This time tomorrow, I'll be in Reno and will be there for a few days. I'm going to the rib cookoff again, but this time, they are hosting an official IFOC eating competition to see who can eat the most ribs in 12 minutes. Whew, that's going to be gross and mesmerizing.

I saw Snakes on a Plane last week. While there's plenty wrong with it, there's oh so much right with it. It's stupid fun and that's just great for the summer.

First off, those of you reading this before 5 pm local time Wednesday have an opportunity to get a free brownie square courtesy of Domino's Pizza. Brownies at Domino's? Yeah, I'm a little skeptical too, which means you should go get one and taste it for me. Offer's good from 3-5 pm.

A solemn farewell to some veteran cast members at SNL. They didn't have their one of their best seasons ever last year, but the people that made it worth watching are leaving. Budget cuts and new opportunities are to blame. Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch were already leaving due to their new show "30 Rock". Among those leaving according to a source talking to the LA Times include Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz, and Kenan Thompson. Even Darrell Hammond might be leaving. Plus Amy Poehler won't be doing Weekend Update solo...she hands the reins of the segment to second-year player...damn, even I don't recognize his name. So we might be in for a bad season at SNL, possibly just as bad as '95.

My Tivo's been running hella slow lately. It seems to stem from the new update that added a KidZone feature to the box. But now running through the guide or even getting to the recorded programs are a chore. Luckily, Tivo Desktop got an upgrade, and that seems way better than before.

The Wizard (Rain Man but with little kids) came out on DVD yesterday to much fanfare by me and me alone. Was it chock full with special features? Hell no. Just the movie itself...the simple tale of a boy who races with his brother cross-country (ok, from Utah to LA with a pit stop in Reno, but their little kids! Seems like cross-country) to the video game championship "Video Armageddon" where they play fellow gamers for $50,000. But since the only copy I have was recorded from TV on NBC, the DVD is an upgrade. Really, the movie shaped my childhood along with many others. What else? Star Trek and Star Wars are obvious, as are The Karate Kid, Trading Places and Coming to America, but there are some far more obscure. Spaceballs, a movie in which I can name almost every line as they came along. Three Amigos and Clue, two movies which were very funny even if the critics didn't think so. Over the Top, with Sylvester Stallone in a remake of Kramer vs. Kramer, but with arm wrestling. Bloodsport, with Jean-Claude Van Damme at his finest as he competes in an underground kumate. No Retreat, No Surrender Part II because the whole thing was very pointless. Didn't list Part I since that one was halfway decent. Plus, there's Tremors, the great cult classic about underground Graboids. It spawned 3 less than zero sequels, but there's always the original to fall back.

Yes, a very troubling childhood when it comes to films. And that was just a partial list! That's what happens when your parents own a video store.

Left-handers rejoice! Left-handed men with some college education make an average 15% more than similarly educated right-handed men. It's even better for those with college degrees...they make a whopping 26% more. Why? Scientists don't have a clue. "We do not have a theory that reconciles all of these findings." We're just better than them I guess.

Also, according to vault.com, 32% of office workers claim to have an office spouse, someone with whom they spend a lot of time with but never have a romantic relationship with. That number seems awfully low to me, but hey that's just me being overly observant.

Welcome back. I was in Vegas for the first part of last week to catch the World Series of Poker among other things. My brother took a separate flight out of SFO and I took the flight out of San Jose. He was supposed to get in 15 minutes earlier than I was, but while my flight was 10 minutes early, his was 90 minutes late. So I watched the same 5-minute commercial in baggage claim multiple times waiting for the plane to land. The slot machines standing next to me didn't really entice me that much.

We stayed at the Aladdin, which is transforming into the Planet Hollywood Hotel. So each of the rooms had a middle eastern theme which clashed with prints of Hollywood movies. Our room had posters of 12 Monkeys, Gone with the Wind, and Basic Instinct 2 (???). But the weirdest part of the room was the prop of a gorilla mask from the movie Congo, which came out in the 1990's. So while 5 out of the 6 people in our party enjoyed having the mask, only one person did not and as a result, was not part of the picture above.

