水氹

連續幾天都下雨，陽光乍現，即把握機會出車，出得半小時也總好過無！沿途見一個五歲左右的小朋友穿著雨靴，拖著大人在街上走，小朋友一路踩水氹，十分過癮；我心想為何大人沒有阻止他呢？也許覺得反正穿了雨靴，派上用場吧。連帶想起午飯時和老友吹水，提到擔心小朋友在青春期反叛，可能到時也應該讓他們自己在成長路上穿雨靴踩水氹？

Deception of travel photos

I came across this interesting article while traveling last Summer. Ironically, it's about photos taken at trips usually only showed the good sides of them but not the bad ones and thus unfairly "beautified" them. Even terrible trips resulted in great photos as you could see in the linked article. One of the photos was from one family vacation to Europe. Everyone from that family fell sick during the trip. I felt bad for them. Nevertheless, the pictures said nothing about it. The submitter actually appreciated the talks and times spent with family members together. More power to her.

NASCAR drivers and college education

Not that it matters but I'm just curious who went where. Well, it turns out there is only one active full-time driver with a bachelor's degree in the Sprint Cup, Ryan Newman. He earned his engineering degree at Purdue University and credits his degree in vehicle structure engineering with helping him succeed on the track. He graduated from college in 2001 and was named NASCAR's Rookie of the Year in 2002. It's a little bit surprising to me at first but then I realized most drivers got started young and the season is loooong. They just don't have time to go to college.

Sports highlights: a special weekend for auto-racing fans

First of all, may the 2 drivers (including past winner from HK, 丘永材) passed away at Macau Grand Prix last weekend rest in peace. Formula 1 returned to US after a few years of hiatus and it was extra special to me because this race was in Austin, Texas. Tons of controversies surrounded this brand-new race track in the past few years. Some doubted it would ever been built, let alone having a race in 2012! Also glad to see the final result, which was a pleasant surprise to me: usually it's a boring race when Vettel won the pole and then led wire-to-wire (i.e, led every lap except during pit cycle maybe) but he couldn't do it and was overtaken by Lewis Hamilton, one of the most aggressive and fun-to-watch F1 driver IMO. Now the championship will be decided at the next race with only 13 points separating Vettel and Alonso. Well, championships at all 3 levels of NASCAR have been decided last weekend already. All 3 championship leaders had ~20 point leads entering the last race but nothing was easy. Jimmie Johnson almost pulled it off to win his 6th championship by saving fuel better than the championship leading Brad Keselowski. However, mechanical problem ultimately doomed his quest. Oh well, it proves once again luck averages out. He got some breaks during his championship winning seasons in addition to his superior skills (and that of his crew) Same goes for legendary race team owner Roger Penske. He saw his IndyCar driver Will Power entering the last race with a decent lead in the championship and then gave it away. It's hard to predict then his other driver, Brad Keselowski of NASCAR, was the one winning him the championship this year! Congrat to Mr. Penske for winning his first NASCAR Spring Cup championship after competing in it all these years.

SF下午

感冒未清，今早有點掙扎是否到SF上班，想想之前已休息了一天，還是出出去吧。公司樓下保安跟我打招呼，問我怎麼沒帶pinky，做他們這一行的觀察力真强；當然不是指我的手指而是摺車，我告訴了他因由，重出江湖快矣。同事們去Boulevard慶祝沒有被迫遷到東灣，我為了不把病菌散播推掉了，轉而去foodcourt吃兼聽聽鋼琴獨奏，他彈了Beatles的Norwegian Wood（那個版本編曲不錯），一首Lady Gaga舊作，還有我們的「飲歌」：「六個餐飽」(Tramerai by Schumann)下一站是Embarcadero的商場，買了一些禮物，還有自用的Godiva無糖朱古力；其實一早已買了一堆給媽媽，不過想親自試試味，再買多一點，原來和一般有糖的味道差不多，難怪她喜歡。雖然無糖，但卡路里也不低，而且代替糖的甜味物質多吃會致瀉，所以還是適可而止吧。

