Avatar - some random thoughts

SPOILER ALERT!
I just finished watching Avatar by James Cameron and I really enjoyed it. Definitely worth seeing it in 3D. :) It was a non stop action movie, but for some reason I left the movie theaters feeling empty and sad. Don't get me wrong, the effects were fantastic. The back story, setting and character design were breathtaking. There is a lot of fan service being done. I personally really like the power suit and alien lifeforms designs. I definitely recommend going to see this one.


I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. So stop reading now if you haven't seen it yet and plan to go see it.



Still here?



I am serious, if you want to see the movie stop reading now and come back later. :D



Not kidding.


Ok... so if you are still reading, I am assuming you already watched the movie or you don't care if I spoil the movie for you.

The reason why I think I left the movie feeling empty is that the whole movie can be summarized as Pocahontas in space. For the same reason you know there isn't really going to be Titanic 2. There won't be a Avatar 2. There is a lot of parallels (not sure if it was intentional, but seemed like it) with the war between native american and the early European settlers. The European settlers were interested in the land/gold/other resources they saw in the new land. In the movie, the earth corporation would stop at nothing to acquire the riches they find in Pandora(the planet where the aliens live), they will try to barter, threaten, and finally take by force. The natives want to protect the land from these foreigners, but lack the technological skills to do so. The reason why they protect the land is because they believe they are all part of the same life force (sound familiar?) Of course, there are some members of the invading force who would sympathize with the natives and try to help them out. At the same time the spies who were sent in to infiltrate the natives will eventually turn native and question their morals. These cliches play well in the movie. Given that this is Hollywood, the natives win the war and chase away the evil corporation. Yay~
But now it begs the question what happens if there were an Avatar2? The defeated colonist will come back with a bigger and stronger army. Better yet, they will stage orbital bombardment to wipe out the natives and any resistance. Once all is destroyed, they can harvest there precious rock as much as they want. Unfortunately that would not be a good movie and would not sell a lot of tickets, but who knows. War movies make millions and they are full of sadness and suffering as well.
I got into this whole debate with Janet and Guang about this too. They argued about if it would be economical feasible to wage war at such large scale for profit. Janet stated that war does not bring profit. I tend to disagree, war does benefit some people, like weapon manufacturer, medical and military research facilities and other related fields. But lets not get into that because that will open a whole new can of worms.

Riding the hills in Tahoe

I went to Tahoe with a couple of co-workers this past weekend, and we hit the Heavenly and Homewood resorts. Both mountains face the lake and have beautiful views.

Heavenly is a huge mountain. It has two peaks (one in California and another in Nevada). It is almost impossible to find people once you get separated. Cell coverage is spotty at best. Although, I did get 3G coverage at the top of the mountains, so I could facebook while riding the lifts. I need to remember to bring a talkie next time to keep in touch with other riders. Most of the blue runs were closed in the California side. So I went to the Nevada side. The traverse to get to the other side was really painful. Painfully flat, but once I was on the other side it was all good.
Favorite run(s):
* Orion (on the Nevada Side)
* California Trail


Homewood is a smaller mountain which is great for beginners. It has a really long green run (Rainbow Ridge) which is pretty mellow and was good for a second day run. My favorite trail was The Glades. Unfortunately to get there, there is a long flat traverse and no lifts. The lifts at homewood were incredibly slow when compared to heavenly.
Favorite run(s):
* The Glades
* Bonanza (serviced by the express lift)

Daily commute is killer...

So I used a neat android app, My Track to record the commute. Turns out it takes 1 hour 30 mins exactly. :(
I still need to compute how long it takes to go back. I am guessing it takes even longer due to traffic.

About base layers

Ben is going on a hiking trip to Mount Kilimanjaro at the end of July. We were discussing about the gear he needed for the trip and we got to the subject of base layers.
Matt: So you bought your base layers yet?
Ben: Yeah, I spent over $100 on them, they are super comfortable and warm. Some sort of high tech wool.
Matt: Meh... Base layer are just expensive underwear. They just call them base layer so they can charge you that much for them.
me: So... Victoria Secret sells base layers then? Their under wear are really overpriced.
Matt and Ben: ...

Thoughts about photography

So Ben bought a digital SLR today, and this made me think about getting one myself. I have long been thinking of getting a nice SLR to play with. Unfortunately, lack of money, time and patience to do the research and plenty of other stupid excuses stop me from getting one.

Kuo takes amazing pictures with his old school film SLR. Check it out here.
This brought to mind one of the biggest debate I had, to get a digital SLR or an analog one. Of course people argue about quality of digital SLR, I think that we are getting closer and closer to film SLR quality. I give it a few more years, until we can get the same resolution. :) But that is not my main concern.