Not much to be said about the food. The Bellagio buffet was worse than last time. Maybe it was because it was a weekday and not a weekend. Might as well have gone out with the lunch crew at work...Jenn called about lunch and I guess I neglected to tell her I was in Vegas. Whoops...sorry! However, the Mirage buffet was just as good as I remembered. This weekend 9 years ago was the first time the family went to Vegas and my grandparents came along. They'd been there before and told us all about it. My grandpa is a man of few words but when the topic of dinner came up, he said we're going to the Mirage buffet. We said fine. We were standing in line when suddenly my grandpa said, "over here...prime rib #1." He said that quite a few times and that line stuck with us, because honestly, it was pretty good. Today, the prime rib is still just as good, plus they remodeled the place.

Lost about $60 gambling. Not too bad, considering it takes less than a few hours to make it back by working. The last blackjack dealer I had actually grew up in Sunnyvale, living on Fair Oaks and El Camino. So we talked about that while she was taking my bankroll $10-20 at a time. I did manage to make $3 on video poker in the airport before my plane departed. At the WSOP, saw a lot of poker celebrities. Phil Hellmuth Jr., Robert Varkonyi, Joe Hachem, Johnny Chan, Jennifer Harman among others. Minh Ly seemed to be following us...we saw him in 3 separate locations during our stay. They played down to 27. We were there when 32 and 31 were knocked out. Don't know if the camera angles were good but we were right behind the guy who was knocked out in 32nd, so look out for me on TV! Only disappointing part of the trip was that I didn't have time for Star Trek: The Experience. Last rumor from a few months ago was that it was slated to close. The Hilton folks deny it, but last year, it was starting to look a bit old. At the very least, it needs an expensive makeover. I'm relieved that I made it out of the airport before all the drama in the UK. Remember, no liquids...if you do have liquid explosives, please make sure you have it with your checked baggage and not your carry-on bags. =)

Random question...if you order nachos with various toppings like beans and beef, etc. but no cheese, are they still considered nachos? I would think they'd be just plain tortilla chips with various toppings.

Nancy had a second interview at Applied Materials but she was eventually rejected. Better luck tomorrow. It's a good experience for her. I think she has a vastly different picture of the real world than the rest of us do.

At work, we went to Marie Callender's for lunch on Friday. First thing I noticed was that they don't serve Boston Cream pie anymore. What the f---? That was my favorite. Is it some kind of secret item now? Then we were seated and waiting when this out-of-town gentleman walked in and was offered a booth. He sat down and then the booth caved in, sending him to the floor while making a really huge scene. Not wanting to stare, I looked the other direction while he was yelling at the waiter. All of us played it cool except for JaSondra, who could keep it under control for all of 2 seconds, even saying "don't laugh" right before she burst out laughing.

On Saturday, it was my cousin Sarah's birthday and it was a princess theme. They had costumes and stuff for the little ones, but for my niece, they gave her a wig. Oh, to have hair, since she still barely has any.

Yesterday was the company picnic in Santa Cruz. I kinda overslept but I still managed to get there before 10. No traffic that way. Even saw Hi-Mey there, who didn't tell me he knew one of the employees' daughters. After killing in air hockey, it was time to eat. At the end of the meal, I was taking a big bite of ice cream when Ginny called out my name. I had won a raffle prize and cheers went into the air. That's pretty rare...calling my name and cheers at the same time. I figured out I won free laser tag, something that was already free a couple of hours earlier...big whoop. Saw a few ppl there including Steve and his girlfriend. Seems nice enough and acts like me in that she's pretty quiet. Not much has changed since I was there last (6...7 years ago?). The best is always the haunted house because you'll always have one kid crying his eyes out not wanting to hop onto the car. Today's kid was a doozy. He held onto the bars outside the haunted house really tight while screaming until his face turned red. It took about 3 relatives to pry him off and out into the open.

Funtimes.

Happy Birthday Jeanette! May this one be the best one yet.

In a few hours, I'll be on board a flight to Vegas to catch the last remnants of the World Series of Poker. When we planned this thing, there was supposed to be 300 people left and it'd be whittled to 27 by the time I left. At last count, there were just 160 people left, the combination of lousy play and a rush to cash out after the money bubble burst. But I'm sure there's plenty of other things to do there. I heard there's this thing called gambling...you put an amount of money on a table and you may or may not get more money back. Sounds like fun.

Caught Little Miss Sunshine the other night. The backstories of the family aren't too interesting but it builds up to what can only be described as an interesting journey from New Mexico to California to attend a kids' beauty pageant. The interaction of all the family members in one VW van makes it worth watching right up to the disturbing yet hilarious ending.

