Cheerful Achievement

To learn more about Obama's Google Bomb, check out the CNET article here.

So I've obviously neglected this blog for sometime. Mostly, because I've had some drastic changes in my life.

If you haven't heard, I've since left EarthLink and moved to Hong Kong where I recently proposed to my girlfriend of 5 years; and now I'm engaged! Crazy!

So if you want to get updates about my Adventures in Hong Kong or read my blog posts where I simplify the latest web technology research papers I've read: subscribe to the RSS feeds: Asianish RSS and/or protoFilter RSS.

If you know me, I'm a huge consumer of RSS feeds and podcasts, but many of my "non-techy" friends don't get what I do all day and night. They're also confused how my iPod Nano is filled mostly with "Podcasts" and not music.

What is RSS and How does it Work?

Commoncraft is a great blog that I subscribe to; instead of me trying to explain to my "non-techy" companions, I point them to these videos.

Podcasts? Does that only work on iPods?

The simple answer... No. Podcasts work on more than just iPods.

Just watch the video...

So, I'm one year older and I don't really feel much different; I'm a little smarter, a little fatter (heh), and still just as nerdy. I figured I'd share how nerdy I really am with the rest of the "interweb" community by posting my Google Reader stats that I'm so proud of.

Here they are in all their glory. Proof that outside of eating, sleeping, work, and the gym ... I'm a total geek. I really need to start adding "non-tech" blogs to my feed diet.

As a kid my family always drove great distances to look at neighborhoods with fantastic light displays. I've seen some pretty spectacular houses decked out with all kinds of lights, fixtures, and inflatable figurines. But I've yet to see one of those crazy houses that have their lights set to music.

The XMas Videos

So, I pulled together a few of the cooler videos on the web that showcase houses that have been set to music (mostly to Wizards of Winter since that's the most popular).

The Original Wizards of Winter House

Pretty Cool House in Frisco, TX

XMas House Lights

Christmas Lights on a House set to the THX Intro

Another X-Mas Light House set to the THX Intro

THX Intro

We've been invited again to play at the Hollywood Dodgers Basketball Invitational in Las Vegas. So this past weekend I went out to Las Vegas to meet up with some of my old college buddies to play a little bit of basketball.

Round Robin: Best of 3

So the basic format of this tournament is pretty simple. There are 4 teams in the bracket, and each team plays the other once. The team with the most wins is the overall winner. In case of a tie, the victory goes to the team that allowed the least amount of total points.

The First Game was pretty close. It started off pretty slow with both teams scoring very little (probably because the game started at 9 AM and we were in Vegas...). By half time we were down 6 and 9 minutes into the second half we were down by more than 15. However, we surged back and went on 16 point run. We led 37 to 36 with 2 minutes left to go. Several fouls and free throws later, we ended up winning 39 to 36.

Our next game wasn't until 2 PM, so we pounded down some chinese food and took a short siesta.

The Second Game we was good but they couldn't stand up to our 2 big men down low. When you have a 6' 4" center and a 6' 2" power forward in an mostly Asian tournament, you're going to do pretty good. We ended up winning by a 20 points.

I unfortunately re-sprained my right ankle in this game which I had just badly sprained 10 days earlier. Needless to say it really sucked.... I was out of commission for the rest of the tournament.

In the end the Salt Dawgs faced the No Ka Oi for the championship game with me riding the bench. We won convincingly by 15 pts and walked away with the coveted 'Black T-Shirts'

You Win What?

I think the interesting part of this story happened the Friday before the tournament when I told my co-workers about what I was going to do in Vegas

It sort of went like this:

• Co-workers: So what are you doing this weekend?
• Me: I'm going to Vegas for a basketball invitational tournament
• Co-workers: Do you have to pay to play?
• Me: Yeah, it $525 a team
• Co-workers: Oh? What do you get if you win? (perhaps money? a trophy?)
• Me: Oh, you win a black t-shirt *smiles*
• Co-workers: Uh, a t-shirt? *perplexed*
• Me: Yeah... that what you usually get if you win a tournament. A black t-shirt. All the other participants get a white t-shirt
• Co-workers: *still perplexed* And you really value these t-shirts?
• Me: Yeah... sort of... I only really wear them when I go to tournaments because those are the only people who really understand what they mean.
• Co-workers: Oh... *Moves on to next conversation*

Championship T-Shirts for 2007 & 2005

Haha, I found that rather amusing. Yup, I drove all the way out to Vegas, woke up at 8 AM each morning and drove 30 minutes to Henderson... on the weekend to play basketball and paid $525, just so I could win a black t-shirt. It was well worth it too!!! Nothing beats playing basketball with good friends!