Secondly, a late lunch at the Smokehouse in Wallace, ID; though I'm still a little BBQ'd out from last month's adventure, I couldn't resist this place after seeing their smoker at work on the street out in front of the restaurant.

Lastly, some good microbrews in Moscow, ID at Coeur d'Alene brewing company. A nice Tuesday night special meant our pints were only $1.50 each!

Day 14: Random shit

2010-09-14T23:11:00.000-07:00

After waking up and eating breakfast in Missoula, MT, we got onto I-90 and headed west. A stop in Wallace, ID yielded some interesting sights.

Wallace started as a mining town (likely for silver), and any good mining town had brothels to keep their miners happy. The Oasis Bordello museum used to be the site of such a place (and by "used to be" I mean as far back as....1988). It's a cool looking place though--decorated much like an old saloon.

Day 13: Glacier National Park

2010-09-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Late start to the morning, so we didn't get to the park until nearly 5pm. That left us with only about 3-4 hours of daylight to see the park. The major drive through the park is the "Going to the Sun Highway" which has some great views.

(the brown path on the right hand side of the picture is the highway we traveled on)

On our drive out of the park, we got pulled over for speeding (first time all trip!). Fortunately, the park ranger let us off with a warning, so we're still ticket-free!

Day 11: Big Sandy, MT

2010-09-11T23:49:00.000-07:00

Spent most of today driving in Montana. Stopped off in Helena for a bowl of chili and a huckleberry milkshake (yeah I know they don't exactly pair well), and I saw a weird drawing on the sidewalk. Seems like a Wizard of Oz reference, but no idea why it was there.

After some GPS mishaps that had me stuck on a dirt road for half an hour, I finally made it to Big Sandy. Tomorrow: the road trip gets put on hold so I can watch Pats-bengals.

Day 10: On to Montana

2010-09-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

Remember when the sub commander in The Hunt for Red October gets shot and his last words are "I would have liked to have seen Montana..."? I vowed to never end up like that guy.

Mission accomplished.

Day 10: Yellowstone, WY

2010-09-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

A few other random pictures from around the park. The geothermal properties of this area create some really funky looking pools that strange, colorful bacteria can grow in.

Day 10: Yellowstone Geysers

2010-09-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Another crappy morning with gray clouds and misty rain. Oh, and a high of 45 degrees.

As everyone knows, the biggest attraction here is Old Faithful. This is reinforced by the fact that the Old Faithful Village is the only place I can get cell service and/or Wi-Fi. Since it erupts every 90 minutes, it is certainly a convenient attraction for most tourists.

BUT, if you want to see an impressive, yet less cooperative geyser, I would suggest the Grand Geyser, located a 5-minute walk away. It only erupts every 8-10 hours, but is significantly less predictable. As we walked by today, the prediction was for the geyser to erupt between 7:45am and 10:45am (the current time was 11am). Several people had been waiting there for about 2 hours. We hung around for another half hour before deciding to walk further down the path and check out some other stuff. Not 5 minutes later, we turned around and saw the eruption:

Fortunately, the eruption lasts for nearly 10 minutes, so we had enough time to go back and experience it up close. Pictures CANNOT do it justice, but here is my attempt to do so:

Day 9: Yellowstone Canyon

2010-09-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

Although the weather had been extremely cooperative up to this point, today was the inevitable cloudy, overcast, rainy day. Not great for pictures, but since my dad says a good photographer should be able to shoot in any light, we gave it a shot anyway.

(Liberal use of Picasa's touch-up features helps too)

Yellowstone Canyon is pretty impressive, what with the sulfur-colored walls and all. We also got a chance to take a few "moderately strenuous" hikes to get some views of the falls. In one case, this hike consisted of ~300 stairs (yay!). Compounding that was the realization that the elevation is about 6000 ft, which made me feel REALLY out of shape. On the plus side, this time of year the park is filled with mostly retirees, so by comparison I felt like a marathon runner.

Day 9: Mud Volcanoes (Yellowstone,WY)

2010-09-10T23:04:00.000-07:00

(Due to lack of Internets in the Yellowstone area, Some of these posts are a little tardy)

So if you've been to Yellowstone National Park, you have probably seen the signs warning tourists to not approach the bison, as they can be "unpredictable." But they don't really tell you what to do if the bison approach YOU, nor do they have any suggestions for when the bison herd decides to, oh...wander into the middle of traffic!

The photos here are taken at the entrance to the mud volcanoes--I took them from the safety of my car. No zoom lens--these guys got pretty close!

Day 7: Jackson Lodge

2010-09-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

Great dinner at the Mural Room. I figured that as long as I was in the Great Plains area, I may as well try some elk. It was pretty tasty, but the cheese polenta that came with it was fantastic!

Day 7-8: Grand Teton National Park

2010-09-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous day for taking pictures. I basically spent the day driving around the park, scoping out scenery, and playing with my camera. I'm still trying to figure out the photography basics, and spending several hours trying things out has really helped my understanding of what all the buttons on this camera are for.

Here are a few of my choice pics--more to follow...

Day 7: Casper, WY

2010-09-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Finally a nice hearty breakfast. At Eggington's here in Casper, WY, the menu item that caught my eye was the "Southern Benedict."

It's biscuits with country ham and scrambled eggs covered in sausage gravy. And the side of fruit makes it healthy!

Day 6: Devil's Tower

2010-09-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

Just to get it out of the way, I've never seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Even so, Devil's Tower is still pretty cool. Such a weird looking rock formation. Skies were cooperative, so I got a pretty great picture.

According to geologists, it was formed a gajillion years ago when magma spewed up from the bottom of the ocean and instantly cooled into this formation, which remains in this shape even though the area is now above water.

According to Native American legend, it was formed when a bunch of girls were being attacked by a giant bear and called out to the spirits to save them; the spirits answered by raising this formation out of the ground underneath the girls as the giant bear clawed the sides trying to get on top.

It's really hard not to go with giant bear.

Day 6: Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse

2010-09-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

What started out as a rainy, overcast day quickly turned clear with blue skies as we drove up to Mount Rushmore. This is one of those things that everyone has seen plenty of pictures of, but few people (that I know) are interested in seeing in person. So I wasn't sure if I was going to be impressed or not. After getting a close look and learning about the history of the sculpture, I have a greater appreciation of this monument. Two interesting things I learned today: 1) The eyes are done by hollowing out the iris and leaving a slab of granite hanging on the roof of the opening, thus giving it the illusion of eyes that follow you around. 2) Jefferson used to be on the far left, but the sculptor (Gutzon Borglum) didn't like the way it turned out, so he basically erased him (read: lots of dynamite) and started over with Jefferson in the middle.

Just down the road was the Crazy Horse Memorial. This thing is quite a bit more ambitious than Mount Rushmore, which took 14 years to sculpt. By comparison, the Crazy Horse sculpture has been going since 1948 (though to be fair, it has significantly less funding, as the sculptor refuses to accept any state or federal aid). Someday this thing might get done (here's the model for what the finished carving should look like).

I'm not holding my breath.

Day 5: Badlands

2010-09-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

First off, how great a name is "Badlands?" Just makes it sound like something really awful is going to happen here. Which is essentially true--early travelers gave this area that name because the land was so hard to travel across, the temperatures got super high, and there was not much freshwater to be had here. I sort of imagine it to be like playing Oregon Trail as the carpenter (and not the banker).

Today was the first time I put away the iPhone and really started to play with my DSLR camera (Nikon D60). I took a ton of pictures with really mixed results---I'm having a tough time adjusting the settings to get the colors I really want. With the sun being really bright today, it was tough to get some contrasting colors in the photos. I seemed to do a lot better with my dad's D90 camera (I guess paying twice as much for a camera should result in better photos).

Not much in the way of good food today--there's not much of anything in this part of the country. The few places that came highly recommended were closed today (I guess Sundays still mean something out here in middle America?).

Day 5: Random shit

2010-09-05T11:14:00.001-07:00

So while driving on I-90W, the casual road tripper is inundated with signs for all kinds of random kitschy sights like "Museum of Religious Art" and "Wall Drug." The one we chose to stop at was "World's Only Corn Palace."

Basically it is a palace-like building that houses a gymnatorium but the outside murals are made from ears corn (mostly yellow and black).

Apparently the locals have trouble remembering what year it is.

Day 4: Iowa City

2010-09-04T21:01:00.001-07:00

Just stopped here to grab a quick snack in the afternoon. The "Graham Central Station" flavor was pretty delicious.