Sports highlights: college football upset, CFL playoff and wrecks at Phoenix

The memories of SF Giant's world series victory and celebrations still linger with me (so was that of Sydney Sixers winning the Twenty20 wicket champions league) but the fast-paced world of sports have completely left them behind. The young NBA season has already provided big headlines like the firing of Laker's coach only 5 games into the season. I watched part of the "Upset of the season" in college football: Texas A&M beating the then No.1 Alabama. 'Bama looked so strong all season that current headcoach of fellow SEC conference-mate South Carolina, Steve Spurrier, even claimed that 'Bama could beat the worst NFL teams, which most people including experts like current and former NFL/College coaches and laymen like myself disagreed (unless he referred to the poorly coached 2002 Washington Redskin by him :P.) Still, I thought if they were to be beaten, it would be a traditional power house in SEC, instead, it's the SEC newcomer Texas A&M. As a loyal fan of Texas, of course I dislike both A&M (long time conference rival) and 'Bama (with whom we fought for the college football supremacy decades ago and most recently in 2009) Earlier in the season A&M played a good game against Florida and almost beat them. I was in a big dilemma: on one hand, I don't want to see A&M to be that successful right after leaving the Big 12 conference and proved they made the right decision. On the other hand, A&M needs to be competitive enough to prove that the level of playing at Big 12 is not way below SEC. Oh well, since I dislike both of them, I might as well root for an upset and it happened. I was so glad that A&M's star QB Johnny Manziel didn't emerge last season or he might have ruined the perfect ending to the long time UT vs A&M rivalry.

And I was able to watch more football on Sunday, thanks to ESPN and Firehouse Brewery. ESPN streamed both CFL first-round playoff games (or Conference Semi if you will) My favorite team Saskatchewan Roughriders was an underdog and almost pulled off an upset by scoring a TD in the last 2 minutes and took the lead over Calgary but fell short. The Sunday night NFL game between the Texans and da Bears was a snooze-fest but Firehouse had good beer. 

The great sports weekend ended with the replay of the penultimate race of the NASCAR season (9th of the chase) with 3 drivers still in contention and it certainly didn't disappoint: championship leader (and 5-time former champ) Jimmie Johnson wrecked, on his own, which was a rare mistake made by him and young Brad Keselowski became the new leader again. Clint Bowyer wrecked Jeff Gordon and the latter retaliated and turned into fights between pit crews. Danica Patrick crashed, stalled on the track and turned into a big wreck during the final lap. Auto racing fans shouldn't root for wrecks. However, we certainly won't mind a few fights :P This immediately brought back memories of another Jeff Gordon related fight. I thought it was last season but it turned out to be Nov 2010 when I looked it up (against Jeff Burton) Seems like NASCAR wants Gordon to fight to pump up the TV ratings every now and then but with tight races like this I don't think that's necessary! I did feel bad for Kevin Harvick who won the race but all people could remember and talk about were the ones I mentioned above.

Deleting an area to transparency in GIMP

I played with GIMP a bit to edit some pictures for a photo project. For one picture, I have created a layer with the desired background and needed to remove some unwanted areas on the picture in the upper layer to transparency so that the background would be exposed. Here is how to do it (found the instructions from this post)

If you imported the image or layer from a JPeG (.jpg) file, it will not have an alpha property for that layer.
Use menu: Layer / Transparency / Add alpha channel
Delete will then (by default) make the deleted section transparent.
When you save back to a JPeG, GIMP will paint the background (of the saved image only) white.
Save into an XCF file to retain all of the layers, transparency, etc.

反歧視

諗過帖呢個上FB，不過實會得罪好多朋友，都係低調d算。
有人話香港唔存在歧視同性戀所以無需立法；另一方面，亦有人（有d係同一批人）認為同性戀係不道德。除非係好虛偽既人，否則一定會蔑視佢認為不道德既人喎。

It's deja vu all over again!

Sports fan would know the title was one of the famous quotes by 金句大師 former Yankee great Yogi Berra. I read some of my old posts and found this from 2010:
1) University of Texas football team lost to Oklahoma that year. Same thing happened in 2012.
2) University of Wisconsin lost to Michigan State. Same in 2012.
3) Will Power couldn't win the IndyCar championship in spite of a good chance entering the final race. Same in 2012.
4) US lost to Europe in Ryder Cup. The 2012 version was worse: US had a huge lead before the final day and blew it.
5) Tiequan Zhang will fight again next week, this time with UFC in Macau. Hope he will win again!
6) Last but not least, SF Giants won NL West (and went on to win the World Series)

[Update:  Turned out Tiequan Zhang didn't win in Macau. Too bad, but at least he was competitive in that fight.]

Belle

Talking about the main character from Beauty and the Beast. My daughter used to watch it all the time (of course she has outgrown it already) It's also a tune performed by Gilad Hekselman on the album Disney Jazz Volume 1: Everybody Wants to be a cat.

I came across this album from his discography. I was impressed by his playing when I saw him performed live with Melissa Aldana at the Small's in NYC back in August. BTW, so glad to see the club being recommended by Alex Skolnick (the great metal and jazz guitarist) in his Tweet recently. 

