New digs

My first job had the most unusual working environment - being a small, 30 person company, the engineers inhabited a big wide open space without cubes. We just had tables arrayed in a square around the edges of the room, with the assorted video, ethernet, and power cables clumped in a haphazard manner in the middle. This was a fun environment that facilitated a lot of teamwork, since we could just yell questions across the room. Two of my coworkers set up a projector in the corner that would continually play movies or music videos throughout the day.

My next few jobs had more conventional cube setups. In addition, I guess getting older has made me more inclined towards privacy at the workplace, being able to be focused without getting interrupted every few minutes.

This past week, we moved into a newly renovated building as the guinea pigs for a new furniture and cube supplier for the company. The work environment is quite nice - the furniture being designed with the focus of mobility and flexibility (read: wheels on everything so you can move chairs and tables into whatever configuration you want). The bathrooms are sparkling clean, with waterless urinals and motion-sensor faucets and soap foam dispensers. The cubes can be smaller now that heavy-duty tables are no longer needed, as big, heavy cathode-ray tube monitors aren't really in favor anymore. The trays and shelves are modular and can be hooked up to where I want them to be. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the cube is - we have a door! There's a sliding door that we can slide shut to get some privacy in order to focus, and open up when we want to have the regular interaction with the outside world. It's like a mini-office, with the exception that you can still hear what's going on with your neighbors.

Check out some pics:

Inside of the cube - notice the rolling file cabinet with a padded top that doubles as an extra chair


From the inside of the cube looking at the closed door


My cube's next to the window with this nice hangout area

Rhythm and basketball

I'm a big fan of layered drum beats and rhythms. I'm also a basketball diehard. So just for fun, here's a couple of videos that combine the two:

Nike's groundbreaking TV commercial that had everyone talking


An extended version of the commercial above


"Stomp Out Loud"



The layered mix of rhythm, with different people "playing" different beats, reminds me of this innovative Beck video from SNL:

The end of summer

The weather is getting cooler, the sun is setting earlier, the NFL is in week 4, and NBA training camps have begun. That can mean only one thing... the long lazy days of summer are drawing to a close, giving way to the brisk activity of fall.

Since 24 and Lost aren't coming back until February (late winter/early spring), that means that my entertainment time is mostly being taken up with fantasy football, getting ready for the beginning of the NBA season, and occasional episodes of Top Chef (Bravo, which is finishing up this week) and Human Weapon (History Channel). Tivo also enables us to record old Simpsons episodes again... the "24 Minutes" spoof of "24" was a hoot.

Also, having inherited Guitar Hero 2 last week from my bro, Shally and I have gotten into trading off riffs. Talking to a friend from work, it sounds like the better technique to develop is to use the index for both the green and red buttons (first 2) in order to prepare for the fingering on hard. I'm now working on the first few songs on hard mode. Once the second guitar I ordered comes in this week (thanks to Hanlin for the gift certificate to purchase it) we'll be able to do bass and guitar parts.

On to fantasy sports... after a thrilling, personal best 170-158 win in week 3 against the league favorite, my team bombed this week with only 55 points and 0 from Westbrook. McNabb is killing me. On the hoops front, after doing fantasy basketball for several years, I'll be taking a break this year... since I follow it so closely anyway, might as well free up some of the mental energy needed for the two leagues I'm usually commissioner for.

On the Warriors... it's weird having an overall sense of enthusiasm about the upcoming season. A year ago, the hopelessness of having Dunleavy and Murphy still overshadowed Nellie's return. Now, just about every bad contract has been shed from the roster (JRich, while a fan favorite, was never one of mine due to a lack of well-roundedness) and there's a good mix of veterans and young talent. Sure, injuries and lack of size are still a concern, but how great is it that everyone on the time actually likes each other?

With great power comes great responsibility

[04:19 PM] Danny: SIIIIIIIIIIIGH
[04:19 PM] Bob: problem?
[04:19 PM] Danny: the cal game
[04:19 PM] Danny: do you know what happened?
[04:20 PM] Bob: 31-24
[04:20 PM] Bob: so is that a sigh of relief?
[04:20 PM] Danny: yes
[04:20 PM] Bob: or a sigh of "why can't we do better"
[04:20 PM] Bob: we won b/c I didn't watch :)
[04:20 PM] Danny: haha
[04:21 PM] Bob: seriously
[04:21 PM] Bob: I got home at 12:40
[04:21 PM] Bob: right before kickoff
[04:21 PM] Bob: my roommate had it on
[04:21 PM] Bob: I watched them set up
[04:21 PM] Bob: and said
[04:21 PM] Bob: "since i'm watching, we're gonna fumble the kickoff"
[04:21 PM] Bob: the guy dropped the kickoff but then fell on it
[04:21 PM] Bob: my roomie looked at me and said, "that's uncanny"
[04:21 PM] Bob: I then locked myself in my room
[04:21 PM] Bob: and Tivo'ed the game
[04:22 PM] Danny: haha
[04:22 PM] Danny: that's so sad
[04:22 PM] Danny: you cant' watch any games

Box score

EDIT ADD: I realized yesterday that I took a nap from 3 pm to 4 pm on Saturday, roughly during the 4th quarter of the game when Cal took control by scoring 3 touchdowns. So now, not only do I have to ignore the game, I must be unconscious.