The one good thing about digital photography is you don't have to worry about wasting film, so you can take a million bad pictures for one good picture. The bad thing about digital photography is you don't have to worry about wasting film. When shooting with film SLR, I think I would be a lot more careful before going trigger happy and would spend more time worrying about lighting, composition, and what have you. Film is expensive after all. :)

Cute quotes from Honest Tea~

You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.

- Michael Pritchard

It's possible to own too much. A man with one watch knows what time it is, while a man with two watches is never quite sure.

- Lee Segall

Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Sierra at Tahoe

Went to Sierra for a day trip with Ben, Flo, and Alan. Lots of fun. 8 hours round trip driving. 8 hours of boarding. Not bad~ I like Sierra better than NorthStar. :) Unfortunately it is a small mountain so it is fairly crowded, especially in the lifts for Tahoe King and Grandview Express.
West Bowl is my favorite place in Sierra. The wait is shorter and the runs more tailored to my level.

Hard Blue:
- Powderhorn (Upper + lower)
- DogWood

Fun Blue:
- Beaver (My favorite so far)
- Pyramid (Real fun if you can survive Powderhorn x_X)

Ok Blue:
- Marmot (I am sure this one is a real cool one if I didn't face plant on it)

Ok Green:
- Corckscrew (Twisties~ Need I say more? The only reason why I wouldn't go back to this one is that it there are way too many people on it, and I almost got run into a couple of times)

For the price and location I would definitely go back to this mountain again. :D
Can't wait to be better so I can tackle Powderhorn and Dogwood without braking so much. :X need to find my balance and be more fearless.

Other notes, tried the deluxe breakfast at McDees for the first time. Pretty good. :) Also, tried the double double for dinner. A double double is a cheeseburger with an extra patty. So worth it. (since it is the same price as the cheeseburger).

Other random cool things I learned today:
- Face planting with braces hurt more than usual. I cut my lips when I face planted in Marmot. Maybe this is why I am not stoked about that run as Ben. I was so relieved that I didn't lose any brackets. ;)
- A kids meal is so much more worth it than a hot dog combo for lunch
- Instant ramen as a snack is awesome. I am so bringing this in my future trips, especially since people at the lodge are pretty cool at providing hot water. Miam. :)
I felt like such a fob tho, eating instant ramen in the middle of the slopes. Hahaha
- Walkie talkies are damn useful to find people on the slopes, need to get one for future trips. Srpint sucks, since I get no reception in the mountain at all... nada...silch... If I had broken a leg somewhere, I would have been helpless. :x
- A McDee's cheeseburger has 300 calories 110 from fat. eeps. XD I had 3 of these... =.='
- A McMuffin has 300 calories 200 from fat. XD I dare not find out how many calories my deluxe breakfast had, with all those pancakes (or hot cakes as they are called) with the hashbrowns and crumpet. XD
- The 5 hour energy drink is actually pretty good. Tasted like concentrated Red Bull. Kept Ben and me awake after we drank it, but ended up with a headache after a few hours. Good thing I had some advils handy.
- Snowboarding with a camelback rocks! :) Get to drink and not slowdown. Carry snacks and other goodies. Give me better balance carving down the slopes... or so I think. Heh.

Can't chew stuff... :(

Decided to get braces this year. Partly, because my sister recommended that I do so. Partly because my current dental insurance is pretty good. So I started on Friday 13th, 2009. They put in eight spacers around my 2nd molars. Now I can't really chew anything hard. :( So I ended up eating ramen and instant noodles. I wonder if braces are gonna hurt even more. Oh boy... what did I get myself into.

春雨里洗過的太陽 - 王力宏

分開之后另一年的春天
記憶也像下雪一樣溶解
那些有你在身邊的影片
呼的一聲飛得老遠老遠

愛在夏天過完之后鎖在秋天
捱過冬天之后的我好了一些
雨后的天上 彩虹出現
撐出一片藍天

我在淋過一場大雨之后的晴朗
那是春雨里洗過的太陽
每個冬季帶來失落 傷得多深
然后忽然看懂云的形狀

If you listen to the rhythm of the pouring rain
那是春雨里洗過的太陽
每個冬季帶來失落 傷得多深
每個呼吸都是新的芬芳

（repeat）

流下的眼淚 留下了智慧
愛情會天亮也一定會黑
世界會等我 它問我冬天過去沒
我在淋過一場大雨之后的晴朗

那是春雨里洗過的太陽
每個冬季帶來失落 傷得多深
然后忽然看懂雨的形狀

If you listen to the rhythm of the pouring rain
那是春雨里洗過的太陽
每個冬季帶著失落 傷得多深
每個呼吸都是新的芬芳
春雨里洗過的太陽

25 Things About Me

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose at least 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

Another form of chain mail, but hey I am bored so why not. :P

25. I speak French, Spanish, English, Mandarin fluently. I can manage Taiwanese and I am totally hopeless when it comes to my German and Japanese.
24. I love ramen. If I were to chose one dish to last me the rest of my life that would be it.
23. I like sweet things, and got the cavities to prove it. Bubble tea, candy are my kryptonite.
22. I love books. I love reading fiction and mangas.
21. I listen to Chinese songs that are cheesy,;so cheesy that they are embarrassing even to my closest friends.
20. I want to sky dive, except it is too damn expensive and I am too chicken. :P
19. I can't dance to save my life, but love to bop my head to the rhythm anyways.
18. I do a major move (city/continent) every 7 years (on average).
17. I love playing computer games.
16. I wanted to grow up and be an artist. :P
15. Friends are really important to me.
14. The opinion and suggestions from my family matter to me.
13. I wished I could travel for a living and visit fun places.
12. I want to have lots of gadgets, but can't justify buying them.
11. I want to have a garage in my future house so I can have a workshop.
10. I like dark chocolate more than milk chocolate. I absolutely hate white chocolate.
09. I love rain and the smell of it.
08. I want to be able to snowboard and surf all I want without worries.
07. I miss my motorcycle, I need to ride it more often.
06. I dislike dusty places.
05. I am allergic to cats, but I love to play with them.
04. I like cooking things once in a while
03. I am addicted to web comics.
02. I am a Virgo.
01. I love Sarah. <3

Small reminder about runs in NorthStar

Just came back from an awesome trip. A few notes:
- Ax Handle is the best blue run
- never ever Take the East Ridge run -> flat :( ( even if Cat's Face is a crazy nice run)

Sometimes I overthink things

Xkcd said it best with this post. KISS works. The simple (and elegant) solution tends to be the correct one.

Cooking niku-jaga (Japanese braised beef and potatoes)

So, I finally got the itch to cook again. I get it once in a while, when I see a dish I want to eat. :) Today I tried out niku-jaga, a Japanese dish. I saw this recipe when I went to the Nijiya Japanese Market in San Mateo. They had this rack with lots of recipes and this one seemed delicious and easy enough that I decided to get it. :)

Ingredients:
200g of sliced beef (the fattier the better ^^)
2 potatoes (~400g)
1 onion (~200g)
1/2 table spoon of cooking oil
2 cups of dashi stock or water
3 table spoon of sake
3 table spoon of sugar
2 table spoon of mirin
3 table spoon of soy sauce

Directions:

1. Peel and cut potatoes into slightly larger than bite size ( each potato into 8 sizes is a good benchmark).
2. Skin onions and remove the heart. Then cut the onion in half slices.
3. Slice the beef in bite sizes.
4. Heat the oil in a pan and then take it out of the heat.
5. Coat the slices of beef with the oil.

6. Put the pan back to medium heat and stir fry the beef. Make sure the pieces don't stick to each other with chopsticks.
7. When the beef changes color, add onions and potatoes and stir fry.

8. Add dashi stock (or water) , basically enough to cover everything.
9. Bring everything to a boil and remove any scums that floats to the surface.
10. Add the sake, sugar, mirin and soy sauce in that order.

11. Bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat slightly and cover it.
12. When the liquid is reduced to one third, and flip everything (so that everything is coated).
13. Tilt the pan to a size and reduce all the sauce.
14. Spread everything on a pan to cool.
15. Serve with rice. :)

Cooking wasn't too hard, eating it was even easier. ^^ A few comments, mirin sauce is a sweet cooking sauce used in teriyaki. It has a nice taste to it, make sure not to add too much, or it will over power everything. Dashi stock is the base flavor in miso soup. :) I substituted sake with Chinese cooking rice wine and it turned out not bad.

没有如果-梁静茹

如果我说 爱我没有如果
错过就过 你是不是会难过
若如果拿来当借口
那爱是不是有一点弱

如果我说 爱我没有如果
真的爱我就放手一搏
还想什么 还怕什么
快牵起我的手

有人说
世界上最遥远的距离不是生与死
而是我就站在你面前
你却不知道我爱你

我常说
如果人类连爱一个人都被自己绑住
那世界末日已来到
不需要等到地球毁灭掉的那天

如果我说 爱我没有如果
错过就过你是不是会难过
若如果拿来当借口
那爱是不是有一点弱

如果我说爱没有如果
真的爱我就放手一搏
还想什么 还怕什么
快牵起我的手

Another cute song with an equally cute MV. :) She has an interesting name too ;)