TechTV has posted a list of user names that the RIAA has on it’s hit list. ARE YOU ON IT?
0 CommentsMonthly Archive for July, 2003
Do you hear voices or noises that nobody else does? Well, you’re either crazy and need to get your head checked, OR you are experiencing a new sound technology which can send sound through the air like a laser so that only one person can hear it:
“This enables the companies to transmit a highly focused sound somewhat like how a flashlight beams a focused light. A person can speak in a normal voice and be heard privately up to 600 yards away — yet anyone more than a couple of feet to either side of the intended listener won’t hear a thing. Additionally, the targeted beams can reflect off a hard surface, making it seem as though the sound is actually emanating from that surface.” - Hollywood Reporter
One of the inventors is an MIT grad (of course).
You can read more on this technology in this article.
Or you can check out the two companies websites:
American Technologies - Hypersonic Sound (HSS) Technology
Holosonic Research Labs - Audio Spotlight
What is the deal with the MPAA, RIAA, and Spain? How does it make sense to put copyright file traffickers in jail? This is soo stupid and inane! Do people not realize that there are people selling drugs to kids, murders and terrorism going on? Do we really want to spend our tax money building more jails and prosecuting millions of individuals because of copyright infringement?
Now I’m not saying that we should legalize “copyrighted file trading”. But there has to be a better way than to send otherwise productive citizens to jail. Is this really the future? Is this war on file traders equivalent to the war on drugs? Is this the witch hunt of our times? Where is this all leading?
0 CommentsMicro$oft is always talking about their secure platform and technology. Well, looks like the Swiss have found a way to crack any Windows password in under 13 seconds. Doh!
3 CommentsWhat can you do with a few billion dollars? How about build your own set of islands in the form of a palm tree - in the ocean. “The Palm” is set to become the premiere vacation spot in the United Arab Emirates. A perfect spot for thos people who own their own oil fields or are part of a Arab royal family. You’ve got to check it out. It’s pretty incredible.
0 CommentsI have been following a modified version of the Atkins diet since February. Since I’ve started the diet I’ve read many, many articles on Atkins, Ketogenic diets, Cyclical Ketogenic diets, etc. The basic gist is that you limit your carb intake to below 100g or 25g and cut out all processed foods, sugar, caffeine, pasta, potatoes, bread, etc.
Let me just say that before the ketogenic diet, I’ve tried the standard “low fat” diet, ECA (ephedrine, caffeine, aspirin) stacks, Citrimax, thermogenics, and everything else they carry at GNC. I have also religiously been working out between 3-5 times a week following bodybuilder routines. I even had a personal trainer for a year. All this and I could never burn off the fat.
Fast forward to today. At Christmas of last year, I weighed 185lbs and was approaching a 34inch wasitline. I wasn’t fat. Chubby? Yes a little. But today, I’m hovering near 155lbs and nearing a 31inch waistline (getting a little too thin). THE KETOGENIC DIET WORKS!!!! Whether you follow Atkins, CKD (cyclical ketogenic diet), Schwarzbien Principle, or a strict ketogenic diet, it works! I didn’t take any supplements. All I did was limit my carb intake to around 20grams/day and killed myself in the gym w/ cardio and weights.
At this point I want to GAIN weight (muscle mass) and lose a tad bit more body fat (to look like those magazine fitness models). I would love to be 180lbs w/ the same amount of body fat I have now. I’d be RIPPED! That means adding more complex carbs back in my diet.
It’s funny ’cause now low-carb diets are getting a lot more attention. A lot of the stores are now carrying low-carb foods and products (watch out for the hydrogenated oils though).
And I just found out about the Schwarzbien Principle which isn’t as limiting as the Atkins Induction phase. You may not lose as fast, but it definitely will work.
0 CommentsSo I’ve now used my Roomba a couple of times and I love it! I just put it in a room, turn it on, and go about my business. 20-30 min later and the room is clean! There are a couple of things that couple make it even better:
-Have a docking bay so that when the robot is finished vacuuming, it returns to the docking bay to recharge.
-Make the robot a wet/dry vac with a more powerful engine and bigger capacity so that it doesn’t need to be cleaned every time.
-Have the robot run on a schedule so that it auto-magically cleans the room according to a set schedule (every day, once every week, etc).
0 CommentsMy computer won’t boot. Well, that’s not totally true because it does seem to boot sometimes. Intermittantly, when I start my machine, the fans start and the CD-ROM drive spins, but nothing happens. No beeps, no BIOS messages, nothing. What is frustrating is that my machine is fairly new. I bought it about two years ago from a company called iBuyPower. I’ve been pretty satisfied with the machine and its performance (other than the fact that it’s noisy as hell). Here are the specs:
AMD XP 1900 Processor
Gigabyte 7-vrxp (ver 1.0) motherboard complete with onboard 10/100 LAN, Sound card and video card
Audigy EX Soundcard
Western Digital 80GB Hard Drive
Benq 56x CD-ROM
A decent system.