Fun factoid: the name of the local ice cream store was also the original name of the city.

(why yes, I did feel a little out of place, why do you ask?)

Day 4: Corn. 10 hours of corn.

2010-09-04T20:53:00.001-07:00

This image is pretty indicative of what I saw all day today.

Day 4: Champaign, IL

2010-09-04T10:19:00.001-07:00

After spending a day relaxing in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, my dad and I hit the road this morning at 8am. A mere 4 hours later we stopped for lunch at a pizza joint near U of Illinois. Being in Illinois, their specialty is deep dish. Now I'm not particularly wild about deep dish, but when in Rome...well ya know.

After downing a pint of Shiner Bock, I'm now ready to plow through the next 8 hours of driving to Omaha. There sho' is a lot o' corn out here.

Day 2: One last stop

2010-09-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

And this heaping scoop of heaven will only lighten your wallet by $2.29.

UDF is--as the kids say-- the shizz.

Day 2: Geographically Challenged

2010-09-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

I had a WTF moment here when I forgot that there is a tiny six mile sliver of West Virginia between Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Only three hours left before I get to Cincinnati! Could there be a UDF stop on the way? Stay tuned...

Day 2 random shit: Tiny World

2010-09-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

A few miles off the PA Turnpike, located off to the side of some guys house is Tiny World. It's a bunch of miniature buildings that some retiree built so that his cats could live there.

And thus concludes this edition of Road Trip Randomness.

Day 1: City of Brotherly Love

2010-09-02T06:36:00.000-07:00

So today is the first day of the rest of my life.

Left in the morning from Boston and plowed straight through to NYC to meet a friend for lunch. Afterwards, I ended up going to Grom Gelato for dessert. I ordered a small tiny cup of gelato which was pretty good, but honestly not worth the $5.25 price tag! New York, enough is enough already.

Then it was onward to Philadelphia, whose only attraction for me is a greasy Philly cheesesteak. Although I was impressed by the ridiculous amount of meat being cooked on the stove, the cheesesteak itself was surprisingly average.

I then ended up at an AMAZING gelato place in downtown Philly, which had a ridiculously good sugar plum flavor, which I paired with a watermelon flavored gelato. Unbelievably good--my new favorite gelato place ever! So good I didn't even think twice at the $4.50---totally worth it.

Cross country Drive

2010-08-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

In two days, I am moving back to California. This will be my third time moving across the country, and this time I've decided to take the time and drive across the country and see America. The route I plan on taking is shown below:

View Larger Map

Check back here for pictures of my trip (food included).

And in my biopic, I want to be played by Djimon Hounsou

2010-08-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

This was just too odd, I had to mention it here. Denzel Washington as Kurt Warner?

Someone might need to have a talk with Brenda Warner...

New Orleans: Madden Gras

2010-08-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

No kidding, the big event in the French quarter this Monday evening is the kickoff party for Madden 11.

Pretty exciting--several floats going down Bourbon St and a free concert in Jackson Sq. All for a video game!

Jackson, MS: the Hickory Pit

2010-08-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

Pie break!

Memphis, TN: Germantown Commissary

2010-08-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

BBQ for breakfast! This place has "cheese rings" as an appetizer--these are just onion rings smothered in nacho cheese. Simple yet effective.

And at this point I'm just about bbq'd out. Time to vary the cuisine a little.

Memphis, TN: Central BBQ

2010-08-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

Ok back to the BBQ. Central has good dry ribs, wet ribs, and pulled pork. Also, some really good homemade BBQ potato chips. Sadly we were so hungry that we forgot to take any food pics, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Memphis, TN: Gus' world Famous Fried Chicken

2010-08-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

A little change of pace--no BBQ for lunch. Instead we go all fried! Fried green tomatoes, fried pickles, fried chicken! And for dessert some chess pie and sweet potato pie.

Memphis, TN: Charlie Vergos Rendezvous

2010-08-08T00:25:00.000-07:00

Something a little bit different in Memphis: dry ribs! These ribs have a dry rub to give them the flavor, although personally I liked them better after dipping them in the spicy BBQ sauce here. BBQ nachos (shown here) and beer brisket were also pretty tasty.

Trap shootin'!

2010-08-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

To work off all the BBQ...

Birmingham, AL: Dreamland BBQ

2010-08-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

Hickory grilled ribs with a more vinegary tangy sauce. Yummmm!

Mobile, AL: The Shed (2nd dinner)

2010-08-06T21:29:00.001-07:00

A BBQ joint down the street. Meat was not as smoky but there was live music!

Mobile, AL: The Brick Pit

2010-08-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

Ribs and pulled pork sandwich. Ribs were smoked with hickory and pecan for 12 hours.

And so it begins...

2010-08-06T06:54:00.000-07:00

Minor glitch

2010-08-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

I didn't quite upload the photo right, but on the second try, we're now good to go.

Next stop: New Orleans!

Cows...tee hee!

2010-08-05T19:58:00.001-07:00

Ok so this photo of a cow serves two purposes. 1) To test out mobile blogging & 2) to get you in the mood for my road trip thru the South, where I'll be hitting up many many barbecue joints over the next few days. (drool)

It's coming....

2010-07-26T22:00:00.001-07:00

BBQ ROAD TRIP. COMING SOON.

Axis of Awesome - 4 Four Chord Song (with song titles)

2010-07-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

Really enjoyed this video...

WTF? McNabb is a Redskin?

2010-04-04T18:29:00.002-07:00

Not only did the Eagles trade McNabb, but they dealt him within their division! I have to say, I did not see this coming. I like McNabb, but clearly the Eagles aren't worried about him coming back to bite them. This reminds me of when Drew Bledsoe was traded to the Bills in 2002--even though he had a Pro Bowl season, the Patriots beat him twice (and they weren't that good that year).

I'm pretty stunned by this move.

2010-04-04T18:29:00.001-07:00

Schadenfreude Dat

2010-02-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

As an NFL fan, the pinnacle of enjoyment is watching my team (the Patriots) win the Super Bowl. But as sports fandom dictates, the second most enjoyable thing is watching the team you hate (the Colts) suffer an ignominious defeat. I'm not particularly proud of this, but it's true for me.

So today was a good day. I had some friends over to watch the game, ordered a lot of food, and enjoyed many beers throughout. Wacky Chinawife forbade any Colts supporters from entering the apartment today.

(And yes, I know that the title of my post only makes sense with an incorrect pronunciation of "schadenfreude.")

Thoughts on the game:
-After the 1st quarter, it wasn't looking good. I'd seen this dance before---the Colts offense moving the ball easily, their defense being stout enough against predictable runs up the middle. Halfway through the 2nd quarter, I noticed that the Saints defense had been on the field for a pretty long time, which is never a good sign against a Colts team that specializes in wearing out the opposition. I'm impressed that the Saints were able to fight back and turn it around.

-I completely agreed with the Saints call to go for it on 4th down on the 1-yard line. One thing left unsaid on the telecast was that although kicking the field goal results in 3 points, it also puts the Colts deep in their own territory with 2 minutes left, making it unlikely for them to score points before the half. With that factored into the equation, going for the 7 points was totally worth it.

-Onside kick was the play of the game. I just about fell out of my chair the instant I saw it. What a ballsy move. Colts special teams....this is the unit that has been consistently subpar during their run of pseudo-excellence this decade.

-Dwight Freeney's injury and its impact on this game cannot be overstated. Colts pass rush was as toothless as I've seen in a long time. I can't think of a single time during the second half where I thought Brees was under any real pressure.

-I can't describe the mix of excitement and surprise when Peyton Manning threw the interception that lost the game. Yes there was a blitz, but there was no real pressure. Analysts on TV are calling it the receiver's fault---maybe so. But wow, I did NOT see that coming. Can we bring back the "Manning chokes in big moments" era? Even if I don't completely believe it anymore, I still enjoy it.

-I'm super happy for Drew Brees, who is a totally amazing quarterback and seems like an even better human being. He is definitely a player who deserves to have a Super Bowl win during his career. I don't know how I missed this, but I learned tonight that he had a 71% completion percentage this season (an NFL record). That's incredible. One thing I just thought of---I know there are people out there who can't stand Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but are there any real fans out there who can't stand Drew Brees? If so, I would have a hard time understanding why.

