Wednesday, March 28, 2007

I Will Not Watch Any More Prison Break

Prison Break is a good show. I've watched it since it started. It seemed like a series that I could watch and follow the story until it ends. At the end of season 1, they escaped from the prison. I thought "YES CLOSURE!" But no! They had to miss the plane. Now one week before the season 2 finale, and with the news of a THIRD season, I refuse to watch any more of this non-sense.

Details on the serialized drama's storyline for next season are being kept under wraps, but it is understood that brothers Michael (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln (Dominic Purcell)--who recently escaped to Panama with the FBI hot on their trail--and many of their fellow fugitives would end up back behind bars, possibly in Panama.
I got some insights for you Fox: chasing and running gets old. Can we just stop messing around and stretching the story and milking the cash cow and end the show? END IT!

Friday, March 16, 2007

How to Speak Like Captain Picard

I am sure many of you like me have always dreamed about talking AND being like Captain Picard so here's some general guidelines I've created to help you (and me).

  1. Accustom yourself to say "Engage!" and "Make it so!" when you want someone to do something.
    • Example: Friend: "Hey let's go get some In & Out! I'll drive!" You: "Make it so!"
  2. Whenever you order a drink, always append the preferred temperature.
    • Example: "Coke, cold." "Coffee, hot."
  3. Refer to your secretary/assistant/caddy as "Number One".
  4. Whenever you stand up, tug on your shirt and pull out any ruffles in it.
  5. Pronounce ER sounds as Ah.
    • Example: "The line must be drawn HEAH (here)!" [First Contact]
  6. Roll your tongue when R is before a vowel.
    • In this example we can see the use of both use of R: "What does a woman like you see in MoRRiaAHti?" [S06E12 Ship in a Bottle]
  7. A should be pronounced as AU as in "awe"
    • Example: CommAUnder Data
  8. Less nasal.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Funniest Website in The World



http://www.conservapedia.com/Main_Page

Bravo to those geniuses who thought of this. I salute you in your originality and sense of humor! Some of you less funny people might not catch the nuances of this site. Let me point an example so you may appreciate this site for what it is, a work of art.

Read a list of many Examples of Bias in Wikipedia.

Conservapedia is an online resource and meeting place where we favor Christianity and America.
Now do you get it? THAT is irony my friend.

Polls show that about twice as many Americans identify themselves as "conservative" compared with "liberal", and that ratio has been increasing for two decades.[1] But on Wikipedia, about three times as many editors identify themselves as "liberal" compared with "conservative".[2] That suggests Wikipedia is six times more liberal than the American public.
HAH! It is true that most of the conservatives can't manage to use a computer let alone edit an online collaborative encyclopedia.

Albert Einstein's work had nothing to do with the development of the atomic bomb, contrary to popular opinion.
I guess that e=mc^2 doesn't mean the mass differential between matter before and after a nuclear reaction doesn't equal the amount of energy released. My college professor was wrong after all! That idiot in the class was right!

Like all modern animals, modern kangaroos originated in the Middle East and are the descendants of the two founding members of the modern kangaroo baramin that were taken aboard Noah's Ark prior to the Great Flood.
Hilarious.

http://www.conservapedia.com/Da_vinci_code

I love how they got the average religious nut just right. They wrote 10 pages defuting a fictional novel. Once again I must salute you on your dedication to satyr.

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Google Associate Product Manager Intern Interviews

Last month I was interviewing for an internship at Google as an APM. Here's how it went and some questions they asked(No I didn't sign any NDA.)

The recruiter asked me for my availability for the first phone interview the week after I applied. It was surprisingly quick!

The first interview was the type of interview you'd get at most companies. "Tell me a bit about your self", "How was working at ______". Some of the better questions were "What's a good product and how would you improve it and "How many _______ do you think there are in ________", one of those estimation questions as to be expected by a tech company. The entire interview was about 35 minutes.

In the same week, I got a request for a second interview.

The second interview was a lot more interesting. I was asked some product strategy questions and logic questions: "How would you compare the quality of 3 different yellow pages type of business listings", "What are some ways that you can compress code". And the question I was prepared to answer all along "Critique a Google product".

Now began the bad part. After getting a response for the first interview after only 3-4 days, I expected the same kind of response time for the second interview. Was I wrong... 2 weeks went by, 3 weeks, I sent 3-4 emails to the recruiter and no answers.

The interviews were very easy and straight forward... nothing really technical. If you aren't dumb you should do well in the interviews. But it doesn't guarantee an internship. :)

Monday, February 26, 2007

Things to Remember When Building a Computer

Dell takes small steps toward Linux

Dell buyers demanding Linux-ready machines... That's almost as funny as the Christian Science Monitor. What's next? Mac users demanding a functional multi-button mouse?

Tired of Dell's bullshit with the load of crapware pre-installed on your computer that are impossible to get rid of as if they dragged their asses on your carpet? Tired of waiting to upgrade a component and in the process voiding your warranty? Tired of people laughing at you online because "dude, you have a Dell?!" Build your own computer and learn something on the way for a change.

Buying

  1. Google - Google for reviews by other users
  2. Don't be cheap - things are more expensive for a reason
  3. There are components that are regularly on sale - Hard drives especially
  4. Don't hesitate - if you keep thinking things will get cheaper you'll never get a computer
  5. Newegg.com
Building
  1. RTFM
  2. If it doesn't fit, you did it wrong
  3. RTFM - the CD that came with the hardware serves a purpose, most of the time

Sunday, February 25, 2007

BT Goes Hollywood

BitTorrent.com has made a deal with several Hollywood studios including Fox, Paramount, and WB to distribute their content via torrents for a FEE! TV shows can be downloaded and kept but movies will self destruct a la Mission Impossible after some time. The files are protected by Microsoft and will be unwatchable after 30 days or 24 hours after watching.

Hollywood is just trying to use the BT name to sell their stuff. Will the actual technology be a factor in this? Usually torrent sites require users to maintain a share ratio to allow them to download. Now that people no longer feel the "obligation" to seed the torrents because they paid for this, no one would want to upload the content.

Will this actually make people use this service and increase revenue for studios and decrease piracy or will it only put a spotlight on torrents and make countless number of people still using limewire Google for torrent sites.

Just seems like Napster all over again.

JJ Abrams to direct Star Trek XI - o rly?

As you probably know, Abrams has been linked to the new Star Trek movie for quite a while now. The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Abrams has officially signed on to the project as the director and producer. He is also working as a writer.

The movie supposedly revolves around young Kirk and Spock in the Starfleet Academy and is scheduled for release for Christmas 2008.

I am highly skeptical about this movie since the writers for it are best known for writing Hercules and Xena: The Warrior Princess. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. As far as I can tell, no one who is currently on board has worked on a Star Trek project before...

The real question is: "When will there be a movie (or even better, a new series) revolving around the DS9 crew?"