Anyway, I’ve been trolling through Google trying to find a solution. I’m thinking it’s either the weak 250w power supply, bad RAM, or possibly the graphics card. My biggest bets are on the power supply and RAM so I went to Fry’s Electronics in Burbank and bought an Antec 350w power supply. I’m gonna take apart my entire machine tonight, clean it, install the new power supply and hope it works. If not, I’ll have to try buying new RAM next.
In the past, this would have been fun. Now it’s just annoying.
0 CommentsWe performed our last show of “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Asian Men” last night! What an experience! I can’t tell you how happy and priveleged I feel to have been a part of this great workshop and show. I am very proud of the work everyone has done. It still amazes me that only two of us are professional actors! Everyone was just so good! We were all making revisions to our pieces, changing blocking, and trying to memorize our lines up to the last minute, and we all pulled it off!
This has definitely been the best work I have ever done as a writer and actor. I wish more people could have seen and heard our stories. They are so real, so funny, so touching, so amazing. This is what theater is all about. Sharing.
Forget reality TV shows. These were real stories with real messages and real meaning told in a very entertaining way.
I now feel empowered to continue writing and sharing my own personal stories.
Thank you Dan for guiding us all through our own personal journeys and helping us to create something wonderful and meaningful!
0 Comments“When did I take the last dose?”
It was three months after Sept 11 and I had just returned from my nightly workout at the gym and decided to take another dose of the latest bodybuilding thermogenic “supplement” MD5. I was well within the safe dosage and have had experience taking these drugs before. There should be no danger. I told myself.
There I was sitting on the couch devouring the second half of a homemade berry pie piled high with whip cream while watching TV, when a weird sensation started to come over me. I suddenly became hyper aware of my heartbeat. My heart was beating fast and hard and I could feel the artery in my neck pulsing with every beat. At that moment, I panicked.
“Crap. I’ve taken too much and now I’m going to have a heart attack.”
“I need to get to the ER quick!”
I hurriedly placed the pie on the table and stood up. For a moment, I hesitated, but then blurted out, “babe, we need to go to the hospital NOW!”
My wife quickly emerged from the other room,
“What?!?!”
She looked at me with concern and confusion.
“I think I’ve OD’d on the pills and we need to go to the emergency room before I have a heart attack.” I replied in a very hurried but matter of fact way.
“You’re not having a heart attack.” She responded with frustration and disbelief.
“Yes I am and if you don’t take me to the hospital, I will drive myself.”
I was starting to lose my composure as I stood there, frustrated that my wife was not taking me seriously. It’s not as if this was a daily occurrence. I knew that I was about to have a heart attack and I needed to get help immediately.
“Ok.We’ll go to the hospital,. she said as she went to get her shoes.
My mind was racing with thoughts of fear. Was I about to die? Was I prepared to die? What have I accomplished in my life? What was going to happen? What was my wife going to do? This can’t be it. I haven’t accomplished my dreams. I haven’t got my life in order. I haven’t been the best husband that I could be. I haven’t been the best son I could be. I haven’t been the best Christian I could be. I never had a chance to make my parents proud of me. I was destined to be something great. I was destined to be a leader. This is what I’ve been told all my life. My life was supposed to make an impact. This would be stupid if I died this way. My parents and my wife told me not to take these stupid pills. They’re going to be very angry if I died this way.
JUST STAY CALM. I told myself. Relax. Control your breathing with deep breaths.
Luckily, the nearest hospital was only 2 miles away. I had never been in the ER before, and I’ve never had any major operations. I couldn’t believe all this was happening. My vanity and pursuit of the “perfect body” was now going to end on a gurney in the ER. How pathetic. We entered the ER and I was instructed to fill out a couple of forms. I was trying to stay in a meditative state and hold out long enough for the doctors to help me.
The nurse appeared from the other room and called my name. “Finally” - I told myself. If I have a heart attack now, at least they can help me.
The nurse asked what the problem was and I told her that I might have OD’d on ephedrine. She placed me on a stretcher and hooked me up to an EKG meter. After a couple of minutes a doctor came over to see me. After the standard diagnostics of checking my eyes, breathing and pulse he spoke:
“You’re fine. You’re heartbeat is slightly elevated but I don’t see any problems. What did you take?”
“This.” - I showed the doctor the bottle of pills.
As he read the ingredients list he commented. “Ma Hwang/Ephedrine too many people are taking these herbal supplements with ephedrine and they’re not safe. I suggest you stop taking these. If you want to lose weight, just eat well and exercise.” My wife appeared by my side and responded to the doctor, “I told him not to take these pills but he always insists that he knows what he’s doing.”
“Well I’m not going to take them anymore” I said as I tossed the bottle in the trash.
Within the next 8 months I would return to the ER twice, visit the doctor twice and be affected by a myriad of diseases and symptoms. I was the healthiest dying person that the doctors had ever seen. Then with the persuasion of my wife, I started to realize and admit that I was having panic attacks. I think Sept 11 and the news thereafter had shattered my sense of security living in America. For years I had stored all my emotions inside and worn the mask of calmness and confidence. My psyche could hold it no longer and my emotions were manifesting themselves in my physical being. Now I’m on the journey to recovery by discovering myself and the emotions I’ve held deep inside.
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