Citizen Kane it is not, but "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" shakes off a rough beginning to be a consistently entertaining film. Will Ferrell is Ricky Bobby, a pit crew member who gets his chance to lead the team when its driver suddenly quits. Soon, Bobby is winning every race and is enjoying the limelight with his best friend Cal (John C. Reilly) and his new wife Carley (Leslie Bibb). New competition from a gay Frenchman (Sasha Baron Cohen) and a devastating crash leaves Bobby psychologically unable to compete. His life is in shambles as Cal has gone on to marry Carley, the team has fired him, and he's forced to move back home to his mother as a pizza delivery guy. It takes his father and others to motivate him to go back into racing.

The first 30 minutes seems to suffer from lengthy scenes that could be shortened. But once Bobby's life is in the pits, the movie starts to find its groove with plenty of laughs and some good lines. Director Adam McKay balances the comedic lives of Ricky Bobby and company with the authenticity of NASCAR racing to great results. But the amazing part is that pretty much every character has something to laugh about starting with Ferrell and Reilly but even going down to Michael Clarke Duncan, Gary Cole, and the kids. It's something to see for yourself.

Watched Miami Vice Thursday. The story leaves much to desire but Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx are perfect in their roles. As an added bonus, Michael Mann is at the helm and he's great at filming gunplay (anyone watch Heat?). He doesn't disappoint here.

Scoop is Woody Allen's latest creation and after reaching a creative high with "Match Point", he digs back to the depths of his recently bad comic creations like "Hollywood Ending" and "Anything Else". Scoop does have some entertaining lines to laugh about but Allen's usual schtick gets old pretty quickly. Scarlett Johansson doesn't have her beauty to fall back on like she did in "Match Point" and instead her character seems to be parodying Allen at times. And Hugh Jackman adds nothing to his character as the romantic lead and possible Tarot Card Killer.

Mark your calendar! The Wizard, another one of those '80s movies I grew up on, is coming out on DVD August 22. Follow 3 kids as they journey from Utah to Los Angeles to a video game competition. Starring Fred Savage and Christian Slater.

Ak sent this in.

I'm trying to get myself psyched for my niece's birthday, but it's hard to when that sun is already up and it already seems like 100 degrees at 10 am. Kelli's birthday isn't actually until next Friday but...no, I don't know why they didn't have the party next Saturday. All I know is, I'm pretty much headed back to work...the party's at a park in Sunnyvale, not too far away.

Waiting for this party to get started, I'm watching VH1's World Series of Pop Culture on the Tivo, my guilty pleasure at the moment and the best new show of the summer (stop, that's not saying much). I was trying to think who would be a part of my team if I ever became a part of the show. Within the family, David would probably be best. He's a much more active cinephile than I'll ever be, with his DVD collection pushing 3 full bookshelves. And the key is he's older than me. He was more recognizant of the '80s, which is the oldest the questions seem to be. That would probably count out my friends, most of whom are strong within the categories, but I would seem equal to them and to form a team, you need people who will compensate for your weaknesses. So when I need old people, I'll just look to work since you know, all those people I work with are old. Whoops, I mean older...yeah. Jennifer's the best pick, especially with the music. Steve and JaSondra are good too, but sorry Mitch, no sports questions nor anything during the time when radio was king.

Watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend tonite. It suffers from some cheesy dialogue but otherwise comes out funnier than most movies that have come out of the chute. It's a fun satire to watch, especially after watching the mildly dull Superman Returns. While Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson are the stars, the real shiner is Anna Faris, who sheds the dumb roles she's been getting lately. One criticism would be the lack of Rainn Wilson and Wanda Sykes, who are funny with their limited roles.

Other movies in theatres:

No story. Tired act. Keira Knightley dressed as a man? These are not the aspects we've come to expect out of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie but that's where we are and it is horrible. Superman Returns is entertaining yet underwheming. These characters are no match for those from the Christopher Reeve era. In contrast, the strength of the Devil Wears Prada comes from its characters, most especially the ones played by Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci. Anne Hathaway? Ehh, but it's still a strong movie. The Da Vinci Code is a great mystery/treasure hunt as long as you haven't read the book. Those of you that did read the book may still like it but will most likely be disappointed. M:i:III is just one long Alias episode, and not even a good Alias episode. X-Men III? Don't get me started on how bad this crap was.