-Watching ads with other people always makes them better/funnier. My favorites this year:
Punxsatawney Polamalu
Brett Favre's 2020 MVP speech
Punch Buggy (just the Stevie Wonder part)
Tim's locker Doritos commercial

-The commercials I actively disliked or thought were odd:
Tim Tebow for Focus/FAM (I don't mind the message, but the tackling part was weird)
Super Bowl Shuffle for BoostMobile (I sorta liked it, but I'm barely old enough to get the joke, much less actually recognize Jim McMahon)
Juxtaposition of the "Casual Friday" commercial followed by the "Wearing no pants" Dockers commercial
Ad for the US Census (Huh? Why?)

Don't Wear Colts Jerseys

2010-02-05T18:36:00.000-08:00

A student gets sent home for wearing a Colts jersey in Louisiana. Frankly, I'm outraged. Expulsion is the only way to deal with hopeless children like that.

Urban Snowmobile Jumping

2009-12-31T14:07:00.001-08:00

Just got back from the Red Bull Sledstyle, a snowmobile freestyle event....held in downtown Boston at Government Center. About 25 truckloads of snow were driven down from the mountains to create the jump, and Mother Nature chipped in some snow this morning as well.

The main attraction was Heath Frisby, who's apparently some sort of big deal among snowmobile freestylers. He was definitely the best one, with the most variety of tricks. I took the Wacky Chinawife's camera and took some shots.

This trick is called "The Stripper." Not 100% sure why:

And the coolest trick was this crazy extension off of a back flip:

HOLY FREAKIN CRAP!

2009-12-21T22:00:00.000-08:00

I just watched Avatar in IMAX 3D tonight, and suffice it to say, I was completely blown away.

Going into the movie, all I knew was that a) it was directed by James Cameron, b) it is the most expensive movie ever made (~$500 million budget), and c) the trailers didn't really tell you anything about the movie, other than that there was a lot of computer animation.

The 3D experience was really impressive, but the surround sound and vibration chairs in IMAX made me feel totally immersed in the action. From the very first action scene, I could tell that this movie was going to be amazing.

This has got to be a strong favorite for Best Picture this year---although the story isn't particularly special and gets a little cliche at times, the rest of the movie is just so groundbreaking in terms of the filmmaking. Although I suppose when the Academy sends around the DVD of this movie to the voters, it's probably not going to hold up very well (without the 3D and all).

Don't get me wrong--the story is satisfying enough, but the real reason to for the stunning visuals, awesome action sequences, and just the epicness of it all.

Why do the Jets want me to hate them?

2009-11-02T21:02:00.001-08:00

“Give them some credit for being a good team because we know they won’t give us any.” -Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano after beating the Jets on Sunday.

It's not like I've ever really felt too strongly about the Jets before. But I really really dislike them this year. Why? Too much talking. Head coach Rex Ryan likes to run his mouth, so now all the players decide they should run their mouths too. Really annoying--it's exactly the reason I really didn't like Baltimore back in the day.

What was up with Kerry Rhodes going over to the Dolphins' sideline before the game to shove a Miami player? Is that really necessary?

And Bart Scott sarcastically telling the media that the Dolphins were a great team and were Super Bowl bound? Kind of an awkward moment.

And something tells me they're not done with the shenanigans...

Patriots looking thin against the Jets

2009-09-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

Let's see....no Jerod Mayo, no Wes Welker, on the road against a fired up Jets team....I don't like the Patriots' chances today.

My fantasy team

2009-09-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

I used the autodraft today in one of my fantasy leagues. It's a ten-team league, scoring favors TDs, even passing ones. I have to say, I'm fairly happy with how my team autodrafted. I had the #3 pick, and here is how it shook out (for anyone who cares).

1. (3) Matt Forte RB
2. (18) Peyton Manning QB
3. (23) Greg Jennings WR
4. (38) T.J. Houshmandzadeh WR
5. (43) Tony Gonzalez TE
6. (58) Marshawn Lynch RB
7. (63) Eddie Royal WR
8. (78) Minnesota DEF
9. (83) Stephen Gostkowski K
10. (98) Julius Jones RB
11. (103) Laveranues Coles WR
12. (118) David Garrard QB
13. (123) Chris Chambers WR
14. (138) San Diego DEF
15. (143) Anthony Fasano TE
16. (158) Josh Brown K

District 9 is a cool movie

2009-08-25T00:13:00.000-07:00

I heard good things about the movie District 9, so I went to go see it this evening. Wow, was it good. I really really liked it.

It may not be the best movie of the year, but it's got a little bit of everything that you want in a movie: originality, thoughtfulness, suspense, and action/explosions. I walked out of the theater completely satisfied with it, which is pretty rare for me.

Prison consultants?

2009-08-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

So NFL wide receiver/asshole Plaxico Burress is going to jail on gun charges. I never knew there was such a thing as a "prison consultant." I'm sure there are a lot of off-color jokes to be made here, but I'll refrain for now.

The Fog of War

2009-07-10T00:23:00.000-07:00

While I was on vacation in Hawaii (more on that later), I saw the newspaper headline of Robert McNamara's passing.

I certainly wasn't around during the Vietnam War, so I don't have any firsthand experience of what this man was like while Secretary of Defense (from what my parents have told me in the past, I imagine he was as unpopular as Rumsfeld, but probably a lot smarter).

In any case, I've always been intrigued by the tragic figure of McNamara: an impressively smart and intelligent young man who goes down in US History as the cold, calculating architect of the Vietnam War, one of the biggest US foreign policy disasters of our time.

I am reminded of the fantastic documentary The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara I saw a few years ago. I highly recommend that everyone watch this movie. For those of you who are pinching pennies during this recession (or are just too lazy to run to the video store), a quick Google video search will surprisingly direct you to this grainy full-length video. Lots of disturbing parallels between the mistakes of Vietnam and our current situation in Iraq. One quote from Lesson #8: Be prepared to Reexamine your Reasoning, has stuck with me even today:

"We are the strongest nation in the world today. I do not believe we should EVER apply that military, political or economic power unilaterally...if we had followed that rule in Vietnam, we wouldn't have been there!...If we can't convince nations of comparable values of the merit of our cause, we had better examine our reasoning."

There's lots of other good stuff in there, regardless of what your politics are. Everyone should see this movie.

Kauai

2009-07-02T12:25:00.001-07:00

First day on Kauai...this was the view outside our patio. Rainbow doesn't show up quite as good on the picture tho.

Great charts on House Price and Unemployment

2009-06-22T13:05:00.001-07:00

Calculated Risk has a great series of posts on House Prices and Unemployment. So as far as buying a house goes, this confirms my feeling that there isn't much urgency in trying to lock in a great price right now.

No More Rodney

2009-06-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

When Rodney Harrison tore his quad in last season's game against Denver, I remember thinking at the time that it was probably the last play of his career. Turns out, I was right, as he announced his retirement this past week.

It's pretty safe to say there are few players like Rodney Harrison. He appears to be an out-of-control jerk on the field, yet his off-field persona is that of a well-spoken, religious, dedicated family man. He is believed to have incurred the most fines in NFL history for illegal hits and has admitted to setting aside a portion of his salary before every season in anticipation of paying them. During the first week of New England training camp practices, he poked receivers in the eye and picked fist fights with opposing running backs....these were guys on his own team!

In his prime, he was a ton of fun to watch--unmatched intensity, nasty hitting, maximum effort, and yeah, a lot of questionable post-whistle activity...but I loved it! Not sure if I'll ever see another player who intimidated the opposition like him.

Nadal Upset

2009-05-31T19:17:00.000-07:00

I spent a lazy Sunday afternoon flipping through channels and came across the tape-delayed French Open Nadal-Soderling match on the Tennis network. First thing I noticed was that Nadal had lost the first set--strange for someone who won last year's French Open without losing a single set. So I continued to watch and was treated to the tennis upset of the decade.

If Federer can't win the French Open this year (and complete his set of trophies), he probably won't ever win it.

Stuff I read today

2009-05-15T00:18:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day for finding interesting things to read about. And since I haven't posted in a while, it seemed like a good thing to share:

First, CR pointed me to this interview with Charlie Munger (the guy from Berkshire Hathaway who isn't Warren Buffet). I'm clearly biased, but I agree with his statement, "We don’t need all our bright engineers going into derivative trading and hedge funds..."

Next, a head-scratching story about a man who made a living writing about excessive mortgage lending, then took on too much debt to buy his house. Getting that vacation home didn't help things either.