Sports highlight: the Giants did it again

I posted this two years ago when the SF Giants won the world series and I linked to an insightful article written by Peter Gammons. Of course I am linking to his writeup for the 2012 victory here again. Similar to last time, the Giants' great pitching was a key. With Tim Lincecum struggling as starter in the regular season, his move to the bullpen during the postseason by the management was a brilliant one. There were quite a few key hits from unexpected players in 2010, like Cody Ross and Edgar Renteria. In 2012 they have Marco Scutaro and Ryan Theriot. I guess more things change, more things stay the same. The management has proven they know how to run the organization the right way. Even the big contract offered to Barry Zito was vindicated!

中國式過馬路

早一陣子好友分享其中國經驗，提到過馬路如何混亂；無獨有偶，最近有中國網民在微博發表：“中國式過馬路，就是凑够一撮人就可以走了，和紅綠燈無關。”成為中國網絡大熱話題，皆因大家均有同感。

Texas shootout

Four former Southwest Conference-mates from Texas played against each other on Saturday: Baylor vs Texas, Texas Tech vs TCU. All teams scored 50 points or more. All offense. No defense!

Memories of Yoshi's

Read an article on the Downbeat magazine about the 40th anniversary of Yoshi's. I still remember going to its old location on Claremont Ave in Oakland. And that's where it got started! I guess I qualified as old-timer these days. The most interesting quote came from musician John Santos:

In 2010, we played a show on my birthday at the San Francisco location. That also happened to be the same day the San Francisco Giants won the World Series. The win came just before we went on, so I had the pleasure of announcing that the Giants has won. The crowd went berserk, and we had a party all night. To throw a little numerology in: I was born in 1955, I was turning 55, and my favorite Giants player, Tim Lincecum, was number 55. That night was in the stars. 

香港太太的生活

我係男人都好enjoy睇佢d名貴野。不過,要睇快手！主角丈夫已入稟控告未經授權發布機密資料，向法庭申請禁制令。 條片d配樂有少少批判銅臭，不過單憑內容，呢兩公婆唔似暴發戶，都係百手興家果種，唔會俾人負面印象。

Game 5: Giants vs Reds

I didn't start watching baseball until the heydays of the Cincinatti Reds were over. I like some of their players. I also thanked their current manager Dusty Bakers for the success he brought to the Giants when he managed them. However, when it comes to playoff time and playing against the Giants, my loyalty is obvious. This game got me a bit worried, especially with Mat Latos on the mount for the Reds. This pitcher has a long history disliking the Giants. I still remember he practically accused the 2012 Giants for buying the championship when his own team at the time, Padres, did some upgrades mid-season too. Glad to see him appears in the loser column today!

Parents Television Council's complaint

This sounds familiar: conservative groups in US complained about the more liberal creative people in the showbiz. I still remember many years ago a group led by Al Core's wife targeted the music industry and certain pop/rock musicians for performing indecent/violent lyrics. Of course I was not a parent back then and totally opposed to their campaign. This latest complaint is about the TV show 'American Dad.' The season premiere episode made fun of a Hummer-ish big SUV advertised as a 'C.O.K. Guzzler' (see the caption in this link) As if it's not obvious enough, one of the character suggested added a C to it.

Do I find this funny? No. Will I watch this with my kids? Nope. However, I won't be mad if they watched it. The PTC has made too big a deal of this, IMO.

Interestingly, FOX News also reported this but without the above details. And ironically, the show was shown on FOX. So, did it help defending Seth MacFarlane by omitting the details or not?

He is no less boring even with the help of Citi card

...... that's why I don't like this commercial:

Apparently I'm not the only one who criticized it.

Sports video games

As a guy who is really into sports and somewhat into video games, sports video game is of course something I play (once in a while) Turns out lots of sports stars enjoy them too. Check out this article:

Between games, practices, travel and promotional appearances, you'd think that the NBA's multimillionaire stars would be too busy. But most NBA players say they find time to play video games every day. In fact, the NBA claims that 85 percent of its players are gamers. "I would say I play about three or four hours every night," says Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard. "I'm a night owl, so after games I'm up till about 4 or 5 a.m. playing video games." "That's all I do," says Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant. "If I'm not on the court, I got the controller in my hand." "With the schedule we have this year, I don't get to play as much as I want to," says LeBron James of the Miami Heat. "But whenever I get some down time I play some Xbox." As the NBA playoffs get under way, half the league's players are done for the season, giving them more free hours to fire up their video game consoles. The other half will have extra time off between playoff games, thanks to the league's stretched-out postseason schedule. "I play a little bit, but I played more during the summer," says Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics. "This season is so crammed, it's tough." The league's rising young stars aren't immune from the thrills of gaming, either. Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers) and John Wall (Washington Wizards), made a pit stop while in Orlando for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game to check out the new "NBA Live 13" game at Electronic Arts' Tiburon studio -- the developer behind sports franchises like "Madden NFL 12," "NCAA Football 12" and the new "Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 13." NBA fans will have a choice of simulation games next season when "NBA Live 13" tips off against "NBA 2K13." It's been a few years now that gamers, and NBA players, have had no choice in pro-hoops games (outside of the arcade game, EA Sports NBA Jam). "I'm excited they brought 'NBA Live' back," says Durant. "I haven't talked to anybody yet (about the cover). I'm sure I'll get a call here in a few hours or a few days or so. I haven't heard about it, this is my first time. I'm excited." Durant was the cover athlete for "NBA Elite 11," a rebranding of EA Sports' basketball franchise that was canceled because of horrible community reaction to the glitchy gameplay. But he's still up for being on the cover of the new game. "I'm a '2K' person now," says Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers. "I might give 'NBA Live 13' a try, but '2K' has taken over the basketball scene." Although a knee injury to New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin knocked him out for the season, he's still playable in "NBA 2K12" -- and his gameplay has improved thanks to not one, but two player rating upgrades by developer Visual Concepts. "I actually don't know the exact numbers, but I know for a while I was in the 50s, I believe," Lin says. "I think ESPN had me as the 467th best player out of 500 or something like that coming into the season." Now that Lin has earned a 75 in the game, up from 56 when he was a bench player, he's not focusing on how high his player rating can go. "I'm not really too worried about that," he says. "I don't have a set number or goal, but it's cool to be able to hear about progressing. That's the important thing, is that me and my team continue to improve. As long as we're headed up, I think we're good to go." New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is happy for his teammate's player rating upgrade. "It's getting up there," he says. "It should be in the 90s. If I have a chance to play '2K12,' he's definitely in my starting lineup." But not everyone is crazy about their NBA 2K12 player ratings. And yes, they do check out their in-game attributes. "I like some of the ratings, but I feel like some of them could be increased a little bit," says Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward. "Defensively, I think they've got my grade a little low. I think they had one of my teammates, Al Jefferson, a better perimeter defender than me. I was like, 'Come on now, that can't happen.' With time, they'll probably increase them, so I'm not too worried about it." Utah Jazz teammate Jeremy Evans, winner of the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, would also like to see his player ratings in NBA '2K12' improved. "When I play '2K12,' and sometimes I play as myself, I get mad," he says. "It's like, 'I would have dunked that in the NBA.' It's a great game, but sometimes they don't actually make you like you want to be made." Evans grew up on sports games like "Double Dribble" and "NBA Live" on the Nintendo 64 and now plays "FIFA 12" and the "Call of Duty" series. When it comes to video games, some NBA players will try anything. "I played everything...football games, basketball games, baseball games, Donkey Kong, and all of that," says Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin. "Actually, probably my favorite game to play is 'Tiger Woods Golf.' It's always been fun. I've played it for a long time." So the next time you're on Xbox Live, it may just be an NBA All-Star in that game world with you.

American Comics

一直覺得我的童年過得和其他朋友的很不一樣：我沒有去公園和鄰居小朋友玩；沒有看過幾集IQ博士；「公仔書」除了老夫子、加菲貓之外，如龍虎門、中華英雄等等名作完全未睇過，直至大學時代才首次接觸天下畫集，並感受到公仔書的吸引力。出來工作後我還曾在唐人街訂閱天下及龍虎五世好幾年呢。

不過身在美國多年，卻從未接觸美國本地赫赫有名的Marvel及DC公仔書；對於各位superhero(e.g. Superman, Spiderman, Batman)的事跡，皆從電視電影認識。隨著兒子開始接近看漫畫的年齡，作為一個盡責的父親，我認為是時候事先了解下美國流行的漫畫是甚麼一回事。從香港連環圖得來的經驗，知道中途開始follow一套漫畫殊非易事，皆因人物來龍去脈經歷多期發展必定變得錯綜複雜，死過番生幾次不足為奇；美國的漫畫在這方面尤其遭讀者詬病（請看這個攪笑帖）

由於喜愛的女明星Cobie Smulders有份參演The Avenger（飾團隊統籌員Maria Hill一角），我愛屋及烏決定看看The Avenger，在Amazon收加州稅前買入The Avenger Vol.1合訂本，以為可以從頭開始follow，誰知所謂Vol.1也有多本，我仔細查閱維基百科，才發現買的其實是2010開始畫的故事，提到不少Avenger之間過去的情仇，和歹角Kane的恩怨，均不知詳情；總算勉強明白，看完全本。暴力程度和香港的相若，血腥程度則更低，我想讓年青人看看也可以接受吧。繼後的Vol.2不打算追了，反而找到一個給電影迷寫的Avenger指南，下一本可能會看看該指南介紹的The Ultimates。