Just to get through the Netflix films, I'll steal Siskel & Ebert's thumbs up and thumbs down.

Two thumbs up: Transamerica, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Dreamer, Prime, Syriana

Mixed: A Good Woman, Two for the Money, The New World, The Producers, The Family Stone, Pride and Prejudice, Shopgirl

Two thumbs down: Date Movie, Firewall, Rumor Has It, An Unfinished Life

Hey you K-Fed haters out there...now beat the crap out of him.

http://www.dragongamez.com/kfed.htm

Let's go O's! Baltimore beat Oakland 5-3, probably disappointing Leslie, but she's stressed out as it is so she may not care as much.

Man, it's been hot lately. The poor thermometer in the sidebar read 102 today. Last week, I escaped the heat by heading to Sacto (but it followed). This week, my shade was in the form of the cabinets and TV's I was moving out of my grandparents' house. Yeah, not too fun. Before my mom left for Japan and the Philippines, she told my grandmother she wanted one of the cabinets we were moving, and she obliged. I honestly have no idea what she wants with it. It took 3 people to move it (so it ain't going upstairs) and the garage is full. Might as well break it and blame it on an accident.

Stopped by Shoreline today to buy the tix for Comedy Jam with Russell Peters, Carlos Mencia, Gabriel Iglesias, Ralphie May, Bill Burr, and others. On the way, there was a line of fire trucks looking over a dry hill. No water pouring...just a lot of staring. Then I looked at what they were "protecting". It was one of the Google buildings.

Got free tix for Miami Vice for next Thursday. So that's next on the big list. I'll catch up on the short movie reviews soon. Seems there are 20 to write about.

Correction: My Super Ex-Girlfriend will be next up this Thursday.

Okay, so Al Gore didn't invent the Internet. But I'm pretty sure at the very least he understood how it worked. Contrast this to Ted Stevens, the Senate President Pro Tempore (3rd in line in the presidential line of succession) and in charge of the committee overseeing net commerce. Apparently, the Internet is a series of tubes.

Transcipt courtesy of Wired

There's one company now you can sign up and you can get a movie delivered to your house daily by delivery service. Okay. And currently it comes to your house, it gets put in the mail box when you get home and you change your order but you pay for that, right.

But this service is now going to go through the internet and what you do is you just go to a place on the internet and you order your movie and guess what you can order ten of them delivered to you and the delivery charge is free.

Ten of them streaming across that internet and what happens to your own personal internet?

I just the other day got, an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why?

Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the internet commercially.

So you want to talk about the consumer? Let's talk about you and me. We use this internet to communicate and we aren't using it for commercial purposes.

We aren't earning anything by going on that internet. Now I'm not saying you have to or you want to discriminate against those people.

The regulatory approach is wrong. Your approach is regulatory in the sense that it says "No one can charge anyone for massively invading this world of the internet". No, I'm not finished. I want people to understand my position, I'm not going to take a lot of time.

They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck.

It's a series of tubes.

And if you don't understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.

Now we have a separate Department of Defense internet now, did you know that?

Do you know why?

Because they have to have theirs delivered immediately. They can't afford getting delayed by other people.

Now I think these people are arguing whether they should be able to dump all that stuff on the internet ought to consider if they should develop a system themselves.

Maybe there is a place for a commercial net but it's not using what consumers use every day.

It's not using the messaging service that is essential to small businesses, to our operation of families.

The whole concept is that we should not go into this until someone shows that there is something that has been done that really is a violation of net neutrality that hits you and me.

My 10 day, 1,100 mile journey began Friday, June 30. The night before, I watched The Devil Wears Prada. With the exception of Simon Baker's character and the fact that Anne Hathaway's character is still pretty dumb in the end, the film is pretty strong with great performances by Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci. Maybe too accurate as well. Nancy was naming designers for me before they were announced on screen.

It was a bittersweet day as we had a goodbye lunch for my former office neighbor who was laid off. She's unhappy to go but she knew something was coming and she found a job right away so best of luck to her. I left work that night early to head over to the Mountain Winery to see Fiona Apple in concert. Painfully shy in public, Fiona obviously was having a little fun out there after admitting to having a crying fit the night before. But like she was at Coldplay a few months ago, she had trouble hitting some of her notes, the result of a busy tour schedule with this being her third Bay Area visit since last November. Nevertheless, it's always a good time with Fiona singing.

(Total so far: about 80 miles)

The next day was my Grandpa's 80th birthday. All of his kids were there including the ones from Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The preparation was intense as I had to get up early to pick up stuff with my aunt. It also involved two round trips to Morgan Hill. All in all, a very fun time. My cousin started a new job in San Mateo at Smith Barney this week so congrats. And he just graduated a month ago. Later that night, I headed up to see Superman Returns at the Metreon in IMAX 3D. Watching it in Imax is good enough but the 3D underwhelmed me. Maybe my eyes are defective. As for the movie, it's a bit underwhelming but it still entertains. Brandon Routh doesn't have the charisma Christopher Reeve had and Kate Bosworth seems to be invincible since she suffers no injuries throughout the film.

(Total so far: about 250 miles)

Sunday and Monday were mellow days. I was still reeling from the fact that Brazil had lost in the World Cup. How could they??? And to France??? It almost defied logic. Had dinner with my aunt and the family on Sunday, visited Burlingame and Millbrae on Monday and played poker with the guys on Monday night. We finished up the poker and food at 3 am and I started on my way back on Capitol when I see this car behind me following me. It's followed me for at least 2 miles...what gives? I'm getting close to home, passing Safeway. Usually, I'd turn left at Branham but instead I went straight. Still following. Cut through Hayes School. Still following. Going through the neighborhood on my way home. Finally, I turn left and he keeps going straight. How weird I thought. I pull in and get out only to see the car coming from the other way! So I pretty much ran inside and could only wonder what they did to my car. (Luckily, nothing but some random ppl did TP the house down the street. Wasn't me...honest :)

(Total so far: about 375 miles)

Tuesday was Independence Day. We're going to recapture the cities and blow the aliens out of the sky. Oh wait, that's the movie. In real life, my sister and I went to my brother's house in Pacifica to start a bonfire on the beach. My sister really wanted fireworks and so we obliged. Man was that a mistake. All around us, people obviously came prepared, shooting off cannons into the air while we had dinky ones that went up 5 feet into the air. But watching everyone else's was cool but we stayed kinda late and I was one of the lucky few to have work the next day. Wanting to get home quickly but well aware the cops prolly had an increased presence for the holiday, I tried to stick in the 70s. There were times the speedometer ran into the 90s but I dialed it back when I realized it. On one of those few times, a car cut me off going 100+. Having the road rage I have, I tried to follow him, but I noticed a car moving just as fast following behind. It was a CHP car without its siren lights on. The guy going 100 exited and so did the CHP car. Don't know what happened next but hopefully he got one fat ticket.

(Total so far: about 500 miles)

The next 3 days consisted of work, work, work. Ok, about one day was actual work but I did have to show up for all 3 days. I came back to realize ppl are just dropping dead. 4 co-workers had family members die in the past week and another found out her neighbor passed on.

Hey, would it sound better if I were named Phil? (I don't think so.)

Friday night, went to the city to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. And I did something I rarely do. I fell asleep during the movie. Oh my was this boring. So they spent 150 minutes looking for a key and a chest??? You could tell they were saving their best stuff for the final installment and all this stuff was fluff. Absolutely no point whatsoever. Even the beauty of Keira Knightley couldn't keep me from falling asleep. I made it through and got back at around 2 am.

(Total so far: about 750 miles)

Wake up! I don't wanna to. It's 6:30 and shut up. But no. I promised to see the guys in Sacto for a little rafting and BBQ madness. So there I was in the driver's seat yet again. Had to pick up Datman and Alex, two ppl who believe 80 mph is not fast enough. I'm usually a good driver but in front of these two, I was for some reason not at my best. I didn't yield to a guy U-turning (all the ppl I saw were turning left and this one guy decides to make a U) but the worst was running over a concrete parking divider. But hey, even with rattled nerves, they're still alive. Though if you hear the story from them, you would have thought I nearly killed them at every turn. The rafting was okay. We got through it much quicker than last time and it wasn't as uncomfortable. That would come later that night. With temperatures reaching 100 during the day, Hai's apartment was just as hot all through the night. The fan and limited A/C didn't help. After getting about 4 hours of sleep the night before, I consider it lucky to get the 5 hours I did. I would find out the next morning that it was too lucky. Apparently, I snore pretty loudly. After staying in hotel rooms and friends' houses, I've never been told that before. The only snoring stories I hear about involve my dad or brother, who are notorious for their snoring. But me??? No way. It's the truth though and now I have to live with it. Good thing I sleep right through it ;)

Thanks Hai and Claire for hosting this weekend.