Inheritance

My bro is driving down to LA in the morning to get ready to begin his career on Monday, joining the workforce after many years of schooling. I saw him off tonight after an extended family dinner for the Moon Festival (first time eating hot pot in a while).

As part of the packing process, he identified some of the things he wanted to bring down, some to leave up here, and some to give away. So, I've inherited two new (to me) toys from the latter category:

- Guitar Hero 2 for PS2 w/ 1 guitar
- 30-hr Tivo w/ lifetime subscription

Anyone know where I can get a cheap PS2 guitar for 2-player action?

Thanks Dave!

Weekly links

VH1's Greatest Songs of the 1990s

I began listening to popular music in junior high and high school, although it was restricted to what was on the radio at the time - I didn't start taking my music listening more seriously until late college (after having gone through a "Christian music only! Secular music is of no value!" phase). So seeing this link brings back memories and melodies of the music (both good and bad) on the airwaves a while ago - stuff like:

- "Tennessee" from Arrested Development
- "Unbelievable" from EMF
- "My Lovin'" from En Vogue
- "Time of Your Life" from Green Day (which I actually played and sang at a company party two years ago when we got acquired)
- "MMMBop" from Hanson
- "Mama Said Knock You Out" from LL Cool J
- "Jump" from Kris Kross
- "U Can't Touch This" from MC Hammer
- "Good Vibrations" from Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (how weird is it that he's now getting Oscar nominations? And that he tried to rap?)
- "Wonderwall" from Oasis
- "Losing My Religion" from REM
- "Under the Bridge" from Red Hot Chili Peppers
- "Killing Me Softly" from the Fugees
- "Buddy Holly" from Weezer
- and many more

Check out the link for more stuff from memory lane.

Is Dirk a Leader?

One of the more interesting subplots of the NBA playoffs this past season was the stunning upset of the Dallas Mavericks by YOUR Golden State Warriors! As the reigning MVP, Dirk Nowitzki completely disappeared in the series and watched his team go down in flames. The linked article implies that this year, a focus will placed on developing Dirk as a leader.

My question - some leadership skills can be learned, but some seem innate to a person. If Dirk is in fact simply a really talented basketball player but not a leader, is it supremely important for him to become one? Does the best player on a team need to be a leader? Does the best engineer in a group need to be the leader?

I find it interesting because when Coach Avery Johnson was on the 1999 championship Spurs team, he was the unquestioned leader of the group, whereas the best players were Duncan, Robinson, and Elliott. So maybe there is something to be said for putting people into positions to succeed rather than shoehorning them into perceived positions of what they should be. On the other hand, it's often good to shore up weaknesses.

How does a Chinese sports apparel factory run?

A while ago there was a great civil rights hubbub about "sweatshops" in China producing athletic gear that was marked up several hundred percent from what the production cost. This is a great insider's look at how the factories work, among other things:

- Workers make $110 US/month for 6 day, 60 hrs/week
- Workers like factory conditions b/c of A/C and the relatively high salary of $110/month
- The products are held to a very high standard of quality and timeliness, which is why bathroom breaks are regulated

Great read.

An interview with ESPN TrueHoop's creator

As blogging becomes viable business models for information on the web, there are more and more "success" stories of people using Web 2.0 technology to do what they love to do - like write about the NBA. Some quotes from Henry Abbott:

A blog is like a book, or a college course. It's a big, ongoing endeavor. You mean you're going to drone on and on at me about something - and you're not going to be passionate about it? No, thanks. There must be some kind if higher holy calling (to borrow a phrase from Steven Rubel of Micropersuasion, one of the people I learned a lot about blogging from).

I find myself saying "TrueHoop is all about ..." and then finishing that sentence several different ways. But it's something along these lines: using the freedom afforded me by this awesome medium to make public the truthiest truth I can about the NBA. Not the bits that sell magazines. Not the bits that fit the AP style. Not the power rankings and the armchair quarterbacking. But the part where this is a bunch of humans at work, who are both way more flawed than you'd realize from watching highlights, and way more likable than you'd realize watching police reports. It's about humans.

Think you've got what it takes to be a fighter pilot?

See how long you can last. Fighter pilots are expected to last up to 2 minutes. After some tries, I got over 18 seconds.

Jumping into a Stretch with Sprouted Potatoes

Today, I took a day off to spend with family since my little bro will be headed down to LA to begin his career in financial law.