Continuing the theme of wrist-slitting economic news, where else to go but to Prof. Roubini? For some thoughts about how your dollars will be worth less, and why you should be learning Mandarin, check out his op-ed piece in the Times today.

If all that depressed you, perhaps this Onion article will take the edge off...

Moving on, did you know that Michael Lewis' Moneyball is being made into a movie? This is odd for so many reasons, not the least of which is that this book doesn't really have a story--half the book is about how baseball statistics can be analyzed more thoroughly. But the movie is directed by Steven Soderbergh (wha?), Billy Beane is played by Brad Pitt (huh?), and several baseball players will be playing themselves. I have no idea how this movie is going to turn out.

Just for kicks, here's a weird photo somebody sent me.

Lastly, a great article from Sports Illustrated on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and how this rivalry has drastically become one-sided. The mental aspect of this rivalry is the most intriguing--I loved the following observation:

The results have left Federer demoralized. "To Roger, Nadal's tennis is unorganized: big, loopy topspin forehands, that slice serve, now he's slicing his backhand, he's lefthanded -- [it affects Roger] mentally," Wilander explains. "When Roger's in his comfort zone, he's a serious fighter. But when he's not in it, he's not able to fight."

And not one of those articles was about football or the Patriots...

Peace, Love, and Patriots

2009-05-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a pretty cool picture.

Calling my shot

2009-04-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

I try not to follow the NFL draft, because it's way too overhyped. Yet, on the day of, I can't help but be eager to find out what players we get. With rumors that the Patriots are trying to trade up, I'm thinking they are looking for a defensive lineman in the 1st round. Let's see if I'm right.

Weird NFL stuff

2009-04-01T23:57:00.000-07:00

Some weird stuff going on with NFL players lately.

-Former Patriots WR Donte Stallworth accidentally hit a man with his car and killed him. His statement to the media was "I flashed my lights at him." Ok....if you have time to flash your lights at somebody, don't you also have time to react in a more effective way? I guess I'm baffled at the notion that a driver can have time to flash their lights at a pedestrian in the street, yet somehow fatally hit him anyway. Today it was reported that Stallworth will be charged with DUI (duh) and manslaughter. It's not the accident that baffles me, it's that Stallworth would make this statement to reporters.

-Jay Cutler is going to be traded. Head coach Josh McDaniels and owner Pat Bowlen have said they have not been able to get in touch with Jay Cutler and that the relationship doesn't seem like it can be repaired. Well, I guess if that's the case....

....But wait! Now Jay Cutler is saying that these guys never tried to call him. In fact, now he's saying that he never thought it would go this far. Seriously? This guy is saying that his coach and the owner of his team flat out lied? What's going on with this guy?

-Execution-style slayings in Woodbury? Isn't that the place with the massive numbers of outlet stores?

Community Supported Agriculture

2009-03-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

So the Wacky Chinahomemaker signed us up for a weekly CSA box (see photo above). The box contains a week's worth of locally grown organic produce. The local farm (in this case Full Belly Farm) delivers all the boxes to a nearby address, and all the participants pick up their individual boxes every Saturday morning.

Every week the box contains a different assortment of seasonal vegetables, which are unknown to us until we pick them up. The farm benefits because they secure payment in advance, and they gain flexibility in knowing that any surplus they grow already has a buyer. We benefit because we get fresh organic vegetables delivered to a nearby location--for an extra fee, they would deliver straight to our door. I suppose we get a warm fuzzy from knowing that we support local agriculture, but I don't particularly care about that.

Personally, I like eating organic stuff, but I'm not particularly strict about it. I'm sure local grocery store produce is fine (and I'm certainly not opposed to going to the grocery store like some militant foodies I know), but I do gain some peace of mind knowing that what I'm eating is pesticide free and is fairly fresh. Can't say I can really taste the difference, but then again, I've never done a side-by-side comparison.

What the Wacky Chinacook and I have enjoyed about this so far is that we get random vegetables that we've never cooked at home before, which forces us to look up different recipes and try new things. For instance, in the month that we've been participating, we've had items on the dinner table such as rutabaga, kale, chard, leeks, and turnips--stuff we don't normally go out and buy--in addition to your more common broccoli, asparagus, potatoes, carrots, and spinach. So far, it's been fun and tasty.

Books I've read....sorta

2009-03-19T09:34:00.001-07:00

When I was a kid, I used to read tons of books (ok, the entire Hardy Boys collection may not have been life altering, but it passed the time on the 90 minute bus ride home from school). Now that I'm older, I find I have a hard time setting aside time to just sit and read--the exception being the copious amounts of web surfing and online news articles. (Oh, and other people's blogs.)

Typically, the only time I actually relax and read a book is when I go on vacation. So what's been on the Wacky Chinaman's reading list these past few months? If anyone out there cares....

-Liar's Poker. I'd been meaning to read this Michael Lewis classic for some time now. Oddly enough, I thought it was a little disappointing. Maybe because his stories of excessive alpha male behavior on Wall Street are no longer as astonishing after 20 years, or maybe because he has become a much better writer since his first book. Still fairly entertaining though and definitely recommended.

Speaking of Lewis, his latest Vanity Fair article on Iceland's financial crisis was a fascinating read. After reading it, I suspected that several details were exaggerated, and at least one other source agrees.

-In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. Despite the off-putting title, I found it to be a pretty reasonable take on nutritionism and the glaring limitations of nutritional science. Not sure I completely agree with the author's logic in all cases, but the "eat more real food, especially plants" mantra makes sense to me.

-Born Standing Up: A comic's life Steve Martin's autobiographical story of the birth and death of his standup comedy career. A little disappointing in that it's not particularly funny, but it does give good insight into how one goes about making a living trying to make people laugh. It might have been better had I not seen this topic covered in Jerry Seinfeld's documentary, "Comedian."

-The Best and the Brightest OK. I didn't actually FINISH this 700-page monster, but when I was touring in Vietnam last December, this was a nice supplement to my travels. I thought author David Halberstam did an unbelievable job detailing the personalities of the powerful men who shaped the events of the Vietnam War, and indeed there are some striking parallels to modern men. Once I got through the Kennedy years, I stopped reading...possibly because Lyndon Johnson was not nearly as interesting to me.

-Manias, Panics, and Crashes So I didn't actually technically finish this one either, since I had to scramble to get it back to the library. But this one certainly has some relevance to today's financial crisis. The book explores the psychology of a financial crisis using many historical examples to illustrate the various stages of financial runups, selloffs, and full blown panics. The two points from this book that stuck with me: 1) Nothing makes people more foolish and uncomfortable than watching their neighbor grow wealthy, and 2) to mitigate the effects of a financial panic, it helps to have a "lender of last resort" but only if there is some uncertainty as to whether there really is one or not. Perhaps this means that letting Lehman fail was a good idea in the long run?

-The Omnivore's Dilemma Is there anyone who is NOT reading this book? I went to a bar in SF last month, and someone was actually reading inside. Who reads at a bar? Currently I'm about halfway through, and I am certainly getting caught up in it. Not that it is significantly changing my diet--though I am generally eating less meat lately....just because--but I love the overview of the agriculture and food industry. The whole "everything we eat comes from corn" thing was also an eye opener.

I welcome any other book recommendations, even though my slow pace will prevent me from getting to it for a while....

Rebelling against excess

2009-03-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

Smart column by outgoing ESPN ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber, which sums up the problem with ESPN coverage in a single word: "excess." Of particular note to me was the following:

Stop trying to make the publicity-rich ever richer. Spread the wealth around before fans turn on ESPN the way investors have turned on bankers.

Interesting analogy. Not sure the two are comparable, but the point resonates with me. I get the sense that I and many of my peers have grown weary of excess behavior in general. Not sure whether I'm just getting old or whether this is some sort of generational shift. Back to the more relevant point--will ESPN really tone down its coverage? Count me amongst the skeptical....though seeing as how I haven't turned on Sportscenter in 3 months, I may not exactly be in tune...

Watchmen

2009-03-15T01:01:00.002-07:00

I went and saw Watchmen tonight. Good thing I reread the graphic novel several months ago or I fear I might have been lost.

I enjoyed it. It is extremely similar to the graphic novel--almost frame for frame. Honestly, it could have used a little bit of editing to make the story flow better--after all, the original is essentially told in chapters. But it is so true to the novel that this choice is understandable.

Quick geeky, non-spoiler, fanboy thoughts:

-Rorschach is just as awesome in the movie as he is in the book. I'm pretty sure they even added freckles to the actor so that he would look like the novel's depiction.

-Quite a bit more violent than it needed to be, I thought. Makes sense for the Rorschach stuff (since he's a psychopath), but some of the other stuff was a little unnecessary. Having seen director Zach Snyder's other stuff, I think perhaps he can't help himself.

-Speaking of unnecessary, Dr. Manhattan's....um, junk...was distracting to say the least. Maybe the kids these days think it's no big deal and I'm just old-fashioned, but I find it hard to focus on the story whenever there is casual full frontal male nudity involved in a non-sexual situation. I did check the comic on this one, and it is much more, shall we say restrained, in its depiction of...of...oh fine, his PENIS. I think this could have been handled differently (especially since the same scenes in the trailer were edited). Like I said, it wasn't uncomfortable for me as much as it was distracting.

-Not to belabor the point, but given Dr. Manhattan's physique, his character in the movie is clearly a CGI image most of the time. So I wonder if actor Billy Crudup had any "creative input" into how he was drawn down there? I kinda have this image of Crudup's agent and the producers hammering out contract numbers and saying "OK, how about we drop our asking price another $500K, but only if you add another 2 inches?"

-All the impersonators they hired to play the real people, like Henry Kissinger, Pat Buchanon, Lee Iacocca....it kinda made the movie lamer than it had to be. I really think that if they had to make this movie again, they would have cast Frank Langella as Nixon.

-You know, director Zach Snyder is probably going to be called "brilliant" for making this movie, but when you get down to it, this guy did exactly what he did on "300", which is to take the comic book and recreate all the same images on screen. I'm not underestimating how hard it is to make a movie like this, but at the same time, can I ever really take this guy seriously as a creative talent if the best thing he ever does is to take existing comic books and translate the exact images to the big screen?

-Just realized that most of the main characters are different parodies of the Batman archetype--a violent vigilante investigator, a fighter with gadgets, a billionaire with a keen intellect and athleticism.

Pretty good movie, all in all. As long as I'm geeking out here, let me also say that seeing the new Star Trek trailer got me pretty excited as well.

Stewart vs Cramer

2009-03-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

I watched the full unedited Daily show interview of Jim Cramer. I thought I would really enjoy Jon Stewart taking Cramer to task, but oddly enough, I came away thinking that Stewart, while making many good points, comes off too hypocritical for my tastes.

I don't have the attention span to write a full blown essay on my thoughts here, so I'll summarize:

-Excellent point that CNBC and Jim Cramer did not provide good enough financial reporting and analysis and that there is not much accountability for their poor market analysis. It is very confusing for a cable network to mix reporting, analysis, and entertainment. I feel this way about ESPN too, but since its content is simply sports, it's hard to get too worked up about it.

-Let's face it--Jim Cramer's popularity is not entirely due to him being the best at navigating the financial waters. He has marketed himself as a personality and an entertainer. So I feel like any criticism that he acts like a ridiculous goofball on his show is mostly irrelevant and distracts from any serious point about the role of financial cable networks. Yes, his promos are silly, but that is what his show is. It is fair game to criticize him for misleading his audience though.

-It's hard for me to be comfortable watching Jon Stewart criticize another person for failing to embrace his responsibility as a popular TV personality, yet completely shirking any of his own responsibility with "we're supposed to be biased." This is a copout. While it is technically true that the Daily Show is for entertainment purposes only, I don't think it's a stretch to say that the Daily Show has also taken it upon themselves to act as a political and media critic--why else invite Jim Cramer onto the show to discuss these topics? In the past, Stewart has also defended misreporting of facts in the same manner: "we're not a news show--it's not so bad if we get stuff wrong." Technically true, but it does still speak to credibility, so those mistakes are not meaningless.

-Bottom line is I don't think Stewart has done anything wrong--I still love his show--it's just that his criticisms DO sound hypocritical and his arguments ARE weaker whenever he shields himself with the "we're just an entertainment show on Comedy Central" defense. He should either stop pretending otherwise or tone down the moral outrage.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 1

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 2

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 3

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

Wil private school tuitions come down?

2009-03-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

Wacky Chinaman has no kids, but I have been aware of rising tuition at private schools and universities for some time now, mainly from talking to colleagues at work and other friends who have just had babies.

I attended a private high school and also ended up going to a private university as well, and in both cases, the tuition has more than doubled over the past decade. I've often heard friends with newborns talking about saving for college and feeling overwhelmed, since at the current rate of tuition increases, they have found that they need to put aside an exorbitant amount of dollars if they have any chance of paying for their kids' college education, let alone high school. It is usually at this point that I suggest that dogs are cheaper alternative than kids, and that in all probability, dogs will end up loving you more. Yeah, it's a wonder I have any friends at all.

I haven't done any rigorous analysis on this at all, but I've always wondered if it was really accurate to assume that tuition would continue to increase at the same yearly rate. After all, the economy has been booming for a while now, and at the risk of sounding pessimistic, it seems unrealistic to assume that the economy will continue to boom at the nearly the same rate for the next 18 years. Put another way, should we really expect private school tuition to double again in ten years?

This is on my mind, not because I'm reaching that age where one thinks about kids, but because this article in the NY Times has got me thinking about this again. Apparently, the recession is causing many folks to think about withdrawing their kids from private school, because they can no longer afford $22K for a year of kindergarten. Unknown is whether or not the shrinking demand is enough to cause a slow down in tuition hikes (after all, there are probably still long waiting lists for enrollment). But in these uncertain times, I'm not betting against it happening.

Ouch.....

2009-02-28T12:56:00.001-08:00

So....not only was Cassel not worth a 1st round pick, he was barely worth a second round pick either, as the Pats had to throw in Mike Vrabel just to move Cassel to the Chiefs for a high second round pick.

If I read between the lines here correctly, the market for Cassel was not nearly as strong as some media members speculated. Perhaps other teams have also noticed the weaknesses in Cassel's game: his near ineffectiveness when blitzed, the poor performance when not in the shotgun formation, and the inclination to run first instead of pass. I guess this goes to show that maybe the rest of the NFL isn't as stupid as we thought.

This isn't a full-blown disaster for the Patriots, but it is certainly a disappointment for fans like me who would rather have watched Mike Vrabel for one more year and were hoping that some team would be reckless enough to part with multiple draft picks for Cassel. The Chiefs look like big winners here--two immediate starters for the 34th pick in the draft! Time will tell if this move works for the Pats.

So long, Mike Vrabel

2009-02-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

I can't say I had ever considered the possibility that Mike Vrabel would not be a Patriot in 2009, yet the news broke today that the Patriots traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs for an undisclosed draft pick. My first reaction when I heard the news: "whaaa?"

This definitely makes me sad--not because I think the Pats made a terrible mistake with this trade--but because the trade is a sign that Vrabel is likely near the end of his career. The Chiefs didn't sign him to be a playmaking presence in their linebacking corps--they signed him to help guide a young team and lead by example. Since Vrabel has always been one of those players who has been satisfied with a palatable salary to play in New England, this move wasn't made for salary cap reasons. No, this is an indication that for whatever reason (age, injuries), the Patriots don't think he can play at a high level for more than another year or so.

What bums me out is the sad reality that the cornerstones of the Patriots dynasty are getting old and are almost gone from the game. Troy Brown and Willie McGinest have retired, Rodney Harrison may retire this offseason, Vrabel has been traded away, and 2009 is likely the last year of Tedy Bruschi's NFL career.

Though the trade details have not been released yet, my guess is that it is probably the Chief's 4th round pick (the 3rd pick of the second day). Anything less, and I'd be pretty appalled that we were robbed of watching him play one more year for virtually nothing in return.

Best sporting event of the day?

2009-02-01T12:36:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize until last night that Super Bowl XLIII may not even be the best sporting event of the day. Federer and Nadal are currently playing in the Australian Open Finals right now!

I've only watched 2 games in the first set, and there's already been some unbelievable points played.

Super Bowl XLIII

2009-01-31T12:27:00.000-08:00

So....I could NOT be less excited about the Super Bowl. The Steelers (ugh!) vs the Cardinals (wha?).

Some random thoughts on this topic:

-After the Cardinals topped the Eagles in the NFC Championship game, I noticed confetti raining down on the field. Uh, guys, you still have one more game to play! Geez, I know the Cardinals haven't had a ton of success lately, but that surely seemed premature. And of course, it doesn't shake the whole "just happy to be here" image.

-That Steelers-Ravens game....nasty. Ultimately came down to two great defenses, but only one good quarterback.

-If we have learned anything about the postseason over the past 10 years, it is that a great defense stops a great offense almost every single time. Let's quickly run down the list: 2000 Ravens, 2001/03/04 Patriots, 2002 Bucs, 2005 Steelers, 2007 Giants. Only the '99 Rams and the '06 Colts could be argued that offense won the day, but let's not forget that the '06 Colts defense suddenly showed up in the postseason. So all this talk about Arizona being able to move the ball against the Steelers? Methinks it quite unlikely. Let's make no mistake, the Steelers defense is really really good. I would be surprised if Arizona puts up more than 17 points in this game.

-I mean, Kurt Warner is 37 years old! And he's played all 19 games since September. You're telling me he can absorb hits from this crazy defense for 60 minutes and still play effectively? I may have just talked myself into thinking the Cards won't score more than 10 points here....

-Flip it to Arizona's defense. Are they really that good? Seems strange to see them suddenly controlling the line of scrimmage, especially since the only regular season game I saw them play was their 47-7 asswhupping in New England. This is a tough call, but I say they can't hold up for 4 quarters and ultimately give up about 20-25 points.

-So of course, one can never say the Cardinals have NO chance, but really, they have very little chance. I will definitely root for them (since the last thing I want is to hear Steelers fans talk about a new football dynasty), but my head says the Steelers, led by their defense, ultimately prevail.

-The REAL question is, what's my pick against the spread (-7 Steelers)? This is actually pretty tough. I guess I have so little faith in the Cards that I'd pick the Steelers to beat the spread. Not that I feel too strongly about that...

Recessions are strange things....

2009-01-31T10:26:00.000-08:00

I've been fascinated at some of the stories I've seen in the NY Times describing the problems of wealthy people. The latest one is about a support group for women who are dating bankers.

I spent quite a bit of time reading through the DABA girls blog, and I find that I can be sympathetic, disgusted, and amused at the same time.

On Pizza

2009-01-18T11:27:00.001-08:00

There's a lot to love about living in California. Nice weather, close proximity to the ocean and the mountains, and an excellent variety of delicious cuisines. Unfortunately, it's common knowledge that the locals can't seem to make a decent pizza.

Don't get me wrong. At the end of the day, pizza is still just melted cheese on bread, and let's face it, that's always going to be good. Still, I've been out here 5 years and have always had trouble finding pizza that could equal even an average East coast pizza like Bertucci's. And certainly nothing could compare to my favorite Massachusetts pizza chain, Sal's Pizza. So imagine my excitement when the Wacky Chinawife found out that my beloved Sal's Pizza has opened two locations in the Bay Area!

But before we continue this tale, we must ask, "why does California pizza suck so bad?" Besides the fact that Californians don't know what good pizza is, it's hard to come up with any one thing that can explain it. But let's quickly break it down:

Tomato Sauce
Though the sauce is a key component, I don't think this has much to do with the lousy pizzas in California. Sauces can sometimes be too tangy, but this isn't a huge deal to me. Too much sauce is a common error, but I think both East and West coast pizzerias often make this mistake.

Toppings
Californians tend to gravitate towards toppings that are not particularly pizza-like, such as BBQ chicken, avocados, artichokes, salad greens, etc. This is a little annoying, but since everyone still offers pepperoni, sausage, bacon, garlic, pepper, and meatballs, we can safely say that the toppings aren't the real culprit here.

Crust
No doubt, 97% of California pizza makers can't get the crust to be quite as good as you'll find on the East coast. It's pretty common to get crust that's too greasy/oily. It's also common to get crust that's too thick. But perhaps the biggest issue is that most crusts are too tough and don't taste quite right. Why is this? According to this article in Wired, the problem is the local water supply:

"Water," Batali says. "Water is huge. It's probably one of California's biggest problems with pizza." Water binds the dough's few ingredients. Nearly every chemical reaction that produces flavor occurs in water, says Chris Loss, a food scientist with the Culinary Institute of America. "So, naturally, the minerals and chemicals in it will affect every aspect of the way something tastes."

This sounds a little bit hand-wave-y, but I have heard from a few people that California water's high iron content does affect the way the crust tastes.

Cheese
IMO, this is the thing that separates the good pizzas from the great pizzas. And no California pizza uses the right kind of cheese to make their pizza GREAT. The mozzarella cheese should be melted evenly over the pizza to the point where it nearly binds itself to the crust--it should not be possible easily pull off a hunk of cheese off of the bread. And the cheese consistency should be such that the strings of cheese are very thin--I believe thick strings are characteristic of lesser quality cheese. And lastly, the cheese shouldn't give off too much orange grease--that should come from the meat. I think using 100% whole milk mozzarella is what gets these characteristics, but to be honest, I'm not exactly sure how this can be accomplished.

So we went down to the closest Sal's location yesterday to see if this was the pizza that could reverse the "crappy California pizza" trend. Now keep in mind, I've been burned by countless pizzas out here, many with the promise of "tasting just like it does back East" and all of them falling well short. So I admit I walked into Sal's with some apprehension. We ended up getting a slice of meat lover's and a slice of spinach & garlic (a white pizza). So what was the verdict? Tomato sauce--excellent. Toppings--great. Crust--extremely good. Cheese--better than most, but not perfect. But overall--best pizza in the Bay Area so far, though still not quite there yet. (At this point, I'm obligated to mention that I love the Wacky Chinawife).

I talked pizza with the guy behind the counter for a few minutes and mentioned that the crust was almost exactly like the Sal's back east, but the cheese wasn't quite the same. He told me that I was right--they don't use the same mix of cheese out here, because they don't order as much volume as the east coast chains. But they put a lot of effort into the crust--even going so far as to install an expensive water filtration system to give it the doughy texture they desire. He also told me that they'd like to open a lot more stores out here. Um, yes please!

So to update my Bay Area pizza rankings (heavily tilted toward South Bay, where I live):
1. Sal's Pizza
2. Pie in the Sky
3. A Slice of New York
4. Giovanni's Pizza
5. Costco (surprisingly good)

Porn industry bailout

2009-01-07T15:50:00.001-08:00

This article about the porn industry asking for a bailout is hilarious. Times are hard (no pun intended).

I LOVE IT!

2009-01-04T22:51:00.000-08:00

I've got a slight cold this weekend, but every time I need a pick-me-up, thinking of this does the trick....

2008 Patriots wrap-up

2009-01-02T10:07:00.000-08:00

As I feared, long before my trans-Pacific flight landed at SFO, the 2008 Patriots season had ended. Having avoided any NFL news for nearly two weeks (which isn't that hard when your in-laws don't have Internet, and the country you're in doesn't know what American football IS), I came home and flipped on the TiVo'd Pats-Cards game. As soon as I saw the 6 inches of snow on the ground, I felt pretty good. And after each team finished their opening drives, I could tell the Pats had the game won. Truth be told, I spent the rest of the 47-7 ass whupping watching the Dolphins-Chiefs score in the top right corner.

Since I hadn't been able to tape the final game of the season, I merely took a deep breath, booted up the laptop, and prepared for the worst. And indeed, the Patriots players had already packed up their bags and gone home for the offseason. In some sense, this was actually somewhat comforting. Though I no doubt missed a tense and exciting Pats victory against Buffalo, I was spared 3 torturous hours of having to root for the Jets to beat Miami (which obviously didn't happen). I really don't think I could have handled sitting in front of my TV dealing with those conflicted feelings of being a Jets cheerleader and knowing that they probably didn't have enough to beat Pennington and the Dolphins.

I do, however, feel a little bit cheated by missing out on the subsequent Mangini firing and Jets' public infighting. Though never really disliking Mangini that much (despite his Spygate whistle-blowing antics), I've always thought his head coaching career was a little odd. In my mind, it kinda went like this:

-Jan 2006: After his first year as Patriots' defensive coordinator, in which the Patriots fielded one of their most porous defenses of the decade, Mangini comes out of nowhere to land the Jets head coaching job. Prevailing theory is that he is a rising star in the Belichick ranks and it would be smart for a team to hire him too early than too late.

-Nov 2006: Jets beat the Patriots in Foxborough on their way to a 10-6 wild card berth. Whispers of the nickname "Man-genius" start to swirl amongst NY sportswriters.

-Sept 2007: Mangini exposes New England's videotaping violations, but does not trouble the Patriots for the rest of the season. "Man-genius" nickname disappears from the sports vernacular.

-Oct 2008: Jets lose in OT to the hapless Raiders. Fans question Mangini's decision-making.

-Nov 2008: Jets jump on top of the Patriots early, but nearly blow the lead. Overtime victory gives the Jets control of the AFC East. Jets then topple the undefeated Titans the following week to improve to 8-3. Talk of a Giants-Jets Super Bowl begins.

-Dec 2008: Jets finish 9-7 and fire Mangini.

Weird. But oddly satisfying for a Pats fan like myself. But where was I?

Ah yes....the end of the season. So not only do the Patriots become the first team in the modern playoff format to get 11 wins AND miss the playoffs, but Tom Curran reports that Tom Brady's knee may need more work and he might possibly miss NEXT year too. Fan-fuckin-tastic. (The Wacky Chinawife had a similiar reaction to THIS bit of news.)

But after a good night's sleep, I've come to reflect positively on the 2008 season. When Brady went down, I readjusted my expectations for this team to be "if they make the playoffs, the season is a success." At the time I thought 11 wins would be enough to be successful. Looking back, just because it wasn't enough doesn't mean it wasn't successful. Fans of this team had a lot to be thankful for. Consider:

-We got to watch Matt Cassel grow quickly from a bumbling jittery backup to a legitimate NFL starting QB. Every week, you could see him getting just a little bit better, until eventually the Pats offense was dangerous again. By all accounts, he's a pretty decent guy, and he always stayed humble and seemingly grateful for his opportunity to play. As far as QBs drafted from USC go, it could have been a lot worse.

-We got to appreciate Bill Belichick and why he is the best coach in the NFL. Once again, the Pats were hit by injuries, and once again he had the young guys ready to step up and play. Cassel is the obvious example here, but unknowns Brandon Meriweather, Pierre Woods, Gary Guyton, Wesley Britt, and Lewis Sanders all filled in without being horribly exposed. He managed the Brady-to-Cassel transition perfectly, and not a single player publicly complained or vented his frustration to the media. Last year, he kept his team grounded when they were flying high, and this year he kept them focused when they were riding low. Though he had some on-field brain farts this year, he proved (again) that when it comes to leading his team, he is virtually unmatched.

-Unlike 2007, there was some more nuance to the playcalling this year. This year, the plays were less about brute force dominance than they were about deception, misdirection, and timing. Add Cassel's scrambling ability, and we got to see some stuff we haven't seen before (like a QB draw!).

-We also got to see a glimpse of the young guys like Meriweather and Mayo, both of which seem to be solid players to build around. Pats fans have always known that Bruschi and Harrison couldn't play forever, and as both players edge closer to retirement, their successors appear to be in place. Now we just need a young pass rusher....

-And finally, we really got to appreciate Wes Welker. Though he had similar numbers as he did in 2007, where he was overshadowed by Randy Moss, we all got to see how talented, reliable, and TOUGH this guy is. Though Moss has the spectacular one-handed catches 40 yards downfield, it's more impressive to me when Welker plucks a pass rifled to him at full speed from 15 yards, while sprinting between three defenders, then watching him pop up from the ground after getting hammered by a guy who outweighs him by nearly 100 pounds. I want to be just like him when I grow up.

When it comes down to it, there's not much difference between getting 11 wins and missing the playoffs versus getting 12 wins and losing in the first round to Baltimore. So all in all, I've got no complaints about the season.

(Well except for the shoddy tackling in the secondary....the lack of turnovers....Moss' suddenly shaky hands...Ben Watson's clumsiness...Dolphins in the playoffs...)

I wonder how many random nitwits read this blog....

2009-01-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

My buddy posted an anecdote about startups reading his blog, which got me wondering. Aside from friends and family, what other weirdos are reading this?

I admit that when I started this thing, it was mainly an outlet for random thoughts as well as an excuse to keep contact with folks I don't have daily contact with. I knew it was possible for others to find it, but didn't think that to be a likely possibility. After all, unless they actually know me, who would find it interesting to read about random Patriots rantings, uninformed political musings, and other stupid thoughts? And what would you have to Google in order to get a hit on this thing?

My goal is to one day get at least one crazy dude who relentlessly posts insane things in my comments section.

Parting Patriots Thoughts

2008-12-16T21:54:00.000-08:00

Watching a 49-26 beatdown of the Raiders was enjoyable, but not particularly fulfilling. Though learning that the Raiders will have had 6 straight seasons with 11 losses is plenty fulfilling in and of itself.

And the sad thing is that may be the last game I watch the 2008 Patriots play. A long overdue vacation will keep me away from my precious NFL Sunday ticket the next two weeks, and if the Patriots can't run the table the last two weeks, there's pretty much no hope of a playoff appearance.

Final thoughts:
-If the Patriots beat Arizona, it will be because they traded points in a shootout and managed to be the last one possessing the ball. Because I can't see how they're awful pass defense can stop the likes of Fitzgerald and Boldin. Here's hoping that I'm as wrong about this as I was about Holt and Bruce back in 2002.

-Welker is the team MVP. He makes a 5-foot-6-inch guy like me dare to believe that I too could have played in the NFL....you know, if I was fast....or athletic....or willing to have 250-pound men run into me at full speed.

-Is it me, or do the Patriots have a lot of solid young defensive talent, but very few playmakers? I can't remember the last time I felt confident about somebody being able to make a big play in crunch time.

Arthur Branch on Bailouts

2008-12-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

Hey, it's that Law and Order guy giving us a public service announcement about government bailouts. Gee....sarcastic much?

That made me remember the commercial with the other guy from Law and Order, who was MUCH funnier.

Patriots on the verge of missing the playoffs

2008-12-08T23:39:00.000-08:00

I was both excited and frustrated while watching the Patriots escape with a win against the Seahawks. Excited, because I had a really good feeling that the Patriots would be able to dig deep and win the game, even after playing so horribly. And frustrated because deep down, I know this team is probably not going to make it to the playoffs.

Before the game, I felt pretty good about their chances. Looking at the schedule, I figured that if the Patriots won their last 4 games, they'd be in for sure, and if they only won 3 games, they might still get the wild card.

But a more careful analysis puts it into perspective. Even if the Patriots win their last 3 games (and that game against Arizona is no joke), they'll still need some help to get in. Add that up with the sudden onslaught of injuries, and the Pats are quite the long shot.

It's almost unfathomable that an 11-5 team not make the playoffs. I don't think I've ever seen that happen.

Thoughts on the last game:

-Really? The Patriots defense got handled by a backup QB and an offensive line that already lost 4 starters? Yeah, that doesn't quite seem playoff-worthy. "Old and slow" certainly seemed apt.

-On the other hand, it's not like the Patriots are at full strength either. Commentator Randy Cross had the gall to say “Now the Patriots will have a taste of what Mike Holmgren and the Seahawks have dealt with this season” as injured Patriots players were limping off the field. Uh....really? Just for posterity, let's count the number of Patriots defensive starters that weren't available most of the game: Harrison, Bruschi, Wilfork, Adalius Thomas, James Sanders, Ty Warren...wow, that's more than HALF of the defense. Oh, and one of those guys on the Pats' offense is hurt too....dammit....can't seem to remember the guy's name...

-Riiight, so after 2 years of nothing, NOW Deion Branch decides to show up? I always find it odd how some players show up big when playing their former teammates. On a fun note, did you know his kids are named Deionte and Deiondre? I am NOT joking.

-Gotta love that Welker kid (I can say he's a kid now that I'm over 30). Though I'm really worried that one of these days he's going to take a hit and not get up.

-Yes, that picture above IS Ben Watson pretending that a football is a fetus growing inside his man-womb. 15-yard penalty for the lamest TD celebration ever (yes, I know his wife is pregnant with their first child).

-I really really really wonder how "good" Matt Cassel is when he's not in this Pats' offense. If had to guess what kind of career he will end up having, I'd starting throwing out names like.....Chris Chandler? Jeff Hostetler? Rob Johnson? Ooh ooh, Jon Kitna! Other suggestions are welcome in the comments section.

Reinflating the Bubble

2008-12-04T20:32:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else think the Treasury's new proposal is a lousy idea?

From the NY Times:

At the Treasury Department, meanwhile, top officials continued to work on a plan to bolster the housing market by subsidizing 30-year home mortgages with rates as low as 4.5 percent — a level that home buyers have not seen since the early 1960s.

...

But the cheap mortgages would be available only for people buying houses, not the roughly 50 million families that already have mortgages and would want to refinance at a lower rate.

As near as I can tell, the idea here is to entice new buyers with artificially low interest rates. This increases demand for houses and supposedly prevents housing prices from declining further. If we've learned anything from the past 5 years, it's that this kind of thing is unsustainable. Eventually the interest rates will have to go back up, and then housing prices will resume their fall, right? And if that is true, then the incentive to buy a house wanes if you think that your house price may fall once the interest rates come back up.

So basically the government is willing to spend money in order to keep housing prices up--basically keeping the bubble inflated! Your tax dollars at work...

Housing psychology

2008-12-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

To follow up briefly on my last post, I kinda like this graph's depiction of the "conventional wisdom" during price booms.

Stop asking me about buying a house

2008-11-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

I've been keeping tabs on the real estate market for some time now, as everyone and their mother has told me all about how smart it is to go buy a house. Two years ago, all I heard was "you'd better get in now before you get priced out." Today I hear "now is a great time to get in."

As most of you know, Bay Area housing ain't cheap, but the Wacky Chinaman IS. So over the year I've horded my cash in anticipation of the day where I can buy a nice house at a reasonable price.

So are things reasonable now? Calculated Risk has an excellent series of posts today that provide a nice glimpse of the national residential housing picture. I'd love to do this for the Bay Area, but for now this will have to suffice.

Of all the graphs, I think price-to-income ratio is key going forward. Though price-to-rent ratios are a good metric too, I think that the current mentality of "buying is better than renting" and "renting means you're just throwing money away" mean that rent prices are less of a factor than actual income. This is pure psycho-speculation on my part. From this graph at least, prices still haven't fallen far enough.

Locally at least, every week brings a new press release of another tech company announcing layoffs (my company is no exception). This likely means that local housing prices will fall more over the next year or two.

In conclusion, I'm closer to buying a house now than I was last year, but I'm still not ready to pull the trigger yet. I'm not trying to time the bottom or anything, but I still think it's too early.

Poor people are sharks

2008-11-14T10:27:00.000-08:00

To follow up on my last post, I remembered today that despite my lukewarm feelings about author Michael Lewis, he wrote a great tongue-in-cheek column last year that had me chuckling. Through the magic of Google, I've managed to find it again.

Fun factoid: Michael Lewis is married to Tabitha Soren. If you don't know who she is, then you're not old enough to be reading this blog.

The End of Wall Street

2008-11-13T08:53:00.000-08:00

Michael Lewis' book "Liar's Poker" is on my list of things to read. I enjoyed "Moneyball" and hated "The Blind Side," but his recent piece on the "End of Wall Street" was pretty good.

The following sentences sum up what I've been suspecting about investment bankers on Wall St:

"If mere scandal could have destroyed the big Wall Street investment banks, they’d have vanished long ago. This woman [Meredith Whitney] wasn’t saying that Wall Street bankers were corrupt. She was saying they were stupid. These people whose job it was to allocate capital apparently didn’t even know how to manage their own."

This read is worth your precious time. Hat tip to Bacala's Brain for the link.

How about Matt Millen?

2008-11-11T20:38:00.001-08:00

For all you Bengals fans (and I know you're out there), the above photo comes from downtown Cincinnati. Check out this apparently well funded blog for details.

Patriots carried by....Welker?

2008-11-11T00:32:00.000-08:00

Patriots started off their AFC east divisional run with a nice win against the Bills on Sunday. Bills all of a sudden look terrible. NFL teams seem to have figured them out, and now they look sunk. Fortunately, head coach Dick Jauron locked up his contract extension weeks ago. Now he could care less what his ESPN coaches approval rating is.

Next up is the Jets. Color me nervous, but now that the Pats have lost yet another key player for the season, I'm starting to wonder how many injuries the Patriots can really withstand. Jets look like they are playing well, but I gotta think the home atmosphere will be a significant advantage for the Pats.

Quick thoughts:

-When Brady went down, everyone's first thought was that Randy Moss would have to lead the team. Looking back, it seems silly to think that anyone other than Welker would have put the offense on his shoulders and carried the team to victory. That little dude is amazing.

-Quick note on this aforementioned stupid ESPN coaches rating, but how spoiled are Patriot fans if Belichick only gets 78% approval? His handling of Matt Cassel should be the blueprint for any coach who wants to develop a young, flawed QB: start off with the dink and dunk ball-control offense, then slowly expand the playcalling as he gets more comfortable. Hardcore fans will remember that this is almost exactly how young Tom Brady was handled in 2001.

-He's played so well the past few weeks, that it's hard to remember that Cassel isn't really that good. He's definitely improved, but I think a large part of this is due to the O-line suddenly regaining their 2007 form. Some boneheaded team will sign Cassel as their starting QB next year--my money is on the Vikings.

-My fantasy team started 0-5. Now I'm 5-5 and in the playoff hunt. This doesn't really have any relevance to anything, but this seemed like an appropriate space to share this little nugget of info.

Obama-nation

2008-11-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

A few days late, I know, but congrats to Obama for winning the presidential election. Like most people, I was pretty impressed with his acceptance speech.

I've got a lot more post-election thoughts, but as far as this speech goes, I could only think of one thing as I was watching it:

Obama 2008
Electoral Votes won: 349
Percentage of popular vote: 53%
"And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too."

Bush 2004
Electoral Votes won: 286
Percentage of popular vote: 51%
"I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it."

Lastly, hat tip to the Wacky Chinabrother for calling my attention to the following LONG series of "behind the scenes" reporting that Newsweek just published on the web. Fascinating stuff, extremely long, and after 1 hour, I'm only halfway through...but so far it's been well worth the time to read.

Voting Day

2008-11-04T08:31:00.001-08:00

Happy Election Day. Today I'll be voting in California for the first time. My head is spinning from all the propositions on the ballot. Most are crap, and it makes me want to vote "No" on the ones that sound good too, just because I don't know enough about any of these issues.

Anyway, I read something on exit polls this morning that I thought was worthwhile.

Pats lose to Colts (and Peyton Manning is the devil)

2008-11-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

Sigh....not only is it disappointing to have watched the Pats lose and fall into a three-way tie atop the AFC East, but something about this game was so....so....blah. It wasn't particularly exciting, nor was I emotionally invested in the outcome. Normally, if the Pats beat the Colts, I'm giddy for the rest of the night and when they lose, I'm grumpy for the next two days. Tonight, I'm feeling fairly ambivalent about the whole thing, maybe because I had long ago resigned this game to the Colts.

I got the feeling that neither team was really too invested in the outcome either. This game usually impacts the postseason seeding in the AFC, but this year it was just another game on the schedule. Somehow, all the players seemed to be moving at half speed, as if it was a practice session. The normally ferocious Colts pass rush was invisible, and their high powered offense looked unimaginative and sluggish. On the flip side, the Patriots had their own boring offense, and a defense that seemed devoid of all the Belichick trickery that we've come to expect. Maybe it was just me, and everyone else saw a different game.

Maybe I just don't think this game counts when Brady isn't playing and the Colts looking like a team that might miss the playoffs. Certainly, when I check back at all the games in this rivalry, this one will have an asterisk next to it that will say "Brady on IR."

Observations:
-Patriots had virtually no pass rush. This is going to be a problem as the season goes on, and will almost certainly cost them any shot of a playoff win, should they happen to make it into the postseason.

-Colts never sacked the QB who has taken nearly 30 sacks in the first 7 games. We know the Patriots O-line isn't really that good this year. I thought Cassel would be on his back all night. Strange.

-Both teams seemed perfectly happy to eat up the clock with long drives. I counted only 3 possessions for each team in the first half. Yawn. It's as if both teams were hoping the game would end as soon as possible. Very few big plays were even attempted, and I can't think of a single one that was made.

-I don't think either team forced a turnover on defense when it really mattered. The Colts had one interception that came on a desperation 4th and 16 at the end of the game, and they would have been better off letting the ball hit the turf.

-When was the last time we saw Belichick have a brain fart and waste all his timeouts with nearly a quarter left to play? Somewhere, Mike Martz nods his head in approval...

-The one bright spot here is that Cassel looks better and better every week. Today was no exception, as he consistently drove down the field, made the throws he needed to, and showed good pocket presence. If Jabar Gaffney had any kind of hands (or if Dave Thomas had attended anger management classes), the Pats might have won this game.

Here's hoping this rivalry game is better next year.