Now I'm back, awaiting to go back to work tomorrow. This week is actually pretty busy. Packages to update and whatnot. So pretty soon, I'll go snore...I mean sleep.

(Total miles: 1100)

What if in 2000, during the whole presidential election crisis, Bill Clinton acted before the Supreme Court did and issued an order declaring Al Gore the winner in Florida and the election? Everyone would scream bloody murder. (Well, they did anyway, but that's not the point.) The point being is that's happened on a smaller scale in Berkeley.

I keep track of the old university once in a while and this caught my eye. The student government, ASUC, has always been a ridiculous organization, pissing away money every chance they get and holding long meetings to discuss pretty much nothing. Yet every spring, it manages attract 100 or so people to run for office, spouting off grand ideas to improve student life. After 4 years, I hadn't seen much except tons of flyers in the trash. This year, the dominant party of the last few years, Student Action, swept the executive offices but its party leader and the candidates were charged with obstruction of justice and perjury and stripped of their wins by the Judicial Council.

In his haste to settle the matter, the outgoing president, a member of Student Action, issued an executive order declaring the Student Action candidates the winners of their respective offices and that they assume their positions immediately.

Of course the entire thing smells fishy. It's probably illegal and it most likely will get worse before it gets better.

Side note: you didn't have time to hang out with us, but still I'll wish you a happy b-day Ak.

Hey ya. Travel plans this summer haven't gone my way. Korea + the Philippines required too much of a commitment. And the planning for New York and Baltimore wasn't quite there. So I've got to settle for smaller trips in the area. So if you're in Vegas the first week of August, Reno the last week of August, or L.A. the first week of October, lemme know since that's where I'll be.

Work experienced a few layoffs last week (6-10 out of 600 plus a couple of retirements ain't bad) but don't worry, my job wasn't affected. I'm still able to surf the Internet 8 hours a day and get paid for it. The overall health of the company is actually pretty good, but there's a bunch of people not doing much and real measurable work to do isn't coming in for another few months.

Went go-karting for the first time in years. But let's put it this way, I'll stick with regular cars for the time being. Thanks Di for the time out.

Fiona Apple this Friday and it's my grandpa's 80th birthday this weekend. Happy Birthday!

Finally, does this really count as TV? Maury Povich interviews a waitress who is terrified of pickles. Pickles!

One thing not reflected in these pictures is the location of the thermostat. Even the Facilities Department doesn't have a clue. They pointed me to one was down the hall, but it was busted. My solution? I lowered the thermostat on all the ones I could find. Now everything seems to be the right temperature. As for my co-workers: yeah, right.



My office is nothing impressive. Look...desk, computer, corkboard, chair, and tons of papers.

The Simpsons are there. So is Stewie. No window to stare out though. Gotta go around the corner for that.

Taylor Hicks and Snoop Dogg sang "Gin and Juice" together in Alabama. PLEASE! Make it stop!

Happy belated Father's Day to everyone. My 3-year-old cousin was so excited about this day that she ran up to her mom and wished her a happy Father's day even though Dad was right next to her.

Nestle is buying Jenny Craig. Watch out for that next diet fad: chocolate diets.

As Alex likes to point out, I am a registered Republican in a district where Dems outnumber Reps 2-1. But judging by the reaction of poll workers last week on Election Day, you'd think I was the only one. The lady asked my name to look up and when she pointed to the word REP to the person giving out the ballot, she whispered to her, "I guess I can't say that anymore today."

The boss of one of my co-workers proudly proclaimed he was able to delete columns on an Excel spreadsheet. Baby steps...

My parents are back from Vietnam with t-shirts galore. My dad actually went back to work last Friday. There, he found out the company asked for 3 volunteers to move to Fremont to work there (they're in San Jose now). Well, they got two volunteers. So management had to choose the other one and it was my dad since he was out-of-town and wasn't able to decline.