Since I take the train a few times a week, there are a few days a week where my car goes un-driven for many consecutive hours. I had a rude awakening this morning as I hopped into my car for the first time since Monday night and got no response at all from the battery. This was awfully annoying as I had just gotten my battery replaced only a few months ago due to this same issue (the charge disappearing after only 2-3 days), and has led me to believe that either I got a defective battery, or that there's an electrical disconnect somewhere in the system that causes an extremely slow leak of power. Either way, Chris came to my rescue by coming back from work and helping me jump start, which was actually my first time doing it on my own, and gave me a very small sense of satisfaction that I was able to do it without blowing up my car, Chris' car, or our respective persons.

I did yoga for the first extended time today. Both my parents have been practicing it for years and swear by it, and have been encouraging my brother and I to attend a class. After 1.5 hrs of stretching, contorting, and doing some things that seemingly aren't physiologically possible, I actually felt pretty good. And surprisingly, it's also a pretty good workout. I am definitely going to be sore tomorrow.

Since I have a chronically sore back due to basketball, I'm hoping that perhaps a more regular routine of yoga can help strengthen the core muscles to help mitigate that. Also, it appears that I've inherited from my father's side a predisposition to be unbalanced in the shoulders - my grandfather's and my father's right shoulders are both prone to droop lower than the left, and apparently that's the case for me as well. So hopefully I can bring my body back into better alignment too.

We had lunch at Santana Row at Pizza Antica, a decent European-style pizza joint. Portobello mushrooms? Underrated. They make a lot of things taste better.

Every month, the 2nd Harvest Food Bank of San Jose does a food distribution at a Latino church in SJ, and my parents and several of their friends typically volunteer. So that ended up being part of our family day - unloading boxes, packing bags of produce, and handing out the assigned amount to those who had registered for food. There's something greatly satisfying about working with your hands in order to help people out.

Back when I was on short-term missions in NYC, there was one week where we stayed at a homeless shelter and helped with food distribution. There, we became accustomed to breaking off the moldy parts of food (like bread and produce, in particular) in order to give away what was still edible. Today, I found it interesting that most of the volunteers had a lot of trouble giving away donated potatoes that had sprouts coming out of them. Can't they just be cut/peeled off?

'Twas a nonstandard day off for me, but I should do this more often.

Observations of a toddler on a train

The big brown eyes peeked over the seat back at me, then disappeared only to reappear again. I had to smile at the Hispanic toddler, probably no more than 2 years old, who occupied the seat in front of me as I took the VTA light rail to work this morning. He took an interest in my laptop bag, and I played a little bit of peek-a-boo and made some funny faces at him before returning to my customary private worship and prayer time that I usually engage in during the 25-minute ride to work.

During the ride, I observed this little boy alternate between laughing, jumping up and down on the seat, peering out the window in wonder, squirming out of his mother's arms, screaming and whining, and often switching moods within the space of a few seconds.

This led me to wonder... as babies and toddlers, we don't hide our emotions - the world knows immediately whether we are happy, sad, frustrated, pained, and so on. Is it then a mark of a maturity to learn to hide your emotions as you grow older? Or is what seems like hiding actually being able to first conceal, then process emotions in such a way as to not infringe on another's personal space?

If I were an impressionable toddler (sometimes I can be, I guess) looking to imitate what I see around me... being on the train this morning would teach me that I need to be silent and avoid everyone's eyes around me while we all make our way to our respective destinations.

I wonder if that's really how things should be.

Clearing out the backlog

For a few months now I've been struggling about what to do with this blog.

I skip a few days, put a few posts in draft mode, and eventually the queue gets into such a backed-up state that any new ideas I have for writing get pushed into an ever-growing morass that has grown into perhaps the triple digits and feels as dense as clay.

On top of that, IM and Facebook do a decent job of filling in the "social networking" aspect of being online, and with the proliferation of subject-specific and "interesting stuff" link blogs, as well as Youtube, there are more ways than ever to kill 5 minutes at a time. It's so easy to click and read, watch, or listen, and then realize that an hour has gone by.

Thing is... I started this thing 5 years ago with the purpose of being able to work out my life and to share with the world some things from my perspective. I think I've gotten sidetracked by laziness, by wanting to please my reading public... and I think I've done myself a disservice for it.

From now through the end of the year, I'm planning on having this blog reflect a bit more of me, rather than what I think you, dear reader, want to read from me. I like lots of interesting articles. I like sports and sports analysis/opinion. I like poignant thoughts gathered from various readings. I like the occasional personality quizzes. I like the occasional youtube video. And sometimes, I just want to write about what's going on.

Time to start clearing out the backlog...

The future of photography and social networking?

This video is a demo of one of the cooler technologies I've seen all year. I know George, Alex, and all the other photographers ought to be all over this: